TRANSFORMER AND

TRANSFORMER FEEDER
PROTECTION
Chapter 16
TRANSFORMER AND TRANSFORMER
FEEDER PROTECTION

16.1 Introduction 16.1 INTRODUCTION

16.2 Winding Faults The development of modern power systems has been reflected
16.3 Magnetising Inrush in the advances in transformer design. This has resulted in a
wide range of transformers with sizes ranging from a few kVA
16.4 Transformer Overheating to several hundred MVA being available for use in a wide variety
16.5 Transformer Protection – Overview of applications.

16.6 Transformer Overcurrent Protection The considerations for a transformer protection package
vary with the application and importance of the trans-
16.7 Restricted Earth Fault Protection former. To reduce the effects of thermal stress and electro-
16.8 Differential Protection dynamic forces, it is advisable to ensure that the protection
package used minimises the time for disconnection in the
16.9 Differential Protection Stabilisation During event of a fault occurring within the transformer. Small distri-
Magnetising Inrush Conditions bution transformers can be protected satisfactorily, from both
16.10 Combined Differential and Restricted technical and economic considerations, by the use of fuses or
overcurrent relays. This results in time-delayed protection due
Earth Fault Schemes
to downstream co-ordination requirements. However, time-de-
16.11 Earthing Transformer Protection layed fault clearance is unacceptable on larger power trans-
16.12 Autotransformer Protection formers used in distribution, transmission and generator appli-
cations, due to system operation/stability and cost of repair/
16.13 Overfluxing Protection length of outage considerations.
16.14 Tank-Earth Protection Transformer faults are generally classified into five categories:
16.15 Oil and Gas Devices .. winding and terminal faults
16.16 Transformer-Feeder Protection .. core faults
16.17 Intertripping .. tank and transformer accessory faults
16.18 Examples of Transformer Protection .. on–load tap changer faults
16.19 Transformer Asset Management .. abnormal operating conditions
.. sustained or uncleared external faults
For faults originating in the transformer itself, the approximate
proportion of faults due to each of the causes listed above is
shown in Figure 16.1.
Winding and
Terminal
Core
Tank and
Accessories
OLTC

Figure 16.1: Transformer fault statistics

16.2 WINDING FAULTS

A fault on a transformer winding is controlled in magnitude by
the following factors:

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

 source impedance 16.2.2 Star-Connected Winding with Neutral Point

 neutral earthing impedance Solidly Earthed
 transformer leakage reactance The fault current is controlled mainly by the leakage reactance
 fault voltage of the winding, which varies in a complex manner with the
position of the fault. The variable fault point voltage is also an
 winding connection
important factor, as in the case of impedance earthing. For
Several distinct cases arise and are examined below. faults close to the neutral end of the winding, the reactance is
very low, and results in the highest fault currents. The
16.2.1 Star-Connected Winding with Neutral Point variation of current with fault position is shown in Figure 16.3.
Earthed Through an Impedance 20
The winding earth fault current depends on the earthing
impedance value and is also proportional to the distance of the
fault from the neutral point, since the fault voltage will be
15
directly proportional to this distance.

Current (per unit)

Fault current
For a fault on a transformer secondary winding, the
corresponding primary current will depend on the
10
transformation ratio between the primary winding and the
short-circuited secondary turns. This also varies with the
position of the fault, so that the fault current in the transformer
primary winding is proportional to the square of the fraction of 5
the winding that is short-circuited. The effect is shown in
Figure 16.2. Faults in the lower third of the winding produce Primary current

very little current in the primary winding, making fault

detection by primary current measurement difficult. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Distance of fault from neutral

100
Percentage of respective maximum

(percentage of winding)
90
Single-Phase Earth fault current

Fault current
80 (IF)
70 For secondary winding faults, the primary winding fault
60
current is determined by the variable transformation ratio; as
the secondary fault current magnitude stays high throughout
50
the winding, the primary fault current is large for most points
40
along the winding.
30
20
Primary Current 16.2.3 Delta-Connected Winding
10 (Ip)
No part of a delta-connected winding operates with a voltage
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 to earth of less than 50% of the phase voltage. The range of
Distance of fault from Neutral fault current magnitude is therefore less than for a star
(percentage of winding) winding. The actual value of fault current will still depend on
the method of system earthing; it should also be remembered
that the impedance of a delta winding is particularly high to
fault currents flowing to a centrally placed fault on one leg.
The impedance can be expected to be between 25% and 50%,
based on the transformer rating, regardless of the normal
Ip
balanced through-current impedance. As the prefault voltage
to earth at this point is half the normal phase voltage, the
IF earth fault current may be no more than the rated current, or
even less than this value if the source or system earthing
impedance is appreciable. The current will flow to the fault
from each side through the two half windings, and will be

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

divided between two phases of the system. The individual 100 10

phase currents may therefore be relatively low, resulting in
difficulties in providing protection. Fault current in

Primary current (multiples of rated current)

80 short circuited turns 8

Fault current (multiples of rated current)

16.2.4 Phase to Phase Faults
Faults between phases within a transformer are relatively rare; 60 6
if such a fault does occur it will give rise to a substantial Primary input
current comparable to the earth fault currents discussed in current

Section 16.2.2. 40 4

16.2.5 Interturn Faults

20 2
In low voltage transformers, interturn insulation breakdown is
unlikely to occur unless the mechanical force on the winding
due to external short circuits has caused insulation
0 5 10 15 20 25
degradation, or insulating oil (if used) has become Turns short-circuited (percentage of winding)
contaminated by moisture.
A high voltage transformer connected to an overhead The additional core loss, although causing severe local heating,
transmission system will be subjected to steep fronted impulse does not produce a noticeable change in input current and
voltages, arising from lightning strikes, faults and switching could not be detected by the normal electrical protection.
operations. A line surge, which may be of several times the However it is important that the condition is detected before a
rated system voltage, will concentrate on the end turns of the major fault has been created. In an oil-immersed transformer,
winding because of the high equivalent frequency of the surge core heating sufficient to cause winding insulation damage
front. Part-winding resonance, involving voltages up to 20 also causes breakdown of some of the oil with an
times rated voltage may occur. The interturn insulation of the accompanying evolution of gas. This gas escapes to the
end turns is reinforced, but cannot be increased in proportion conservator and is used to operate a mechanical relay; see
to the insulation to earth, which is relatively great. Partial Section 16.15.3.
winding flashover is therefore more likely. The subsequent
progress of the fault, if not detected in the earliest stage, may 16.2.7 Tank Faults
well destroy the evidence of the true cause.
Loss of oil through tank leaks ultimately produces a dangerous
A short circuit of a few turns of the winding will give rise to a condition, either because of a reduction in winding insulation
heavy fault current in the short-circuited loop, but the terminal or because of overheating on load due to the loss of cooling.
currents will be very small, because of the high ratio of
Overheating may also occur due to prolonged overloading,
transformation between the whole winding and the short-
blocked cooling ducts due to oil sludging or failure of the forced
circuited turns.
cooling system, if fitted.
The graph in Figure 16.4 shows the corresponding data for a
typical transformer of 3.25% impedance with the short- 16.2.8 Externally Applied Conditions
circuited turns symmetrically located in the centre of the Sources of abnormal stress in a transformer are:
winding.
 overload
16.2.6 Core Faults  system faults
A conducting bridge across the laminated structures of the  overvoltage
core can permit sufficient eddy-current to flow to cause serious  reduced system frequency
overheating. The bolts that clamp the core together are
always insulated to avoid this trouble. If any portion of the 16.2.8.1 Overload
core insulation becomes defective, the resultant heating may
Overload causes increased 'copper loss' and a consequent
reach a magnitude sufficient to damage the winding.
temperature rise. Overloads can be carried for limited periods
and recommendations for oil-immersed transformers are given
in IEC 60354.

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

The thermal time constant of naturally cooled transformers lies 16.2.8.4 Reduced system frequency
between 2.5-5 hours. Shorter time constants apply in the case Reduction of system frequency has an effect with regard to flux
of force-cooled transformers. density, similar to that of overvoltage.

