4th International Conference on Power Engineering, Energy and Electrical Drives

Istanbul, Turkey, 13-17 May 2013

Developmeent of Condition Evaluuation

for Powerr Transformer Maintenaance
J. Haema

R. Phaadungthin

Department of Electrical Engineering Technology

T
College of Industrial Technologgy
King Mongkuts University of Technology North
N
Bangkok
Bangkok, THAILAND
jhm.kmutnb@gmail.com

Department of Electroniics Engineering Technology

College of Induustrial Technology
King Mongkuts University of Technology North Bangkok
Bangkok, THAILAND
rpt.kmutnbb@gmail.com

AbstractThe development of condition evaaluation for power

transformer maintenance are presented in
n this paper. The
techniques consist of three types: electrical testt, insulating oil test
and visual inspection, which is considered byy 21 test methods:
Dissolved Gas Analysis, Load History, Poweer Factor, Thermo
Scan, Oil Quality, Furan, General Conditioon, Bushing, Surge
Arrester, Conservator Tank, Main Tank, Hot Line Oil Filter,
Radiator and Cooling System, Transformerr Control Cabinet,
Neutral Ground Reactor (NGR), Protection Equipment,
C Control Cabinet,
Regulating PT, OLTC Compartment, OLTC
DGA of OLTC, and OLTC Oil Quality. The coondition assessment
for transformer is performed by the analysiis of each method,
indicated by scoring and weighting factor of
o each tests. This
method with further development could be used to effectively
plan the maintenance of power transformer.

Therefore, this paper propooses the appropriate diagnostic

techniques to development of condition evaluation for power
transformer maintenance [2]-[3]. The work is separated into
three types of test to determine the health of power transformer,
which are electrical test, innsulating oil test and visual
inspection as well as display inn Fig. 2.
P
O
W
E
R
T
R
A
N
S
F
O
R
M
E
R

Keywords-power transformer condition, heaalth index of power

transformer, power transformer maintenance.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, Power transformer an expeensive and one of

important equipment in power system, playss a significant role
in the transmission and distribution networkk. Its functions are
to transfer an electrical power, step up and step down voltage
levels to an appropriate use with connected equipment in each
side. In the CIGRE survey about failures of power
p
transformer
[1], it shows that 40% of failures happen with tap changer.
Then 35% of failures occur with internaal components as
winding and magnetic core, whereas other failures
f
take place
on bushing, tank, and accessories as shown inn Fig. 1.

Figure 1. Percentage of failures in power transformer

t

978-1-4673-6392-1/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE

POWERENG 2013

M
A
I
N
T
E
N
A
N
C
E

Eleectrical Test

Power factor test

Insulating Oil Test

Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA)

Furfural

Oil Quality
Visu
ual Inspection

Load History

Thermo Scan

General Condition

Bushing

Surge Arrester

Conservator Tank

Main Tank

Hot Line Oil Filter

Radiator and Cooling System

Transformer Control Cabinet

Neutral Ground Reactor

Protection Equipment

Figure 2. Percentage of faailures in power transformer

II.

METHODS TO CONDITTION EVAUATION FOR POWER

TRANSFORMER
R MAINTENANCE

In this section, this purpose of this paper is to estimate

overall condition of transform
mer. Testing of 21 methods are
considered: Dissolved Gas Analysis,
A
Load History, Power
Factor, Thermo Scan, Oil Quaality, Furan, General Condition,
Bushing, Surge Arrester, Consservator Tank, Main Tank, Hot
Line Oil Filter, Radiator and Cooling System, Transformer
Control Cabinet, Neutral Grouund Reactor (NGR), Protection
Equipment, Regulating PT, OLTC Compartment, OLTC
Control Cabinet, DGA of OLT
TC, and OLTC Oil Quality. It is
separated into three types of teesting to determine the health of
power transformer as follows:

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4th International Conference on Power Engineering, Energy and Electrical Drives

A. Electrical test
Electrical test is used to inspect the condition of winding,
which is insulation power factor test. This method detects the
insulation integrity of winding and determines a power factor
of overall insulation including winding and bushing. Then, it is
a measure of the ratio of the power (I2R) losses to the voltamperes applied during the test [4].
The power factor is from the measured values of watts lost
in the total transformer insulation system including the
bushings. The power factor should not exceed 0.5% at 20 C.
The equation to find the percentage of power factor is
expressed in Eq. (1).
P
(1)
%PF = x100
VI
The limit of such a power factor should not exceed 0.5 at
20C, the limits of power factor are displays in Table I.

