TRANSFORMERS YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW

: VK Lakhiani Crompton Greaves Ltd.

TRANSFORMER IS 117 YEARS OLD !

FIRST TRANSFORMER OF THE WORLD

60 W, 4.3 / 46.5 V, 18 Hz,

Single phase, Shell type, Dry type by 3 Hungarian Engineers working in GANZ, Budapest. * Karoly Zipernowsky * Titusz Otto Blathy * Miksa Deri
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Patented in 1985

Blathy coined the tame Transformer

HOW IT ALL BEGAN !

1831 - Faradays law of Electromagnetic Induction discovered

1864 - Maxwells equations for mathematical models of electromagnetic apparatus formulated.

1885 - First real Transformer (single phase) Patented.

1893 - First three phase Transformer was used in Hellsjon 9.6

kV Transmission System in Sweden (Dry type 3 phase

transformers manufactured by ASEA)

1900 - Oil Immersed Transformer was born.

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GROWTH OF LARGE POWER RATING TRANSFORMERS

World Scenario
15 MVA 45 MVA 120 MVA 1300 MVA 3-phase (Brown Boveri, 400 kV) 550 MVA, 1-phase (1650 MVA Bank) (Alsthom-France) 775 MVA, 230 kV 60 Hz, SC Tested (ABB)
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1920s :

1930s :

1940s :

1960s :

1970s :

1998 :

GROWTH OF EHV TRANSFORMERS

World Scenario
220 kV 400 kV 765 kV 1150 kV (USSR)

1930s :

1950s :

1960s :

1960s :

Experimental Transformer - 1785 kV / 1850 kV Class 1200 kV (Japan, Italy, Canada, Brazil, USA)

2000s :

GROWTH OF TRANSMISSION VOLTAGES Indian Scene :

1902:

Worlds first 78 kV, longest high rated voltage transmission line on commercial basis in Mysore State made operational Sivasamudram-Kankanhalli (about 150 km)

1931:

132 kV Introduced

1959:

First 220 kV line become operative between Bhakra to Delhi

(300 km approx.)

1977:

First 400 kV line commissioned between Obra- Lucknow

(370 km approx.)

1988:

HVDC Systems Introduced

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2005(?): 800 kV AC

LARGEST TRANSFORMERS (INDIA)

1968:

250 MVA 220 kV GT

1977:

240 MVA 400 kV GT

1980:

315 MVA 400 kV AT

1980:

600 MVA 400 kV Bank

1990:

315 MVA 1-phase HVDC Transformer

1995:

315 MVA 220 kV GT

2000:

320 MVA 275 kV GT

(Largest rating exported from India (CGL)

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CORE MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT

Year

Core Material

1885

Soft magnetic

1900

Non-oriented silicon steel

1935

Grain Oriented silicon steel

(Developed by Armco, USA)

1968

Hi-B (Developed by Nippon Steel Corpn.)

1980

Laser Scribed Hi-B

1990

Mechanically Scribed Hi-B

GRADES & LOSSES OF ELECTRICAL STEELS Grade (Typical)

35 - M6 27 - M4 30 M2H 30 M0H 27 M0H 27 ZH 100 23 M0H 27 ZDkH 23 ZDkH 27 ZDMH 23 ZDMH 1.44 1.26 1.13 1.04 1.03 1.00 0.94 0.92 0.85 0.92 0.85
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Type

Loss w / kg at 1.7 T 50 Hz

Conventional

Hi-B

Laser Scribed Hi-B

Mechanically Scribed

DEVELOPMENT IN CORE

Reduction of core losses - Design & technology

- Mitred Joints (1960s) - 2 x 2 blading - 10 mm over lap - Minimum air gaps at joints - Minimum burr level - Yoke-less building - Stepped lap core construction

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DEVELOPMENT IN CORE

Bolt-less legs

- Banding with resi-glass tapes.

- Skin stressed cylinder.

- Semi conducting tape

Bolt-less yokes

- Bolts outside the yokes.

- Resiglass bands with pressure buckles.

Stainless steel clamp plate for stray-loss reduction or,

laminated CRGO clamp plates or, epoxy bonded legs.

Optimum cross section or utility factor.

Hotspot calculations and positioning of oil ducts.

