Megger SMART THUMP ST16 User Manual
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Megger SMART THUMP ST16 User Manual

Portable fault locating system
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AVTMST16-EN
Rev 1
May 2016
User Manual
Portable Fault Locating System
SMART THUMP ST16
Read this entire manual before operating.
M
Valley Forge Corporate Center
2621 Van Buren Avenue
Norristown, PA 19403-2329
U.S.A.
610-676-8500
www.megger.com

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  • Page 1 AVTMST16-EN Rev 1 May 2016 User Manual Portable Fault Locating System SMART THUMP ST16 Read this entire manual before operating. Valley Forge Corporate Center 2621 Van Buren Avenue Norristown, PA 19403-2329 U.S.A. 610-676-8500 www.megger.com...
  • Page 3 Portable Fault Locating System SMART THUMP ST16 User Manual...
  • Page 4 Copyright© 2016 by Megger. All rights reserved. No part of this handbook may be copied by photographic or other means unless Megger have before- hand declared their consent in writing. The content of this handbook is subject to change without notice.
  • Page 5 F:+61 (0)2 9397 5911 F: 416 298 0848 Germany India Kingdom of Bahrain SebaKMT Megger (India) Pvt Limited P.O. Box 15777 Dr. Herbert Iann Str. 6 501 Crystal Paradise Mall Office 81, Building 298 96148 Baunach / Germany Off. Veera Desai Road...

  • Page 7: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents 1 SAFETY ................................1   Precautions ................................1   Warning and Caution Notices ..........................1   Working with the Product ........................... 2   Operating Personnel ............................2   Repair and Maintenance ............................2   General Cautions and Warnings ........................2  ...
  • Page 8 5 HOW TO PERFORM A TEST ........................21   Detecting and Locating a Cable Fault in a Shielded Medium Voltage Power Cable ....... 21   Locating a Faulty Cable Section (Sectionalizing) ..................21   Locating a Cable Fault (shielded MV power cable) ..................25  ...
  • Page 9 VFCustomerSupport@Megger.com. 2. Examine the equipment for damage received in transit. If damage is discovered, file a claim with the carrier at once and notify Megger, giving a detailed description of the damage. 3. Prior to operation, check for loosened hardware or damage incurred during transit.
  • Page 10 AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...

  • Page 11: Safety

    SAFETY Precautions This manual contains basic instructions on commissioning and operating the SMART THUMP system. For this reason, it is important to ensure that the manual is available at all times to authorised and trained personnel. Any personnel who will be using the devices should read the manual thoroughly. The manufacturer will not be held liable for any injury or damage to personnel or property through failure to observe the safety precautions contained in this handbook.

  • Page 12: Working With The Product

    Repair and Maintenance Repairs and service must only be done by Megger or authorized service departments of Megger. Megger recommends having the equipment serviced and checked once per year at a Megger service location.

  • Page 13: What To Do If Equipment Malfunctions

    SAFETY instruments should only be operated under tempered conditions. It is not allowed to operate Megger products in direct contact with humidity, water or near aggressive chemicals nor explosive gases and fumes. What to Do if Equipment Malfunctions The equipment may only be used when working properly. If irregularities or...
  • Page 14 WARNING - Dangers when working with HV Special attention and safety awareness is needed when operating HV equipment and especially non-stationary equipment. The regulations VDE 0104 about setting up and operation of electric test equipment, i.e. the corresponding EN 50191 as well as country-specific regulations and standards must be observed.

  • Page 15: Technical Description

    TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION System Description Functional Description The SMART THUMP is a compact, battery or AC operated fault location system typically to be used for fault locating of solid dielectric low voltage and medium voltage cables. It is ideally suited for use in URD systems and also feeder cables. The main advantages of the SMART-THUMP are its solid HV performance, simple operation, automated fault locating process, operation in rainy conditions, weight and economics.

  • Page 16: Features

    Features The SMART THUMP system combines the following features and functions as a single device:  Quick Steps and Expert Mode (full feature mode), Automatic detection and localization of transformers  Automatic fault prelocation and localization with regard to the 2 closest transformers (optional Sectionalizing software) ...

