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Three-phase/six-phase conversion autotransformers

Article  in  IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery · November 2003

DOI: 10.1109/TPWRD.2002.807461 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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1554 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 18, NO. 4, OCTOBER 2003

Three-Phase/Six-Phase Conversion Autotransformers

Xusheng Chen, Member, IEEE

Abstract—The first commercial demonstration of six-phase conversion autotransformers were conceptually designed. It is
transmission, the Goudey-Oakdale three-phase/six-phase project, well known that the weight and cost of transformers of similar
used two delta wye-grounded three-phase transformers to realize voltage ratings are proportional to the total megavolt ampere
the required phase/voltage conversion. This paper proposes the
usage of autotransformers for phase/voltage conversion for the (MVA) of parts. The cost ratios of the proposed step-up and
actual three-phase/six-phase systems to be built in the future. step-down autotransformers with respect to three-winding
The design considerations of the three-phase/six-phase conversion conversion transformers are 64.3% and 64.1%, respectively.
autotransformers are described. Topology-based, nonlinear, Clearly, the autotransformers are superior economically to
core-type conversion autotransformer EMTP models are de- other transformer designs. Considering that for the same
veloped. The behavior of the conversion autotransformers in a
practical three-phase/six-phase system is simulated. These include line-to-neutral voltage the six-phase transmission line could
transformer energization, short circuits, voltage regulation, open double the power flow capability—this is why the six-phase
conductor, and ferroresonance. The simulation results show transmission system is being actively researched, and that the
that the autotransformer is a viable choice for the conversion installation costs of the two delta-wye three-phase transformers
transformer. Since the cost ratio of the proposed conversion used in the Goudey-Oakdale project account for 60% of the
autotransformers with respect to the three-winding conversion
transformers is approximately 64%, the new design is superior total terminal costs [4], the proposed autotransformers will
economically to other transformer designs, and will help push the definitely help push the HPO technology.
HPO technology.
Index Terms—Autotransformer, six-phase, transmission. II. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE STEP-UP CONVERSION
AUTOTRANSFORMER AND DETERMINATION OF
ITS EMTP MODEL PARAMETERS
I. INTRODUCTION
Fig. 1 shows the three-phase/six-phase transmission system
C ONSIDERATION of the fundamental limits on power
transfer in a restricted right-of-way led to the concept of
increasing the number of phases in a circuit from three to six
similar to the Goudey-Oakdale system described in [3]. The
line-to-neutral voltages for the three-phase and the six-phase
lines are kV and 93 kV, respectively. This
or twelve. This is called high phase order power transmission
conversion autotransformer is termed as the step-up autotrans-
(HPO). At first as an idea, it gained credibility with a feasibility
former (the six-phase side has a higher line-to-neutral voltage
analysis published in the late 1970s [1]. As a laboratory proto-
than that of the three-phase side). Note that the polarities of
type demonstration, an 80-kV phase-to-ground six-phase line
the “dfb” three-phase windings (called tertiary windings in
and a 138-kV phase-to-ground twelve-phase line were built at
this paper) are reversed. The neutrals of the transformer are
the Malta test facility of Power Technologies Inc., Schenectady,
grounded.
NY, with support from the Department of Energy [2]. As the
The autotransformer is assumed to be 250/125/125-MVA,
initial application on an operating utility transmission system,
66.4/93/93-kV line-to-neutral, 60 Hz, five-legged, and wye-
the Goudey-Oakdale line near Binghamton, NY, operated as a
grounded. Its characteristics are summarized in Table I, and its
six-phase, 93-kV phase-to-ground line for two years [3]. Two
one-phase schematic diagram is shown in Fig. 2.
delta/wye-grounded three-phase transformers were used to
The design of the conversion autotransformer and the prepa-
realize the required phase/voltage conversion. Possible reuse of
ration of ATP data file proceed as follows:
the existing three-phase transformers and the isolation of the
To have the autotransformer provide a balanced set of volt-
zero-sequence networks of the three-phase/six-phase systems
ages and currents, it is required that the short-circuit impedances
resulted in the above choice.
from the three-phase side to the two sets (ace and dfb) of the six
However, in a panel discussion of the 1994 IEEE Trans-
phase side be equal .
mission and Distribution Conference, Chicago, IL, Guyker
Redefine the autotransformer as a three-winding transformer
from Allegheny Power Service Corporation pointed out that
with series, common, and tertiary windings as I, II, and III wind-
“What is needed today to help push HPO technology is not
ings, respectively (Fig. 2). Assume that cylindrical windings are
a cobbling of wye and delta banks, but an autotransformer
used and that the layout of one phase of the windings and iron
that provides a balanced set of voltages and currents at a cost
is as shown in Fig. 3.
comparable to the wye-delta combination currently used”. This
The short-circuit impedances between the three windings I,
statement motivated the author to conduct the research reported
II, and III are calculated as follows [5]:
in this paper. Step-up and step-down three-phase/six-phase

