Modern Trends and Accident Prevention on Distribution and Power Transformers

INTRODUCTION

Power transformers play a crucial role in electric energy transmission and distribution. The transformer, the costliest
equipment in a switchyard/substation, is expected to serve the entire life of a substation which is considered to be 35
years as per CERC norm. It has become a matter of concern for utilities as many transformers are failing much
before their useful life.

An increasing number of failures of power and distribution transformers have led to greater interest in building up the
much needed expertise in electric power transformers, from its design to both preventive and prescribed
maintenance. Although they age with time as devices that carry large amounts of electric energy for twenty four
hours daily throughout the year, they are also vulnerable to catching fire and exploding, resulting in major loss of
power supply to consumers and danger to other expensive power equipment in substations, generator stations and
to human lives. When such failures occur, the consequences are economical as well as environmental.

As on 01.07.2017, AEGCL has 63 nos. of EHV Grid Substations (400 kV-1 no., 220 kV- 10 nos. and 132 kV - 52
nos.) with total Transformation capacity of 6046 MVA.

This emphasizes the fact that reliable operation of transformers, being the heart of substations is of utmost
importance. To maintain reliability it is essential to know the reasons for failure and ways to overcome the causes of
failure.

TRANSFORMER FAILURE RATES

LOCATIONS OF MAJOR FAILURE

COMMON CAUSES OF TRANSFORMER FAILURES AND ACCIDENTS

 Inter-turn insulation failure due to mechanical damage during manufacture, infiltration of water, long term
overload and over voltages, mechanical movements of turns and obstruction in oil flow.
 Water contents in oil; sludge in oil, or in the insulation between tank and winding leading to winding-tank
insulator failure.
 Thermal faults caused by overloading of transformer, poor connections at bolted connections with cables
or draw rod of bushings, or poor oil flow inside the transformer
 Partial discharges may occur due to incomplete oil impregnation leaving cavities in which discharges
occur, high humidity in paper, arcing between bad connections, shielding rings, adjacent disks or
conductors of windings, broken brazing. These result in heating in the range of 100 degrees to 700
degrees.
 Eddy current heating in magnetic core due to malfunction of the magnetic circuit. Large negative or zero
sequence currents, or circulating currents in the tank and core lead to heating with temperatures rising
above 700 degrees.
 Voltage surges with high rate of rise of current, short circuits in the secondary and rapidly fluctuating load
currents.
  Explosion of the Diverter Switch connected to On Load Tap Changer due to accumulation of combustible
gases
 Poor mechanical contacts at bushings leading to sparks, loose springs in the tap changing contacts,
pitted contacts of tap changer, fire in vapour accumulating above the oil, bad maintenance practice and
condition monitoring. Improper lug connections, and terminals tightened without locknuts, result in the
connections becoming loose with time, and when high starting currents, for instance, of motors pass
through the loose connections spark occur which may ionize the chamber resulting in explosions.

One of the main causes of failure of distribution/power transformers is lightning. The lightning parameters directly
related to transformer failures are high return stroke peak current, high rates of current rise, multiple flashes and
positive lightning flashes. With aging transformers, with reduced insulation strengths, lightning flashes accelerate the
end of life failures. Lightning flashes to the customer electrical installations impact the transformers through the
secondary windings, as well as lightning currents in neutrals and secondary circuits. Frequently the transformers
saturate during the prolonged lightning return stroke currents and continuing currents, resulting in low impedance
faults. The faults on the secondary side of the transformers are due to direct lightning strikes to low voltage lines,
induced surge voltages by distant lighting strikes and lightning strikes to buildings being coupled to the low voltage
power line.

