5/1/2017 DielectricAbsorptionTestOpenElectrical

DielectricAbsorptionTest
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TheDielectricAbsorption(orTimeResistance)testisanextensionoftheinsulationresistancetestwhereinstead
ofaspottest,thetestingdeviceisappliedtotheinsulationforupto10minutes.Theideaisthattheinsulation
resistanceshouldincreaseovertimeastheatomsintheinsulationarepolarisedbytheIRtester'sappliedDC
voltage(i.e.theylineupwiththeappliedelectricfield).

Whenthetestingdeviceisappliedtoaninsulationsystem,therearegenerallythreetypesofcurrentflow:

Leakagecurrentistheresistivecurrentthatflowsthroughtheinsulationandiswhatisbeing
measuredbytheIRtester.Obviously,alowerleakagecurrentimpliesaninsulationsysteminbetter
condition.Theleakagecurrentshouldstaymoreorlessconstantoverthetestperiod.

CapacitivechargingcurrentisthecurrentthatflowsuponapplicationoftheDCvoltagetocharge
thecapacitancebetweeninsulationsystemundertestandearth.Thiswilldrawahighcurrentinthe
firstinstancebeforedroppingoffquicklytozeroasthecapacitorischarged(i.e.within1s)

Dielectricabsorptioncurrentisthepolarisingcurrentthatisdrawnbytheinsulationsystem
(dielectric)toalignthedipoleswithinthedielectricwiththeappliedelectricfield.Thiscurrentdrawsa
highcurrentinitiallybutthengraduallydropsoffasthedipolesinthedipolebecomeincreasingly
polarised(i.e.intheorderof5to10minutes).

Therearetwocommonlyusedtests:

DielectricAbsorptionRatio(DAR)
Inthistest,thetestingdeviceisappliedandIRmeasurementsaretakenafter30secondsand60seconds.The
dielectricabsorptionratio(DAR)iscalculatedas:

R 60
DAR =
R 30

whereR30 andR60 aretheIRtestmeasurementsat30and60secondsrespectively(

AgeneralguidetointerpretingtheDARtestresultsareasfollows:

Insulation
DAR
Condition
<1.25 Questionable
1.6 Adequate
>1.6 Good

PolarisationIndex(PI)

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5/1/2017 DielectricAbsorptionTestOpenElectrical

Inthistest,thetestingdeviceisappliedandIRmeasurementsaretakenat1minuteand10minutes.The
polarisationindex(PI)iscalculatedas:

R 600
PI =
R 60

whereR60 andR600 aretheIRtestmeasurementsat1and10minutesrespectively(

AgeneralguidetointerpretingthePItestresultsareasfollows:

Insulation
PI
Condition
<1 Dangerous
<2 Questionable
<4 Good
>4 Excellent

References
1.IEC603646,"LowvoltageelectricalinstallationsPart6:Verification(https://webstore.iec.ch/pub
lication/1887)",2006
2.ANSI/NETAATS,"StandardforAcceptanceTestingSpecificationsforElectricalPowerEquipment
andSystems(http://www.netaworld.org/standards/ansinetaats)",2013
3.NFPA70B,"RecommendedPracticeforElectricalEquipmentMaintenance(http://www.nfpa.org/c
odesandstandards/documentinformationpages?mode=code&code=70b)",2013
4.Megger,"AstitchintimeTheCompleteGuidetoElectricalInsulationTesting"(http://www.biddle
megger.com/biddle/Stitchnew.pdf),afreebookwhichisanexcellentresourceonIRtesting
5.IEEEStd432000,"RecommendedPracticeforTestingInsulationResistanceofRotatingMachines
(http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostRecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6740)"

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Category: ElectricalTesting

Thispagewaslastmodifiedon18February2017,at03:56.

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