4 electrical quantities you

MUST fully understand to

select the right cast-resin
transformer
By Edvard   | November, 13th 2019 | 5 comments  | Save to PDF
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Home / Technical Articles / 4 electrical quantities you MUST fully understand to select the right cast-resin

transformer

What does distribution

transformers do?
This the basic question, but it’s important to start from the scratch. Well,
distribution transformers link the MV to the LV system and step down the
electrical power to be distributed to the intended low-voltage level (e.g. 400
V/230 V 3AC). They are available as three-phase oil-immersed or dry-type
transformers in the standardized power range 50 kVA ≤ SrT ≤ 2,500 kVA.
4 electrical quantities you MUST fully understand to select the right cast-resin
transformer (on photo: Distribution transformer type 'GEAFOL' by Siemens)
To supply power to the load centres and main loads in industrial plants, dry-type
transformers according to EN 60076-11 are preferred. This technical article will
take a distribution transformer type ‘GEAFOL’ as an example.

Their use has the following advantages:

 Low fire load due to design with little insulating material (less than 10 %
of the weight is accounted for by the insulants),
 No special fire protection measures required (cast-resin moulding
material is fire-retardant and self-extinguishing once the energy supply has
been cut off),
 No risks that would make a fire more serious (e.g. toxicity risk due to
release of poisonous gases in case of a fire),
 Measures to protect the ground water (e.g. oil collecting throughs or
traps) are not required,
 Continuous overload capacity up to 140-150 % of the rated power due to
built-on, temperature-dependently controlled radial-flow fans,
 Utilization of the continuous overload capacity as “hot standby“
redundancy to increase the supply reliability,
 No loss of service life when continuous overload capacity is used,
 No danger of impermissible switching overvoltages due to resonance
excitation of the windings on switch-on and switch-off with a vacuum
switch.
To select cast-resin transformers, the following electrical quantities must
be determined:

1. Rated voltage UrT (primary and secondary side)

2. Impedance voltage at rated current  urZ
3. Vector group
4. Rated power  SrT
The appropriate values of these electrical quantities 1. to 4. depends on the use
to which the transformer will be put.

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1. Rated voltage UrT

The required rated voltage UrT on the primary and secondary side depends
on the choice of voltage. Table 1 lists preferred values for the rated voltage of
distribution transformers. It is important to note that the rated voltage of the
transformer on the secondary side has values that are 5% higher than the
nominal system voltage of the LV level.

This largely compensates for the internal voltage drops of the transformer when
a load is applied. Distribution transformers can also be adapted to the prevailing
system conditions using taps.

Table 1 – Preferred rated voltages of distribution transformers

Rated voltage UrT of the:
Primary side in kV Secondary side in V
10 (11) 420 / 240
 725 / 420
420 / 240
20 (22)
725 / 420

Taps are additional primary-side winding terminations used to change

the transformation ratio k Tr. The tapping range is the range between the
MV nominal system voltage UnN and the highest and lowest adjustable voltage
of a winding.

The tapping range is stated as a positive or negative percentage of the nominal

system voltage UnN. The transformation ratio kTr can be changed to prevent
excessively low or excessively high voltages reaching the loads on the LV level
due to the voltage conditions prevailing in the LV network.

See Table 2 below.

Table 2 – Matching the transformation ratio kTr to the voltage conditions
in a 20/0.4kV network
Table 2 – Matchi

Go back to Table of Contents ↑

2. Impedance voltage at rated current u rZ

The impedance voltage at rated current is the voltage that is applied to the
primary winding of the transformer when the rated current IrT is flowing in the
short-circuited secondary winding. It is expressed as a percentage of the
primary-side rated voltage.

In calculation of the short-circuit stress of electrical equipment, the impedance

voltage at rated current u rZ must not be confused with the impedance
voltage uZ because the impedance voltage is a calculation value for operation
deviating from the rated current values.
It can be expressed as a decimal multiple of the impedance voltage at rated
current urZ. The following applies:

uZ = urZ × Iload / IrT

Where:

 Iload – Load current

 IrT – Rated current of the transformer
The impedance voltage at rated current u rZ must always be used as the
standardized calculation value for the short-circuit stress of the electrical
equipment. It is also a measure of how “voltage stiff“ the distribution
transformer is. If the impedance voltage at rated current is small, the
transformer is “voltage stiff“.
If it is large, the transformer is not “voltage stiff“. Cast-resin transformers are
manufactured with an impedance voltage at rated current of urZ =
4% and/or urZ = 6% as standard (see Table 3).

Table 3 – Standard impedance voltages at rated current in the power range of
an example ‘GEAFOL’ cast-resin transformers that is relevant to industrial
applications
SrT in kVA urz in %
250 4 6
315 4 6
 400 4 6
500 4 6
630 4 6
800 4 6
1000 4 6
1250 6
1600 6
2000 6
2500 6
Parallel operation of distribution transformers with an impedance voltage at
rated current of urZ = 4 % is largely found in networks with loads that cause
unwanted power system perturbations.

These include, for example, asynchronous motors with an individual power

rating that is large relative to the total power demand and welding machines.

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Go back to Table of Contents ↑

3. Vector group
The vector group indicates how the phases of the two windings of a transformer
are connected and the phase position of their respective voltage vectors. It
consists of letters and a phase angle number.

The upper-case letter of the vector group denotes the type of connection of the
primary winding; the lower-case letter, that of the secondary winding.

