The influence of connection and grounding technique on the repeatability of FRA-results

S. Tenbohlen
1
, R. Wimmer
1
*, K. Feser
1
, A. Kraetge
2
, M. Krger
2
and J. Christian
3

1 University of Stuttgart, IEH, Pfaffenwaldring 47, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
2OMICRON electronics GmbH, Oberes Ried 1, 6833 Klaus, Austria
3Siemens AG, PTD T TI, Katzwangerstr. 150, 90461 Nuremberg, Germany
*Email: rene.wimmer@ieh.uni-stuttgart.de


Abstract: The frequency response analysis (FRA) is a
well-established method used for assessment of the
mechanical and electrical conditions of power
transformer windings. The evaluation of the winding
condition is done by comparison between an actual FRA
and a reference FRA, which are carried out previously.
A deviation between both FRA curves can indicate a
change of the winding condition of the tested
transformer.
According to the standard of knowledge, the
connections between measuring device and transformer
terminals, as well as the grounding technique are of
main importance for a good repeatability. Additionally,
a power transformer is a large construction that needs
long cables and grounding lines for the signal
transmission. Against this background, it is clear, that
the geometric arrangement of the measuring setup may
not be the same as it was at the reference measurement
and this change can have an influence on FRA results.
Therefore, an excellent repeatability of the
measurements is needed in order to prevent any
problematic to distinguish between measurement
failures and real damage within the transformer.
1 INTRODUCTION
High currents resulting from short circuits lead to
high mechanical forces in transformer windings and can
thus cause winding deformations and displacements.
Although these winding damages do not necessarily
lead to an immediate transformer failure, they will
increase the long-term risk of failure due to previous
damages. This is why it is important to determine the
degree of these previous damages by measurement in
order to enable suitable measures. One suitable
diagnosis method is the measurement of the transfer
function (TF), from that the FRA results. In case of the
FRA, the condition of the winding is determined by
comparing the actual frequency response of a winding
with a reference curve ideally measured at the factory
when the transformer is new. However, experiments
using an experimental winding have shown that the
changes of the frequency curve caused by a winding
deformation can be rather small [2]. Therefore, it is very
important that the measurement equipment does not
influence the frequency response and that the
reproducibility of the FRA measurement is high.
2 THE THEORY OF TWO-PORTS
A transformer can be considered as a network of
resistances, self-inductances, ground capacitances,
coupling inductances and series capacitances. The
varying behavior of the magnetic flux within the iron
core leads to a subdivision of the frequency range [1],
[3], [4]:
Frequency range 1: f < 10 kHz
In case of low frequencies, the magnetic lines of
force enter the limb vertically. With increasing
frequency, the core permeability and the
developing eddy currents cause a displacement of
the magnetic field from the centre of the core [5].
In this frequency range, the non-linear effect of
magnetic saturation resulting from too high
magnetization can occur.
Frequency range 2: f > 10 kHz
The magnetic lines of force are nearly completely
displaced from the inside core and the iron core
does no longer lead any magnetic flux. Therefore,
the non-linear core effects are no longer of
importance for this frequency range.
Due to this behavior, it is possible to consider a
transformer for frequencies above 10 kHz as a passive,
causal, time-invariant and linear system and to use the
theoretic fundamentals of the two-port theory. It is
possible to calculate the corresponding FRA from an
excitation signal X(jw) and a system response Y(jw) by
calculating the quotient (1).
( )
( )
( )

j X
j Y
j TF = (1)
Due to the multi-pole arrangement of a transformer,
a single-phase excitation signal causes several system
responses. Generally, all measurable quantities are
suitable for the response signal. According to fig. 1, a
separate transfer function can be defined for each
response signal.

Transform er
comlex RLCM-Netzwerk


U
out,n (j )
I
out,n (j )
I
out,2 (j )
I
out,1 (j )
U
out,2 (j )
U
out,1 (j )
.
.
. U
in(j )
I
in(j )

