IET Science, Measurement &

Technology

Effective Analysis of Time Domain Dielectric Response for Reliable

Diagnosis of Power Transformer Insulation using Statistical
Parameter Evaluated from Time-Varying Model

SMT-2018-5673.R2 | Research Article

Submitted on: 14-08-2019

Submitted by: Chandra Madhab Banerjee, Arijit Baral, Sivaji Chakravorti

Keywords: INSULATION, POWER TRANSFORMERS, DIELECTRIC POLARISATION, DIELECTRIC LOSS

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14th August 2019

To
The Editor in Chief,
IET Science, Measurement & Technology

Sub: Submission of revised manuscript titled “Effective Analysis of Time Domain Dielectric Response for Reliable
Diagnosis of Power Transformer Insulation using Statistical Parameter Evaluated from Time-Varying Model”

Sir,

Please find the revised draft of the paper titled “Effective Analysis of Time Domain Dielectric Response for
Reliable Diagnosis of Power Transformer Insulation using Statistical Parameter Evaluated from Time-Varying
Model" for review and possible publication in IET Science, Measurement & Technology.

The authors have incorporated necessary modifications in the revised draft to address the comments of the
reviewers.

The authors declare that the research work described in the submitted paper is original and all ideas and works that
have helped the authors to carry out the research has been adequately referred to in the paper.

The authors hereby confirm that at present the paper is not under review anywhere else.

With,
Best Regards,
Chandra Madhab Banerjee
IIT(ISM) DHANBAD

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Associate editor Comment Author Response Changes Made

Unfortunately, before their article may be
suitable for publication, they must write
the introduction differently and improve
English as recommended by reviewers.
The authors thank the Associate editor for
pointing this out. As per Associate editor’s
comment, the introduction part has been re-
structured. In addition, modifications related to
English language are made throughout the
revised manuscript.
The introduction part of the revised manuscript has
been restructured.
Several sentences are updated/ added in the revised
manuscript. Such sentences/ paragraphs are marked
in red color.

Some sentences (marked in Blue color) are

relocated.

Reviewer1 Comment Author Response Changes Made

The English should be carefully checked
and fixed at many locations in the
manuscript
The authors thank the reviewer for pointing this
out. As per reviewer comment, modifications
are made throughout the revised manuscript.
Modifications are made throughout the revised
manuscript.
Several sentences are updated/ added in the revised
manuscript. Such sentences are marked in red color.

Some sentences (marked in Blue color) are

relocated.

Reviewer2 Comment Author Response Changes Made

The structure of the introduction must be The authors thank the reviewer for pointing this Section Updated/ re-structured: Introduction
reformulated, for example: out. The entire introduction part of the revised Section:1
manuscript is re-structured to address the Column: 1 and 2
1) define the problem; comments made by the reviewer. Page: 1 and 2

2) connect the problem to previous Section Added: Data Collection from real-life
relevant research; power transformer
Section:2
3) your solution/objective/ Column: 1 and 2
hypothesis/idea. Page: 2

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- The data of power transformers,

equivalent diagrams, equations and
figures must be removed and placed in the
paragraph following the introduction.

- There are spelling errors, please correct, The authors thank the reviewer for pointing this Modifications are made throughout the revised
for example, in the abstract “different out. Modifications are made throughout the manuscript.
models needs ….”, should be written, revised manuscript.
“different models need …”. Several sentences are updated/ added in the revised
manuscript.

Such sentences are marked in red color. Some

sentences (which are marked in Blue color) are
relocated.

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Effective Analysis of Time Domain Dielectric Response for Reliable Diagnosis of Power
Transformer Insulation using Statistical Parameter Evaluated from Time-Varying Model

C.M. Banerjee1*, A. Baral1, S. Chakravorti2

1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
*
cmbanerjee90@gmail.com

Abstract-- Various types of insulation models with time-invariant parameters are available in the literature. Depending
on the aging sensitive performance parameters to be evaluated, different models need to be employed (for instance XY
model for oil and paper-conductivity, Conventional Debye Model (CDM) for paper-moisture and tanδ). While XY model
cannot be used for estimating paper-moisture directly, analysis based on CDM parameter becomes dependent on its branch
parameters, which are non-unique. These factors lead to either incomplete or ambiguous insulation diagnosis. These
problems are resolved using the proposed new insulation model containing unique time-varying branch parameters.
Another major advantage of the proposed model is that it can be used to evaluate a host of performance parameters (like
paper-conductivity, oil and paper-moisture, dielectric loss) thus giving a complete picture about the insulation concerned.
Application of the proposed model is also tested on data collected from several real-life power transformers.

