Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858

Discriminating changes introduced in the model for the winding

of a transformer based on measurements
Subrat K. Sahoo ∗ , L. Satish
Department of H.V. Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
Received 28 March 2006; received in revised form 14 June 2006; accepted 27 July 2006
Available online 30 August 2006

Abstract
A systematic procedure is evolved that enables identification of the type-of-changes introduced in the model winding of a transformer, based on a
comparison of measured neutral or line current and transfer-function with those corresponding to the reference case. Further, it was also possible to
ascertain, whether the pertinent circuit element viz. series capacitance, shunt capacitance and self-inductance has increased or decreased (compared
to initial value). The proposal was formulated based on analytical calculation and circuit simulation. Thereafter, the approach was experimentally
verified using two model windings, and the results were found to be encouraging. Thus, it demonstrates one possible way, how interpretation of
monitored data can lead to meaningful inferences.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Diagnostic testing; Interpretation of monitored data; LVI testing; FRA/TF method

1. Introduction
Power utilities perform condition monitoring on large power
transformers to assess its status. Many monitoring methods have
evolved over the years and each one of them is intended to ascer-
tain some specific aspect of dielectric, thermal and mechanical
integrity of the transformer. Amongst these low voltage impulse
(LVI) and frequency response analysis (FRA) or transfer func-
tion (TF) method have been found to be useful in detecting
winding deformations. Such deformities occur due to short-
circuit forces and sometimes may be caused due to unskilled
handling during transportation [1]. Although, minor and incip-
ient deformations/damages are generally not immediately per-
ceivable, they are in fact potential sites from where major faults
can develop subsequently.
The existing detection philosophy of these methods is based
on a comparison of two subsequently gathered records, and if a
mismatch were to be observed, then a possible fault is implied.
It is generally observed that, beyond a visual comparison, moni-
tored data does not seem to be post-processed to draw inferences.
Strictly speaking, diagnosis or interpretation of the monitored
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 80 22933179; fax: +91 80 22932373.
E-mail addresses: subrat@hve.iisc.ernet.in, subrat.sahoo@gmail.com
(S.K. Sahoo), satish@hve.iisc.ernet.in (L. Satish).
data has, as yet, not happened. It is desirable that every moni-
toring method is adequately supported by powerful diagnosis or
interpretation, so that its true potential can be harnessed.
In a practical scenario (e.g. when fault is implied), a diag-
nostic method is expected to provide assistance to the operation
engineer regarding, the extent of fault, its location, and so on,
such that timely action can be initiated. Instead of resorting to
expensive and time-consuming disassembly of the transformer,
it would be certainly advantageous to seek answers to these
questions by interpretation of monitored data, as far as possi-
ble. Therefore, exploration of newer ways of interpretation is
desirable.
A survey of pertinent literature reveals that most publications
on this topic can be classified into:
• Introduce a deformation (axial, radial, etc.) on an actual wind-
ing and then examine ability of a method to detect the smallest
possible change [2–8].
• Attempt to model or translate the winding deformation (i.e.
physical changes) into a corresponding change in the equiv-
alent circuit, so that, measured and computed TF are similar
[4–6].
• Preliminary efforts attempting to link observed changes in TF,
to the nature and location of fault, was examined via simula-
tion studies [9].