Fig. 1: Description of a transformer as a two-port network
XV International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering
th
University of Ljubljana, Elektrointitut Milan Vidmar, Ljubljana, Slovenia, August 27-31, 2007
T7-522.pdf
1
According to the theory, each of the transfer
functions according (2) (4) represents a system
transfer function and is independent of the input signal
U
in
with reference to time. Consequently, the transfer
function is exclusively determined by the electric
network of the transformer [6].
( )
( )
( )

j U
j I
j TF
in
in
= (2)
( )
( )
( )

j U
j I
j TF
in
n out ,
= (3)
( )
( )
( )

j U
j U
j TF
in
n out ,
= (4)
3 INFLUENCING FACTORS FOR FRA
FRA is a comparing method and therefore always
has to be related to a reference curve. Three types of
comparisons are available for FRA:
Time based comparison: comparison against a
reference curve (fingerprint) measured earlier.
Construction based comparison: comparing the
limbs against each other.
Type based comparison: comparison against
another transformer of the same type.
A precondition for all three methods is that the
measurements are as far as possible independent of the
measurement setup. This particularly applies to the
time-dependent comparison, since there may be years
between the individual measurements. Therefore, the
grounding concept, the arrangement of the cables and
the connection technique are of particular importance.
Due to the large dimensions of power transformers,
it is necessary to bridge long distances between the
transformer terminals and the measuring device. This is
normally done using up to 30 m long coaxial cables for
signal transmission. However, over such long distances,
it is impossible to arrange the coaxial cables between
the transformer and the measuring device for follow-up
measurements exactly in the same way as for the initial
measurement. The requirement resulting from this fact
is that FRA measurement has to be independent of the
arrangement of the cables.
3.1 Connection and cable technique
One requirement to the connection technique is that
the user should be able to install the cables as fast and
easy as possible. Furthermore, the user should not use
any unshielded cables in order to avoid electromagnetic
coupling of interferences to the signal lines, since this
would make FRA measurement dependent on the
arrangement of the cables.
The following signal line connection technique is
used to determine the FRA of a 220 MVA
autotransformer for different cable arrangements:
Starting from a coaxial cable splitter, the inner
conductor and the shield conductor of a coaxial cable
are guided as separate unshielded lines. The line
connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable
leads to the transformer terminal and the other line that
is connected to the shield of the coaxial cable is
connected to the transformer's tank. The electric
connections to the transformer terminal and the tank are
performed using clips. The influence of the cables
arrangement is investigated using two cases:
1) The cables hang below the bushing as shown in
fig. 2.
2) The cables hang below the bushing as shown for
case 1), but the positions of the connection points
at the tank and the connection terminal are
changed.



unshielded cable to
connection clamp
unshielded cable
to ground
coaxial cable to
measuring device
coaxial cable
splitter
T
r
a
n
s
f
o
r
m
e
r


Fig. 2: Connection technology with unshielded lines starting from
the coaxial cable splitter
As shown in Fig. 3, the resonant frequency varies
around 470 Hz depending on the cable arrangement.
According to that, the use of partly unshielded cables
provides freedom that obviously can lead to
measurement errors and consequent misinterpretation.
This is why shielded signal cables should be used
ideally up to the transformer terminal in order to
minimize the dependency from the cable arrangement
and to increase the reproducibility.


0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

FRA with unshielded lines
FRA of a repeated measurement with unshielded
lines and a reconnection to tran sformer
dB

0.2
0

0.4
-10

0.6
-20

0.8
-30

1.0 MHz 1.4
-40

-50

-60

20

Fig. 3: Influence of unshielded signal cables to the FRA
depending on the cable arrangement
Fig. 4 shows suitable connection adapters for the
transformer terminals that allow the connection of
2
coaxial cables. However, it is also possible to use other
connection methods, e.g. clips.



Fig. 4: Different transformer terminal adapter
3.2 The grounding concept
Former investigations showed that no significant
differences of the FRA curves can be detected
depending on the cables arrangement, independent of
whether the cable shield is grounded on both line ends
or only on the line end at the test object [2]. However,
due to the existing electromagnetic fields in substations
and for protection of the measuring device, you should
not do without the additional grounding at the
measuring device and thus provide grounding of the
coaxial cable shields on both line ends.
To enable the grounding of the coaxial cable shields
at the transformer, an additional line from the
transformer tank to the transformer terminal adapter is
required. This line can be generally of any suitable type
as long as it does not influence the reproducibility of the
FRA results. However, it has to be observed that in
substations external interferences have to be taken into
account that can influence FRA measurement.
3.2.1 The dependence of the geometrical signal line
arrangement with different ground conductor
A first examination investigates the dependency of
FRA results from the arrangement of the signal lines
and from the grounding lines. The measurement setup is
again as for normal FRA measurements. After a first
measurement has been performed with the
corresponding types of grounding, the measurement
lines are disconnected. Then, the measurement
equipment is placed to another location and the
measurement lines are arranged again and reconnected.
Following, another FRA measurement is performed
with the corresponding types of grounding connection
and compared with the first FRA measurement.
Fig. 5 shows that grounding with a normal wire is
worse than with a ground strap. Starting from approx.
820 kHz, the FRA measurement with cable shield
grounding by a normal wire delivers changed
attenuation compared to the previous cable
arrangement. The attenuation difference increases with
rising frequency. At a frequency of approx. 1.6 MHz,
there is also a displacement of the resonant frequency.
With the cable shield grounding by a ground strap, these
effects do not occur up to a frequency of 2 MHz.
Changed attenuation only occurs for higher frequencies
(fig. 6). However, this frequency range is not of
importance for the assessment of the winding condition,
since the resonance points of power transformer
windings are in the frequency range below 1 MHz [7].


