Three characteristics generally provide means for
detecting transformer internal faults. These characteristics include an increase in phase currents, an increase in the differential current, and gas formation caused by the fault arc . When transformer internal faults occur, immediate action for the faulted transformer is necessary to avoid extensive damage and/or preserve power system stability and power quality. Three types of protection are normally used to detect these faults: over current protection for phase currents, differential protection, and gas accumulator or rate-of pressure- rise protection for arcing faults. Over current protection with fuses or relays provided the first type of transformer fault protection and it continues to be applied in small-capacity transformers. The differential (Merz Price) principle for transformer protection was introduced by connecting an OC relay in the paralleled secondary of the current transformers. The percentage-differential principle, which was applied to transformer protection, provided excellent results in improving the security of differential protection for external faults with CT errors. The analysis presented here focuses primarily on Differential relaying for transformers because they are prone to relay mal-operation in the presence of transformer inrush currents and other conditions. Several solutions to this problem were introduced. Researchers quickly recognized that the harmonic content of the differential current provided information that helped differentiate faults from inrush conditions. The idea of harmonic blocking instead of restraining was also proposed with a relay that used only a particular harmonic to block the operation of relay. Many modern transformer differential relays now a days use either harmonic restraint or blocking methods. These methods ensure relay security for a very high percentage of inrush cases. Transformer over excitation is another possible cause of differential-relay mal-operation. Several improved approaches for transformer differential protection using current only inputs exists with ensured security for external faults, inrush, and over excitation conditions, and dependability for internal faults. Apart from harmonic restraint and blocking methods a wave shape recognition technique can also be used . Differential relays perform well for external faults as long as the CTs reproduce the primary currents correctly. When one of the CTs saturates, or if both CTs saturate at different levels, false operating current appears in the differential relay and could cause relay mal-operation. Some differential relays use the harmonics caused by CT saturation for added restraint and to avoid mal- operations. In addition, the slope characteristic of the percentage- differential relay provides further security for external faults with CT saturation. Therefore, In case of power transformer applications, possible sources of error in differential relaying, include the following: CT saturation is only one of the causes of false operating current in differential relays Mismatch between the CT ratios and the power transformer ratio (e.g. Variable ratio of transformer caused by a tap changer) Phase shift between the power transformer primary and secondary currents for delta–Y connections Magnetizing inrush currents created by transformer transients because of energization High excitation currents caused by transformer over excitation The relay percentage-restraint characteristic typically solves the first two problems. A proper connection of the CTs or emulation of such a connection in a digital relay (auxiliary CTs historically provided this function) addresses the phase-shift problem. A very complex problem is that of discriminating internal fault currents from the false differential currents caused by magnetizing inrush and transformer over excitation. Magnetizing Inrush, Over excitation, and CT Saturation Inrush, over excitation or CT saturation conditions in a power transformer produce false differential currents because they produce distorted currents as they are related to transformer core saturation. The distorted waveforms provide information that helps to discriminate inrush and over excitation conditions from internal faults. However, this discrimination can be complicated by other sources of distortion such as CT saturation. Magnetizing Inrush Currents The study of transformer excitation inrush phenomena has been of interest to early researchers. Magnetizing inrush occurs in a transformer whenever the polarity and magnitude of the residual flux do not agree with the polarity and magnitude of the ideal instantaneous value of steady-state flux. The magnitudes, duration and waveforms of inrush currents depend on a multitude of factors and are almost impossible to exactly predict. Some of these factors are: The instantaneous value of the voltage waveform at the moment of closing CB The value of the residual (remnant) magnetizing flux The sign of the residual magnetizing flux The type of the iron laminations used in the transformer core and the saturation flux density of the transformer core The physical size of the transformer The input supply voltage level The following list summarizes the main characteristics of inrush currents: Generally contain dc offset, odd harmonics, and even harmonics. Typically composed of unipolar or bipolar pulses, separated by intervals of very low current values. Second-harmonic content starts with a low value and increases as the inrush current decreases. Relay currents are delta currents (a delta winding is encountered in either the power- or current transformer connections, or is simulated in the relay), which means that currents of adjacent windings are subtracted, and the following occur: DC components are subtracted. Fundamental components are added at 60. Second harmonics are added at 120. (Most suitable) Third harmonics are added at 180(they cancel out), etc. Over excitation of a Power Transformer As compared to this, Over excitation of a power transformer is a typical case of ac saturation of the core that produces odd harmonics in the exciting current. Figure shows the exciting current recorded during a real test of a 5-kVA, 230/115-V, single-phase laboratory transformer . The current corresponds to an overvoltage condition of 150% at nominal frequency. For comparison purposes, the peak value of the transformer nominal current is 61.5 A, and the peak value of the exciting current is 57.3 A. Table shows the most significant harmonics of the