insulation response is affected by measurement temperature,

1. Introduction
Available literature shows that polarization current
measured at temperature (T) can be modeled by summation of
N exponential decay functions [1]. This fact helps to represent
any dielectric by a simple RC model containing N number of
parallel branches [2]. Formulation technique of Conventional
Debye Model (CDM) is also based on this fact. It is reported
that each branch of CDM represents characteristics of a
specific dipole group present in insulation [2]. It is understood
that the branch parameters become automatically dependent
on the value of N. As a method to identify the optimum value
of N is yet to be reported, any analysis based on CDM or
MDM parameters provides doubtful result. In Modified Debye
Model (MDM) or Modified Maxwell Model (MMM), the
structure of CDM is further modified [3], [4]. The branch
parameters of CDM and MDM are identified using a curve
fitting technique. As a result, the number of branches and
parameters present therein becomes dependent on the curve
fitting methodology adopted for CDM/MDM formulation.
This means a given polarization current profile, ipol(t,T) can be
represented by different CDM, MDM structures having
different number of parallel branches.
parameters of insulation models also become invariably
dependent on measurement temperature. It is difficult to
compare insulation response measured at different
temperatures using existing models. The proposed MTVP
based technique addresses this issue and provides a simple,
fast and effective way to analyse insulation response measured
at different temperatures. Results reported later in the paper
shows that the accuracy offered by the proposed methodology
in estimating crucial performance parameters (like paper-
moisture) is considerably higher than that offered by existing
CDM/MDM based techniques. Furthermore, literature shows
that several models need to be employed for evaluating
different performance parameters [2], [3], [6]. Saha et al. [6]
reported that paper-conductivity could be estimated using the
XY model. On the other hand, assessment of paper-moisture
(%pm) needs CDM/MDM parameters [2], [3]. Here lies
another advantage of using MTVP for insulation diagnosis.
All the above-mentioned parameters can be evaluated
(explained later in the paper) using only MTVP. In the present
paper, the limitations of existing insulation diagnosis
techniques are discussed first. Thereafter, analysis of dielectric
response using MTVP is described.

Detailed theoretical study of dielectric response is reported by
Jonshner [5]. The present paper deals with the interpretation of
recorded dielectric response and proposes an effective and
reliable methodology for the diagnosis of power transformer
insulation. In this paper, a model with time-varying
parameters (MTVP) is proposed for insulation diagnosis of
real-life power transformers. Unlike CDM/MDM, MTVP
contains only two branches- one containing geometric
capacitance (C0) and other containing a time-varying
impedance, Z(t). Hence, the problems associated with the
influence of N on the performance of available model-based
technique gets automatically nullified.
Available insulation models (irrespective of their structures)
are parameterized using dielectric response [2], [3], [4]. As
During measurement of polarization current, dipoles present in
dielectric orient themselves in the direction of the applied
field. Polarization current profile (ipol(t,T)) measured at
temperature (T), is influenced by relaxation characteristics of
dipole groups present in insulation. Hence, it contains
important information about the condition of oil-paper
insulation [1]. The present paper introduces a model with time
varying parameter. The structure of MTVP is shown in Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1, impedance Z(t) is modeled using two time-varying
elements: a time-varying energy storing element (C(t)) and
time varying energy-dissipating element (R(t)). It is
understood that Z(t), R(t), C(t) profiles obtained using ipol(t,T)
are likely to vary if T is allowed to change. Later in the paper,
a technique is described using which compensation for

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variation in measurement temperature can be addressed.

Related analysis presented in this paper suggests that
parameterization of MTVP can be easily done from
polarization current. Model similar to MTVP is previously
reported in [7] and was used for the diagnosis of a liquid
dielectric. The analysis presented in this paper show that
parameters of MTVP, unlike CDM/MDM, maintain a unique
profile for a given ipol(t,T). The parameters of MTVP are used
to obtain performance parameters which are sensitive to
various aging sensitive insulation properties. The proposed
methodology is tested using data collected from several real-
life transformer data.

Fig. 2(a). Measured polarization current for tested

transformers (Trafo-1 to Trafo-5)