Realisation of oil ducts with button spacers or dimple sheets

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FUTURE OUTLOOK ON CORE STEEL

Two needs :Reduced Iron Loss Reduced Noise

Energy Saving

Environmental Problem

Latest Trends :

1) More outstanding grain oriented electrical steels by optimising

Electrical Resistivity

Steel thickness

Domain width

Grain Orientation alignment

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Roughness of the substrate steel & coating film interface

FUTURE OUTLOOK ON CORE STEEL (Contd.)

2) Gap between calculated values and measured values to bridge - 6 sigma tools

3) Stepped lap core construction shall be the order of the Day !

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DEVELOPMENT IN WINDINGS

Windings Subjected to :

Dielectric steady state stresses upto system highest voltage conditions

Dielectric stresses under one minute power frequency induced over voltages.

Non Linear Transient Voltage Distribution

Under Lightning and Switching Conditions

Corona Discharges

Thermal Stresses

Short Circuit / Mechanical Stresses

Vibrations
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Stray losses

DEVELOPMENT OF INSULATING OIL

Fire resistant, non-flammable silicon based liquid. High grade mineral oil, with exceptional oxidation stability and

improved electrical properties

Opticool fluids with low viscosity for better cooling properties

Thermally upgraded oils for operation upto 150oC

Super biodegradable eco-fluid made from vegetable seed oils

for environmentally sensitive locations.

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DEVELOPMENT IN WINDING CONDUCTORS

Thermally upgraded paper insulated conductors Enamel insulated conductor Bunched conductors Epoxy bonded bunched conductors Continuously transposed cables (CTC) Epoxy bonded CTC Foil (and sheet) conductors

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DEVELOPMENT OF INSULATING MATERIALS

Softer Pressboard

Pre-compressed Pressboard in 1960

Moulded Angle rings, angle caps

Special Insulation at ends of windings to match electrostatic

field plots

Low permitivity pressboard (permitivity equal to that of oil)

- Futuristic
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DEVELOPMENT IN WINDINGS

Design and Technological Development

Use of interleaved / PID winding / contra shield winding

Optimisation of radial clearances on stress distribution concepts

Optimisation of axial clearances and use of moulded components

Reduction in solid pressboard insulation in sub-divided barrier arrangement

Optimum winding placement

Use of guided oil flow

Use of yoke shunt / wall shunt / flux trap to control stray losses

Improvement in short circuit withstand capability

Stressed oil volume concept for lead clearances

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Wave shape sensitivity analysis and part winding resonance

DEVELOPMENT IN WINDINGS

Ongoing and Futuristics Trends

T50 concept for withstand of transient voltage

Behaviour of steep fronted nanosecond waves in GIS operation

Winding noise & vibrations

Focus on winding manufacturing process to stay within the given tolerances.

Focus also on achieving the measured losses as calculated.

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DEVELOPMENT IN WINDINGS

Requirement of low deviations between measured and calculated winding temperature and thereby need to control manufacturing process.

Increased demand for short circuit test in developing countries

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DEVELOPMENT IN PROCESSING

Vapour phase drying system developed which ahs following

advantages over the conventional Heat / Vacuum System

- Uniform heating of entire mass

- Less heat up time

- Removal of dust and dirt

- More effective extraction of moisture

- Shorter drying time cycle

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DEVELOPMENT IN PROCESSING (CONTD.)

Dew Point method of monitoring of dryness of the insulation is

developed - particularly useful at site after repair

Low frequency induction heating technique

Current areas of improvement

- RVM (Recovery Voltage Measurement)

- PDC

( Polarisation Depolarisation Current)

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DEVELOPMENT IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Clamping Structure for core and coil should be capable or withstanding the forces of short circuit apart from lifting and clamping the core

- Use of HTS at the appropriate places e.g. flitch plate is desirable

in large capacity transformers.

- Better coil clamping methods e.g. use of dash pots, coil clamping

jack screws etc.

- Flat end frames to reduce stray losses.

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DEVELOPMENT IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN (CONTD)

Tank is subjected to complex loading

Lifting - Vacuum - Pressure - Transport - Vibration

- Stress analysis is possible based on FEM

Simplified rectangular tank construction with box type

vertical stiffeners is the trend.

