Design of Intelligent Ultraviolet Pulse Detector for GIS Partial Discharge

UHF and ultrasonic are the main technologies widely used for partial discharge (PD) measurement nowadays. The disadvantages of application lie in the great electromagnetic interference on site and complicated identification of PD signal. Considering that GIS is free from external light interference, a new method based on ultraviolet pulse detection of PD is proposed in this paper. The relationship between discharge power and ultraviolet radiation power is obtained by analyzing the partial discharge spectrum. Then, an external PD detector based on 4H-SiC semiconductor device is designed. It detects the internal ultraviolet pulse of GIS to determine the existence of partial discharge. On this basis, combining AI algorithm and "edge computing" technology, a new intelligent detection system of PD based on ultraviolet pulse detector and coordinated by UHF sensor array is designed. Finally, three kinds of typical discharge defects were compared by means of pulse current detection technology, UHF detection technology and ultraviolet pulse detection technology. The experimental results show that the designed ultraviolet pulse detector is effective and accurate in detecting partial discharge of GIS.