Istanbul, Turkey, 13-17 May 2013

order to do maintenance before critical problems occur. The

HIF result of DGA can be then used for calculating overall
condition.
TABLE II.

SCORING AND WEIGHTING FACTOR FOR DGA MAIN TANK [5]

Score (Si)

Gas

1
Good

6
Poor

Wi
(1-5)

H2

100

101-200

201-300

301-500

501-700

>700

CH4

75

76-125

126-200

201-400

401-600

>600

C2H6

65

66-80

81-100

101-120

121-150

> 150

C2H4

50

51-80

81-100

101-150

151-200

>200

C2H2

4-7

8-35

36-50

51-80

> 80

CO

350

351-700

701-900

901-1100

1100-1400

> 1400

CO2

2500

3000

4000

5000

6000

> 7000

TABLE III.

HIF COMPARISON WITH % DGAF

HI Factor

Condition

Description

Color Band

LIMIT OF POWER FACTOR

Good

DGAF 20%

Green

Condition

Limit of power factor, %PF at 20C

Acceptable

21% DGAF 30%

Blue

Good

%PF < 0.5

Need Caution

31% DGAF 40%

Yellow

TABLE I.

Acceptable

0.5 %PF < 0.6

Poor

41% DGAF 50%

Orange

Need Caution

0.6 %PF < 0.8

Very Poor

DGAF 51%

Red

Poor

0.8 %PF < 0.9

Very Poor

%PF 1

B. Insulating Oil test

Insulating oil test is performed to inspect the condition of
insulating oil [4]. The evaluation of oil integrity consists of
three:

b) DGA of oil in OLTC component

Table IV presents the limit value of scoring and weighting
factor for DGA of oil in OLTC [6]. The score is classified into
six levels. The scoring and weighting factor are calculated to
get percent DGA factor (%DGATF) as Eq. (3). The HIF of
%DGATF shows in Table V.
i =n

(S xW )

1) Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA): DGA test has been

used as a tool in determining the condition of a transformer. It
indicates several problems and can identify the deterioration
of insulating oil. This analysis is separated into two kinds as:
a) DGA of oil in main tank
Table II presents the limit value of scoring and weighting
factor for DGA of oil in main tank. The score is classified into
six levels: one means good condition and six means poor. The
lower number of weighting factor implies less important than
upper number. The scoring and weighting factor are calculated
to get percent DGA factor (%DGAF) as written in Eq. (2).
i = CO2

(S xW )
i

(%) DGAF =

i= H 2
i = CO2

(S

x100
max i

(2)

The health index factor (HIF) of DGA can be achieved

subsequently for each %factor (%DGAF) as displayed in Table
III. The HIF has ranking codes as 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Code 0
means very poor condition as shown with red color while 4
represents good condition with green color. The %factor is first
set up as a model, and then be rearranged to match the suitable
condition. In addition, the setting concerns safety margin in

i =1

i =n

(S

(3)

x100
max i xWi )

i =1

TABLE IV.

SCORING AND WEIGHTING FACTOR FOR DGA OLTC

Score (Si)

Gas

1
Good

6
Poor

Wi
(1-5)

< 0.5

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

0.5

Ratio2:
(CH4+C2H6+C2H4)/(C2H2)

<2.0

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2.0

Ratio3:
(C2H4/C2H2)

<1.0

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1.0

Ratio1:
(CH4+C2H6+C2H4)/
(H2+CH4+C2H2+C2H6)

xWi )

i=H2

POWERENG 2013

(%)DGATF =

TABLE V.

HIF COMPARISON WITH % DGATF

HI Factor

Condition

Description

Color Band

Good

DGATF 25%

Green

Acceptable

26% DGATF 40%

Blue

Need Caution

41% DGATF 60%

Yellow

Poor

61% DGATF 80%

Orange

Very Poor

DGATF 81%

Red

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4th International Conference on Power Engineering, Energy and Electrical Drives

2) Furfural: The analysis of furan is especially the

decaying of paper insulation in transformer oil. This test is
additionally performed, which the transformer has a high level
of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which cause overheat
problem.
Furan is a method to determine the condition of paper
insulation inside transformer. Measuring the furfural content
of the oil pays attention to 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL), presented
limit are indicated in Table VI.

