Archive of SID
No. E-16-TRN-1262
Simulation of the Transformer Frequency Response
Using a 3D Model
M. H. Samimi, P. Hillenbrand, S. Tenbohlen
Institute of Power Transmission and High Voltage
Technology (IEH)
Stuttgart University
Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract—The frequency response analysis (FRA) is a
promising method for detection of mechanical faults inside a
power transformer. The main model proposed in the literature
for the interpretation of FRA results is the circuit model which
demands the estimation of its elements. This paper, by contrast,
proposes to derive the FRA traces directly from a finite element
model. In this model, the mechanical variations affect the
electromagnetic fields and the FRA traces directly which thereby
removes the need for estimation methods. First, the simulation
results are compared with the experimental measurements in the
healthy state of the windings. Afterward, axial displacements are
implemented in the experimental setup and the model as one of
the common mechanical changes. The good agreement between
the simulation and experimental results in both cases validates
the model behavior. Such a model can be employed to predict the
effects of different mechanical faults in various types of windings
without performing destructive tests.
Keywords—finite element method; frequency response; power
transformer diagnostics; transfer functions; transformer modeling;
transformer windings.
I. INTRODUCTION
Power transformers are key apparatuses in the power grid
and require careful monitoring and diagnostics to ensure their
healthy operation. Accordingly, different diagnostic
algorithms are proposed in the literature for early failure
detection in transformers. The dissolved gas analysis, thermal
monitoring, partial discharge measurement, dielectric response
analysis, and transfer function assessment are the main
diagnostic methods in the literature [1]. Different faults can
occur inside a transformer, and each method is appropriate for
detection of a corresponding fault.
One of the common fault types in the power transformers
are the mechanical deformations. These deformations are
mainly the consequences of short circuit events. Early
detection of such faults can save the transformer from a
consecutive, catastrophic, electrical failure [2]. Among the
aforementioned diagnostic methods, the transfer function
assessment using the frequency response analysis (FRA) is the
most suitable method for distinguishing the mechanical faults
[3].
This work was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service
(DAAD). M. H. Samimi is on leave from University of Tehran under
“Research Grants - Bi-nationally Supervised Doctoral Degrees” DAAD
program, No. 91564374.
A. A. Shayegani Akmal, H. Mohseni
High Voltage Institute
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
University of Tehran
Tehran, Iran
The FRA method has been an interesting topic in the last
decade. The studies in the literature prove that the FRA
method can provide reliable information from the interior
geometry of a transformer. The previous contributions lead to
a standard method for the measurement, but the interpretation
of the results is still a subject of study [4].
Understanding the signature of each mechanical alteration
in the frequency response provides the opportunity for
interpretation of differences which exist between the FRA
trace recorded after an event and its fingerprint [5]. However,
a general rule cannot be settled for all transformers since each
transformer has a special construction and FRA fingerprint. As
a result, the mechanical alterations produce a special variation
into the FRA trace which can be different between
transformers. Consequently, it is important to study the
mechanical changes in each transformer separately.
In order to study the effects of different mechanical
alterations on the FRA traces of a transformer, the most
reliable procedure is the experimental test where the FRA of
the transformer is captured in the healthy and deformed states.
However, this attitude is not practical since it impairs the
transformer permanently. Thereby, modeling approaches are
replaced to predict the behavior of the transformer towards
various mechanical deformations.
The main model for supporting the interpretation of the
transformer frequency response is the circuit model in which
the windings are divided into different sections [6]. Each
section is then represented by different circuit elements
comprising capacitors, inductors, mutual inductances and
resistors [7]. These elements are derived from the windings
geometry. Afterward, values of the circuit elements are altered
to model several mechanical faults and to predict their effect
on the transformer FRA traces.
It is shown that the circuit model can simulate the
transformer behavior satisfactorily. However, there are
mismatches between the model outputs and the measured
traces. Accordingly, different algorithms are proposed in the
literature to reduce these differences between the model and
the reality. Reference [8] proposes to first calculate the circuit
elements based on the geometry and, afterward, refine the
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Archive of SID Simulation of the Transformer Frequency Response Using a 3D Model
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

