Simulation of partial discharge propagation and location in Abetti winding based on structural data

Power transformer monitoring as a reliable tool for maintaining purposes of this valuable asset of power systems has always comprised partial discharge offline measurements and online monitoring. The reason lies in non-destructive feature of PD monitoring. Partial discharge monitoring helps to detect incipient insulation faults and prevent insulation failure of power transformers. This paper introduces a software package developed based on structural data of power transformer and discusses the results of the simulation on Abetti winding, which might be considered as a basic layer winding. A hybrid model is used to model the transformer winding, which has been developed by first author. Firstly, winding is modeled by ladder network method to determine model parameters and then multi-conductor transmission line model is utilized to work out voltage and current vectors and study partial discharge propagation as well as its localization. Utilized method of modeling makes it possible to simulate a transformer winding over a frequency range from a few hundred kHz to a few tens of MHz. The results take advantage of accurate modeling method and provide a reasonable interpretation as to PD propagation and location studies.