C7

Transformer and
Transformer-Feeder Protection
Network Protection & Automation Guide
Network Protection & Automation Guide

Chapter

Transformer and
C7
Transformer-Feeder Protection
1. Introduction 287

2. Winding faults 287

3. Magnetising inrush 290

4. Transformer overheating 291

5. Transformer protection – overview 292

6. Transformer overcurrent protection 292

7. Restricted earth fault protection 293

8. Differential protection 293

9. Differential protection stabilisation during magnetising inrush conditions 296

10. Combined differential and restricted earth fault schemes 297

11. Earthing transformer protection 299

12. Auto-transformer protection 299

13. Overfluxing protection 300

14. Tank-earth protection 300

15. Oil and gas devices 301

16. Transformer-feeder protection 302

17. Intertripping 306

18. Condition monitoring of transformers 307

19. Examples of transformer protection 308

 Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 1. Introduction

The development of modern power systems has been reflected e. abnormal operating conditions
in the advances in transformer design. This has resulted in a
f. sustained or uncleared external faults
wide range of transformers with sizes ranging from a few kVA
to several hundred MVA being available for use in a wide variety For faults originating in the transformer itself, the approximate
of applications. proportion of faults due to each of the causes listed above is
shown in Figure C7.1.
The considerations for a transformer protection package vary
with the application and importance of the transformer. To
reduce the effects of thermal stress and electrodynamic forces,
it is advisable to ensure that the protection package used
minimises the time for disconnection in the event of a fault
occurring within the transformer. Small distribution transformers
can be protected satisfactorily, from both technical and
economic considerations, by the use of fuses or overcurrent
relays. This results in time-delayed protection due to downstream
co-ordination requirements. However, time-delayed fault
clearance is unacceptable on larger power transformers used
in distribution, transmission and generator applications, due Winding and terminal
to system operation/stability and cost of repair/ length of outage
considerations. Core
Transformer faults are generally classified into six categories: Tank and accessories
a. winding and terminal faults
OLTC
b. core faults
c. tank and transformer accessory faults
Figure C7.1:
d. on–load tap changer faults Transformer fault statistics

2. Winding faults

A fault on a transformer winding is controlled in magnitude by For a fault on a transformer secondary winding, the
the following factors: corresponding primary current will depend on the transformation
ratio between the primary winding and the short-circuited
a. source impedance
secondary turns. This also varies with the position of the fault,
b. neutral earthing impedance so that the fault current in the transformer primary winding is
proportional to the square of the earth fault current in resistance-
c. transformer leakage reactance
earthed star winding fraction of the winding that is short-
d. fault voltage circuited. The effect is shown in Figure C7.2. Faults in the lower
e. winding connection third of the winding produce very little current in the primary
winding, making fault detection by primary current measurement
Several distinct cases arise and are examined below. difficult.
2.1 Star-connected winding with neutral point 2.2 Star-connected winding with neutral point
earthed through an impedance solidly earthed
The winding earth fault current depends on the earthing The fault current is controlled mainly by the leakage reactance
impedance value and is also proportional to the distance of of the winding, which varies in a complex manner with the
the fault from the neutral point, since the fault voltage will be position of the fault. The variable fault point voltage is also an
directly proportional to this distance. important factor, as in the case of impedance earthing. For

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2. Winding faults C7

2.3 Delta-connected winding

100
No part of a delta-connected winding operates with a voltage
Percentage of respective maximum

90
to earth of less than 50% of the phase voltage. The range of
single-phase earth fault current