0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

Reference FRA
FRA of a repeated measurement with new
arranged line position
dB

0.5
0

1.0 1.5
-20

2.0
-30

MHz 3.0
-40

-50


Fig. 5: FRA measurements, cable shield grounding by wire

0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

Reference FRA
FRA of a repeated measurement with new
arranged line position
dB

0.5
0

1.0 1.5
-20

2.0
-30

MHz 3.0
-40

-50


Fig. 6: FRA measurements, cable shield grounding by ground
strap
3.2.2 The interference resistance of ground
conductor
Additionally, the effects of the interference
sensitivity of a normal wire and a ground strap to the
FRA shall be determined by experiment. The test setup
is a normal FRA measurement setup with the
corresponding grounding lines. A loop of one winding
emitting a sinusoidal interference signal of 80 kHz is
placed under the bushing of a 333 MVA
autotransformer (fig. 7). The 80 kHz signal is generated
by a signal generator and amplified accordingly by an
audio amplifier. The current measured at the amplifier
output is 1.8 A at a total loop length of 12 m and a
conductor cross section of 2.5 mm.
Fig. 8 clearly shows the additional resonant
frequencies in the FRA curve caused by the interference
signal in case of grounding with a normal wire. The
maximum fluctuation range is 7 dB. Since the used
frequency of 80 kHz is far above the nominal frequency
range of the audio amplifier, the signal distortion caused
by the amplifier is such high that the measured FRA
does not only show the 80 kHz interference but also
interference at 78 kHz.

3

Grounding of the cable shield
with a 2.5 mm wire
Grounding of the cable shield
with ground strap

Fig. 7: Different transformer terminal adapter

0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

Wire as ground connection for the cable shield
Ground strap as ground connection for the cable shield
dB

10
0

20 30
-40

40
-50

kHz 100
-60

-70
50 60 70 80
-30

-20

7 dB
1 dB

Fig. 8: Interference sensitivity of FRA for grounding with
normal wire and with ground strap
In case of grounding with a ground strap, the
interference signal is of course also clearly visible on
the FRA curve but with a maximum fluctuation range of
only 1 dB. The conclusion from this is that the
interference sensitivity of a ground strap is much less
than of a normal grounding wire. This effect can be
explained with the self-inductance of the grounding line.
Ground straps made of thin single wires have a very
large surface and, depending on the frequency, provide
considerably lower impedance than normal wires of
comparable size. The skin effect probably contributes to
the higher interference immunity of ground straps, since
a frequency of 80 kHz already causes a considerable
current displacement from the centre and a resulting
skin depth of the interference signal of only 0.24 mm
for copper materials to 0.31 mm for aluminum
materials. Due to the characteristics mentioned above,
ground straps provide better conductivity for signals of
higher frequencies than normal cables can do.
Interferences drain off to ground with lower resistance.
3.2.3 The dependence of the FRA because of
different types and geometrical arrangement of
ground straps
The goal of a standardized measurement setup is to
give the user as little freedom as possible in order to
avoid any deterioration of the reproducibility of FRA
measurements. One kind of freedom is the selection of
the ground strap since these bands are available in
different versions, with different dimensions and made
of different materials. The following investigation
compares two types of grounding bands with the
following configurations.
1) Aluminum ground strap
22 x 2 mm (width x thickness), pulled tightly.
2) Copper ground strap
35 x 3 mm (width x thickness), pulled tightly.
Fig. 9 shows that different types of ground strap
have only a marginally influence on FRA. The
resonance frequency at 470 MHz shifts only 8 kHz.