Causes of transformer failure that lead to fire and explosion include the following:

 Inter-turn insulation failure due to mechanical damage during manufacture, infiltration of water, long term
overload and over voltages, mechanical movements of turns and obstruction in oil flow.
 Water contents in oil, sludge in oil or in the insulation between tank and winding leading to winding-tank
insulator failure.
 Thermal faults caused by overloading of transformer, poor connections at bolted connections with cables or
draw rod of bushings, or poor oil flow inside the transformer
 Partial discharges may occur due to incomplete oil impregnation leaving cavities in which discharges occur,
high humidity in paper, arcing between bad connections, shielding rings, adjacent disks or conductors of
windings, broken brazing. These result in heating.
 Eddy current heating in magnetic core due to malfunction of the magnetic circuit. Large negative or zero
sequence currents, or circulating currents in the tank and core lead to excessive heating.
 Voltage surges with high rate of rise of current, short circuits in the secondary and rapidly fluctuating load
currents.
 Explosion of the Diverter Switch connected to On Load Tap Changer due to accumulation of combustible
gases
 Poor mechanical contacts at bushings leading to sparks, loose springs in the tap changing contacts, pitted
contacts of tap changer, fire in vapor accumulating above the oil, bad maintenance practice and condition
monitoring. Improper lug connections, and terminals tightened without locknuts, result in the connections
becoming loose with time, and when high starting currents, for instance, of motors pass through the loose
connections spark occur which may ionize the chamber resulting in explosions.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Good maintenance of the transformer ensures maximum efficiency of operation, minimize the risk of pre-mature
failure and breakdown and ensure optimum life time. Proper maintenance and condition monitoring, including of the
transformer insulating oil, are of utmost importance. The protective devices such as gas relay, oil and winding
temperature sensors, pressure relief devices etc. must be housed in environmentally protective enclosures. Moisture,
rain, sunlight and pollution all have ill effects on these protection systems. Tap changers must be inspected regularly
for mechanical wear and low dielectric strength. Bushings, through which oil may spill out, must be well sealed to
prevent contamination by oxygen (oxidization) and humidity (hydrolysis). Seals must be regularly inspected for
corrosion or other degradation. All mechanical connections, including that of bolts, of capacitive tap must be properly
made, since loose connections lead to sparks. Pollution accumulating on insulators must be inspected and washed.
Long term horizontal position storage of bushings must be avoided.

Tertiary winding may be avoided, wherever feasible, as it increases the probability of failure of the transformer.
Transformer banks and 5 limbed 3 phase units should only be provided with tertiary winding of rating one third of HV
rating. Tertiary terminals of transformer prone to short circuiting by external element such as bird or animal may be
suitably insulated.
OLTC is one of the causes of failure of transformer. System studies should be carried out and the possibility of
removal of OLTC from power transformers of voltage rating 400 kV and above may be explored.
Whenever there is movement of transformer either from manufacturing works or from one station to other, SFRA
should be carried out before movement and after shifting to new location. This would provide valuable information
about deformation in winding /core during transportation.

MEASURES TAKEN FOR REDUCTION OF TRANSFORMER FAILURES IN AEGCL

A. Measurement of Capacitance and Tanδ Capacitance and Tanδ measurement of bushings gives an
indication of the quality of insulation in the bushing. In AEGCL practice is followed to replace the bushing if
value of Tanδ is found to be greater than 0.007.If the trend in variation of Capacitance and Tanδ values
monitored is observed to be abnormal decision of replacing of bushing is taken. The same technique is used
to know healthiness of ground and inter winding insulation of transformer. AEGCL has a practice of yearly
monitoring of Capacitance and Tanδ measurement.
B. Provision of High set relay for EHV transformers High set relays are provided on distribution side feeders to
avoid unwarranted trippings/failure of transformers. For a close-up fault on distribution feeder, the high set
relays are expected to operate to clear the fault and avoid the reflection of the same on transformer. The
high set relays being instantaneous helps to isolate the faulty feeder quickly. AEGCL has provided high set
relays on distribution side feeders emanating from EHV substations and this has helped to reduce the
incidents of transformer tripping/failure due to distribution related faults.
C. Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is one of the most widely used diagnostic tools for detecting and evaluating
faults in electrical equipment. However the interpretation of DGA results is often complex and should always
be done with care, involving experienced insulation maintenance personnel.(Ref: IEC 60599:1999).This
technique is mainly useful for the transformers filled with mineral insulating oil and insulated with cellulosic
paper or press-board-based solid insulation.
Temperature Ranges and Possible Causes of Individual Gas Formation

