LTC Condition Assessment Using

any Oil Tests

o m p
C
ringof Doble Clients
e
nference
2014 International Conference
e
ng i nApril 6 - 11, 2014

l e E
b
©Do
LLance Lewand, Doble Engineering Company

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved

Confidentiality Notice
• Doble Engineering (Doble) hereby grants the recipient (you) the right to
retain this presentation and materials included within (the Presentation) for
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to, the rights to copy, make use of, distribute, transmit,
a y or perform in
dis
display
m p any portion of the
public (or to third parties), edit, translate, or oreformat
n C and
g ted
Presentation are hereby or otherwise
e r
e andi
se gran
granted a shall remain expressly
cknowledge
reserved by Doble. You acknowledge
g i n an agree that such limited license is
expressly conditioned ed up
l e Enyou
pon
upon your acceptance of the terms herein. You
further agree that, inobthe event of your breach, Doble will suffer irreparable
damage and injury D
© for which there is no adequate remedy at law. As such,
njury
Doble, in addition to any other rights and remedies available, shall be
entitled to seek injunction by a tribunal of competent jurisdiction restricting
you from committing or continuing any breach of these terms.
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 2
Presentation Topics

• Goals and Objectives

• Technical Description of Tests a n y
C o mp
• Case Studies e e ring
ng i n
le E
D o b
©

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 3

Program Goals & Objectives

• To provide a non-intrusive means to determine the need for

LTC maintenance rather than using a time-basede-bay program
p a n
C om
• To have a high probability
ty that e r i ng entering a unit a
whe
when
g i n e
arent En
problem is apparent

• Determine if certain problems are manufacturer or model

specific
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 4
Condition Based Maintenance

• Prioritize maintenance based on condition rather than

using a time-based program. Condition codes odey are used
p a n
for this purpose. C om
e r i ng
g i n e
• Focus maintenance
ance E n
activities
activit and prevent failures
b l e
©Do
• Generate equipment watch list

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 5

Why Use Oil Tests?

• Can be performed while the equipment is in service

• Can detect a wide range of problems in the a ney stages
early
o m p
• Can be used to ascertainn aereason
r i n g C sense of the
reasonable
i n e
Eng
severity of the problem
prob em
• Have been shown to be cost effective

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 6

Condition Assessment Program

• Doble along with others have developed a programs to use

laboratory tools to help identify problems inn LT LTCs
y
p a n
o m
• Program helps to identifyy conditionsi
condition
r n g sCrresulting from:
i n e e
msEng
– mechanical problems
oblem
– electrical problem
problems
– deterioration due to local overheating

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 7

What is an LTC
On-load tap-changers
are used for changing
any
tappings on energized
om p
transformer windings. ng C
er i
ine
Eng
A device which
ich is used to change the ratio of the input
and output voltages of a transformer over any one of a
definite number of steps.
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 8
What Happens During An Arc
Oil Degradation: Contact Surface
Forms various gases Cu & Ag melting
and elements which and sublimation
may recombine
a n y
omp
r i n gC
i n e e Pressure wave and

Eng
~1200°C
~12 gas expansion, oil
o ble and gas cools
©D rapidly as it moves
out from center of
arc
Cu & Ag melting
and sublimation
Contact Surface
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 9

Mechanical Degradation

• Contacts (moving and stationary)

• Contact alignment n y
mp a
• LTC vacuum bottle failure C o
rin g
in e e
• Loss of contact pres
pressureE n
sure g
o b l e
• Drive Rods © D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 10

Dielectric and Thermal Failure

• Excessive Moisture
• Excessive amounts of ny
m p a
conductive particles C o
er ing
• Coking of switches andngine
l e E
b
©Do
contacts

• Plugged Vents
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 11

In Search Of:

• Thermal Runaway
– Initiates as localized overheating of
any
conductors
om p
ng C
– Causes carbonization and byproduct
e r i
polymeric films to form
Egine
m onncondu
conductors
b l e
– © Do the contact surface
Effectively increases
increase
resistance thereby causing increased
heating which increases the coking
rate…..
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 12
LTC Program Oil Tests
• Dissolved Gas-In-Oil Analysis (DGA)
• Particle Count
• Particle Typing, Filter Examination a n y
o m p
• Doble Carbon Coding and Sludgee Forma n
FormationC
gation
e r i
• Neutralization Number ngine
l e E
• Water Contentnt Do b
©
• Dielectric Breakdown Strength
• Dissolved Metals in Oil such as copper and silver which may come
from contact wear
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 13