80
fault current magnitude is therefore less than for a star winding.
70
The actual value of fault current will still depend on the method
60
of system earthing; it should also be remembered that the
50
impedance of a delta winding is particularly high to fault
40
currents flowing to a centrally placed fault on one leg. The
30
impedance can be expected to be between 25% and 50%,
20
based on the transformer rating, regardless of the normal
10
balanced through-current impedance. As the prefault voltage
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 to earth at this point is half the normal phase voltage, the earth
Distance of fault from neutral fault current may be no more than the rated current, or even
(percentage of winding)
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 divided between
two phases of the system. The individual phase currents may
therefore be relatively low, resulting in difficulties in providing
protection.
2.4 Phase to phase faults
Faults between phases within a transformer are relatively rare;
if such a fault does occur it will give rise to a substantial current
Figure C7.2: comparable to the earth fault currents discussed in Section 2.2.
Earth fault current in resistance-earthed star winding
2.5 Interturn faults
In low voltage transformers, interturn insulation breakdown
faults close to the neutral end of the winding, the reactance is is unlikely to occur unless the mechanical force on the winding
very low, and results in the highest fault currents. The variation due to external short circuits has caused insulation degradation,
of current with fault position is shown in Figure C7.3. or insulating oil (if used) has become contaminated by
moisture.
For secondary winding faults, the primary winding fault current
is determined by the variable transformation ratio; as the A high voltage transformer connected to an overhead
secondary fault current magnitude stays high throughout the transmission system will be subjected to steep fronted impulse
winding, the primary fault current is large for most points along voltages, arising from lightning strikes, faults and switching
the winding. operations. A line surge, which may be of several times the
rated system voltage, will concentrate on the end turns of the
winding because of the high equivalent frequency of the
20 surge front. Part-winding resonance, involving voltages up to
20 times rated voltage may occur. The interturn insulation of
the end turns is reinforced, but cannot be increased in
15 proportion to the insulation to earth, which is relatively great.
Partial winding flashover is therefore more likely. The
Current (per unit)

Fault current
subsequent progress of the fault, if not detected in the earliest
10 stage, may well destroy the evidence of the true cause.
A short circuit of a few turns of the winding will give rise to a
heavy fault current in the short-circuited loop, but the terminal
5
currents will be very small, because of the high ratio of
Primary current
transformation between the whole winding and the short-
circuited turns. The graph in Figure C7.4 shows the
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 corresponding data for a typical transformer of 3.25%
Distance of fault from neutral (percentage of winding)
impedance with the short-circuited turns symmetrically located
in the centre of the winding.

Figure C7.3:
Earth fault current in solidly earthed star winding

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 Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 2. Winding faults

2.8.1 Overload
100 10
Overload causes increased ‘copper loss’ and a consequent

Primary current (multiples of rated current)

Fault current (multiples of rated current)

Fault current in temperature rise. Overloads can be carried for limited periods
80 short circuited turns 8 and recommendations for oil-immersed transformers are given
in IEC 60354.
60 6 The thermal time constant of naturally cooled transformers lies
Primary input between 2.5-5 hours. Shorter time constants apply in the case
current
40 4
of force-cooled transformers.
2.8.2 System faults
20 2 System short circuits produce a relatively intense rate of heating
of the feeding transformers, the copper loss increasing in
proportion to the square of the per unit fault current. The typical
0 5 10 15 20 25 duration of external short circuits that a transformer can sustain
Turns short-circuited (percentage of winding)
without damage if the current is limited only by the self-
reactance is shown in Table C7.1. IEC 60076 provides further
Figure C7.4: guidance on short-circuit withstand levels.
Interturn fault current/number of turns short- circuited
Maximum mechanical stress on windings occurs during the
first cycle of the fault. Avoidance of damage is a matter of
transformer design.
2.6 Core faults
A conducting bridge across the laminated structures of the
core can permit sufficient eddy-current to flow to cause serious Transformer Fault current Permitted fault
overheating. The bolts that clamp the core together are always reactance (%) (Multiple of rating) duration (seconds)
insulated to avoid this trouble. If any portion of the core insulation 4 25 2
becomes defective, the resultant heating may reach a magnitude 5 20 2
sufficient to damage the winding. 6 16.6 2
The additional core loss, although causing severe local heating, 7 14.2 2
will not produce a noticeable change in input current and could
not be detected by the normal electrical protection; it is Table C7.1:
nevertheless highly desirable that the condition should be Fault withstand levels
detected before a major fault has been created. In an oil-
immersed transformer, core heating sufficient to cause winding
insulation damage will also cause breakdown of some of the 2.8.3 Overvoltages
oil with an accompanying evolution of gas. This gas will escape
Overvoltage conditions are of two kinds:
to the conservator, and is used to operate a mechanical relay;
see Section 15.3. a. transient surge voltages
2.7 Tank faults b. power frequency overvoltage
Loss of oil through tank leaks will ultimately produce a dangerous Transient overvoltages arise from faults, switching, and lightning
condition, either because of a reduction in winding insulation disturbances and are liable to cause interturn faults, as
or because of overheating on load due to the loss of cooling. described in Section 2.5. These overvoltages are usually limited
by shunting the high voltage terminals to earth either with a
Overheating may also occur due to prolonged overloading,
plain rod gap or by surge diverters, which comprise a stack
blocked cooling ducts due to oil sludging or failure of the forced
of short gaps in series with a non-linear resistor. The surge
cooling system, if fitted.
diverter, in contrast to the rod gap, has the advantage of
2.8 Externally applied conditions extinguishing the flow of power current after discharging a
surge, in this way avoiding subsequent isolation of the
Sources of abnormal stress in a transformer are:
transformer.
a. overload
Power frequency overvoltage causes both an increase in stress
b. system faults on the insulation and a proportionate increase in the working
flux. The latter effect causes an increase in the iron loss and
c. overvoltage
a disproportionately large increase in magnetising current. In
d. reduced system frequency

