An Algorithm And Software For Distribution Transformer

Operating Age Monitoring

M.Givelberg, Sh.Gurevich, N.Lazar, Dr. R.Zelichonok,

R&D Electrical Laboratory, Israel Electric Corporation, Haifa, Israel

temperature was measured by a thermocouple placed

Abstract in the transformer's thermometer pocket. The ambient
An algorithm and software for assessment of oil- temperature was measured by the second
immersed distribution transformer's percent loss of thermocouple placed in the ambient air (see Fig. 1).
life/operating age had been developed. The method is
based on simple oil and ambient air temperature I Y TMRMOCDUPLC
TOP OIL TEMPERATURE
measurements and further calculation of winding's
hot-spot temperature and transformer's percent loss of
life or operating age. The variation of this parameter
is indicative of the rate of deterioration of
transformer's insulation and may be a criterion for
decision about further use of the given transformer.

1. Introduction
Today much efforts of power utilities and users
are aimed to reduce the time of power failures and
improve the power supply reliability. To achieve this
aim, it is important to prevent power faults in
distribution transformers resulted from deterioration
of their insulation.
The best way to it lies in timely detection of
transformer's pre-fault conditions by means of proper
monitoring of their insulation. The rate of
deterioration may be assessed by calculation of
transformer's operating agehelative use of life/percent
loss of life.
In two principal standards [2] and [3] this
parameter is calculated by the hot-spot temperature of
transformer's windings.
The calculations are based on Arrhenius
equation or Montsinger law. One way to obtain the
hot-spot temperature is to measure it directly by
means of fiber optics which requires installation of
temperature sensors in the transformer's windings,
Another one is to calculate it by measured top-oil or
ambient air temperatures and load factors.
Practically, this approach leads to
measurements of a temperature (top-oil or ambient)
and the three phase currents, which, in turn, requires
installation of three current transformers.
It was shown in [l] that it was possible to
calculate the hot-spot temperature only by top-oil and
ambient temperature measurements. The top-oil
Fig. 1. Placement of thermacouples
on overhead distribution transformer
The values of measured temperatures collected
and stored with a data logger were processed with a
simple software in a PC.
The data transfer from the logger to the PC was
executed with a portable computer or data transfer
unit. In the future it may be accomplished by radio,
DLC or other communication means.
The next stage of the project was the
automatization of the data processing by the
development of a user-friendly software.
The software was implemented by the Paradox
for DOS 4.0 Database.
The proposed method was thoroughly tested,
both in laboratory and in the field, and it proved to be
satisfactorily accurate.
Its application is cheap and simple relatively to
other methods and it requires very short time of
power interruption for installation of a thermocouple

0-7803-3330-6/96/%5,00 1996-IEEE 299

into transformer's pocket (10-15 min.). The existing methods use load factor and top-oil
or ambient temperature as inputs and hot-spot
2. The algorithm for calculations
The proposed method as well as existing ones is
model. 4
tempe ature as an output in their thermodynamic

It can be simply transformed to another model

based on the following basic equations presenting
where the inputs are top-oil and ambient temperatures
and the output remains the same.
The top-oil temperature is measured with a
regular thermocouple placed in the thermometer
pocket in the upper part of the transformer, and the
second thermocouple is placed near the transformer
for measuring of the ambient temperature (Fig. 1).
This approach is vital when the monitoring is
camed out on a sufficient number of distribution
Bo = [ oou - ooi] . [1 e-t/lr
] + ooi
transformers because it eliminates the need for 3
fairly expensive measuring current transformers for
every distribution transformer under monitoring.
It was shown in [l] that

(5)

x loss of life = 100 t * IO-'* +

T = Ohs + 273 L J
Here:
Qa - ambient temperature. which does not contain load factor.
Qg - hottest-spot conductor rise over top-oil Hence an algorithm for calculation of hot-spot
at end o f time t.
temperature and % loss of life is as follows:
0
g'
- initial hottest-spot conductor rise
over top-oil at start o f time interval.
1. Calculation o f Qo and Oo, by oil and ambient temperature
0 - hottest-spot conductor rise over top-oil
gr at rated load. measurements.
Q - ultimate hottest-spot conductor rise 2. Calculation o f Oou according to (3)
g' over top-oil for any load K.
3. Calculation o f Q according t o (8)
q, - hottest-spot winding temperature. gu

