Categorizing Faults via DGA

GE Grid Solutions
M&D
First, What Is Transformer Dissolved
Gas Analysis?

Sample Test Doc Diagnosis

Doctors extract information about our health from our blood. Technicians extract information
about the health of our transformers from the oil via DGA. Substations are more challenging for
this sampling process than a doctor’s office .
Transformer Dissolved Gas Analysis,
The Process & Logic
Duvall’s Triangle

Sample Test Tech Diagnosis

We prefer a clean sample with no issues detected, just as a blood test in a doctor’s office.
Transformer Construction

Bushings

Tap changer
Cooling
System
Tank
Coils Oil

Control
Cabinet Core
What Are The Relevant Gases?

“Paper & Oil Gases”

“Hot Metal Gases”

Oil degradation – Typical oil Molecule
H H
C H
H
H
H C
H H
H H H H H H H H H H H H
H
C C C C C C
H C H
H C C C C C
H H H H H H H H H H H H

H H H
H C H
H H C H
C
H H
6
Knowing Industry Standards & Their
Intended Use
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Dissolved key gas concentration limits - IEEE C57.104

H2 CH4 C2H2 C2H4 C2H6 CO CO2 TDCG

Condition 1 100 120 1 50 65 350 2500 720
Condition 2 101 - 700 121 - 400 2-9 51 - 100 66 - 100 351 - 570 2,500 - 4,000 721 - 1,920
Condition 3 701 - 1,800 401 - 1,000 10 - 35 101 - 200 101 - 150 571 - 1,400 4,001 - 10,000 1,921 - 4,630
Condition 4 >1,800 >1,000 >35 >200 >150 >1,400 >10,000 >4,630

TDCG below this level indicates satisfactory operation. Any individual combustible gas exceeding specified
Condition 1
levels should prompt additional investigation.

TDCG within this range indicates greater than normal combustible gas level. Any individual combustible gas
Condition 2 exceeding specified levels should prompt additional investigation. Action should be taken to establish a
trend. Fault (s) may be present.
TDCG within this range indicates a high level of decomposition. Any individual combustible gas exceeding
Condition 3 specified levels should prompt additional investigation. Immediate action should be taken to establish a
trend. Fault (s) are probably present.

TDCG within this range indicates excessive decomposition. Continued operation could result in failure of
Condition 4
the transformer.
Understanding Duval’s Triangle, Fault
Codes
.
IEEE C57.104 Key Gases Evaluation
Arcing in Oil Partial Discharge in Oil

60% 100%
CO CO
50% 80%
H2 H2
40% CH4 CH4
60%
30% C2H6 C2H6
40%
20% C2H4 C2H4

10% C2H2 20% C2H2

0% 0%

Overheated Oil Overheated Cellulose

70% 100%
CO CO
60%
H2 80% H2
50%
CH4 60% CH4
40%
C2H6 C2H6
30% 40%
C2H4 C2H4
20%
C2H2 20% C2H2
10%
0% 0%
Ratios for key gases—Doernenburg

Ratios for key gases—Doernenburg

Ratio 1 (R1) Ratio 2 (R2) Ratio 3 (R3) Ratio 4 (R4)

CH4/H2 C2H2/C2H4 C2H2/CH4 C2H6/C2H2
Suggested fault diagnosis Oil Gas Oil Gas Oil Gas Oil Gas
space space space space

1. Thermal decomposition >1.0 >0.1 <0.75 <1.0 <0.3 <0.1 >0.4 >0.2
2. Partial discharge
(low-intensity PD) <0.1 <0.01 Not significant <0.3 <0.1 >0.4 >0.2
3. Arcing (high-intensity PD) >0.1 to <1.0 >0.01 to <0.1 >0.75 >1.0 >0.3 >0.1 <0.4 <0.2
Rogers Ratios For Key Gases

Rogers ratios for key gases

R2 R1 R5
Case Suggested fault diagnosis
C2H2/C2H4 CH4/H2 C2H4/C2H6

0 <0.1 >0.1 to <1.0 <1.0 Unit normal

a
1 <0.1 <0.1 <1.0 Low-energy density arcing—Pd
2 0.1 to 3.0 0.1 to 1.0 >3.0 Arcing—High-energy discharge
3 <0.1 >0.1 to <1.0 1.0 to 3.0 Low temperature thermal
4 <0.1 >1.0 1.0 to 3.0 Thermal <700 °C
5 <0.1 >1.0 >3.0 Thermal >700 °C

a
There will be a tendency for the ratios R2 and R5 to increase to a ratio above 3 as the discharge develops in intensity.
Transformer Operating Temperatures

20 – 80 C?

• First signs of gassing begins around 100 C with CO2 & CO.

