Transformers: Theory and Performance 189 the severity and continuance of the fault, while from the colour a diagnosis of the type of fault is possible. If the rate of generation of gas is small, the lower float b. is unaffected. When the fault becomes dangerous and the gas production violent, the sud- den displacement of oil along the pipe-line tips the float bz and causes a second contact to be closed, making the trip-coil circuit and operating the main switches on both h.v. and Lv. sides. Gas is not produced until the local temperature exceeds about 150 °C. Thus momentary overloads do not affect the relay unless the transformer is already hot. The normal to-and-fro movement of the oil produced by the cycles of heating and cooling in service is insufficient to cause relay operation. 5.18 Testing A transformer may be subjected to a range of tests for a variety of purposes , including— (@) Routine tests after manufacture; (6) Acceptance tests, heat runs, etc.; (€) Specialized investigations on particular details of design, performance or operation. Phasing and Polarity In manufacture, where all connections are traceable, the phases on primary and secondary sides may readily be grouped. If not, all phases are short-circuited Buchholz relay Transformer b 5.29 Buchholz protection.190 Alternating Current Machines except a primary and a supposedly corresponding secondary. A small direct current is circulated in the primary and a voltmeter is connected across the secondary. A momentary deflection of the voltmeter when the primary cur- rent is made and broken confirms that the two windings concerned belong to the same phase. For this test all phase-ends should be separate. Difficulty may be experien- ced with internally connected zigzag (interconnected star) arrangements. Polarity has to be in accordance with B.S. 171: see Fig. 5.17. Voltage Ratio Most manufacturers employ bridge methods, for checking coils before assembly. Assembled transformers may be checked on a ratiometer, which is essenti- ally a potential divider excited from the same supply as the transformer under test, and subdivided so as to read the I.v. voltage in terms of the h.v. Balance is obtained by connecting the ratiometer tapping to the l.v. winding through an ammeter and adjusting the former until the current is zero. D.C. Resistance Any usual method may be used. For large low-voltage transformers alow resistance bridge method is necessary. The d.c. resistance must be made at known temperature, and may be used to check the design or to estimate the eddy-current loss ratio. Magnetizing Current and Core Loss This test is made on a transformer complete with tank and oil, as it is per- formed at normal rated voltage and electric stress. One winding (usually the hw.) is left on open circuit and the other connected to a supply of normal frequency. Readings are taken of current and power at rated voltage. The power includes the core loss, the I7R loss (often negligible) and the dielectric loss: the latter may be significant for transformers of extra-high voltage. The conditions are discussed in Sect. 5.1. If a test is made at normal frequency and variable voltage V, the active and reactive components of the no-load current appear as in Fig. 5.30. As the peak flux density By, is proportional to V and the core loss roughly to Bm?, ie. to V2, the power/voltage curve is to a first approximation parabolic, while the active current Jog is very roughly linear. The magnetizing component Joy rises initially at low densities until the core attains its condition of maxi- mum permeability, and thereafter rises steeply with the onset of saturation around normal voltage. The values in Fig. 5.30, which apply to transformers in the range 100—1 000 kVA, are expressed in per-unit terms. Core-loss Voltmeter. Hysteresis loss (which accounts for 70-80% of the core loss) depends upon By, but the eddy-current loss depends upon the waveform of the flux density and therefore upon the r.m.s. density. The core loss should be measured with a sine applied voltage, but to avoid errors due to changes in the peak value, which can occur with negligible change in the r.m.s. voltage, the voltage is measured as a mean value, to which the peak flux density is pro-Transformers: Theory and Performance 191 0-025 0:05 Normal voltage 0-02 0:04 ° 3 a ° g Power (p.u.) Current (p.u.) 0 0-25 0-5 075 10 125 Voltage (p.u) 5.30 No-load test values. portional. The mean voltage is adjusted to 2 \/ 2/7 = 0.90 times the rated r.m.s. voltage. A rectifier type of voltmeter is suitable. Magnetizing Current Unbalance. The magnetic path length associated with the central phase of a 3-ph 3-limbed core-type transformer is significantly shorter than that of either of the outer phases. The configuration [1] shows that the outer path lengths include two half-yokes additional to the limb. As a consequence, the magnetizing current and core loss values are asymmetric, to an extent depending on the path-length ratio. If the centre path length is one-half that of either outer, then its magnetizing current is likely to be about 30% less, and this is independent of the peak flux density level. The measure- ment of the total core loss by 2-wattmeter method is made difficult by the fact that it is the small difference between two large readings on account of the very low power factor: the measurement also depends upon which phase currents pass through the wattmeter current-circuits, and even on the phase sequence if the wattmeter volt-circuits have inductance errors. The most satis- factory