Detection of online PD signals in XLPE cables using the Bhattacharyya distance

Partial discharge (PD) signal detection can be used for insulation monitoring of power system equipment. Online PD detection as a main task of insulation monitoring for different power system equipment is a difficult procedure when environmental noise is taken into account. This paper proposes a new scheme based on the Bhattacharyya distance approach with the main goal of detecting the PD signals in cross-linked polyethylene cables. The proposed method, as a preprocessing tool, can be used for detection of PD signals in a noisy environment. The simplicity and the accuracy of the Bhattacharyya distance approach are the 2 main advantages that grab the attention of the authors in introducing this technique for detection of PD signals in different high-voltage power devices. In order to remove noises between intervals of measurement of PD signals, other simple signal processing techniques should be used as postprocessing tools. Detection of PD signals in a noisy environment, i.e. finding the times of PD occurrences, is the most important and difficult stage in online PD signal monitoring. The Bhattacharyya distance method is a simple approach that can be used for detection of short duration time signals such as PDs.