Non-intrusive defects identification for the high voltage instrument transformers

Instrument transformers (ITs) are essential equipment within the substation to maintain the proper protection system functionality and reliability in the power grid. In this paper, a novel approach has been presented to identify ITs defects and distinguish them from conventional system events (e.g., sudden load change or short circuit faults). This approach applies a deterministic change point detection algorithm on a specific time window of the observed measurements. Moreover, the proposed methodology omits the requirement for installing excessive hardware on the ITs for online defect identification. This methodology aids to early stage equipment failure detection that avoids unexpected failures, reduces maintenance costs, and maintains the reliability of the system. The measurement data are acquired from PSCAD simulations and the obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.