2013 Electrical Insulation Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2 to 5 June 2013
Effects of Voltages with High-Frequency Contents on
the Transformer Insulation Properties
Mahdi Khanali, Shesha Jayaram
Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Canada
mkhanali@uwaterloo.ca, Jayaram@uwaterloo.ca
Abstract— This work studies the changes that occur in
transformer insulation properties when voltages with steep fronts
and high-frequency contents are applied. With a significant
growth in the number of wind-farms and solar-plants that use
power-electronic-based converters, the problems associated with
such voltages on insulation has led to increasing concerns.
Distorted voltages accelerate the transformer insulation
degradation. Two identical transformers are studied by
energizing independently under power frequency sinusoidal and
width-modulated pulse trains. The dielectric characteristics of
the test objects, like partial discharge activities, insulation
resistance, are periodically measured during the ageing process.
After a period of 500 hours of testing the dissolved gases are also
analyzed. The results for both transformers are compared and
discussed.
Keywords- transformer; insulation; dielectric properties;
renewable energies; high-frequency voltage; ageing
I. INTRODUCTION
Transformers are one of the most complicated apparatuses
in the power grid. Their insulation system is a composition of
both liquid and solid materials which embrace the energized
windings and grounded core. This convoluted geometry of
different dielectric and conductive parts results in a large
network of partial capacitances, inductances and resistances.
In addition to the conventional stresses on transformer
insulation systems caused by transient voltages, repetitive
voltage pulses are a concern for transformers connected to the
renewable energy plants. The inverters in renewable energy
plants generate width-modulated pulse trains with very high
slew rates (up to 50 kV/µs) and frequency (10-50 kHz) [1].
Although these pulses are being created during generation
(renewable energy plants) and consumption (power-electronics
loads), the step-up transformers that are installed in wind-farms
and solar-plants with voltage-sourced converters are the
components that are more severely exposed to high-frequency
noises and impulse trains.
The adverse effects on the performance of power system
components such as transformers, cables and accessories in the
presence of fast transients and high frequency components
have been reported recently [2]. Further, transformer failures
have been documented by wind-farm developers. In specific,
978-978-1-4673-4744-0/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
John Cheng
Electrical Designer
Moloney Electric Inc.
Toronto, Canada
jcheng@moloneytx.com
failure of the step-up transformers that connect the wind
turbine generators to the distribution networks has occurred as
early as two years after their installation; or in other cases the
dissolved gas contents in oil have reached significantly high
levels.
Distorted voltages with high-frequency contents might
affect the transformers in three ways: internal resonances
between conductive parts [3], travelling of voltage surge along
the windings [4] and the steeply-raised voltages affecting
dielectric parts intensively [5]. Although, these phenomena are
discussed in earlier studies about the motors and cables; no
studies have evaluated the effect of distorted voltages on
transformer insulation materials, as per the authors’ knowledge.
For transformers, generally, studies on the influences of voltage
and current distortion are limited to low-order harmonics which
are generated by distorted loads or by the mal functioning of
generators.
This paper examines the influence of distorted voltage
waveforms due to voltage converter operations on the dielectric
properties of transformer insulation. To evaluate the effect of
such high-frequency voltages on the transformer, two identical
transformers were subjected to stresses from two different
types of voltages. Both transformers were connected to the
same type of loads; while one was fed with a sinusoidal voltage
waveform and the other with distorted voltages generated by a
voltage-sourced converter. A variety of different parameters
such as the insulation resistance, polarization index, dissolved
gas analysis (DGA), dissipation factor, winding temperature
and partial discharge (PD) can be considered as indicators of
transformer insulation conditions. Of these factors, PD
measurement and DGA are frequently used in the assessment
of transformer wellness [6]. In this research, these two
parameters along with the insulation resistance have been
measured periodically during the ageing process. The results
are compared to observe which properties are more affected by
high-frequency voltages and how much the ageing process is
accelerated under distorted voltage waveforms.
II. TEST TRANSFORMERS AND EXPERIMENTAL
PROCEDURES
Two identical oil-filled transformers were designed and
constructed for ageing studies, following the standard
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manufacturing procedures as that of utility transformers. The TABLE I. TRANSFORMER NAME-PLATE DATA
transformers were energized for 500 hours under 120% of their Rated Output …………….. 1 kVA, one phase
nominal voltage. Both transformers were loaded by non-
distorting resistive loads at 40% of their rated load (Fig. 1). Voltage …………….. 115 V / 6.6 kV
Table I shows the name-plate data of the test specimens Tapings …………….. 10 x (- 10%)
(transformers). The voltage ratio between the primary and
secondary side is the same as that of conventional wind-farm Frequency …………….. 60 Hz
transformers. In order to analyze the effects of stresses during
Cooling type …………….. ONAN
the ageing tests, the following special features were included in
the construction: (a) 10 additional taps were added on the HV B.I.L …………….. 40 kV
side of the transformer to facilitate the monitoring of the
generated voltages between the layers of the windings (b) an 400

