International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012)

Identification of Various Internal Faults of Transformer

Based on No-load Current Analysis
Rushi R. Desai1, Amit N. Patel2, Vinod R. Gupta3,
1

PG Student, Electrical Engg. Department, Nirma University, SG Highway, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
Asst. Prof. Electrical Engg. Department, Nirma University, SG Highway, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
3
Sr. Manager, Electrical Research & Development Association, Makarpura, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
2

10meee04@nirmauni.ac.in
amit.patel@nirmauni.ac.in
3
vinod.gupta@erda.org
2

Abstract The internal faults of transformer can be identified

by various techniques. The proposed technique is by the
analysis of no-load current and harmonic contents present in
it. The no-load current of transformer is non-sinusoidal for
sinusoidal input voltage. And hence it contains harmonics in
healthy condition of transformer. But if transformer has any
internal fault then the no-load current magnitude and its
harmonic content will vary depending upon the type of fault.
The winding fault increases the %THDi and magnitude of noload current, whereas the core fault increases only the %THDi
of no-load current. For winding fault if the inter-turn fault is
on the primary side then both %THDi and magnitude of noload current increases but if the inter-turn fault is on
secondary side then only magnitude of no-load current will
increase.

(2)
From eq. (2) it is evident that if the flux produces in core
is sinusoidal, and hence the current should also be a perfect
sinusoidal. Unfortunately, this is not true since the
transformer will reach to a state of near saturation at the top
of the flux cycle. Hence at this point, more current is
required to produce a certain amount of flux.

KeywordsTransformer Internal Faults, %THDi, No-load

current analysis, Harmonics.
I.

INTRODUCTION

The transformer no-load current contains significant

information about transformer winding and core condition.
The %THD in no-load current and magnitude of no-load
current can be used as a tool to identify the core and
winding faults. The %THD and magnitude of no-load
current in any transformer should be as low as possible. But
it is not possible to reduce it to zero; hence efforts are made
in order to reduce the %THD and magnitude of no-load
current. In case of no-load current analysis of transformer
the no-load test is carried out on transformer and the noload current signal is processed to extract the harmonic
contents present in it. By extracting harmonics from noload current the analysis is carried out which results in to a
clear conclusion about transformer situation.

Fig.1 Transformer No-load current

Aiman Hassan Al-Haj et al. in [1] analyzed the effect of

various factors on transformer no-load current and %THD
in no-load current.

The No-load current of transformer is non-sinusoidal for

sinusoidal input voltage. The same can be explained from
the following equations

I.Daut et al. in [3] represents the harmonic content in noload current as the indicator of transformer core saturation.
And a result shows that design flux density above 1.7 tesla
results in to greater %THD in no-load current.

(1)

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012)
Robert D. Henderson et al. in [6] shows the effect of
harmonic on power quality and transformer, these results in
to transformer core saturation and increase in %THD.

4.

Y. Baghzouz et al. in [7] analyzed the effect of

transformer no-load line current and shows the variation in
%THD in no-load current by varying the transformer
connections.

Fault in Transformer: The no-load current of

transformer is significantly affected because of
internal fault in transformer. Different faults results
in to different %THD in no-load line current. This
paper shows the effect of core fault and winding
fault on no-load current.

III. ARRANGEMENT FOR NO-LOAD HARMONIC TESTING

In this paper an indigenous technique has been proposed

to identify various internal faults in transformer. In case of
normal transformer the harmonics in no-load line current
varies as connection of three-phase winding, design
parameters and manufacturer changes. So for given healthy
transformer the no-load test is done and the harmonic
contents are measured in no-load current. Then same
procedure is applied to faulty transformer provided that the
manufacturer, connection of winding and rating of
transformer will be same. Then extract the harmonic
contents present in no-load current of faulty transformer.
Compare the result for healthy and faulty transformer to
identify the fault.

The arrangement for measurements is given in figure 2.

Measurements were carried out to find out the harmonic
content in the no-load voltage and current at LV side of the
transformer under test.
Harmonics in voltage and current were measured and
analyzed using the power analyzer at 90%, 100% and
110% of the rated voltage. The voltage and current signals
were directly fed to the recording device. The voltage and
current waveforms were analyzed for different order of
harmonics (up to the 25th) using the Fast Fourier
Transform (FFT) algorithm. The total harmonic distortion
(THD %) was then computed as given below:
(3)

II. FACTORS AFFECTING THE NO-LOAD CURRENT OF

TRANSFORMER

1.

2.

3.

Flux Density: The flux density is the driving factor

for no-load current of transformer. As no-load
current consists of two components Iw and I, the
magnetizing component (I) varies depending upon
flux density and B-H curve. The other various
factors affects the no-load current is explained in
reference [1].
Stacking Technique: There are two main stacking
techniques for the transformer cores. These are the
conventional Butt lap and the Step lap techniques. In
the Step lap joint, the overlapping length is divided
into few steps. In Butt lap joint there is only one
step. The Step lap technique results in lower
exciting current compared the Butt lap [1].
The rms values of the no-load of the butt lap are
much higher than those of the step lap core [1].
However the THD and most of the harmonic
components of the step lap core are higher. Thus
having a lower no-load current should not be taken
as an indication of lower harmonics.
Saturation Effect: Transformer may be drawn into
saturation due to two reasons. An increase in the
applied voltage will cause a symmetrical saturation.
The flow of a DC current into the transformer also
causes saturation. In both the cases the %THD in
no-load current increases.

