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A defect such as a free metallic particle or stress-raising edge on an electrode could lead to breakdown in a gas insulated substation (GIs), but may be detected by the partial discharges it generates. Of the various detection means available, most success has been achieved with either acoustic transducers to detect sound waves from the discharge, or electrical couplers to pick up the ultra-high-frequency (UHF) signals generated inside the GIS chambers. All new GIs in the UK are fitted with internal couplers for UHF monitoring, and two examples of continuous monitoring schemes on 400 kV GIS at nuclear power stations are described. Further developments, which are already well advanced, include specifying and measuring the coupler characteristics, making use of expert systems to interpret the UHF discharge data, and extending the monitoring system to include the performance of circuit breakers and other equipment.

Increasing the permittivity of the propagation medium inside a hollow tube lowers its cut-off frequency, allowing it to transmit a wider range of signal frequencies. This principle is applied to the design of dielectric windows that can be used to facilitate partial discharge (PD) detection at ultra high frequency (UHF) in a HV metalclad plant such as gas-insulated substation (GIS), power transformers and circuit breakers. External UHF couplers mounted on such windows can be removed or replaced without compromising the integrity of the insulation system. By increasing the signal power level incident on a window-mounted external UHF coupler, higher sensitivity to PD can be achieved. The problem is analyzed using waveguide theory and, using GIS as an example, improvements of andap;6 dB are demonstrated by means of coupler sensitivity measurements and experiments using PD sources

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