Dynamic response of a power-transformer winding

under axial short-circuit conditions

D.A. Quinney, M.Sc, D.Phil., Grad.l.M.A.

Indexing terms: Simulation, Transformers

Abstract: A model for the dynamic response of a vertical transformer winding, considered as a continuous
elastic solid, which produces a partial differential equation, is developed. This model is proposed as a simple
means by which some of the many design requirements of large power transformers can be examined. An
example is considered and initial and boundary conditions for the partial differential equation are obtained.
Various numerical methods of solution are suggested and the computed solution is validated by comparing
them with results obtained by other methods.

1 Introduction under dynamic equilibrium, that the end supports are rigid
and that any externally applied precompressive force is
Power transformers should give satisfactory service for
constant throughout the winding.
periods in excess of 20 years and inherent in their design is
The number of elements in the scheme may be equal to
the requirement that their contribution should be able to
the number of windings in the transformer coil or it can be
withstand all short-circuit conditions they are likely to be
reduced by lumping together coil groups into block masses.
subjected to. The windings may fail through various causes
In the latter case, the finer elastic elements are replaced by
such as collapse of the conductors, failure of the insulation
larger elements having equivalent characteristics.
or erosion of the conductor insulation caused by rubbing,
Consider a typical element of the winding, the rcth say.
which leads to electrical breakdown. It is essential, there-
The forces which act on this element (see Fig. 2) are
fore, that the designer should be able to estimate the dis-
placements and forces which occur during a short circuit.
Fn = electromagnetic forces exerted on the element
The mechanical stresses induced in transformer windings Fg = gravitational forces
were considered by Billig [1]. Many authors have reported F" = inertial forces
experimental testing of large transformers [2—4] and also Ff = frictional forces
attempts to establish suitable short-circuit standards [5]. Fe = elastic forces exerted by neighbouring element
The movement of the winding results from the various
forces which act on it. These forces include any electro- Resolving for dynamic equilibrium gives
magnetic forces, damping and inertial effects, gravity and
the reaction of neighbouring elements. It is the last of these
forces which is the most difficult to model mathematically. = F*-F» (1)
Various methods have been proposed but many of these
assume a constant value for the modulus of elasticity of
the insulation [6, 7]. However, the dynamic modulus of
elasticity does not vary in a linear fashion and the choice of
an average modulus is difficult and may lead to consider-
able error. In the simplest case, the reaction of neighbour-
ing elements takes the form of a linear elastic response
under compression and vanishes under tension; however,
the stress/strain relationship in the compressive phase is
extremely nonlinear. Lur'e and Savelev [8] took this
nonlinearity into account and derived a system of difference-
differential equations and indicated how a solution could
be produced. In this paper, a simplified model is estab- Fig. 1 Schematic cross-section through winding
lished whereby the physical aggregation of conductors and
supports within the transformer is considered as a con-
tinuous elastic solid. This results in a single partial differ-
ential equation which may be solved approximately by
relatively straightforward finite-difference techniques.

2 Physical model

This paper considers the motion of a vertical transformer

which is of core type and has concentric windings. The
windings can be thought of as a collection of elements (see
Fig. 1), each of which move under the action of the various
forces exerted on it. It is assumed that the winding moves

Paper 1099B, first received 30th March and in revised form 20th
October 1980
The author is with the Department of Mathematics, University of
Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, England Fig. 2 Forces acting on nth element

114 0143-7038/81/020114 + 05 $01-50/0 IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. B, No. 2, MARCH 1981
 If sn(t) and mn are the displacement and mass of the nth and the other alternating. The former is induced by the
element, then short circuit and decays rapidly, hence a typical current is
of the form
(2)
dt7 I = IRMS V2 {exp (-at) — cos cof}