0378-7796/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2006.07.007
852 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858
Fig. 1. Equivalent circuit of a uniform winding of a transformer.
Thus, it emerges that monitored data has not been subjected to
any rigorous interpretation or diagnosis. Generally, in practice,
an expert opinion is sought. Recognising this need, the present
authors recently demonstrated [10], how TF of a two-winding
transformer could be interpreted and meaningful information
about the origin of its natural frequencies extracted. Hence, it
just goes to show how interpretation of monitored data can yield
useful information. When such is the prevalent situation, it is
imperative that exploratory investigations are essential. This was
the main motivation.
2. Problem definition
Admittedly, a full-scale solution of the above problem on an
actual transformer winding is far too complicated, and to the
best knowledge of the authors, has not been attempted earlier.
Further, many of the complex interactions that exist between
winding deformation and its influence on natural frequencies,
type of change, effect on position of change, etc., are not yet
fully understood. This lack of knowledge is the main bottleneck
that prevents a direct solution from being addressed. Therefore,
as a first step, a simplified version of the problem is initially
considered to untangle some of these intricate dependencies.
So, considering a single uniform winding of the transformer
(as in Fig. 1) considerably reduces the complexity of the prob-
lem. With this modification, the focus of problem under inves-
tigation shifts from the transformer winding to the equivalent
circuit. This step should not be construed as an oversimplifica-
tion of the task, since fault discrimination and location (based on
terminal measurements alone), even with respect to this circuit
has not been fully understood and resolved. Therefore, starting
with the representation in Fig. 1 and using data arising from ter-
minal measurements (i.e. LVI, FRA/TF method), the following
becomes the problem statement:
1. Data from LVI and FRA method is available for the reference
(or initial) case.
2. A capacitance (shunt or series) and/or inductance is changed.
3. Step 1 is repeated, and the two data sets are compared.
4. Based on observed deviations, is it possible to discriminate
the type of circuit change introduced?
The proposed solution strategy was formulated using ana-
lytical computations and simulation studies. Then, these are
experimentally verified on a model winding. Applicability of
the proposed method is verified for both disc and interleaved
types of windings, in simulation and experiments. Thus, this
study evolves a logical procedure to predict the type of changes
introduced, entirely based on data from terminal measurements.
In this respect, it attempts to interpret monitored data and thereby
show how information regarding changes (of the model winding
in this case) could be extracted. The next step would be to exam-
ine possibilities of extending this method to actual windings.
3. Model employed for simulation and experiments
The circuit representation in Fig. 1 comprising of series
capacitance (Cs ), shunt capacitance (Cg ), self-inductance (Ls ),
lumped resistance (r), and mutual inductances (Mi−j ) is known
to adequately describe the lightning impulse behaviour of the
transformer winding [11]. For a symmetrical circuit, all the self
inductance (Ls1 , Ls2 , Ls3 , . . .) are taken as Ls , all the series capac-
itance (Cs1 , Cs2 , Cs3 , . . .) are taken as Cs , and all the shunt capac-
itance (Cg2 , Cg3 , Cg4 , . . .) are taken to be Cg (except Cg1 and
Cg11 , i.e. 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, and hence, by changing Cs , both
continuous-disc and interleaved winding configurations could
be represented. Further, this representation permits analytical
investigation (symbolic computation, MAPLE), computation of
time and frequency-domain responses using circuit simulation
software (PSPICE), as well as construction of a model winding
for experimental verification. Two model windings (with 10 sec-
tions each) were used in the experiments. The self and mutual
inductance values shown in Table 1 were as a result of a mea-