0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

FRA measured with an aluminum ground strap
FRA measured with a copper ground strap
dB

0.2
0

0.4
-10

0.6
-20

0.8
-30

1.0 MHz 1.4
-40

-50

-60

20

Fig. 9: Influence of the type of ground straps to the FRA
However no general statement can be made on the
basis of this investigation. Inductance and resistance of
the ground strap depend also on its geometrical
parameters. Therefore the effective cross section is
regarded in the following. In comparison to the
aluminum ground strap the dimension of the copper
ground strap is larger, but it has the smaller skin depth
because of the skin effect. That leads to an effective
cross section A
eff
of 7.19mm for copper and 5.89mm
for the aluminum ground strap at 500 kHz. Thereby A
eff

is computed as fallows:
( ) [ ] + = 2 2 w l A
eff

(5)
l: length (see fig. 10)
w: width (see fig. 10)
: skin depth according (6)

=
r
f
0
1

(6)
f: frequency
0: permeability of free space
r: relative permeability
: specific conductance

Fig. 10 shows the ideal representation of a ground
strap with corresponding skin depth and fig. 11 shows
the frequency dependent effective cross section of the
following ground straps:
1. Aluminum ground strap with 22 x 2 mm
2. Copper ground strap with 35 x 3 mm
3. Aluminum ground strap with 35 x 3 mm
4. Copper ground strap with 22 x 2 mm
4




length l
w
i
d
t
h

w



0.0
frequency f
e
f
f
e
c
t
iv
e
c
r
o
s
s
s
e
c
t
io
n
A
e
ff
mm
0.2
30

0.4 0.6
20

1.0 MH z
10

0

50
of aluminum gr ound strap with 22 x 2 mm
of copper ground strap with 35 x 3 mm
of aluminum gr ound strap with 35 x 3 mm
of copper ground strap with 22 x 2 mm

Fig. 10: Profile of an ideal
representation of a ground
strap with adequate skin
depth
Fig. 11: frequency dependent
effective cross section using
different materials and dimension
as ground strap
In fig. 11 is to see, that the effective cross section
depends particularly in larger dimensions in a non
negligible degree also on ground strap material.
Additionally it is visible that the difference of the
effective cross section of the investigated ground straps
is lower than by ground straps consisting of different
materials but same dimensions. Different cross sections
lead to different resistance and inductance of the ground
strap. Especial the inductance depends practically only
on the effective geometrical parameters. Therefore the
same ground strap which was used for the reference
FRA measurements should be used for the FRA follow-
up examination to have reproducibility as high as
possible.
Another kind of freedom is the geometrical
arrangement of the ground strap. The following scenario
is conceivable
the ground strap is pulled tightly along the bushing
for the reference FRA measurement (fig. 12)
the ground strap sags along the bushing for the
repeated FRA measurement (fig. 12)


Ground strap pulled tightly
along the bushing
Ground strap sags along the
bushing

Fig. 12: Different geometrical arrangement of the ground strap
Fig. 13 shows a displacement of the 570 kHz
resonant frequency by 20 kHz. The explanation for this
is that not only electrical network of the transformer, but
also the electrical network of the measurement setup is
recorded with the FRA. In comparison to a pulled
tightly ground strap a sagged ground strap has a higher
longitudinal inductance, a higher resistance and another
coupling capacitance which exist between the bushing
and the ground strap.


0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

FRA 1 (ground strap pulled tightly)
FRA 2 (ground strap sags)
dB

0.2
0

0.4
-10

0.6
-20

0.8
-30

1.0 MHz 1.4
-40

-50

-60

20

Fig. 13: Influence to FRA with different geometrical
arrangement of the ground strap
3.3 Further influencing quantities
Apart from the grounding concept and the
connection technique there are several other factors that
can influence the FRA. For reasons of comfort, for
example, additional coaxial cables can be connected to
the transformer's open terminals that are not measured at
the moment (fig. 14) so that only the relevant measuring
line has to be plugged in at the measuring device when
investigating the corresponding phase later. Doing later
follow-up measurements without these additional cables
directly affects the FRA, as shown in fig. 15. This is
why we should do without any unnecessary cables in
advance.


impulse
generator
transient
recorder
Ch3
Ch2
Ch1 50 50
50
50
UmK VmK WmK
UK
MpmK

Fig. 14: Measurement setup using additional unused cables

0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

FRA without the additional 30 m unused cables
FRA with additional 30 m unused cables
dB