Manuscript received March 24, 1999.

The author is with Seattle University, Seattle, WA 98112 USA
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2002.807461 (1)
0885-8977/03$17.00 © 2003 IEEE
CHEN: THREE-PHASE/SIX-PHASE CONVERSION AUTOTRANSFORMERS 1555

TABLE I
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 250-MVA AUTOTRANSFORMER (10)

mH (11)

It should be noted that the base current for the six-phase side
is twice that of its rated current.
The leakage and zero-sequence inductances referred to
winding III are calculated as
mH (12)
mH (13)
mH (14)
mH (15)
where is the zero sequence leakage inductance
through the air and the tank.
Usually, transformer winding resistances are calculated from
short-circuit test data. Since no conversion autotransformers
have yet been built, their values are assumed to be
kV
(2) kV
kV
The core loss resistances are connected to the six-phase side for
the left side transformer and the three-phase side for the right
side transformer (Fig. 1). Their values are

k (16)

k (17)
(3)
A transformer data file was prepared for ATP supporting rou-
The reason for can be found in [6]. tine SPR.FOR [6]. SPR.FOR scales the – curve of the trans-
Assuming that the short-circuit reactances are equal to the former to match the specified excitation current, and generates
short-circuit impedances, and noting that inductance is equal to curves for each nonlinear segment of the core.
reactance in per unit, the values of the leakage inductances of Nine ideal transformers are used to connect the autotrans-
the model can be determined [6] former model to the system. The turns ratios of the ideal trans-
formers are 0.29:1, 0.71:1, and 1:1, for windings I, II, and III,
respectively.
(4) ATP input data for the conversion autotransformer are sum-
marized in Table II.
The 1.51-mile six-phase transmission line is modeled by ATP
(5) branch cards for PI-Equivalents (coupled R-L-C circuits) with
the following constants:
mH F
(6)
mH F
Choosing 250 MVA, kV and kV for and
as the power and voltage bases, respectively, the base currents,
impedances, and inductances for the transformer are calculated The power system external to the three-phase/six-phase
as system is represented by two three-phase voltage sources ,
, and , and , , and . The rated voltage of the
A (7) two sources is 66.4 kV line-to-neutral.

III. SIMULATION RESULTS

A (8)
The system of Fig. 1 was simulated comprehensively using
ATP. Rated source voltage was assumed for all of the simulation
(9)
cases if not otherwise specified.
1556 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 18, NO. 4, OCTOBER 2003

Fig. 1. Three-phase/six-phase transmission system.

TABLE II
ATP INPUT DATA FOR THE 250-MVA AUTOTRANSFORMER

Fig. 2. One phase of the step-up conversion autotransformer.

Fig. 3. Layout of phase A windings and iron of the step-up conversion

autotransformer.
line-to-neutral voltage waveforms , , , , , and
. The rms current is A
A. Energization From the Three-Phase Side (Breaker is or 0.004 p.u., and the core loss is 600 kW or 0.0024 p.u.
Closed, and Breaker is Open) These should be accurate, because the supporting routine
Fig. 4 shows the simulated three-phase side excitation SPR.FOR matches the excitation current and the core loss.
current waveforms , , and , and the six-phase side The voltages on the six-phase side are balanced.
CHEN: THREE-PHASE/SIX-PHASE CONVERSION AUTOTRANSFORMERS 1557

(a)
(a)

(b)
Fig. 5. Six-phase short-circuit (a–c–e–d–f –b) of the autotransformer.
(a) Simulated six-phase side short-circuit current waveforms. (b) Short-circuit
equivalent circuit.
(b)
Fig. 4. Simulated excitation current and voltage waveforms. (a) Three-phase
side excitation currents. (b) Six-phase side line-to-neutral voltages.