16.2.8.2 System faults It follows that a transformer can operate with some degree of
overvoltage with a corresponding increase in frequency, but
System short circuits produce a relatively intense rate of
operation must not be continued with a high voltage input at a
heating of the feeding transformers, the copper loss increasing
low frequency. Operation cannot be sustained when the ratio
in proportion to the square of the per unit fault current. The
of voltage to frequency, with these quantities given values in
typical duration of external short circuits that a transformer
per unit of their rated values, exceeds unity by more than a
can sustain without damage if the current is limited only by
small amount, for instance if V/f >1.1. If a substantial rise in
the self-reactance is shown in Table 16.1. IEC 60076 provides
system voltage has been catered for in the design, the base of
further guidance on short-circuit withstand levels.
'unit voltage' should be taken as the highest voltage for which
Transformer Reactance Fault Current Permitted Fault the transformer is designed.
(%) (Multiple of Rating) Duration (seconds)
4 25 2 16.3 MAGNETISING INRUSH
5 20 2 The phenomenon of magnetising inrush is a transient
6 16.6 2 condition that occurs primarily when a transformer is
7 14.2 2 energised. It is not a fault condition, and therefore transformer
protection must remain stable during the inrush transient.
Maximum mechanical stress on windings occurs during the Figure 16.5(a) shows a transformer magnetising
first cycle of the fault. Avoidance of damage is a matter of characteristic. To minimise material costs, weight and size,
transformer design. transformers are generally operated near to the ‘knee point’ of
the magnetising characteristic. Consequently, only a small
16.2.8.3 Overvoltages increase in core flux above normal operating levels will result in
Overvoltage conditions are of two kinds: a high magnetising current.

 transient surge voltages Under normal steady-state conditions, the magnetising current
associated with the operating flux level is relatively small
 power frequency overvoltage
(Figure 16.5(b)). However, if a transformer winding is
Transient overvoltages arise from faults, switching, and energised at a voltage zero, with no remanent flux, the flux
lightning disturbances and are liable to cause interturn faults, level during the first voltage cycle (2 x normal flux) will result
as described in Section 16.2.5. These overvoltages are usually in core saturation and a high non-sinusoidal magnetising
limited by shunting the high voltage terminals to earth either current waveform – see Figure 16.5(c). This current is
with a plain rod gap or by surge diverters, which comprise a referred to as magnetising inrush current and may persist for
stack of short gaps in series with a non-linear resistor. The several cycles.
surge diverter, in contrast to the rod gap, has the advantage of
Several factors affect the magnitude and duration of the
extinguishing the flow of power current after discharging a
magnetising current inrush:
surge, in this way avoiding subsequent isolation of the
transformer.  residual flux – worst-case conditions result in the flux
peak value attaining 280% of normal value
Power frequency overvoltage causes both an increase in stress
on the insulation and a proportionate increase in the working  point on wave switching
flux. The latter effect causes an increase in the iron loss and a  number of banked transformers
disproportionately large increase in magnetising current. In  transformer design and rating
addition, flux is diverted from the laminated core into
structural steel parts. The core bolts, which normally carry  system fault level
little flux, may be subjected to a large flux diverted from the
highly saturated region of core alongside. This leads to a rapid
temperature rise in the bolts, destroying their insulation and
damaging coil insulation if the condition continues.

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

following negative half cycle of the voltage wave reduces the

Flux
Normal peak flux
flux to the starting value, the current falling symmetrically to
zero. The current wave is therefore fully offset and is only
restored to the steady state condition by the circuit losses. The
Magnetising time constant of the transient has a range between 0.1 second
current
(for a 100kVA transformer) to 1.0 second (for a large unit). As
the magnetising characteristic is non-linear, the envelope of
the transient current is not strictly of exponential form; the
(a) Typical magnetising characteristic magnetising current can be observed to be still changing up to
30 minutes after switching on.
Transient flux
80% residual at Although correct choice of the point on the wave for a single–
switching
phase transformer will result in no transient inrush, mutual
Transient flux effects ensure that a transient inrush occurs in all phases for
no residual
Voltage and flux

three-phase transformers.
at switching

Steady-state 16.3.1 Harmonic Content of Inrush Waveform

flux
The waveform of transformer magnetising current contains a
Voltage proportion of harmonics that increases as the peak flux density
Time is raised to the saturating condition. The magnetising current
of a transformer contains a third harmonic and progressively
smaller amounts of fifth and higher harmonics. If the degree
of saturation is progressively increased, not only will the
(b) Steady and maximum offset fluxes
harmonic content increase as a whole, but the relative
proportion of fifth harmonic will increase and eventually
Slow Decrement exceed the third harmonic. At a still higher level the seventh
would overtake the fifth harmonic but this involves a degree of
saturation that will not be experienced with power
Zero
transformers.
axis
(c) Typical inrush current The energising conditions that result in an offset inrush current
produce a waveform that is asymmetrical. Such a wave
typically contains both even and odd harmonics. Typical
inrush currents contain substantial amounts of second and
Zero
axis third harmonics and diminishing amounts of higher orders. As
with the steady state wave, the proportion of harmonics varies
with the degree of saturation, so that as a severe inrush
(d) Inrush without offset, due to yoke saturation transient decays, the harmonic makeup of the current passes
through a range of conditions.

The very high flux densities quoted above are so far beyond the 16.4 TRANSFORMER OVERHEATING
normal working range that the incremental relative
The rating of a transformer is based on the temperature rise
permeability of the core approximates to unity and the
above an assumed maximum ambient temperature; under this
inductance of the winding falls to a value near that of the 'air-
condition no sustained overload is usually permissible. At a
cored' inductance. The current wave, starting from zero,
lower ambient temperature some degree of sustained overload
increases slowly at first, the flux having a value just above the
can be safely applied. Short-term overloads are also
residual value and the permeability of the core being
permissible to an extent dependent on the previous loading
moderately high. As the flux passes the normal working value
conditions. IEC 60354 provides guidance in this respect.
and enters the highly saturated portion of the magnetising
characteristic, the inductance falls and the current rises rapidly The only certain statement is that the winding must not
to a peak that may be 500% of the steady state magnetising overheat; a temperature of about 95°C is considered to be the
current. When the peak is passed at the next voltage zero, the normal maximum working value beyond which a further rise of

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

8°- 10°C, if sustained, will halve the insulation life of the unit. The fuse must have a rating well above the maximum
transformer load current to withstand the short duration
Protection against overload is therefore based on winding
overloads that may occur. Also, the fuses must withstand the
temperature, which is usually measured by a thermal
magnetising inrush currents drawn when power transformers
modelling technique. Protection is arranged to trip the
are energised. High Rupturing Capacity (HRC) fuses, although
transformer if excessive temperature is reached. The trip
very fast in operation with large fault currents, are extremely
signal is usually routed via a digital input of a protection relay
slow with currents of less than three times their rated value. It
on one side of the transformer, with both alarm and trip
follows that such fuses will do little to protect the transformer,
facilities made available through programmable logic in the
serving only to protect the system by disconnecting a faulty
relay. Intertripping between the relays on the two sides of the
transformer after the fault has reached an advanced stage.
transformer is usually applied to ensure total disconnection of
the transformer. Table 16.3 shows typical ratings of fuses for use with 11kV
transformers
Winding temperature protection may be included as a part of a
complete monitoring package. See Section 16.18 for more details. Transformer Rating Fuse
Full Load Current Rated Current Operating Time at 3 x
16.5 TRANSFORMER PROTECTION – kVA
(A) (A) Rating (s)
OVERVIEW 100 5.25 16 3.0
The problems relating to transformers described in Section 200 10.5 25 3.0
16.4 require some means of protection. Table 16.2 315 15.8 36 10.0
summarises the problems and the possible forms of protection 500 26.2 50 20.0
that may be used. The following sections provide more detail 1000 52.5 90 30.0
on the individual protection methods. It is normal for a
modern relay to provide all of the required protection functions
This table should be taken only as a typical example;
in a single package, in contrast to electromechanical types that
considerable differences exist in the time characteristics of
would require several relays complete with interconnections
different types of HRC fuses. Furthermore grading with
and higher overall CT burdens.
protection on the secondary side has not been considered.
Fault Type Protection Used
Primary winding Phase-phase fault Differential; Overcurrent 16.6.2 Overcurrent Relays
Primary winding Phase-earth fault Differential; Overcurrent With the advent of ring main units incorporating SF6 circuit
Secondary winding Phase-phase fault Differential breakers and isolators, protection of distribution transformers
Secondary winding Phase-earth fault Differential; Restricted Earth Fault can now be provided by overcurrent trips (e.g. tripping
Interturn Fault Differential, Buchholz controlled by time limit fuses connected across the secondary
Core Fault Differential, Buchholz windings of in-built current transformers) or by relays
Tank Fault Differential, Buchholz; Tank-Earth
connected to current transformers located on the transformer
primary side. Overcurrent relays are also used on larger
Overfluxing Overfluxing
transformers provided with standard circuit breaker control.
Overheating Thermal
Improvement in protection is obtained in two ways; the
excessive delays of the HRC fuse for lower fault currents are
avoided and an earth-fault tripping element is provided in
16.6 TRANSFORMER OVERCURRENT
addition to the overcurrent feature.
PROTECTION
Fuses may adequately protect small transformers, but larger The time delay characteristic should be chosen to discriminate
ones require overcurrent protection using a relay and CB, as with circuit protection on the secondary side. A high-set
instantaneous relay element is often provided, the current
fuses do not have the required fault breaking capacity.
setting being chosen to avoid operation for a secondary short
16.6.1 Fuses circuit. This enables high-speed clearance of primary terminal
short circuits.
Fuses commonly protect small distribution transformers
typically up to ratings of 1MVA at distribution voltages. In
many cases no circuit breaker is provided, making fuse
protection the only available means of automatic isolation.

