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TABLE 2.4: TRANSFORMER FAILURE MODES, CAUSES, EFFECTS AND MAINTENANCE

ACTIVITIES
Failure mode (criticality) Components Failure cause Failure effect Cause corrosion of the various metals within the transformer, particularly the iron Breakdown of the oil resulting in carbon formation, sludge and insulation deterioration. Possible catastrophic failure, winding to winding or winding to tank Possible catastrophic failure/ personal safety Detection Maintenance Activity Oil degasification ; Oil filtering of non-pcb contaminated oil. Oil replacement Frqncy (typical data)

Oxidization of oil Insulation media (Transformer oil) Thermal decomposition of oil Contamination from moisture Solid insulation failure /moisture ingress /external contamination

Oil screen test

1 year

Insulation failure (high)

Bushing

Power factor of bushing / visual inspection DGA(Disso lved Gas Analysis)

Replacement, cleaning and greasing Oil degasification ; Oil filtering of non-pcb contaminated oil Check winding; remove foreign object or damaged material; repair or replace parts of insulation materials.

6 year

Insulation media

Turn to turn short

1 year

Fail to transform voltage (high)

Winding failure

Winding failure lightning; overload; short-circuit from foreign object or low strength dielectric

System instability. Loss of load and risk of cascading

Resistance test

1 year for test

Internal bolted/compre ssion Core External bushing connection Loss of sealing (High) Pressure relief device block (high) Conservator Insulation media (oil) Pressure relief device

Connection loose Shifted core High resistance Moisture ingress, oxidization, corrosion Gasket failure/weld fatigue Corrosion, moisture ingress

Vibration analysis Off line repair Thermogra gh inspection Possible catastrophic failure, low oil level alarm Visual inspection / signals of leaks External examination for oil leaks Sealing/ refilling Repair the blocked relief device

1 year for analysis

1 month On demand

Cannot release the pressure during internal fault

Visual inspection

6 year

15

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Table 2.4 (continued)

Winding overheat (Medium) Excessive overloading, failure of cooling system or temperature devices Thermogra gh inspection Thermogra ph alarm scan or cooling system operability test Threat to useful lifetime of transformer. Can cause outage. Affects capacity Vibration test External visual inspection Function test Grounding test Check the tightness of fastenings Power factor of surge arrester Inspection of cooling system. Winding temperature device test

Winding

Winding resistance increase. Damage of winding

6 year

Fans

Block, wrong direction, deterioration

Repair or replacement

6 years

Failure of cooling system (high)

Pumps

Block, wrong direction, deterioration External heat radiation restriction

Repair failed pumps Remove blocking items such as bird nets. Calibration

1 year for test 1 year for inspectio n 6 years

External heat radiation Temperature gauge and control circuit Earthing malfunctio n (medium) Looseness of fastenings (medium) Surge arrester fail to operate (medium) Sudden pressure relay trip fail to operate (high) Malfunctio n Breather system (medium) Malfunctio n Buchholz (medium) Neutral earthing

Failure to operate Earthing disconnected with the earth or resistance too large Looseness of fastenings

Induced circulating currents

Repair, replace

Connections and fastenings Surge protection facilities

Loss of sealing, mechanical strength, etc

Fastening

1-10 years

Moisture ingress/ aging

Possible internal damage to the transformer and bushing

Replacement

6 years

Sudden pressure relay trip

Subcomponent failure/ control circuit failure

Reenergize faulted transformer and destroy it/ personal safety

Functional test

Repair, replacement

6 years

Breather system

Block or cannot filtrate moisture or other contamination Wrong settings. Deterioration of age.

Oil deterioration, overheat

Visual inspection Commissio ning test

Remove the blocking items Repair, replace

6 months

Buchholz

Damage of facilities

6 years

16

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