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PDSurveyor™

Product Overview

The PDSurveyor™ handheld PD surveying tool is the 'first-line of defence' for the detection of PD activity in medium voltage (MV) plant and cables in the voltage range 3.3kV to 45kV. The unit enables the user to carry out rapid, 'look-see' insulation condition testing of MV plant and cables by applying a combination of measurement technology which incorporates three types of PD sensor (HFCT for measuring cable PD's, TEV and Acoustic for local plant / switchgear PD).

The unique combination of the TEV, Acoustic and HFCT measurement circuits provide an instant, real-time indication of any PD activity in both MV plant and cables, with measurements made in decibels (dB's) for switchgear PD measurements and picoCoulombs (pC's) for the cable PD measurements, as per on-line PD testing convention and practice.

The PDSurveyor™ has been designed by HVPD to meet the specific requirements of both utility and industrial MV plant owner customers further to their requests for a simple, portable and easy-to-use PD test device which can be used by all operational staff in MV substations. The PDSurveyor™ is the only handheld PD scanning device in the marketplace which contains three built-in PD sensors to enable the unit to be used to test both PD in MV switchgear / plant and also the PD activity MV cables.

The PDSurveyor™ is thus intended to be used as a first-line PD 'pre-screening' device for testing MV cables and plant, providing the user with the ability to test the insulation condition of the equipment in seconds. The primary usage of the unit is to perform pre-screening tests (typically of between 10-20 seconds) of large numbers of cables and plant in Phase 1 of the HVPD 4-Phase PD Test and Monitoring Solution as a pre-cursor to using higher specification, diagnostic PD spot test technology in Phase 2.

The unit has a simple, 7-level, colour-coded, real-time PD level indicators (displayed as a range of LEDs from green (low PD - OK) to yellow to orange to red (high PD - investigate the source of the signal) which allows the user to quickly identify potential insulation defects and incipient faults.

By using the PDSurveyor™ as a PD 'pre-screening' device, in the first stage of a structured, asset management approach, large numbers of MV plant items can be scanned for PD activity in a fraction of the time required by fully diagnostic PD test systems (such as the HVPD-Longshot™ test unit). This provides much higher levels of testing productivity at the initial 'PD screening' stage of the 4-Phase PD Test & Monitoring Approach, particularly with large, wide-area utility distribution networks.

HVPD recommend that the PDSurveyor™ handheld unit is used as an integral of our 4-Phase PD Test & Monitoring Solution. In the event of moderate PD activity (Yellow and Orange LEDs) or high PD activity (Red LEDs) being detected by the PDSurveyor™ in the pre-screening PD test, the plant or cable is moved onto Phase 2 of the insulation condition assessment process where a high-specification, diagnostic on-line PD test technology should be used (such as the HVPD-Longshot™ Diagnostic PD Test Unit).

From the past experience of HVPD Ltd in testing wide-area, medium voltage networks, it is normal to expect that around 20%* of the cables and plants undergoing PD-screening tests in Phase 1 to have PDSurveyor™ measurements in the range of moderate to high PD levels (orange and red LED levels on the unit). These high level measurements are then taken forward to the second stage of the 4-Phase PD test and monitoring process, Phase 2: On-line Diagnostic PD Testing.

* This is a typical figure for a large, underground utility cable networks and can vary considerably, depending on the background Radio Frequency (RF) interference and external noise present on-site. It should be noted that underground cable networks connected directly to overhead lines can suffer from much higher levels of noise than their fully undergrounded counterparts. In these cases it is recommended that an advanced diagnostic test unit (which can differentiate between PD and noise using advanced noise reduction and waveshape analysis) is used to test these cables and terminations.

Features Include

The world's first, handheld, multi-purpose, on-line PD pre-screening test technology to incorporate three PD sensor technologies (Ultrasonic, Electromagnetic HFCT and TEV-Transient Earth Voltage) in one unit.
It enables first-line, PD 'screening' of in-service medium voltage plant quickly and easily (typically 10 seconds per switchgear panel and 20 seconds per cable feeder).
Designed for use by all field and operations staff with minimal training of half a day.
Lightweight and portable unit, suitable for the on-line PD testing of in-service MV plant including cables, switchgear, motors and transformers.
Simple but accurate, 7-Level PD magnitude detector for all three sensors, providing an immediate, real-time, quantified PD level measurement.
A perfect safety and security device for verifying personnel security on site.
Offers stunningly cost-effective PD front-line surveying with no compromise!