  • Page 17: Available Accessories

    TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION Available Accessories The following accessories can be ordered from Megger, if required: Accessories Description Item number Elbow adaptor with 14 mm Used to connect HV output 865000100100000 (15 kV) female MC connector cable 865000200100000 (25 kV) (NAFTA market)
  • Page 18 Storage temperature 25 °C to +70 °C Dimensions (W x H x D) 690 x 1165 x 600 mm Weight 145 kg, hand truck mounted incl. battery/ inverter and 50ft (17m) each of HV and Safety Ground cable Protection class (in accordance with IEC 61140) IP53 Protection rating...

  • Page 19: Control Elements, Indicators And Connectors

    TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION Control Elements, Indicators and Connectors The SMART THUMP has the following control elements, indictors and connectors: AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...
  • Page 20 Element Description Display Emergency stop button HV “interlock” key switch “HV ON” button “HV OFF” button Rotary control knob “ON / OFF” button USB port Charging status LED (yellow: charging | green: charging completed) AC power connector Safety ground connection Jack for connecting external safety device (See page 7 'Available Accessories').

  • Page 21: Power Supply

    TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION Power Supply Battery Operation Introduction The SMART THUMP can be equipped with an internal battery. In this case there is no requirement for an AC line supply to operate the unit in the field. For a good trade-off between weight and operation time, the battery is sized for up to more than 400 capacitor discharges at 90% of full voltage which equals approximately 1 hour of thumping (pinpointing).

  • Page 22: Ac Line Operation

    Backup Battery If the internal battery is becoming drained while fault locating, any 12 V battery providing more than 50 A (e.g. a car battery) can be connected to the 12 V terminals in order to extend the operation time or the unit must be connected to an AC source (see below AC Line Operation).

  • Page 23: Setting Up The System

    SETTING UP THE SYSTEM WARNING - Safety instructions for setting up  The guidelines to maintain occupational safety when operating a non-stationary test system often differ between network operators and it is not uncommon to use National regulations (like, i.e. the German BGI 5191) to be used as well.

  • Page 24: Connection Diagram

    Connection Diagram The following figure shows the simplified connection diagram. 110 V … 230 V ±15%, 50 / 60 Hz Connection Sequence Connect the unit in the following order: Step Description Connect the safety ground lead to a reliable ground (e.g. station-ground, transformer ground rod.

  • Page 25: Operating Instructions

    OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS Power on the System Once the “ON / OFF” button is pressed, the system starts up. After start- up, the system is in the 'Ready for operation' state and the main menu is displayed: SMART-THUMP 16-1500 Test In this state, the high voltage source is still switched off and the high voltage output is grounded via a discharge resistor.

  • Page 26: High Voltage Control

    The currently selected menu item is identified by a red circle. not selected selected With the aid of the rotary knob, the individual menus can be accessed and values can be entered. If a selected menu item requires a value to be adjusted, the following dialog is displayed: The value for the parameter can then be adapted by turning the rotary knob and clicking it again to confirm.

  • Page 27: Conditions Of The Safety Circuit

    Operating Instructions supply off and discharges and grounds the HV output. A message will be must be acknowledged displayed on the LCD display which before HV operation can be re-activated again. Conditions of the Safety Circuit The following conditions must be met in order to perform tests under high voltage: ...

  • Page 28: System Settings (Only Accessible In Expert Mode)

    System Settings (only accessible in Expert Mode) In order to change the system settings, EXPERT settings from the main menu must be accessed. These settings are only available, if the system is operated in Expert Mode. If this is not the case, the rotary knob must pushed down and held down shortly on any of the main menu icons until the system displays the prompt for the password, which is required to activate the Expert Mode.
  • Page 29 Operating Instructions Menu item Description >> Automatic HV The way a HV test is started, automatic or manual. release Automatic means that after initializing HV by pushing the HV ON button, HV will build up in the test mode or will charge the capacitor and fire as soon as voltage has been reached (typically preferred in North America).
  • Page 30 Menu item Description Import from Imports a cable list from an inserted USB drive. The cable list must be located in the CableLists folder. Export to Exports the selected cable list to the CableLists folder on the USB drive. Remove Removes the selected cable list from internal memory.