values with an optimization algorithm. Similarly, [9] estimates

the values of different elements by means of an optimization
but directly from measurement traces. Reference [10] uses the
sub-resonance points to derive the circuit elements. This
method needs measurements from different points of the
winding which is difficult after winding insulation procedure.
References [11, 12] extract the circuit elements from the fields
calculated by the finite element method (FEM). In [11, 12],
the inductors and capacitors are defined based on the energies
stored in the calculated magnetic and electric fields. Despite
these measures, differences still exist between the model and
experiment. Moreover, converting some mechanical
alterations such as the conductor tilting into changes in the (a)
circuit elements is challenging.
In the aforementioned contributions, the changes in the
transformer structure are converted into the corresponding
variations of the circuit elements first. Then, the elements
values are imported into the circuit model to observe the
changes in the FRA trace [7]. However, the estimation process
introduces an extra error in the model. The current
contribution, by contrast, proposes an approach to derive the
FRA traces directly from the windings FEM model. In the
proposed approach, a sinusoidal voltage source is connected to
the winding model similar to the reality to sweep the
frequency in the corresponding range. Then, the FRA trace is
derived by measuring the voltages at the winding terminals,
analogous to the sweep frequency response analysis.
Afterward, different kinds of mechanical deformations can be
implemented in the windings to discern their effects on the (b)
FRA. Correspondingly, it is possible to model the mechanical
Fig. 1. Experimental setup: (a) the windings and axial displacements in
alterations which are difficult to be converted into variations
the HV winding, (b) the diagram of the windings. The dimensions are
in circuit elements. The results presented in this paper prove in cm.
that the model responses are in good agreement with the
experimental measurements. The FRA traces are recorded in the range of 100-1000 kHz
In this paper, the experimental setup and the windings with the sweep frequency response method [14]. In this
utilized for the measurements are introduced first. Then, the method, the frequency of a sinusoidal source is swept while
FEM model and its characteristics are addressed. Afterward, the voltages of two points are measured, and the ratio of
the results of the FEM model are compared with the voltages is considered as the transfer function. Two of the
measurements when the windings experience no mechanical most used connection schemes recommended by standards are
changes. Finally, an axial displacement is applied to both the implemented in this research: end-to-end (EE) and inductive
experimental setup and the model to show the consistency of inter-winding (II) connections [15, 16]. Fig. 2 illustrates the
the model in predicting the winding behavior. measuring diagram of the EE and II configurations. In the EE,
the signal is injected to the HV terminal, and the voltage at the
HV winding neutral is measured. In the case of the II
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP configuration, the voltage of the LV winding terminal is
In order to validate and compare the FEM model with real measured while the neutrals of both HV and LV windings are
measurements, an experimental setup is employed in this grounded.
research. The experimental setup consists of two windings.
In addition to the healthy state of the windings, axial
The HV winding is a continuous disc type with 660 turns in 60
displacements are implemented in the experimental setup as
discs whereas the LV winding is a helical type winding with
one of the common mechanical faults. The HV winding is
12 parallel conductors and 24 turns. Fig. 1 shows the windings
shifted 5 cm vertically in 10 mm steps using the spacers
with their diagrams and corresponding dimensions. Two
demonstrated in Fig. 1a. Although this amount of axial
grounded aluminum cylinders are used inside and outside of
displacement is not acceptable for a winding, the
the windings to model the core and tank potentials,
displacements are exaggerated here since it leads to more
respectively. Since the FRA is evaluated from 100 kHz, and
extensive changes in the FRA traces followed by a simpler
the skin depth is very small in this range, replacing the core
comparison with the FEM model. The results of the healthy
with the hollow metallic cylinder does not impair the results
and displaced windings are reported in the results and
[13]. Furthermore, the same situation with the hollow cylinder
discussion section.
is considered in the model.