surement on the model-winding done at a frequency of 1 kHz,
using the 1657 L-C-R DigiBridge (GenRad, USA). These values
have been used during simulation studies, so that any mismatch
between measured and calculated inductances in experiments
and simulation are avoided.
4. Underlying principle and solution approach
For evolving the logical procedure, it was essential to initially
study the nature of interrelation that exists between each circuit
element, line/neutral current and natural frequencies. To achieve
this, an analytical solution for the neutral current in s-domain
(i.e. In (s)) was derived using nodal analysis [12]. Initially, a loss-
less case with solidly grounded neutral was considered for the
sake of clarity. The general expression of the neutral current, for
a step-input excitation, as a function of the circuit elements, for
Table 1
Self and mutual inductances (Ls , Mi−j , in ␮H/section)
Model Ls Mi−j
I 180 m1–2 = 110.75, m1–3 = 73.97,
m1–4 = 54.67, m1–5 = 42,
m1–6 = 33.15, m1–7 = 26.7,
m1–8 = 21.45, m1–9 = 17.6,
m1–10 = 14.8
II 65 m1–2 = 36, m1–3 = 25, m1–4 = 18,
m1–5 = 14, m1–6 = 10, m1–7 = 8,
m1–8 = 6.3, m1–9 = 5, m1–10 = 4.25
Other Mi−j values are determined from symmetry considerations.
 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858
Fig. 2. Percentage variation in components of line and neutral current. Capac-
itive component as a function of: (A) series and (B) shunt capacitance and (C)
inductive component as a function of self-inductance.
an n-section network can be compactly written as:
Csn 1
In (s) = + subplot-B of Fig. 2 illustrates a similar variation, when shunt
Poly1(Cs , Cg ) Poly2(Ls , Mi−j )s2
Poly3(Cs , Cg , Ls , Mi−j , s)
+ (1)
Poly4(Cs , Cg , Ls , Mi−j , s)
where Poly1 is a polynomial function of Cs and Cg alone, Poly2
is a function of Ls and Mi−j alone, while, Poly3 and Poly4 are
functions of Cs , Cg , Ls , Mi−j and ‘s’.
An examination of the above expression reveals that In (s)
contains three terms, viz., the first term (dependent on Cs and
Cg alone and independent of ‘s’) is the capacitive term, the sec-
ond term (dependent on Ls and Mi−j alone and a function of 1/s2 )
is the inductive term, while the last term corresponds to the oscil-
latory components pertaining to the natural frequencies or poles
[12]. This separable or decoupled feature between the three com-
ponents is an important aspect. The fact that the first two terms
are independent of each other is the most important feature, and
can be explicitly shown, by substituting n = 3, and taking ele-
ments in each section to be identical. Imposing this condition,
Cs3
it turns out that the first two terms of In (s) are 4Cg Cs +3Cs2 +Cg2
and s2 (3L +2M1 +4M ) , respectively. Thus, from this it is clear
s 1−3 1−2
that capacitive term is dependent on only the capacitances of
the circuit, while the inductive term is a function of self and
mutual inductances alone. In other words, it indicates that a
change in either series or shunt capacitance (made at any posi-
tion) in the model will affect the capacitive term alone, keeping
the inductive component unaffected. Similarly a change in self
or mutual inductance anywhere in the circuit would result in a
corresponding change that is confined only to the inductive term.
Of course, in both these cases, the oscillatory component (i.e.
natural frequencies) would change. However, if there occurs a
simultaneous change in inductance and capacitance, then both
these two components would undergo a change.
853
Fig. 3. Variation of inductive and oscillatory components of neutral current,
following a change in: (A) series capacitance and (B) self inductance.
These matters are graphically shown in Fig. 2. In subplot-A,
the percentage variation of the capacitive component for In (s),
when series capacitance at section-1 is varied (either increased
or decreased) with respect to the reference case is shown. The
capacitance at section-2 is varied. From the two subplots, it is
seen that changes in series and shunt capacitance influence the
capacitive component of In (s) in the opposite way (i.e. an inverse
relationship exists). In other words, an increase in capacitive
component of In (s), results due to either an increase in series
capacitance or a decrease in shunt capacitance, and vice versa for