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2. Winding faults C7

addition, flux is diverted from the laminated core into structural It follows that a transformer can operate with some degree of
steel parts. The core bolts, which normally carry little flux, may overvoltage with a corresponding increase in frequency, but
be subjected to a large flux diverted from the highly saturated operation must not be continued with a high voltage input at a
region of core alongside. This leads to a rapid temperature low frequency. Operation cannot be sustained when the ratio
rise in the bolts, destroying their insulation and damaging coil of voltage to frequency, with these quantities given values in
insulation if the condition continues. per unit of their rated values, exceeds unity by more than a
small amount, for instance if V/f > 1.1 . If a substantial rise
2.8.4 Reduced system frequency
in system voltage has been catered for in the design, the base
Reduction of system frequency has an effect with regard to of ‘unit voltage’ should be taken as the highest voltage for which
flux density, similar to that of overvoltage. the transformer is designed.

3. Magnetising inrush

The phenomenon of magnetising inrush is a transient condition

that occurs primarily when a transformer is energised. It is
Normal peak flux
not a fault condition, and therefore transformer protection Flux
must remain stable during the inrush transient.
Figure C7.5(a) shows a transformer magnetising characteristic. Magnetising current
To minimise material costs, weight and size, transformers are
generally operated near to the ‘knee point’ of the magnetising
characteristic., only a small increase in core flux above normal (a) Typical magnetising characteristic

operating levels will result in a high magnetising current.

Transient flux 80% residual
Under normal steady-state conditions, the magnetising current at switching
associated with the operating flux level is relatively small
(Figure C7.5(b)). However, if a transformer winding is energised Transient flux no residual
Voltage and flux

at switching
at a voltage zero, with no remanent flux, the flux level during
the first voltage cycle (2 x normal flux) will result in core Steady flux state
saturation and a high non-sinusoidal magnetising current Voltage
waveform – see Figure C7.5(c). This current is referred to as
magnetising inrush current and may persist for several cycles. Time

A number of factors affect the magnitude and duration of the

magnetising current inrush: (b) Steady and maximum offset fluxes

a. residual flux – worst-case conditions result in the flux peak

value attaining 280% of normal value Slow decrement

b. point on wave switching

Zero axis
c. number of banked transformers (c) Typical inrush current
d. transformer design and rating
e. system fault level
Zero axis
The very high flux densities quoted above are so far beyond
the normal working range that the incremental relative
permeability of the core approximates to unity and the
(d) Inrush without offset, due to yoke saturation
inductance of the winding falls to a value near that of the
‘air-cored’ inductance. The current wave, starting from zero,
increases slowly at first, the flux having a value just above the
Figure C7.5:
residual value and the permeability of the core being Transformer magnetising inrush