Istanbul, Turkey, 13-17 May 2013

b) Quality of oil in OLTC compartment

Oil quality testing is performed to check the general
condition of insulating oil by considering three testing:
dielectric strength, water content and color. Show in Table
VII. The scoring and weighting factor are calculated to get
percent oil quality factor (%TOQF) from Eq. (5), presented
limit are indicated in Table VIII.
i = Color

(S xW )
i

TABLE VI.
HI Factor
4
3
2
1
0

(%)TOQF =

HIF COMPARISON WITH TO 2-FURALDEHYDE (2-FAL)

Condition
Good
Acceptable
Need Caution
Poor
Very Poor

Description
2-FAL < 0.5
0.5 2-FAL 1
1.1 2-FAL 1.5
1.6 2-FAL 2
2-FAL 2.1

Color Band
Green
Blue
Yellow
Orange
Red

3) Oil Quality: Oil quality testing is performed to check

the general condition of insulating oil. The analysis is divided
into two ways as below:
a) Quality of oil in main tank
Oil quality testing is performed to check the general
condition of insulating oil. The evaluation of oil quality is
performed by considering five testing: Dielectric Strength,
Interfacial Tension (IFT), Neutralization Number (NN) or
Acidity, Water Content and Color. Show in Table VII. The
scoring and weighting factor are calculated to get percent oil
quality factor (%OQF) from Eq. (4), shown limit are indicated
in Table VII.
i =Color

(S xW )
i

(%)OQF =

i = BD
i =Color

(S

(4)

x100

TABLE VII.

SCORING AND WEIGHTING FACTOR FOR OIL QUALITY [7]

Testing
Dielectric
Strength ASTM
D1816 Gap
1mm
IFT

NN (Acidity)

Water Content
(ppm)

Color

POWERENG 2013

U 69kV
> 46
44-46
42-44
< 42
32
27-32
22-27
22
0.05
0.05-0.1
0.1-0.2
0.2
25
25-30
30-35
> 35

Oil Quality
69kV < U
U
<230kV
230kV
> 53
51-53
49-51
< 49
> 40
32-40
25-32
25
0.04
0.04-0.1
0.1-0.15
0.15
15
15-20
20-25
> 25
1.5
1.5-2.0
2.0-2.5
2.5

> 56
54-56
52-54
< 52
> 40
32-40
25-32
25
0.03
0.03-0.07
0.07-0.1
0.1
10
10-15
15-20
> 20

Score
1=Good
2
3
4= Poor
1=Good
2
3
4= Poor
1=Good
2
3
4= Poor
1=Good
2
3
4= Poor
1=Good
2
3
4=Poor

Wi
3

(5)

x100

( S max i xWi )

i = BD

TABLE VIII.

SCORING AND WEIGHTING FACTOR FOR OIL QUALITY

HI Factor

Condition

Description

Color Band

Good

OQF/TOQF 25%

Green

Acceptable

26% OQF/TOQF 40%

Blue

Need Caution

41% OQF/TOQF 60%

Yellow

Poor

61% OQF/TOQF 80%

Orange

Very Poor

OQF/TOQF 81%

Red

C. Visual Inspection
Visual Inspection provides mostly an external inspection on
a weekly or monthly basis. It checks Load History, Thermo
Scan, General Condition, Bushing, Surge Arrester, Conservator
Tank, Main Tank, Hot Line Oil Filter, Radiator and Cooling
System, Transformer Control Cabinet, Neutral Ground Reactor
(NGR), Protection Equipment and Regulating PT [8].
Hence, Visual inspection of the transformer exterior reveals
important condition information. The method requires
knowledge and experience of operation personnel.
III.

max i xWi )

i = BD

i = BD
i = Color

ANALYSIS AND TEST RESULT

The condition assessment for transformer is performed by

analyzing each condition of such 21 testing, as shown in Table
IX. First of all, scoring and weighting factor are summarized to
get the %factor of each method. The HIF can be obtained
subsequently by comparing with %factor. Next, the
transformer health, denoted as %Health Index (%HI), is
computed. The overall condition of the transformer is
determined from the known %HI, as shown in Table X. The HI
value is grouped from very good to very poor. By this
means, the %HI result of overall condition is used to identify
the actual condition transformer.
Overall condition of the transformer known as health index
in percentage (%HI) is calculated by substituting several
parameters as shown in Eq. (6).
j =17
j = 21

( K j xHIF j )
( K j xHIF j )

j =1
j =18
(%) HI = 0.6 j =17
+ 0.4 j =21
x100

(
HIF
xK
)
(
4
xK
)

max
j
j
j =1
j =18

(6)

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4th International Conference on Power Engineering, Energy and Electrical Drives

TABLE IX.

