Tadeusz GLINKA1,2, Waldemar OLECH3, Marek GLINKA2

1) 2)
Wydział Elektryczny Politechniki Śląskiej w Gliwicach, BOBRME Komel w Katowicach
3)
Zakład Pomiarowo-Badawczy Energetyki "ENERGOPOMIAR-ELEKTRYKA" Spółka z o.o., Gliwice

Impact of generator and power grid on unit transformer

reliability
Summary. Unit transformer is usually connected directly to synchronous generator. Transformer windings are subject to all perturbations, coming
from both generator and power grid. The paper lists different types of possible perturbations and presents example of unit transformer failure which
occurred in one of thermal power stations.

Streszczenie. Transformator blokowy najczęściej jest połączony bezpośrednio z generatorem synchronicznym. Na uzwojenia transformatora
działają wszelkie zaburzenia, tak od strony od strony generatora jak i systemu elektroenergetycznego. W artykule wymieniono rodzaje możliwych
zaburzeń i podano przykład jednej awarii transformatora blokowego, która miała miejsce w jednej z elektrowni cieplnych. (Wpływ generatora i sieci
elektroenergetycznej na niezawodną pracę transformatora blokowego).

Key words: Unit transformer, transformer failure, transformer repair, transformer protection
Słowa kluczowe: Transformator blokowy, awaria transformatora, naprawa transformatora, zabezpieczenie transformatora

Introduction  short-circuiting in unit transformer or outgoing power unit

The unit transformer is usually directly connected to line.
synchronous generator. The primary winding of unit Generators rated above 100 MW and operating with
transformer (T) is connected either by cable or by bus to distribution or transmission grid may also be equipped with
generator’s armature winding. The unit circuit breaker (CB) protections ensuring their disconnection from the network in
is installed close to transformer at “upper” voltage side – following cases:
Fig.1. In this circuit any generator perturbations and power  frequency falling below 47.5 Hz, ,
grid (PG disturbances affect the transformer. In case of  loss of stability,
power grid (PG) side the transformer is partially protected  decrease of voltage at transformer’s “upper” voltage
and during emergencies it may be disconnected from grid terminals – below 80% of rated voltage,
completely. However, the connection between transformer  short-circuit in grid lasting more than 150 ms.
and generator is fixed and all possible generator The protections mentioned above affect also unit circuit
perturbations affect the transformer without possibility of breaker W causing its tripping (switch-off).
disconnection. The paper is focused on possible Generator voltage may rise relatively fast. If generator
disturbances and their influence on unit transformer. We operates with nominal excitation and power unit is switched
also present and discuss failure of unit transformer caused off with circuit breaker CB - (Fig.1), then no-load voltage
by these perturbations. increases. The maximum value of this voltage may be
evaluated basing on standard no-load curve of synchronous
generators [6]. Generator’s maximum no-load voltage, at
nominal excitation, may be equal to:

1,4 1,4 ∙ 15750 22050

This voltage may result in turn-to-turn short-circuit if the
dielectric strength of turn-to-turn insulation is reduced.

Fig.1. Power unit circuit: G – synchronous generator, T – Perturbations coming from the power grid
transformer, CB – circuit breaker, PG – power grid Overvoltages (voltage waveforms) may occur in the
power grid, they are characterised by high voltage over time
Perturbations in power unit during normal operation rates of change and short durations (microseconds). These
Perturbations in synchronous generator operation waves may be traced back to atmospheric discharges or
Types of synchronous generators perturbations are operation of current-limiting circuit breakers, switching off
listed in relevant service manual (Ramowa Instrukcja large inductive loads e.g. transformers supplied from 110
Eksploatacji Generatorów Synchronicznych) [2]. This kV, 220 kV or 400 kV grids, or emergency shut-downs of
manual identifies all possible disturbances in generator PG sections. These microsecond-long overvoltages are not
operation together with the protective devices. These recorded by measurement apparatus, because they are
disturbances are: attenuated by instrument transformers. Theory of
 short-circuiting of stator windings, phase-to-phase and transformers [5] demonstrates that external voltage
phase-to-ground, in wires connecting to buses and in waveform UX incoming to transformer winding will be
external network, distributed non-uniformly among individual turns of winding.
 overloading of stator and rotor windings, This voltage distribution among turns depends on the ratio
 over-excitation and loss of excitation, of winding's capacitance to earth C0 to equivalent turn
 increased stator voltage, capacitance CZ. Its maximum value is assigned to foremost
 non-symmetrical loading, turns looking from the phase side.
 disconnection of driving system,
 loss of synchronism in excited generator, ∆

