Condition Monitoring of Transformer

(The heart of Power System)

EWETUMO, Abraham Adebayo

ewesta707@gmail.com
0808 608 8822
Condition Monitoring of Transformer
(The heart of Power System)
 Needs of Condition Monitoring
Transformer is a high efficient static electrical
device used for power transfer from one voltage
level to the other and plays the vital role in
electrical transmission and distribution system.

From moment of commissioning in service,

different stresses like :
-electrical,
-mechanical,
-chemical, and
-environmental factors affect the condition of the
transformer.
During service, they go through :
- natural ageing under operating stress
conditions as well as,
- accelerated ageing due to contamination &
- abnormal service conditions such as over
loading,
- short circuit in system or
- over voltage.

Repair of transformer is :
- costly and also
- time consuming.
Hence, condition monitoring of transformer is
of prime importance.
 Weak links
For economic monitoring of transformers, it is
important to identify the weak links and the failure
modes.
•The life of the transformer is largely decided by
the insulation system.

Accessories such as :
- Bushings,
-Tap changers,
-Cooling fans and
-oil pumps are also weak links.
 Transformer Failures
Transformer failures can be categorized as :
-electrical,
-mechanical, or
-thermal.

The cause of a failure can be internal or external.

In addition to failures in the main tank,
failures can also occur in :
-the bushings,
-tap changers, or
-in the transformer accessories.
Internal causes
• Insulation deterioration
• Loss of winding clamping
• Overheating
• Oxygen
• Moisture
• Solid contamination in the insulating oil
• Partial discharge
• Design & manufacture defects
• Winding resonance
External causes
• Lighting strikes/temperature or insulation
• System switching operations/mechanical
• System overload/electrical or current capacity
• System faults (short circuits, earth faults, etc)
The % Failure distribution
Failure statistics for large transformers in service
between 15 and 25 year
Properties of insulating materials
There are many properties, which characterize the
insulating materials, e.g.
-Resistivity,
-Breakdown voltage,
-Permittivity and
-Dielectric loss, etc.
An ideal insulating material should have:
• High dielectric strength sustained at elevated
temperature
• High resistivity
• Good thermal conductivity
• High tensile and shear strength of solid insulation
• High degree of thermal stability
 In addition to the above properties, the
material should have good other mechanical
properties such as :
- ability to withstand moisture,
- vibration,
- abrasion and
- bending.
Also, it should be able to withstand chemical
attack, heat and other adverse conditions of
service.
 Transformer Oil

Oil used for insulation in transformers is

mineral oil and it is obtained by refining crude
petroleum.

Three properties that are fundamental to use of

mineral oil as dielectric are:

1. High insulating property,

2. Good oxidative & ageing stability, and
3. Good heat transferability.
Transformer Oil

Oil used for insulation in

transformers is mineral oil,
obtained by refining crude
petroleum.
•Acts as coolant
•Provides dielectric strength
•Protect the paper
•Used as Diagnostic tool
 Transformer Life Management
Transformer life management has gained an
increasing acceptance in the past 10-15 years,
due to economic and technical reasons.

The fundamental objective is to promote the

longest possible service life and to minimize
lifetime operating costs.

In general, transformer life is equal to the

insulation life, which depends on mechanical
strength and electrical integrity.
 Insulation degradation consists of :
- hydrolytic,
- oxidative and
- thermal degradation.

The ageing and life of a transformer has been

defined as the life of the paper insulation.

Several ageing mechanisms identified are :

• Applied mechanical forces
• Thermal ageing (chemical reactions)
• Voltage stresses
• Contamination
 The transformer is subjected to :
- mechanical forces due to transportation,
- electromagnetic forces caused by system short
circuits, and
- inrush current.

Also vibration and thermal forces, generated by

different thermal expansion rates in different
materials, cause long-term degradation of the
paper.
 Transformer Life Management….
Faults like :
-partial discharge,
-electrical arcs, or
-hot spots generally deteriorate the condition of
transformer in quick progression.

Hence early detection of these faults is very

important for saving transformer from any
catastrophic failure.
 For the reasons like abnormal loading,
imperfect/faulty design or environmental
conditions on the transformer, the
temperature of windings, core and insulations
rises and results the faults like partial
discharge, electric arc and hot spots.

Now, because of this temperature rise and

presence of oxygen in the insulations (both oil
and solid insulations), the oxidation process
is developed.
The oxidation of oil results in the formation of
oxidation products :
- alcohols,
- aldehydes,
- acids, and
- esters.

The solid matters that are formed by oxidation

and condensation of polymerization of oil are
called sludge.

This sludge is usually deposited on the paper

insulation and closes the pores on it thereby
reducing oil circulation leading to overheating.
 Hence, the cooling of windings by oil is
affected which hampers the performance of
the equipment.

Similarly the presence of oxygen and acid in

the solid insulation (Cellulose) also results in
oxidation leads to the formation of :
- carbon dioxide,
- carbon monoxide,
- water and the other products.
CONDITION MONITORING METHODS
Condition monitoring of transformer oil

 Asses the internal condition of the

transformer
 Assist in prediction of failures and length of
lifespan
 Identify faults
 Detect misuse of transformers
 Essential for maintenance and replacement
strategies
 Reduction of unplanned outages
 Gas formation
 Two main causes of gas formation within a
transformer
 Oil decomposition
 Mineral oil mainly composes of hydrocarbons,
decomposition forms smaller hydrocarbon molecules
(faults, thermal)
 Different fault types produce different gases
 Cellulosic degradation or decomposition
 Thermal decomposition of oil-impregnated
PD, high
paper
(cellulose) insulation temperature

