Study of Transformer Winding Parameters as

Deformation Diagnostics Techniques

Using FRA Measurement
Mrs. Pradnya R.Jadhav

Dr.P.M. Joshi

Assistance Professor in Electrical Engineering

Govt. Engg. College
Karad, Maharashtra, India
prj_02164@yahoo.co.in

AbstractTransformer is one of the paramount devices in the

utility grids. Though a static device, its reliable functioning is an
outcome of electrical, mechanical, thermal and chemical subsystems. During normal operating conditions the transformer
winding suffers from internal axial and radial forces due to the
flow of current in the windings. The transient condition
challenges mechanical integrity of the winding significantly. The
mechanical integrity of the winding plays an important role in
ensuring reliability of the equipment. For this reason, advanced
techniques have been developed in recent years for condition
monitoring of transformer. FRA (Frequency Response Analysis)
has gained worldwide popularity as the non-intrusive test
technique. Literature suggests that the FRA can be used to
detect transformer winding displacements [1].
This paper presents a simulation study of analysis of equivalent
circuit of transformer winding using state space approach[1][2].
It is shown that the FRA measurement on basic electrical circuits,
which can be extended for studying the mechanical integrity of a
transformer after short circuit fault, transportation etc.
KeywordsSeries capacitance, shunt capacitance, Frequency
Response Analysis, Signatures, axial displacements, radial
deformation, and model based comparison.

I. INTRODUCTION
Power transformers are one of the most expensive elements in
a power system and their failure is a very costly event [4].
Power transformers are mainly involved in the energy
transmission and distribution [1]. Unplanned power
transformer outages have a considerable economics impact on
the operation of electric power network. To have a reliable
operation of transformer, it is necessary to identify problems at
an early stage before a catastrophic occurs. In spite of
corrective & predictive maintenance, the preventive
maintenance of power transformer is gaining due importance
in modern era and it must be taken into account to obtain the
highest reliability of power apparatus like a power
transformer. The well known preventive maintenance
techniques such as DGA, thermal monitoring, oil analysis,
partial discharge measurement, capacitance & tan delta
measurements, sweep frequency response analysis, etc. are
applied for transformer for a specific type of problem [1] [ 4].
In the FRA technique, a low amplifier swept frequency signal

Professor in Electrical Engineering

Govt. Engg. College
Karad, Maharashtra,India

dr.pmjoshi@gmail.com
is applied at the end of one of the transformer windings and
the response is measured at the other end of the winding with
one phase at a time. The method is based on the fact that every
transformer winding has a unique signature of its transfer
function which is sensitive to change in the parameters of the
winding, namely resistance, inductance and capacitance. It
consist of measuring the impedance of transformer winding
over a wide range of frequencies and comparing the results of
these measurements with a reference set taken either during
installation or at any other point of time. Difference in
signature of the responses may indicate damage to the
transformer which can be investigated further using other
techniques or by an internal examination [9].
II. MECHANICAL INTEGRITY OF A TRANSFORMER
WINDING
Winding deformation may be due to mechanical and electrical
faults. Mechanical faults occur in the form of displaced
winding, hoop buckling, winding movement, deformations
and damaged winding. They may be due to the loss of
pressure, vibration during transportation and also excessive
mechanical force during a close-up short circuit fault. Winding
movements may also result from stresses induced by electrical
faults such as an interturns short circuit as a result of
lightning strikes [5][8][10]. It may also result in insulation
damage. The deformation can also be due to ageing of paper.
As a transformer ages the insulation shrink and the clamping
pressure may be lost which reduces its voltage withstand
strength. Winding deformations in transformers are difficult to
establish by conventional methods of diagnostic tests like
ratio, impedance/ inductance, magnetizing current etc.
Deformation results in relative changes to the internal
inductance and capacitance of the winding. These changes can
be detected externally by low voltage impulse method or FRA
method [4].
III. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF TRANSFORMER
WINDING
The circuit representation in Fig. 1 comprising of series
capacitance (Cs), shunt capacitance (Cg), self-inductance (Ls),

Proc. of the International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Technologies (ACCT 2011)
Copyright 2011 RG Education Society
ISBN: 978-981-08-7932-7
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Proc. of the International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Technologies (ACCT 2011)

lumped resistance (r), and mutual inductances (Mij) is known

to adequately describe behavior of the transformer winding.
For a symmetrical circuit, all the self inductance (ls1, ls2, ls3, ..)
are taken as ls, all the series capacitance (Cs1,Cs2,Cs3, . . .) are
taken as Cs, and all the shunt capacitance (Cg2, Cg3, Cg4, . . .)
are taken to be Cg (except the first and last section shunt
capacitance, which are taken as Cg/2). Additionally, in such a
representation, the value of any element can be varied.
Further, this representation permits analytical investigation,
computation of time and frequency-domain responses using
circuit simulation software (MATLAB). The self and mutual
inductance values shown in Table 1 These values have been
used during simulation studies [6].