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C7 3. Magnetising inrush

moderately high. As the flux passes the normal working value 3.1 Harmonic content of inrush waveform
and enters the highly saturated portion of the magnetising
The waveform of transformer magnetising current contains a
characteristic, the inductance falls and the current rises rapidly
proportion of harmonics that increases as the peak flux density
to a peak that may be 500% of the steady state magnetising
is raised to the saturating condition. The magnetising current
current. When the peak is passed at the next voltage zero,
of a transformer contains a third harmonic and progressively
the following negative half cycle of the voltage wave reduces
smaller amounts of fifth and higher harmonics. If the degree
the flux to the starting value, the current falling symmetrically
of saturation is progressively increased, not only will the
to zero. The current wave is therefore fully offset and is only
harmonic content increase as a whole, but the relative
restored to the steady state condition by the circuit losses.
proportion of fifth harmonic will increase and eventually exceed
The time constant of the transient has a range between 0.1
the third harmonic. At a still higher level the seventh would
second (for a 100kVA transformer) to 1.0 second (for a large
overtake the fifth harmonic but this involves a degree of
unit). As the magnetising characteristic is non-linear, the
saturation that will not be experienced with power transformers.
envelope of the transient current is not strictly of exponential
form; the magnetising current can be observed to be still The energising conditions that result in an offset inrush current
changing up to 30 minutes after switching on. produce a waveform that is asymmetrical. Such a wave
typically contains both even and odd harmonics. Typical
Although correct choice of the point on the wave for a single–
inrush currents contain substantial amounts of second and
phase transformer will result in no transient inrush, mutual
third harmonics and diminishing amounts of higher orders.
effects ensure that a transient inrush occurs in all phases for
As with the steady state wave, the proportion of harmonics
three-phase transformers.
varies with the degree of saturation, so that as a severe inrush
transient decays, the harmonic makeup of the current passes
through a range of conditions.

4. Transformer overheating

The rating of a transformer is based on the temperature rise Protection against overload is therefore based on winding
above an assumed maximum ambient temperature; under temperature, which is usually measured by a thermal image
this condition no sustained overload is usually permissible. technique. Protection is arranged to trip the transformer if
At a lower ambient temperature some degree of sustained excessive temperature is reached. The trip signal is usually
overload can be safely applied. Short-term overloads are also routed via a digital input of a protection relay on one side of
permissible to an extent dependent on the previous loading the transformer, with both alarm and trip facilities made
conditions. IEC 60354 provides guidance in this respect. available through programmable logic in the relay. Intertripping
between the relays on the two sides of the transformer is
The only certain statement is that the winding must not
usually applied to ensure total disconnection of the transformer.
overheat; a temperature of about 95 °C is considered to be
the normal maximum working value beyond which a further Winding temperature protection may be included as a part
rise of 8°C-10°C, if sustained, will halve the insulation life of of a complete monitoring package – see Section 18 for more
the unit. details.

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5. Transformer protection - overview C7

The problems relating to transformers described in Sections

Fault type Protection used
2-4 above require some means of protection. Table C7.2
summarises the problems and the possible forms of protection Primary winding phase-phase fault Differential; overcurrent
that may be used. The following sections provide more detail Primary winding phase-earth fault Differential; overcurrent
on the individual protection methods. It is normal for a modern Secondary winding phase-phase fault Differential
relay to provide all of the required protection functions in a
Secondary winding phase-earth fault Differential; restricted earth fault
single package, in contrast to electromechanical types that
Interturn fault Differential, Buchholz
would require several relays complete with interconnections
and higher overall CT burdens. Core fault Differential, Buchholz

Tank fault Differential, Buchholz; tank-earth

Overfluxing Overfluxing

Overheating Thermal

Table C7.2:
Transformer faults/protection

6. Transformer overcurrent protection

Fuses may adequately protect small transformers, but larger controlled by time limit fuses connected across the secondary
ones require overcurrent protection using a relay and CB, as windings of in-built current transformers) or by relays
fuses do not have the required fault breaking capacity. connected to current transformers located on the transformer
primary side. Overcurrent relays are also used on larger
6.1 Fuses
transformers provided with standard circuit breaker control.
Fuses commonly protect small distribution transformers Improvement in protection is obtained in two ways; the
typically up to ratings of 1MVA at distribution voltages. In excessive delays of the HRC fuse for lower fault currents are
many cases no circuit breaker is provided, making fuse avoided and an earth-fault tripping element is provided in
protection the only available means of automatic isolation. addition to the overcurrent feature.
The fuse must have a rating well above the maximum
The time delay characteristic should be chosen to discriminate
transformer load current in order to withstand the short duration
with circuit protection on the secondary side.
overloads that may occur. Also, the fuses must withstand the
magnetising inrush currents drawn when power transformers A high-set instantaneous relay element is often provided, the
are energised. High Rupturing Capacity (HRC) fuses, although current setting being chosen to avoid operation for a secondary
very fast in operation with large fault currents, are extremely short circuit. This enables high-speed clearance of primary
slow with currents of less than three times their rated value. terminal short circuits.
It follows that such fuses will do little to protect the transformer,
serving only to protect the system by disconnecting a faulty
transformer after the fault has reached an advanced stage. Transformer rating Fuse