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

16.7 RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT PROTECTION Earth fault protection applied to a delta-connected or
Conventional earth fault protection using overcurrent elements unearthed star winding is inherently restricted, since no zero
fails to provide adequate protection for transformer windings. sequence components can be transmitted through the
This applies particularly to a star-connected winding with an transformer to the other windings.
impedance-earthed neutral, as discussed in Section 16.2.1. Both windings of a transformer can be protected separately
The degree of protection is very much improved by the with restricted earth fault protection, thereby providing high-
application of restricted earth fault protection (or REF speed protection against earth faults for the whole transformer
protection). This is a unit protection scheme for one winding with relatively simple equipment. A high impedance relay is
of the transformer. It can be a high impedance type as shown used, giving fast operation and phase fault stability.
in Figure 16.6 or a biased low-impedance type. For the high-
impedance type, the residual current of three line current 16.8 DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION
transformers is balanced against the output of a current The restricted earth fault schemes described above in Section
transformer in the neutral conductor. In the biased low- 16.7 depend entirely on the Kirchhoff principle that the sum of
impedance version, the three phase currents and the neutral the currents flowing into a conducting network is zero. A
current become the bias inputs to a differential element. differential system can be arranged to cover the complete
transformer; this is possible because of the high efficiency of
The system is operative for faults within the region between
transformer operation, and the close equivalence of ampere-
current transformers, that is, for faults on the star winding in
turns developed on the primary and secondary windings.
question. The system remains stable for all faults outside this
Figure 16.7 shows the principle. Current transformers on the
zone.
primary and secondary sides are connected to form a
circulating current system.

Id >
I >

High impedance relay

16.8.1 Basic Considerations for Transformer

The gain in protection performance comes not only from using Differential Protection
an instantaneous relay with a low setting, but also because the
whole fault current is measured, not merely the transformed In applying the principles of differential protection to
component in the HV primary winding (if the star winding is a transformers, a variety of considerations have to be taken into
secondary winding). Hence, although the prospective current account. These include:
level decreases as fault positions progressively nearer the  correction for possible phase shift across the
neutral end of the winding are considered, the square law transformer windings (vector correction)
which controls the primary line current is not applicable, and  the effects of the variety of earthing and winding
with a low effective setting, a large percentage of the winding arrangements (filtering of zero sequence currents)
can be covered.
 correction for possible unbalance of signals from
Restricted earth fault protection is often applied even when the current transformers on either side of the windings
neutral is solidly earthed. Since fault current then remains at a (ratio correction)
high value even to the last turn of the winding (Figure 16.2),
 the effect of magnetising inrush during initial
virtually complete cover for earth faults is obtained. This is an
energisation
improvement compared with the performance of systems that
do not measure the neutral conductor current.  the possible occurrence of overfluxing
In traditional transformer differential schemes, the

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

requirements for ratio and vector correction were met by the primary and secondary line CTs may not have the same
application of external interposing current transformers (ICTs), winding configuration. Phase compensation and associated
as a secondary replica of the main winding connections, or by relay data entry requires more detailed consideration in such
a delta connection of the main CTs to provide phase correction circumstances. Rarely, the available phase compensation
only. Digital/numerical relays implement ratio and correction facilities cannot accommodate the transformer winding
in the relay software instead, thus enabling most combinations connection, and in such cases interposing CTs must be used.
of transformer winding arrangements to be catered for,
irrespective of the winding connections of the primary CTs. 16.8.4 Filtering of Zero Sequence Currents
This avoids the additional space and cost requirements of As described in Chapter 10.8, it is essential to provide some
hardware interposing CTs. form of zero sequence filtering where a transformer winding
can pass zero sequence current to an external earth fault. This
16.8.2 Line Current Transformer Primary Ratings is to ensure that out-of-zone earth faults are not seen by the
Line current transformers have primary ratings selected to be transformer protection as an in-zone fault. This is achieved by
approximately equal to the rated currents of the transformer use of delta-connected line CTs or interposing CTs for older
windings to which they are applied. Primary ratings will relays, and hence the winding connection of the line and/or
usually be limited to those of available standard ratio CTs. interposing CTs must take this into account, in addition to any
phase compensation necessary. For digital/numerical relays,
16.8.3 Phase Correction the required filtering is applied in the relay software. Table
Correct operation of transformer differential protection requires 16.4 summarises the phase compensation and zero sequence
that the transformer primary and secondary currents, as filtering requirements. An example of an incorrect choice of
measured by the relay, are in phase. If the transformer is ICT connection is given in Section 16.19.1.
connected delta/star, as shown in Figure 16.8, balanced three- Clock Phase HV Zero LV Zero
phase through current suffers a phase change of 30°. If left Transformer Transformer
Face Compensation Sequence Sequence
Connection Phase Shift
uncorrected, this phase difference would lead to the relay Vector Required Filtering Filtering
seeing through current as an unbalanced fault current, and Yy0 Yes Yes
result in relay operation. Vector or phase correction must be Zd0 Yes
implemented. 0° 0 0°
Dz0 Yes
A Dd0
B Yz1 Zy1 Yes Yes
C
Yd1 -30° 1 30° Yes
Dy1 Yes
Yy6 Yes Yes
Zd6 Yes
-180° 1 180°
Dz6 Yes
Dd6
Id > Id > Id >
Yz11 Zy11 Yes Yes
Yd11 30° 11 -30° Yes
Dy11 Yes
Electromechanical and static relays use appropriate CT/ICT YyH YzH Yes Yes
connections to ensure that the primary and secondary currents YdH ZdH Yes
(H / 12) x 360° Hour ‘H’ -(H / 12) x 360°
applied to the relay are in phase. DzH DyH Yes

For digital and numerical relays, it is common to use star- DdH

connected line CTs on all windings of the transformer and
compensate for the winding phase shift in software.
Depending on relay design, the only data required in such
circumstances may be the transformer vector group
designation. Phase compensation is then performed
automatically. Caution is required if such a relay is used to
replace an existing electromechanical or static relay, as the

