The January/February Issue of the Electrical Insulation Magazine has been released. Use the accordion headings below to explore this issue’s content, and visit the IEEE Xplore for full magazine access.
For a list of upcoming conferences, please visit the conference page or check out the events calendar.
Featured Articles
Featured Articles
Monitoring of Partial Discharges in HVDC Power Cables
Identification of Arcing Faults in Paper and Oil in Transformers—Part I: Using the Duval Pentagons
Solubility Coefficients and Their Importance for the Analysis of Dissolved Gases in Insulating Liquids
Editorial
Brian Stewart
President DEIS
It is a great honor and privilege to be elected as the new president of the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS) for 2022. It is also my great pleasure to serve the IEEE DEIS community. As many DEIS members will know, I have served DEIS for a number of years as an elected DEIS AdCom member-at-large, DEIS secretary, DEIS vice-president technical, and, latterly, DEIS vice-president administration. Of course, I’m taking on the mantle of president from a long line of excellent presidents over the years, many of whom I have worked closely with, the most recent being Paul Gaberson from 2020 to 2021. I want to thank Paul personally for his valuable support over the past two years. I know Paul has put much effort into serving the DEIS community and DEIS AdCom and has steered and directed the Society very successfully through recent challenging times. DEIS AdCom has also appointed two new vice-presidents, Professor Davide Fabiani from the University of Bologna, Italy, as vice-president administration and Professor Akiko Kumada from the University of Tokyo, Japan. Davide has previously been serving as vice-president technical and Akiko as an elected AdCom member-at-large. I look forward to working in partnership with Davide and Akiko, who both bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their DEIS roles. Along with the other valuable and capable members of AdCom, we hope to lead and serve the entire DEIS community. On another note, we want to welcome Dr. Antonios Tzimas as our newly appointed editor-in-chief of IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine for 2022. Antonios was serving as deputy editor in chief under Dr. Peter Morshuis. Peter has done a fantastic job as editor-in-chief over the past year and has successfully repositioned the Magazine and the IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine Editorial Board into a suitable structure and mode of operation to ensure its future sustainability.
What then does the future hold? Good question! The world has had to navigate, and is still navigating, the challenges arising from the impact of COVID-19 over the past 2 years.
I’m reminded of a number of quotations I came across recently:
“Any change, at any time, for any reason, is to be deplored.” (The Duke of Cambridge, late 1800s, source unknown)
“There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stage-coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position and be bruised in a new place.” (Washington Irving, referenced by Garry Collins, The Magnificent Mind, p. 73)
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” (J. F. Kennedy)
I wonder which quote best resonates with each of us? Undoubtedly, everyone has been affected in different ways and to different degrees over the past months, not just in their personal lives, but also in their professional lives. One thing is certain—the way people engage and operate in their working and professional environments will change from this point onwards, likely never returning completely to the pre-2020 modes of operation. Newton’s First Law of Motion states: “Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.” DEIS has little alternative. We need to understand how best to change and adapt to face the future based on the external forces. We can either embrace or reject change, but
sometimes we have no option and the force of change motivates, even compels us, to accept and adapt to a changed environment. We should be aware that other IEEE Societies have plans to embrace, adapt, and modify their activities and operations to the new circumstances, believing these to be necessary for their Societies’ future strategic strength and direction and to serve the desires of their members. In this context, I believe DEIS has no option but to review and adapt to the circumstance upon us, and this includes many aspects of our activities: conferences, in-person meetings, AdCom meetings, workshops, technical committees, chapter meetings, and so on. In addition, the potential long-term effects of future working environments and personal constraints must be better understood to enable DEIS to position itself and serve its members effectively in the future.
Perhaps, the circumstances give us an opportunity to do things differently or bring to the top of our agenda things that were continually put off because they were deemed, at the time, less important. One of my main aims as president over the next year is to understand new ways of operation where we can get DEIS members to play a more active part in DEIS activities in the future. In this regard, it would hopefully be the intention to review a number of areas where methods and means of DEIS engagement and operation can change or be newly envisioned and transitioned to be fit for purpose for the future. We need to ensure that we maintain and attract an active community of DEIS members. Simply put, we need to reflect, understand, and embrace the new challenges, opportunities, and directions before us.