DGA

Gas or Gases Condition

Ethylene Thermal, a 300°C
C any
Arcing, a 1200°C
Acetylene
p
High Ethylene & Low Acetylene
n g Coma 700°C
High Thermal,
Therma
e r i
Methane
ng ine Pa
Partial discharge or low thermal

le E Low Thermal, a 100 to 200°C

ob
Methane, Ethane
hane
n©D
Hydrogen Partial discharge, electrolysis
Oxygen/Nitrogen Breathing, sealed, plugged

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 14

Key DGA Ratios
• For Break-in-oil Models (reactive or resistive):
– ethylene / acetylene
– (hydrogen + acetylene) / (TCG - carbon monoxide) n
onoxide
a y
– o m p
methane / acetylene
n g C
– e
Outlier: Reinhausen Break-in-oil
k in-oilr i
e (large
(larg amounts of gases
i n
produced with noo ap
le Eng dis
pparent
apparent disruption in the LTC operation)
D o b
• Vacuum Tapp©Changers:
Cha
– Key on Acetylene total concentration
– Not always applicable for Reinhausen Vacuum tap changers
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 15

Doble Transformer Committee LTC Guide – Normal

any
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 16

Water Content

• ASTM D1533
• Water content - Looking for the y
p an
presence of excessive amount
C om
of water using concentrationtioneering
n g in
(ppm), relativee satur
l e E ((%),
ation
saturation
b
©Do
operating temperature,
empera and
ambient relative humidity

water
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 17

Dielectric Breakdown Strength

• ASTM D1816

• Must have some minimum any

om p
value to provide enough
r ingC
dielectric clearance so nginee
E
arcs are onlyly D ble
toothe
©
contacts thatt are making
or breaking

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 18

Neutralization Number or Acidity

• ASTM D974

• Indicator of aging, excessive a ny

o m p
amounts increases erosion ing C
e e r
ngi
of contacts and structural
ctural n
le E
materials o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 19

Other Tests
• Dielectric Breakdown Strength
• Acidity - indicator of aging, excessive amounts increases
ncre erosion of
n y
contacts and structural materials mpa
C o
• Particle analysis - number, size, rin g
in e e
type
E n g
• Doble Carbonn Code b l - carbon
carbo loading
D o
• Metals in oill©- quantity of each metal from contacts, etc.

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 20

Particle Counting

• ASTM D6786

• Number, Size and Type any

om p
ng C
• Sample Bottles er i
ng ine
le E
D o b
©

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 21

Doble Carbon Code – Carbon Loading

any
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D
Doble Carbon Code: 3 Doble Carbon Code: 8 Doble Carbon Code: 18

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 22

Carbon and Sludge

an y
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
D o b
©

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 23

Dissolved Metals – organometallic complexes

Most often performed
med by IICP (MDL: 0.5 ppm),

any
om p
ng C
e e ri
Element Source
usst))En g i n
l e
Iron Tank (most often
ten ru
rrust)
rus
Silicon Silicone,
D o b
one, fiberglass
Copper ©t
Contacts
Silver Contacts
Lead Brazes, solders, paints
Zinc Brazes, solders, plated parts
Titanium Paints
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 24
Determining the LTC Condition
• Using a 15 point system based on DGA Analysis plus review of other
test data.
• Determine Condition Codes 1- 5 as follows:
a n y
– Condition 5: Normal condition
C o mp
– Condition 4: Moderate - Increase frequency g
rin off sampling
e e
in increase
– Condition 3: Advanced aging n g
- Further
Furth
b l eoffEsampling
D o
frequency s
– Condition 2:©Severe - perform field tests, initial
S
investigation to determine problem
– Condition 1: Remedial action needed

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 25

LTC Population Distribution for Condition Codes

Point Range Condition Assessment % of

Code Population
12.0 to 15.0 1 Emergency
a ny 2.0
eededm
o
Remedial Action Needed p
Now
g C
9.0 to 11.5 2
e e r in
nvestiga
Investigate 3.4
g
Perform
n n ttests, plan for outage
erformifield
E Advanced Aging
5.5 to 8.5 3 ble 8.0
Accelerate sample frequency
2.0 to 5.0 4 Moderate 15.9
Increase sample frequency
0 to 1.5 5 Normal 70.7
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 26
LTC Sampling Information

• Need basic Transformer nameplate information so can

trend data - paper or electronic forms
a n y
LTC Information LTC Information n
o m p
r i ng–Cselector, transfer
Manufacturer
i n e
Compartment
partment
e
Year of manufacture
E ng
Tank T
Type – sealed, free breathing, desiccant
o b le Does it have an LTC filter?
©D
Model
Type: vacuum or break-in-oil Has it been maintained since last test?