B. Short-Circuit Performance
Breaker is closed, and the rest breakers are open for all
the short-circuit simulations (see Fig. 1)
1) Six-phase short-circuit – – – – – .
Fig. 5(a) shows the six-phase side short-circuit current wave-
forms. The rms currents for phases , , , , , and are
11.84, 11.91, 11.87, 11.69, 11.74, and 11.73 kA, respectively.
The average short-circuit current for phases ace is 11.87 kA or
13.25 p.u., for phases dfb is 11.72 kA or 13.08 p.u., and for
phases ABC (the three-phase side) is Fig. 6. Current waveforms for a–d short-circuit.
kA, or 26.29 p.u.
The transformer’s short-circuit equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 6 shows the current waveforms for both sides of the trans-
Fig. 5(b). The rms short-circuit current can be calculated as former. The rms currents are kA or 26.45 p.u.,
A, A, and kA
p.u. or 13.29 p.u. It is observed that the short-circuit currents of
the – -ground short-circuit are the same as that of the –
which is seen to be almost the same as the computed value of short-circuit.
26.29 p.u. 3) Phases a and ground short-circuit – .
The astute readers must have noticed that the conventional Fig. 7 shows the current waveforms for both sides of the trans-
star-circuit of a three-winding transformer was used to calcu- former. The rms currents are kA or 12.76 p.u.,
late the six-phase short-circuit currents. A simple reasoning is A, A, and kA or 12.89 p.u.
offered here. If complete balance of the system can be assumed, It is gratifying to note that the results of the short-circuit anal-
then and , which sug- ysis of the transformer are in excellent agreement with that of
gest that a six-phase short-circuit can be treated as two simul- the theoretical analysis presented in [7].
taneous three-phase (ace and dfb) short-circuits. The currents C. Voltage Regulation
on the three-phase side can be determined by the balance of the
magnetomotive forces (mmfs) per phase. The inversion of po- For convenience of simulation, the voltage regulation (VR) is
larity of one set of the voltages on the six-phase side will not defined as
change the short-circuit currents on the three-phase side.
2) Phases and short-circuit – . (18)
1558 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 18, NO. 4, OCTOBER 2003

(a)
Fig. 7. Current waveforms for a–g short-circuit.

(b)

Fig. 8. Left-side transformer six-phase side voltage waveforms when it carries

a rated pure inductive load.

where
no load voltage rated voltage;
full load voltage.
Fig. 8 shows the six-phase side voltage waveforms when the
left side transformer carries a rated six-phase pure inductive
load. The six-phase side voltages are balanced. The voltage reg-
ulation is .
Knowing p.u. and p.u., the (c)
voltage regulation can be easily calculated [see Fig. 5(b)]

Since resistances are small comparing to the reactances in the

system of Fig. 1, 3.66% is approximately the maximum voltage
regulation under rated conditions of the transformer.

