Partial Discharge Localization Using Electromagnetic Time Reversal: A Performance Analysis

In this study, first, a comparison on the application of electromagnetic time reversal (EMTR) and time difference of arrival (TDoA) in partial discharge localization in power transformers is presented. A two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation is used to calculate the signal recorded by the sensors. Results show that, in a transformer tank excluding its windings, both methods yield similar results in terms of location accuracy, although the EMTR method only needs one sensor to localize the partial discharge (PD) source while the TDoA method needs at least three sensors in the 2D localization problem. However, the presence of transformer windings leads to a degradation of the performance of the TDoA method if the line of sight from the source to the sensor is blocked by any of the winding blocks. On the other hand, the presence of the transformer windings has an effect on the localization of PD sources that occur between two adjacent phase windings when the distance between the outer winding distances is shorter than the minimum wavelength, lambda(min). The degradation is directly caused by the diffraction limit. It is shown that, if the distance between two adjacent phase windings is greater than lambda(min), the EMTR process can locate PD sources occurring between two adjacent phase windings with acceptable accuracy. A case of occurrence of PDs in close proximity (less than lambda(min)/2) to a single metallic object is analyzed both numerically and experimentally. The analysis reveals that although a degradation in the accuracy of the localization is observed compared to the case of longer distances between the PD source and the metallic object, a reasonable localization error of 10 mm (corresponding to lambda(min)/10) is obtained.