Some examples of areas where DEIS may reflect upon and review include (but are not limited to) the following:
- expanding DEIS interests and engagement and affiliations with other Societies in areas of dielectrics and electrical insulation across, for ex-ample, transportation, quantum dielectric sensors, biomedical innovations, and so on;
- understanding the balance of in-person attendance and online remote attendance at DEIS-sponsored conferences;
- expanding international diversity and inclusion into the broader operational contexts of DEIS AdCom representation and DEIS activities;
- providing new and appropriate on- line opportunities for young professionals and early-career engineers to engage in relevant DEIS activities;
- providing remote video “Meet the DEIS President” sessions for new DEIS members;
- providing DEIS members with more IEEE training and IEEE support;
- understanding better DEIS membership expectations and ambitions; and
- providing improved communications to DEIS members through updated material and regular updates on DEIS activities electronically and using the DEIS website.
Of course, none of the above will be possible without the ongoing support and engagement from the entire DEIS community. I can assure you that DEIS AdCom is always very grateful for the continued support of DEIS members. We would also hope to communicate through the IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine and also the DEIS website regular information related to relevant DEIS AdCom decisions that affect the Society, as well as the new opportunities and activities associated with the future life, aspirations, and activities of DEIS.
I look forward to sharing more with all the DEIS community in the months ahead.
Best regards,
Brian
Professor Brian G. Stewart
IEEE DEIS President 2022
University of Strathclyde Scotland, UK
From The Editor
Peter Morshuis
Editor-in-Chief
peter.morshuis@dielectrics.nl
To all of you, I wish that life will improve in this new year ahead of us. Whether we meet in person or online, let’s explore the opportunities that these challenging times offer us. There is always something bright shimmering somewhere.
You may be surprised, finding yet another “From the Editor” from my hand. When you are reading this, it is already January 2022, whereas for me, today is still November first of 2021. We always try to publish your accepted manuscripts as fast as possible, but from acceptance to publication, we need two months for copy editing, proofreading, printing, and mailing.
When I took over from Stanislaw Gubanski in September 2020, I thought this would be an ad interim job, just for a month or so until we found a new Editor-in-Chief. But, you never know how things will develop. The IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine that you received since September 2020 has been the result of a joint effort of all members of the Editorial Board. I want to mention them by name, because their efforts were essential for getting the Magazine on your doorstep: Ivanka Atanasova-Höhlein, Brian Stewart, Greg Stone, Simon Sutton, Antonios Tzimas, Alun Vaughan, and Feipeng Wang. I extend a big thank you to all of you; I feel that our team has become much more than a group of colleagues working together. It was a pleasure getting together every two weeks to discuss not just the contents of the next issue but also ways to make the Magazine more interesting to you, the reader.
Antonios Tzimas, the new Editor-in-Chief for 2022, will be in charge of the March/April 2022 issue. I wish Antonios and the Editorial Board a lot of pleasure, satisfaction, and success in the process of further improving our Magazine.
This issue of the Magazine starts with an article that discusses the strong growth of HVDC cable connections and the challenging task of testing them online. Then, there are two articles related to transformers and liquid dielectrics, one on the identification of arcing faults in transformers and one on the use of solubility coefficients for the measurement and evaluation of gas-in-oil analysis (DGA).
The first article in this issue, “Monitoring of Partial Discharges in HVDC Power Cables,” is authored by Erik Winkelmann, Iaroslav Shevchenko, Christoph Steiner, Uwe Kaltenborn, and Thomas Steiner of HIGHVOLT Prüftechnik, Germany; Christian Kleiner and Peter Birkholz, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; and Harald Schwarz, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany. The authors start with describing how the worldwide effort to move toward renewable energy sources had led to an acceleration in the use of HVDC cable systems. They show that for the specific case of Germany, long, on-land HVDC cable connections are required (and now built) to connect the areas where power is generated and the locations where most energy is consumed. The authors point out the significance of designing the proper tests to ensure that the installed cable system will operate reliably, with a special focus on the cable joints. The paper continues with a comparison of existing partial discharge monitoring techniques for AC and DC systems and highlights the main requirements for an online monitoring system. Then, the authors present their monitoring concept based on adaptive modeling of the cable segment to be monitored. The approach presented uses predictive techniques to filter partial discharge (PD) signals from the noise. By characterizing the transfer function characteristics of a cable length and by measuring PD signals from both ends, defects can be localized. The validity of the authors’ approach was shown using a test line consisting of three medium-voltage cables connected by two high-voltage joints and placing an artificial defect in one of the joints.
