Percentage Impedance (Z%)

The impedance of a transformer is marked on most nameplates - but what is it and what does the Z%
figure mean?
Definition
The percentage impedance of a transformer is the volt drop on full load due to the winding resistance and
leakage reactance expressed as a percentage of the rated voltage.
It is also the percentage of the normal terminal voltage required to circulate full-load current under short
circuit conditions
Measuring Impedance
The impedance is measured by means of a short circuit test. With one winding shorted, a voltage at the
rated frequency is applied to the other winding sufficient to circulate full load current - see below:


The percentage impedance can then be calculated as follows:
Z% = Impedance Voltage x 100
Rated Voltage

Changing the Impedance Value
The most economical arrangement of core and windings leads to a 'natural' value of impedance
determined by the leakage flux. The leakage flux is a function of winding ampere turns and the area and
length of the leakage flux path. These can be varied at the design stage by changing the volts per turn
and the geometric relationship of the windings.
The Effect of Higher and Lower Impedances
The impedance of a transformer has a major effect on system fault levels. It determines the maximum
value of current that will flow under fault conditions.
It is easy to calculate the maximum current that a transformer can deliver under symmetrical fault
conditions. By way of example, consider a 2 MVA transformer with an impedance of 5%. The maximum
fault level available on the secondary side is:
2 MVA x 100/5 = 40 MVA
and from this figure the equivalent primary and secondary fault currents can be calculated.
A transformer with a lower impedance will lead to a higher fault level (and vice versa)
The figure calculated above is a maximum. In practice, the actual fault level will be reduced by the
source impedance, the impedance of cables and overhead lines between the transformer and the fault,
and the fault impedance itself.
As well as fault level considerations, the impedance value also:
determines the volt drop that occurs under load - known as 'regulation'
affects load sharing when two or more transformers operate in parallel
Sequence Impedance (Z
1
Z
2
Z
0
)
The calculation above deals with a balanced 3-phase fault. Non-symmetrical faults (phase-earth, phase-
phase etc) lead to more complex calculations requiring the application symmetrical component theory.
This in turn involves the use of positive, negative and zero sequence impedances (Z
1
,

Z
2
and
Z
0
respectively).
As with all passive plant, the positive and negative sequence impedances (Z
1
and

Z
2
) of a transformer are
identical.
However, the zero sequence impedance is dependent upon the path available for the flow of zero
sequence current and the balancing ampere turns available within the transformer. Generally, zero
sequence current requires a delta winding, or a star connection with the star point earthed. Any
impedance in the connection between the star point and earth increases the overall zero sequence
impedance. This has the effect of reducing the zero sequence current and is a feature that is frequently
put to practical use in a distribution network to control the magnitude of current that will flow under earth
fault conditions.




Open circuit test
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The open circuit test, or "no-load test", is one of the methods used in electrical engineering to determine
the no-load impedance in the excitation branch of a transformer.

Contents
[hide]
1 Method
2 Calculations
o 2.1 Impedance
o 2.2 Admittance
3 References
4 See also
[edit]Method
The secondary of the transformer is left open-circuited. A wattmeter is connected to the primary. Anammeter is
connected in series with the primary winding. A voltmeter is optional since the applied voltage is same as the
voltmeter reading. Rated voltage is applied at primary.
If the applied voltage is normal voltage then normal flux will be set up. As the Iron loss is a function of applied
voltage, normal iron loss will occur. Hence the iron loss is maximum at rated voltage. This maximum iron loss is
measured using the wattmeter. Since the impedance of the series winding of the transformer is very small
compared to that of the excitation branch, all of the input voltage is dropped across the excitation branch. Thus
the wattmeter measures only the iron loss. This test only measures the combined iron losses consisting of
the hysteresis loss and the eddy current loss. Although the hysteresis loss is less than the eddy current loss, it
is not negligible. The two losses can be separated by driving the transformer from a variable frequency source
since the hysteresis loss varies linearly with supply frequency and the eddy current loss varies with the square.
Since the secondary of the transformer is open, the primary draws only no-load current, which will have some
copper loss. This no-load current is very small and because the copper loss in the primary is proportional to the
square of this current, it is negligible. There is no copper loss in the secondary because there is no secondary
current.
Current, voltage and power are measured at the primary winding to ascertain the admittance and power factor
angle.
Another method of determining the series impedance of a real transformer is the short circuit test.
[edit]Calculations
The current is very small.
If is the wattmeter reading then,