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

16.8.5 Ratio Correction 16.8.7 Transformers with Multiple Windings

Correct operation of the differential element requires that The unit protection principle remains valid for a system having
currents in the differential element balance under load and more than two connections, so a transformer with three or
through fault conditions. As the primary and secondary line CT more windings can still be protected by the application of the
ratios may not exactly match the transformer rated winding above principles.
currents, digital/numerical relays are provided with ratio
When the power transformer has only one of its three windings
correction factors for each of the CT inputs. The correction
connected to a source of supply, with the other two windings
factors may be calculated automatically by the relay from
feeding loads, a relay with only two sets of CT inputs can be
knowledge of the line CT ratios and the transformer MVA
used, connected as shown in Figure 16.10(a). The separate
rating. However, if interposing CTs are used, ratio correction
load currents are summated in the CT secondary circuits, and
may not be such an easy task and may need to take into
will balance with the infeed current on the supply side.
account a factor of √3 if delta-connected CTs or ICTs are
involved. If the transformer is fitted with a tap changer, line When more than one source of fault current infeed exists,
CT ratios and correction factors are normally chosen to achieve there is a danger in the scheme of Figure 16.10(a) of current
current balance at the mid tap of the transformer. It is circulating between the two paralleled sets of current
necessary to ensure that current mismatch due to off-nominal transformers without producing any bias. It is therefore
tap operation will not cause spurious operation. important a relay is used with separate CT inputs for the two
secondaries - Figure 16.10(b).
The example in Section 16.19.2 shows how ratio correction
factors are used, and that of Section 16.19.3 shows how to set When the third winding consists of a delta-connected tertiary
the ratio correction factors for a transformer with an with no connections brought out, the transformer may be
unsymmetrical tap range. regarded as a two winding transformer for protection purposes
and protected as shown in Figure 16.10(c).
16.8.6 Bias Setting
Source
Loads
Bias is applied to transformer differential protection for the
same reasons as any unit protection scheme – to ensure
stability for external faults while allowing sensitive settings to
pick up internal faults. The situation is slightly complicated if a
Id >
tap changer is present. With line CT/ICT ratios and correction
factors set to achieve current balance at nominal tap, an off-
(a) Three winding transformer (one power source)
nominal tap may be seen by the differential protection as an
internal fault. By selecting the minimum bias to be greater Source Possible
fault
than sum of the maximum tap of the transformer and possible infeed
CT errors, maloperation due to this cause is avoided. Some
relays use a bias characteristic with three sections, as shown in
Figure 16.9. The first section is set higher than the Id >
transformer magnetising current. The second section is set to
allow for off-nominal tap settings, while the third has a larger
(b) Three winding transformer (three power sources)
bias slope beginning well above rated current to cater for
heavy through-fault conditions. Source Possible
fault
infeed
3
Differential current ( Id )

2
Operate Id >

70%
slope
1 (c) Three winding transformer with unloaded delta tertiary
Setting range 30%
(0.1 - 0.5Id ) Restrain slope

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Effective bias (x In)

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

16.9 DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION of a differential relay.

STABILISATION DURING MAGNETISING The second harmonic is therefore an attractive basis for a
INRUSH CONDITIONS stabilising against inrush effects, but care must be taken to
The magnetising inrush phenomenon described in Section ensure that the current transformers are sufficiently large so
16.3 produces current input to the energised winding which that the harmonics produced by transient saturation do not
has no equivalent on the other windings. The whole of the delay normal operation of the relay. The differential current is
inrush current appears, therefore, as unbalance and the passed through a filter that extracts the second harmonic; this
differential protection is unable to distinguish it from current component is then applied to produce a restraining quantity
due to an internal fault. The bias setting is not effective and an sufficient to overcome the operating tendency due to the whole
increase in the protection setting to a value that would avoid of the inrush current that flows in the operating circuit. By this
operation would make the protection of little value. Methods means a sensitive and high-speed system can be obtained.
of delaying, restraining or blocking of the differential element
must therefore be used to prevent mal-operation of the 16.9.3 Gap Detection Technique
protection. Another feature that characterises an inrush current can be
seen from Figure 16.5 where the two waveforms (c) and (d)
16.9.1 Time Delay have periods in the cycle where the current is zero. The
Since the phenomenon is transient, stability can be maintained minimum duration of this zero period is theoretically one
by providing a small time delay. However, because this time quarter of the cycle and is easily detected by a simple timer T1
delay also delays operation of the relay in the event of a fault that is set to 1 4 f seconds. Figure 16.11 shows the circuit
occurring at switch-on, the method is no longer used. in block diagram form. Timer T1 produces an output only if
the current is zero for a time exceeding 1 4 f seconds. It is
16.9.2 Harmonic Restraint reset when the instantaneous value of the differential current
The inrush current, although generally resembling an in-zone exceeds the setting reference.
fault current, differs greatly when the waveforms are
Bias
compared. The difference in the waveforms can be used to Differential Inhibit Timer 1 Inhibit Timer 2 Trip
Differential 1
comparator T1= T2 = 1
distinguish between the conditions. Threshold 4f f

As stated before, the inrush current contains all harmonic

orders, but these are not all equally suitable for identifying As the zero in the inrush current occurs towards the end of the
inrush condition. In practice, only the second harmonic is cycle, it is necessary to delay operation of the differential relay
used. by 1 f seconds to ensure that the zero condition can be
This component is present in all inrush waveforms. It is typical detected if present. This is achieved by using a second timer T2
of waveforms in which successive half period portions do not that is held reset by an output from timer T1.
repeat with reversal of polarity but in which mirror-image
When no current is flowing for a time exceeding 1 4 f
symmetry can be found about certain ordinates.
seconds, timer T2 is held reset and the differential relay that
The proportion of second harmonic varies somewhat with the may be controlled by these timers is blocked. When a
degree of saturation of the core, but is always present as long differential current exceeding the setting of the relay flows,
as the uni-directional component of flux exists. The amount timer T1 is reset and timer T2 times out to give a trip signal in
varies according to factors in the transformer design. Normal 1 f seconds. If the differential current is characteristic of
fault currents do not contain second or other even harmonics, transformer inrush then timer T2 will be reset on each cycle
nor do distorted currents flowing in saturated iron cored coils and the trip signal is blocked. Some numerical relays may use
under steady state conditions. a combination of the harmonic restraint and gap detection
The output current of a current transformer that is energised techniques for magnetising inrush detection.
into steady state saturation will contain odd harmonics but not
even harmonics. However, should the current transformer be 16.10 COMBINED DIFFERENTIAL AND
saturated by the transient component of the fault current, the RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT SCHEMES
resulting saturation is not symmetrical and even harmonics are The advantages to be obtained by the use of restricted earth
introduced into the output current. This can have the fault protection, discussed in Section 16.7 lead to the system
advantage of improving the through fault stability performance being frequently used in conjunction with an overall differential

16-10
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

system. The importance of this is shown in Figure 16.12 from

which it will be seen that if the neutral of a star-connected
winding is earthed through a resistance of one per unit, an
overall differential system having an effective setting of 20%
will detect faults in only 42% of the winding from the line end.

100
(percentage of rated current)

n
tio
Primary operating current

80

ec
ot
pr
u lt
fa

60
rth

n
ea

tio
ec
d

ot
te

40
pr
ric

ial
t
es

nt
R

re
ffe
20 Di

0
100 80 60 40 20 0
Percentage of winding protected

Implementation of a combined differential/REF protection

scheme is made easy if a numerical relay with software
ratio/phase compensation is used. All compensation is made
internally in the relay.
Where software ratio/phase correction is not available, either a
summation transformer or auxiliary CTs can be used. The
connections are shown in Figure 16.13 and Figure 16.14 16.10.1 Application with Earthing Transformer in
respectively. Protected Zone
Care must be taken in calculating the settings, but the only A delta-connected winding cannot deliver any zero sequence
significant disadvantage of the Combined Differential/REF current to an earth fault on the connected system, any current
scheme is that the REF element is likely to operate for heavy that does flow is in consequence of an earthed neutral
internal faults as well as the differential elements, thus making elsewhere on the system and will have a 2-1-1 pattern of
subsequent fault analysis somewhat confusing. However, the current distribution between phases. When the transformer in
saving in CTs outweighs this disadvantage. question represents a major power feed, the system may be
earthed at that point by an earthing transformer or earthing
reactor. They are frequently connected to the system, close to
the main supply transformer and within the transformer
protection zone. Zero sequence current that flows through the
earthing transformer during system earth faults will flow
through the line current transformers on this side, and,
without an equivalent current in the balancing current
transformers, will cause unwanted operation of the relays.
The problem can be overcome by subtracting the appropriate
component of current from the main CT output. The earthing
transformer neutral current is used for this purpose. As this
represents three times the zero sequence current flowing, ratio
correction is required. This can take the form of interposing

16-11
Protection & Automation Application Guide

CT’s of ratio 1/0.333, arranged to subtract their output from

that of the line current transformers in each phase, as shown
in Figure 16.15. The zero sequence component is cancelled,
restoring balance to the differential system. Alternatively,
numerical relays may use software to perform the subtraction,
having calculated the zero sequence component internally.
A