The second article, authored by Michel Duval, IREQ, Canada, and Jerzy Buchacz, ZPBE Energopomiar–Elektryka, Poland, is titled “Identification of Arcing Faults in Paper and Oil in Transformers—Part I: Using the Duval Pentagons.” In this article, the authors introduce a method to distinguish dangerous arcing faults in paper from arcing faults in oil, using the Duval Pentagon method. The authors show that the recommended method to determine whether arcing faults occur in paper or in oil may often not be applicable. Therefore, they used existing IEC and Cigre databases of inspected cases of transformer faults to see whether arc- ing faults produce gases in specific parts of fault zones D1 and D2 of the Duval Pentagons 1 or 2. Based on these data, the authors found that if gas is found in two specific subzones of the Duval pentagon, there is a high probability that the arcing fault is in the paper. Such arcing faults were never found outside these subzones. The authors tested their approach on the results of a DGA test on oil taken from a 270-MVA/220-kV transformer in Poland switched off by a protecting device. In this case, gases were found in the newly defined subzones, and internal inspection of the transformer confirmed the diagnosis showing severely degraded paper insulation. The authors conclude that their approach allows concentration of the maintenance efforts on transformers with arcing faults in paper, which are potentially very dangerous.
The third article is titled “Solubility Coefficients and Their Importance for the Analysis of Dissolved Gases in Insulating Liquids,” authored by Carolin Schütt and Ivanka Atanasova-Höhlein of Siemens-Energy, Nuremberg, Germany. The focus of this article is on a particular element of dissolved gas analysis that is associated most particularly with the headspace technique for conducting gas-in-oil analysis, namely the use of solubility coefficients. Cigre concluded that calibrating headspace vials with gas standards using solubility coefficients is not recommended due to the high scatter of results. For this reason, it was recommended that gas-in-oil standards should be the preferred method for calibration of headspace equipment. The authors mention that although such standards are commercially available for mineral gas- in-oil calibration, the availability of standards for other fluids is limited. Because the preparation of gas-in-oil standards would require significant investments, the authors propose a relative calibration procedure based on mineral oil calibration standards that can be used for any liquid. The method makes use of the equilibrium between the gas and liquid phase established in a headspace vial using gas mixtures with different concentrations.
News from Japan
Book Reviews
John J. Shea
Electromagnetic Pulse Simulations Using Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method
S. Ahmed
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030 http://www.wiley.com
ISBN 978-1-119-52617-9
351 pp., $139 (Hardcover), 2021
Electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) can occur naturally or from manmade sources. EMPs can temporarily disrupt sensitive electronics or even permanently destroy electronics. Of particular concern are critical systems such as the electric grid, emergency response systems, power plants and other critical service systems and resources. EMPs can permanently damage or temporarily disrupt electronic circuits due to their high electric and magnetic field waves and fast risetimes. EMPs can be generated naturally from lightning, from a nuclear weapon, or pulsed microwave and terahertz sources.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the generation and propagation of ultra-wideband electromagnetic pulses in free space and dielectric media and within waveguides, transmission lines, and antennae and methods for modeling such waves. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used by the author to study these pulsed electromagnetic fields. The book provides a wide number of computer code, data analysis techniques, and visualization tools using MATLAB and Octave software packages to help the reader develop programs to simulate their own designs. Models, using the FDTD method, illustrating a capacitor and closing switch, critical components used in EMP circuits, are described. There are also models for inside bounded wave simulator, similar to a TEM (transverse electro-magnetic mode) cell.
This book would interest electrical engineers and physicists who model EMPs or those interested in pulsed electromagnetic wave theory. Although mostly covering theory and simulation methods, the reader will find this book useful for creating pulsed electromagnetic field models. Graduate students studying pulsed electromagnetic wave theory will also find it useful.
Photovoltaics from Milliwatts to Gigawatts— Understanding Market and Technology Drivers Toward Terawatts
T. Bruton
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030 http://www.wiley.com
ISBN 978-1-119-13004-8
233 pp., $60 (Hardcover), 2021
Use of photovoltaic (PV; solar) cells has been increasing, especially over the last 10 years mainly due to reduced costs from increased manufacturing volumes. There are now many utility-scale arrays as well as residential arrays installed all over the world, producing significant amounts of energy from sunlight! These arrays all started from a novel, 1% efficient, silicon p/n junction patented by Russel Ohl in 1941 and commercialized by Pearson, Chapin, and Fuller in 1954. This small, inefficient, short-lifetime device has turned out to be a commercial large-scale renewable energy source that complements our existing energy base.