Gases Evolution
Possible Causes
Formed Temperature

H₂ 1500C and above Partial discharge, arcing in oil

CH₄ 1500C to 3000C Partial discharge in oil,

Overheating of oil

C₂H₆ 2500C to 3500C Overheating of oil

C₂H₄ 3500C to 7000C Overheating of oil

C₂H₂ 7000C and above Arcing in oil, overheating of oil

at very high temperature

CO 3000C and above Cellulose overheating

CO2 3000C and above Cellulose overheating

Passive Fire Protection

The aim of passive fire protection is to prevent or limit damage to adjacent equipment due to the electrical failure in
transformer. There are three construction features considered such as oil catchment areas, heat radiation barriers
and oil drainage system. The oil catchment area is constructed to avoid discharged oil from flowing across non-
absorbent ground surface. This area is provided around major transformers and auxiliary transformer where any oil
discharged is confined within the catchment area and reduced the potential of burning oil from endangering the main
transformer respectively. By connecting the auxiliary oil catchment area to the catchment area for the main
transformer, a lower bund wall is needed. The bund wall is also used to separate the oil cooler bank and main
transformer. The second feature is an oil drainage system which it leads to minimize the severity and duration of fire
in the catchment area. The oil conveyance from the fire originated in the catchment area of adjacent equipment is
prevented by using concrete piping and separating the oil drainage system from the water drainage. In this system,
the off-terrace oil containment is provided at the termination point of drainage pipes which oil pollution of the
environment is prevented. An open holding dam is one type of off-terrace oil containment where automatically
displaced the storm water by oil. Heat radiation barriers are the third construction features of passive fire protection.
Use of oil-free transformers reduces the risk of fire. In these transformers epoxy resins are used as insulators. They
are costly compared to oil-transformers, almost double in price. But they are estimated to have a five percent overall
economic advantage given the smaller space occupied and easy maintenance.

CASE STUDIES

TRANSFORMER FAILURE DETAILS IN RECENT YEARS

As per report by CEA, details of reported failures of EHV transformers during October 2011 to August 2015 in terms
of year of service are as below:

No. of EHV transformer failures

8

4
No. of failures
3

0
0-5 years 5-10 10-15 15-20 Above 20
years years years years

Detailed information in respect of some of the failed transformers reported to CEA and brief analysis of the
failures:

1. Failure of 16.5/400kV, 220.6 MVA GT at 400 kV PPS-III Bawana of Pragati Power Corporation Ltd (PPCL)

 Rating of transformer: 16.5/400kV, 220.6 MVA

 Make: BHEL
  Year of manufacturing : 2009
 Year of commissioning : 2012
 Date of fault: 24.03.2015
 Details of previous maintenance: DGA of the transformer oil was conducted on 06.02.2015 and
results were found in to be in order.

The transformer was on flames with two bushings (R&Y phase) dislocated from the transformer tank body and lying
away from the transformer. CISF Fire Wing had taken action to douse the flames.

It was reported that the following protective relays had operated:

 Overall Differential Relay
 Transformer Differential Relay
 PRV, SPR and Buchholz relay

Operation of differential relay indicates internal fault in the transformer or the failure of bushing. The DR submitted by
PPCL indicates high short circuit current flow of the order of 37kA in the winding and the photograph showing the
condition winding supports the same. Because of flow of such high fault current, sudden pressure rise inside the tank
due to fault gases might have led to explosion of the tank. The operation of buchholz relay, PRV and SPR devices
further supports such a scenario. The sudden pressure rise inside the tank and condition of bushings after failure
indicate failure of bushing might have led to failure of transformer.

The following measures were suggested:

 Close monitoring of healthiness of bushings
 Capacitance and Tan delta test of transformer winding and bushings should be conducted every
two years. Rate of rise of tan delta should also be monitored and it should not be more than 0.1%
per year. Frequency of measurement should be increased in case tan delta value is approaching
0.7%.

2. Failure of 100 MVA, 220/66-33/11 kV Power Transformer at 220 kV Park Street sub- station of Delhi Transco
Ltd.

 Rating of transformer: 100 MVA, 220/66-33/11 kV

 Make: BHEL
 Year of manufacturing : 1994
 Year of commissioning : 1994
 Date of fault: 07.09.2014
 Details of previous maintenance: Thermo vision scanning on 04.06.14, DGA of oil on 08.07.14, all
LV tests (magnetizing current, magnetic balance, winding resistance, voltage ratio, insulation
resistance) and tan delta & capacitance measurement of winding and bushings on 29.08.14 &
31.08.14. Tan delta of 66 kV Y-phase bushing was found to be abnormal and the same was
replaced with new bushing on 31.08.14.

