Transformers' Online Condition Monitoring Design for Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI)

Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI) is assessing the conversion from Time-Based maintenance to Condition-BasedMaintenance (CBM) for its major assets like transformers, breakers and re-closers. This research proposal dealswith the design of the condition monitoring system of NSPI's transformers and required CBM policies tosupport this conversion.At NSPI, the assets maintenance plan is made up of "A" (1 month intervals), "B" (1 year intervals), and "C"maintenances (different time intervals based on the asset class). The fixed interval in a Time-basedmaintenance is determined using the historical behavior of the asset or similar ones, and does not take intoaccount the health condition of the asset. CBM is a maintenance program where the health condition of anasset determines when the maintenance should be performed and is not performed at a fixed interval. To collectinformation on asset's condition, condition-monitoring (CM) devices are used to measure suitable indicators ofits health condition. This information is then used to build optimal maintenance policies that optimize overallcost, reliability or availability of the assets. NSPI has allocated funding in their annual capital expenditure planto complete a study at the a substation in Halifax to test different online monitoring devices for thetransformers. The objective of the proposed research project is to identify the optimum set of online conditionmonitoring devices that would lead to an overall optimal CBM for the transformers and design the CBMpolicies based on this optimal set.This research project is anticipated to start on April 1st, 2014, and be finalized in six months. We anticipate thefollowing steps to finalize the project; (a): Literature review and review of current policies (one month), (b):Collect and analysis of data from installed CM devices, design and test the optimal CM indicator set (twomonths), (c): Design and test the CBM model based (two month), (d): Test, implement and transfer oftechnology (one month).