way of measuring the core loss is to use one wattmeter for each phase. Leakage Impedance and Load Loss One winding is short-circuited, and the other (usually the h.v. to reduce the current and increase the voltage to be measured) is connected through volt- meters, ammeters and wattmeters to a supply of normal frequency but of a fraction (510%) of normal voltage. With rated full-load current circulated, the load loss is measured and adjusted to standard reference temperature, i.e. to 75 °C for insulation classes AEB, and to 115 °C for FHC. The power measure- ment includes a very small core loss (which is generally neglected) and the eddy and stray losses. The terminal short-circuit connections must be carefully192 Alternating Current Machines arranged, as l.v. winding resistances may be very low. In adjusting the measured loss to reference temperature it may be necessary to take account of the fact that while the ohmic I7R loss increases with temperature, the eddy-loss ratio, eq.(3.1), actually falls. The leakage impedance voltage is given by the voltage Veo required to cir- culate rated current at reference temperature. The ratio Vsc/Isc gives the leak- age impedance Z, (if the measurements are made on the primary), from which the leakage reactance can be calculated. Total Loss This is the sum of the no-load loss at rated voltage, and the load loss at rated current adjusted to reference temperature. In the case of multiwinding trans- formers it is stated for one pair of windings. EXAMPLE 5.6: An 11/0.44 kV 50 Hz 300 kVA 3-ph mesh/star transformer gave the following test results at rated voltage and current: No-load: 440 V 21.1 A, 1.30 kW (Lv. side). Short-circuit: 630 V, 15.7 A, 3.08 kW (h.v. side, winding temperature 30 °C). Evaluate the rated loss, impedance voltage, per- unit resistance and leakage reactance, and the efficiency and regulation on full load at p.f. 0.8 lagging. The no-load loss is Py = 1.30 kW (0.043 p.u.); the no-load current is Ih= 21.1 A (0.053 p.u.) The s.c. test impedance voltage is 630/11 000 = 0.057 p.u. and the resis- tance is 3.08/300 = 0.010 p.u., giving the leakage impedance €y = (0.057? — 0.010) = 0.057 p.u. The adjusted load loss is 3.08 (235 + 75)/(235 + 30) = 3.60 kW, whence €, = 0.012 p.u. and €; = 0.057 p.u. The total adjusted loss is 1.30 + 3.60 = 4.90 kW. At full load and p.f. 0.8 lagging the efficiency and regulation are =1-——42___ 0* 1" 300x 0.8449 €= 0.012 x 0.8 + 0.057 x 0.6 = 0.043 pu. = 0.980 p.u. With large transformers it is necessary to treat the ohmic and eddy-loss I7R effects separately in determining the load loss. Temperature-rise This is measured during the performance of a heat-run intended to reproduce as far as is practicable the conditions of rated continuous load. The methods include (a) Back-to-back connection; (6) Delta/delta connection; (c) Equiva- lent open- or short-circuit run. Back-to-back Connection. Two identical transformers A and B, Fig. 5.31 (a), are connected in parallel on one side to a supply of normal voltage and fre- quency. Disregarding the effect of the auxiliary transformer C, wattmeter W, reads the core loss of the two transformers together. The other sides are now properly paralleled, and a circulating voltage introduced by C to circu- late full-load current in the primaries, and therefore also in the secondaries.Transformers: Theory and Performance 193 The circulating power is measured by wattmeter W2, which records the load loss. If the two transformers have suitable tappings it may be possible to dis- pense with C by deliberate unbalance. The arrangement for 3-ph transformers is shown in (6). Because of the phasing of the magnetizing and circulating currents, there is a slight difference in the load loss of the pair; this may be averaged out if the auxiliary supply frequency is lower than normal. Delta-delta Connection. The primary side is excited normally: the secondaries, in open delta, are joined to the auxiliary supply to circulate full-load current, achieving the same result as the back-to-back connection. Equivalent Run. Where the I’R loss is several times the core loss, a heat-run may be made by a short-circuit test at a current sufficiently greater than full- load value to cover the (absent) core loss. With high-frequency transformers it may be possible to approximate to normal loss by an open-circuit test at overvoltage. A normal heat-run at low power factor may require a large syn- chronous compensator, possibly backed with a static capacitor bank. A 500 MVA transformer with 0.2 p.u. reactance would require a test equipment capable of 100 Mvar for the temperature-rise test. Insulation The integrity of the insulation to earth and between turns, coils, tappings, windings and phases is tested (i) by power-frequency induced voltage, (ii) by power-frequency applied voltage, and (iii) by impulse applied voltage. Induced voltages are generated by the transformer itself by open-circuit test Auxiliary Main Auxiliary Main b 5.31 Back-to-back tests.194 Alternating Current Machines at a frequency up to twice normal in order to limit the level of core saturation. The peak induced voltage v;, of a given winding is measured, and vj/-/2 is taken as the r.m.s. voltage that must match the specified B.S. value for the system rated voltage level. Although the test voltage is greater than normal, its distribution is the same as in service. Applied voltages are derived from test transformers. The whole of a tested winding is raised to terminal level, unlike the effect of induced voltage. Impulse