Table C7.3 shows typical ratings of fuses for use with 11kV Operating
Full load current Rated current
transformers. kVA time at 3 x
(A) (A)
rating(s)
This table should be taken only as a typical example;
considerable differences exist in the time characteristic of 100 5.25 16 3.0
different types of HRC fuses. Furthermore grading with 200 10.5 25 3.0
protection on the secondary side has not been considered. 315 15.8 36 10.0

6.2 Overcurrent relays 500 26.2 50 20.0

1000 52.5 90 30.0
With the advent of ring main units incorporating SF6 circuit
breakers and isolators, protection of distribution transformers
can now be provided by overcurrent trips (e.g. tripping Table C7.3:
Typical fuse ratings

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C7 7. Restrictor earth fault protection

Conventional earth fault protection using overcurrent elements The system is operative for faults within the region between
fails to provide adequate protection for transformer windings. current transformers, that is, for faults on the star winding in
This is particularly the case for a star-connected winding with question. The system will remain stable for all faults outside
an impedance-earthed neutral, as considered in Section 2.1. this zone.
The degree of protection is very much improved by the The gain in protection performance comes not only from using
application of restricted earth fault protection (or REF an instantaneous relay with a low setting, but also because
protection). This is a unit protection scheme for one winding the whole fault current is measured, not merely the transformed
of the transformer. It can be of the high impedance type as component in the HV primary winding (if the star winding is
shown in Figure C7.6, or of the biased low-impedance type. a secondary winding). Hence, although the prospective current
For the high-impedance type, the residual current of three level decreases as fault positions progressively nearer the
line current transformers is balanced against the output of a neutral end of the winding are considered, the square law
current transformer in the neutral conductor. In the biased which controls the primary line current is not applicable, and
low-impedance version, the three phase currents and the with a low effective setting, a large percentage of the winding
neutral current become the bias inputs to a differential element. can be covered.
Restricted earth fault protection is often applied even when
the neutral is solidly earthed. Since fault current then remains
at a high value even to the last turn of the winding (Figure
C7.2), virtually complete cover for earth faults is obtained.
This is an improvement compared with the performance of
systems that do not measure the neutral conductor current.
Earth fault protection applied to a delta-connected or
unearthed star winding is inherently restricted, since no zero
sequence components can be transmitted through the
transformer to the other windings.
> Both windings of a transformer can be protected separately
with restricted earth fault protection, thereby providing high-
High impedance relay speed protection against earth faults for the whole transformer
with relatively simple equipment. A high impedance relay is
used, giving fast operation and phase fault stability.
Figure C7.6:
Restricted earth fault protection for a star winding

8. Differential protection

The restricted earth fault schemes described above in Section

7 depend entirely on the Kirchhoff principle that the sum of the
currents flowing into a conducting network is zero. A differential
system can be arranged to cover the complete transformer;
this is possible because of the high efficiency of transformer
operation, and the close equivalence of ampere-turns developed
on the primary and secondary windings. Figure C7.7 illustrates
the principle. Current transformers on the primary and secondary
sides are connected to form a circulating current system.
8.1 Basic considerations for transformer differential
protection
In applying the principles of differential protection to
transformers, a variety of considerations have to be taken into Figure C7.7:
account. These include: Principle of transformer differential protection