a decrease in capacitive component. So, this is another important
distinguishing feature for segregating series and shunt capacitive
changes. Subplot-C represents the variation of inductive com-
ponent with respect to change in self-inductance in the circuit
at section-1. This has a decreasing trend with increase in induc-
tance value.
The next important task was to translate these findings and
inferences derived from analytical studies to those actually
observable from LVI and FRA measurements. For this purpose,
consider the neutral current response in time-domain, due to
a standard lightning impulse. The capacitive component can be
recognized by observing the initial few microseconds of the neu-
tral current. In some cases, a zoomed version may have to be
considered. So, the logic arrived at from the analytical studies
can be extended here as well (examples will be discussed in next
section).
Unlike the capacitive component of the neutral current that
exists for only the first few microseconds, the inductive com-
ponent manifests as a relatively slow build-up and exists for
hundreds of microseconds, over which the oscillatory compo-
nents are superimposed. This aspect is not directly evident from
the expressions, since it is the response for an ideal step input.
Instead of this, consider Fig. 3, which shows in time-domain,
variation of both inductive and oscillatory components of the
neutral current, when a capacitance or inductance was changed
(obtained from PSPICE for a standard lightning impulse exci-
tation). When a capacitance change is imposed on the circuit
854 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858
Fig. 4. Flowchart-1 principle of the proposed method.
(increase or decrease), the peak value of the inductive component
does not change (capacitive and inductive changes are indepen-
dent of each other, as discussed earlier). However, the natural
frequencies will obviously change, and this introduces a time-
shift to the oscillatory components, due to which the inductive
component appears to have slightly changed, which is not the
case, and, if a mean-curve is drawn, then the average value of the
inductive component will be found to remain unchanged. This
aspect is observed in subplot-A, of Fig. 3. Next, variation of both
inductive and oscillatory components of neutral current, when
inductance is changed, is shown in Fig. 3, subplot-B, where it is
seen that mean-value of inductive component clearly undergoes
a significant change, in contrast to that seen in subplot-A. Thus,
changes imposed to both inductance and capacitance elements
of the circuit can be identified, based on the fact that the corre-
sponding changes they introduce on the neutral current are well
separated in time.
Once the occurrence of a capacitive change is identified, the
next task is to distinguish it, as either due to a change in Cs or
Cg . To achieve this, information available in frequency domain,
i.e. in TF, can be employed for interpretation as follows. An
increase in capacitance (either series or shunt) would result in
Fig. 5. Flowchart-2 principle of the proposed method.
a decrease of the natural frequencies (resulting in left-shift of
poles in TF plot) with respect to reference case. And similarly, a
decrease would result in their right-shift. The evolved procedure
for distinguishing the various changes in the model winding are
summarised below and shown as a flowchart in Fig. 4.
• Separability of the components of In (s) was possible.
• Capacitive and Inductive components of In (s) are independent
of each other.
• Cg and Cs change affect capacitive component of In (s) oppo-
sitely.
The procedure developed above was found to be successful,
only when one change was introduced at a time. However in
practice, it is natural to expect simultaneous change in Ls and
Cs or Cg . Hence, the investigation was continued further and
another quantity measurable at the terminals, namely, the line
current was examined for this purpose. An analytical expres-
sion, similar to that of In (s), was derived corresponding to
the line current (IL (s)). These two expressions were identical,
except for the first term. The capacitive component of IL (s)
 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858 855