  • Page 31: How To Perform A Test

    HOW TO PERFORM A TEST Detecting and Locating a Cable Fault in a Shielded Medium Voltage Power Cable Locating a Faulty Cable Section (Sectionalizing) Introduction The sectionalizing technique is used to trouble shoot a distribution loop circuit in order to identify the faulted section, so it can be quickly switched out, and the rest of the circuit can be re-energized to provide service to all customers.
  • Page 32 The procedure called "COMED" in the configuration set up will perform the following steps: Pattern 2  low voltage trace to identify cable end (blue trace)  high voltage trace to identify fault (negative reflection in red trace)  low voltage trace to identify all transformers leading up to the fault plus one additional transformer past the fault (blue trace) if there is a transformer past the fault How to Determine the Faulty Section...
  • Page 33 How to Perform a Test Step Description Select to start the fault location. Adjust the surge voltage and select to confirm the value (not required in automatic mode). Press the green illuminated “HV ON” button Select to charge the surge capacitor (only if measurement start option is set to manual.
  • Page 34 How to Verify Whether it is Actually a Bad Section The HIPOT test within the context of Sectionalizing is done to confirm, that the section of cable identified as bad during the Sectionalizing procedure can be verified to be actually bad. Proceed as follows to perform a HIPOT test after the identified cable section has been isolated at the 2 closest transformers: Step Description...

  • Page 35: Locating A Cable Fault (Shielded Mv Power Cable)

    How to Perform a Test Locating a Cable Fault (shielded MV power cable) How to Test the Dielectric Strength of the Cable A HIPOT/breakdown test is used to test the dielectric strength of a cable and, if the test fails, to determine the breakdown voltage. For this purpose, a test voltage of up to 16 kV is applied to the cable under test.

  • Page 36: How To Pre-Locate The Fault

    How to Pre-Locate the Fault Arc Reflection Method (ARM) For pre-location of high resistance fault the SMART THUMP applies the widely approved and well-known ARM (Arc Reflection Method). Locating the fault becomes possible by comparing a reflection image taken with a LV pulse (reference trace) to a reflection image taken while the arc, ignited by sudden discharge of the charged capacitor, was present g at the fault location (fault trace).
  • Page 37 How to Perform a Test Step Description In case the software cannot determine the end of the cable, a message will be displayed stating “CABLE END NOT CLEARLY VISIBLE” and offering to proceed by “IGNORE” this fact. Do NOT acknowledge the IGNORE message, but turn to the icon asking to perform a manual adjustment of the End Marker by activating the END MARKER icon in the feature menu.
  • Page 38 Step Description Select to discharge the capacitor (only if Measurement Start option is set to Manual. See page 18. Result: A capacitor discharge (shot) is initiated. If a breakdown / flashover takes place, the red fault trace typically has a strong negative reflection.
  • Page 39 How to Perform a Test Current Decoupling (ICE) As an alternative way for pre-location of high resistance faults, the SMART THUMP provides the current decoupling method (ICE, Surge Pulse). The capacitive discharge of the surge capacitor via the surge switch triggers and ignites the fault and causes it to a flash over.
  • Page 40 Step Description If necessary, adjust the display settings, TDR settings and marker position through the menu in order to identify the fault distance as precisely as possible. See page 38. Go into the simple options menu in order to measure out the distance. Use the cursor to select one peak first.

  • Page 41: How To Pinpoint The Fault (Shielded Mv Power Cable)

    If required, you can adjust the surge voltage by selecting the menu item. Pinpoint the fault within the pre-located area with a surge wave receiver like the Megger Digiphone Plus. For detailed instructions, please refer to the user manual of the surge wave receiver.

  • Page 42: Detecting A Sheath Fault Or A Ground Fault In An Unshielded, Low Voltage Cable (Both Must Be Directly Buried)

    Detecting a Sheath Fault OR a Ground Fault in an Unshielded, Low Voltage Cable (both must be directly buried) NOTE: The methods described to detect and pinpoint sheath faults in shielded cables or ground faults in unshielded cables assumes that in both situations the cables are direct buried;...
  • Page 43 How to Perform a Test Step Description Adjust the test voltage and select to confirm the value. Press the green illuminated “HV ON” button Select to start the test (only if Measurement Start option is set to Manual. See “System Settings on page 17). Result: The selected voltage is applied to the cable shield.