voltages are applied to the h.v. windings of a transformer by means of a surge or impulse generator. The test voltage wave takes the forms shown @ Full wave b Chopped wave Applied voltage Timing wave / \ J iitiate Current in neutral c connection 5.32 Impulse tests. in Fig. 5.32: (a) is a full wave, and (b) a chopped wave obtained by parallel- ing the impulse generator by a rod spark-gap, which has a delayed breakdown. The standard full wave is designated 1.2/50 us, indicating that the initial rise time is 1.2 ys, and that it decays to one-half peak value in 50 ps. A test sequence might be as follows: one full wave at reduced voltage; one full wave at test level; two chopped waves in succession; one final full wave at test level. For each test simultaneous oscillographic records are made of the ap- plied impulse voltage and of the neutral current, the latter from the drop across a non-reactive resistor connected between the tank and earth. If an initial test is made at a voltage substantially below the expected impulse strength of the transformer, any failure that occurs during the normal test routine will show an anomaly in the current record. With modern techniques and considerable experience, failures can be detected with near certainty even when there are no other signs (e.g. noise or smoke). Fig. 5.32(c) shows typi- cal oscillographic records.Transformers: Theory and Performance 195 Test Voltages These are based on the highest r.m.s. system voltage V,. Test voltage levels V; (in t.m.s. for power-frequency tests and in peak for impulse tests) are given in BS 171. They approximate to the following: Test Voltages, kV A: Air-insulated windings, and oil-immersed windings not subject to impulse testing. O: Oil-insulated windings designed for impulse testing. System voltage Power-frequency test Impulse test Vs A ° ° Less than 1.1 2.5 ~ 7 3-36 21 Vy - - 17.5-72.5 — 7418V, 204424, 100-245 (Std. 1)* - 1.9 Vs 4.5 Vs 100~420 (Std.2)* 9 — 15 Vy 3.5 Vs * Standard 1 for non-effectively-earthed windings; Standard 2 for effectively-earthed windings. Overcurrent System short-circuit currents have immediate mechanical effects, and rapidly developing thermal effects, on transformers. The most severe case is that ofa terminal short circuit, for which the result for a transformer of leakage impe- dance z per-unit is a current comprising the components @) a symmetrical alternating current of r.m.s, value 1 /z per-unit, and i) an exponentially decaying direct current with an initial value that may reach almost the peak of the a.c. component, as a result of the ‘doubling effect’. The overcurrent limits in BS 171 specify the symmetrical r.m.s. current Jee in (i) for a range of ratings S: S MVA: 0.63 1.25 3.15 6.3 12.5 25 +100 Tog P-u. = 25 20 16 14 12 10 8 Zz pu.: 0.04 0,05 0.0625 0.0715 0.0835 0.10 0.125 A transformer will in general be designed to have leakage impedance correspon- ding to z. Thermal Effects. If Ig is not greater than 20 p.u. the transformer must with stand the heating effect for 3 sec without exceeding a specified temperature limit. For /g, greater than 20 p.u. the time is reduced to 2 sec. Taking the initial winding temperature 4 to be the maximum coolant temperature (40 °C) plus the permissible temperature-rise given in Sect. 4.7, then the maxi- mum winding temperature 0,, reached must not exceed the following values {in °C) corresponding to the insulation class and conductor material indicated:196 Alternating Current Machines Type and insulation class: | Dry A E B FHC OA Windings: copper 180 250 350 350 250 aluminium 180 200 200 — 200 The calculation is made on the basis of eq.(4.3) in the form Om = Oo + aJ7t x 1073 for a short-circuit current of duration ¢ (in sec) producing in the windings the current density J (in A/mm?). The factor a takes account of the resistivity, temperature coefficient, density and thermal capacity of the conductor material and is expressed as a function of the average temperature 4 (9; + 8): 4m + 99),°C 140 160 180 200 220 240 Factor a, copper 7.41 7.80 820 859 8.99 9.38 aluminum 165 17.4 183 - — — The conditions imposed settle the maximum short-circuit current densities, which range from 40 A/mm? for a 3-sec short circuit in a dry transformer with aluminium windings up to 100 A/mm? for an oil-immersed water-cooled transformer with copper windings and a 2-sec duration. Mechanical Forces. The transformer must withstand the mechanical forces on short-circuit. The value of F = Ni in eqs.(2.19) and (2.20) is found with i= 1.8(/2 ig), the asymmetrical initial peak current assuming a small decre- ment. 5.19 Special types Some types of transformer outwith those for normal electrical systems include the following. Miniature Transformers The open air-cooled construction has largely been superseded by hermetically sealed arrangements in air- or oil-filled containers, the connections being brought out through metal/glass or metal/ceramic seals. Transformers for mobile equipments and working at frequencies in the range 400—1 600 Hz employ cores of relatively costly materials and high loadings for reduction of mass. Very thin c.r.0.s. or nickel-iron cores are wound with coils insulated by high-temperature dielectrics such as fibreglass and silicones. A fully sealed 30 VA 1 600 Hz unit may have a mass as low as 0.1 kg. Mining Transformers These work under particularly onerous conditions, with restricted headroom and a potentially explosive ambient atmosphere. The modern underground unit is ‘dry’, has a class C insulant, and is enclosed in a flameproof casing.