Mphumuzi Khoza (28), an Electrical Engineer at ACTOM High Voltage Equipment (HVE), participated in the CIGRE call for papers. In this call, several proposed preferential subjects are articulated for selection and research and then presented by authors.
The CIGRE Paris Session event was held in France from 24-30 August 2024. CIGRE conducts the premier global collaborative knowledge development and dissemination program biennially, incorporating considerable in-person gatherings alongside occasional remote cooperation, often involving the world’s foremost specialists.
This curriculum concludes biennially with the premier global forum for power system knowledge, the Paris Session.
Mphumuzi’s proposed research on optimising transformer insulation to better handle non-standard lightning impulses through the synopses was approved for further research and technical paper writing. It was then peer-reviewed by a pool of experts constituted by Study Committees and finally approved for presentation during poster sessions at the Paris session.
“Engaging in the call for papers program enhances knowledge and improves understanding of the related studies. My research was prompted by the global warming phenomenon, which appears to adversely affect electrical equipment due to vigorous lightning impulses that are induced on transformer insulation and lead to failures. The research sought the optimisation technique to produce resilient transformer insulation,” Mphumuzi commented.
Mphumuzi attended the week-long CIGRE Paris session and presented his research work to several international experts during poster sessions. He is employed at ACTOM HVE, where he designs instrument transformers. His optimisation method has yet to be practically experimented with for further research.
“Further practical work is required to identify implementation methods that can increase the transformer insulation to withstand non-standard lightning impulses. However, the optimisation was tested through simulation and was shown to be effective,” Mphumuzi added.
Sibusiso Duma, Engineering Manager at HVE, concluded: “As an employee of HVE, Mphumuzi works in the domain of CIGRE Study Committee A3, which looks after the technologies related to Transmission and Distribution Equipment. However, his research and paper demonstrate the synergies across the other domains of CIGRE and the electrical industry, as his paper was accepted and presented in Study Committee A2, which looks after the technologies related to Transformers and Reactors. It also shows Mphumuzi’s capability to “think outside the box”.