1/0.333
Earthing
transformer

16.11 EARTHING TRANSFORMER

PROTECTION
Differential relay Id > Id > Id >
I > Earthing transformers not protected by other means can use
Restricted earth fault relay the scheme shown in Figure 16.18. The delta-connected
current transformers are connected to an overcurrent relay
having three phase-fault elements. The normal action of the
A high impedance relay element can be connected in the neutral earthing transformer is to pass zero sequence current. The
lead between current transformers and differential relays to transformer equivalent current circulates in the delta formed
provide restricted earth fault protection to the winding. by the CT secondaries without energising the relay. The latter
may therefore be set to give fast and sensitive protection
As an alternative to the above scheme, the circulating current against faults in the earthing transformer itself.
system can be completed via a three-phase group of interposing
transformers that are provided with tertiary windings connected
in delta. This winding effectively short-circuits the zero sequence
component and thereby removes it from the balancing
quantities in the relay circuit; see Figure 16.16.
Provided restricted earth fault protection is not required, the
scheme shown in Figure 16.16 has the advantage of not
requiring a current transformer, with its associated mounting
and cabling requirements, in the neutral-earth conductor. The
scheme can also be connected as shown in Figure 16.17 when
restricted earth fault protection is needed.
A
B
C

16.12 AUTOTRANSFORMER PROTECTION

Autotransformers are used to couple EHV power networks if
Earthing the ratio of their voltages is moderate. An alternative to
transformer
Differential Protection that can be applied to autotransformers
is protection based on the application of Kirchhoff's law to a
conducting network, namely that the sum of the currents
flowing into all external connections to the network is zero.
Differential relay Id > Id > Id >
A circulating current system is arranged between equal ratio
current transformers in the two groups of line connections and
the neutral end connections. If one neutral current transformer

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

is used, this and all the line current transformers can be 16.13 OVERFLUXING PROTECTION
connected in parallel to a single element relay, providing a The effects of excessive flux density are described in Section
scheme responsive to earth faults only; see Figure 16.19(a). 16.2.8. Overfluxing arises principally from the following system
conditions:
A
B  high system voltage
C
 low system frequency
 geomagnetic disturbances
High The latter results in low frequency earth currents circulating
Id > impedance
relay through a transmission system.
Since momentary system disturbances can cause transient
(a) Earth fault scheme
overfluxing that is not dangerous, time delayed tripping is
required. The normal protection is an IDMT or definite time
A
characteristic, initiated if a defined V/f threshold is exceeded.
B
C
Often separate alarm and trip elements are provided. The
alarm function would be definite time-delayed and the trip
a
function would be an IDMT characteristic. A typical
b characteristic is shown in Figure 16.20.
c
Geomagnetic disturbances may result in overfluxing without
Id > Id > Id > the V/f threshold being exceeded. Some relays provide a 5th
n harmonic detection feature, which can be used to detect such
(b) Phase and earth fault scheme a condition, as levels of this harmonic rise under overfluxing
conditions.

Operating 0.80.18K
t
If current transformers are fitted in each phase at the neutral time (s) M12
end of the windings and a three-element relay is used, a 1000
differential system can be provided, giving full protection
against phase and earth faults; see Figure 16.19(b). This
provides high-speed sensitive protection. It is unaffected by 100
ratio changes on the transformer due to tap-changing and is K=63
immune to the effects of magnetising inrush current. K=40

It does not respond to interturn faults, a deficiency that is 10 K=20

serious in view of the high statistical risk quoted in Section

K=5
16.1. Such faults, unless otherwise cleared, will be left to
develop into earth faults, by which time considerably more 1 K=1

damage to the transformer will have occurred. 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

V f
In addition, this scheme does not respond to any fault in a M 
Set t i ng
tertiary winding. Unloaded delta-connected tertiary windings
are often not protected; alternatively, the delta winding can be
earthed at one point through a current transformer that
16.14 TANK-EARTH PROTECTION
energises an instantaneous relay. This system should be
separate from the main winding protection. If the tertiary This is also known as Howard protection. If the transformer
winding earthing lead is connected to the main winding tank is nominally insulated from earth (an insulation resistance
neutral above the neutral current transformer in an attempt to of 10 ohms being sufficient) earth fault protection can be
make a combined system, there may be ‘blind spots’ which the provided by connecting a relay to the secondary of a current
protection cannot cover. transformer the primary of which is connected between the
tank and earth. This scheme is similar to the frame-earth fault
busbar protection described in Chapter 15.

16-13
Protection & Automation Application Guide

16.15 OIL AND GAS DEVICES device may have to be slowed deliberately to avoid spurious
All faults below oil in an oil-immersed transformer result in tripping during circulation pump starts. Alternatively, sudden
localised heating and breakdown of the oil; some degree of pressure rise relays may have their output supervised by
arcing will always take place in a winding fault and the resulting instantaneous high-set overcurrent elements.
decomposition of the oil will release gases. When the fault is of
a very minor type, such as a hot joint, gas is released slowly, but 16.15.3 Buchholz Protection
a major fault involving severe arcing causes a very rapid release Buchholz protection is normally provided on all transformers
of large volumes of gas as well as oil vapour. The action is so fitted with a conservator. The Buchholz relay is contained in a
violent that the gas and vapour do not have time to escape but cast housing which is connected in the pipe to the conservator,
instead build up pressure and bodily displace the oil. as in Figure 16.21.

When such faults occur in transformers having oil conservators, 3 x internal pipe
the fault causes a blast of oil to pass up the relief pipe to the diameter (min) Conservator
conservator. A Buchholz relay is used to protect against such 5 x internal pipe
conditions. Devices responding to abnormally high oil pressure diameter (min)
or rate-of-rise of oil pressure are also available and may be used
in conjunction with a Buchholz relay.

16.15.1 Oil Pressure Relief Devices

The simplest form of pressure relief device is the widely used 76mm typical
‘frangible disc’ that is normally located at the end of an oil
relief pipe protruding from the top of the transformer tank. Transformer

The surge of oil caused by a serious fault bursts the disc, so

allowing the oil to discharge rapidly. Relieving and limiting the A typical Buchholz relay will have two sets of contacts. One is
pressure rise avoids explosive rupture of the tank and arranged to operate for slow accumulations of gas, the other
consequent fire risk. Outdoor oil-immersed transformers are for bulk displacement of oil in the event of a heavy internal
usually mounted in a catchment pit to collect and contain spilt fault. An alarm is generated for the former, but the latter is
oil (from whatever cause), thereby minimising the possibility of usually direct-wired to the CB trip relay.
pollution. The device will therefore give an alarm for the following fault
A drawback of the frangible disc is that the oil remaining in the conditions, all of which are of a low order of urgency.
tank is left exposed to the atmosphere after rupture. This is  hot spots on the core due to short circuit of lamination
avoided in a more effective device, the sudden pressure relief insulation
valve, which opens to allow discharge of oil if the pressure
 core bolt insulation failure
exceeds a set level, but closes automatically as soon as the
internal pressure falls below this level. If the abnormal  faulty joints
pressure is relatively high, the valve can operate within a few  interturn faults or other winding faults involving only
milliseconds, and provide fast tripping when suitable contacts lower power infeeds
are fitted.
 loss of oil due to leakage
The device is commonly fitted to power transformers rated at When a major winding fault occurs, this causes a surge of oil,
2MVA or higher, but may be applied to distribution
which displaces the lower float and thus causes isolation of the
transformers rated as low as 200kVA, particularly those in
transformer. This action will take place for:
hazardous areas.
 all severe winding faults, either to earth or interphase
16.15.2 Sudden Pressure Rise Relay  loss of oil if allowed to continue to a dangerous degree
This device detects rapid rise of pressure rather than absolute An inspection window is usually provided on either side of the
pressure and thereby can respond even quicker than the gas collection space. Visible white or yellow gas indicates that
pressure relief valve to sudden abnormally high pressures. insulation has been burnt, while black or grey gas indicates the
Sensitivities as low as 0.07bar/s are attainable, but when fitted presence of, dissociated oil. In these cases the gas will
to forced-cooled transformers the operating speed of the probably be inflammable, whereas released air will not. A vent

