Development of asymmetric biconical antenna for vehicle-mounted partial discharge detection in substations

To realize partial discharge (PD) detection of all electrical equipment in substations, an asymmetric biconical antenna ultra-high frequency (UHF) antenna is developed as PD electromagnetic wave signal detection sensor based on vehicle-mounted PD detection system to meet the design requirements of wide band, low voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), omnidirectional horizontal plane (H plane) and upturned vertical plane (E plane). Asymmetric biconical antenna is chosen as UHF sensor to take advantage of its good performance on characteristic radiation and characteristic impedance, and a gradient structure is applied into the antenna to reduce the antenna size. The HFSS simulation indicated that the sensors are featured by omni-direction, broadband and low VSWR, meeting the requirements for detection and location of PD sources in whole substations.