As the winding is immersed in an oil bath to provide both
electrical insulation and to dampen any vibration, then
(3)
where for simplicity it is assumed that the coefficient of
damping is uniformly equal to some constant P. If An is the
cross-sectional area of the nth element and on is the stress
exerted upon it, then
K = onAn (4)
Collecting together eqns. 1—4 gives
where CJ = 2nf, f being the frequency of the AC current
and a the decay constant of the DC current. Defining
Fn(x, t) = KI2
then
max Fn(x, t) = KIMAX
and since Fn can be measured experimentally, we can
obtain K. Furthermore, the problem of an unbalanced
winding can be overcome by updating the electromagnetic
driving force at later times, i.e. if d(x) is the initial short-
circuit displacement, then

mns"n+mnPs'n+(F»-Frl) = Fn-mng (5) F n (x,f + T) = F n ( x , 0 (7)

s(x,t)
The complete winding consists of a large number of
elements, for each of which there corresponds an equation In fact, to simplify the situation we approximate eqn. 7 by
of the form of eqn. 5. Lur'e and Savelev [9] considered the
dynamic response of the winding by finding an approxi-
Fn(x,t) = Fn(x){l+ys(x,t)} (8)
mate solution of this system of differential-difference where Fn(x) = max Fn(x, t) and y is some empirical
equations. However, these equations are difficult to solve as constant.
it is suspected that they are stiff [10]. We consider an
alternative approach. First, assume that each element of the 3 Example
winding has the same length and put L — 8x, then as the
number of elements increases, 5JC -> 0 and (F" — F " ~ l )/8x To illustrate this model, we consider a comparison between
can be replaced by dFe/dx, where Fe is a continuous the results produced and those generated by a previous
function of x and t. Likewise, the discrete density pn = differential-difference model. Fundamental to both models
mn/Ln tends to some function p{x) and eqn. 5 becomes is the ability to express the elastic coupling force in terms
of the displacement of the winding. Instead of the inverse
interpolation suggested by Lur'e and Savelev, Whyatt [12]
(6) suggested an explicit functional relationship between on in
eqn. 4 and sn, the displacement of the nth element. For the
where s(x, t) is the displacement of a point JC measured transformer given by the specifications in Table 1 he sug-
vertically up the winding at time t and Fn(x, t) is the gested that neglecting hysteresis
electromagnetic driving force per unit length. Eqn. 6 is
defined in a region D = {(x, t):xE (0, L), t G (0, T)} where on = c(b - 8sn/Lnf ~ q (9)
L is the length of the winding. The result of this is that a
in Newtons per square metre, where 8sn is the compression
large system of ordinary differential equations has been
of the «th element, c = 1600, b = l/74 and p - 20/9. To
replaced by a single partial differential equation by treating
ensure that an is a continuous function of 8sn, q = cbp.
the winding as a continuous elastic solid. This approach was
first proposed by Ockendon* and has several advantages Therefore
over the original model, computational simplicity being one 'An{c(b-8snlLn)p-q) 8sn < 0
of the most important. (compression)
The electromagnetic driving force exerted on the Fn = (10)
winding can be resolved into radial and axial components.
0 8sn > 0
(tension)
The radial forces act outwards on the outermost windings
and are reacted by tension in the conductors, and inwards Table 1 : Specifications for comparison with Whyatt [12] (Vertical
on the innermost winding, which must be adequately core transformer with concentric windings)
supported by the core and insulation if failure is to be Number of copper conductors 11
avoided [13]. Zenova et al. [11] have examined the Area of bottom insulation 0-224 m2
stability of compressed windings caused by the effects of Area of top insulation 0-224 m2
radial stresses. A theoretically balanced winding will have Area of interelement insulation 0 090 m2
Initial bottom insulation length 0055 m
equal and opposite axial forces about their vertical centre Initial top insulation length 0-146 m
line, resulting in a compression-relaxation motion during a Initial interelement insulation length 0 083 m
short circuit. However, a balanced winding is rarely Initial winding displacement 0094 m
achieved, and this results in a pulsating electromagnetic Initial precompressive force 6-28 X 10s N
Winding weight 1-81 X 103 kg
driving force towards one end of the winding which is pro- Frictional coefficient 50 s-1
portional to the square of the current passing through the a 9-42
winding. Such a current consists of two parts, one direct 1007T
RMS current at short-circuit 2-1 kA
•OCKENDON, J.: Private communications Maximum asymmetric current at short-circuit 5-7 kA

IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. B, No. 2, MARCH 1981 115

Whyatt considered the solution of eqn. 5 with eqn. 10. arities alone would be sufficient to give a solution which
For the model proposed in this paper, the analogue to has some form of discontinuity across the characteristics
eqn. 10 is given by which begin at (x 0 , 0) and (x1, 0). However, in the interior
of the regions (0,xo) * (0, T),{xo,xx) * (0, T)and(x,L) *
A(x){c(b - bs/bxf -q) bs/bx < 0 (0, T) Fe is a continuous function of bs/bx and so it will
-,t) = be discontinuous wherever sx is. If sx is discontinuous
0 bs/bx > 0
across the characteristics passing through (x o ,0) and
(ID (xi, 0), then so is Fe, but this gives a contradiction since Fe
Eqn. 6 is now revealed as a nonlinear 2nd-order hyperbolic is continuous throughout D. There is much numerical
partial differential. As it is assumed that the end supports evidence [15] to suggest that the solution of eqn. 6 subject
of the winding are rigidly fixed, this gives the boundary to eqns. 12 and 13 does have continuous first derivatives,
conditions except at x0 andxj, but the same cannot be said of higher-
5(0,0 = and s(L,t) = s(L,0) (12) order derivatives.
The initial configuration of the winding is a little more 3.1 Nondimensionalisation and numerical method
difficult to ascertain. At t = 0, the elastic coupling force is
constant at some external loading, E say; thus rearranging Write
eqn. 11 gives
Fe(x,t) = TA(x){c(b-Sxf-q} (14)
(13) where

1, bs/bx < 0
which is integrated to find s(x, 0), taking s(0,0) = 0. r = (15)
Finally, it is assumed that the winding is initially at rest. 0, bs/bx > 0
Thus, to produce results using this method it is necessary to
solve eqn. 6 with eqn. 11, subject to eqns. 12 and 13. and then put x' = x/L and t' — 50f where 50 Hz is the fre-
In order to obtain a solution, it is now necessary to find quency of the alternating current. In addition, P = 50
expressions for the density and cross-sectional area of the (sec"1) and set u = s/(Lb), then eqn. 14 becomes
winding, p and A, respectively. A typical winding (see Fig. Fe(x,t) = TA(x){cbp(\-ux)p-q} (16)
1) consists of alternate layers of insulation and copper
element, and so as a first approximation p is taken as the where the prime mark has been dropped for convenience.
average density of the winding (Model 1). However, it is Finally, set
not difficult to improve on this approximation. The motion
of the winding is brought about by the compression of
P W
some parts of the winding more than others, but it is clear L2p2500
that the insulation compresses far more easily than the
r = cbp
copper element because of its relatively low density. There-
fore, as an alternative to Model 1, it is possible to assume and
that the copper elements shrink to infinitesimally thin but 6 = 2500WT1
massive layers and then take p as the total mass of the
winding divided by the length of the insulation (Model 2). then the differential eqn. 6 with eqns. 12 and 13 becomes
This last approximation is encompassed by the assumption
made by Lur'e and Savelev [9] on whose model Whyatt's
work is based. Finally, also from Fig. 1, the cross-sectional 9{Fn(x,t)/p-g} (17)
area of the winding, A(x), for this example, is not a con-
tinuous function of x; the area of the end insulation being (x, t)ED = (0, 1) * (0, T)
somewhat larger than the interelement insulation. Hence,
from eqn. 13, we see that initially ds/dx is also discon- with
tinuous wherever A is, i.e. at x0 and xx. Therefore, the u(0,t) = 0 I I ( 1 , 0 = "(1,0) (18)
initial configuration of the winding, s(x, 0), is only piece-
wise linear, and if eqn. 6 has continuous coefficients, then The initial data for eqn. 17 are given by wo(*)» where
its solution would be expected to have some form of
du0=l l *
singularity across the characteristics [13] which pass
through (x0, 0) and (xl} 0). However, the elastic coupling dx bI c
force between elements must be continuous throughout D,
but this can only be so if A(x) (b—SxY is continuous. wo(0) = 0
Therefore, since A is discontinuous at x0 and xt so is ds/dx. and
In addition, since A is piecewise constant
ut(x, 0) = 0, 0 < x < 1

dFe -A(x)pc(b-sxf-xs Since the solution of eqn. 17 is expected to be singular at

x 0 and xXD is subdivided along the lines x = x0 and x = x v.
bx 0 In each subdomain, eqn. 17 is replaced by a suitable finite-
difference approximation, e.g.
except at x0 and JCX where b2s/bx2 may not be defined.
Thus, the differential eqn. 6 has discontinuous coefficients
and also discontinuous initial data. Either of these singul- = 0{F(mhJk)lp-g} (20)