TEST METHODS AND FACTOR FOR EVALUATING THE

OVERALL TRANSFORMER CONDITIO
ON

No

Transformer condition Criteria

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA)

Load History
Power Factor
Thermo Scan
Oil Quality
Furan
General Condition
Bushing
Surge Arrester
Conservator Tank
Main Tank
Hot Line Oil Filter
Radiator and Cooling System
Transformer Control Cabinet
Neutral Ground Reactor (NGR)
Protection Equipment
Regulating PT
OLTC Compartment
OLTC Control Cabinet
DGA of OLTC
OLTC Oil Quality

10
10
10
10
8
6
1
5
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
3

TABLE X.

Istanbul, Turkey, 13-17 May 2013

HIF (4=Good,0=Poor)
(

%HI = 0.6

%HI = 0.4

( HIFmax xK j )

j =1

j =17

(K

j xHIF j )

j =1
j =17

j = 21

( K xHIF )
j

j =18
j = 21

(4 xK
j =18

j)

HEALTH INDEX FOR OVERALL CONDITTION OF TRANSFORMER

%HI

Condition

86-100
71-85

Figure 4. Relationship of Overalll Condition and Number in Service

Requirement

Color Band

Very Good

Normal Maintenancce

Green

Good

Normal Maintenancce

Blue

51-70

Fair

Yellow

31-50

Poor

0-30

Very Poor

Increase Diagnostic Teesting

Start Planning Process to Replace
or Rebuild Consideringg Risk
Immediately Assess Risk
R

Orange
Red

In this case, overall conditions of nine trransformers are in

very good condition, while three units are in
i good condition.
The rests are in fair and very poor conditionns with seven and
one unit, respectively. Furthermore, the decreeasing health index
with respect to the age of transformers with eight different
manufacturers is shown in Fig. 3. Moreoverr, the Fig. 4 shows
relationship of overall condition and number in service.

CONCLLUSION
In this paper, the results shoow that the overall conditions of
115/22kV, 50 MVA several transformers. The deteriorated
transformer by means of this annalysis can be, carefully focused
for the appropriate mainntenance as condition-based
maintenance before severe dam
mage occurs. Then, the historical
test results will be studied and
a
analyzed to determine the
deterioration trend of poower transformer condition.
Subsequently, weighting and sccoring of each diagnostic test are
assigned in order to use inn power transformer condition
evaluation. This analysis and assessment
a
are reliable and can
be subsequently implemented too the real work.
Furthermore, the methodoloogy in this work can be applied
to apply to other equipments in the power system for better
efficiency and reliability of elecctrical power system.
ACKNOWLLEDGMENT
Special thank to Prof. Dr..-ing Thanapong Suwanasri for
helping and valuable suggestion. In addition, the authors
gratefully acknowledge Kinng Mongkuts University of
Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) and Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailland (EGAT) for providing the
data and support for this work.
RENCES
REFER
[1]
[2]

[3]

[4]
[5]
[6]

[7]

[8]

CIGRE Working Group 12.05, An international survey on failure in

large power transformer in servicce, Electra, no.88, May 1983.
T.suwanasri, J. Haema, R. Phaadungthin, C. Suwanasri, Diagnostic
Techniques to Evaluate Internal Condition of Power transformer,
ECIT-CON 2009, Pattaya, Thailaand, 6-9 May, 2009.
Brian Sparling, SMIEEE, Jacquees, Determination of Health Index for
Aging Transformer in View of Substation Asset Optimization, CMD
2010, Tokyo, Japan, Sep 6-11, 20010.
FIST Volume 3-30, Transformer Maintenance, October 2000.
FIST Volume 3-31, Transformer Diagnostics, June 2003.
J. Haema, R. Phadungthin, Conddition Evaluation of Power Transformer
Load Tap Changer via Web Appplication, MDEATED 2012, Pattaya,
Thailand, March 6-8, 2012.
wer Transformer Condition Evaluation
J. Haema, R. Phadungthin, Pow
by the Analysis of DGA methoods, APPEEC 2012, Shanghai, China,
March 26-28, 2012.
J. Haema, R. Phadungthin, Conndition Assessment of the Health Index
for Power Transformer, PEAM 2012, Wuhan, China, Sep 14-16, 2012

Figure 3. Overall condition of 115/22 kV

V 50MVA

POWERENG 2013

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