The 19th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Pilsen, Czech Republic, August, 23 – 28, 2015

BUSHING MONITORING TO PROTECT POWER TRANSFORMER

AGAINST BUSHING FAILURES
1* 1 1
S. Coenen , T. Stirl , B. Dolata
1
Alstom Grid GmbH, Rheinstr. 73, 41065 Moenchengladbach, Germany
*Email: <Sebastian.coenen@alstom.com>

Abstract: High voltage condenser bushings of power transformers, according to their

construction and age, are amongst the most endangered components from all operating
equipment used. In the past, off-line measurements like the measurement of bushing
insulator capacitances and measurement of the dissipation factor were carried out for
determining the operational state. Today, modern microprocessor and computer
technology makes it possible to carry out the measurements and analysis continuous
within a monitoring concept. The monitoring of the electrical measurement quantities is
achieved by a voltage measurement consisting of a bushing adaptor, directly connected
to the measurement tap of the bushing and connected voltage sensor. The output signal
of one phase is compared with two remaining phases. Short and long term grid
unbalances can be filtered by certain algorithms. The paper discusses the preconditions
when modern bushing monitoring solutions are ready to protect bushing from failures
caused by breakdown of layers. The thresholds criteria can be distinguished by the
design of condenser bushings as the measured voltage jump caused by breakdown of
capacitive layers is depending on the number of layers. As the resulting dielectric stress
on the remaining layers increases, the operation of the bushing leads to increased risk for
failure, i.e. at least a warning should be generated automatically. The breakdown of
further layer might lead in a cascade breakdown ending with a catastrophic bushing
failure, i.e. an alarm should be generated and the transformer should be de-energised.