The above equation can be rewritten as,

Thus,


[edit]Impedance
By using the above equations, and can be calculated as,



Thus,

or

[edit]Admittance
The admittance is the inverse of impedance. Therefore,

The conductance can be calculated as,

Hence the susceptance,

or


Here,
is the wattmeter reading
is the applied rated voltage
is the no-load current
is the magnetizing component of no-load current
is the core loss component of no-load current
is the exciting impedance
is the exciting admittance


Short circuit test
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The purpose of a short circuit test is to determine the series branch parameters of the equivalent circuit of
a Real transformer.

Contents
[hide]
1 Method
2 Procedure
3 Calculations
4 Analysis
5 See also
[edit]Method
The test is conducted on the high voltage (HV) side of the transformer where the low voltage (LV) side or the
secondary is short circuited. The supply voltage required to circulate rated current through thetransformer is
usually very small and is of the order of a few percent of the nominal voltage and this voltage is applied across
primary. The core losses are very small because applied voltage is only a few percentage of the nominal
voltage and hence can be neglected. Thus the wattmeter reading measures only the full load copper loss.
[edit]Procedure
For carrying short circuit test on power transformer:
Isolate the power transformer from service.
Remove HV/LV jumps and disconnect neutral from earth/ground.
Short LV phases and connect these short circuited terminals to neutral
Energise HV side by LV supply.
Measure current in neutral, LV line voltages, HV voltage and HV line currents.
[edit]Calculations
is the Full load copper loss
is the applied voltage
is the rated current
is the resistance as viewed from the primary
is the total impedance as viewed from the primary
is the reactance as viewed from the primary




[edit]Analysis
If neutral current is near to zero transformer windings are
operational.
If neutral current is higher or equal to line current between LV
phase one of the winding is open.


Blocked rotor test
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blocked rotor test is conducted on an induction motor. It is also known as short circuit test or locked rotor test
or stalled torque test.
[1]
From this test short circuit current at normal voltage,power factor on short circuit,
total leakage reactance, starting torque of the motor can be found.
[2][3]
The test is conducted at low voltage
because if the applied voltage was normal voltage then the current flowing through the stator windings were
high enough to over heat the winding and damage them.
[4]
The blocked rotor torque test is not performed on a
wound rotor motors because the starting torque can be varied as desired. However, blocked rotor current
test is conducted on wound rotor motors.
[5]

Contents
[hide]
1 Method
2 Calculations involved
o 2.1 Short circuit current at normal voltage
o 2.2 Short circuit power factor
o 2.3 Leakage reactance
3 See also
4 References
[edit]Method
In the blocked rotor test, the rotor is locked.
[6]
A low voltage is applied on the stator terminals so that full load
current flows in the stator winding. The current, voltage and power input are measured at this point. When the
rotor is stationary the slip, .
[7]
The test is conducted at the rated frequency as recommended by
IEEE. This is because the rotor's effective resistance at low frequency may differ at high frequency.
[8][9]
The test
can be repeated for different values of voltage to ensure the values obtained are consistent. As the current
flowing through the stator may exceed the rated current, the test should be conducted quickly.
[10]
By using the
parameters found by this test, the motor circle diagram can be constructed.
[11]

[edit]Calculations involved
[edit]Short circuit current at normal voltage
is the short circuit current at voltage
is the short circuit current at normal voltage

[edit]Short circuit power factor
is the total input power on short circuit
is the line voltage on short circuit
is the line current on short circuit
is the short circuit power factor
[12]

[edit]Leakage reactance
is the short circuit impedance as referred to stator
is the leakage reactance per phase as referred to stator

is the total copper loss
is the core loss




[edit]See also