TABLE 4.

2
Liquid-Immersed Transformer Tests
Test Classification
500 kVA .501 kVA
Tests Routine Design Other Routine Design Other

Resistance measurements
Of all windings on the rated voltage tap, and at tap extremes of the first
unit made on a new design
Ratio
Tests on the rated voltage connection and on all tap connections
Polarity and phase relation
Tests on the rated voltage connection Single-phase excitation Tests on the
rated voltage connection
No-load losses and excitation current
100% and 110% of rated voltage and at rated power frequency on the rated
voltage tap connection(s) at rated voltage on the rated voltage connection
Impedance voltage and load loss At rated current and rated frequency on
the rated voltage connection and at the tap extremes of the first unit of a
new design
Zero-phase-sequence impedance voltaje

between strands or parallel winding circuits, and they may be considered to

constitute winding eddy-current loss.
A short description of the purpose of these tests is presented in the
following paragraphs. For a definition of the other transformer tests see IEEE
Std C57.12.80-2002 [12].
1. Resistance measurement is, in the context of this chapter, of
fundamental importance for the calculation of the PR component of
conductor losses. Since conductor resistance depends on
temperature, a reference value is always required and corrections
should be included to account for conductor temperature deviation.
2. The (turns) ratio test is aimed at determining the actual ratio of the
number of turns in a higher voltage winding to that in a lower voltage
winding.
3. No-load losses are those losses that are due to the excitation of the
transformer; they include core loss, dielectric loss, conductor loss in
the winding due to excitation current, and conductor loss due to
circulating current in parallel windings. The main component is the
core loss in the transformer core, which is a function of the

magnitude, frequency, and waveform of the test voltage. No-load

losses change with the excitation voltage, vary with temperature, and
are particularly sensitive to waveform distortion. Several other factors
affect the no-load losses and current

Resistance measurements
Of all windings on the rated voltage tap, and at tap extremes of the first unit
made on a new design
Ratio
Tests on the rated voltage connection
Polarity and phase relation
Tests on the rated voltage connection
No-load losses and excitation current
At rated voltage on the rated voltage connection
Impedance voltage and load loss
At rated current and rated frequency on the rated voltage connection and
at the tap extremes of the first unit of a new design
Zero-phase-sequence impedance voltaje
of a transformer. The design-related factors include the type and thickness
of core steel, the core configuration, the geometry of core joints, and the
core flux density. Factors that cause differences in the no-load losses of
transformers of the same design include variability in characteristics of the
core steel, mechanical stresses induced in manufacturing, and variation in
the joints gaps.
Figure 4.3 shows the connections for no-load loss and excitation current
tests using the three-wattmeter method for a three-phase transformer.
4. Excitation (no-load) current is the current that flows in any winding used
to excite the transformer when all other windings are open-circuited. The
excitation current maintains the rated magnetic flux excitation in the core of
the transformer. The excitation current is usually expressed in per unit or in
percent of the rated line current of the winding in which it is measured.
Excitation current measurements are usually carried out simultaneously with
no-load loss tests. For a three-phase transformer, the excitation current is
calculated by taking the average of the magnitudes of the three line
currents.
5. The load losses of a transformer are those losses incident to a specified
load carried by the transformer. Load losses include PR loss in the windings
due to load current and stray losses due to eddy currents induced by
leakage flux in the windings, core clamps, magnetic shields, tank walls, and
other conducting parts. Stray losses may also be caused by circulating
currents in parallel windings or strands. Load losses are measured by

applying a short circuit across either the HV winding or the low-voltage (LV)
winding, and applying sufficient voltage across the other winding to cause a
specified current to flow in the windings. The power loss

Power source
Voltmeters should be connected line-to-neutral for Y-connected
winding,
or line-to-line for D-connected winding
Transformer under test
FIGURE 4.3 Connections for no-load loss and excitation current tests
(open circuit test) using the three-wattmeter method for a threephase transformer. (From IEEE Std. 07.1290-1999, IEEE Standard Test
Code for Liquid-Immersed Distribution, Power, and Regulating
Transformers; IEEE Std. C57.12.91-2001, IEEE Standard Test Code for
Dry-Type Distribution and Power Transformers. With permission.)
within the transformer under these conditions equals the load losses
of the transformer at the temperature of test for the specified load
current. Figure 4.4 shows the connections for load loss and
impedance voltage tests using three-wattmeter method for a threephase transformer.
6. The impedance voltage of a transformer is the voltage required to
circulate rated current through one of two specified windings when
the other winding is short-circuited, with the windings connected as
for rated-voltage operation. Impedance
Power source
Voltmeters can be connected line-to-neutral or line-to-line
Transformer under test
FIGURE 4.4 Connections for load loss and impedance voltage tests
(short circuit test) using three-wattmeter method for a three-phase
transformer. (From IEEE Std. C57.1290-1999, IEEE Standard Test Code
for Liquid-Immersed Distribution, Power, and Regulating Transformers;
IEEE Std. C571291-2001, IEEE Standard Test Code for Dry-Type
Distribution and Power Transformers. With permission.)
voltage is usually expressed in per unit, or percent, of the rated
voltage of the winding across which the voltage is applied and
measured. The impedance voltage is the phasor sum of its two
components: the resistive component, called the resistance drop,
which is in phase with the current and corresponds to the load losses;
the reactive component, called the reactance drop, which is in

