Partial discharge measurements using tailored excitation waveforms

This paper proposes that the injection of an impulse, at a suitable time on a power frequency voltage wave, can trigger the inception of partial discharges. In this way a deterministic component is introduced into the observation of partial discharge activity and the ability to minimize the influence of noise in a measurement is enhanced considerably. Two simple experiments are described which demonstrate the triggered inception of partial discharges and the strong 'focusing' effect of the triggering impulse, whereby the discharge activity is concentrated immediately after the injection of the impulse and a significant 'quiet' period follows in which minimal discharge activity occurs. >