116 IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. B, No. 2, MARCH 1981

and eqn. 16 is replaced by sx, are discontinuous [14]. The results, using the method
of characteristics, are almost indistinguishable.
Fe(mh,jk) = TA(mh){c(l - -q) (21) From the displacement of the winding we can compute
]
Fe using eqn. 21. In Figs. 3 and 4 we give the computed
where U m is an approximation for u(mh,jk), h and k being values at x0 and xx using Models 1 and 2 and also the
the mesh sizes in the respective subdomain of D, and n, 8X results obtained by Whyatt. We see that Model 1 is deficient
and 8t are the normal finite-difference operators. In in two respects. First, the peaks are too small, but more
addition importantly the frequency of oscillation is only half that
which might be expected from an electromagnetic driving
U{ = 0 and (22)
force as suggested in Section 2. Model 2 does not suffer
where £/£, (m = 1 , . . . ,M) is given by integrating eqn. 19. from these deficiencies and produces results well within the
If A were a continuous function, then th°, same mesh accuracy required. The agreement with the solution com-
could be used throughout D, but since A is discontinuous at puted using the differential-difference system, eqn. 5, is
x0 and xl, eqns. 20 and 21 are not valid at these points. In- good, but the solution can be obtained with considerably
stead, eqn. 21 is replaced by suitable one-sided difference less work.
approximations for du/dx. As Fe is continuous across The greatest asset of any mathematical model is the ease
x =xo,i.e. with which the relative importance of the various factors
involved can be investigated. For example, it is easy to
Fe(x0 — e, t) = lim Fe(x0 + e, t) (23) show that the winding responds in a linear manner to
e-+ 0
amplification of the electromagnetic driving force and to
and likewise a t x t , eqn. 23 is approximated by investigate the sensitivity of the winding to terms such as
the damping experienced by the winding and the initial
+ m n -2 precompressive force.
-/I) c 1- Because the initial precompressive force is applied to
2/*,
clamp together the winding, it would be useful if it were
possible to predict how large it should be. The original
+2
= A(xo+h)[c\l-

(24)

where /J 0 and /ii are the mesh sizes in (0, x0) and (x0, xx),
respectively, with moho=xo. Values for U^1, m = 10
m0 — 2, m0 — 1, w 0 + 1, m0 +2 are calculated using
eqn. 20, then eqn. 24 is solved to find Umol. This procedure
is repeated at xx to produce values for {U1^1} m = 1 , . . ,
M—\, the winding displacements at t = (j+l)k. From
these values, estimates for Fe(mh, ( / + l)k) can be ob-
tained.
Since eqn. 6 is a hyperbolic partial differential equation,
a stability criterion [13] of the form koth should be ex-
pected. However, since it is quasilinear, a full global analysis
is very difficult, but a local stability analysis produces the Fig. 3 Elastic coupling force Fe(x0, t) as function of time (non-
condition dimensional)
-l-l-l/2 original differential-difference method [ 5 ] . Central dif-
k < ft min {0(x)(l - (25)
ferences used for sn and backward differences for sn
Model 1
An upper bound on ux can be obtained by considering the - • - • Model 2
observed physical bounds on Fe. The condition, eqn. 25,
gives a rough estimate but in all cases it has proved to be
sufficient to give a stable difference approximation; this is,
however, a little generous. 106
As an alternative to eqn. 20, the natural hyperbolic
nature of eqn. 6 suggests that an approximate solution
might be obtained by the method of characteristics [13].
Comparative results are given in the next Section.