quadrature with the current and corresponds to the leakage-flux

between the windings.
7. The zero-phase-sequence impedance characteristics of threephase transformers depend on the winding connections and in threephase transformers on the core construction. Zero-phase-sequence
impedance tests apply only to transformers having one or more
windings with a physical neutral brought out for external connection.
In all tests, one such winding shall be excited at rated frequency
between the neutral and the three line terminals connected together.
External connection of other windings shall be as described in
standards. Transformers with connections other than as described in
standards, must be tested as determined by those responsible for
design and application.
4.3.3 IEC Standards
The IEC standard for transformers is the Publication 60076, which is
divided into several parts, with a combination between technological
aspects and electrical ones, see [15-17]. For the determination of
transformer impedances, IEC Std 60076-81171 describes the tests to
be performed. The tests described in the IEC standards are very
similar to those of the IEEE standards. According to IEC Std 60076-1
[16), the tests are also classified into three groups: routine, type, and
special tests. Below, all standardized tests are listed, but only those
relevant to parameter determination are described with some details.
Routine tests include the following:
1. Measurement of winding resistance. Direct current shall be used for
all resistance measurements and care shall be taken that the effects
of self-induction are minimized. The resistance should be corrected
using the appropriate formula to the reference temperature.
2. Measurement of voltage ratio and check of phase displacement.
The voltage ratio shall be measured on each tap. The polarity of
single-phase transformers and the connection symbol of three-phase
transformers shall be checked.
3

Measurement of short circuit impedance and load loss. The short

circuit impedance and load loss for a pair of windings shall be
measured at rated frequency with approximately sinusoidal voltage
applied to the terminals of one winding, with the terminals of the
other winding short-circuited, and with possible other windings opencircuited. The measurements shall be performed quickly so that the
temperature rises do not cause significant errors. The difference in
temperature between the top oil and the bottom oil shall be small
enough to enable the mean temperature to be determined accurately.
The short circuit impedance is represented as reactance and ac
resistance in series. The impedance is corrected to reference
temperature assuming that the reactance is constant.
On a three-winding transformer, measurements are performed on the
three different two-winding combinations. The results are

recalculated, allocating impedances and losses to individual windings.

Total losses for specified loading cases involving all these windings
are determined accordingly.
4. Measurement of no-load loss and current. The no-load loss and the
no-load current shall be measured on one of the windings at rated
frequency and at a voltage corresponding to rated voltage. The
remaining winding or windings shall be left open-circuited and any
windings which can be connected in open delta shall have the delta
closed. The transformer shall be approximately at factory ambient
temperature. For a three-phase transformer the selection of the
winding and the connection to the test-power source shall be made to
provide, as far as possible, symmetrical and sinusoidal voltages
across the three wound limbs.
5. Dielectric routine tests.
6. Tests on under-load tap-changers, where appropriate.
The type tests are
1. Temperature-rise test.
2. Dielectric type tests.
The special tests are
1. Dielectric special tests.
2. Determination of capacitances windings-to-earth, and between
windings.
3. Determination of transient voltage transfer characteristics.
4. Measurement of zero-sequence impedance(s) on three-phase
transformers. The zero-sequence impedance is measured at rated
frequency between the line termi-nals of a star-connected or zigzagconnected winding connected together and its neutral terminaL In the
case of transformers having more than one star-connected winding
with neutral terminal, the zero-sequence impedance is dependent
upon the connection.
5. Short circuit withstand test.
6. Determination of sound levels.
7. Measurement of the harmonics of the no-load current.
8. Measurement of the power taken by the fan and oil pump motors.
9. Measurement of insulation resistance to earth of the windings,
and/or measure-ment of dissipation factor (tan 81 of the insulationsystem capacitances.
4.4 Parameter Determination for Low-Frequency and Switching
Transients
3.4.1 Introduction
There are two basic methodologies to determine transformer
parameters for low-frequency transients: