Bushings today are omnipresent in high voltage (HV) substation transformers, CTs and switchgear. They account for a large proportion of HV substation failures and half of the incidents are catastrophic with severe and dangerous consequences. Preventive maintenance, early replacement and regular off-line testing have been employed to address this issue in the past. Now, technology exists that enables asset owners to detect impending failures and reduce their maintenance costs.
GE’s Intellix BMT 330 is an on-line system that continuously monitors not only the condition of the bushings (capacitance and power factor), but also the presence of partial discharge (PD) activity in the transformer main tank. It will alert personnel of fault conditions at an early stage and provide vital health information on the bushings and the transformer.
The Intellix BMT 330 can be utilized as a stand-alone device, or it can be used in conjunction with GE’s Kelman TRANSFIX™ family of dissolved gas analysis (DGA) multi-gas analyzers. The combination of the Intellix BMT 330 and the TRANSFIX offers customers an integrated, one-source solution that provides a more in-depth view of the transformer’s condition and monitors the root causes of most transformer failures.