A Novel Method for PD Measurement Using the Equipment Shell Slot as Sensing Antenna

Most of the existing high-voltage electrical equipment in operation uses external or internal Ultra High Frequency (UHF) detection sensors when detecting partial discharge (PD) signals, which brings difficulties to the already operating equipment. Based on the basic theory of slot antenna and the equipment shell itself, a novel method for PD detection is proposed in this paper: use the existing slots of the equipment shell as sensing antenna for PD measurement. In this paper, simulation models are built by the electromagnetic simulation software Ansoft HFSS to study the characteristics of shell slots as sensing antennas. The Laboratory simulations are also conducted. The research shows that the shell slot can be used as an antenna to receive the electromagnetic wave of PD inside the equipment and receive PD signals of different frequency ranges based on different sizes of the shell slot, which greatly reduces the difficulty of on-line PD detection. The conclusion of this study subverts the conventional design of UHF PD sensor and provides an important guiding direction and theoretical basis for improving the sensor design of UHF detection system.