  • Page 44: How To Pinpoint A Sheath Fault Or A Ground Fault In An Unshielded Low Voltage Cable (Both Must Be Directly Buried)

    HV pulse generator (limited to a voltage of 5 kV, see below) An additional receiver is required to read the strength and polarity of the earth gradient voltage (e.g. Megger ESG-NT) in order to pinpoint the sheath fault. When approaching the fault position, the step voltage increases quickly and decreases to a zero reading directly over the fault and then will swing to a strong voltage of the opposite polarity.
  • Page 45 If required, you can adjust the pulse voltage by selecting the menu item. Pinpoint the sheath fault with an earth fault locator like the Megger ESG-NT. For detailed instructions, please refer to the user manual of the earth fault locator.
  • Page 46 AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...

  • Page 47: Customize Tdr Features (Applicable To Tdr And Arm Mode)

    CUSTOMIZE TDR FEATURES (applicable to TDR and ARM Mode) Introduction As soon as a trace has been recorded and is shown on the display, the operator can access the TDR Features in order to adjust the display and TDR settings in order to optimize the trace.

  • Page 48: Customized Tdr Features

    Customized TDR Features The following table lists and describes all TDR features included in the system: Menu item Description Adjusts the gain setting. By doing so, the amplification of the received signal and, thus, the amplitude of the Y-axis can be adjusted. Adjust Gain With an adjustment of the gain setting, the fault trace, if present, is erased and a new “live”...
  • Page 49 How to Perform a Test Menu item Description Makes an exact copy (blue trace) of the “live” trace. Put Trace on Hold NOTE: This function is very helpful when making a phase comparison on a 3 phase circuit. It is also very helpful when just using the TDR function on low voltage cables with 2 or 3 phases and by comparing them.
  • Page 50 Menu item Description Recall Displays the selected trace on the screen. The screen view can then be adjusted using any function which does not require the trace to be updated. By selecting , the loaded trace is closed and the last recorded trace is displayed again.

  • Page 51: Completing The Operation

    How to Perform a Test Completing the Operation After the fault location procedure has been finished switch off the system by pressing the “ON / OFF” button The test object is to be grounded and shorted. Afterwards, the unit can be disconnected from the test object in accordance with the safety instructions below: WARNING...
  • Page 52 AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...

  • Page 53: Advanced System Settings

    ADVANCED SYSTEM SETTINGS How to Edit the Cable List Introduction Cable lists are XML files which are stored in the internal memory and can be imported and exported (see page 19). By default, one cable list with a selection of prevalent cable types is pre-installed on the unit.

  • Page 54: How To Edit The Cable List

    The <cable> element consists of the following mandatory and optional child elements: Cable type (mandatory / unique) <attr name="TYPE"> <attr name="MILS"> Area of the cable type (e.g. in kcmil or mm ) (optional) <attr name="KV"> Rated voltage of the cable (optional) Diameter of the cable type (e.g.

  • Page 55: How To Setup Customer-Specific Tdr Features

    Advanced System Settings How to Setup Customer-Specific TDR Features Thanks to the high level of configurability of the SMART THUMP, the TDR features for both, "EXPERT MODE" and "QUICK STEPS MODE", (see page 17) are customer configurable. In order to create your own customer-specific settings, proceed as follows: Step Action Enable the EXPERT MODE.
  • Page 56 AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...

  • Page 57: How To Use Easyprot Software To Plot Dc Hipot/Sheath Test Data

    Advanced System Settings How to Use EasyPROT Software to Plot DC HIPOT/Sheath Test Data The SMART-THUMP allows recording and graphing of DC test data, either DC HIPOT test data or Sheath test data. Before switching the ST16 on, insert USB drive into front panel.
  • Page 58 AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...

  • Page 59: Care And Maintenance

    CARE and MAINTENANCE Maintenance For installation and operation of the instrument it is not necessary to open the housing of the instrument. Opening the housing will void the warranty and liability of the manufacturer. Connections and connectors must be tested according to all applying standards (international, national and company own).
  • Page 60 AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...

  • Page 61: Appendix 1 - Overview Of Tdr Features

    Appendix 1 Overview of TDR Features See next page for complete chart. AVTMST16 Rev 1 May 2016...
  • Page 62 Option Recommended settings Your settings (mark with x) QUICK STEPS mode EXPERT MODE Disa. Simp. Ext. Disa. Simp. Ext. Cable Velocity (option to adjust the QUICK STEPS: simple cable velocity) Expert: simple Xfmr sensitifity (option to adjust the QUICK STEPS: disabled transformer sensitivity) Expert: simple...

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