0.2 0.4 0.6
-70

0.8
-80

1.0 MHz 1.4
-90

-100

-50

Fig. 15: Influence of additional cables to the FRA measurement
In case of high-impedance voltage measurements,
the FRA can also be influenced by the cable lengths due
to the reflections on the line. For SFRA measurement,
these influences cannot be eliminated by a 0 dB
calibration.
Fig. 16 shows that the FRA depends strongly on the
used line length if the voltage is high impedance
measured. The position of the main resonance frequency
5
from the 7 m long line at 850 kHz shifts with the factor
2.15 if the line is extended by 23 m. In case of
impedance matching no resonant frequency shift is
visible. However slightly different damping can be
recognized in a range from 0.6 MHz and 1.8 MHz
(fig. 17). In comparison to high impedance
measurements it can be said that the influence on the
FRA due to different line lengths is substantially
smaller, if impedance matching is performed at the
measuring device.


0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

FRA measured with 30m cables and high input impedance
FRA measured with 7m cables and high input impedance
dB

0.2 0.4 0.6
-10

0.8
-20

1.0 MHz 1.4
-30

-60

10
1.2 1.6 2.0
-40

-50


Fig. 16: Influence of the cable length to the FRA in case of
high-impedance termination

0.0
frequency f
|
T
F
U
2
/U
1
(
f
)
|

FRA measured with 30m cables and 50 input impedance
FRA measured with 7m cables and 50 input impedance
dB

0.2 0.4 0.6
-30

0.8
-32

1.0 MHz 1.4
-34

-40

-26
1.2 1.6 2.0
-36

-38


Fig. 17: Influence of the cable length to the FRA in case of
impedance matching
4 CONCLUSION

In case of non-isolated signal transmission, shielded
cables must be used in order to prevent electromagnetic
coupling of interferences. Even the connection of
sensors should, as far as possible, be done without the
use of unshielded cables. The best solution is to attach a
corresponding sensor fixture to the transformer terminal
adapter for the coaxial cables.
Apart from the connection technique and the aspects
regarding the cables, the grounding concept is of
particular importance. A poor grounding concept can
lead to unreproducible and therefore unusable FRA
results. In order to achieve as good as possible FRA
measurements, the grounding connections should
provide an as large as possible surface. This is why
ground straps should be preferred to normal wire-like
conductors. Ground straps are less sensitive to
interferences and make the FRA independent from the
cable arrangement. In order to achieve a high grade of
reproducibility, the connection of the cable shield to the
transformer tank should exclusively be done with
ground straps that are pulled tightly along the bushing.
Furthermore, the dimensions of ground straps and their
material should be recorded in a test report.
For FRA follow-up measurements it is in general of
particular importance to use the same measurement
setup as for the reference measurement. Particularly in
case of existing freedom for test setup, cable lengths and
types, tap changer setting, sensor types and location of
current measurement, the used configuration should be
recorded exactly in a test report. The use of unnecessary
cable connections can lead to errors in later follow-up
measurements. This is why FRA measurement should
be performed according to the minimum principle and
only those cables and sensors should be connected that
are absolutely necessary for the measurement.
5 REFERENCES
Papers from Conference Proceedings (Published):
[1] J. Bak-Jensen, B.Bak-Jensen, S.D. Mikkelsen: Detection of
Faults and Aging Phenomena in Transformers by Transfer
Functions, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 10, No.
1, Jan. 1995, pp. 308-314

Dissertations:
[2] J. Christian: Erkennung mechanischer Wicklungsschden in
Transformatoren mit der bertragungsfunktion, Dissertation,
Universitt Stuttgart, 2002
[3] M. Nothaft: Untersuchung der Resonanzvorgnge in
Wicklungen von Hochspannungsleistungstransformatorenmittels
eines detaillierte n Modells, Dissertation, Technische
Hochschule Karlsruhe
[4] G. B. Gharehpetian: Modellierung von
Transformatorwicklungen zur Untersuchung
schnellvernderlicher transienter Vorgnge, Dissertation,
RWTH Aachen und Universitt Teheran, 1996
[5] E. Rahimpour: Hochfrequente Modellierung von
Transformatoren zur Berechnung der bertragungsfunktion,
Dissertation, Universitt Stuttgart und Univeristt Teheran, 2001
[6] T. Leibfried: Die Analyse der bertragungsfunktion als
Methode zur berwachung des Isolationszustandes von
Grotransformatoren, Dissertation, Universitt Stuttgart, 1996
[7] M. Lenz: Anwendung der Wavelet-Transformation bei der
Blitzstospannungsprfung von Leistungstransformatoren,
Dissertation, Universitt Stuttgart, 2003


6