GIS Condition Assessments with

Thermography

High Voltage GIS Substation

Audits for Transmission and

Distribution equipment
Siemens has a strong heritage of
expertise across Transmission and
Distribution equipment. Our audit tools
have been specifically developed for the
performance of objective, transparent
and comparable condition assessments.
Siemens assessments provide the basis
for a targeted maintenance strategy of
critical substation assets like high
voltage gas insulated switchgear (GIS),
high voltage circuit breakers, power
transformers and medium voltage
switchgear.
The results of these assessments are
properly documented with multilingual
audit reports.
Each report includes a graphical
representation of the condition,
comprehensive audit information, a
statement about the environmental
impact as well as recommendations for
condition based maintenance.

Thermography image

GIS Thermography Condition Assessment

Increasing number of customers scans their GIS
installations by thermal imaging and finds contact
failures. In accordance with CIGRE-Statistic,
approximately 10% of all Major Failures is based
on bad contact connection. This percentage is
expected to increase in near future!
As an extension of our visual GIS Audits, we
provide advanced thermography analysis. This
themography analysis consists of detection of bad
contact connection based on imaging and expert
advice. And results in:

Increased quality assurance.

Avoidance of break-downs due to assembling
mistakes.
Increasing Relevance of Thermography
Generally gas insulated switchgear have an
extraordinary high reliability, with hardly any
potential to improve. This has been proven in
various statistics such as CIGRE again and again.
Fault distributions within these statistics point out
that a part is caused by individual components of
the GIS. Approximately 10% of the major faults can
therefore be found at the interrupter units and
contact connections (acc. to CIGRE). This
percentage is considered absolutely very low.
However, this depends with a great probability, that
most of the GIS are operated with a relatively low
operating current till now.

Transmission and Distribution Services

Asset Services

It is expected for the future that the load on

GISs substations will increase. Siemens GIS
Thermography audit tools offer thermal
imaging providing information about existing
contact weaknesses with potential for major
failures. This can all be done without deenergizing or opening the GIS.
The surface temperature of the corresponding
components of a GIS will be scanned
thermographically. Our software program with
expert knowledge will advise on the
temperature distribution on the corresponding
GIS compartment. This distribution takes into
account important parameters like present
operating current, ambient temperature, etc.
With this information it is possible to conclude
to the condition of the inner contact.

Simulation of temperature distribution in the housing of a GIS

Benefits
Siemens Energy GIS audits with
themography have been designed for
customers, who want to increase the
operating current excessively in a part of the
GIS and want to be sure, that the contact
temperature is an admissible range.
Primarily customers, who had a major fault
caused by a bad contact, already use
thermography.

Temperature distribution in a 145 kV GIS assembly with 3000 Amps

GIS encapsulation after fault

Published by and copyright 2009:

Siemens AG
Energy Sector
Freyeslebenstrasse 1
91058 Erlangen, Germany

GIS conductor after fault

Siemens AG
Energy Sector
Power Distribution Division
Transmission and Distribution Services
Humboldstrasse 59
90459 Nuremberg, Germany
www.siemens.com/energy/services

For more information, please contact

our Customer Support Center.
Phone: +49 180 524 70 00
Fax:
+49 180 524 24 71
(Charges depending on provider)
E-mail: support.energy@siemens.com
Power Distribution Division
Order No.
SE_AS_1003e_P2311_GIS_Thermography
_Audits
Printed in Germany
Printed on elementary chlorine-free
bleached paper.

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Trademarks mentioned in this document
are the property of Siemens AG, its affiliates,
or their respective owners.
Subject to change without prior notice.
The information in this document contains general
descriptions of the technical options available,
which may not apply in all cases.
The required technical options should therefore
be specified in the contract.