Implementation and Analysis of a Reference Partial Discharge Measurement System

Partial discharge (PD) detection is based on the measurement of apparent charge originated from PD in test
sample. Since the measurement system configuration affects the PD measuring system response, a PD reference calibrator
is the most important part of measuring system for the determination of scale factor in measurement system. In this paper,
the design and implementation of reference partial discharge measurement system for the calibration of reference calibrator
is presented. The reference pulses to be checked in the implemented measuring system are generated by the reference
partial discharge generator or calibrator that is constructed for the characterization of the reference measuring system
according to the requirement of IEC 60270. Proper correction for known errors and estimation of uncertainty contributions
proved that traceable measurement of partial discharge can be made with an uncertainty of less than 1% in the range of
between 2 pC and 1000 pC.