1 6Cg Cs +9Cg Cs +Cg +2Cs

2 2 3 3
is: 2 4Cg Cs +3Cs +Cg
2 2 . A comparison of this term with the
capacitive term of In (s) reveals that this capacitive component
has a direct relation with respect to a variation in both Cg and Cs ,
in contrast to what was observed with In (s). That means, there
is an increase in capacitive component of IL (s) when either Cs
or Cg increases. This aspect is shown in subplot-A and -B of
Fig. 2 respectively. From this it emerges that a simple combi-
nation of these information about the inductive and capacitive
components of line and neutral current would help in discrim-
inating changes due to both Ls and Cs or Cg . This matter is
summarized in flowchart-2, Fig. 5. Thus, simultaneous changes
were also distinguishable.

5. Simulation studies

Applicability of proposed method was initially verified by Fig. 6. Comparison of computed (A) neutral current and (B) TF, corresponding
to increase and decrease in Cs , in section-1.
simulation studies on a 5-section circuit (as in Fig. 1), details of
which are given below.
was decreased. Thus, occurrence of either a decrease or increase
in Cs can be distinguished.
1. Total Cg was chosen as 3.0 nF and Cs was varied.
2. Ls and Mi−j (first four Mi−j values for a 5-section), corre-
5.2. Case-2: change in Cg
sponding to Model I (Table 1), were used.
3. A resistance (r) of 1.2  per section was used. The series capacitance chosen for this case study was
0.15 nF per section, so that the equivalent circuit represents a
Three cases studies are reported, namely Case-1, Case-2 and continuous-disc type of winding. The reference value of Cg was
Case-3 to discuss circuit changes (both increase and decrease) 0.6 nF/section. The shunt capacitance in section-2 was changed
in series capacitance in section-1, shunt capacitance in section-2 from the original value to 0.2 nF/section and later increased
and self-inductance in section-1, respectively. to 1.0 nF/section. Fig. 7, subplot-A shows the neutral current
response, depicting these changes. Similar to the previous case
5.1. Case-1: change in Cs study, the inductive component of In (t) does not show a percep-
tible change, when there is a change in Cg . The initial capacitive
It is generally accepted that fault detection in a transformer component is shown, within subplot-A, as an inset. Unlike in
with interleaved winding is difficult [3,12]. So, in this case the previous case study, increase in Cg results in a reduction of
study, an interleaved winding was considered by choosing the capacitive component, and the reverse is true for a decrease
Cs = 7.5 nF/section. The reference neutral current (In (t)) and in Cg , as illustrated in the flowchart (in Fig. 4). Fig. 7, subplot-B
TF (up to 400 kHz, with 1 kHz resolution) were computed and represents the corresponding TF. As expected, an increase in Cg
stored. These two quantities were computed again, and cor- results in left-shift of all the poles compared to reference TF, and
respond to both an increase (from 7.5 to 10 nF/section) and a decrease in Cg results in a right-shift. Hence the knowledge
decrease (from 7.5 to 5.0 nF/section) in Cs , in section-1. Subplot-
A, in Fig. 6 represents In (t) corresponding to reference case
superposed over those pertaining to increase and decrease in Cs .
No perceptible change was observed in the long-term behaviour
(i.e. inductive component) of In (t), between the reference case
and that due to change in Cs . So, it can be inferred that there is
no inductive change.
Next, a zoomed view of In (t) corresponding to the initial
1–2 ␮s is shown as an inset in subplot-A. Clearly a change was
observable in the initial capacitive component with respect to the
reference case, for both increase and decrease in Cs , thus indicat-
ing occurrence of a capacitive change. When Cs was increased,
it resulted in a higher value of capacitive component and vice
versa, as already discussed. Next, TF was computed and is shown
for reference case and those corresponding to an increase and
decrease in Cs . Subplot-B, in Fig. 6 shows these results. A left-
shift of all the natural frequencies occurs (compared to reference Fig. 7. Comparison of computed (A) neutral current and (B) TF, corresponding
TF) when Cs was increased, and a right-shift occurs when Cs to increase and decrease in Cg , in section-2.
856 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858

6.1. Case 4: increase and decrease in Cs , at section-1

An interleaved winding was selected (Model–I) by choos-

ing Cg = 2.2 and Cs = 20 nF/section (corresponding to α = 3.3).
In this study, series capacitance was increased from 20 to
40 nF/section and then decreased to 10 nF/section. The impulse
voltage and In (t) were acquired (128 K points, sampled at 10 ns)
corresponding to the reference condition, increase in Cs , and
decrease in Cs respectively, and the TFs computed. Fig. 9,
subplot-A, shows the initial portion of In (t) (i.e. capacitive com-
ponent), zoomed up to 2.5 ␮s for the reference case together
with those corresponding to a change in Cs at section-1. A clear
increase and decrease in capacitive component is seen, corre-
sponding to an increase and decrease in Cs respectively, thus
indicating that capacitance has changed. In subplot-B, the TFs
are compared. A left-shift of the natural frequencies is observed
Fig. 8. Comparison of computed (A) neutral current and (B) TF, corresponding compared to the reference condition when Cs is increased, and
to increase and decrease in Ls , in section-1.
a right-shift occurs when Cs was decreased. The corresponding
simulation results are included in subplot-C and subplot-D, and
of the shift in TF (following the change in Cg ), along with the
indicate a reasonable degree of agreement.
increase or decrease in capacitive component (from the neutral
current response) together, gives the information of change in
6.2. Case 5: increase and decrease in Cg , at section-2
Cg , which is already elaborated in Section 4.
The circuit configuration same as in Case 4 was adopted
5.3. Case-3: change in Ls
here. Cg , in section-2 was increased from 2.2 to 6.9 nF and
In this study, effect of a change in Ls was simulated.
Although increase in Ls is rare, for sake of completeness, both
an increase and decrease was considered. An interleaved wind-
ing was chosen with Cs = 7.5 nF/section. Ls in section-1 was
increased from 180 to 250 ␮H/section and decreased from 180
to 100 ␮H/section. The inductive and oscillatory part of In (t)
shows a change, as can be seen in Fig. 8, subplot-A. Whereas the
capacitive component (not shown in figure), and being indepen-
dent of changes in inductance, has remained unaltered, thereby
indicating a change in inductance. A significant change in the
inductive component in the time interval between 20 and 90 ␮s
(the observed time interval depends on the value of inductance
involved) has been observed. An increase in Ls would reduce
long-term magnitude of In (t) and a decrease would result in an
increase in its magnitude. The corresponding TF are shown in
subplot-B. Shifts in the natural frequencies were exactly as pre-
dicted.