Bell shaped construction developed for ease of site inspection

Welded curb flanges

Gaskets in machined grooves

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DEVELOPMENT IN MFG. TECHNIQUES

High degree of automation is employed to achieve high dimensional accuracy for lamination for reducing air gaps and to improve efficiency.

Vertical winding machine for winding large capacity transformer coil.

Pressurised chambers used for windings and insulating parts to protect against pollution and dirt.

High frequency brazed joints / Improved crimping joints

Vapour phase drying for effective and fast cleaning of core and windings.
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Particle count for oil contamination

IMPROVEMENTS IN BUSHING TECHNOLOGY

`SRBP to `OIP to `RIP to SF6 Practically Non-existent Upto 800 kV Upto 500 kV Upto 1000 Kv

SRBP OIP RIP SF6

RIP with Silicon rubber sheds composite insulated for heavily polluted atmosphere (Futuristic trends)

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IMPROVEMENTS IN BUSHING TECHNOLOGY (CONTD)

Condition Monitoring of Bushings (on-going developments) - Online infra-red scanning for hot spots - Dissolved gas analysis - Particle count of oil - RIV Measurement to detect corona - Tan Monitoring - Capacitance Monitoring - PD
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IMPROVEMENTS IN OLTC

Reactor type switching OLTC patented 1905 & 1906 (still popular in USA) High speed resistor type OLTC developed based on Dr. Jansens patent (1926) (used in large scales) Improvement in construction features to increase reliability of operation

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IMPROVEMENTS IN OLTC (CONTD.)

FUTURISTIC

Maintenance free OLTC

Use of semiconductors and vacuum for switching

Dry type OLTC

Condition Monitoring of OLTC

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OIL PRESERVATION SYSTEMS

Isolation of oil from moisture and oxygen result in slower deterioration

of oil

Popular preservation systems are :

Nitrogen Sealing - Inert dry atmosphere of N2 is created over the oil in conservator

Atmoseal System - Rubber pouch placed inside the conservator inflates or deflates with contraction / expansion of oil

Diaphragm System - Rubber diaphragm creates a partition between oil and outside air

Thermosyphon System - Part of the oil circulated through an absorbent sieve of Alumina by thermosyphon action
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NEW ADDITIONS TO FAMILY OF TRANSFORMERS

AMORPHOUS METAL TRANSFORMERS (AMT)

Amorphous metal has a non-crystalline structure (like glass)

with molecules in random pattern - results from rapid solidification of molten alloy @ one Million Degrees celsius per second.

Gives 80% reduction in no-load losses compared to conventional

CRGO.

Substantial reduction in magnetisation current and hence low

reactive VAR consumption.

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AMORPHOUS METAL TRANSFORMERS (AMT) (CONTD.)

Low harmonic losses

Present limitation - distribution range upto 5 MVA.

(Futuristic) energy efficient cast resin transformers

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DRY TYPE TRANSFORMERS

Two types (i) Conventional (ii) Cast Resin or Resin Impregnated

Class `C or `F

Suitable for indoor application with low fire hazard

Nomex paper / board used has temperature withstand capability

of 2200C

Vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) with polyestermide

resin ensures high mechanical strength

Initial higher cost than that of oil cooled

Maintenance free

Future trends - ratings beyond 33 kV

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Problems related to PD and UV radiation

SF6 GAS INSULATED TRANSFORMERS

Technology more popular in USA and Japan.

Conductor Insulation is PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate (No reaction with SF6 and has high temperature withstand)

20% reduced weight, 15% reduced size compared to oil immersed transformers.

Suitable for installation in high fire risk elimination of fire hazards and explosion that exist with transformer oil.

Cooled by Gas to liquid heat exchangers.

Pressured SF6 Gas provides dielectric strength during the startup period.
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SF6 GAS INSULATED TRANSFORMERS

Liquid fluorocarbon is dispersed over the magnetic circuit and the windings. When the transformer is loaded where it is vapourised. The vapours increase the dielectric strength and also provide cooling.