M12
0.2392

M13
0.1435

M14
0.0947

M15
0.0612

a) Time-derivatives of node voltages

Applying Kirchhoff's current law to the circuit in Fig. 1 (sum
of the currents diverging from the nodes through inductors and
capacitors equals zero), results in,

Where, [K] represents the node capacitance matrix of the

circuit. The above equation can be written as,

Table 1
Self and mutual inductances (ls, Mij, in mH)
ls
0.4310

grounded, state variables are assigned as - Inductor currents

(i1, i2,,in) Node voltages (e2, e3,, en)

M16
0.0496

In the above, [T] has the following form,

-1

Assigning [Ei] = - [K] [T], time-derivatives of node voltages

can be expressed as,
IV. MATHEMATICAL DESCRIPTION OF
TRANSFORMERWINDING
A) Determination of State model
The state of a system may be considered as the least amount of
information that must be known about the given system at a
given time to determine its subsequent dynamics completely.
A suitable selection of the independent variables results in a
set of first-order differential equations that are linearly
independent. These variables and equations are known as state
variables and state equations respectively.
The most general form of the state equations for a linear, timeinvariant system is as follows:
State equation:
= [A]x + [B]u
Output equation: y = [C]x + [D]u
Where,
x - State variables
- Time derivatives of state variables
u - Excitation or input vector
y - Response or output vector
{[A]; [B]; [C]; [D]} - Numeric matrices
Currents through inductors and voltages across shunt
capacitors (i.e. node voltages) are chosen as the desired set of
state variables. For the circuit in Fig. 1, with its neutral

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b) Time-derivatives of inductor currents

For the circuit in Fig. 1, time-derivatives of inductor currents
(i1, , in) can be related to the voltages across inductors (v1, ..
.. , vn) as,

Where, [L] represents the self and mutual inductance matrix of

the circuit. Expressing the inductor voltages in terms of node
voltages and the resistive voltage drops, the above equation
gets modified to the following form,

Proc. of the International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Technologies (ACCT 2011)

Where, [R] is a diagonal matrix with its element equal to the

-1
sectional value of the resistance `r'. Assigning [Ie] = -[L] [T]t
-1
and [Ii] = -[L] [R], equation becomes,

Simulation results are discussed to study the influence of

different space factor for winding frequency characteristic. [7]
If changes in space factor there change in capacitive component
of winding therefore shift in frequency characteristic of winding
to indicate winding deformation. For simulation purpose varies
from 3 to 12.Winding frequency characteristics shown in
Fig.2.for three different cases as =3, =7, =12. Fig.2
represents shift in frequency characteristic of winding when shunt
capacitance Cg is constant as axial displacement. It shows
increase in resonant frequency of winding shift right side.

B) State equation
By merging equations, state equation corresponding to the
circuit in Fig.1, is obtained as,
Fig 2. Simulated FRA of uniform transformer winding

The above equation can also be expressed as,

-------- (1)

V. TRANSFER FUNCTION OF WINDING FOR

FREQUENCY RESPONSE ANALYSIS
Open-circuit natural frequencies of a network are the
frequencies at which it offers infinite impedance. For
determining ocnfs of the circuit in Fig. 1 with its neutral
grounded. Short-circuit natural frequencies of a network are
the frequencies at which it offers zero impedance. For
determining scnfs of the circuit in Fig. 1 with its neutral
grounded, and input is short circuited of the equivalent circuit.

Fig 3. Simulated FRA of uniform transformer winding

Similarly Fig.3.for three different cases as =3, =7, =12.Fig.3

represents shift in frequency characteristic of winding when series
capacitance Cs is constant as radial deformation. It shows
increase in resonant frequency of winding shift left side.
Comparing Fig.2 and Fig.3, in case axial deformation, when
increases band width of resonant frequency is much wider.
Similarly in case axial deformation, when increases band
width of resonant frequency less.

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VI.