PRZEGLĄD ELEKTROTECHNICZNY, ISSN 0033-2097, R. 88 NR 12a/2012 101

  replacement of copper screens with magnetic plates
screens,
 replacement of insulation to ground with hard-type
insulation
where Z denotes winding's number of turns.  execution of new end systems for controlled oil
For instance, in power unit transformer 270 MVA, 15750 circulation
V / 250000 V the capacitance of insulation to ground high-  execution of new modernised windings,
voltage (HV) of winding and in relation to low-voltage (LV)  modification of cooling system -adaptation to controlled
of winding and core is equal to C0= 13,6 µF. The turn oil circulation,
capacitance CZ has not been measured during  equipping the transformer with new pumps, flow meters
commissioning tests of the transformer, and therefore and free-standing control box,
coefficient α cannot be calculated. Reference [5] states that  drying of active part in vacuum stove and impregnation
α may vary from 5 to 20. The windings were specially with new oil,
transposed in order to increase turn-to-turn capacitance CZ,  final tests and measurements.
and therefore coefficient’s lower limit may be adopted, Supervision and control embraced the following:
α = 5. This voltage value will occur at the first instance of
 verification of technical specifications (construction,
voltage waveform input. In case of voltage waveform the
process engineering),
transformer winding must be expressed by distributed
 control of core and windings, conducted in the midst of
parameters (capacity, inductance and resistance) and this
different engineering processes,
fact triggers electromagnetic damped oscillations. The
maximum voltage decreases with time and travels along  control of insulation system drying and impregnation
turns distributed down the transformer leg. These over processes; check-ups of moisture content after drying,
voltages create hazard to turn insulations, and in particular  supervision of process engineering,
to insulation of first few turns from the phase side. Even if  commissioning of transformer.
voltage waveform is not high, then if dielectric strength of The following tests and evaluations were run:
insulation is decreased, turn-to-turn short-circuit may be  windings resistance measurements,
initialised, mostly in the first few turns of HV winding.  turn-to-turn insulation testing with 220 V voltage,
A failure of unit transformer 725 MVA, 23 kV/345 kV is  measurement of transformer's voltage ratio by
quoted in reference [4]. It occurred during synchronisation compensation method,
of power unit with the power grid. Synchronisation was  measurement of insulation resistance,
manual and operator made a mistake by switching  core testing,
generator on when the voltage phase shift of power unit  testing of moisture content after drying process in
transformer in relation to PG voltage was equal to 120( (it insulation samples.
is probable that he compared phase shifts of different Transformer's final tests were executed in accordance
phases). The consequences of this mistake for the with then valid Polish standard PN-83/E-06040 [1]. These
transformer were as follows: all windings were dislocated in tests included:
relation to the core, all winding clamps were loosened or  voltage ratio and vector group test,
broken; phase "B" winding was damaged most of all, with  windings resistance measurements,
shreds of insulation and parts of clamps floating in oil, with  insulation tests:
turn-to-turn and earth faults.  resistance and R60/R15 indicator,
 capacitances and tgδ,
Example of power unit transformer failure
 oil testing,
We will present example of failure of new power unit
 insulation electrical strength tests:
transformer, rated at 270 MVA, 15750 V/250000 V. The
- with input voltage HV – 230 kV, LV – 40 kV,
failure occurred during pilot (test) operation of the power
- with induced alternating 3-phase voltage, "lower" voltage
unit. Transformer was built in 1971 with power rating 240
winding was supplied with 24,9 kV; 200 Hz voltage,
MVA. In 1996 it was modernised, but only original core and
- with induced 1-phase voltage, partial discharges
tank were used, all other constructional elements were
measurements,
replaced. The power rating was increased to 270 MVA and
so a new transformer was built. The construction was  no-load test - current and power losses,
carried out by PPRE Energoserwis Lubliniec (Poland)  short-circuit test,
company, at present it is called TurboCare (Siemens). The  leakage reactance and zero-sequence component
construction was correctly accomplished. Independent reactance measurements,
supervision and control of transformer engineering and  magnetising currents measurements at low voltages,
some specialised measurements were carried out by  chromatographic analysis of gases dissolved in oil
independent external company ZPBE Energopomiar – (DGA),
Elektryka, Gliwice (Poland).  tank leakproofness test.
The following tests recommended by standard [1] were
Tests of power unit transformer carried out during not carried out:
production stage  surge voltage test (surge voltage generator was not
Transformer tests consisted of process engineering operable),
tests during production stage and final tests carried out with  heat run test at rated current (unfulfilled test conditions).
completed transformer. Transformer was designed and The final tests and process engineering tests results
constructed in accordance with (then) valid standard PN- were positive. The transformer was commissioned with one
83/E-06040 [1]. The scope of process engineering reservation, that heat run test would be carried out with
embraced: transformer operating in the power unit. The transformer
 disassembling of transformer and its active part, was declared to be correctly built and its technical condition
 relocation of core, together with modernisation and was equivalent to that of brand new transformer.
change of clamping method,