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

valve is provided on the top of the housing for the gas to be moreover, the transformer-feeder can be protected as a single
released or collected for analysis. Transformers with forced oil zone or be provided with separate protections for the feeder
circulation may experience oil flow to/from the conservator on and the transformer. In the latter case, the separate
starting/stopping of the pumps. The Buchholz relay must not protections can both be unit type systems. An adequate
operate in this circumstance. alternative is the combination of unit transformer protection
with an unrestricted system of feeder protection, plus an
Cleaning operations may cause aeration of the oil. Under such
intertripping feature.
conditions, tripping of the transformer due to Buchholz
operation should be inhibited for a suitable period.
16.16.1 Non-Unit Schemes
Because of its universal response to faults within the The following sections describe how non-unit schemes are applied
transformer, some of which are difficult to detect by other to protect transformer-feeders against various types of fault.
means, the Buchholz relay is invaluable, whether regarded as
a main protection or as a supplement to other protection 16.16.1.1 Feeder phase and earth faults
schemes. Tests carried out by striking a high voltage arc in a
High-speed protection against phase and earth faults can be
transformer tank filled with oil, have shown that operation
provided by distance relays located at the end of the feeder
times of 0.05s-0.1s are possible. Electrical protection is
remote from the transformer. The transformer constitutes an
generally used as well, either to obtain faster operation for
appreciable lumped impedance. It is therefore possible to set a
heavy faults, or because Buchholz relays have to be prevented
distance relay zone to cover the whole feeder and reach part
from tripping during oil maintenance periods. Conservators
way into the transformer impedance. With a normal tolerance
are fitted to oil-cooled transformers above 1000kVA rating,
on setting thus allowed for, it is possible for fast Zone 1
except those to North American design practice that use a
protection to cover the whole of the feeder with certainty
different technique.
without risk of over-reaching to a fault on the low voltage side.
16.16 TRANSFORMER-FEEDER PROTECTION Although the distance zone is described as being set ’half way
A transformer-feeder comprises a transformer directly into the transformer’, it must not be thought that half the
connected to a transmission circuit without the intervention of transformer winding will be protected. The effects of auto-
switchgear. Examples are shown in Figure 16.22. transformer action and variations in the effective impedance of
the winding with fault position prevent this, making the
HV LV amount of winding beyond the terminals which is protected
very small. The value of the system is confined to the feeder,
which, as stated above, receives high-speed protection
throughout.

LV HV HV LV 16.16.1.2 Feeder phase faults

A distance scheme is not, for all practical purposes, affected by
varying fault levels on the high voltage busbars and is therefore
the best scheme to apply if the fault level may vary widely. In
cases where the fault level is reasonably constant, similar
HV LV protection can be obtained using high set instantaneous
overcurrent relays. These should have a low transient over-
reach ( t ), defined as:

IS  IF
 100%
IF
The saving in switchgear so achieved is offset by increased
complication in the necessary protection. The primary where:
requirement is intertripping, since the feeder protection remote Is = setting current
from the transformer will not respond to the low current fault
IF = steady state r.m.s value of the fault current, which when
conditions that can be detected by restricted earth fault and
fully offset, just operates the relay.
Buchholz protections.
The instantaneous overcurrent relays must be set without risk
Either unrestricted or restricted protection can be applied;

16-15
Protection & Automation Application Guide

of them operating for faults on the remote side of the ZT

ZS ZL
transformer. ~
Referring to Figure 16.23, the required setting to ensure that
the relay will not operate for a fully offset fault IF2 is given by:
I> >

I s  1.2 1  t  I F 2
IF1 IF2

Where IF2 is the fault current under maximum source

conditions, that is, when ZS is minimum, and the factor of 1.2 Setting ratio r 
IS
covers possible errors in the system impedance details used for I F1

calculation of IF2, together with relay and CT errors. Transient

5 25 50 100
over-reach (%)
As it is desirable for the instantaneous overcurrent protection 0.25 1.01 1.20 1.44 1.92
to clear all phase faults anywhere within the feeder under 0.5 0.84 1.00 1.20 1.60
varying system operating conditions, it is necessary to have a ZT
x 1.0 0.63 0.75 0.90 1.20
relay setting less than IF1 to ensure fast and reliable operation ZS  ZL
2.0 0.42 0.50 0.60 0.80
where IF1 is the fault current for a remote end feeder fault as
4.0 0.25 0.30 0.36 0.48
shown in Fig. 16.23.
8.0 0.14 0.17 0.20 0.27
Let the setting ratio resulting from setting Is be:
IS = Relay setting = 1 . 2 1  t  I F2
Is t = Transient over-reach (p.u.)
r
I F1
Therefore, It can be seen that for a given transformer size, the most
r I F1  1.2 1  t  I F 2 sensitive protection for the line will be obtained by using relays
with the lowest transient overreach. It should be noted that
Hence, where r is greater than 1, the protection will not cover the
ZS  ZL whole line. Also, any increase in source impedance above the
r  1.2 1  t  minimum value will increase the effective setting ratios above
Z S  Z L  ZT those shown. The instantaneous protection is usually applied
ZS  ZL with a time delayed overcurrent element having a lower
 1.2 1  t  current setting. In this way, instantaneous protection is
1  x Z S  Z L  provided for the feeder, with the time-delayed element
1.2 1  t  covering faults on the transformer.

1 x When the power can flow in the transformer-feeder in either
direction, overcurrent relays will be required at both ends. In
where:
the case of parallel transformer-feeders, it is essential that the
ZT overcurrent relays on the low voltage side be directional,
x
ZS  ZL operating only for fault current fed into the transformer-feeder,
as described in Section 9.14.3.

16.16.1.3 Earth faults

Instantaneous restricted earth fault protection is normally
provided. When the high voltage winding is delta connected, a
relay in the residual circuit of the line current transformers
gives earth fault protection which is fundamentally limited to
the feeder and the associated delta-connected transformer
winding. The latter is unable to transmit any zero sequence
current to a through earth fault.
When the feeder is associated with an earthed star-connected
winding, normal restricted earth fault protection as described

16-16
 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

in Section 16.7 is not applicable because of the remoteness of appreciable capacitance between each conductor and earth.
the transformer neutral. During an external earth fault the neutral will be displaced,
and the resulting zero sequence component of voltage will
Restricted protection can be applied using a directional earth
produce a corresponding component of zero sequence
fault relay. A simple sensitive and high-speed directional
capacitance current. In the limiting case of full neutral
element can be used, but attention must be paid to the
displacement, this zero sequence current will be equal in value
transient stability of the element. Alternatively, a directional
to the normal positive sequence current.
IDMT relay may be used, the time multiplier being set low.
The slight inverse time delay in operation will ensure that The resulting residual current is equal to three times the zero
unwanted transient operation is avoided. sequence current and hence to three times the normal line
charging current. The value of this component of in-zone
When the supply source is on the high voltage star side, an
current should be considered when establishing the effective
alternative scheme that does not require a voltage transformer
setting of earth fault relays.
can be used. The scheme is shown in Figure 16.24. For the
circuit breaker to trip, both relays A and B must operate, which
16.16.2 Unit Schemes
will occur for earth faults on the feeder or transformer winding.
The basic differences between the requirements of feeder and
External earth faults cause the transformer to deliver zero transformer protections lie in the limitation imposed on the
sequence current only, which will circulate in the closed delta transfer of earth fault current by the transformer and the need
connection of the secondary windings of the three auxiliary for high sensitivity in the transformer protection, suggesting
current transformers. No output is available to relay B. that the two components of a transformer-feeder should be
Through phase faults will operate relay B, but not the residual protected separately. This involves mounting current
relay A. Relay B must have a setting above the maximum transformers adjacent to, or on, the high voltage terminals of
load. As the earthing of the neutral at a receiving point is likely the transformer. Separate current transformers are desirable
to be solid and the earth fault current will therefore be for the feeder and transformer protections so that these can be
comparable with the phase fault current, high settings are not arranged in two separate overlapping zones. The use of
a serious limitation. common current transformers is possible, but may involve the
use of auxiliary current transformers, or special winding and
A
connection arrangements of the relays. Intertripping of the
B
remote circuit breaker from the transformer protection will be
C necessary, but this can be done using the communication
facilities of the feeder protection relays.
Relay A I >>

Although technically superior, the use of separate protection

systems is seldom justifiable when compared with an overall
system or a combination of non-unit feeder protection and a
unit transformer system.
Relay B I >> I >> I >>
An overall unit system must take into account the fact that
zero sequence current on one side of a transformer may not be
reproduced in any form on the other side. This represents little
B difficulty to a modern numerical relay using software
+
phase/zero sequence compensation and digital
A B Trip
circuit communications to transmit full information on the phase and
B earth currents from one relay to the other. However, it does
represent a more difficult problem for relays using older
technology. The line current transformers can be connected to
Earth fault protection of the low voltage winding will be
a summation transformer with unequal taps, as shown in
provided by a restricted earth fault system using either three or
Figure 16.25(a). This arrangement produces an output for
four current transformers, according to whether the winding is
phase faults and also some response for A and B phase-earth
delta or star-connected, as described in Section 16.7.
faults. However, the resulting settings will be similar to those
for phase faults and no protection will be given for C phase-
16.16.1.4 In-zone capacitance
earth faults. An alternative technique is shown in Figure
The feeder portion of the transformer-feeder will have an