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8. Differential protection C7

a. correction for possible phase shift across the transformer

windings (phase correction)
A
B
b. the effects of the variety of earthing and winding C
arrangements (filtering of zero sequence currents)
c. correction for possible unbalance of signals from current
transformers on either side of the windings (ratio correction)
d. the effect of magnetising inrush during initial energisation
e. the possible occurrence of overfluxing
In traditional transformer differential schemes, the requirements
for phase and ratio correction were met by the application of
external interposing current transformers (ICTs), as a
secondary replica of the main winding connections, or by a
delta connection of the main CTs to provide phase correction Figure C7.8:
only. Digital/numerical relays implement ratio and phase Differential protection for two-winding delta/star transformer
correction in the relay software instead, thus enabling most
combinations of transformer winding arrangements to be
8.4 Filtering of zero sequence currents
catered for, irrespective of the winding connections of the
primary CTs. This avoids the additional space and cost It is essential to provide some form of zero sequence filtering
requirements of hardware interposing CTs. where a transformer winding can pass zero sequence current
to an external earth fault. This is to ensure that out-of-zone
8.2 Line current transformer primary ratings
earth faults are not seen by the transformer protection as an
Line current transformers have primary ratings selected to in-zone fault. This is achieved by use of delta-connected line
be approximately equal to the rated currents of the transformer CTs or interposing CTs for older relays, and hence the winding
windings to which they are applied. Primary ratings will usually connection of the line and/or interposing CTs must take this
be limited to those of available standard ratio CTs. into account, in addition to any phase compensation necessary.
For digital/numerical relays, the required filtering is applied
8.3 Phase correction
in the relay software. Table C7.4 summarises the phase
Correct operation of transformer differential protection requires compensation and zero sequence filtering requirements. An
that the transformer primary and secondary currents, as example of an incorrect choice of ICT connection is given in
measured by the relay, are in phase. If the transformer is Section 19.1.
connected delta/star, as shown in Figure C7.8, balanced
8.5 Ratio correction
three-phase through current suffers a phase change of 30°.
If left uncorrected, this phase difference would lead to the Correct operation of the differential element requires that
relay seeing through current as an unbalanced fault current, currents in the differential element balance under load and
and result in relay operation. Phase correction must be through fault conditions. As the primary and secondary line
implemented CT ratios may not exactly match the transformer rated winding
currents, digital/ numerical relays are provided with ratio
Electromechanical and static relays use appropriate CT/ICT
correction factors for each of the CT inputs. The correction
connections to ensure that the primary and secondary currents
factors may be calculated automatically by the relay from
applied to the relay are in phase.
knowledge of the line CT ratios and the transformer MVA
For digital and numerical relays, it is common to use star- rating. However, if interposing CTs are used, ratio correction
connected line CTs on all windings of the transformer and may not be such an easy task and may need to take into
compensate for the winding phase shift in software. Depending account a factor of √3 if delta-connected CTs or ICTs are
on relay design, the only data required in such circumstances involved. If the transformer is fitted with a tap changer, line
may be the transformer vector group designation. Phase CT ratios and correction factors are normally chosen to achieve
compensation is then performed automatically. Caution is current balance at the mid tap of the transformer. It is
required if such a relay is used to replace an existing necessary to ensure that current mismatch due to off-nominal
electromechanical or static relay, as the primary and secondary tap operation will not cause spurious operation.
line CTs may not have the same winding configuration. Phase
The example in Section 19.2 provides an illustration of how
compensation and associated relay data entry require more
ratio correction factors are used, and that of Section 9.3
detailed consideration in such circumstances. Rarely, the
shows how to set the ratio correction factors for a transformer
available phase compensation facilities cannot accommodate
with an unsymmetrical tap range.
the transformer winding connection, and in such cases
interposing CTs must be used.

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C7 8. Differential protection

Phase HV Zero LV Zero

Transformer Transformer Clock face
compensation sequence sequence
connection phase shift vector

)
required filtering filtering 3

Differential current (
Yes Yes
Yes 2
0° 0 0° Operate
Yes 70%
slope
1
Yes Yes 30%
Restrain slope
Setting range
-30° 1 30° Yes
(0.1 - 0.5 )
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Yes Effective bias (x )
Yes Yes
Yes
-180° 6 180° Figure C7.9:
Yes Typical bias characteristic

