Power Transformer Diagnostics:

Novel Techniques and their Application

Charles Sweetser
Technical Service Manager
Transformers
 Topics of Discussion

• Introduction to Power Transformers

• Life Expectancy
• Failure Modes
• Diagnostic Characteristics
• Diagnostic Measurements
• Standard Measurements
• Advanced Measurements
• SFRA - Sweep Frequency Response Analysis
• DFR - Dielectric Frequency Response
 Transformer Considerations

• Transformer Types and Classifications

• Transformer Configurations
• Vector Groups
• Oil Preservation Systems
• Insulating Materials and Fluids
• Construction Forms
• Core Steel
• Ratings
• Cooling Schemes
• Tap Changers (OLTC, DETC)
• Bushings
• Surge Arresters
 Transformer Types and Classifications

• Distribution
• Power
• Rectifier
• Arc-Furnace
• Network
• Regulating (Voltage Regulators)
• Phase Shifting
• Reactors*
Vector Groups
Winding Types

1. Disk Winding
2. Pancake Winding
3. Helical Winding
4. Cylindrical or Layer Winding

Courtesy of Delta Star, San Carlos, CA

Courtesy of Delta Star, San Carlos, CA
Construction Forms
Core Form Shell Form
• Concentric • Interleaved
• Less Iron • More Iron
• More CU • Less CU

Core Form Shell Form

 Life Expectancy

• 180,000 hrs or 20.55 years

• 110 °C Hottest Spot for 65 °C Temp Rise insulation
• Degree of Polymerization (200 -1200 DP)
• 1200 DP - New Paper
• 200 DP at 150,000 hrs (end of life)

¾ Heat
¾ Moisture
¾ Oxygen
Failure Modes
Failure Modes
Core Failure Modes
• Over-Heating • Lamination Gaps
• Bulk Movement • Shorted Laminations
• Multiple Core Grounding • Ungrounded Core
 Oil Analysis – DGA and Oil Screen

• Hydrogen (H2) • Rate of Gas Generation

• Methane (CH4) • Partial Discharge
• Ethane (C2H6)
• Arcing
• Ethylene (C2H4)
• Electrical Heating
• Acetylene (C2H2)
• Metal Heating
• Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• Decomposition of Paper
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Oxygen (O2)
• Nitrogen (N2)
Oil Analysis – DGA and Oil Screen
• Dielectric Breakdown
• IFT
• Color
• Acidity
• Power Factor
• Moisture
• Specific Gravity
• Viscosity

• Degree of Polymerization DP (Paper)

• Furans (Oil)
Transformer Tests
Dielectric Thermal Mechanical

DGA DGA SFRA

Oil Screen Oil Screen Leakage Reactance
PF/TD CAP IR PF/TD CAP
Exciting Ima DC Winding RES Exciting Ima
Turns Ratio Tests DC Winding RES
DFR
Insulation Resistance
Transformer Test Protocol

1. Overall Power Factor and Capacitance (Tip-Up, Variable Freq)

2. Bushings (C1, C2, Energized Collar) (Tip-Up, Variable Freq)

3. Exciting Current

4. Surge Arresters

5. Insulating Fluids

6. Leakage Reactance (Frequency Response of Stray Losses)

7. Turns Ratio Test

8. DC Winding Resistance (Slope, Ripple)

9. Insulation Resistance
Overall PF and Capacitance
 Bushings
• Test Taps kV < 72 kV (C1 and C2)

• Potential Taps kV > 72 kV (C1 and C2)

• No Tap – Use Energized Collar at 10 kV

Bushings
 Surge Arresters

• Analyzed on the basis of Watts

Advanced Diagnostics

1. Advanced Power Factor

Tip-Up: Voids in Insulation
Variable Frequency (15 Hz to 400 Hz): Moisture and Aging
2. Advanced DC Winding Resistance
Ripple and Slope
3. Advanced Leakage Reactance
FRSL (Frequency Response Stray Losses)

4. SFRA - Sweep Frequency Response Analysis

5. DFR - Dielectric Frequency Response
 Variable Frequency Losses

2.50E-03
Serial
2.00E-03 Parallel
Sum
1.50E-03

1.00E-03

5.00E-04

0.00E+00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Normal Power Factor
Power Factor Influenced by Moisture
Slope and Ripple

Slope D

Ripple
Advanced DC Resistance - Slope

Slope
0.0A/s

-0.1A/s
A UP
-0.2A/s A DOWN
B UP
-0.3A/s
B DOWN
-0.4A/s C UP
C DOWN
-0.5A/s

-0.6A/s
000 005 010 015 020 025 030 Taps
 Advanced DC Resistance - Slope

Slope

0.0A/s
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
-0.2A/s
A UP
-0.4A/s A DOWN
B UP
-0.6A/s
B DOWN
-0.8A/s C UP
C DOWN
-1.0A/s