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 27

Compartment Types

Diverter Selector
AKA AKA
Interrupting Compartment Transfer
a
er Switch
Swi
n y
Circuit Breaker Compartment
o
Tap Box
mp
Arcing Compartment
r i n gC Tap
Tap Changing
Chan Compartment

i n e e
Gas Profile
En g Gas Profile
ts of gase
Has lots
o b l e
gases Should not have much gas present
©D
Electrical
t Profile Electrical Profile
High Current and High Voltage Low Current and Low Voltage

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 28

LTC Sampling

• Flush 1 quart (L) of oil through valve if <300 gallons

• Flush 2 quarts (L) of oil through valve if >=300
a n y gallons
o m p
g C bottle
• Sample volume 1 Syringee ander1inquart
qu
g i n e
E n
• Use new tubing l e
b eeach
bingofor ac compartment (avoid false
D
positives) ©
• Use clean sample containers
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 29

LTC Sampling - Continued

• For DGA syringes preferred (don’t remove bubbles formed

after storing)
a n y
ombap
• Take samples after maintenance ce gtoo Cget baseline
e e rin
• Make sure LTC unde n g in pressure
under
l e E
er posit
positive
Do b
©
• Check oil level
• Precaution: Explosion hazard when processing oil
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 30
LTC Sampling Information

Sample Frequency
– Normal loaded below nameplate rating: 1 yearny
– o m pamonths
gC
Normal loaded above nameplate ate rrating:
ating: 4-6
e r i n
–
g e
Problems - loaded belowinnamepla
nameplate rating generally: 3-6 months
E n
– Problems b l
ms - loaded
o e abov
above nameplate rating generally: 1-3 months
– ©D
Investigate
at
– Immediate remedial action

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 31

a n y
C o mp
LTC Cases
erin
g
g i n e
le En
o b
©D Detected Using Oil Testing
Problems

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved

Case 1-LTC Problem - Vacuum Type

• Westinghouse 69 kV, 16 MVA transformer

• Tripped off-line differential relays a n y
C o mp
• DC Resistance-no issue
e e ring
ng i n
E
le en in 1L position, short circuit
• Excitation- Overocur
D b
current
suspected ©

• Main tank tap changer winding suspected

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 33

Case 1: DGA Results

Gas Main Tank, uL/L LTC, uL/L
(ppm) (ppm)
Hydrogen 43 390y
p a n
om63500
Oxygen 4540 31200
Nitrogen 69800
ng C
e e r i
Methane
i
ng 42n 10 139
Carbon Monoxide
l e E 15
Ethane
D o b 7 12
©
Carbon Dioxide
oxide 1180 651
Ethylene 1 205
Acetylene 0 582
Doble Condition
Total CombustiblesCode: 1 Remedial action
103 required 1328
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 34
Case 1: Statistical Analysis UVT LTC, uL/L (ppm)

H2 Methane CO Ethane CO2

a n y
Ethylene
Ethy Acetylene
Average 24 9 95 11 o
1121m p 7 4
ng C
Std. Dev. 25 18 53
e e r i 24 977
9 7 12
90% Norm 47 32 134
4
n g i n 42 2214 16 19
95% Norm 56 38
8
l e E
153 51 2569 19 24

Do b
©

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 35

Case 1: Transformer Turns Ratio

TAP Phase A Phase B Phase C
16R 1.4255 1.4260 1.4252
15R 1.4344 1.4348 1.4341
14R 1.4418 1.4424
a n y
1.4416
1.441
13R 1.4509 1.4514 4 omp1
1.4506
C
ng 1
12R 1.4587
e r i
1.4591
1.459 1.4583
681 ine 1.5686
N 1.5681
E n g 1.5673
1L
o b l
1.e
1.5377
5377 1.5787 1.5777
2L D
3L
© 1.4255
1.4344
1.5884
1.5990
1.5871
1.5977
4L 1.4418 1.6087 1.6073
5L 1.4509 1.6196 1.6180
6L 1.4587 1.6297 1.6281
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 36
Case 1: Stationary Contact of Reversing Switch
• Reversing switch stuck in one
position
• The spring from rom y
n the nut connected to
th
pa contacts was
o m
onee of stationary
C out which caused
r i n gshed
pushed
pu

ng inee misalignment of contacts

le E • This forced one contact onto another,
o b
©D became welded together
• When the reversing switch tried to go
from the upper to the bottom contact
the rod broke
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 37