observation window was created on the top lid of the 300

transformer and sealed with a transparent substance to give the 200

top-down view of the winding layers. Thermal sensors were
also installed for measuring the winding temperature during 100

ageing. 0

The ageing tests were conducted in parallel by energizing -100

the two test specimens, using two separate sources. Source-1 is -200

a conventional 60Hz voltage regulator connected to the power -300

grid supply. This autotransformer voltage regulator is used to -400

set the input voltage to 138V, which is 120% of transformer’s -0.025 -0.02 -0.015 -0.01 -0.005 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025

nominal primary side voltage. The voltage waveform from

Source-1 is sinusoidal in nature with a total harmonic distortion Figure 2. Output voltage waveform from Source-2.
of less than 1.5%. Source-2 is a voltage sourced converter with
switching frequency and rate of voltage rise of 12 kHz and
1400 V/µs respectively, generating width-modulated pulsed
signals. The typical waveform and frequency spectrum of the
Source-2 output voltage is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig.3
respectively. The output voltage of the converter is set in such a
way that it has the same peak value as that of Source-1 output
voltage (sinusoidal waveform).

Figure 3. Frequency spectrum of Source-2 voltage waveform.

III. MONITORED PARAMETERS

Figure 1. Model transformer (test speciman) along with the connected
resistive load.
The parameters; partial discharges, insulation resistance,
and dissolved gas contents, are investigated in this research as
representatives of the transformer insulation conditions, before,
during and after ageing. Studies have shown that dielectric
measurements are a function of humidity, temperature and the
degree of ageing of the paper/oil insulation system of
transformers. In a laboratory experiment, as it is possible to
retain the humidity and temperature fairly at constant values,
the insulation resistance test can be a monitoring parameter for
the degree of ageing of transformer insulation. Similarly, the
initial PD measurements, and measurements made after every
100 hours of ageing serve as indicators of degradation of the
insulation.

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 Dissolved gas analysis has been accepted as the industry
standard for the determination of incipient faults in
transformers. Table II shows a comparison of different gas
quantities in oil, generated by different types of faults. It is
important to document the trend of the variation of different
gases during the ageing. For instance, if at a certain time two
transformers have the same quantities of hydrogen, but in one
transformer, the gas content level has increased gradually, and
in the other, in a short period of time; then the latter
transformer would be in a worse condition than the former one.

TABLE II. THE RELATIVE QUANTITIES OF DISSOLVED GASES GENERATED

BY INCIPIENT FAULTS

Figure 4. Observed PD levels in the inverter-fed transformer after 500 hours

of ageing.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results of the ageing process tests are presented here in
four sections: partial discharge activities, insulation resistance,
dissolved gas analysis, and oil temperature.
B. Insulation Resistance
Insulation resistances of both transformers were measured
at three stages of the ageing and using two different winding
connection arrangements. The arrangements and their
corresponding values ( at 24° C) are shown in Table IV.
TABLE IV. MEASURED INSULATION RESISTANCES