Fig. 1. Structure of MTVP

2. Data Collection from real-life power transformer
For the present work, time and frequency domain
insulation response data were collected from several
transformers that are located in different parts of India. The
time domain data was measured using a Keithley Electrometer
based setup [3]. On the other hand, the frequency domain data
was measured using IDAX 300 equipment. It was observed by Fig. 2(b). Measured polarization current for tested
the authors that the majority of data were recorded at 35°C. transformers (Trafo-6 to Trafo-10)
For the development of the proposed methodology, only those
transformers were used for which both time and frequency
domain data were available at 35°C. Details of the
transformers used for the present work are given in Table 1. It
is worth mentioning here that frequency domain data is used
in the paper only at the developmental stage. Once completed,
the proposed method requires only time-domain data for
proper functioning. The measured polarization currents of
these transformers are shown in Fig. 2(a) through 2(c).
Table 1 Details of Transformer
Transformer Operational
Transformer Power Rating
Name age (years)
Trafo-1 >200 MVA /15.75 kV 28 to 30
Trafo-2 >120 MVA / 220 KV 25 to 27
Trafo-3 >250 MVA / 230 kV 22 to 24
Trafo-4 >150 MVA / 21 kV 24 to 26 Fig. 2(c). Measured polarization current for tested
Trafo-5 >250 MVA / 420 kV 10 to 12 transformers (Trafo-11 to Trafo-14)
Trafo-6 >200 MVA /420 kV 19 to 21 It is worth mentioning here that the use of transformer data
Trafo-7 >200 MVA / 400 kV 26 to 28 recorded only at 35°C does not necessarily restrict the
Trafo-8 >200 MVA / 15.7 kV 25 to 30 applicability of the proposed method. It is shown later in the
Trafo-9 >150 MVA / 400 kV 08 to 10 paper that data recorded at a temperature other than 35°C can
Trafo-10 >150 MVA / 420 kV 17 to 19 also be successfully used by the developed technique to carry
Trafo-11 >200 MVA/ 21 kV 24 to 30 out insulation diagnosis. In order to better illustrate the
Trafo-12 >250 MVA /15.75kV 10 to 13 advantage provided by MTVP over CDM, parameterization of
Trafo-13 >150 MVA /420kV 09 to 11 CDM is briefly described in the next section. This is followed
Trafo-14 >240MVA/ 420kV 10 to 12
by a description of the steps involved in the parameterization
of MTVP.

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3. Formulation and Parameterization of CDM
According to available literature, polarization current can be
successfully approximated as the sum of N exponential decay
functions [1] given in (1). Each exponential function in (1)
represents the response of a specific dipole group present in
insulation [2].
N Literature [8] shows that the relaxation process of
i pol ( t , T ) =  Ak  exp ( −t /  k , T ) (1)
k =1
In (1), τk and Ak represent the relaxation time and magnitude of
the kth exponential function, respectively. It is a known fact
that a dielectric can be modeled by a combination of energy
storing and energy dissipating elements [2]. This information,
coupled with (1) form the basis behind CDM formulation
technique [2]. In CDM (illustrated in Fig. 3), each branch is
modeled using one capacitor (Ci) and one resistor (Ri).
Fig. 3. Structure of CDM
In Fig. 3, R0 and C0 represent dc insulation resistance and
geometric capacitance of the insulation, respectively. It is
assumed that the response of the ith dipole group is modeled by
the ith exponential of (1) [2]. In CDM or MDM formulation,
conduction current is first subtracted from the given
polarization current. The resulting modified polarization
current profile (i”pol(t)) is divided into few segments [2],[3].
The last segment of i”pol(t) is curve fitted with exponential
decay function P1. Parameters of P1 are thereafter used to
identify branch having the highest time constant. Next, the
contribution of the identified branch is deducted from i”pol(t)
to get the updated version of i”pol(t). The updated i”pol(t) is
segmentedand again the last segment is used to obtain the
parameters of second highest time constant branch. This
process is continued until the cumulative contribution of all
identified branches matches with the originally measured
polarization current profile (i”pol(t)) [2]. The above discussion
suggests that the contribution of the ith branch of CDM must
be eliminated from i”pol(t) before identifying parameters of
(i+1)th branch. In fact, if the span of i”pol(t) modelled by the
largest time-constant branch is varied, then the contribution of
other branches, which are identified next, gets automatically
affected so that the sum total contribution of all branches
remains similar to the measure polarization current. It can be
understood that the contribution of each branch affects the
total number of branches (N) present in CDM. As the span of
i”pol(t) used for identifying parameters of a given branch is
decided by the user and can have any duration, it is difficult to
identify the optimum number of CDM branch for a given
i”pol(t). The above discussions suggest that the same
polarization current profile can be represented by multiple
CDM structures, each having different number of branches.
This creates difficulty in carrying out insulation diagnosis.
This is because available aging sensitive performance
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parameters evaluated from CDM/MDM get affected by the
number of branches [3].
4. Parameterization of MTVP and Difference
between CDM and MTVP formulation
4.1 Parameterization of MTVP
dipoles in the presence of an electrical field can be assumed to
be Debye in nature [8]. This Debye nature is exploited in the
present work to obtain the parameters of MTVP, i.e., R(t) and
C(t). The profiles of R(t) and C(t) are obtained by multiplying
the polarization current profile with a Window Function (WF).
The Window Function (WF) has unity magnitude and a finite
time span: t1<t<t2. Here, t1 represents the time instant from
which polarization current measurement was initiated. The
span of polarization current ipol(t) under WF is fitted with an
exponential decay function (given in (2)).
−t
E p = A p  exp   (2)
 P 
Ap and  p in (2) represent the amplitude and decay rate of Ep.
Value of these parameters are obtained through a curve fitting
process. In the present work, a least square based curve fitting
technique is used. After identification of Ap and  p , the
profiles of R(t) and C(t) for the time span t1<t<t2 are obtained
using (3).