Case 2: Westinghouse URS, uL/L (ppm)

Gas LTC, uL/L
Hydrogen 7611
Oxygen 6610
50,700
y
Nitrogen
Methane 5234
34
p a n
Carbon Monoxide
C o m
211
Ethane
e r ing 2982
Carbon Dioxide
E n gine 4380
Ethylene
b l e 32,123

©Do
Acetylene
ylene
Total Combustibles
Co
3601
51,762
Methane/Acetylene 1.5
Ethylene/Acetylene 8.9
(H2+C2H2)/TCG-CO 0.22
Doble Condition Code 1
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 38
Case 2: Normal Wear - Reversing Switch

any
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 39

Case 2: Normal Wear - Moving Contacts

any
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 40

Case 2: Badly Worn Moving Contacts

any
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 41

Case 3: McGraw Edison 550C, uL/L (ppm)

Gas LTC, uL/L
Hydrogen 177
Oxygen 25,490
67,800
y
Nitrogen
Methane 1800
00
p a n
Carbon Monoxide
C o m
178
Ethane
e r i ng 1454
Carbon Dioxide
E n gine 750
Ethylene
b l e 3295

©Do
Acetylene
ylene 14.6
Total Combustibles
Co 6919
Methane/Acetylene 123
Ethylene/Acetylene 226
(H2+C2H2)/TCG-CO 0.03
Doble Condition Code 1

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 42

Case 3: Transformer and LTC

Infrared Thermography tells the story

any
om p
ng C
e e r i
g i n
le En
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 43

Coking on Reversing Switch

a nyCoking on reversing switch

om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 44

Coking on Reversing Switch

any
om p
ng C
er i
ng ine
le E
o b
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 45

Case 4 Westinghouse UTT, uL/L (ppm)

Gas Initial Test, 1 Month later,
uL/L uL/L
Hydrogen 4415 19,910
Oxygen 1640 4920
Nitrogen 12,800
a ny
40,900
0
Methane 1137

o m p 7268

C
Carbon Monoxide 65 332
Ethane
e r i ng
2310 2732

gine
Carbon Dioxide 2260
226 6670
Ethylene
E n 13,089 32,628

b l e 176 273

©Do
Acetylene
Total Combustibles
Combustib 37,892 63,143
Methane/Acetylene
/ 6.5 27
Ethylene/Acetylene 74 120
(H2+C2H2)/TCG-CO 0.12 0.32
Doble Condition Code 1 1

Replaced transfer switch

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 46
Case 5- TC-25 LTC
Gas Initial Test, 1 Month later,
uL/L (ppm) uL/L (ppm)
Hydrogen 25,100 19,700
a ny
Oxygen 922
p 1260
,800 Com 3
51,800 39,500
Nitrogen
ri n g
Methane
i n e e5420 4720
E ng 633 520
Carbon Monoxide
o
de
b l e
Ethane
© D 658 912
Carbon Dioxide 2240 2200
Ethylene 7520 8180
Acetylene 26,700 27,500
Condition Code: 3 Advanced Aging, All ratios normal
Total Combustibles 66,031 61,532
©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 47

TC-25 Statistics, uL/L (ppm)

H2 Methane Ethane Ethylen

a n
Ethyleney Acetylene
Case 5 25,100 5420 8 Com
658
p
7520
75 26,700
in
r178g
90% Norm 2541 441
527gin e e 1836 6092
95% Norm 3108
E n 214 2206 7281
o b l e
©D

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 48

Inspection

• Infrared thermography normal

• Investigation a n y
– Arcing contacts worn C o mp
rin g
e e
– Incorrect preservation gin
on system
n
E from sealed to free breathing
• Corrected
o b l
ed by conve e
converting
tin
©
• Indicators
D
ors - high combustibles gases but all ratios normal

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 49

Case 6 Maloney TC-MJ-2

Gas LTC, uL/L
(ppm)
11,500
Reversing switch Hydrogen
Oxygen 629
loose and out of Nitrogen
a ny 21,200
21,20

omp
Methane 72,300
72

gC
alignment, making
n
Carbon Monoxide
xide 327
poor contact Ethane
e e r i 36,800
i n
Eng
Carbon Dio
Dioxide 6210

o b le Ethylene
Ethyle 162,000

©D
Acetylene 870
Total Combustibles 283,797
Methane/Acetylene 83
Ethylene/Acetylene 186
(H2+C2H2)/TCG-CO 0.04
Doble Condition Code 1

©2014 Doble Engineering Company. All Rights Reserved 50