D. Energization of the Right-Side Transformer after the

Left-Side Transformer Has Been Energized
Fig. 9 shows the six-phase side inrush and excitation current
waveforms. It is observed that the inrush and excitation current
waveforms are quite different when the right-side transformer is
energized from a six-phase infinite bus. (d)
Fig. 9. Energization of the right-side transformer after the left-side transformer
E. Open Conductor Performance has been energized. (a) Phases a, c, and e inrush current waveforms. (b) Phases
The voltage for the two sources is fixed at 106% of the rated d, f , and b inrush current waveforms. (c) Phases a, c, and e excitation current
waveforms. (d) Phases d, f , and b excitation current waveforms.
voltage. The angles of the source voltages are then adjusted so
that the current of the six-phase side of the right-side trans-
former is at its rated current of 1255 A. In this operating condi- factor of unity. The three-phase/six-phase system is balanced
tion, the right–side transformer receives 265 MW, with a power before the line outage.
CHEN: THREE-PHASE/SIX-PHASE CONVERSION AUTOTRANSFORMERS
Fig. 10. Simulated voltage and current waveforms of the six-phase
transmission line when phase a is disconnected. (a) Voltages on the six-phase
transmission line. (b) Currents on the six-phase transmission line.
TABLE III
VOLTAGE, CURRENT AND POWER ON THE SIX-PHASE LINE
(ALL PHASES CONNECTED AND PHASE A DISCONNECTED)
Fig. 10 shows the voltage and current waveforms of the six-
phase transmission line when phase a is disconnected (breakers
and are open).
Simulation results for the two operating conditions are sum-
marized in Table III.
As shown in Table III, disconnecting phase a drops the current
on phase a to zero and voltage on phase a to 14.18 kV which is
a result of both capacitive and inductive coupling from the other
phases.
The power received by the right-side transformer is
216.3 MW, a reduction of 18% (compare: ). It is
encouraging to observe that the voltages and currents on the
reremaining phases are only slightly changed.
F. Ferroresonance
Transformer ferroresonance is a complicated nonlinear
phenomenon. For three-winding, multiphase, multilegged
1559
Fig. 11. Three-phase side voltage waveforms.
transformers to develop fetroresonance overvoltages, the
following four conditions must be met:
1) there is no load on the transformer;
2) one or more phases are disconnected from the source;
3) adequate capacitance to ground is connected to open ter-
minals;
4) no source is connected directly or through small or
medium impedances to the other windings on the leg
with open terminals.
Conditions 1 to 3 are well known for two-winding trans-
formers. Condition 4 is unique to three-winding transformers.
The reason is that connection of the source to the windings re-
duces dramatically the input inductance looking into the open
terminals. Since the position of the breakers on both sides of
the transformer is under supervision, the chances for ferroreso-
nance are extremely rare.
One case study is reported here. Breakers and are
switched on to energize the left-side transformer which car-
ries the 1.51-mile six-phase transmission line (breaker is
closed and breaker is open). The winding capacitances to the
ground of the autotransformer are assumed to be 0.012 F/phase
and 0.003 F/phase for the three-phase and six-phase sides,
respectively. There are no ferroresonance overvoltages when
breakers and are closed with rated source voltages
of 66.4 kV rms. However, when the length of the transmission
line is increased to 10 mi, ferroresonance overvoltages do occur.
Fig. 11 shows the three-phase side voltage waveforms when
the six-phase line is 15.1 mi long. The aperiodic phase A
voltage waveform has a peak value of 146 kV, which is
kV kV of the rated peak
line-to-neutral voltage. Phase and phase voltages are
proportional to phase A voltage.
IV. STEP-DOWN CONVERSION AUTOTRANSFORMER
Fig. 12 shows the schematic diagram of one phase of the
step-down conversion autotransformer. It is found that the
layout of the windings and iron of Fig. 3 is unable to make the
step-down conversion autotransformer to supply a balanced
six-phase voltage at load. Fortunately, a simple change of
the layout of the windings and iron such as the one shown in
Fig. 13 will solve the problem.
The conversion autotransformer is assumed to be 400-MVA,
kV line-to-neutral, 60-Hz, five-legged, and
1560 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 18, NO. 4, OCTOBER 2003

Fig. 12. One phase of the step-down conversion autotransformer.

Fig. 14. Step-down conversion autotransformer six-phase side voltage
waveforms when it carries a rated pure inductive load.

of the apparent power ratings of the windings of a given trans-

former construction. The cost ratios for the conversion auto-
transformers with respect to the three-winding conversion trans-
formers are determined as follows:
1) Cost ratio for the step-up autotransformer (Fig. 2).