1 INTRODUCTION analyse conditions and to initiate subsequent

Today, utilities focus, on one hand, on improving or
maintaining system security by preventing outages,
and on the other, reducing operation and
maintenance costs of their assets. Both objectives
rely on information about asset conditions. As
such, an increasing number of power transmission
and power generation utilities are equipping their
power transformers with continuous on-line
monitoring systems. Step-by-step, this equipment
becomes a standard configuration of power
transformers.
A power transformer consists of several
components: transformer tank with active part and
oil-paper insulation, conservator, cooling unit, on-
load tap changer and bushings, to mention some.
These components can be fitted with various
sensors, which are integrated into one monitoring
IED (Intelligent Electronic Device) by means of
analogue or digital signals and different protocols,
building a comprehensive on-line condition
monitoring and expert system.
Raw data acquired from a wide range of demand-
specific selectable sensors are analysed by means
of implemented models, and stored in the on-line
condition monitoring and expert system. Data
acquisition and processing alone are of limited
value. An expert system, see Figure 1, included in
the monitoring device becomes a powerful tool to
actions.
Figure 1: Example of expert system with alarm
message caused by increased bushing
capacitance of transformer 1. Information and
recommendations for service and maintenance can
be displayed and data can be correlated to further
information or other transformers
The next step to prevent failures could be an
automatic activation of protection by means of a
continuous on-line monitoring system. The paper
discusses the preconditions when modern bushing
monitoring solutions are ready to protect bushing
against failures caused by breakdown of layers.
The thresholds criteria can be distinguished by the
design of condenser bushings as the measured
voltage jump caused by breakdown of capacitive
layers is depending on the number of layers. As
the resulting dielectric stress on the remaining
layers increases, the operation of the bushing
leads to increased risk for failure, i.e. at least a
warning should be generated automatically. The
breakdown of further layer might lead in a cascade
breakdown ending with a catastrophic bushing
failure, i.e. an alarm should be generated and the
transformer should be de-energised.
2 BUSHINGS
High voltage condenser bushings of power trans-
formers, according to their construction and age,
are amongst the most endangered components
from all operating equipment used. In the past, off-
line measurements like the measurement of
bushing insulator capacitances and measurement
of the dissipation factor were carried out
successfully for determining the operational state.
Today, modern microprocessor and computer
technology makes it possible to carry out these
procedures on-line with the help of a monitoring
system.
2.1 Capacitive controlled insulator bushings
In the voltage range from 110 kV upwards, modern
bushings are generally designed with closely
stepped capacitive control layers [1]. The insulator
body is manufactured in a coil winding process.
The basic insulating systems of capacitive
controlled high voltage bushings can be classified
as:
• Resin-bonded paper bushings (RBP)
• Resin-impregnated paper bushings (RIP)
• Resin-impregnated synthetic bushings (RIS)
• Oil-impregnated paper bushings (OIP)
The inner insulation structure of resin-bonded
paper bushings consists of resin-coated material,
which is glued under high temperature and
pressure in normal ambient conditions. In the case
of resin-impregnated bushings, the insulator
consists of crepe paper with wrapped aluminium
coatings. This is dried and impregnated in vacuum.
A resin-impregnated synthetic bushing the major
insulation consists of a core wound from synthetics
subsequently impregnated with a curable resin. In
the case of oil-impregnated bushings, the
insulating body consists of kraft paper with
wrapped aluminium or graphite coatings, which are
dried and oil-impregnated in vacuum. The outer
insulation structure is generally made up of
porcelain or, more recently, of silicon.
What is common to all constructions is that they
are subjected to very high mechanical, electrical
and thermal stresses during operation. This results
in ageing and hence to a change in the operational
state [2]. Thus, partial breakdowns in the insulation
system can affect the operational safety to such an
extent that further safe operation is not guaranteed
any more [3, 4].
2.2 Bushing capacitance C and dielectric
dissipation factor tanδ
The measurement of the bushing capacitance C
and the dielectric dissipation factor tan δ, see
Figure 2, are important parameters for evaluating
the operational state of a high voltage bushing.
The dissipation factor is obtained from
tan δ = 1/RωC. In the case of a new resin-bonded
paper bushing, it is in the range 0.5 ... 0.7 %. In the
case of resin-impregnated bushings, it is in the
range 0.25 ... 0.45 %, and for oil-impregnated
bushings, values between 0.25 ... 0.5 % are
normal.
Figure 2: Equivalent circuit diagram and vector
diagram of the dielectric loss factor tan δ
Dielectric losses in the insulation result in a
capacitive loss current in the dielectric material.
The reason for this can be found in the electrical
properties of the insulation structure [1].
Depending on the ageing, the bushing capacitance
and the tan δ can change. Table 1 shows guide
values for tan δ and capacitance values as
examples for resin-bonded paper bushings. When
these limiting values are reached, continued
operation is not recommended.
Table 1: Limit values for the dielectric loss factor
tan δ and capacitive increase Δ C for resin-bonded
paper bushings [6]
UN [kV] tan  [%]  C [%]
123 2.0 20
245 1.5 15
420 1.0 10
For protection purpose periodic off-line testing of
bushings is not sufficient and those changings
need to be detected during operation of power
transformers with on-line monitoring systems.
When detecting those changes, the protection of
bushings and transformers can only be guaranteed
by direct de-energization of the transformer.
Therefore the discussion is necessary to involve
bushing monitoring into the protection devices of
power transformers. The possibility of false alarms
