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Level I MT-PT Training course scheduled for October 2010 in State College, PA.
Level II UT Training course scheduled for September 2010 in State College, PA.
Level I UT Training course scheduled for August 2010 in State College, PA.
Level III Acoustic Emission Training course completed (July 30) in State College, PA.
Level III UT Training course completed (July 23) in State College, PA.
Level II Acoustic Emission Testing course completed (July 16) in State College, PA
UT weld inspection course completed (July 8) in State College, PA
Level II Ultrasonic Testing course completed (July 2) in State College, PA
Level III UT Training course completed in State College, PA, June 2010
WINS personnel delivered invited speech on H-Pile inspection technology at "Life cycle performance of bridges and structures" conference at Changsha, China in June 2010
View a presentation on the Principles and applications of long range ultrasound, from ASNT Greater Phila chapter meeting, April 2010
Level III UT Training course completed in State College, PA, March 2010
WINS presents talk on ultrasonic guided wave potential towards helicopter maintenance to Indian Air force, February 2010
WINS funded by Transportation Research Board to develop Bridge Cable Inspection Technology, February 2010
Watch video of Wireless Acoustic Emission Sensor Network for Bridge Structural Health Monitoring
Transformer Inspection using Acoustic Emission
Acoustic emission (AE) is a nondestructive testing technology that may be used to detect and locate partial discharges (PD) in oil-immersed power transformers and reactors. The technology may be applied to factory and field transformers. AE testing is commonly used after PD has been detected by another diagnostic procedure such as dissolved gas analysis or electrical measurement.
AE testing may be used to detect and locate PD from:
- The outside of the winding
- Between the core and the tank,
- Arcing/tracking of the oil surface
- Arcing/tracking of the bushing surface in the oil
- The de-energized tap changer
- The on-load tap changer.
PD detection from within the winding, and in between the winding and core, is difficult due to acoustic emission attenuation.
WINS uses the guidelines set forth in IEEE Standard C57.127-2007 "Guide for the Detection and Location of Acoustic Emissions from Partial Discharges in Oil-Immersed Power Transformers and Reactors for all inspections".
Partial discharges in oil-immersed transformers emit acoustic energy that may be detected using sensors mounted on the tanks outside wall. Acoustic emission from partial discharges are analyzed according to their intensity or amplitude, rise time and counts. Intense partial discharges from the outside of the winding, for instance, emit high amplitude PDs. PDs from within the winding are generally low amplitude and difficult to detect.
Other parameters including load current, pump current, temperature, and load tap changer motor current may be acquired and correlated with AE data to identify the operating conditions that cause PD.
Other parameters including load current, pump current, temperature, and load tap changer motor current may be acquired and correlated with AE data to identify the operating conditions that cause PD.