R(t ) =
Vdc
; for t1  t  t2 
Ap 
 (3)
p
C (t ) = ; for t1  t  t2 
R(t ) 

In (3), Vdc represents the charging voltage. In the next step,
the position of WF is shifted to occupy the time span t3 to t4
such that t3<t<t2. The above process of identifying R(t) and
C(t) is repeated for time span t3 to t4. It is understood that at
the end of this step, the profile of R(t) and C(t) get uniquely
identified for a small time span Δt=t1 to t3 and this span is
lesser than the span of WF (t1 to t2). This procedure of shifting
WF followed by identification of R(t), C(t) is repeated until t4
reaches tfinal (up to which polarization current is measured).
The sliding operation of WF is illustrated in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Movement of Window Function over the recorded
polarization current
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In this present work, the time span of WF and Δt (w.r.t. Fig.
4) are kept equal to 5 s and 1 s respectively. The profile of R(t)
obtained for Trafo-3 is shown in Fig. 5. It can be observed
from Fig. 5 that R(t) profile starts from low a value and
maintains an incremental profile.
Fig. 5. Time varying resistance profile for Trafo-3
In the case of initially relaxed oil-paper insulation, dipoles
within the insulation remain oriented in random directions.
During polarization current measurement, a DC voltage
(generally 1000 V) is applied across the insulation [9]. As a
consequence, the dipoles start to align along the direction of
the applied electric field. During this time, dipole polarizing
current irelax(t,T) and dc leakage current idc flow through the
insulation. As time passes, the total stored charge Q(t) (given
in (4)) due to the flow of irelax(t,T) increases.
t
 duration Δt =t3-t1 is controlled by the overlapping period of
Q(t ) =  irelax (t , T ) dt  WF. It can be understood that Δt can be reduced to the
0 
i pol (t , T ) = irelax (t , T ) +i dc 
After a considerable amount of time, (when most of the
dipoles have aligned along the direction of the applied field)
only dc conduction current flows through the dielectric. This
is called a saturated condition. It can be observed that during
the initial period, resistance offered by the insulation to the
flow of ipol(t,T) is minimum as the number of oriented dipoles
in the insulation is small in number. Hence, dipole energy and
charge content of the dielectric, due to the alignment of
dipoles, also remain small.
It can be understood that the number of aligned dipoles,
charge Q(t) and resistance, (offered by the dielectric to the
flow of polarization current) increase with time. Hence, the
resistance profile (shown in Fig. 5) tends to maintain an
increasing profile with time. The increment of the resistance
profile can be observed until the saturated condition is
reached. In saturated condition, almost every dipole has
oriented in the direction of the applied field. In this condition,
both charge content of the insulation, due to the flow of
irelax(t,T) and the electric field generated by oriented dipoles
become constant. It can be understood from the above
discussion that the profile of resistance (R(t)) initially
maintains an increasing profile before settling to a constant
value. Fig. 5 show that at a smaller value of time, the profile
of R(t) increases at a much faster rate. During this period, the
rate of dipole orientation in the direction of the electric field is
much faster. It’s obvious that these dipoles are characterized
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by high mobility. Such dipoles reside in oil volume, which
allows comparatively faster movement. On the other hand, at a
larger value of time, the slow rate of change in R(t) indicates
the influence of slow responding dipoles which are located at
the interface and solid insulation [2]. It should be mentioned
here that both, R(t) and C(t) can be used for insulation
diagnosis purpose. However, the profile of R(t) is used here
for analysis.
4.2 Uniqueness of MTVP
MTVP formulation does not follow the subtraction rule of
CDM. Unlike CDM, MTVP formulation starts with the
measured ipol(t), which includes the effect of conduction
current. MTVP identification process starts by considering a
very small segment of polarization current profile that is
selected by the WF. This small segment of ipol(t) from t1 to t2 is
modeled by an exponential decay function Ep. Parameters of
F1 are then used to identify R(t) and C(t) profile using (3) for
span t1<t<t2. Thereafter, WF is shifted to a new position such
that the new region t3  t  t4 of ipol(t) under WF (shifted)
overlaps with the initial period t1 t  t2. This step is followed
by the identification of R(t) and C(t) profile using (3) for span
t3<t<t4. After this step, the process of shifting WF and
identifying Ep and R(t), C(t) are repeated until the WF reaches
the end of ipol(t). The contribution of R(t), C(t); t1  t  t2 is not
subtracted from the measured ipol(t,T) to proceed further and
hence does not affect the profile of R(t), C(t); t3 t  t4. The
(4)
duration equivalent to a single sample. Thus, leading to the
unique identification of R(t) and C(t). In the present work, Δt
is considered to be equivalent to 1s. The above discussion
shows that in spite of using exponential curve fitting for
MTVP parameterization, R(t), C(t) always maintain unique
profiles for a given ipol(t,T) as long as Δt=1 sec.
5. Condition Assessment of Real-life Transformer
Using Resistance Profile of MTVP
Paper-moisture (%pm) and dissipation factor (%tan) of
the tested transformers were measured using IDAX 300 (for
Trafo-1, %tan was measured using TETTEX MIDAS).
While oil-moisture for each transformer was evaluated using
MEGGER KF875 oil test set. Table 2 shows the measured
value of %pm, dissipation factor, paper-conductivity and oil-
moisture of the tested transformers. The value of paper-
conductivity cannot be identified by non-invasive technique.
Hence, paper-conductivity values given in Table 2 are
obtained using the XY model-based methodology reported in
[6]. Information regarding values of X and Y were obtained
from IDAX 300 generated test results. In the present work, the
result obtained from IDAX 300 (like %pm) is considered as
the measured value. Definitive information regarding paper
insulation can be obtained by carrying out invasive tests (like
Karl Fischer titration based moisture determination or DP
value testing) which are not practically feasible for in-service
transformers. Hence, utility providers consider the result
obtained from IDAX to be practically acceptable. Frequency
Domain Spectroscopy (FDS) based IDAX 300 utilizes the
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entire low-frequency region of FDS measurement [10]
(recorded at a given temperature) and compares it with
internal database (containing responses corresponding to
different proportions of spacers/barriers) for analysis purposes.
Table 2 Measured %pm and %tanδ for different transformers
Oil-moisture
regarding the influence of %pm and other conductive aging
by-products [12]. As per the information provided by the
utilities, measurement of polarization current for the
transformers (shown in Table 1) at tfinal=tfnl+Δtc; 1000s≤
Δtc≤2000s. Hence, in the present work, only monotonically
decreasing part of polarization current or R(t) profile
(normalized) corresponding to time span 0<t<tfnl is used for

