GE Energy

Transformer Monitoring:
How Moving forward from Monitoring to
Diagnostics can Positively Impact Indian
Business and Industry
Brian Sparling, SMIEEE
GridTech 2007, Delhi
February 5-6, 2007

The Transformer
A complex system
Bushings

Tap changer
Cooling
System
Coils
Control
Cabinet

Oil

Tank

Core

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Monitoring vs. Diagnostics

Monitoring: function is to avoid unexpected transformer
failure and insure continuous normal operation
Diagnostic : Application of On-Line and Off-Line
devices & techniques to confirm and determine the
exact nature of the anomaly

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Monitoring vs. Diagnostics

Monitoring
Is it
Normal ?

Transformer

Maintenance &
Repair

Diagnostic
No 10%

Is it Serious ?

Yes

No

90%

8%

Yes 2%

Do
nothing

Do
something
else

else

Broadband technique
applied routinely

Focused technique
applied as required

Cigre Report No. 227, Life Management Techniques for Power Transformers. WG A2.18
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Maintenance &
Repair Shop
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Feb 5-6, 2007

Monitoring vs. Diagnostics

Over the last 10 to 15 years;
Function Specific sensors, gas-in-oil, temperature
monitoring, have evolved from dumb sensors to
microprocessor based devices, commonly called
Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs)
Expanded the capability of these systems to perform
more data processing at the point of measurement
Along with this, IEDs have the capability for data
communication

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Monitoring vs. Diagnostics

Measure multiple parameters
Support multiple calculations and models
Provide a more complete view of the condition of a
specific type of equipment
Examples of equipment level monitors:
Load Tap Changer monitors (thermal, operational,
acoustic signature)
Transformer monitors (gas content, multiple
models, partial discharge, hot spot)
Bushing monitors
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Broadband monitoring technique for

Main tank
Gas-in-oil
Oil is in contact with every component in the main tank.
If a fault occurs in a component, oil will be degraded
and gases will be generated
A sudden increase of dissolved gas level is the best
indicator of a developing incipient fault

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Failure Avoidance
When the insulation system
is stressed,
KEY fault gases are produced
and they will dissolve in the oil
Hydrogen from oil
Carbon Monoxide from paper

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The HYDRAN Technology

z

Detection and Monitoring of Key Fault Gases in

oil

Responds Mainly to H2 and CO

Detects a deviation From the Base line

Continuously monitors the Evolution of the

gases in the Transformers, any sudden increase
is an indication of an incipient fault

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HYDRAN Fault Detection

Detection of a core Hot Spot
Low Level evolution
50
45

HYDRAN 201i Reading PPM

40
35
30

Transformer fault

25
20
15
10
5
0
1-Dec

15-Dec

29-Dec

12-Jan

26-Jan

9-Feb

23-Feb

Date

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Broadband monitoring technique for

Main tank
Moisture-in-oil
Moisture degrades paper
Moisture reduces dielectric strength
Moisture ages transformer faster
Moisture is everywhere
Moisture is a key element to monitor, especially in the
solid insulation (paper)
DGA testing or monitoring cannot help with moisture
evaluation
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Impact of moisture in Paper

z

z
z

The amount of water in paper is a very

important parameter to know, as it directly
determines the following:
Aging rate of the winding insulation
Bubbling temperature (limits the amount of
overloading of a transformer)
Dielectric resistance of the barriers at the
bottom of the winding
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Impact of moisture in Paper

in g

Oi

Wi
nd

1.2

1.7 2.2

Temperature (oC)

76

rier
b ar

64

in
Th

Guided convection flow

through disk windings

56

tion
sula
g in

44

din
Win

Area of interest for winding insulation

3.3

Moisture content (%)

Area of interest for barrier insulation

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Moisture and Bubbling Model

Water condensation temperature

Winding bubbling temperature
Bubbling temperature margin,
alarm point

Absolute water content in oil

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Winding Hot Spot

Cooling Efficiency
Aging
Cooling Status
Gas Level
Water Level
Moisture in Paper
Load

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Moisture and Bubbling Model

Is this transformer behaving normally?

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Predictive Modeling:
Anomaly Detection

Premise:
By modeling the steady-state behavior of the transformer using
multivariate analysis, we can deduce an impending fault in that same
transformer as its behavior changes over time.
This analysis will generate an alarm before a univariable control limit
would be exceeded
Application:
Turn forced outages into planned outages
Typical Detectable Faults:
Incipient Fault Detection of Insulation System Failure
Loss of Cooling Efficiency
Degradation of Tap Changer moving parts (gear slop)
Any class of fault that occurs over time (non-instantaneous)

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Predictive Modeling:

Compare static model against online

data
Compare current behavior (relationships between sensors) to
previous behavior. Determine if the current behavior is normal based
on data that has been previously sampled.
If the behavior appears abnormal, what are the contributing sensors?

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Predictive Modeling:
PCA

Observation #337 approaches

99th percentile Confidence Interval.
Why?

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Predictive Modeling:
Model Error Contributions
Tap Changer Position & Temperature profile
Differs from what model is accustomed
to seeing

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Diagnostic Modeling:
Bayesian Belief Networks

Premise:
The failure modes of transformer components are well known.
The relative failure probabilities are also known. It should be
possible to build a model that will link failure modes and
effects to the underlying damaged component. By adding test
results (findings) to the model, the model diagnostics can be
refined until the faulted component can be inferred with a high
probability of accuracy.
> Approach:
FMEA process employed to enumerate transformer failure
types (faults) and their relative frequencies
Assist Maintenance personnel to quickly isolate transformer
faults

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Diagnostic Modeling:
Bayesian Belief Networks

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Summary
Benefits of a combined early fault detection and
diagnostic system
Better knowledge of the operating condition of the fleet
Early warning of incipient faults on any of the 5 components of
the transformer
Better management of capital and allocating resources to
improve the network development
Improved predictability of network performance
Early detection & correct diagnosis of a problem, saves money

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Summary
Every transformer has its own normal behavior,
in operation, and very different behavior when
failing.

Like in medicine, early diagnosis often

avoids severe pain or worse

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Feb 5-6, 2007