• First signs of hot metal gases begins around 150 C.

Diagnosing Transformer Main Tank
Faults
Where’s The Problem?
Nitrogen Sealed #1 – 36 MVA Nitrogen Sealed #2 – 30 MVA
40% 40%

30% 30%

20% 20%

10% 10%

0% 0%
H2 CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 H2 CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2

120 CO2/CO 7 CO2/CO

Ratio Ratio
100 6
5
80
Pre Event 4 Pre Event
60
Post Event 3 Post Event
40
2
20 1
0 0
Where’s The Problem?
Continued
Winding Failure #1 Primary Lead – Repairable #2

Transformer Replaced Transformer Repaired

CO2/CO Ratio Experiment

90

80

70

60

50
oil flash
CO2/CO
RATIO 40
paper

30

20

10

0
test1 test2 test3 test4 test5 test6 tes7 test8 test9 test10
Where’s The Problem?
DATE H2 O2 N2 CH4 CO CO2 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 TDCG CO2/CO

11/4/2009 235 12,771 68,988 686 277 2,879 228 1,523 52 3001 10.3935
1/8/2010 268 14,477 81,770 986 369 4,063 323 2,196 54 4,238 11.01084
2/23/2010 282 13,893 76,571 821 312 4,506 329 2,239 47 4,030 14.44231
3/22/2010 272 13,034 71,225 834 284 3,200 302 1,892 33 3,617 11.26761
5/6/2010 226 11,639 68,938 974 350 4,000 325 2,054 39 3,968 11.42857
8/13/2010 134 11,897 59,148 1,138 298 3,451 337 2,358 14 4,279 11.58054
1/12/2011 329 8,613 72,536 1,663 577 5,183 447 3,215 14 6,245 8.982669
1/25/2011 256 9,233 67,438 1,151 491 4,979 421 2,443 16 4,778 10.14053

CO2/CO 2% Decline C2H4 38% Increase

Overall Overall
16 3,500
14 3,000 DETC Coked
12
2,500
10
2,000
8 CO2/CO C2H4
Linear (CO2/CO) 1,500 Linear (C2H4 )
6
4 1,000

2 500

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Descending CO2/CO Ratios -
75 MVA, N2 Blanketed
DATE

30-Jul-
H2 O2 CH4 CO CO2 C2H6 C2H2 C2H4
M
CO2/CO

12 ND 9715 1 64 453 ND ND ND 7
6-Jul-11 ND 1180 1 22 485 2 ND 1 22
25-Jan-
10 ND 5893 1 17 439 2 ND 2 26
9-Mar-09 ND 1738 TRACE 4 475 1 ND TRACE 118
26-Mar-
08 ND 2829 1 25 851 2 ND 3 34
15-Feb-
07 ND 1667 TRACE 22 816 1 ND 3 37

CO2/CO

140
81% Drop in
120 5 Years
100

80
CO2/CO
60 Linear (CO2/CO)
40

20

0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
15 MVA, 100 kV – Manufactured 1999 –
Pre-Fault
Date H2 O2 CO2 CO CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 M
CO2/CO

2011 <2 845 579 8 5 6 2 <1 72.3

<2 831 524 5 2 4 1 <1 104.8

2012
2013 <2 509 226 3 1 <1 <1 <1 75.3
2014 <2 1092 178 6 1 <1 <1 <1 29.6
2015 <2 500 124 10 2 1 <1 <1 12.4

CO2/CO CO2/CO Ratio 83% Drop

140
80
120 70
100 60
80 50
CO2/CO 40 2011
60
Linear (CO2/CO) 30 2015
40
20
20 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 2011 2015
1999, 15 MVA, 100 kV, Complete Picture
Date H2 O2 CO2 CO CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 CO2/CO

2011 <2 845 579 8 5 6 2 <1 72.3

2012 <2 831 524 5 2 4 1 <1 104.8
2013 <2 509 226 3 1 <1 <1 <1 75.3
2014 <2 1092 178 6 1 <1 <1 <1 29.6
2015 <2 500 124 10 2 1 <1 <1 12.4

2016
212 802 1188 414 210 72 372 422 2.8
post fault

96% Drop
CO2/CO 2011 - 2016 CO2/CO Ratio
140
80
120 70
100 60

80 50
CO2/CO 40 2011
60
Linear (CO2/CO) 30 2016
40
20
20 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 2011 2016
10 MVA Mobile Transformer
Test Date Hydrogen Methane Ethane Ethylene Acetylene CO2 CO CO2/CO Nitrogen Oxygen
9/5/2002 2 0 0 0 0 1820 221 8.235294 68476 9186
8/19/2004 4 o 0 0 0 1875 249 7.53012 80061 7268
6/16/2005 2 1 0 0 0 1951 231 8.445887 79140 7284
8/14/2006 6 3 0 0 0 3450 322 10.71429 82900 7507
8/7/2008 2119 736 44 666 1405 2530 239 10.58577 67189 7881
9/18/2008 2096 937 48 954 1888 3475 298 11.66107 85360 11046