conductivity
Transformer

Measured

%tanδ at
further analysis.

Paper-

(S/m)
50Hz
Name

%pm

Standard deviation (s.d.) calculated from the normalized R(t)

profile (for tenure 0<t<tfnl ) corresponding to each transformer
is shown in Table 3. Scatter diagram between standard
Trafo-1 2.30 NA* 0.79 6.15e-14 deviation (calculated using normalized R(t)) with %tan is
Trafo-2 0.80 5 0.21 5.66e-14 shown in Fig. 6(a). It is observed that calculated s.d. maintains
Trafo-3 1.90 10 0.42 4.26e-14 a good correlation with measured %tanδ. On the other hand,
Trafo-4 2.40 8 0.80 3.81e-14 Fig. 6(b) shows the variation of standard deviation of R(t) (not
Trafo-5 0.90 6 0.16 2.08e-14 normalized) with %tan. Literature [9] shows that %tanδ is
Trafo-6 1.20 12 0.34 4.50e-14 not influenced by geometry. A good correlation between s.d.
Trafo-7 1.80 6 0.48 4.68e-14 and %tanδ (shown in Fig. 6(a)) and scattered nature of data is
Trafo-8 1.90 7 0.48 5.53e-14 illustrated in Fig. 6(b) indicate that normalization of R(t) by R0
Trafo-9 0.60 6 0.18 2.87e-14 is effective in reducing geometry influence. The relation
Trafo-10 1.40 7 0.28 7.75e-15 between s.d. and %tanδ is found to be best approximated by
Trafo-11 2.00 11 0.75 6.21e-15 (5). The coefficient of (5) is obtained using a least square
Trafo-12 2.30 NA* 0.88 1.13e-14 based curve fitting technique.

( )
Trafo-13 1.10 6 0.22 5.81e-14
Trafo-14 0.80 NA* 0.23 1.47e-14 % tan  = 0.1419  exp 1.1359 10 -08  s.d.
(5)
*NA=Not Available + 0.0013  exp (23.05  s.d.)
As per available literature, this analysis also takes into account
the temperature dependence of different insulation material Table 3 Calculated s.d. for different transformers
[11]. Consequently, paper-moisture estimated by IDAX is Calculated s.d.
Transformer Name
likely to be reliable, unlike that obtained using equilibrium (scaled by 100)
curve [11]. Trafo-1 27.09
Trafo-2 16.64
5.1. Methodology to obtain %pm and %tanδ Trafo-3 23.96
Trafo-4 26.53
It is understood that the profile of R(t) will ultimately Trafo-5 17.23
converge to R0 at a larger value of time. Furthermore, it is Trafo-6 18.46
common knowledge that dc resistance (R0) of the transformer Trafo-7 24.33
is influenced by its physical dimensions / insulation geometry. Trafo-8 23.83
Hence, all transformers (including the units whose data are Trafo-9 15.17
used in this paper) are likely to have a different value of R0. Trafo-10 21.40
Multiple transformers, having different physical dimensions, Trafo-11 26.50
may have the same value of %pm or %tanδ. This implies Trafo-12 27.80
parameters that are evaluated from the insulation model and Trafo-13 20.20
subsequently used for insulation diagnosis must not be Trafo-14 17.17
influenced by insulation geometry. Hence, it is beneficial to
remove the influence of geometry from the R(t) profile. To
remove the influence of geometry from R(t) of the ith
transformer (Trafo-i), it is normalized by dc resistance (R0) of
Trafo-i.
Once the influence of geometry from R(t) has been
reduced, statistical parameters are calculated from the
normalized R(t). This parameter is thereafter used for
insulation diagnosis purpose. In the present paper, Standard
Deviation (s.d.) is used for further analysis. It is an accepted
fact that after the monotonic decreasing nature of polarization
current seizes at tfnl and it becomes asymptotic to the time axis.
Thereafter, the measured insulation response gets influenced
by only dc conduction or leakage current. This implies that the Fig. 6(a). Curve fitted profile between dissipation factor and
span of Polarization current from 0<t<tfnl contains information s.d.(scaled by 102) of R(t) (normalized)

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It should be mentioned here that (7) provides a simple indirect

way of determining %pm and tan δ from PDC data. It is
understood that the variation of ‘N’ in (1) will invariably
affect the magnitude of zero (Z1) that are evaluated from the
Transfer Function of MDM. This, in turn, affects the result
obtained using (7). Effect of varying ‘N’ on the performance
of (7) is shown in Table 4. Performance comparison of (6) and
(7) is presented in Table 4 and Table 5.
Table 4 Variation of %pm and %tanδ with N
Trafo-3 Trafo-7 Trafo-10

%tan δ

%tan δ
%tanδ

%pm

%pm

%pm
N

N
12 .44 1.75 4 0.50 2.28 13 0.35 0.89
15 .42 1.70 12 0.56 2.40 14 0.36 0.95
Fig. 6(b). Plot between dissipation factor and standard 21 .45 1.80 25 0.46 1.95 16 0.37 1.07
deviation (scaled by 10-7) of R(t) (not normalized)
Fig. 7 shows the variation of s.d. (of normalized R(t)) with Table 5 Calculation %pm and %tanδ from MTVP
%pm. It can be observed that s.d. also maintain good
correlation with %pm. Trafo-3 Trafo-7 Trafo-10

%tanδ

%tanδ

%tanδ
%pm

%pm

%pm
Parameters

Measured 0.42 1.90 0.48 1.80 0.28 1.40

Fig. 7. Curve fitted profile between %paper-moisture and
s.d.(scaled by 102)
The relationship that exists between s.d. and %pm is observed
to be best modeled by (6). Like (5), the coefficients of (6) are
obtained using a least square based curve fitting technique.
% pm = -7.5841+ 2.9722  ln (100  s.d.)
(6)
It is reported in [12] that zero (Z1) evaluated from of transfer
function of MDM can be used to predict the value of %pm and
%tanδ [12]. The relation of Z1 with %pm and %tanδ is given
in (7) [12].
% pm = 1.718 + 0.418  ln( Z1 ) 
 (7)
% tan  = 0.4423 + 0.0457  ln( Z1 )
Calculated 0.45 1.90 0.48 1.95 0.31 1.56
It can be observed from Table 4 that the value of %pm and
%tanδ evaluated from MDM model is influenced by the
number of branches (N). On the other hand, equation (6)
provides a single value of %pm and %tanδ corresponding to a
given polarization current. Table 4 shows that variation of
performance parameter due to limited information regarding
the optimum value of ‘N’ lead to ambiguity in diagnosis.
Table 5 shows that this ambiguity can be removed by
analyzing MTVP parameters.
In addition to the method reported in [12], another insulation
model-based methodology for prediction of %pm using PDC
data is reported in [13]. Performance comparison of these two
methodologies (Method 1 [13], Method 2 [12]) with the
proposed methodology is presented in Table 6. In Table 6,
error represents the normalized absolute deviation between
predicted (%pmpred) and measured (%pmmeas) value of paper-
moisture. The error in Table 6 is evaluated using (8). In order
to facilitate better comparison, the number of branches (N) is
kept fixed (equal to 8) for both Method 1 and Method 2. In
column 2 of Table 6, N1 signifies the number of branches in
CDM which have time constant greater than 100 [13].
% pm pred − % pmmeas
error = (8)
% pmmeas