current signal depicted in Figure. Harmonics are expressed as a percentage of the fundamental component. The third harmonic is the most suitable for detecting over excitation conditions. However, either the ∆ connection of the CTs or the ∆ connection compensation of the differential relay filters out this harmonic. The fifth harmonic, however, is still a reliable quantity for detecting over excitation conditions. Therefore it was proposed to use the fifth harmonic to restrain the transformer differential relay. The recommended setting of this restraint function is at 35% of fifth harmonic with respect to the fundamental. Figure emphasizes the harmonic content of the excitation current of a power transformer as a function of the applied voltage. As the voltage increases, saturation and exciting current increase. The odd harmonics, expressed as a percentage of the fundamental, first increase and then begin to decrease at over voltages on the order of 115 to 120%. Setting the differential-relay fifth harmonic restraint to 35% ensures security for overvoltage conditions less than 140%. For greater Over voltages, which could quickly destroy the transformer in a few seconds, it is desirable to have the fast tripping added to that of the transformer over excitation relay. CT Saturation In the case of transformer-differential protection, the effect of CT saturation is double-edged. For external faults, the resulting false differential current can produce relay mal-operation. In some cases, the percentage restraint in the relay addresses this false differential current. For internal faults, the harmonics resulting from CT saturation could delay the operation of differential relays having harmonic restraint or blocking. The main characteristics of CT saturation are following: The worst CT saturation is produced by the dc component of the primary current. During this dc saturation period, the secondary current can contain odd and even harmonics . When the dc offset dies out, the CT has only ac saturation, characterized by the presence of odd harmonics in the secondary current. Figure shows a typical secondary current waveform for computer-simulated ac symmetrical CT saturation. This figure also depicts the harmonic content of this current. The figure confirms the presence of odd harmonics and the absence of even harmonics in the secondary current. Methods for Discriminating Internal Faults from Inrush & Over excitation Conditions: Early transformer differential-relay designs used time delay to override the inrush current. However, Current Based Harmonic restraint is the classical way to restrain tripping on Inrush. There are many variations on this method. All of these methods work on the assumption that the magnetizing inrush current contains high levels of second harmonic current. The current for an internal transformer fault typically has very low levels of second harmonic current. The simplest method of harmonic restraint uses the magnitude of the second harmonic in the differential current compared to the magnitude of the fundamental frequency component in the differential current. Tripping of the differential element is blocked when this ratio exceeds an adjustable threshold. The harmonic restraint is typically calculated on a per-phase basis. Variations include using the RMS current as opposed to the fundamental frequency component, and using a cumulative three-phase implementation. The historical setting for harmonic restraint is a second harmonic ratio of 20%, with an available setting range of 1% to 40%. Set too high, and the differential element may trip during transformer energizing. Set too low, and inrush restraint may block tripping during some internal fault events. Restraint Modes: Per-phase. In per-phase mode the relay performs inrush restraint individually in each phase. 2-out-of-3. In 2-out-of-3 mode, the relay checks second harmonic level in all three phases individually. If any two phases establish a blocking condition, the remaining phase is restrained automatically.
Averaging. In averaging mode, the relay first
calculates the average second harmonic ratio, and then applies the inrush threshold to the calculated average.
1-out-of-3. In 1-out-of-3 mode, all three phases are
restrained when a blocking condition exists on any one phase. Incipient Faults in Transformers Faults which are not significant in the beginning but which slowly develop into serious faults are known as incipient faults. Buchholz relay provides protection against such incipient faults. A Buchholz relay is a standard protection fitted to all oil-immersed transformers which detects all insulation breakdowns inside the transformer tank causing either the formation of gas or surges of oil flow from the tank to the expansion vessel. This applies to all phase and ground faults on the windings and to inter-turn faults. The relay also detects loss of oil caused by leaks. Figure shows the position of the Buchholz relay with respect to the transformer tank and the conservator. The conceptual diagram of the inner working of the Buchholz relay is shown in Figure. When an incipient fault such as a winding-to-core fault or an inter-turn fault occurs on the transformer winding, there is severe heating of the oil. This causes gases to be liberated from the oil. There is a build-up of oil pressure causing oil to rush into the conservator. A vane is placed in the path of surge of oil between the transformer and the conservator. A set of contacts, operated by this vane, is used as trip contacts of the Buchholz relay . This output of Buchholz relay may be used to trip the transformer. The Buchholz relay also has another set of contacts operated by a float. These contacts stay open when the transformer tank is filled with oil. However, in case of leakage of oil or decomposition of oil, the float sinks causing the contacts to close. Loss of oil will no doubt cause the transformer temperature to rise but does not require immediate tripping. Hence, normally these contacts are wired to an alarm which alerts the operator. Analysis of Trapped Gases The trapped gases in the relay can give valuable clue to the type of damage that takes place inside the transformer. This is because the insulation between the winding turns, the insulation between the stampings of the core and the oil, all liberate specific gases when they get heated up due to a fault. The presence of these gases can be used as a signature of a particular type of damage that may have taken place inside the transformer. Table lists this information.