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Archive of SID Simulation of the Transformer Frequency Response Using a 3D Model
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran
ZL=50Ω
50Ω
ZL=50Ω
U1 50Ω
Iin
Tank ground
ZL=50Ω
ZL=50Ω Iout
U2,EE 50Ω
Core ground
Fig. 2. Connection schemes for measuring the end-to-end (EE) and
inductive inter-winding (II) frequency response. The ratio of U2/U1 is
considered as the transfer function.
III. FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
The main idea of using a FEM model is to replicate the
real procedure of measuring the transformer FRA trace. After
modeling the windings, it is possible to connect an imaginary
sinusoidal source to the terminal of the HV winding and to
sweep its frequency for calculating the voltage amounts at the
other end of the winding analogous with the real measurement
procedure.
The FEM modeling of the windings is carried out in the
circuit and components module of the software CST STUDIO
SUITETM 2016. The FRA simulation is performed using a
two-step computer simulation. Firstly, a geometry model is
created, which exhibits the key geometric features of the
experimental setup. The model comprises the high voltage and
low voltage windings including the insulation papers of the
windings as well as the surrounding tank. Excitation ports are
set at both open ends of the two windings between the
grounded tank and the winding itself. The model is discretized
by a tetrahedral mesh. Based on model order reduction, a
broadband frequency-domain electromagnetic field
computation is performed, resulting in a multi-port network
model which characterizes the electromagnetic properties of
the geometry model. Secondly, this model is applied in a
Fig. 3. The geometry of the windings in CST Studio.
Fig. 4. Simplying the LV winding. The figure shows the cross section of
one turn.
circuit simulator which is also in CST STUDIO, where a
50Ω
sinusoidal voltage source and termination resistors are
attached to the multiport model to calculate the FRA trace for
different configurations of the transformer.
U2,II
The same dimensions of the test setup are taken to model
the windings in detail. Fig. 3 demonstrates the windings in the
software. The HV winding is drawn with 60 discs and 11 turns
in each disc. However, the LV winding is simplified to ease
the mesh processing and solution of the model. In case of the
LV winding, each 6 parallel conductors are replaced with one
turn. Thereby, the LV winding has 24 turns with two parallel
conductors instead of 12 conductors in each turn. The size of
the equivalent conductor is defined equal to the sum of the six
parallel turns as displayed in Fig. 4. Two grounded hollow
cylinders are also considered inside and outside of the
windings analogous to the test setup.
The losses due to the skin and proximity effects in the
conductors are also considered in the model. Moreover, the
insulation paper in the HV and LV windings has a dissipation
factor to include the insulation loss in the model. The
geometry does not have any symmetry and, therefore, the
symmetry plane cannot be defined for the model resulting in
the need for solving the whole geometry. Tetrahedrons are
employed to mesh the geometry leading to approximately 2.3
million mesh cells in the final model. The broadband AC
solver is implemented in the software to sweep the frequency
in the range of 100-1000 kHz. The model is solved using a PC
with 64 GB of RAM and a 3.6 GHz core i5 CPU.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Healthy State of Windings
The EE and II traces are recorded from the FEM model
with configurations shown in Fig. 2. Both the measurement
and simulation results for the EE connection are demonstrated
in Fig. 5. This figure proves the consistency of the model with
real measurements. The resonance frequencies of both traces
are extracted and listed in Table. I for comparison. From the
data in this table, it can be inferred that the even resonance
points such as the 2nd and 4th points show a good agreement,
but the odd points have slight deviations from the measured
resonance points.
In order to find the reason, different elements of the model
are changed to observe their effects on different resonance
points. It is realized that the changes related to both HV and
LV windings shift all resonance points, but the alterations
involving only the LV winding influences the odd resonance
points merely. As an instance, changing the radius of the inner
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Archive of SID Simulation of the Transformer Frequency Response Using a 3D Model
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

TABLE I. THE RESONANCE POINTS OF THE MODEL VERSUS REALITY. -30

Measurement
Simulation

Magnitude (dB)
EE configuration II configuration -35

Measurement Simulation Measurement Simulation

-40
155 kHz 151 kHz 115 kHz 120 kHz
-45
272 kHz 269 kHz 268 kHz 263 kHz
-50
419 kHz 431 kHz 396 kHz 410 kHz

561 kHz 565 kHz 553 kHz 557 kHz

Phase (degree)
150

690 kHz 704 kHz 669 kHz 689 kHz 100

823 kHz 824 kHz 815 kHz 814 kHz

50
944 kHz 945 kHz 928 kHz 932 kHz
0
200 400 600 800 1000
Frequency (kHz)
cylinder which increases the capacitance of the LV winding to
Fig. 6. Comparing the simulation results of the II configuration with the
the earth only shifts the odd resonance points. Therefore, it measurements.
can be concluded that the differences existed in the odd
resonance points in comparison with the measurements are conductors that carry the current are unequal resulting in
rooted in the LV winding modeling. This reasoning is sensible altered losses. As another point, the axial and radial spacers
since the LV winding is simplified in this model leading to the are not considered in the FEM model though they also have
aforementioned mismatches between the measurement and dissipation factors and losses. The aforementioned reasons
simulation results. Nevertheless, the simulation results are still lead to differences in the FRA magnitude. Nevertheless, the
in good accordance with the real case. good agreement proves the potential of the proposed method
Fig. 6 shows the simulation results of the II configuration in modeling transformer windings for FRA applications.
along with the measurement results. This figure also presents a
good agreement between the simulation and measurement B. Axial Displacements
results. The resonance frequencies of these two traces are In order to check the applicability of the model in
listed in Table. I. The comparison of the resonance frequencies predicting the effects of mechanical variations on the FRA
of the II configuration reveals the same mismatches in odd traces, the axial displacement is implemented in both the
resonance points leading to the same conclusions explained experimental setup and the model. The EE and II traces
for the EE connection. corresponding to different amounts of axial displacements are
In both of Fig. 5 and 6, the magnitude difference can be shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, respectively. As can be seen, the
seen in simulation results. The FRA magnitude is influenced model behavior towards axial displacements is completely in
vastly by the losses, and the simplification of the LV winding accordance with the reality. These results validate the FEM
results in differences in both the copper and dielectric losses. model to be used for predicting the windings behavior in
The dielectric loss is different since the volume of the paper in mechanical changes.
the model is not the same as the real case. The copper loss is 0 mm 10 mm 20 mm 30 mm 40 mm 50 mm
also distinct from the real case because the proximity and skin (a)
effects are different in the model due to less parallel paths for -30
the current. In other words, the effective cross sections of the
Magnitude (dB)