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Table 6 Performance comparison between different methodologies with proposed technique and corresponding Normalized Root
Mean Square Error (NRMSE)
Method (Method 1) Proposed
(Method 2) [12]
→ (10) in [13] methodology
%pmpred
Trafo ↓ error %pmpred error %pmpred error
(N1=6)
Trafo-1 1.8 0.21 2.59 0.12 2.27 0.01
Trafo-2 1.66 1.07 1.20 0.5 0.81 0.01
Trafo-3 1.2 0.36 1.6 0.15 1.90 0.00
Trafo-4 2.2 0.08 2.03 0.15 2.21 0.08
Trafo-5 1.0 0.01 0.56 0.37 0.91 0.01
Trafo-6 2.1 0.75 1.54 0.28 1.12 0.06
Trafo-7 1.3 0.27 1.20 0.33 1.95 0.08
Trafo-8 2.4 0.26 2.23 0.17 1.89 0.00
Trafo-9 0.94 0.56 0.4 0.33 0.53 0.11
Trafo-10 2.2 0.57 1.1 0.21 1.56 0.11
Trafo-11 1.48 0.26 1.5 0.25 2.15 0.07
Trafo-12 1.12 0.51 1.8 0.21 2.29 0.00
Trafo-13 1.72 0.56 1.45 0.31 1.35 0.22
Trafo-14 1.16 0.45 1.02 0.27 0.86 0.07
NRMSE 0.49 0.26 0.084

Table 7 Calculated sdoil and sdpaper of different transformers

It can be observed from Table 6 that Normalized Root Mean
Transformer Calculated sdoil Calculated sdpaper
Square Error (NRMSE) obtained for the proposed Name (scaled by 10^4) (scaled by 10^4)
methodology is substantially less than that observed for other
Trafo-1 11.52 10.1
techniques (Method 1 and Method 2).
Trafo-2 12.40 10.3
5.2. Predicting oil-moisture and paper-conductivity
Trafo-3 4.37 4.77
using MTVP
Trafo-4 5.69 5.23
Available literatures [14], [2] show that polarization current
Trafo-5 10.3 2.91
profile for 0t100s and 1000s<t<tfnl are influenced by the
characteristics of oil and paper, respectively. It is observed by Trafo-6 2.91 5.15
the authors that the rate of rising of R(t) profile during the Trafo-7 12.30 6.09
above mentioned time spans are sensitive to oil-moisture and Trafo-8 5.55 9.01
paper-conductivity, respectively. Hence, the normalized R(t) Trafo-9 9.93 3.96
profile corresponding to the above mentioned time spans is
utilized to obtain information about oil-moisture and paper- Trafo-10 6.67 2.71
conductivity. The increment rate (Rate_R(t)) of normalized Trafo-11 2.88 2.34
R(t) profile corresponding to each transformer is calculated Trafo-12 6.21 3.11
for 0t100s and 1000s<t<tfnl using (9). Trafo-13 12.10 8.91
Rate _ R(t ) = R(t ) − R(t − 1) t ; t = 1s (9) Trafo-14 2.51 3.07

In the present work, standard deviation of Rate_R(t) for
0t100s and 1000s<t<tfnl are used for further analysis. In the
present work, standard deviation of Rate_R(t) profile
corresponding to 0t100s is represented by sdoil while sdpaper
is used to represent the standard deviation of Rate_R(t) for
1000s<t<tfnl. Table 7 shows the value of sdoil and sdpaper of 14
transformers that are used in the present work. Figure 8 shows
the variation of sdoil with oil-moisture while Fig. 9 shows the
variation of sdpaper with paper-conductivity. It can be observed
from Fig. 8 and 9 that sdoil and sdpaper maintain good
correlation with measured oil-moisture and paper-conductivity
respectively.
It is observed by the authors that the relationship that exists
between the data illustrated in Fig. 8 and 9 are best described
by (10) and (11)
Oil − Moisture = 16.5939  exp( −3399  sd oil )
(10)
+ 5.3971 exp( −6.6195 10 -08  sd oil )
Paper − conductivity = 7.5545 10 -15
( )
(11)
+ 2.4682 10 -14  ln (s.d. 10 4 ) - 1.5220
It is practically difficult to ensure identical insulation
construction for all power transformers. Hence, the value of X