It was reported that the following protective relays had operated:

 Transformer Differential Relay
 Buchholz relay

Operation of buchholz alarm & differential relay and increase of Acetylene from <0.5 ppm to 14.2 ppm within 9 days
indicate towards internal fault in the transformer which is also proved by abnormal results of SFRA, magnetizing
balance and exciting current tests.

3. Failure of 220/132KV, 100 MVA transformer at 220kV Jamalpur substation of BBMB.

  Rating of transformer: 100 MVA, 220/132 kV
 Make: AREVA
 Year of manufacturing : 2007
 Year of commissioning : 2008
 Date of fault: 29.12.2014
 Details of previous maintenance: Last maintenance on 19.11.2014.Following actions were taken:
Checked condition of silica gel, found OK. Replaced oil in oil cups and cleaned vent holes of
breather. Checked oil level in the conservator and bushing and was found OK. Checked nitrogen
pressure and its leakage & was found OK. Checked bushing for any hair crack and none found.
Checked all nuts and bolts of the transformer and jumper & were found OK. Checked for vermin
proofing of cubicles & terminal boxes and their cable entry.

In the Insulation resistance test done on transformer after failure, insulation resistance between HV-LV and Earth
was found to be 60.1 K ohm for 15 seconds measurement and 69.2 K ohm for 60 seconds measurement which is
very low. Transformer failure occurred due to the design fault. The opening of top up level pipe was near the turret of
the R phase 132 kV LV bushing due to which the topped up oil accumulated in the turret and did not mix up well with
oil of main body.

Many cases of accidents and deaths due to failure of distribution transformers have also been reported in the past
few years.

 On 01.11.2017, explosion of a 25KVA transformer near Shahpura town in Jaipur caused the death
of more than 10 people. The transformer had a load of 15 HP and was installed just 3 days back. It
was reported that burning oil was gushing out from the burning transformer due to which several
people sustained severe burn injuries.
The Rajasthan electricity technical employees association said that failure of exposure vent valve
and Buchholz relay could have caused the explosion.

 On the very next day, i.e., 02.11.2017, two people were killed and few others injured due to
electrocution apparently triggered by a fault in a transformer in Rajasthan.
It was reported that the fault in the transformer was due to unregulated electric supply around the
houses in the area.

CONCLUSION

With a significant number of transformers failing in any given power grid, and the failure sometimes leading to the
extreme consequence of fire and explosion, there is a need to specifically train and inform engineers that are expert
in transformer maintenance, monitoring, diagnostics and proactive action when disasters occur. This paper discusses
in short, some of the important reasons for the power transformer failure along with methodology to classify
transformer failures depending on various factors. Based on the data it can be said that many times transformers
interfacing distribution network experience more number of faults for longer duration further resulting into failure of
EHV transformers. This paper also discussed some of the preventive methods in brief to minimize the rate of
transformer failure.
In the past few years, transformer explosions have cost quite a few lives. Adequate and modern diagnostic tools are
not available with most of the State Utilities. Most of them practice Time Based Maintenance (TBM). The practice of
Condition Based Monitoring using modern diagnostic tools should be followed instead of conventional Periodic / Time
Based Maintenance.
Most utilities are facing a shortage of operation and maintenance personnel. Such issues should be looked into with
seriousness.
Acknowledgement

DEVELOPMENT AND RESULTS OF A WORLDWIDE TRANSFORMER RELIABILITY SURVEY

S. Tenbohlen, J. Jagers, G. Bastos, B. Desai, B. Diggin, J. Fuhr, J. Gebauer, M. Kruger, J. Lapworth, P. Manski, A.
Mikulecky, P. Muller, C. Rajotte, T. Sakai, Y. Shirasaka, F. Vahidi
On behalf of CIGRE WG A2.37
Acknowledgement
Presented at CIGRE SC A2 COLLOQUIUM 2015 during Sep 20-25, 2015 at Shanghai, China