102 PRZEGLĄD ELEKTROTECHNICZNY, ISSN 0033-2097, R. 88 NR 12a/2012

Transformer's operation and failure  On 30th Dec., 1996, the power unit was again
Transformer was conveyed by train to the power plant synchronized with the power grid and after 32 hours of
th
and installed. The ratings of power unit transformer were: operation it was switched of (on 31 December) because of
270.6 MVA; 230 MW; 15,75 kV. The operation of power unit turbine trouble.
before the failure ran as follows (this data was obtained  Once again the power unit was synchronized with the
from electric power plant operator): power grid on 12th January, 1997. The unit operated
th
 On 13 Dec., 1996, the power unit was switched on and correctly at 160MW load and reactive power load equal to
synchronized with the power grid. On 15th Dec.1996, after c. 80 MVAr. After several hours the unit transformer failed.
65 hours of operation the power unit was disconnected from Total time of transformer operation was 135 hours, its
the grid. Before switch-off the generator operated with maximum load (apparent power) was 225 MVA, i.e. 83% of
145MW load at power factor cos = 0.877. The reason its rated power.
given for disconnection was loss of excitation by generator
and its subsequent transit to asynchronous mode of
operation.

Fig.2. Electrical scheme of power block "generator-transformer" with measurement points marked

(see Figs. 2 and 3). Total recording time of the failure is

equal to almost 6 seconds. Power unit parameters before
shut-down were as follows: grid voltage 245 kV, generator
voltage 15444 V frequency 49.760 Hz, generator phase
currents 8389 A; 8467 A; 8467 A, active power 209.22 MW.
Current appeared in zero-lead of 220 kV winding (see
Fig.2), its maximum reached about 570 A, that is c. 0.8 of
primary winding rated current value. Zero-lead current could
be caused by turn-to-turn short-circuit in one of the phases.
The oscillogram shows that after roughly four periods (80
ms), the transformer was disconnected from 220 kV grid by
differential protection; simultaneously, the generator was
de-excited. Apart from transformer's differential protection,
other protective devices were also actuated, among them
the Buchholz relay (device) (both sets of contacts).
Synchronous generator currents in phase "C" and in zero
lead were stopped; currents in phases "A" and "B", while
still flowing, decreased steadily until complete de-excitation
of generator was reached. This indicated arcing in
transformer.
The electric plant personnel found gas in Buchholz relay
Fig. 3. Voltages and currents - waveforms recorded during failure; and identified its combustibility. The measurements
different channels are marked as shown in Fig.2 conducted after transformer failure in accordance with the
transformer operation manual (Instrukcja Eksploatacji
Scope of transformer damage Transformatorów) [3] showed: anomaly in phase B of
The sequence of events during transformer failure was 220 kV voltage, consisting of 100% increase in resistance in
recorded by disturbance recorder. The committee working relation to original value and change of leakage reactance.
on transformer failure was therefore acquainted with record Investigation of oil properties did not show any changes in
of basic power unit parameters encompassing interval of basic dielectric physico-chemical parameters; however,
0.5 s before the failure, emergency shut-down of power unit traces of opalescent pyrolytic carbon were identified.
and voltage and current decay after transformer shut-down