16-17
Protection & Automation Application Guide

16.25(b). Feeder A

The B phase is taken through a separate winding on another B

transformer or relay electromagnet, to provide another
C
balancing system. The two transformers are interconnected
with their counterparts at the other end of the feeder-
transformer by four pilot wires. Operation with three pilot
cores is possible but four are preferable, involving little increase D D
in pilot cost.
E E
16.17 INTERTRIPPING
To ensure that both the high and low voltage circuit breakers
operate for faults within the transformer and feeder, it is Differential relays
necessary to operate both circuit breakers from protection D Bias winding
E Operating winding
normally associated with one. The technique for doing this is
(a) Circulating current system
known as intertripping.
A
The necessity for intertripping on transformer-feeders arises
from the fact that certain types of fault produce insufficient B
current to operate the protection associated with one of the
C
circuit breakers. These faults are:
 faults in the transformer that operate the Buchholz
relay and trip the local low voltage circuit breaker, while
failing to produce enough fault current to operate the
protection associated with the remote high voltage
circuit breaker
Pilots

Relay electromagnets
(bias inherent)
(b) Balanced voltage system

 earth faults on the star winding of the transformer,

which, because of the position of the fault in the
winding, again produce insufficient current for relay
operation at the remote circuit breaker
 earth faults on the feeder or high voltage delta-
connected winding which trip the high voltage circuit
breaker only, leaving the transformer energised form
the low voltage side and with two high voltage phases
at near line-to-line voltage above earth. Intermittent
arcing may follow and there is a possibility of transient
overvoltage occurring and causing a further breakdown
of insulation
Several methods are available for intertripping; these are
discussed in Chapter 8.

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

16.17.1 Neutral Displacement 16.18.1 Provision of Vector Group Compensation and

An alternative to intertripping is to detect the condition by Zero-Sequence Filtering
measuring the residual voltage on the feeder. An earth fault Figure 16.27 shows a delta-star transformer to be protected
occurring on the feeder connected to an unearthed using a unit protection scheme. With a main winding
transformer winding should be cleared by the feeder circuit, connection of Dyn11, suitable choices of primary and
but if there is also a source of supply on the secondary side of secondary CT winding arrangements, and software phase
the transformer, the feeder may be still live. The feeder will compensation are to be made. With the KBCH relay, phase
then be a local unearthed system, and, if the earth fault compensation is selected by the user in the form of software-
continues in an arcing condition, dangerous overvoltages may implemented ICTs.
occur.
Dyn 11
A voltage relay is energised from the broken-delta connected Primary CTs Secondary CTs

secondary winding of a voltage transformer on the high

voltage line, and receives an input proportional to the zero
sequence voltage of the line, that is, to any displacement of the
neutral point; see Figure 16.26.
The relay normally receives zero voltage, but, in the presence
Id >
of an earth fault, the broken-delta voltage will rise to three
times the phase voltage. Earth faults elsewhere in the system Primary Unit Protection Secondary
may also result in displacement of the neutral and hence ICTs Relay ICTs
discrimination is achieved using definite or inverse time
characteristics. With the Dyn11 connection, the secondary voltages and
A
currents are displaced by +30o from the primary. Therefore,
B the combination of primary, secondary and phase correction
C must provide a phase shift of –30o of the secondary quantities
relative to the primary.
For simplicity, the CTs on the primary and secondary windings
Voltage
transformer of the transformer are connected in star. The required phase
shift can be achieved either by use of ICT connections on the
primary side having a phase shift of +30o or on the secondary
side having a phase shift of –30o. There is a wide combination
of primary and secondary ICT winding arrangements that can
provide this, such as Yd10 (+60o) on the primary and Yd3 (-
Ursd>
90o) on the secondary. Another possibility is Yd11 (+30o) on
the primary and Yy0 (0o) on the secondary. It is usual to
Residual choose the simplest arrangements possible, and therefore the
voltage relay latter of the above two possibilities might be selected.
However, the distribution of current in the primary and
secondary windings of the transformer due to an external earth
16.18 EXAMPLES OF TRANSFORMER fault on the secondary side of the transformer must now be
PROTECTION considered. The transformer has an earth connection on the
secondary winding, so it can deliver zero sequence current to
This section provides three examples of the application of
the fault. Use of star connected main CTs and Yy0 connected
modern relays to transformer protection. The latest MiCOM
ICTs provides a path for the zero sequence current to reach the
P640 series relay provides advanced software to simplify the
protection relay. On the primary side of the transformer, the
calculations, so an earlier Alstom type KBCH relay is used to
delta connected main primary winding causes zero-sequence
show the complexity of the required calculations.
current to circulate round the delta and hence will not be seen
by the primary side main CTs. The protection relay will
therefore not see any zero-sequence current on the primary
side, and hence detects the secondary side zero sequence

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

current incorrectly as an in-zone fault. 1

Ratio =  1.428
The solution is to provide the ICTs on the secondary side of the 0.7
transformer with a delta winding, so that the zero-sequence Select nearest value = 1.43
current circulates round the delta and is not seen by the relay.
Therefore, a rule can be developed that a transformer winding 525
LV secondary current =  0.875
with a connection to earth must have a delta-connected main 600
or ICT for unit protection to operate correctly.
1
Selection of Yy0 connection for the primary side ICTs and Yd1 Ratio =  1.14
0.875
(–30o) for the secondary side ICTs provides the required phase
shift and the zero-sequence trap on the secondary side. 16.18.2.2 Transformer unit protection settings
Modern numerical MiCOM relays employ a setting wizard, A current setting of 20% of the rated relay current is
needing only vector group and zero sequence data to be recommended. This equates to 35A primary current. The KBCH
entered. The relay then automatically adapts itself to suit the relay has a dual slope bias characteristic with fixed bias slope
application. settings of 20% up to rated current and 80% above that level. The
corresponding characteristic is shown in Figure 16.29.
16.18.2 Unit Protection of a Delta-Star Transformer
differential current
Figure 16.28 shows a delta-star transformer to which unit 600
protection is to be applied, including restricted earth fault
protection to the star winding. 500
Differential current (A)

Referring to the figure, the ICTs have already been correctly

400
selected, and are conveniently applied in software. It therefore
remains to calculate suitable ratio compensation (it is assumed Operate
300
that the transformer has no taps), transformer differential
protection settings and restricted earth fault settings.
200
10MVA Restrain
33/11kV
Z=10% 100
Primary CT's Dyn11 Secondary CT's
Yy0, 250/1 Yy0, 600/1
0
0 200 400 600 800
FLC = 175A FLC = 525A
Effective bias (A)

600/1
16.18.2.3 Restricted earth fault protection
The KBCH relay implements high-impedance Restricted Earth
R=1000A Rstab
Fault (REF) protection. Operation is required for a primary
earth fault current of 25% rated earth fault current (i.e. 250A).
The prime task in calculating settings is to calculate the value
of the stabilising resistor Rstab and stability factor K.
Id >
A stabilising resistor is required to ensure through fault stability
Primary ICT's Unit Secondary ICT's
Yy0 protection Yd1 when one of the secondary CTs saturates while the others do
relay not. The requirements can be expressed as:

VS  I S Rstab
16.18.2.1 Ratio correction
And
Transformer HV full load current on secondary of main CTs is:
VS  KI f Rct  2Rl 
175
 0.7 where:
250

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

VS = stability voltage setting as

VK = CT knee point voltage VS  0.5  103.7  2  0.057  19.07V

K = relay stability factor Hence,

IS = relay current setting Calculated VK  4  19.07  76.28V
RCT = CT winding resistance However,

R1 = CT lead resistance Actual VK = 91V and VK/VS = 4.77

Rstab = stabilising resistor. Thus from Figure 16.30, with K = 0.5, the protection is
unstable.
For this example:
By adopting an iterative procedure for values of VK/VS and K,
VK = 97V
VK
RCT = 3.7Ω a final acceptable result of  4.55, K  0.6 is obtained.
VS
R1 = 0.057Ω This results in an operating time faster than 40ms.
For the relay used, the various factors are related by the graph The required earth fault setting current Iop is 250A. The
of Figure 16.30. chosen E/F CT has an exciting current Ie of 1%, and hence
using the equation:
70 0.1
I op  CTratio  I S  nI e 
Overall operation time - milliseconds