GIS is the trend, right upto 1200 kV

Environmental concerns, sealing problems and high cost of manufacture may restrict the growth of SF6 transformers

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CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES

Online Off-line --------x x x ---------Fields of application -----------------------------

Diagnostic methods &

Measuring Quantities Core & coil assly - Thermal faults and elect.discharges Winding hot-spots - loading capability x x x Dryness of insulation Healthiness of bushings

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Gas-in-oil analysis

Fibre optic sensors

embedded in wdg. For

hot-spot measurement

RVM, PDC, Tan Delta

C, Tan delta of

bushings
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CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES (CONTD.)

Online Off-line x x x Fields of application Core & coil assembly, ageing, incipient faults Core & coil assly. Winding displacement, x x x x x x x winding faults

Diagnostic methods &

Measuring Quantities

PD measurement

and location

Transfer function

PPM

Active part dryness Arcing and contact wear Winding displacement during transport, short circuit RLA
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OLTC monitoring

FRA,LV1,HV1

Furfural Content

TRANSFORMERS FOR TOMORROW

Power-former

High voltage Electric Generators employing XLPE cable are being developed upto 400 kV

First Power-former : a hydro machine rated at 11 MVA, 45 kV commissioned at the Porjus Hydro Power Centre in Northern Sweden in 1998.

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TRANSFORMERS FOR TOMORROW

DRYFORMER - LATEST BREAKTHROUGH First patent filed in February 1997 : 10 MVA, 52/17 kV First commercial installation in 1999 : 2 x 20 MVA, 140/6.6 kV at Birka Energis Lottefors Hydropower Station Result of marriage of high voltage cable technology and transformer technology It is oil free, dry type transformer which is a complement to, and an extension of existing range of conventional high voltage transformers using XLPE cable as winding conductors. Claimed advantages: positive environ-mental impact, enhanced safety, flexible placement, higher reliability; hence suitable for placement in densely populated urban areas and environmen39 tally sensitive areas

DRYFORMER (CONTD.)

Better short-circuit strength as windings are held in a place in

a cage like structure that provides both axial and radial

supports

Windings are self supported (not clamped from yoke / frame)

Mechanical behaviour of XLPE changes especially at high

temperatures (upper temperature limit 900C)

New dry type OLTC and new cable to air terminations are

under development

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HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPER CONDUCTING TRANSFORMERS (HTS)

TRANSFORMER FOR NEAR FUTURE (Next 5-10 Years)

Reduces energy losses by approx. 50%

Reduces weight and size as much as 50%

Elimination of oil

Used with non-flammable liquid N2 as a coolant and dielectric

About 100 compounds now classified as HTS, some of them becomes

super conducting at temperature as high as 1350C

Two important types : YBCO - Yttrium barium Copper Oxide BSCCO - Bismuth Strontium Calcium Copper Oxide
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HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPER CONDUCTING TRANSFORMERS (HTS)

Worlds First Operational HTS Distribution Transformer

630 kVA, 18.7 kV / 420 V Commissioned in Geneva, Switzerland in

March 97, using BSCCO-2223 PIT windings cooled in liquid N2.

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DISTINCT TRENDS AT THIS TIME

The continued interest and emphasis on improved reliability for

both transformers and accessories

Research and Development of condition monitoring techniques

to ensure trouble free service

Estimation of remnant life of transformers and accessories

Diagnostic methods for fault locations

Microprocessor based monitors

Electronic instrumentation for controls and protection

Future is for dry technology

- Dryformer
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- Dry bushings

- Dry static tapchangers

BUSINESS TRENDS AT THIS JUNCTURE

Business around aging population of transformers shall increase

- Consultation business to grow to help utilities plan for

replacement or refurbishment

- RLA will have good business potential

Upgrading will be a large business

- New windings and new insulating material can increase the

rating upto 50%

Site repair, site refurbishment, site dry out and site testing may

develop as good business

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BUSINESS TRENDS AT THIS JUNCTURE(CONTD.)

Trend towards specialisation and segmentaion to achieve high quality and stay competitive and concentrate on Niche Products

Focus on efficient and fast manufacturing.

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( TODAY )

TRANSFORMER INDUSTRY IS NOW

COMPLETELY GLOBALISED LIKE

AIRCRAFT OR AUTOMOBILE OR IT

INDUSTRYOF TODAY
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( TOMORROW )

TRANSFORMER WILL CONTINUE

TO SERVE MANKIND SELFLESSLY

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