Yes Yes
of CT inputs can be used, connected as shown in Figure
30 11 -30° Yes C7.10(a). The separate load currents are summated in the
Yes CT secondary circuits, and will balance with the infeed current
Yes Yes on the supply side.
(H / 12) Hour -(H / 12) x Yes When more than one source of fault current infeed exists,
x 360° ‘H’ 360° Yes there is a danger in the scheme of Figure C7.10(a) of current
circulating between the two paralleled sets of current
‘H’: phase displacement ‘clock number’, according to IEC 60076-1 transformers without producing any bias. It is therefore
important a relay is used with separate CT inputs for the two
secondaries - Figure C7.10(b).
Table C7.4:
Current transformer connections for power transformers of When the third winding consists of a delta-connected tertiary
various vector groups with no connections brought out, the transformer may be
regarded as a two winding transformer for protection purposes
and protected as shown in Figure C7.10(c).
8.6 Bias setting
Bias is applied to transformer differential protection for the
same reasons as any unit protection scheme – to ensure
Source
stability for external faults while allowing sensitive settings to Loads

pick up internal faults. The situation is slightly complicated if

a tap changer is present. With line CT / ICT ratios and correction
factors set to achieve current balance at nominal tap, an off- >

nominal tap may be seen by the differential protection as an

(a) Three winding transformer (one power source)
internal fault. By selecting the minimum bias to be greater
Possible
than the sum of the maximum tap of the transformer and Source
fault
infeed
possible CT errors, maloperation due to this cause is avoided.
Some relays use a bias characteristic with three sections, as
shown in Figure C7.9. The first section is set higher than the >
transformer magnetising current. The second section is
set to allow for off-nominal tap settings, while the third has a (b) Three winding transformer (three power sources)

larger bias slope beginning well above rated current to cater Source
Possible
fault
for heavy through-fault conditions. infeed

8.7 Transformers with multiple windings

The unit protection principle remains valid for a system having >

more than two connections, so a transformer with three or (c) Three winding transformer with unloaded delta tertiary
more windings can still be protected by the application of
the above principles. The power transformer has only one of
its three windings connected to a source of supply, with the Figure C7.10: Differential protection arrangements for three-
other two windings feeding loads, a relay with only two sets winding transformers (shown single phase for simplicity)

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Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

9. Differential protection stabilisation during magnetising inrush conditions C7

The magnetising inrush phenomenon described in Section 3 The second harmonic is therefore an attractive basis for a
produces current input to the energised winding which has stabilising bias against inrush effects, but care must be taken
no equivalent on the other windings. The whole of the inrush to ensure that the current transformers are sufficiently large
current appears, therefore, as unbalance and the differential so that the harmonics produced by transient saturation do
protection is unable to distinguish it from current due to an not delay normal operation of the relay. The differential current
internal fault. The bias setting is not effective and an increase is passed through a filter that extracts the second harmonic;
in the protection setting to a value that would avoid operation this component is then applied to produce a restraining
would make the protection of little value. Methods of delaying, quantity sufficient to overcome the operating tendency due
restraining or blocking of the differential element must therefore to the whole of the inrush current that flows in the operating
be used to prevent mal-operation of the protection. circuit. By this means a sensitive and high-speed system can
be obtained.
9.1 Time delay
9.3 Inrush detection blocking – Gap detection technique
Since the phenomenon is transient, stability can be maintained
by providing a small time delay. However, because this time Another feature that characterizes an inrush current can be
delay also delays operation of the relay in the event of a fault seen from Figure C7.5 where the two waveforms (c) and (d)
occurring at switch-on, the method is no longer used. have periods in the cycle where the current is zero. The
minimum duration of this zero period is theoretically one
9.2 Harmonic restraint
quarter of the cycle and is easily detected by a simple timer
The inrush current, although generally resembling an in-zone t1 that is set to 1/f seconds. Figure C7.11 shows the circuit
fault current, differs greatly when the waveforms are compared. in block diagram form. Timer t1 produces an output only if
The difference in the waveforms can be used to distinguish the current is zero for a time exceeding 1/f seconds. It is
between the conditions. reset when the instantaneous value of the differential current
exceeds the setting reference.
As stated before, the inrush current contains all harmonic
orders, but these are not all equally suitable for providing
bias. In practice, only the second harmonic is used.
Bias
Inhibit Timer 1 Inhibit Timer 2 Trip
This component is present in all inrush waveforms. It is typical Differential Differential
Threshold comparator
of waveforms in which successive half period portions do
not repeat with reversal of polarity but in which mirror-image
symmetry can be found about certain ordinates.
Figure C7.11:
The proportion of second harmonic varies somewhat with the Block diagram to show waveform gap-detecting principle
degree of saturation of the core, but is always present as
long as the uni-directional component of flux exists. The
amount varies according to factors in the transformer design. As the zero in the inrush current occurs towards the end of
Normal fault currents do not contain second or other even the cycle, it is necessary to delay operation of the differential
harmonics, nor do distorted currents flowing in saturated iron relay by 1/f seconds to ensure that the zero condition can
cored coils under steady state conditions. be detected if present. This is achieved by using a second
The output current of a current transformer that is energised timer t2 that is held reset by an output from timer t1.
into steady state saturation will contain odd harmonics but When no current is flowing for a time exceeding 1/f seconds,
not even harmonics. However, should the current transformer timer t2 is held reset and the differential relay that may be
be saturated by the transient component of the fault current, controlled by these timers is blocked. When a differential
the resulting saturation is not symmetrical and even harmonics current exceeding the setting of the relay flows, t1 timer is
are introduced into the output current. This can have the reset and timer t2 times out to give a trip signal in 1/f seconds.
advantage of improving the through fault stability performance If the differential current is characteristic of transformer inrush
of a differential relay. then timer t2 will be reset on each cycle and the trip signal is
blocked.
Some numerical relays may use a combination of the harmonic
restraint and gap detection techniques for magnetising inrush
detection.