(19)
Fig. 13. Layout of phase A windings and iron of the step-down conversion full load condition (20)
autotransformer.
where is the voltage ratio of the primary and second
wye-grounded. The short circuit impedances are assumed as sides; , , and , are rated currents of the common
follows: winding, series and tertiary windings, and the three-phase side,
respectively.
and
MVA of parts step-up autotransformer
Following the same procedure as for the step-up auto-
transformer discussed in Section II, the following results are
obtained: (21)
and MVA of parts step-up three-winding transformer
Note that the constraint of for the (22)
layout of windings and iron of Fig. 3 is lifted for that of Fig. 13.
The base inductance for winding III, and the leakage and Cost ratio (23)
zero-sequence inductances referred to it are
2) Cost ratio for the step-down autotransformer (Fig. 12).
The current rating for the common winding is determined by
mH lines ace open if , and lines dfb open if
mH
if (24a)
mH
if (24b)
mH
mH Cost ratio if (25a)

The other ATP data are omitted for simplicity. if (25b)

Fig. 14 shows the six-phase side voltage waveforms when the
transformer carries a rated pure inductive load. The voltages of
The cost ratios for the 250-MVA step-up and 400-MVA
the six phases are completely balanced with a voltage regulation
step-down conversion autotransformers with respect to the
of , which can be calculated as
three-winding conversion transformers are 64.3% and 64.1%,
.
respectively. The savings of cost in using conversion autotrans-
formers are considerable. The autotransformers also have lower
V. ADVANTAGES OF AUTOTRANSFORMERS
per unit losses (higher efficiency) and lower excitation current.
The weight and cost of transformers of similar voltage rat- The disadvantages include the loss of electrical isolation
ings are proportional to the total MVA of parts which is the sum between the three-phase and the six-phase sides.
CHEN: THREE-PHASE/SIX-PHASE CONVERSION AUTOTRANSFORMERS
VI. CONCLUSION
Conceptual designs for step-up and step-down three-
phase/six-phase conversion autotransformers are presented.
The proposed autotransformers are placed in a practical
three-phase/six-phase system and simulated comprehensively.
The conceptual design shows signs of desirable performace
and is superior economically to other transformer designs
for conversion purposes. Further work is definitely needed
to verify other performance measures such as lightning and
switching performance, corona behavior, and other important
ones. It is suggested that conversion autotransformers be used
in the commercial three-phase/six-phase transmission systems
to be built in the future.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author wishes to express his sincere appreciation to
Dr. S. S. Venkata of Iowa State University, who initiated this
research project and whose advice and experience on HPO
technology have been invaluable.
REFERENCES
[1] S. S. Venkata, W. C. Guyker, and W. H. Booth, “138-kV, six-phase elec-
trical power transmission system,” in Proc. Amer. Power Conf., vol. 40,
Chicago, IL, Apr. 1978, pp. 1293–1303.
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[2] J. R. Stewart and I. S. Grant, “High phase order—Ready for applica-
tion,” in Proc. 1981 IEEE Power Eng. Soc. Transmission and Distribu-
tion Conf., Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sept. 20–25, 1981, Paper 81 TD
675-8.
[3] J. R. Stewart et al., “Transformer winding selection associated with
re-configuration of existing double-circuit line to six-phase operation,”
IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 7, pp. 979–985, Apr. 1992.
[4] T. L. Landis et al., “High phase order economics: Constructing a new
transmission line,” IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 13, pp. 1521–1526,
Oct. 1998.
[5] H. W. Dommel, Electromagnetic Transients Programs—Reference
Manual. Porland, OR: BPA, 1986.
[6] X. Chen and S. S. Venkata, “A three-phase, three-winding core-type
transformer model for low-frequency transient studies,” IEEE Trans.
Power Delivery, vol. 12, pp. 775–782, Apr. 1997.
[7] S. S. Venkata et al., “138-kV, six-phase transmission system: Fault anal-
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May 1982.
Xusheng Chen (M’88) was born in Shanghai, China. He received the M.S.E.E.
degree in power systems from Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 1981.
He received the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Wash-
ington State University, Pullman, in 1987.
Currently, he is a Professor at Seattle University, WA. His areas of interest
include power system transients and protection, electrical machine modeling,
six-phase nonlinear circuit analysis, power transmission, and wind generation.
Dr. Chen is a member of Tau Beta Pi.