Fig.2 Arrangement for Harmonic Measurement

IV. ESTIMATION OF CORE CONDITION

The no-load harmonic test was carried out on
transformer having the rating of 100kVA, 11/0.433 kV,
YNyn0. The results are as shown in table 1. The careful
observation of results of %THD and magnitude of no-load
current indicates that the magnitude of no-load current is
within the range of limit but %THD in Y-phase is quite
high compare to other two phases. In practical case the Yphase no-load current is always have lesser magnitude and
higher %THD compare to other two phases.
Because the no-load current is non-sinusoidal and
hence the instantaneous value of resultant flux will not be
zero. This increase the flux in the centre limb, results in to
the saturation of centre limb and increase in %THD of Yphase.

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012)
Whereas the magnitude of no-load current is less in Yphase compare to other phases because the reluctance
offered to the flux of R and B-phase is quite high as the
path for both the flux is from centre limb and two end
limbs. But for Y-phase the reluctance offered to the flux is
same for each end limbs and hence the magnitude of Yphase no-load current is less (fig.3).

V. IDENTIFICATION OF WINDING FAULT

The winding fault can be present in HV, LV or in both.
Now to identify that the inter turn fault in HV, LV or both
the no-load harmonic test is useful indicator. If there is
inter turn fault in primary then no-load harmonic test
results in to increase in %THDi & magnitude of no-load
current, whereas if the inter turn fault is in secondary then
the no-load harmonic test results in to increase in
magnitude of no-load current only. The practical result
leads to the same conclusion.

In given transformer the Y-phase %THD in no-load

current is quite high which needs to analyze for its
magnetic behaviour. So by measuring only the no-load
current of transformer we can predict the behaviour of
transformer condition.

TABLE II
HARMONIC ANALYSIS OF NO-LOAD CURRENT FOR 10 KVA
TRANSFORMER

TABLE I
HARMONIC ANALYSIS OF NO-LOAD CURRENT 100 KVA TRANSFORMER

(A) HEALTHY TRANSFORMER

Fig. 3 Transformer Flux Path

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012)
(B) FAULT IN PRIMARY (R-PHASE)

The results from table II (b) shows that the increase in

%THDi and magnitude of no-load current for inter turn
fault in primary. And the table III shows the no-load
harmonic test results for inter turn fault in secondary
winding of R-phase. For the simulation of inter turn fault
the tapings available on the windings are shorted with
external link as shown.

Fig. 4 Simulation of Inter-turn Fault

TABLE III

The results obtained are practical and from table III it is

clear that for applied voltage of 104 the no-load current
drawn is 20 A. This large amount of current reflects the
winding fault in any of the winding. To identify that the
inter turn fault in which winding, harmonic analysis of noload current was done. And the results from table II (b) and
table III clearly shows that if the inter turn fault present in
primary then %THDi and magnitude of no-load current
both will increase, where as if the inter turn fault is on
secondary then only magnitude of no-load current will
increase.

HARMONIC ANALYSIS OF NO-LOAD CURRENT FOR 100 KVA

TRANSFORMER, FAULT IN SECONDARY (R-PHASE)

VI. CONCLUSION
The different fault in transformer can be identified with
the help of no-load current magnitude and its harmonic
contents. The core abnormalities results in to greater
%THDi, the winding abnormalities results in to greater
magnitude of current and %THDi. Also from the
knowledge of no-load current magnitude and %THDi the
inter turn fault in particular winding can be diagnose.
Increase in magnitude of no-load current leads to the inter
turn fault in secondary and increase in %THDi and
magnitude of no-load current leads to inter turn fault in
primary.

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012)

VII. REFERENCES
[1] Aiman Hassan Al-Haj and Ibrahim El-Amin, 2000, Factors
That Influence Transformer No- Load Current Harmonic,
IEEE Transaction on Power Delivery Vol.15 No.1.
[2]

George
J.Wakliesh,
Power
System
Harmonics:
Fundamentals, Analysis & Design, 1stedition, Springer
publications, New York, USA.

[3]

I.Daut, Syafruddin Hasan, Soib Taib, Risnidar Chan,

M.Irwanto, June-2010, Harmonic Content as Indicator of
Transformer Core Saturation, Selngor, Malaysia.

[4]

IEEE: 519:1992, IEEE Recommended Practices and

Requirements for Harmonic Control
in
Electrical
Power Systems.

[5]

Liao Ruijin, Sun Caixin, Chen Weigen, Wang Caisheng,

Sept.1998, On-Line Detection of Gases Dissolved in
transformer Oil and the Faults Diagnosis, Toyohashi, Japan.

[6]

Robert D. Henderson, Patrick J. Rose, June 1994,

Harmonics: The effect on Power Quality and
Transformers, North Carolina, USA.

[7]

Y. Baghzouz, X. D. Gong, Feb.1995, Analysis of ThreePhase transformer No-Load Characteristics. Las Vegas, NV,
USA.

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