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and Y for different transformers tends to vary within a range 35°C can be obtained using activation energy (Ea) and CDM
[6]. The actual value of X and Y for a given transformer is less parameters evaluated at temperature T1  35C [15].
likely to be available with the utilities. Computation of paper-
conductivity using the method reported in [6] requires the E  1 1 
actual values of X and Y. On the other hand, no such Ri35 = RiT 1  exp  a   −   
information related to X or Y is required for evaluating paper-  T 
K (35 + 273) (T 1+
273) 

conductivity using (11). 
E  1  (12)
1 
R035 = R0T 1  exp  a   −   
 K T  (35 + 273) (T 1+273)  



C035 = C0T 1 
Ci35 = CiT 1 

In (12), KT denotes the Boltzmann constant (equal to
T1 35
8.6173303E-05 eV/K). Ri and Ri represent CDM branch
T1
resistances at temperature T1 and 35C. Similarly, C i and
C i35 represent capacitance of the ith branch corresponding to
temperature T1 and 35C respectively.

Fig. 8. Curve fitted profile between oil-moisture and
sdoil(scaled by 104)
Fig. 9. Curve fitted profile between Paper-conductivity and
sdpaper(scaled by 104)
6. Application of the proposed methodology
The proposed method requires ipol(t,T=35°C) recorded at 35°C
to operate. It is known that polarization current ipol(t,T=35°C)
can be successfully obtain using CDM that is valid for 35°C.
As prediction of polarization current profile using CDM
parameters considers the collective behavior of all branches
present in the model, it is less likely that use of CDM will
introduce error in ipol(t,T=35°C) as far as the current profile is
concerned. Furthermore, it is understood that the number of
branches does not affect the profile of the overall polarization
current [2]. Literature shows that CDM at 35°C can be
obtained using ipol(t,T≠35°C) and methodology reported in
[15], [16].
Literature [17] shows that the measurement temperature
influences the magnitude of branch resistances (Ri) and
insulation resistance (R0) of CDM. However, branch
capacitances (Ci) and geometric capacitance (C0) do not get
affected substantially by temperature [17]. Equation (12)
shows the relation using which insulation model parameters at
As per the report published by Cigre Task Force, the value of
activation energy (Ea) for a transformer is around 111kJ/mol
[18]. Two authors of the present paper have reported a
methodology for finding out the exact value of activation
energy for a given power transformer [16]. For reliable
analysis, technique reported in [16] can be used for identifying
Ea, which is required in (12). It can be observed that (12) can
be used to convert the resistive and capacitive parameter of
CDM branch of any temperature (T≠35°C) to branch
parameter of CDM at T=35°C. The calculated branch
parameter of CDM at T=35°C can be used to get calculated
polarization current profile ipol(t,T=35°C) by (13).
V dc 
( )
N
i pol t , T = 35 o C =  Ai  exp( Ri35  C i35  t ) +
i =1 R035 
 (13)
Vdc 
Ai =
Ri35 
In order to apply the proposed method to a test transformer
(Trafotest) following steps need to be followed.
• Step1: Measure polarization current ipol(t,T≠35°C)
• Step2: Identify CDM at 35°C using (12) and (13)
• Step3: Predict ipol(t,T=35°C) profile using CDM obtained
in Step2
• Step4: Parameterize MTVP using ipol(t,T=35°C)
• Step5: Compute s.d , sdoil, sdpaper
• Step6: Predict Oil-ppm, paper-conductivity, %tanδ, %pm
using parameters obtained in Step2
Step 1, 2 and 3 can be bypassed if the measurement
temperature of PDC data is equal to 35°C.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Based on the research findings reported in the paper, the
following conclusions can be drawn:
• Parameters of the discussed model maintain unique time-
varying profiles for a given polarization current. These

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unique profiles can be easily evaluated from the recorded
polarization current.
• Statistical parameters evaluated using MTVP parameters
can be used to predict aging, sensitive performance
parameters like %pm, oil-moisture, paper-conductivity,
tan.
• Comparison with different techniques shows that the
proposed methodology provides better accuracy
(NRMSE=0.084) in estimating performance parameters
related to insulation diagnosis of power transformer.
• Unlike the XY model, prediction of paper-conductivity
using MTVP parameters does not require information
related to geometry.
• Aging sensitive performance parameter predicted using
MTVP parameters maintain good correlation (tested on
data collected from several real-life in-service power
transformers) with those obtained using commercial
equipment like TETTEX MIDAS, IDAX, KF875.
• The relationships reported in the paper are identified
using data collected from real-life power transformers and
hence are applicable for in-service units.
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14