Arcing

Thermal
fault, local
hotspot
Paper decay
 Detection of gases

 A sample of gas has to

be obtained (sample of
oil or blanket gas)
 Gas chromatography
 Most effective way to
detect gases from
sample
 Provides concentrations
of gases from sample
DGA (Dissolved Gas Analysis)
 The ratios of dissolved gases are used to
determine the condition of the transformer or
fault types
 Different methods and guidelines (standards)
for analysing the gas ratios are available
 Key gas
 IEC gas ratio
 Duval triangle
 Fuzzy logic
 Artificial Intelligence
DGA (Dissolved Gas Analysis)

 A chemical analysis of the contents of the gas

 Not affected by electrical interference
 Very inexpensive
 Basically a method of comparing measured
gas concentrations to existing numbers to
determine results

 TCG and blanket analysis

 Diagnostics of dissolved gas in
insulation oil of transformers
 Different faults yield different gases :
- Arcing,
- Partial Discharge,
- Hotspots,
- Degradation of cellulose
 Gas chromatography – the most effective way to
analyse gas composition
 DGA
 More of a chemical test than electrical
 Increase lifespan of transformers by redusing misuse,
overload or to detect faults
 Reduce damage or destruction of property
 Reduce the amount of outages.
Methods Used For Condition Monitoring
Methods Used For Condition Monitoring…
Methods Used For Condition Monitoring…
Methods Used For Condition Monitoring…
 Diagnostic Methods-Dissolved Gas
Analysis
Testing of the winding insulating oil is one of the
most common tests used to evaluate the condition
of transformers in service.

Thermal and electrical faults in the oil lead to

degradation of the oil.

The dissolved gas analysis test is one of the

important techniques for condition monitoring of
transformers.
 Insulating oils under abnormal electrical or
thermal stresses break down to liberate small
quantities of gases.

 The composition of these gases is dependent

upon the type of fault.

 By means of dissolved gas analysis (DGA), it

is possible to distinguish faults such as partial
discharge (corona), over-heating, and arcing
in a great variety of oil filled equipment
 A number of samples are taken over a period of
time to discern trends and to determine the
severity and progression of incipient faults.
The gases in oil tests commonly evaluate the
concentration of :
-hydrogen,
-methane,
-acetylene,
-ethylene,
-ethane,
-carbon monoxide,
-carbon dioxide,
-nitrogen, and
-oxygen.
 The relative ratios and the amount of gases
detected in the sample are used to detect
problems with the insulation structure.

Cellulosic Decomposition – The thermal

decomposition of oil-impregnated cellulose
insulation produces carbon oxides (CO, CO2)
some hydrogen and methane (H2, CH4) due to
the oil.
 Oil Decomposition – Mineral transformer
oils are mixtures of many different
hydrocarbon molecules, and the
decomposition processes of these
hydrocarbons in thermal or electrical faults
are complex. Heating the oil produces
ethylene (C2H4) as the principal gas.

Data from DGA can provide :

• Advanced warning of developing faults
• Monitoring the rate of fault development
• Confirm the presence of faults
Data from DGA can provide:
• Means for conveniently scheduling repairs
• Monitoring of condition during overload

The ratio method requires the calculation of ratios

of gases among each other, such as methane to
hydrogen.
Three or four such ratios are used for diagnosis.
The most widely used are Roger’s ratios; the
severity of the fault is established by comparison
of the levels of gases with threshold levels and
their rate of generation.
At least two consecutive samples are needed to
calculate rates of fault generation.
Recommended Safe Value of Various Gases
in (ppm)
Key Gases Generated by Particular Fault
Non-traditional Transformer Monitoring Techniques

• PI (Polarization Index)
• Loss tangent (Tan delta Measurement)
• Partial Discharge
• Winding dislocation
 Polarization Index
The rate of change of current or insulation resistance with
time. The characteristics which defines this is called
polarization index which is the ratio of insulation resistance
after 10 minute electrification to insulation resistance after
1 minute electrification.
Tan Delta Measurement
 Partial Discharge
PD in transformers degrades the properties of the
insulating materials and can lead to eventual
failures.

There are two commonly used PD detection

methods :
-detection of the acoustic signals and
-measurement of the electrical signals produced by
the PD.
 PD causes high-frequency low-amplitude
disturbances on the applied voltage and
current waveforms that can be detected
electrically.

 Electrical PD signals can be measured at a

number of different locations, including
 - bushing tap current or
 - voltage and neutral current.
 Tap Changer/Motor Monitoring

The use of oil testing has been extended to the

testing of the tap changer oil.

The oil tests are used as an indicator of contact

deterioration.

Monitoring of the tap changer temperature can be

used to detect problems, such as contact
overheating, while acoustic analysis of the
switching operation can detect faults in the selector
and diverter switches.
 Tap changer motor currents can be
monitored to obtain a signature every time
the tap changer moves.

 Changes in this signature are used to detect

problems in the tap changer.

 Bearing monitors are used to detect bearing

wear on transformer oil pumps.
 Winding Movement Detection
A very serious problem that is particularly difficult
to detect is movement or distortion of the
transformer winding.
Forces on the winding during short circuits on the
transformer can cause winding distortion.
The other source of winding movement is
reduction or loss of winding clamping.
This can result in a transformer fault that will cause
damage to the transformer and may result in
explosive failure of the transformer.
 In the frequency response analysis test
(FRA), the transformer is isolated from the
system and the impedance or admittance of
the transformer is measured as a function of
frequency (typically to at least 2 MHz).

 This gives a “fingerprint” of the transformer.

 The test is repeated over time and the

“fingerprints” from two or more tests are
compared.