Reliability is paramount when it comes to the successful establishment of the web of intricate electrical systems in the modern-day energy sector. Even a few minutes of unexpected outage can cause hefty financial loss and unwanted downtime.

Now imagine if the critical electrical assets suffer from permanent failure. That is an unfavourable encounter for power asset managers. This is why routine monitoring of electrical assets becomes a necessary maintenance action.

For insulated electrical assets, partial discharge monitoring is extremely crucial. Why? Mainly because the majority of root causes can be traced back to partial discharge events. At MEE 2024, Dutco Tennant’s showcase is bringing one of our prominent partners Ampacimon where they will feature their patented technology.

The BlueBOX technology from Ampacimon is a cable partial discharge monitoring system. Now before you explore more interesting details of this product, let us provide you a quick insight of how such a system helps in failure detection and protect insulated electrical assets.

What Exactly is Cable Partial Discharge?

Let’s begin with the basics. Partial discharge (PD) refers to localised breakdowns of insulation material in an electrical equipment. These discharges, as the name suggests are partial in nature, are tiny sparks of activity that giveaway early signs of critical issues that might be lurking within the system.

The PD event is normally triggered when the insulation in a cable or any other electrical component breaks under intense electrical stress or fatigue.

The Reason Why Partial Discharge Needs Monitoring

It is a pretty obvious notion that ignoring such tiny pulses or sparks of PD events. However, unchecked PD activity is like detonating a bomb that’s ticking away to explode.

The PD event not monitored leads to progressive deterioration of insulation material that ultimately causes electrical asset failure. It is only through regular monitoring and analysing these discharges, asset operators get access to valuable insights into the condition of the insulation.

This data helps in taking proactive measures before a catastrophic failure occurs.

The Critical Role PD Monitoring Plays in Maintaining Electrical Assets

Now that we have covered what PD is and why PD monitoring matters, it's time to learn what purposes PD monitoring serves.

Early Warning System: Monitoring partial discharge events acts as an early warning system. The system designed for cable partial discharge tracking like our BlueBOX technology is able to identify subtle signs of insulation degradation long before visible signs or major malfunctions occur.

Predictive Maintenance: The frequency, pattern and other consistent PD events help asset managers to identify trends over time. This type of prolonged monitoring helps maintenance teams to foresee when components are likely to fail. Cable partial discharge monitoring system from Ampacimon operate consistently delivering real-time data which can be utilised to enable scheduled repairs or replacements and avoiding costly unplanned downtime.

Asset Health Assessment: Monitoring PD events come in handy to assess the overall health of insulated assets. With a PD monitoring system like BlueBOX, asset managers can make informed decisions about the remaining useful life of equipment and prioritise maintenance efforts accordingly.

What are you waiting for? Make sure to visit our Booth D10, Hall 5 in MEE 2024 and see our partner live showcase this incredible partial discharge monitoring system. You will also have the chance to discuss more insightful conversation about partial discharge and other critical challenges of energy sector.