Basic Electrical Engineering Term Work

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EXPERIMENT NO. 6

TITLE: Measurement of Insulation Resistance.

AIM: To measure the insulation resistance of electrical equipment/cable using Megger

APPARATUS:

Apparatus Specification
Cable Semi-rigid coaxial cable has a solid outer conductor
and is manufactured by drawing seamless tubing over
the insulating material and center conductor.
Megger or A mega ohmmeter is an electric meter that measures
Mega-ohm meter very high resistance values by sending a high voltage
signal into the object being tested.

THEORY: -
D. Y. Patil College Of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune-44
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Every electric wire in your plant – whether it’ s in a motor, generator, cable, switch,
transformer, etc. – is carefully covered with some form of electrical insulation. The wire
itself is usually copper or aluminum, which is known to be a good conductor of the
electric current that powers your equipment. The insulation must be just the opposite
from a conductor: it should resist current and keep the current in its path along the
conductor.
To understand insulation testing you really don’ t need to go into the mathematics of
electricity, but one simple equation – Ohm’ s law – can be very helpful in appreciating
many aspects. Even if you’ ve been exposed to this law before, it may be a good idea to
review it in the light of insulation testing. Essentially, “ good insulation” means relatively
high resistance to current. Used to describe an insulation material, “ good” would also
mean “ the ability to keep a high resistance.” So, a suitable way of measuring resistance
can tell you how “ good” the insulation is. Also, if you take measurements at regular
periods, you can check trends toward its deterioration
When your plant electrical system and equipment are new, the electrical insulation
should be in top-notch shape. Furthermore, manufacturers of wire, cable, motors, and
soon have continually improved their insulations for services in the industry.
Nevertheless, even today, insulation is subject to many effects which can cause it to fail –

D. Y. Patil College Of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune-44

Basic Electrical Engineering Term Work
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mechanical damage, vibration, excessive heat or cold, dirt, oil, corrosive vapors, moisture
from processes, or just the humidity on a muggy day.

(A) Insulation Resistance of a Cable:

Insulation resistance is defined as the resistance offered by an insulating material to

the flow of leakage current.
Fig 1 shows the section of a single core cable which is insulated with the help of the
layer of insulating material.

D. Y. Patil College Of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune-44

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In such cables, the leakage current flows radially from the centre towards the surface
as shown in the Fig. 1(a). Hence the cross-section of the path of such current is not
constant but changes with its length. The resistance offered by cable to the path of the
leakage current is called an insulation resistance consider an elementary section of the
cylindrical cable of radius r and the thickness dr as shown in the Fig. 1(b). Let us find the
resistance of this elementary ring.
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Figure 1: Single Core Cable

Let d = Diameter of core and r1 = d/2 = Radius of core
D = Diameter with sheath and r2 = D/2 = Radius of cable with sheath
= Resistivity of insulation material in
As the leakage current flows radially outwards, the length along which the current
flows in an elementary ring is meter. While the cross-sectional area perpendicular to
the flow of current depends on the length of meter of the cable.
Cross-section area = Surface area for length of cable =
Length of leakage current path in the cable = .
Hence insulation resistance for the elementary ring is meter is

The total insulation resistance of the cable can be obtained by integrating the
resistance of an elementary ring from inner radius up to the outer radius i.e. to
meters.

Hence insulation resistance is given by

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(B) Factors affecting insulation resistance of a cable:

Following factors affect the insulation resistance

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(1) It is inversely proportional to the length of cable

(2) It is directly proportional to the cross section area that is the thickness
of insulating material
(3) It depends on the type of insulating material
(4) It decreases with increase in temperature
(5) It decreases with increase in moisture content.

(C) Measurement of Insulation Resistance:

You have seen that good insulation has high resistance, and poor insulation has
relatively low resistance. The actual resistance values can be higher or lower, depending
on factors such as temperature or moisture content of the insulation (resistance decreases
in temperature or moisture). With a little record-keeping and common sense, however,
you can get a good picture of the insulation condition from values that are only relative.
The Megger insulation tester is a small, portable instrument that gives you a direct
reading of insulation resistance in ohms or megaohms. For good insulation, the resistance
usually reads in the megaohm range. The Megger insulation tester is essentially a high-
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range resistance meter (ohmmeter) with a built-in direct-current generator. This meter is
of special construction with current and voltage coils, enabling true ohms to be read
directly, independent of the actual voltage applied. This method is non destructive; that
is, it does not cause deterioration of the insulation.

PROCEDURE:
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Safety Precaution: For testing of the insulation, it is necessary to ensure that there is no
leakage current through the insulation used i.e. keep the main switch in off state and load
in off position where cable under test is connected.
Measurement of Insulation Resistance between Earth and Conductor:
1) Keep all fuse-links, switches, and lamps in position.
2) The main supply should be off.
3) Connect the one main leads of Megger either to phase or neutral conductor and
other to the earth continuity conductor of the system
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4) Rotate the hand-driven Megger with constant speed to ensure required rated
voltage injection and note down the readings of insulation resistance.

Measurement of Insulation Resistance between Conductors:

1) Keep all fuse-links, switches, and lamps in position.
2) The main supply should be off.
3) Connect the one main leads of Megger either to any conductor of a cable and
other to another phase of the cable

Rotate the hand-driven Megger with constant speed to ensure required rated voltage
injection and note down the readings of insulation resistance.

OBSERVATION AND RESULT TABLE:

Measurement of Insulation Resistance between Earth and Conductor

Value of
Sr.
Connection Insulation Remarks
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No. Resistance
1 R-E ∞ Good insulation
2 Y-E ∞ Good insulation
3 B-E ∞ Good insulation
4 N-E ∞ Good insulation
Measurement of Insulation Resistance between Conductors
Value of
Sr.
Connection Insulation Remarks
No.
Resistance
1 R-Y ∞ Good insulation
2 Y-B ∞ Good insulation
3 B-R ∞ Good insulation
4 R-N ∞ Good insulation
5 Y-N ∞ Good insulation
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6 B-N ∞ Good insulation

CONCLUSION: a Multi meter measures the electrical resistance of a conductor

(coil), while a Megger measures the insulation resistance of an isolated group
(two coils relative to mass), something that a multi meter is unable to do.
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LAB ASSIGNMENT

1. Tick mark in the appropriate block

Parameter of Cable The resistance of insulating

material of a cable
Increase Decrease
Increase in length correct
Increase in thickness of correct
insulation
Increase in temperature correct
Increase in moisture in cable correct
.

2. Discuss the effect of temperature on resistance of insulation material with a graph.

Basic Electrical Engineering Term Work
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Div:-G, Roll No:- FE20Civ016

Basic Electrical Engineering Term Work
Division & Roll no: Date:

Div:-G, Roll No:- FE20Civ016

Basic Electrical Engineering Term Work
Division & Roll no: Date:

Div:-G, Roll No:- FE20Civ016