2500
CO2/CO
14 DETC Failed
2000 12 29% Increase
H2 1 Overall
10
1500 2
3 8
C2H2 CO2/CO
1000 4 6 Linear (CO2/CO)
5
4
500 CH4 C2H4
C2H6 2
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6
115-4kV, MVA Rating 18/24/33.6
Test Date Hydrogen Methane Ethane Ethylene Acetylene CO2 CO CO2/CO Nitrogen Oxygen
2/19/2013 2 12 14 17 0 2118 61 34.72 77642 242
8/1/2013 2 7 12 13 0 1776 53 33.51 84976 1819
7/31/2014 2 5 11 5 0 660 24 27.50 78121 207
9/21/2015 3 5 10 2 0 355 64 5.55 69550 159
11/29/2016 344 204 35 494 570 400 72 5.56 0 7881

CO2/CO 600

50.00 500
1
40.00 400 2
30.00 CO2/CO 300 3

20.00 200 4
Linear
(CO2/CO) 100 5
10.00

0.00 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

CO2/CO Ratio
84% Drop
40 2013 - 2015
30
20 2011
10 2016
0
2011 2016
Analyzing Events via CO2/CO
CO CO2 C2H6
250
2200 120
200
2100 100
150 80
2000
100 CO 60
1900 CO2 C2H6
40
50 1800 20
0 1700 0

2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
2008
2009
2010
2011
2013

2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
CO2/CO Ratio
120

100
2136 ppm
21 ppm

80

60 2011 Failed the following year, 2014

2013
40

20
1850 ppm
0 200 ppm

2011 2013
Finding The Problem
36 MVA Nitrogen Blanket
• C2H2>5 120

• C2H4>550 100

• C2H6>70 80

• CH4>293 60
CO2:CO

• CO2<2500 40
Linear (CO2:CO)

• CO<50 20
• Gassing began in
0
2001 1999 2005 2013

-20
 Finding The Problem, Continued

• Long history of gassing including acetylene and

high levels of ethylene.
• Due to high combustible gas levels and
the increasing CO2:CO ratio, problem was
narrowed down to overheating occurring
on either the DETC or primary/secondary
leads.
• Primary lead was found bare against a corona
shield. It was re-taped and in subsequent DGA
tests there has been no production of combustible
gas.
Do I Have Healthy Paper? Are There
Indicators Within DGA?
Date H2 CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 CO2 CO O2 CO2/CO

June-12 ND 2 1 1 ND 282 14 1507

M 20
Nov-13 ND 3 4 ND ND 566 15 10390 38
Sept-14 ND 3 ND ND ND 466 11 8712 42
July-15 1 3 2 ND ND 313 5 9141 63

CO2/CO RATIO
70 63
60

50
42
38
40
CO2/CO RATIO
30
20
20

10

0
2012 2013 2014 2015
Acetylene Is Problematic, But Is It
Fatal?

Not always:
• Is it present due to activity in the winding insulation, or is it bare metal?
• The problem could be easy to get to and simple to repair.
• Transformers have been discarded when the problem was a simple fix, but that was
unknown at the time.
• It can mean the difference between a few thousand dollar$ in repairs, versus a few million
dollar$ in potential replacement costs.
Effects Of Thumping Faults With A
Power Transformer

Sampled right after main tank fault.

Notice the arcing signature in the main tank.
Effects Of Thumping Faults With A
Power Transformer, Continued
Main Tank Arcing
Effects of Thumping Faults w/Power Transformer kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
% Gas Generation Chart - Arcing in Oil
Reference: IEEE Std C57.104-2008

60% kk
60%

50% 50%
H2 H2
40% 40%
CH4 CH4
30% 30%
C2H6 C2H6
20% 20%
C2H4 C2H4
10% 10%
C2H2 C2H2
0% 0%
H2 CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 H2 CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2

CO2/CO Ratio
200

150
Pre-Fault Ratio
100 Post Fault Ratio

50

0
Summary/Conclusion
• All internal faults are not fatal.
• Know your fleet. It will be beneficial in solving the diagnostic puzzles as they present
themselves.
• All faults are not as easily identified. Don’t give up, as there is an answer. Allow software
to help with the data analysis and direct you to the critical assets and information, which
are now available.
• Trending the fluctuations of gas concentration, rate of change and ratios is very important
for understanding your transformers’ vital signs.
• Know when to reach out for additional support, if needed.
• We are all in this together.