This book shows how solar cells transitioned from a high-cost, low-volume, niche market to the major new energy source we see today. Written by an ex-BP Solar executive, it follows the development of the solar cell from the funda-mental theory, cell processing methods, and scaling for manufacturing. Although mainly focused on silicon-based cells, the author explains why other materials such as thin-film silicon, cadmium telluride, III-V cells, and concentrators improved over time but could not compete with silicon PV cells.
After an entertaining look at the early history of the PV cell, the book continues with the history of technical advances and market conditions at the time that drove PV cell development along with the early PV global market and manufacturers. Then, more recent technology advances are described including the more recent evolution of the PV systems we see today and the development of the decentralized grid-connect market we have today. The current status of crystalline silicon manufacturing and future trends are discussed along with various lessons learned about the role of governments. The book also elaborates on the research community; manufacturing in the United States, Europe, and China; and future technology developments.
This is a great book for anyone wanting to learn about the history and technology advancements that created the PV market we see today. It is very well written and accessible for researchers, managers, and students interested in PV arrays and silicon PV development.
Advances in Supercapacitor and Supercapattery— Innovations in Energy Storage
N. Arshid, M. Khalid, and A. N. Grace, Editors
Elsevier
50 Hampshire Street, 5th floor Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
ISBN 978-0-12-819897-1
411 pp., $190 (Softcover), 2021
Supercapacitors are chemical double-layer devices that can have very high capacitance values, even in the 10s of Farads range with about 2.7 V of working voltage per cell. Recently, researchers have been improving the material properties of these devices to improve the power and energy density and reduce series resistance. These advancements have come from material advancements and combinations of supercapacitor and battery technologies to produce a super- capattery.
This book provides a great background for the reasons energy storage systems are currently being developed for power systems of the future that incorporate renewable sources with traditional sources including energy storage. You will find the first few chapters providing this very informative background about future energy storage and power grid considerations. The book then delves into the material aspects and technologies of supercapacitors and supercapatteries. Different types of materials are being explored for supercapacitors, all with the goal of increasing capacitance, voltage, energy and power densities, and lifetime. Some of the materials covered are conducting polymers, carbonaceous nanocomposites, metal oxides, and various electrode materials. Formulations are described for supercapatteries and applications. Future direction and challenges are also discussed.
Readers interested in this book would be researchers developing or using supercapacitor technology for energy storage applications or material scientists or chemists developing supercapacitor chemistries and electrodes. The excellent background alone makes this book worth acquiring, and the wealth of in-depth technical reviews of the most recent materials being developed for supercapacitors will quickly make the reader knowledgeable about the most recent technical advances in supercapacitor and supercapattery technology.
Diamond for Quantum Applications Part 2
C. E. Nebel, I. Aharonovich, N. Mizuochi and M. Hatano, Editors
Elsevier
50 Hampshire Street, 5th floor Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
ISBN 978-0-323-85024-7
271 pp., $245 (Hardcover), 2021
Diamond is a material that shows very promising properties for use in quantum computing, quantum communication networks, and quantum metrology devices. Diamond can be modified by embedding atomic centers into the material to produce the desired performance characteristics. However, these new materials will require new device architectures and control mechanisms to use these quantum effects and to integrate them into electronic or optoelectronic devices. Quantum metrology will result in new magnetometers, electric field sensors, pressure and temperature detectors with unprecedented sensitivities and nanometer special resolution.
This book summarizes some of the latest developments in diamond-related quantum phenomena. It covers the following specific applications using diamond as the base material: deterministic implantation, high-resolution TEM for defect detection, magnetometry using photoexcitation spectroscopy, quantum photonic circuits, nano-photonics and opto-mechanics and high-pressure anvil experiments.
This book would be appropriate for both newcomers and specialists interested in the topics listed above. The intention of the editors was to provide a broad and accessible book for the nonspecialized readers to introduce nonspecialists to this field and to generate a larger audience for this book, especially since it does not require intimate knowledge in quantum physics to fully appreciate its contents. This is a very interesting and well-written book, so anyone interested in this area would be able to quickly learn about some of the latest developments in the field of using diamond materials for quantum applications.
Dielectric Spectroscopy of Electronic Materials
Y. Poplavko
Elsevier
50 Hampshire Street, 5th floor Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
ISBN 978-0-12-823518-8
374 pp., $240 (Softcover), 2021
Dielectric spectroscopy pertains to the dielectric properties of a material as a function of frequency. For electronic materials and polymers, permittivity and polarization are two measures frequently studied to determine the losses of a given material at various frequencies.