6. Experimental results

The proposed method was verified by experiments on two

model windings (Fig. 1). Two models (with 10-sections each)
were used, whose details are given in Table 1. For brevity, only a
few sample results are presented. A low voltage recurrent surge
generator (Haefely RSG 482) was used to acquire neutral current
response (as a voltage across 47 ) due to a standard lightning
impulse excitation (peak value of 30 V). Data was acquired using
a 10-bit, 200 MSa/s digitizer (RTD 710A), and TF was computed
via FFT, instead of manually sweeping the frequency. For each
case study discussed, simulation results (corresponding to time Fig. 9. Comparison of measured (A) neutral current, (B) TF, corresponding to
and frequency ranges of interest) are also presented to enable a an increase and decrease in Cs , in section-1, and the corresponding simulation
comparison. results (C) neutral current and (D) TF.
 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858
Fig. 10. Comparison of measured (A) neutral current (B) TF, corresponding to
an increase and decrease in Cg , in section-2, and the corresponding simulation
results (C) neutral current and (D) TF.
thereafter decreased to 560 pF. Fig. 10, subplot-A shows the
capacitive component for the reference case and those corre-
sponding to the changes incorporated in Cg . An increase in
capacitive component is observed for a decrease in Cg and vice
versa. A comparison of the respective TFs is given in subplot-B.
A left-shift of natural frequencies occurs following an increase
in Cg and a right-shift of natural frequencies is observed when
Cg is decreased. The simulation results pertinent to this case are
shown in subplot-C and subplot-D.
It may be noted here that due to quasi-static approxima-
tions employed for determining the circuit elements of such
lumped parameter equivalent circuits (used to represent trans-
former behaviour), these models, cannot exactly replicate the
frequency-dependent behaviour of its elements and hence there
will occur a slight mismatch between the measured and simu-
lated TF plots. However this mismatch gradually increases at
higher frequencies, and at lower frequencies, it is of the order of
a few kHz, as is observed in Figs. 9 and 10. This should not be
construed as an error, but is a limitation of the representation.
6.3. Case 6: decrease in Ls , at section-1
A reduction in self-inductance, at section-1, was achieved by
short-circuiting one section. Increase in self-inductance was not
857
Fig. 11. Comparison of measured (A) neutral current (B) TF, corresponding to a
decrease in Ls , in section-1, and the corresponding simulation results (C) neutral
current and (D) TF.
considered due to operational difficulties. In this study, Model-2
was chosen with Cg = 1020, Cs = 350 pF/section (corresponding
to α = 17). A clear difference (Fig. 11, subplot-A) was observable
in the oscillatory part of the In (t) i.e. an increase when compared
to the reference value. Subplot-B shows a comparison of TF. The
reduced inductance causes an increase in the natural frequencies,
as expected. These aspects are clearly seen in Section 6, and are
in good agreement with the simulation results, shown in subplot-
C and subplot-D.
6.4. Case-7: change in Ls and Cg /Cs
It is easily visualized that representation of winding deforma-
tion would naturally necessitate incorporating multiple changes
into the circuit in Fig. 1. In order to consider this, simultaneous
change in inductance and capacitance elements were imposed.
By considering the IL (t) and In(t), it was possible to segregate
the L and C changes. Model-1 was chosen for the above purpose
with an α value of 2.36.
6.4.1. Decrease in Ls at section-4 and increase in Cs at
section-1
The series capacitance in first section was increased from
10 to 30 nF and the series inductance was reduced from 180 to
65 ␮H in the fourth section. An increase in capacitive component
858 S.K. Sahoo, L. Satish / Electric Power Systems Research 77 (2007) 851–858
Fig. 12. Comparison of capacitive component of line and neutral currents when
