Long-Term Partial Discharge Behavior of Protrusion Defect in HVDC GIS

This article investigates the partial discharge (PD) behavior of protrusion defects in real-size high-voltage direct current gas insulated switchgear (HVDC GIS) for SF6 and SF6 alternative gases including fluoronitrile–CO2 mixture (10%) and fluoroketone–dry air mixture (6.6%). The evolution of PD apparent charge and PD repetition rate for all investigated gases is presented and discussed. The measurement results indicate that PD behavior changes as a function of time. The PD apparent charge increases and the PD repetition rate decreases with the increase of voltage application time. This evolution can be related to the change in protrusion tip radius due to electrochemical etching: radius of the protrusion’s tip being enlarged. In addition, the pulse sequence analysis (PSA) plots of the PDs caused by this defect are presented. It is observed that the PSA plots change over time. Therefore, for the development of a robust PD monitoring and defect-recognition tool, as well as for the assessment of risks in the operation of HVDC GIS, it is crucial to take these changes into account.