Hardware and Software Complex for Express Diagnostics of Overhead Power Line Insulators

The presented article considers a method of contact less diagnostics of overhead power transmission line (OHL) insulators based on the partial discharge (PD) method. For express diagnostics of OHL insulators, a hardware and software complex (HSC) was developed based on a laptop and an FM receiver with a telescopic antenna. PD data were transferred to the laptop memory using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), accumulated in a database and processed using a specially developed algorithm that takes into account the noise level, weather conditions, distance to insulators and their strings. The algorithm is based on calculating the average values of partial discharges calculated over several dozen periods of applied voltage. The proposed algorithm was preliminarily tested in laboratory conditions using a standard R-400 device, as a result of which it was found that the frequency of relatively small partial discharges increases before breakdown, as a result of which the average level of partial discharges decreases, which formed the basis of the algorithm for express diagnostics of the state of insulators of overhead power transmission lines.