combined L and C changes are incorporated. (A) Line current and (B) neutral
current. (Note: Ls in section-4, Cs is section-1 and Cg in section-2 was varied.)
is observed both for IL (t) and In (t) for an increase in Cs along
with an increase in inductive and oscillatory component, as seen
in the inset of Fig. 12, subplot-A and subplot-B, respectively.
6.4.2. Decrease in Ls at section-4 and decrease in Cg at
section-2
In another case study, the Cg was reduced in the second sec-
tion from 560 to 100 pF, while the same change (as in Case-7)
in inductance was made at fourth section. A decrease in the
capacitive component of IL (t), is observed (Fig. 12, subplot-A)
for decrease in Cg but an increase in capacitive component is
observed for In (t) (Fig. 12, subplot-B). However the inductive
and oscillatory component continues to increase both in line and
neutral current (seen in the inset of subplot-A and -B of Fig. 12)
against the reference case.
In summary an increase in capacitive component of both
IL (t) and In (t) can be a result of an increase in “Cs ”, whereas
an increase in capacitive component of In (t) but a decrease in
capacitive component of IL (t) is a result of decrease in “Cg ”. The
change in inductive component happens for both the currents
in a similar way, which has an inverse relation with change in
“Ls ”. The procedure follows in accordance with the Flowchart-
2 of Fig. 5. Thus, using the proposed approach, simultaneous
changes in Ls and Cs /Cg could also be identified. For brevity
more examples are not included.
7. Conclusions
In a model winding, if a deviation is observed when a pair of
subsequently acquired neutral/line current and TF data are com-
pared, then it is possible to figure out, which one of the three
circuit elements of the equivalent circuit, namely, series capac-
itance, shunt capacitance or self-inductance is responsible for
the observed change. Further, it can also be inferred whether the
pertinent circuit element has increased or decreased, from its ini-
tial value. The proposed approach requires data corresponding
to terminal measurements, and does not impose any necessity
for newer measurements. Applicability of the method was ver-
ified (to a limited extent) for both disc and interleaved type of
winding representations. Experimental results were found to be
in good agreement with those predicted by simulation and ana-
lytical studies. Therefore, it is demonstrated how interpretation
of monitored data (LVI and TF data) can be used to extract infor-
mation about changes inside the winding. In final summary, the
objective of interpreting LVI and TF data has been partially
achieved.
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Subrat K. Sahoo (S 04) was born in 1979. He received the B.E. degree (Hons.) in
electrical engineering from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang,
India, which is affiliated with Utkal University, Orissa, India, in 2001. He
completed (in August 2003) his M.Sc. (Engg.) from the Department of High
Voltage Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (I.I.Sc.), Bangalore, India. He
is currently registered for the Ph.D. degree in the Department of High Voltage
Engineering. His research interests include diagnostics and condition monitoring
of transformers.
L. Satish (SM 02) was born in 1964. He received the Ph.D. degree from the
Indian Institute of Science (I.I.Sc.), Bangalore, India, in 1993. Since 2001, he has
been an Associate Professor with the Department of High Voltage Engineering,
I.I.Sc. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow with ETH, Zurich, Switzerland, from 1993
to 1995. He was a Visiting Researcher with H.V. Institute, Helsinki University
of Technology, Helsinki, Finland, during the summer of 1998. His research
interests include application of signal processing to high voltage impulse testing,
dynamic and static testing of ADCs, diagnostics and condition monitoring of
transformers, PD measurements and pattern recognition. Dr. Satish is a member
of CIGRE D1-33 in CIGRE WG D1-33.