SIMULATION AND RESULTS

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Applicability of proposed method was initially verified by

simulation studies on a 6-section circuit (as in Fig. 1), details
of which are given below.
1. Total Cg was chosen as 6 nF and Cs =1nF.
2. ls and Mi j crossesponding Table 1,

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33
32
3

= Cg / Cs

10

11

12

13

14

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Sp ace F act o r

3. A resistance (r) of 1.33. per section was used.

Different structures and capacities of transformer have different
Cs and Cg; commonly it is defined by space factor.

Fig 4.Change in intact frequency w.r.t to space factor of transformer

winding (axial displacement)

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Proc. of the International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Technologies (ACCT 2011)

REFERENCES
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[1] Jorge Pleite, Carlos Gonzalez, Juan Vazquez, Antonio Lazaro, Power
transformer core fault diagnosis using frequency response analysis,
IEEE MELECON 2006, May 16-19, Benalmadena, Spain, pp 1126-1129

70
60
50
40
30

[2] Charles L. Sweetser , Patrick Picher, A Report on activities By IEEE

WG Pc57.149 And CIGRE WG A2.26 On Frequency Response
Analysis (FRA) Testing, 2005 Doble Engineering Company.

20
10
0
3

10

11

12

13

14

[3] Ashok Kumar Yadav, Subash C. Taneja, Transformer diagnostics testing

by SFRA, The Journal of CPRI, vol.2, No.2, September 2005, pp 177185.

15

Sp ace F act o r

[4] P.M.Nirgude, B. Gunasekaran, Channakeshava, A.D. Rajkumar, B.P.

Singh, Frequency response analysis approach for condition monitoring
of transformer, Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, 2004.
CEIDP '04. 2004 Annual Report Conference on 17-20 Oct. 2004, pp 186
189

Fig 5.Change in intact frequency w.r.t to space factor of

transformer winding (radial deformation)
For Fig.4 and Fig.5 simulation studies are reported, frequency
characteristic examined at first resonance frequency is called
intact frequency of transformer .In Fig.4, when < 9 shift in
intact frequency is gradually changes but > 9 shift in intact
frequency is almost constant. But in Fig.5, > 9 shift in intact
frequency is rapidly changes.

[5] D.M.Sofian, Z.D. Wang, S.B. Jayasinghe, Frequency response analysis in

diagnosing transformer winding movements - fundamental
understandings.; Universities Power Engineering Conference, 2004.
39th International Volume 1, 6-8 Sept. 2004 pp 138 - 142 Vol. 1
[6]

VI. CONCLUSION
[7]

Every transformer winding has a unique signature that is

sensitive to changes in the parameters of the winding, namely
resistance, inductance, and capacitance. Frequency spectrum
of a transformer is very sensitive to any deformation or
displacement of the winding. Frequency response analysis is a
very effective tool for diagnosing transformer condition. It is
particularly useful in detecting any fault that is due to
mechanical damage to the winding. The technique is also very
reliable for detecting any short circuit to the winding. Results
from a measurement can be analyzed through several
techniques via graphical presentation. However, reference is
needed for better interpretation. The reference can either be
from historical data of the same transformer or from sister
transformers.
The interpretation of the results is meanwhile a great help in
determining further action to be taken especially for suspected
transformers. FRA can be a very effective tool for condition
monitoring. It can avoid catastrophic failure in transformers
and also help maintenance engineer to estimate time and cost
for repairing the transformer after the fault before undertaking
maintenance.

K. Ragavan, L. Satish, An Efficient Method to Compute Transfer

Function of a Transformer from Its Equivalent Circuit, IEEE
Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 780788, April
2005.
D.M.Sofian,Z.D.Wang and P.Jarman, Interpretation of Transformer
FRA Measurement Results using Winding Equivalent Circuit Modelling
Technique.

[8] Simon A. Ryder, Methods for comparing frequency response analysis

measurement, IEEE International Symposium on Electrical Insulation,
Boston, MA USA, April 7-10, 2002.
[9] Simon Ryder, "Frequency Response Analysis for Diagnostic Testing of
Power Transformers", Electricity Today Magazine, Issue June 2001.

[10] P. T. M. Vaessen and E. Hanique, " A New Frequency Response

Analysis Method for Power Transformers", IEEE Trans. On Power
Delivery, Vol. &No. 1, January 1992, pp 384-391.

V FUTURE SCOPE
These techniques are suitable in detecting winding
displacements (Axial and Radial). Internal fault of transformer
can be quantified with the statistical analysis.

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