by external environmental influences, the
necessary and achievable accuracy is discussed in
the following. A focus of discussion in the following
is also on the reliability and acceptability of
threshold values.
Other reasons for a change in the values of tan δ
and Δ C are external environmental influences like
moisture and dirt on the outside on the porcelain.
An increase in the Δ C can also be caused by an
oil-impregnation in the case of resin-bonded paper
bushings. Apart from a consideration of the
absolute values of tan δ and Δ C, an analysis of
the trend is of great importance.
Thus, an increase in the Δ C for all bushing types
indicates partial breakdowns between control
layers (Table 2). Hence, for instance, if one of the
60 control layers of a typical 420 kV bushing
breaks down, its capacitance changes by a value
of 1.7 %. A short-circuit between two control layers
does not directly result in bushing failure, but the
likelihood of a complete break-down of the
insulation raises with increasing number of
defective layers and a safe operation of the
bushing and the whole transformer cannot be
guaranteed any more.
Table 2: Increase in capacitance delta C in case of
a partial breakdown between control layers for oil-
impregnated bushings.
UN [kV] Number of control layers [n]  C [%]
123 28 3.6
245 42 2.4
420 60 1.7
Hence the internal design of bushings defines the
thresholds of change in capacity for generating trip
signals and in the following a suitable
measurement set-up with reachable accuracy is
presented.
3 MONITORING VALUES
The monitoring of the electrical measurement
quantities is achieved with a voltage adaptor and
voltage sensor. The adaptor is connected directly
to the measurement tap of the bushing, see
Figure 3, left. This design allows a reliable
measurement with a bandwidth of up to 2 MHz.
Figure 3: Bushing voltage adaptor fitting for
different types of bushings and voltage sensor with
adopted measuring capacity
The voltage sensor, see Figure 3 right, essentially
consists of a capacitance CM, which normally has
values of 1...2 µF, see sketch in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Sketch of bushing and equivalent circuit
diagram of the bushing and the voltage sensor
Since CM >> C2 (with C2 ≈ 300 pF), I2 is practically
0. The resistance R terminates the connected
coaxial cable with a surge impedance of 50 Ω. The
potential divider ratio between C1 and CM is
dimensioned that a measurement voltage UM of
57 V AC is set. In addition, there is an overvoltage
suppressor (Ü) installed, which protects the sensor
and the cable from overvoltages, and as there are
no electronic components used in the sensor at the
bushing, this measurement procedure is not
sensitive to electromagnetic emission. Another
advantage of the technology used is in the high
signal-to-noise ratio owing to the transmission of a
voltage signal of about 57 V AC.
3.1 OPERATING VOLTAGES AND
OVERVOLTAGES
For the measurement of operating voltages, the
capacitive voltage sensor already described is
used. In addition overvoltages can also be
detected. Transient overvoltages represent a
significant endangerment potential for the
insulation. Therefore, the detection and evaluation
of these transients is of great significance for the
evaluation of the bushing insulator reliability [5] and
besides this also for the insulation system of the
active part of the transformer.
Overvoltages can be caused by lightning impulses
and switching actions, e. g. the switching on of
overhead lines and chokes. In particular, bushings
of transformers in GIS or HVDC-switchgear are
subjected to fast transient overvoltages. Since their
size and shape are often not known, there can be
a failure of operating equipment, which can be
avoided by taking specific countermeasures.
Furthermore, information about the amplitude of
overvoltages and the combination with the on-line
measures and analysing data of e.g. transient
overvoltage monitoring modules is of great
importance in case of root cause analysis after the
occurrence of a damage.
Figure 5 shows, as an example, three-phase
operating voltages on the 275 kV bushings of a
185 MVA generator transformer together with
detected overvoltages recorded over a period of 4
days.
Figure 5: Continuously monitored 3-phase
operating voltages (phases L1, L2, L3) with
overvoltages, voltage fluctuations and network
asymmetries (period 4 days)
What can be seen are some voltage spikes in the
graph, which are caused by the overvoltages that
occur. In addition voltage fluctuations in the line
voltage and network asymmetries of up to 1 % can
be clearly seen from the graph.
3.2 Change of Capacity – Δ C
The monitoring of the change in the bushing
capacitances (Δ C) is achieved by means of a
three-phase voltage measurement. Here, the
output signal of the presented voltage sensor is
compared with the two remaining phases. The
result of the algorithm is based on an averaging in
order to eliminate voltage fluctuations in the
network in this manner. The influences of
temperature can be compensated by the three-
phase measurement principle. In consequence, the
relative change in capacitance is used for
determining the Δ C. This method has also proven
itself over a prolonged time in the field [7] also
impressing through its high signal-to-noise ratio.
Hence the change of capacity can be chosen as
protection criteria and two available case studies
will demonstrate in the following that possibility.
3.3 Change of dissipation factor – tan δ
The measurement of the phase angle between the
three phases makes it possible to detect changes
in the dielectric dissipation (loss) factor tan δ. The
difficulty in the measurement technique is in being
able to detect even very slight changes. For
example, a change in the loss factor tan δ by 0.1 %
means that the phase angle changes by 0.057 °.
The measurement data has to be recorded with a
very high resolution in terms of time in order to
achieve this accuracy. In this case, the sampling
rate is 10 µs, to detect the zero crossing of the
50/60 Hz AC voltage.
For the acquisition of the Δ tan δ, an accuracy of at
least ± 0.15 % must be reached. The reason for
this is that the dissipation factor for the various
types of construction of bushings moves in the
range of about 0.5 % and a maximum warning
threshold has to be assumed at about 0.7 %. In the
case of offline measurements, it is in keeping with