-1.2A/s
Taps
Advanced DC Resistance - Ripple

Ripple

50.0%
45.0%
40.0%
35.0% A UP
30.0% A DOWN
25.0% B UP
20.0% B DOWN
15.0% C UP
10.0% C DOWN
5.0%
0.0%
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Taps
FRSL - Good

R(f)

4.5 Ohm
4.0 Ohm
3.5 Ohm
3.0 Ohm
A
2.5 Ohm
B
2.0 Ohm
C
1.5 Ohm
1.0 Ohm
0.5 Ohm
0.0 Ohm
0 100 200 300 400 500
Frequency (Hz)
FRSL – Poor Result
Short-Circuit Between Parallel Strands

R(f)

300

250

200 A
B
150 C
100

50
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Frequency [Hz]
 Dielectric Frequency Response (DFR)

Volt age source Power Factor in Frequency Domain

~ 10

Power Factor
Current m et er
HV- winding
1 ?
LV- winding
0,1
Guard

0,01

Main insulat ion 0,001

Tank 0,0001 0,001 0,01 0,1 1 10 100 1000
Frequency (Hz)
Moisture in Transformers

1. Reduces Dielectric Strength

2. Promotes the Formation of Bubble

3. Ages Insulation with Heat and Oxygen

Moisture Terminology – Paper, Pressboard, and Oil

1. Water Content

• Pressboard & Paper (percentage of total mass)

• Oil (PPM)

2. Moisture Saturation – P,P,O (Relative, Humidity)

Moisture Fact in Transformers

1. If mass of oil equals paper-pressboard,

then at equilibrium the water content is
(2000:1)

2. In transformers there is 10X more oil

mass than paper and pressboard, so
the water content is (200:1)
Oil Ratio to Paper : Pressboard

Mass of the oil: Mass of the solid insulation:

100,000 kg = 220,000 Lbs 13,000 kg = 20,000 Lbs

Water content at 60 °C:

40 ppm Water content at 60 °C:
4%

Mass of the water contained in the

Mass of the water, dissolved in the oil: paper:
4 kg = 8.8 Lbs 520 kg = 1200 Lbs
.DUO)LVFKHU7LWUDWLRQDQG(TXLOLEULXP&XUYHV

• Curves are only valid

for new oil and new
paper, for aged
11 oil/paper different
[%] 20 °C 30 °C 40 °C curves are necessary
9
50 °C • Balance between water
8
Water Content in the Paper

7
content in the paper
low
6
and in oil needs
60 °C
5
constant temperatures
Temperature
4
over a long period
80 °C
high
3
• Only average
2
100°C measurement
1

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 [ppm] 90
Water Content in the Oil
 Water Content Recommendations
Category Moisture content in %

• Dry below 2.2

• Moderately wet 2.2-3.7

• Wet 3.7-4.8

• Extremely wet above 4.8

 Measurement Characteristics
 σ  ¨ Current in wide frequency
I (ω ) = jω C 0 ε ( ∞ ) + χ ′(ω ) − j  0 + χ ′′(ω )  U (ω ) range,
  ε 0ω 
e.g. 1 mHz – 1 kHz
σ0
+ χ ′′(ω ) ¨ Display as dissipation
C ′′(ω ) ε ′′(ω ) ε 0ω factor or complex
tan δ (ω ) = = =
C ′(ω ) ε ′(ω ) ε ( ∞ ) + χ ′(ω ) capacitance or complex
permittivity
Dissipation factor

10 moisture of
cellulose,
aging
1 Interpretation
¨ Slope - oil conductivity
high
high
¨ Hump - insulation geometry
low
0.1
¨ Low frequencies
low
moisture of
and aging
cellulose

insulation
geometry

0.01
- moisture and aging
high
oil - long test duration
conductivity low
0.001
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Frequency (Hz)
Measurement Examples
5.0

60Hz
2.0
1.0
0.5

0.2
0.12
0.1
0.05
New Moderate Aged

0.02
0.01
0.0036
0.005
0.0024
0.0001 0.001 0.010 0.10 1.0 10.0 Freq/Hz 1000
New, dry, cold: 1kHz - 0.1 mHz
Moderate: 1kHz - 1 mHz
Very aged: 1kHz - 10 mHz
3.1 % at 9 qC – Oil Sample Yielded 5.0%
What is SFRA?