This book provides the reader with current information regarding the mechanisms of polarization, electrical conductivity, and losses as a function of frequency. It provides an introduction to the fundamentals of dielectric spectroscopy by describing relatively simple and recognized results to introduce the topic of dielectric spectroscopy.
The basics of dielectric spectroscopy are presented, which includes reactions to applied electrical fields, complex permittivity and conductivity, dispersion, and relaxor and oscillator models. Next, broadband dielectric spectroscopy and polarization mechanisms are covered. Polarization mechanisms are described with a relaxation model. The remainder of the book contains dielectric spectroscopy results on microwave absorbing materials, ferroelectrics, and various select samples of solid dielectrics.
This text would be suitable for the engineer or material scientist interested in quickly learning about dielectric spectroscopy because it contains a clear and concise background on dielectric spectroscopy fundamentals and has many examples for the reader to quickly learn the essentials. There is a good balance between technical depth and the quality of the descriptions, backed up with clear examples.
Active Electrical Distribution Network—A Smart Approach
B. Khan, J. M. Guerrero, S. Padmanaban, H. H. Alhelou, O. P. Mahela, and S. Tanwar, Editors
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030 http://www.wiley.com
ISBN 978-1-119-59951-7
647 pp., €132 (Hardcover), 2021
Demand is increasing for photovoltaic and wind power and battery energy storage. This book provides details on the challenges of integrating these components into the electrical system. It de- scribes the most recent design for smart grids as well as active control for distributed generation architectures, electric vehicle technology, smart metering systems, smart monitoring devices, and various storage systems.
The topics covered include the following areas:
- An introduction to a conventional electrical grid in India and a smart grid distribution network, and the existing issues with a traditional power grid;
- Harmonic generation, created by the integration of renewable energy sources into an existing grid;
- Energy-management methods for active distribution networks;
- Optimal placement of phasor measurement units; and
- An analysis of integrating microgrids, electric vehicles, smart metering, and demand-side management in an active distribution network.
The methods described in this book can be applied to any active distribution network with renewable sources because they describe the technology for which standards have not even been developed. The approach taken by the authors is the integration of renewables into existing AC power grids over a period of time.
Researchers, technologists, scientists, and developers as well as utility and policy makers and regulators who are involved with the design and deployment of renewable energy resources into existing power grids would find this book to provide insightful information regarding the challenges and benefits that can be gained from renewable resources.
Two-Dimensional Materials for Electromagnetic Shielding
C. M. Koo, P. Sambyal, A. Iqbal, F. Shahzad, and J. Hong
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030 http://www.wiley.com
ISBN 978-3-527-34842-8
217 pp., €129 (Hardcover), 2021
When electromagnetic waves strike the surface of a material, they are either reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through the material. The extent of these factors depends on the material properties and electrical conductivity, permittivity, permeability, thickness, and frequency. Shielding properties can be adjusted by altering any one of these parameters. Two-dimensional (2D) materials are a single layer with one atom of thickness.
The 2D materials covered in this book are graphene and metal carbides/carbo-nitrides.
The book begins with an introduction to electromagnetic shielding and electro-magnetic interference (EMI) by reviewing sources of EMI, problems with data security, and regulations and standards for electromagnetic compatibility in various countries. The remainder of the book delves into the following topics: EMI shielding mechanisms including shielding effectiveness, effect of different parameters on shielding effectiveness, shield thickness, dielectric and magnetic losses, and various methods for measuring shield parameters. These methods describe various measurement methods and standards for measuring shielding parameters. Two materials, graphene and MXene (metal carbides and carbo-nitrides), are used as 2D materials to illustrate the application and effectiveness of these materials for shielding. Other 2D materials (molybdenum disulfide, tungsten disulfide, tantalum disulfide, boron nitride, copper sulfide, and black phosphorus) are also discussed.
This book would be suitable for material scientists and chemists developing shielding materials for modern device applications such as high-speed data communications including cell phones and 5G networks as well as RF engineers who use in-depth technical theory for measuring shielding parameters. There are a considerable number of mathematical equations presented for calculating shielding parameters and characterizing materials. These equations are very useful for performing shielding performance characterization, with much of the book focused on RF application areas and protecting and preserving the data integrity of RF signals.