Inverter-fed transformer Power-grid-fed transformer

A. PD Activities Ageing
Periodic measurements of PD activities were done on both Time HV : Energized
LV :
HV : Energized
LV :
(hours) Energized Energized
transformers using Hipotronics PD test setup with PD level of Body+ LV:
Body+ HV:
Body+ LV:
Body+ HV:
Grounded Grounded
less than 2 pC. The first PD test was done as the initial Grounded Grounded
qualification test before ageing test, and additional PD tests 0
12.5 GΩ 16.7 GΩ 16.7 GΩ 8.3 GΩ
were done after 100, 200 and 500 hours of ageing respectively. (Initial)
Results of the PD tests are shown in Table III.
200 8.3 GΩ 16.7 GΩ 15 GΩ 5.6 GΩ
As expected, the PD values for the inverter-fed transformer
were relatively higher than those observed in the power-grid- 500 *** 12.5 GΩ 12.5 GΩ 6.25 GΩ
fed transformer. With long term ageing, the differences grew
significantly larger, and after 500 hours, it is suspected that the
problem in transformer insulation stressed under high
frequency contents is severe, as the level of PD reached 7.5 nC. As it can be seen from Table IV, the insulation resistance
The corresponding PD level in the transformer fed from power decreased with ageing, but it remained above acceptable levels.
frequency source is 21 pC. Fig. 4 shows the PD waveforms Although the changes in insulation resistance is almost the
measured for the inverter-fed transformer after ageing of 500 same for both transformers, the noticable point is that after 500
hours. These trends observed in PD activities in both hours of ageing the insulation resistance test could not be done
transformers confirm the severity of the stress conditions under on the inverter-fed transformer at 15 kV, due to an internal
inverter fed transformer. flash-over occurred while increasing the voltage at 10 kV.

C. Oil Temperature
TABLE III. PD TEST RESULTS
While the ambient temperature of the test setup was
PD values of Inverter- PD values of Power- maintained steady at 24° C, oil temperature was measured
Ageing Time
fed transformer grid-fed transformer during the ageing. The average oil temperature reading after
(hours)
@10 kV @10 kV
0 (initial) every 100-hour period is presented in Table V.
12 pC 8 pC
100 76 pC 11 pC
200 350 pC 13 pC
500 7.5 nC 21 pC

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 TABLE V. MEASURED OIL TEMPERATURES V. CONCLUSION
Oil temperature Oil temperature This ageing experiment on two identical oil-filled
Ageing Period (Inverter-fed (Power-grid-fed
transformer) transformer)
transformers energized with different voltages for 500 hours
has led to the following conclusions:
0-100 31°C 29°C
 The exposure of the transformer to a high-frequency
100-200 34°C 30°C distorted voltage has a strong influence on transformer
200-300 37°C 33°C insulation properties.
300-400 37°C 34°C  Of the measured parameters, PD activities showed the
highest changes during the ageing under distorted
voltages.
D. Dissolved gas analysis
 Variations in the measured values confirm that a severe
Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 respectively show the results of DGA for degradation in the insulation system of the inverter-fed
both the power-grid-fed and inverter-fed transformers. The transformer has occurred.
gases were extracted from the oil and analyzed using the flame
ionization detection technique as per ASTM D3612 standard  The relatively high content of acetylene in the oil from
test method. The result for the transformer energized by pure inverter-fed transformer could be caused by internal
AC voltage shows only air gases. The inverter-fed transformer low-power arcing.
oil has higher H2, CO, CH4, CO2, C2H4 and C2H2. Thus, there
are more fault gases present indicating that this transformer is  The transformer which was energized with power
closer to failure than the other. The gas of real concern is C2H2, frequency AC voltage showed nearly no changes in its
because its level is above the threshold warning level. The dielectric properties.
other gas contents are still below the warning levels.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The financial support from the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council is acknowledged. The help from
Moloney Electric Inc. in supplying the sample transformers and
from Kinectrics Inc. in oil sample analysis is appreciated.

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Figure 6. DGA result of inverter-fed transformer

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