The International Conference on Electrical Engineering 2008

No. O-150

Estimation of the circulating currents in the parallel operation of transformers

YONG-CHEOL, Kang, MI-SUN, Lee, BYUNG-EUN, Lee, and SUNG-IL, Jang Chonbuk National University Department of electrical engineering 664-14 Dukjin-dong, Chonju, 561-756, Korea YONG-GYUN, Kim Hankook IED Eng. Inc. 3F, 292-39 Susin-dong, Chonju, 560-820, Korea

Abstract
For the Y-Ytransformers operated in parallel, there exist two kinds of the circulating currents between the tanks and between the banks of the delta side. The proposed algorithm estimates the two circulating currents in the transformers in parallel in an ultra high voltage system. As the circulating current between the tanks is 90 deg out of phase of the load current, it is estimated by decomposing the line current into the component 90 deg out of phase of the load current. The circulating current between the banks in the delta side is estimated from the delta winding current and the line currents. The performance of the proposed algorithm is investigated when the impedances of the two transformer tanks are different or the taps of the on-load tap changer of the transformers are mismatched temporarily. Test results indicate that the algorithm can estimate the two kinds of the circulating currents successfully for both cases. Keywords: Transformer tanks, parallel transformer, and circulating current.

1 INTRODUCTION The parallel operation of power transformers is used for reliable supply of the electrical energy and an economic issue in an extra high voltage or ultra high voltage (UHV) system as well as in the medium voltage system. This can cover the heavy load and thus reduce the transformer size and power loss. In addition, power still can be delivered even when one of the two tanks is out of service. For optimum conditions when operating in parallel, transformers should have the same turns ratio, identical impedances, and identical ratio of resistance to reactance [1]. However, a circulating current can be flown between the two tanks if the impedances of the two transformers are different or if the taps of the on-load tap changer (OLTC) are mismatched temporarily due to the mechanical delay. The circulating current may cause the misoperation of protection relays. A case of operation for the current balance relay was reported when the tap of OLTC was being changed to upper tap in the Korean 765kV system. In addition, the circulating current increases deterioration of a transformer. Thus estimation of the circulating currents can help improve the performance of the protection relay. Moreover, because

the circulating currents are usually used by the input of the voltage controller for successfully controlling the OLTC in parallel operation of the transformers, estimation of the circulating currents also can help improve the performance of the OLTC control techniques. A method to estimate the circulating currents between the tanks in the parallel operation of the transformers divides the line currents of each tank into the real non-circulating current and the reactive circulating current with respect to the phase voltage [2]. The estimated circulating current depends on the power factor of the system even with the same tank currents. This characteristic is derived from the view point of the active and reactive power. Also, it needs the voltage as well as the tank and the load currents. This paper proposes an algorithm for estimating the circulating currents in three-phase Y-Y- transformers in an UHV system. There exist two kinds of the circulating currents, i.e. the circulating current between the two tanks and the circulating current between the three banks of the delta side. The former is estimated by decomposing the line current into the component in phase with the load current and the component 90 deg out of phase of the load current.

July 6-10, 2008, OKINAWA, JAPAN

The latter is estimated from the delta winding currents based on the fact that the sum of the three line currents of the delta side is zero. The delta winding currents are usually available in an UHV system since the current transformers (CTs) to measure them are installed for reliable operation of the protection relays. The proposed algorithm does not use the voltage. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been investigated when the impedances of the two transformer tanks are different or the taps of the OLTC are mismatched temporarily. 2 ESTIMATION OF THE CIRCULATING CURRENTS IN THE PARALLEL TRANSFORMER TANKS Fig. 1 shows the connection diagram of the two three-phase three-winding parallel Y-Y- transformers. As shown in Fig. 1, there exist five circulating currents, which can be classified into the two groups. One is the circulating currents between the two tanks and the other the circulating current between the three banks of the delta side of each tank. In Fig. 1 the thick straight lines represent the former and the circular lines represent the latter. This section explains the estimation algorithm for the two circulating currents. 2.1 Circulating current between the tanks The circulating current is defined by the current flows only within the loop. In this paper, in order to estimate the circulating component in the tank current without using the voltage signal, each tank current is divided into the two components, i.e. the current 90 deg out of phase of the load current and the current in phase with the load current. Fig. 2 illustrates the phasor diagram for estimating the circulating current between the tanks for the primary side. The circulating currents for the secondary and the tertiary side can be obtained in a similar manner. I1 is the load current flowing into the two tanks, which is the sum of the line currents of the two tanks, IA1 and IB1, i.e.

I A1cir

I B1cir

(4)

The non-circulating components can be obtained by

I A1 p I B1 p

| I A1 | cos | I B1 | cos

A B

I1 I1

(5) (6)

The circulating components can be obtained by

I A1cir I B1cir

| I A1 | sin | I B1 | sin

A B

( I1 90 ) ( I1 90 )

(7) (8)

Thus, the circulating components of the line currents of the two tanks can be obtained using (7) and (8).

