Results of a Three-Day Workshop in Irkutsk

12 april 2017

The Xth annual three-day WORKSHOP on Control and Diagnostics of High-Voltage Electric Equipment was held in Irkutsk on April 5-7. The Workshop was attended by engineers, foremen, electricians from electric network companies and servicing companies, as well as by representatives of official dealers.

The first day was devoted to the theoretical issues:

• Initially they studies the principles of high-voltage circuit breaker operation, methods of their testing and control of their condition, techniques of measurements, and, surely, of instruments for their analysis, i.e., analyzers of PKV group. 
• It was followed by theory on the diagnosis of OLTC devices and power transformers.  The course was focused on the main peculiarities of testing the tuning devices using both conventional and DRM-test methods, demonstrated the rules for oscyllograms and circular diagrams interpretation, as well as on the methods for detecting the incipient defects in OLTC devices.
• The third part of the Workshop was devoted to microohmmeters and milliohmmeters study.  It included information on the available analyzers and on new developments of the Company.  Analyzers performances, methods and rules for measurements on different switching equipment were delivered.
  

The Second Day was devoted to operating the SKB EP analyzers on high-voltage equipment simulators. Attendees of the Workshop could get familiar with the Company’s devices operation and assess the potentials of the software.

First the specialists were individually performing the testing using PKV/M6N, PKV/M7, and PKV/U3 analyzers on HV circuit-breaker simulators, connected the analyzers and test cables. This work was followed by analysis of standard faults recorded on the graph. 

There were many questions, but specific interest focused on the universal HV circuit breaker analyzer PKV/U3 (there are two versions of the analyzer: PKV/U3.1 and PKV/U3.0) controlled directly by PC software. The PKV/U3 analyzer is the most advanced among the instruments of PKV group. It allows testing the condition of oil, vacuum, SF6 and air circuit breakers for all the classes of voltage (from 10kV to 1150kV).

Coaches of the Workshop made the attendees familiar with peculiarities of the software adjustment when operating the PKV/U3, and demonstrated capabilities of the software of all the instruments of the PKV family.

The PKV/M7 analyzer turned out to be the most popular instrument. Some of the attendees were working with the analyzer for several years, others procured it recently. There were some questions, but almost all of them had a unanimous opinion on the analyzer merits.

High-voltage circuit breakers of BB/TEL type designed for operation in the indoor and outdoor SG cells, as well as in the one-sided service chambers both during construction and replacement of obsolete oil circuit breakers become more and more popular.

Circuit breakers of this type also need control and diagnosis. Furthermore, as compared to conventional oil, vacuum or SF6 circuit breakers, the BB/TEL circuit breakers consist of two main functional modules: a switch module and a control unit. This design makes their diagnosis more specific, which was demonstrated with the help of a modern PKV/M7 analyzer.

The second half of the day was devoted to the use of MIKO-8 milliohmmeter and the PKR-2M, an instrument for transformer OLTC devices, particularly, for testing the contactor of OLTC device of PC-4 type. In the course of demonstration specialists asked many questions and participated in discussions with coaches.

Demonstrated was the MIKO-2.3 micromillikiloohmmeter, its capability to burn out the metal clamp by supplying the 400A current (the device produces current up to 1000A) in the mode with an ‘in-built CT’ thus imitating the burn of oxide films of the main contacts of high-voltage circuit breakers. Attendees highly appraised the device’s ability to continuously produce stable high current, its small weight and dimensions, which ensure its convenient operation.

Ref. to video of SKB EP channel at Youtube:
https://youtu.be/5VRxYOeNUAM

The second day was terminated by a round-table discussion between specialist from power engineering and developers of SKB EP. A ‘Cloud Service” prototype was presented that will soon become available for users of new analyzers. 

Such a Workshop is a rare possibility for personal communication. Attendees discussed with SKB EP specialists different situations from their experience, expressed their wished, and gave recommendations and proposals on development of new devices.

According to a three-day workshop schedule, the second day included sightseeing.

Program of the third day provided for active participation of attendees in practical work. All the people were initiative, asked questions and shared their experience. Practical training was held at the maintenance workshop of PAO Irkutskenergo on the power transformer with OLTC device of PC-4 type. MIKO-8 and PKR-2M analyzers were use.

Demonstrated was the sequence of connecting the devices, DRM-test control in ‘destructive’ and ‘non-destructive’ modes, interpretation of graphs (oscillograms), and their peculiar features.

Workshop attendees were able to practically assess the convenience of performing the DRM test of the OLTC device.

Upon termination of the Workshop the attendees passed an exam and were awarded the Certificates. The third day was crowned by a trip to great Baikal Lake. SKB EP Company thanks everybody for participation!

Owing to a tough schedule of the Workshop the participants enhanced their professional skills, mastered the procedure of HV equipment condition diagnosis, and interpretation of the results of measurements.