PRZEGLĄD ELEKTROTECHNICZNY, ISSN 0033-2097, R. 88 NR 12a/2012 103

 Chromatographic analysis of gases dissolved in oil
showed characteristic composition of gases, corresponding
to internal short-circuit characterized by high energy density
(code IEC 102). Table 1 shows results of chromatographic
tests run after transformer has been assembled and after it
failed.
Table 1. Composition and concentration of gas dissolved in oil.

Measured values [ppm]

Gas components Before After
start-up failure
Hydrogen H2 Trace 2454
Methane CH4 none 607
Ethane C2H6 none 20 Fig.6. Location of phase "B" winding damage
Ethylene C2H4 none 350
Acetylene C2H2 none 599 Transformer was moved to PPRE Energoerwis Lubliniec
Propane C3H8 none 1 for repairs. After taking it out of the tank and disassembling
Propylene C3H6 none 30 HV winding, detailed visual inspection was conducted in
Carbon monoxide CO 3 250 order to localize damages and determine extent of
Carbon dioxide CO2 47 2324 necessary repairs.
Sum of combustible gases 3 4311 Visual inspection showed:
 Deep arc burn of phase "B" winding (45 discs). Burned
discs were found in the middle section of the leg, i.e. at the
side near phase lead. The terminal was broken.
 The leads of "A" and "0" phases showed charred inner
insulation layers (i.e. close to copper wire) and partial
overheating of insulation at internal terminals of "0" (neutral)
point.
 Insulating (shielding) sleeves of all phases were
shattered and displaced at the point of gluing contact.
The LV winding did not show traces of damages and
transformer core likewise was not damaged.
Figures 4-6 display characteristic locations of damages.
Damages in GN winding were undoubtedly generated
during turn-to-turn short-circuiting in phase “B”. However,
turn-to-turn short-circuit and short-lasting current in zero-
lead could not overheat insulation in this wire. Charring of
insulation in zero-lead and “A”phase show that copper
temperature reached at least 250C. During short-circuit
this temperature in zero-lead could not be attained.
Similarly, overheating of phase “A” terminal could not
happen during failure, since short-circuit current flowed
through phases “A” and “C” and phase “C” terminal was not
overheated. Therefore overheating of insulation in “0” and
“A” leads must be due to other, hitherto unexplained
reasons. Information on power unit operation obtained from
power plant operator does not therefore seem credible,
since it does not justify overheating of these wires. Authors
may quote from their own experience instances where
unreliable information on operation and failure of electrical
machines was provided by operators, in particular on
Fig.4. Phase "A" leads occasions when machines’ guarantee period had not
expired or when failure was due to employees’ fault. In this
particular case the authors are acquainted with the event
st
occurring on 21 Dec., 1996 in nearby plant supplied by the
very switch house where transformer in question was
connected. Due to sudden rise in voltage different
manufacturing devices were damaged (overall costs
reaching 48000 DM) together with 100 lamps costing 5000
PLN.

Conclusions
Power unit transformer is directly connected to the
generator and via circuit breaker to the power grid. The
transformer is affected by generator perturbations and
perturbations induced in the power grid. These events
greatly influence reliability of the transformer. The authors
present example of power unit transformer failure
Fig.5. "0" point leads (transformer ratings: 270 MVA, 15750 V / 250000V), which

104 PRZEGLĄD ELEKTROTECHNICZNY, ISSN 0033-2097, R. 88 NR 12a/2012

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