I1

I A1

I B1

(1)

Figure 1. Connection of three-phase three-winding parallel Y-Y- transformers

As explained above, IA1 can be decomposed into IA1p (in phase with I1) and IA1cir (90 deg out of phase of I1), i.e.

I A1

I A1 p

I A1cir

(2)

Similarly, IB1 can be divided into IB1p (in phase with I1), and IB1cir (90 deg out of phase of I1) as shown by

I B1

I B1 p

I B1cir

(3) Figure 2. Phasor diagram for I1, IA1 and IB1.

As the sum of IA1 and IB1 is I1, the relationship between IA1cir and IB1cir is given by

The International Conference on Electrical Engineering 2008

2.2 Circulating currents between the banks The circulating currents between the banks can be estimated with the winding currents based on the fact that the sum of the three line currents of the delta side is zero. For a transformer used in the UHV system, the CTs for measuring the delta winding currents are installed inside the transformers for more reliable protection. Thus, the winding currents of the delta side are available. The delta winding currents of an A tank iA3ab, iA3bc, and iA3ca can be decomposed into the two components, i.e. non-circulating and circulating currents [3]. Figure 3. Single line diagram of the simulated system 3.1 For the different impedances of the two tanks The transformers being operated in parallel should be identical in terms of the rating and the impedance. However it is sometimes taken that a 7.5% difference in the impedance of two transformers of the same kVA rating which are operated in parallel represents a reasonable maximum, above which operational problems may be expected unless special provisions are made in the control [4]. The proposed algorithm was tested as an extreme case, where impedances of a B tank are significantly different, i.e. 80% of an A tank. Fig. 4 shows the voltages and currents of an A-phase of the primary, secondary and tertiary sides of the Y-Ytransformer. The circulating currents between the tanks and between the banks are obtained from (7) and (13), respectively. The circulating currents of the primary and secondary sides are very small and thus their results are not shown in this paper. Only the results for the delta side are shown. The tertiary load current, I3, the A tank line current, IA3 and the B tank line current, IB3 are available. The non-circulating currents, IA3p, IB3p, and circulating currents, IA3cir, IB3cir can be estimated from (5)(8). Table 1 shows the results. As expected, the circulating currents of each tank IA3cir and IB3cir have the same magnitude and the opposite direction. IA3cir, which is 38% of IA3 flows in the A tank whilst IB3cir, which is 19% of IB3 flows in the B tank. The phasor diagram for I3, IA3 and IB3 is shown in Fig. 5. A green line indicates I3. Blue lines represent IA3 IA3p, and IA3cir whilst red lines indicate IB3, IB3p, and IB3cir. Test results indicate that the algorithm can estimate the circulating currents between the tanks successfully when the impedances of the two tanks are different. Fig. 6 shows the results for the circulating current between the banks. Circulating currents are estimated using (13) from the winding currents. Non-circulating currents are obtained from (9)(11). Figs. 6a and 6b show the results for the A and B tanks, respectively. The peak values of the circulating currents of the A and B tanks are 8.099A and 8.799A, respectively. The magnitudes of the circulating currents are

i A3 ab i A3bc i A3ca

iA iA iA

i Apab i Apbc i Apca

(9) (10) (11)

The sum of the three line currents of the delta side is zero, i.e.

i Apab

i Apbc

i Apca

(12)

Summing and rearranging (9)(11) yields:

iA

1 i A3ab i A3bc i A3ca 3

(13)

Therefore, the circulating current between the banks of the delta side can be obtained from the winding currents. 3 CASE STUDIES Fig. 3 shows a single line diagram of the system studied in this paper. The two three-phase Y-Y- transformers (765kV/345kV/23kV, 1GVA) with the OLTC are modeled by using EMTP-RV and the sampling rate is 64 samples/cycle. The hysteresis characteristics of the core is modeled by using hysteresis reactor; the saturation point of (62.6 A, 1823.7 Vs) is selected to the hysteresis fitter. Butterworth 2nd order filters with a stop-band cut-off frequency of 1920Hz (sampling frequency/2) are used as anti-aliasing low pass filters. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been investigated when the impedances of the two transformer tanks are different or the taps of the OLTC are mismatched temporarily due to the mechanical delay.

July 6-10, 2008, OKINAWA, JAPAN

significant compared with the circulating currents. Test results indicate that the algorithm can estimate the circulating currents between the banks of the delta side successfully.