the current state-of-the-art to determine the
dissipation factor using a reference capacitance
and a reference voltage. These aids are not
available on-line. Rather, in the case of an on-line
measurement, as in the process described here,
the voltage of another phase is used as a
reference.
Different types of interpretation methods (e.g.
change of dissipation factor vs. sum current
phasor) with their advantages and disadvantages
are discussed in [7, 9] and it is the authors opinion
that the tan δ value cannot be a protection criteria.
As there is no comparable link to internal design
which allows a clear threshold. A condition
assessment by tan δ measurements needs the
consultancy of an expert, like e.g. PD
measurement analysis, and an automatic tripping
is not meaningful. Furthermore there are no case
studies known to the authors, where only the
change of on-line measured tan δ values indicated
a bushing failure.
4 CASE STUDIES
4.1 350 MVA, 420 kV Transformer
The effect of a partial flashover of 2 layers of a
420 kV bushing is depicted in Figure 6. The 3-
phase operating voltages (phase L1, L2, L3)
together with overvoltages of the 350 MVA
regulating transformer are shown.
Figure 6: Detection of partial flashover of 420 kV
bushing and avoidance of collateral damage of
350 MVA regulating transformer, 3-phase
operating voltages (phase L1, L2, L3) with
overvoltages (large figure), identified by change of
capacitance Δ C (small figure)
On 27.11.2004 after only 1 ½ years of bushing
operation a warning was generated automatically
by the on-line monitoring system identified by a
change in the bushing capacitance by 3.6 %
(Figure 6, small figure).
After switching off the transformer an off-line
measurement was performed and proved the on-
line determined value. The bushing was shipped to
the manufacturer who also confirmed the result.
Due to the installation of an on-line monitoring
system a collateral damage could be prevented. In
addition the system indicated that the transformer
has been affected by overvoltages which could
have been the most probable reason for the
damage.
4.2 850 MVA, 400 kV Transformer
In the evening of 28th of June 2013 a 850 MVA,
400/27kV transformer, manufactured in 2000, was
tripped due to a catastrophic bushing failure of high
voltage side in phase V. Analysing the
measurement data of the monitoring system
reveals that the catastrophic failure was detectable
approximately 3 days in advance, see Figure 7.
Figure 7: Increase of measured voltage (phase to
ground voltage measurement on bushing test tap
at high voltage side) on a failed bushing of a
850 MVA transformer
On 26th of June, the voltage measurement on
phase V showed a voltage rise of approx. 2.5 %
what correlates to one layer breakdown in the
condenser bushing. Beginning approximately 6
hours in advance of the trip a cascade breakdown
inside the bushing occurs and the voltage rose up
to additional 15 % of nominal voltage. However, in
this case the alarm management functionality of
the on-line condition monitoring system was not
implemented into the SCADA system. The active
use of the bushing monitoring functionality would
have avoided that major bushing failure and the
unscheduled outage. Due to that experience the
utility decided to implement from now on the
bushing monitoring into the active alarm
management.
In Figure 7 it can be seen that overvoltages have
been detected prior to the fault, which might have
been a possible root cause for the bushing failure.
Therefore comprehensive monitoring systems can
be used to correlate transient overvoltages and
capacity change of bushings for a deeper
understanding of those additional dielectric
stresses.
In case the monitoring system would have been
used to protect the bushing with appropriate
thresholds, the system might have protected the
transformer for that unscheduled tripping by raising
a warning 3 days in advance and an alarm 6 hours
in advance with a possible de-energization of the
transformer.
5 CONCLUSION
The focus in this paper was to demonstrate how
capacitive controlled bushings can be protected by
on-line monitoring devices. The underlying
principle of the measurement technique is based
on the use of a capacitive voltage sensor that is
installed at the measurement tap of the bushing. In
this manner, the operational voltages can be
measured, and deriving therefrom, overvoltages
and transient voltages can be detected.
The change in the bushing capacitance as the
most important characteristic quantity for
determining the operational state can be analyzed
reliably on this basis. Hence the change of
capacitance can be chosen as protection criteria
and thresholds are clear distinguished by bushings
internal design and number of layers.
Practical examples have shown that the change in
the dielectric dissipation factor can be acquired,
but provides less information than the
recommended simple on-line monitoring of the
change in the bushing capacitance. Hence the
change of tan δ is not seen as protection criteria as
possible threshold are not linkable to internal
design and there is no case study available for
bushing failures linked to only tan δ changes.
Tan δ monitoring might still be used to monitor the
bushing condition on a long time period, i.e.
monitor the aging of bushings.
Case studies demonstrated, that a critical damage
of a 350 MVA grid coupling transformer could be
avoided by a detection of a partial flashover of
layers of a bushing indicated by a change in the
bushing capacitance. Another collateral damage of
an 850 MVA transformer bushing might have been
prevented in case the bushing monitoring system
based on capacitive voltage measurements would
have been authorized to trip the transformer.
For certain types of bushings in case of certain
chance of on-line monitored capacity automated
alarming and tripping of transformers seems to
become feasible. This article aims to start
discussions between bushing and transformer
manufacturer and users about thresholds, concrete
preconditions and subsequent actions including
automated tripping.

This article states that the monitoring principal

which it´s so far used technology might be a base
for future development of protection devices, as
the specification for protection devices is different
to monitoring devices, e.g. real time
communication.

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