Modular Design of an Extendable DC-PD Measurement System for Research and Monitoring Applications

The aim of this paper is to present a newly developed modular partial discharge (PD) measurement system. PD measurements and monitoring of new direct current (DC) high-voltage (HV) transmission lines were a particular focus during the development phase, as well as a modular and costsensitive design. The modularity is particularly interesting for the development or integration of new detection sensors, e.g. a mixture of analogue and binary sensors like optical photon counters. The open FPGA design enables researchers to test new real-time PD detection algorithms, which previously could only be tested on short recorded data samples. The hardware design, suitable for AC and DC measurements, is outlined and the FPGA and software design is described. Finally, some measurement results are presented, focusing on the time series export of DC PD measurements.