• Powerful and sensitive tool to assess the

mechanical and electrical integrity of
power transformers active part

• Measurement of the transfer function

over a wide frequency range
Diagnostic Category

• Dielectric
• Thermal
• “Mechanical”

• Use SFRA:
1. Transportation
2. Post Fault
 Life Cycle
Manufacturer Workshop
Delivery Port

Truck Transport 1 •Transport Checking

•Quality Assuring
•After Short Circuit Test
•Failure Investigation
Ship Transport

Reception Port

•Routine Measurement
•After Transients/Overcurrents
Truck Transport 2
•Failure Investigation (DGA) •Transport Checking
The SFRA Measurement Principle
3 3

Spannung U1/U1 in V/V

2 Transformator 2

Spannung U2/U1 in V/V

1 1

> 17/03/2010 0

-1
0 50 100
0

-1
0 50 100

-2 -2

-3 -3
Zeit t in µs Zeit t in µs

Erregungssignal
Input signal
(variable Frequenz) OutputAntwortsignal
signal
(sine wave of 3

variable frequency) 2
1-|TF(f1)|

Spannung U/U1 in V/V

1 ^
U1
^
U2
0

M(f1)/2 f
0 50 100
-1

^
U2
-2 |TF(f1)| =
^

M(f1)
U1

arc(TF(f1)) =
-3
Zeit t in µs

Betragsfunktion Phasenfunktion
|TFU2/U1(f)|Magnitude Phase
arc(TFU2/U1(f))
dB
1.0
1.000e+002 1.000e+003 1.000e+004 1.000e+005
° 200.0
f/Hz
-10
150 150.0

-20
0.8
100 100.0

arc(TFU2/U1(f)) in deg
-30
|TFU2/U1(f)| in V/V|

0.6
50 50.0 f/Hz
1.000e+002 1.000e+003 1.000e+004 1.000e+005
-40
0 0.0

-50 0.4
-50 -50.0

-60
-100.0
0.2 -100
-70
-150.0
-150
-80
0.0 -200.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
-90
f in MHz NV f in MHz
NV
 Theoretical Background
Cables Grounding x (t ) = X sin ω t

Measurement Measurement y (t ) = Y sin( ω t + φ )

cable cable
RMC12 RMC34 U 2 (s) Rm
TF = =
U1 ( s ) Rm + Z specimen
CMC CMC

CMC CMC

Complex RLC Network k = 20 log10 (U 2 / U1 )

ϕ = tan −1 (∠U 2 / ∠U1 )

50 dB °
10

0
Magnitude (k) 150 Phase
U1 50 U2 50
-10

-20
1.000e+002 1.000e+003 1.000e+004 1.000e+005 1.000e+006
f/Hz
100

-30 50
-40

-50
0

-60 1.000e+002 1.000e+003 1.000e+004 1.000e+005 1.000e+006

-50 f/Hz
-70

-80
-100
-90

-100 -150
-110
-200
-120
H1 H2 H2 H3 H3 H1 H1H2 H2H3 H3H1
Passive Components
RLC Characteristics

0 0
Amplitude [dB]

Amplitude [dB]
-50
-50
L=200 mH -100
-100 L=2 mH C=1uF
L=20 H -150 C=20nF
C=1pF
-150 -200
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

0 100
L=200 mH
L=2 mH
Phase [°]

Phase [°]

-50 L=20 H 50 C=1uF

C=20nF
C=1pF

-100 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
Typical Results
5.000e+001 1.000e+002 5.000e+002 1.000e+003 5.000e+003 1.000e+004 5.000e+004 1.000e+005 5.000e+005 1.000e+006
f/Hz

-20

-30

-40

-50

-60

-70

dB

150

100

5.000e+001 1.000e+002 5.000e+002 1.000e+003 5.000e+003 1.000e+004 5.000e+004 1.000e+005 5.000e+005 1.000e+006
f/Hz
-50

-100

N W sec N V sec NU
Failure Modes

• Radial “Hoop Buckling” Deformation

• Axial Winding Elongation “Telescoping”

• Overall- Bulk & Localized Movement

• Winding Turn-to-Turn Short Circuit

• Open Circuited Winding

Radial Failure
Axial Failure

Pag
Conductor Tilting
Core Faults

Pag
Measurements Types

• Open Circuit - Exciting Ima

• Short Circuit - Leakage Reac

• Interwinding - CAP

• Transfer Voltage - TTR

HV and LV Open Circuit
Open Circuit Tests
Open Circuit vs. Short Circuit
Short Circuit Tests
Analysis Strategies

• Baseline

• Similar Unit

• Phase Comparison
FRA Industry Groups
• CIGRE WG A2.26 (Guide)

• DL 911/2004 (Standard)

• IEC 60076-18 (Draft)

• IEEE WG PC57.149 (Guide) D8

 Standardization in the World

WG A2.26
PC57.149/D8 DL 911/2004
IEC 60076-
60076-18

CHINA
Available Documents

Cigré Brochure 342 DL 911/2004

Available Documents

IEC 60076-18 IEEE PC57.149

Thank You for Your Attention