 “D“ or “d“ means delta connection;

 “Y“ or “y“ means star connection; and
 “Z“ or “z“ means zigzag connection.
 An additional letter “N“ or “n“ indicates that the neutral point of a Y(y)
winding or Z(z) winding is brought out and therefore accessible.
NOTE! The phase angle number of the vector group denotes the integer
multiple of 30° by which the secondary voltage lags behind the primary voltage
of each phase in the anticlockwise direction.
In the vector group Yyn0, the primary and secondary voltages are in phase in
each winding phase. In the vector groups Dyn5, Ynd5, and Yzn5, the secondary
voltage lags 150 ° behind the primary voltage.

Table 4 provides a list of the most common vector groups used in three-phase
transformers.

Table 4 – Preferred vector groups when using three-phase transformers

Table 4 – Preferred vector groups when using three-phase transformers

Where:

1. Yyn0 – Not suitable for LV systems in which the protection against

indirect contact is ensured by overcurrent protective devices and/or that
contain a high proportion of single-phase loads.
Because of the star-connected windings on the primary side, the current
linkage is no longer balanced on the secondary side in the case of a heavily
unbalanced load. The phase voltages on the secondary side can
therefore vary greatly.
2. Dyn5 – Preferred vector group for distribution transformers with rated
powers SrT ≥ 250 kVA in industrial power systems
3. YNd5 – Common vector group for generator transformers in power
stations or transfer power transformers in 110 kV/MV substations
4. Yzn5 – Preferred vector group of distribution transformers with rated
powers SrT < 250 kVA because the zigzag connection is more favourably
able to handle an unbalanced load. Unbalanced loads are especially
pronounced in small three-phase systems with single-phase loads.
Both economic and technical considerations determine the choice of vector
group.

For reasons concerning the insulation, the star connection is preferred at high
nominal system voltages because the insulation of a star-connected winding
only has to be dimensioned for 1/√3 times the line-to-line voltage.

For high load currents, on the other hand, a delta connection is more
favourable. The delta winding is characterized by the fact that its winding
phases are only subjected to times the phase current. This means that smaller
cross-sectional areas can be used for the winding wires than in a star
connection, which saves costs for materials.

For these reasons,  the vector group YNd5 is used for generator
transformers.
Unlike generator transformers, distribution transformers supplying a low-voltage
system have to be star-connected on the secondary side. A brought-out neutral
on the low-voltage side is essential so that the neutral conductor can be
connected to provide the voltage for single-phase loads, which usually require
230 V.
When power is supplied to single-phase loads, however, unbalanced loads
must be expected. For this reason, the necessary delta connection can only be
implemented on the primary side of distribution transformers.

The preferred vector group for distribution transformers is therefore Dyn5. For

use in industrial power systems, distribution transformers with vector
group Dyn11 can also be considered.

Go back to Table of Contents ↑

4. Rated power SrT

The following influencing factors determine the choice of rated power S rT:

1. Expense for cables and switchboards to distribute the power to the loads,
2. Transformer loads optimized for losses in parallel operation (busbar
interconnection of the transformers),
3. Maximum power demand of the loads that form a technological and
process-related unit (e.g. production or function area),
4. Maximum impulse load caused by individual consumers (e.g. large
asynchronous motors) or consumers operated in groups (e.g. welding
machines),
5. Necessary power reserve to adhere to the (n–1) principle in case of a
transformer fault,
6. Maximum possible short-circuit capacity of the LV operational equipment.
In accordance with the importance of each of these influencing factors,
optimization calculations to determine the most economical rated transformer
power must be performed.

The basis for these calculations is an area to be supplied with power within a
factory with an average load per unit area of P=300-350 VA/m2 , a nominal
system voltage of UnN = 400 V and a permissible short-circuit load of Ik ≤ 100
kA. For a supplied area with these system parameters, the rated power SrT =
800 kVA proved the most cost-efficient solution.
For smaller loads per unit area (< 300 VA/m2) or higher nominal system
voltages (e.g. UnN = 690 V), smaller rated powers SrT and for larger loads per
unit area ( > 350 VA/m2) or lower nominal system voltages (e.g. UnN = 208 V),
larger rated powers SrT are more cost-efficient.
For a power supply adjusted to the load centres, dry-type transformers from the
power range 500 kVA ≤ SrT ≤ 1,250 kVA should preferably be chosen because,
with large transformer units, the power reserve required to handle the (n–1)
fault case increases.

Table 5 – Power calculation for parallel operation of example ‘GEAFOL’

cast-resin transformers with restrictive consideration of the short-circuit
capacity
Table 5 – Power calculation for parallel operation of cast-resin transformers with
restrictive consideration of the short-circuit capacity (click to expand Table)

As Table 5 shows, adherence to the (n–1) principle results in poorer capacity

utilization of the distribution transformers in normal operation as the rated power
(SrT > 1,250 kVA) increases.
For that reason, larger transformer units (1,600 kVA ≤ SrT ≤ 2,500 kVA) should
only be used to supply power to large single loads and impulse loads and
where the load density is particularly high.

For the maximum number of distribution transformers that can be connected in

parallel with the same rated power SrT, the physical limit of the short-circuit
capacity for the equipment used in the LV system is decisive.
In an LV system without motors that contribute short-circuit current in the case
of a fault, the physical limit of the short-circuit load capacity is generally reached
with an installed transformer power of ∑ SrTi = 4 MVA.

Table 5 is based on this value to provide a power calculation to handle the (n–
1) fault case in parallel operation of cast-resin transformers. Using the power
calculation provided in Table 5, industrial LV power systems can be
dimensioned according to the (n–1) criterion.

Go back to Table of Contents ↑

Sources:
1. Planning Guide for Power Distribution Plants by Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Kiank
and Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang Fruth (Siemens)