(a) Primary, secondary and tertiary voltages (a) For the A tank

(b) Primary, secondary and tertiary currents Figure 4. Voltages and currents of primary, secondary and tertiary sides Table 1. Magnitudes and angles of the currents for the tertiary side Magnitude (A) Phase angle (deg) I3 5.823 0 IA3 5.838 157.8 IA3p 5.404 180 IA3cir 2.209 90 IB3 11.44 -11.13 IB3p 11.23 0 IB3cir 2.209 -90

(b) For the B tank Figure 6. Winding (top), circulating (middle) and non-circulating (bottom) currents between the banks of the delta side 3.2 For the temporary mismatch of tap positions The circulating current exists even in the identical transformers in parallel if the OLTCs are not operated on the same tap. Difference in a mechanical delay when changing the tap can cause the temporary mismatch of the tap position [3]. In this paper, the mechanical delays for the A tank OLTC and the B tank OLTC were set up as 0s and 100ms, respectively. The tap of the A tank OLTC was changed from tap #-2 to #-3 at about 40ms, and the tap of the B tank OLTC was changed at about 140ms. Therefore, the mismatch of tap positions remains for 100ms. As the previous case, the circulating currents between the tanks and between the banks for the primary and secondary sides are very small and thus their results are omitted in this paper. Fig. 7 shows the load current and the line currents of the A and B tanks of the delta side. Blue solid line indicates I3 of 5.813 0 A, which is negligible compared with the line currents. IA3 (dotted green line) is 951.7 -43.21 A and IB3 (dashed red line) is 947.5 136.6 A. Clearly, I3 is the sum of IA3 and IB3.

Figure 5. Phasor diagram for I3, IA3 and IB3.

The International Conference on Electrical Engineering 2008

As shown in Fig. 8, IA3 is decomposed into IA3p (red dashed) of 693.7 0 A, and IA3cir (green solid) of 621.6 -90 A. In Fig. 9, IB3 is composed of the IB3p (red dashed) of 687.8 0 A and IB3cir (green solid) of 621.6 90 A. The circulating currents of 65% and 66% of the line currents are flown for the A and B tanks, respectively. In this case, a large amount of the circulating current between the tanks is produced in the tertiary side due to the temporary mismatch of tap position. The phasor diagram for I3, IA3 and IB3 is shown in Fig. 10. A green line indicates I3. Blue lines represent IA3, IA3p, and IA3cir whilst red lines indicate IB3, IB3p, and IB3cir. Test results indicate that the algorithm can estimate the circulating currents between the tanks successfully resulting from the temporary mismatch of the tap position.

(a) Magnitudes

(b) Phase angles Figure 9. Magnitudes and angles of tertiary non-circulating and circulating currents for the B tank

(a) Magnitudes

(b) Phase angles Figure 7. Magnitudes and angles of the tertiary load current and line currents of the A and B tanks.

Figure 10. Phasor diagram for I3, IA3 and IB3. Fig. 11 shows the results for the circulating current between the banks. Figs. 11a and 11b show the results for the A and B tanks, respectively. The peak values of the circulating currents of the A and B tanks are 8.44A and 8.35A, respectively. Test results indicate that the algorithm can estimate the circulating currents between the banks of the delta side successfully even for the temporary mismatch of tap position. 4 CONCLUSIONS This paper proposes an algorithm for estimating the circulating currents in three-phase Y-Y- transformers operated in parallel in an UHV system. There exist two kinds of the circulating currents, i.e. between the two tanks and between the three banks of the delta side. As the circulating current between the tanks is 90 deg out of phase of the load current, it is estimated by decomposing the line current into the component in phase with the load current and the component 90 deg out of phase of the load current. The circulating current between the banks of the delta side can be estimated from the delta winding currents and the line

(a) Magnitudes

(b) Phase angles Figure 8. Magnitudes and phase angles of tertiary non-circulating and circulating currents for the A tank

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REFERENCES [1] C. I. Hubert, Electric machines theory, operation, applications, adjustment, and control, 2nd. Prentice Hall, 2002, pp. 104106. [2] V. P. Thornley and N. J. Hiscock, Improved voltage quality through advanced in voltage control techniques, Developments in Power System Protection, 2001 IEE, p.355358 [3] M. S. Sachdev, T. S. Sidhu, and H.C. Wood, "A Digital Relaying Algorithm for Detecting Transformer Winding Faults", IEEE Trans. on PWRD, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 16381648, July 1989. [4] P. Okanik, B. Kurth, and J. H. Harlow, An Update on the Paralleling of OLTC Power Transformers, Transmission and Distribution Conference, 1999 IEEE, Volume 2, p.871875

(a) For the A tank

(b) For the B tank Figure 11. Winding (top), circulating (middle) and non-circulating (bottom) currents between the banks of the delta side currents based on the fact that the sum of the three line currents of the delta side is zero. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been investigated when the impedances of the two transformer tanks are different or the taps of the OLTC are mismatched temporarily. Test results indicate that the algorithm can estimate the two kinds of the circulating currents successfully for both cases. The proposed estimation algorithm for the circulating currents can help prevent maloperation of the protection relays.