Ozone Smell in a Substation

[papiLG]

what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
asking for a friend.

[SecondGen]

what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
asking for a friend.

Tell your friend they might have some arcing/PD going on. What kind of substation (indoor/hv/lv/etc) and equipment?

[gasman]

what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
asking for a friend.

I have definitely smelled that distinctive odor in distribution substations during and after thunder/ice storms when air circuit breakers have had repeated trips and recloses. It was a long time ago before vacuum breakers became the norm. If you are smelling it in a station constantly I would suspect a continuous low level arcing such as a loose PT drawer or breaker disconnect connection.

[michaellabeit]

what would cause an ozone smell in a substation? overheated CPT? Overheated EPR, Partial Discharge? Breaker?
asking for a friend.

Definitely partial discharge.

Definitely.

One of the NETA approved tests for partial discharge IS an ozone presence test. If I'm not mistaken, ozone is a byproduct when partial discharges break down organic insulators like EPR and XLPE.

[Kalbi_Rob]

Definitely partial discharge.

Definitely.

One of the NETA approved tests for partial discharge IS an ozone presence test. If I'm not mistaken, ozone is a byproduct when partial diacharges break down organic insulators like EPR and XLPE.

Not a scientific article, but just a quick search:

"However, when entering a substation, you should always use your own senses. Look for signs of stress, smell for ozone, listen for audible crackling from within switchgear. Any of these indicators can be a sign of severe PD and an unsafe environment."

- https://eatechnology.com/australia/news-blogs/news/2019/what-is-partial-discharge-a-guide-to-understanding-and-managing-pd/

[Billhig]

Partial Discharge and arcing across loose connections both cause the air to be ionized. It forms ozone from the oxygen and nitrous oxide from the nitrogen. You can test for partial discharge online, in service, without opening panels. Check out our website www.eatechnology.com for lots of info on causes and effects.