The Basics of Zigzag Transformers

Jul 1, 2000 12:00 PM, By C. Sankaran, P.E.

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These transformers have special windings, appropriate for special applications.
You can interconnect transformer windings in several ways to produce various out
put voltages. For power and distribution, you employ the conventional delta or w
ye connection. But for special applications, you can use anotherlesser-known con
figuration: the zigzag connection.
You will typically find the windings on each phase of a zigzag transformer in tw
o halves. These winding halves interconnect to obtain a zigzag arrangement.
You can use the zigzag connection as an autotransformer, serving as the primary
and secondary with no isolated circuits. The common portion of an autotransforme
r (low voltage) is the common winding, and the remainder is the series winding.
(Together these make up the high voltage side of the transformer.) You can use t
he zigzag transformer in two winding transformer applications, where you obtain
voltage transformation and isolation with the zigzag feature.
If you need a neutral for grounding or for supplying single-phase line to neutra
l loads when working with a 3-wire, ungrounded power system, a zigzag connection
may be the answer. Due to its composition, a zigzag transformer is more effecti
ve for grounding purposes because it has less internal winding impedance going t
o the ground than when using a wye-type transformer.
In ungrounded systems, it's still necessary to detect a ground fault. With the z
igzag transformer, you typically insert a resistor between the neutral point and
ground to limit ground fault current on the system.
You can also use the zigzag connection in power systems to trap triplen harmonic
(3rd, 9th, 15th, etc.) currents. Here, you install zigzag units near loads that
produce large triplen harmonic currents. The windings trap the harmonic current
s and prevent them from traveling upstream, where they can produce undesirable e
ffects.
In the past, we used half-wave rectification circuits for producing DC voltage.
However, these DC currents often caused transformer saturation. With the zigzag
connection, the currents in the two halves of the windings on each leg of the tr
ansformer flow in opposite directions, avoiding saturation.
We rarely use zigzag configurations for typical industrial or commercial use, be
cause they are more expensive to construct than conventional wye-connected trans
formers. But zigzag connections are useful in special applications where convent
ional transformer connections aren't effective.

Zigzag transformer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Zigzag transformer is a special purpose transformer with a zigzag arrangement.
It has primary windings but no secondary winding. One application is to derive
an earth reference point for an ungrounded electrical system. Another is to cont
rol harmonic currents.[1]
Zigzag transformer vector sketch.gif
As with other three-phase transformers, the zigzag transformer contains six coil
s on three cores. The first coil on each core is connected contrariwise to the s
econd coil on the next core. The second coils are then all tied together to form
the neutral and the phases are connected to the primary coils. Each phase, ther
efore, couples with each other phase and the voltages cancel out. As such, there
would be negligible current through the neutral pole and it can be tied to grou
nd.[2]
If one phase, or more, faults to earth, the voltage applied to each phase of the
transformer is no longer in balance; fluxes in the windings no longer oppose. (
Using symmetrical components, this is Ia0 = Ib0 = Ic0.) Zero sequence (earth fau
lt) current exists between the transformer s neutral to the faulting phase. Hence,
the purpose of a zigzag transformer is to provide a return path for earth fault
s on delta-connected systems. With negligible current in the neutral under norma
l conditions, engineers typically elect to under size the transformer; a short t
ime rating is applied (i.e., the transformer can only carry full rated current f
or, say, 60 s). Ensure the impedance is not too low for the desired fault limiti
ng. Impedance can be added after the secondaries are summed (the 3Io path)[3].
An application example: occasionally engineers use a combination of Y (wye or st
ar), delta, and zigzag windings to achieve a vector phase shift. For example, an
electrical network may have a transmission network of 110 kV/33 kV star/star tr
ansformers, with 33 kV/11 kV delta/star for the high voltage distribution networ
k. If a transformation is required directly between the 110 kV/11 kV network the
most obvious option is to use 110 kV/11 kV star/delta. The problem is that the
11 kV delta no longer has an earth reference point. Installing a zigzag transfor
mer near the secondary side of the 110 kV/11 kV transformer provides the require
d earth reference point.