60
where:
50
0.2 n = no of CTs in parallel (=4)
40 Is = 0.377, use 0.38 nearest settable value.
K Factor

Overall Op 0.3
30 Time
The stabilising resistance Rstab can be calculated as 60.21.
0.4
Unstable The relay can only withstand a maximum of 3kV peak under
20 0.5
fault conditions. A check is required to see if this voltage is
Stable K Factor 0.6 exceeded – if it is, a non-linear resistor, known as a Metrosil,
10 0.7
0.8 must be connected across the relay and stabilising resistor.
0.9
0 1 The peak voltage is estimated using the formula:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Vk/Vs VP  2 2VK V f  VK 

where:
V
Starting with the desired operating time, the K ratio and K
VS V f  I f RCT  2Rl  Rstab 
factor can be found. And
An operating of 40ms (2 cycles at 50Hz) is usually acceptable, If = fault current in secondary of CT circuit and substituting
and hence, from Figure 16.30, values, VP = 544V. Thus a Metrosil is not required.
VK
 4, K  0.5 16.18.3 Unit Protection for On-Load Tap Changing
VS Transformer
The maximum earth fault current is limited by the earthing The previous example deals with a transformer having no taps.
resistor to 1000A (primary). The maximum phase fault In practice, most transformers have a range of taps to cater for
current can be estimated by assuming the source impedance different loading conditions. While most transformers have an
to be zero, so it is limited only by transformer impedance to off-load tap-changer, transformers used for voltage control in
5250A, or 10A secondary after taking account of the ratio a network are fitted with an on-load tap-changer. The
compensation. Hence the stability voltage can be calculated protection settings must then take the variation of tap-change

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Protection & Automation Application Guide

position into account to avoid the possibility of spurious trips at reconditioning at a time of the asset-owner’s choosing is far
extreme tap positions. For this example, the same transformer more preferable than a forced unplanned outage due to failure.
as in Section 16.19.2 will be used, but with an on-load tapping
This section provides an overview of techniques commonly
range of +5% to -15%. The tap-changer is located on the
available in modern numerical transformer protection relays,
primary winding, while the tap-step usually does not matter.
which can extend to asset management of the protected
transformer.
16.18.3.1 Ratio correction
In accordance with Section 16.8.4 the mid-tap position is used 16.19.1 Loss of life monitoring
to calculate the ratio correction factors. The mid tap position is
Ageing of transformer insulation is a time-dependent function
–5%, and at this tap position:
of temperature, moisture, and oxygen content. The moisture
Primary voltage to give rated secondary voltage: and oxygen contributions to insulation deterioration are
= 33 x 0.95 = 31.35kV and Rated Primary Current = 184A minimised due to the preservation systems employed in the
design of most modern transformers. Therefore, temperature
Transformer HV full load current on secondary of main CTs is: is the key parameter in insulation ageing. Frequent excesses
184 of overloading will shorten the life-expectancy of the
 0.737 transformer, due to the elevated winding temperatures.
250
Insulation deterioration is not uniform, and will be more
1
Ratio compensation =  1.36 pronounced at hot-spots within the transformer tank.
0.737 Therefore, any asset management system intended to model
525 the rate of deterioration and current estimated state of the
LV secondary current =  0.875 insulation must do so based on simulated real-time hot spot
600 temperature algorithms. These models may take ambient
1 temperature, top-oil temperature, load current flowing, the
Ratio compensation =  1.14 status of oil pumps (pumping or not), and the status of
0.875
radiator fans (forced cooling or not) as inputs.
Both of the above values can be set in the relay.
The MiCOM P640 provides such a loss of life monitoring
16.18.3.2 Bias slope setting facility, according to the thermal model defined in IEEE
Standard C57.91. The protection algorithm determines the
The on-load tapping range of +5% to -15% gives rise to a
current rate of losing life, and uses that to indicate the
maximum excursion of 10% from the -5% mid-tap position.
remaining years or hours until critical insulation health
As the differential scheme notionally balances at this mid-tap,
statuses are likely to be reached. Such criticalities will relate
this means that as an approximation, the maximum
typically to known percentage degradations in the tensile
differential current that can flow when at top or bottom tap is
strength of the insulation, degradation in the degree of
10% of the load (or fault current which may flow to an external
polymerisation, and other life-loss factors. The asset owner
fault). Those relays having an adjustable k1 bias slope setting
can be alerted in advance that an outage will be required for
should ensure that it is at least 10% higher than the percentage
reconditioning or rewinding, such that investment budgeting
excursion.
can be made years and months ahead of time.
16.19 TRANSFORMER ASSET MANAGEMENT
16.19.2 Through-fault monitoring
Due to the high capital cost of transformers, and the need for
Loss of life monitoring serves to track the deterioration caused
their in-service availability to be as high as possible to avoid
by long term, repeated overloading. However, it is not the
constraining load flows demanded on the network, protection
right technique to monitor short-term heavy fault currents
is no-longer the only concern. As cities expand, consumers’
which flow through the transformer, out to an external fault on
lifestyle expectations raise, and electric vehicle recharging
the downstream power system (e.g. fault IF2 in Figure 16.23).
loads become more prevalent, these combine to increase the
Through faults are a major cause of transformer damage and
demand on the network - and it is through the transformers,
failure, as they stress the insulation and mechanical integrity -
between the different voltage levels on the system, that the
such as the bracing of the windings.
demand is traditionally supplied. This increases the focus on
knowing the health of transformers, real-time, to be able to A specific through-fault monitor is recommended to monitor
schedule condition-based maintenance. Maintenance or currents which are due to external faults passing through, and

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 Chapter 16  Transformer and Transformer Feeder Protection

so may range from 3.5 times up to tens of times the rated Monitored Equipment Measured Quantity Health Information
current of the transformer. The MiCOM P640 performs an I2t Voltage
calculation when the through current exceeds a user-set Partial discharge measurement Insulation quality
threshold, such that the heating effect of the square of the (wideband voltage)
maximum phase current, and the duration of the fault event Bushings Loading
are calculated. Calculation results are added to cumulative Load current Permissible overload rating
values, and monitored so that utilities can schedule Hot-spot temperature
transformer maintenance or identify a need for system
Oil pressure Insulation quality
reinforcement.
Hot-spot temperature
Oil temperature
Permissible overload rating
16.19.3 CONDITION MONITORING OF
Oil quality
TRANSFORMERS Tank Gas-in-oil content
Winding insulation condition
It is possible to provide transformers with measuring devices to
Moisture-in-oil content Oil quality
detect early signs of degradation in various components and
Buchholz gas content Winding insulation condition
provide warning to the operator to avoid a lengthy and
Frequency of use of each tap
expensive outage due to failure. The technique, which can be Position
position
applied to other plant as well as transformers, is called
Tap changer Drive power consumption OLTC health
condition monitoring, as the intent is to provide the operator
Total switched load current OLTC contact wear
with regular information on the condition of the transformer.
By reviewing the trends in the information provided, the OLTC oil temperature OLTC health

operator can make a better judgement as to the frequency of Oil temperature difference

maintenance, and detect early signs of deterioration that, if Cooling air temperature Cooler efficiency
Coolers
ignored, would lead to an internal fault occurring. Such Ambient temperature
techniques are an enhancement to, but are not a replacement Pump status Cooling plant health
for, the protection applied to a transformer. Conservator Oil level Tank integrity

The extent to which condition monitoring is applied to

transformers on a system will depend on many factors, As asset owners become more conscious of the costs of an
amongst which will be the policy of the asset owner, the unplanned outage, and electric supply networks are utilised
suitability of the design (existing transformers may require closer to capacity for long periods of time, the usefulness of
modifications involving a period out of service – this may be this technique can be expected to grow. See Section 16.20 for
costly and not justified), the importance of the asset to system further information on this topic.
operation, and the general record of reliability. Therefore, it
should not be expected that all transformers would be, or need
to be, so fitted.
A typical condition monitoring system for an oil-immersed
transformer is capable of monitoring the condition of various
transformer components as shown in Table 16.4. There can
be some overlap with the measurements available from a
digital/numerical relay. By the use of software to store and
perform trend analysis of the measured data, the operator can
be presented with information on the state of health of the
transformer, and alarms raised when measured values exceed
appropriate limits. This will normally provide the operator with
early warning of degradation within one or more components
of the transformer, enabling maintenance to be scheduled to
correct the problem prior to failure occurring. The maintenance
can obviously be planned to suit system conditions, provided
the rate of degradation is not excessive.

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