Continuous Online Partial Discharge Monitoring System

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a new type of fiber optic sensor system for remote continuous monitoring and detection of partial discharge (PD) from power equipment. The sensing system uses an antenna which is connected to a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). The modulated light by the PD signal is transmitted through an optical fiber and measured remotely by an optical receiver. Laboratory experiments have shown that EMOptic sensor has high sensitivity and signal to noise ratio by comparing Electromagnetic (EM) sensor and other sensors. It provides a feasible remote PD monitoring technique for power equipments. A completed prototype sensing system based on this technique has been installed in a commercial building for field trial. The system can be accessed via internet anytime and anywhere.