-35
-30 Measurement
Simulation -40
Magnitude (dB)

-35
-45
-40

-45 -50

(b)
-50
-30
Magnitude (dB)

150 -35
Phase (degree)

50 -40

-50 -45

-150 -50
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
200 400 600 800 1000
Frequency (kHz)
Frequency (kHz)
Fig. 7. The EE FRA traces corresponding to different axial displacements:
Fig. 5. Comparing the simulation results of the EE configuration with the
(a) simulation results, (b) measurements.
measurements.

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Archive of SID Simulation of the Transformer Frequency Response Using a 3D Model
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran

0 mm 10 mm 20 mm 30 mm 40 mm 50 mm -3
x 10
(a) 5
-30 Simulation
Magnitude (dB)

Measurement

Correlation Coefficient
4
-40

3
CC 
 X (i)Y (i)
 X (i)  Y (i)
-50 2 2

2
-60
(b)
Magnitude (dB)

-30
1

-40
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Axial displacements (mm)
-50

Fig. 9. Comparison of the simulation results with the measurement in

-60
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Frequency (kHz)
Fig. 8. The II FRA traces corresponding to different axial displacements:
(a) simulation results, (b) measurements.
Various applications can be considered for such a model.
This model enables the user to predict the influence of
different mechanical changes on the transformer FRA traces
without implementing the real change. This point can be used
to interpret the FRA traces recorded after an event. In other
words, the disparities in the FRA traces after an accident can
be compared with outputs of the model in the case of different
mechanical faults to figure out the type of fault [3]. This is
especially helpful in case of the fault types which are difficult
to model with the circuit model.
Additionally, this model is beneficial to determine the
effects of alterations in winding electrical properties on the
FRA traces [17]. As an instance, it is possible to change the
dielectric permittivity and the dissipation factor to simulate the
differences in the moisture contents. This task has been carried
out previously for few transformers [18], but the current
model can be easily employed to model various transformers
with different constructions. These works are considered as
future steps to develop the application of the proposed model.
In order to show the consistency of the model in defining
the amounts of indices for the FRA interpretation, the
numerical index, correlation coefficient, is extracted from each
step of the axial displacement and the healthy state. The
results are shown in Fig. 9 which is extracted from the
inductive inter-winding connection. This figure shows that
despite mismatches between the simulation and measurement
in each step, the index corresponding to the alteration amounts
is in excellent agreement with each other. Particularly, the
permissible amounts of mechanical change are less than 10
mm where the simulation results adhere to the measurements.
This proves that the simulation method can be replaced
destructive tests since the output of the index matches for both
cases. As an example, the permissible amount of axial
displacements can be simulated, and the value of the index can
be set as the threshold for the FRA interpretation.
1000
terms of correlation coefficient.
This enables the transformer manufacturers to import the
design files directly into the CST, simulate the healthy case
and the marginal axial displacement and, finally, calculate an
index from both cases to serve as the index threshold for the
mechanical condition assessment of the transformer. As each
transformer has a special construction, its transfer function and
the influences of different mechanical defects on that transfer
function is unique. Correspondingly, it is sensible to define
different thresholds for various transformers and deliver that
threshold to the customer as a characteristic of the
transformer. The method described here enables the
manufacturer to perform this task for each transformer without
sharing the design data.
V. CONCLUSION
A novel modeling method was introduced in the current
contribution to support the interpretation of transformer FRA
results. The CST STUDIO was employed to create a FEM
model of transformer windings. The model was validated by
comparing its results with experimental measurements in two
situations, healthy state of the winding and axial
displacements. It was shown that the FRA traces of
transformer windings could be derived directly form a FEM
model. This algorithm eliminates the middle step of
converting the mechanical changes into variations in elements
of the transformer circuit model which leads to easier
comparison and modeling especially in the case of peculiar
faults. Implementing further mechanical and electrical
alterations in the model and comparing the results with real
measurements are the next steps in developing the applications
of the proposed model.
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Archive of SID Simulation of the Transformer Frequency Response Using a 3D Model
31th Power System Conference - 2016 Tehran, Iran
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