4. Calculation o f (3 according t o (4)

Bo - top-oil rise over ambient temperature
at end o f time t. 5. Calculation o f Qhs according t o (5)

Oo, - initial top-oil rise over ambient at 6. Calculation o f T according t o (7)

start o f time interval.
7 . ' Calculation o f % loss of life according to (6) or:
Qor - top-oil rise over ambient at rated load.
Qou -
ultimate top-oil rise over ambient for
any load K. Operating age - t 175320
1 o C A + 'UT7 ' (9)
K - load factor (load expressed in per unit o f
transformer nameplate rating). where 175320 hours (that is 20 years) is normal l i f e
expectancy.
R - ratio o f load loss at rated load to
no-load l o s s .
t - time interval in hours during which
This calculation sequence is repeated for every
load is, o r i s assumed t o be, constant. time interval.
T - absolulute hottest-spot temperature.
3. The testing of the proposed method
Thr - thermal time constant o f hottest-spot.
The metod was tested both in laboratory and in
Tr - thermal time constant, i n hours, o f the
transformer rated load, beginning with the field (the detailed description of the testing
zero initial temperature rise. procedures can be found in [l]) and proved to be
n I A, B - constants.

300
acceptably accurate for monitoring purposes. During
the field testing, the hot-spot temperature of a 400
kVA distribution transformer was Calculated by oil
and ambient temperature (proposed method) and by
load factor and oil and ambient temperature (known
method).
The r.m.s. difference between the hot-spot
temperature calculated with the proposed method and
the one calculated with the known method was
determined as 3.6 deg. C.
The day's m a x i " values of the hot-spot
temperature over the entire period of measurements
are presented at Fig. 2.
Fig. 3 shows grafically the hot-spot temperature
for the day of maximal heating of the tested
transformer calculated with the proposed method and
with the known one.
Fig. 2. Day's maximal values of
hot-spot temperature for the pekod
Fig. 3. Hot-spot temperatures
for the day of maximal heating
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4. Software
The software is implemented by the Paradox for
DOS 4.0 Database.
A. InDut
a) Two ASCII format files containing data
of top-oil and ambient temperature
measurements and time of data acquisition.
b) Transformer and pole/distribution
substation parameters.
B.Performance
a) Combining of data from the twofiles
while matching the time of data acquisition
for the two channels: top-oil temperature
and ambient temperature.
b) Calculation of transformer's current hot-
spot temperature and maximum one and
operating age for various time periods
according to the algorithm of para. 2.
c. Output
a) "Month Total" data sheet-presentation of
the measured and calculated data for each
month of monitoring.
b) "Period Total" data sheet-presentation of
the measured and calculated data forthe
whole period of monitoring.
c) Lotus format file of calculated hot-spot
temperatures for the day of transformer's
maximum heating
5. Conclusions
A. An algorithm and software for hot-spot
temperature and operating agefloss of life calculations
by pocket oil and ambient temperature measurements
has been proposed.
B. The method has proved to besatisfactorily
accurate for distribution transformers, both in
laboratory and in the field.
C. The user-friendly software makes data
processing simple and quick.
D. The application of the proposed method is
cheap relatively to other methods, which is very
important in the sphere of distributiontransformer
monitoring.
 References
[ 11 M.Givelberg, Sh.Gurevich, Dr.
R.Zelichonok. Monitoring Transformer Age.
Transmission and Distribution International, Fourth
Quarter 1994.
[2] ANSIAEEE 07.91-1981. IEEE Guide for
Loading Mineral-Oil Immersed Overhead and Pad-
Mounted Distribution Transformers Rated 500 kVA
And Less With 65 Deg. C or 55 Deg. C Average
Winding Rise.
[3] IEC Publication 354-1991. Loading Guide
for Oil-Immersed Transformers, Second Edition.

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