Novel and necessary approaches ensuring statistically effective partial discharge testing for equipment in service

Serving for condition-based maintenance, researchers and engineers, who conducting, designing and researching partial discharge testing for equipment in service, used to focus on PD (partial discharge) locating. The novel idea of test sensor (instrument) locating was introduced. Locating the sensor instead of PD source would ensure PD testing results statistically effective. The concept of PD mapping and PD transmission zone were also introduced. The former takes effective sensor locating as prerequisite and the latter functions during PD locating. Available approaches and applications of sensor locating and PD mapping were demonstrated. The succession relationship of sensor locating and PD source locating were analyzed and the vistas of both were discussed.