3.2 Results
Any attempt to solve eqn. 6 using the finite-difference
scheme (eqn. 20) without subdivision of D, even using
smoothed initial data, produces discontinuities which
propagate alone the characteristics emanating from (x 0 ,0) Fig. 4 Elastic coupling force Fe(xx, t) as a function of time (non-
and (xi, 0). However, the use of eqn. 20 in each subdivision dimensional)
of D and then linkage of these solutions using eqn. 24 at original differential-difference method [ 5 | . Central dif-
XQ, and a corresponding equation at * i , produces a solution ferences used for sn and backward differences for sn
Model 1
which is smooth except at x0 and xx where ux, and hence - • - • Model 2

IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. B, No. 2, MARCH 1981 117

specifications for the winding gave an initial precompressive
force of 6*28 x 10 s N, which produces a first peak in
Fe(x0, t) of 1-28 x 106 N, an increase of 6 4 8 x 10 s N. An
initial precompressive force of 8 x 10 s N gives a first peak
of 141 x 106 N. Reducing this damping to 4 x 10 s N gives
a first peak of 1 -02 x 106 N. For Fe(xltt)2i first minimum
of 0, 1-12 x 105 and 3 x 10 s is obtained if the initial pre-
compressive is 5x 10 s , 6-28 x 10 s and 3 x 10 s , respec-
tively. However, if the initial clamping is reduced to
4 x 105 N, then Fe{xx, t) falls to zero but does not increase
again. We conclude that an initial precompressive force of
4 x 10 s N is insufficient to clamp the winding under the
given short-circuit conditions. This model suggests that an
initial force of at least 5 x 10 s N is required.
This model can also be used to investigate the sensitivity
of displacement with respect to the various empirical
constants involved, e.g. 7 in eqn. 8. It has been shown [14]
that the numerical solution is relatively insensitive to
changes in 7; doubling 7 changes the peaks in Fe by less
than 2%. Taking 7 = 0 reduces Fe by about the same
amount.
4 Conclusions
From the results given in the previous Section, it would
seem that Model 2 is a possible idealisation to examine this
type of transformer winding. The computed results have
good qualitative agreement with physical observations and
very reasonable quantitative agreement with independent
calculations. These results may provide some degree of
insight into the motion of transformer windings and help
determine those factors which have the most influence on
their response.
118
5 References
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1946, 93, Pt. II, pp. 227-248
2 MIL'MAN, L.I.: 'An experimental investigation of the dynamic
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Elektrotekhnika (USSR), 1968, (7), pp. 3-7. English trans. Sov.
Electr. Eng.
3 MONROE, G.R.: 'Short circuit testing of large transformers',
IEEE Paper 69-661, July 1969
4 BAILEY, P., MADIN, A.B., and PRESTON, L.L.: 'Large trans-
formers', Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London A, 1973, 275, pp. 9 5 -
107
5 JAUCH, E.T., McNUTT, W.J., and WILSON, D.D.: 'Correlations
of power transformer short circuit standards with service require-
ments'. American Power Conference paper, Chicago, April 1972
6 TOURNIER, Y., EBERSHOL, G., CINIERO, A., YAKOV, S.,
MADIN, A.B., and WHITAKER, K.D.: 'Study of the dynamical
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ditions'. Transformer Conference Papers 143, 143a, CIGRE\
1962
7 TOURNIER, Y., EBERSHOL, G., CINIERO, A., YAKOV, S.,
MADIN, A.B., and WHITAKER, D.K.: ibid., Papers 134, 134a,
CIGRE, 1964
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transformer windings', Electr. Technol. USSR (GB), 1972, 2,
p. 167. English trans. Elektrichestvo (USSR), 2, (4-6), pp. 2 3 -
32
9 LUR'E, S.I.: 'Axial forces in transformer windings', Electr.
Technol. USSR (GB), 1972, 2, p. 167. English trans. Elek-
trichestvo (USSR), 1972, 2, (4-6), pp. 86-88
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differential equations' (Prentice Hall, 1971)
11 ZENOVA, V.P., LUR'E, S.I., and MIL'MAN, L.I.: "The stability
of compressed windings of transformers to the effects of radial
stresses due to short circuits', Elektrotekhnika, 1975, (4), pp.
39-43
12 WHY ATT, G.: 'The dynamic response of power transformer
windings under axial short circuit conditions'. Paper presented
at Oxford University Study Group with Industry, 1974
13 AMES, W.F.: 'Numerical methods for partial differential
equations' (Nelson, 1969)
14 QUINNEY, D.A.: 'The numerical solution of initial value
problems in partial differential equations'. D. Phil, thesis,
Oxford, 1976
IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. B, No. 2, MARCH 1981