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 Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 10. Combined differential and resticted earth fault schemes

The advantages to be obtained by the use of restricted earth

fault protection, discussed in Section 7, lead to the system
being frequently used in conjunction with an overall differential
system. The importance of this is shown in Figure C7.12, from
which it will be seen that if the neutral of a star-connected Restricted earth
fault relay I >

winding is earthed through a resistance of one per unit, an

overall differential system having an effective setting of 20% Phase correcting
auxiliary current
transformers
will detect faults in only 42% of the winding from the line end.
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 Id> Id> Id> Differential relay

internally in the relay.

Where software ratio/phase correction is not available, either
summation transformer or auxiliary CTs can be used. The Figure C7.14:
connections are shown in Figures C7.13 and C7.14 respectively. Combined differential and restricted earth fault protection
using auxiliary CTs

100
Care must be taken in calculating the settings, but the only
significant disadvantage of the Combined Differential/REF
80 scheme is that the REF element is likely to operate for heavy
(percentage of rated current)

n
tio

internal faults as well as the differential elements, thus making

Primary operating current

ec
ot

subsequent fault analysis somewhat confusing. However, the

pr

60
lt

saving in CTs outweighs this disadvantage.

u
fa
h
rt
ea

10.1 Application when an earthing transformer is

d

40 n
te

tio
ric

te
c connected within the protected zone
st

ro
Re

ia lp
nt A delta-connected winding cannot deliver any zero sequence
20 re
fi fe current to an earth fault on the connected system, any current
D
that does flow is in consequence of an earthed neutral
0 elsewhere on the system and will have a 2-1-1 pattern of
100 80 60 40 20 0
current distribution between phases. When the transformer
Percentage of winding protected
in question represents a major power feed, the system may
be earthed at that point by an earthing transformer or earthing
Figure C7.12: reactor. They are frequently connected to the system, close
Amount of winding protected when transformer is resistance to the main supply transformer and within the transformer
earthed and ratings of transformer and resistor are equal 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
Restricted represents three times the zero sequence current flowing,
earth
fault I > ratio correction is required. This can take the form of
relay
interposing CTs of ratio 1/0.333, arranged to subtract their
output from that of the line current transformers in each phase,
Id> Id> Id> Differential relay as shown in Figure C7.15. 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
Figure C7.13: component internally.
Combined differential and earth fault protection using
summation current transformer

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10. Combined differential and resticted earth fault schemes C7

Provided restricted earth fault protection is not required, the

A
B
scheme shown in Figure C7.16 has the advantage of not
C requiring a current transformer, with its associated mounting
and cabling requirements, in the neutral-earth conductor. The
Earthing
1/0.333 scheme can also be connected as shown in Figure C7.17
transformer
when restricted earth fault protection is needed.

A
B
Differential relay Id> Id> Id> C
I >

Restricted earth fault relay I >

Earthing
transformer
Figure C7.15:
Differential protection with in-zone earthing
transformer, with restricted earth fault relay

Differential relay Id> Id> Id>

A high impedance relay element can be connected in the

neutral lead between current transformers and differential
relays to provide restricted earth fault protection to the winding.
Figure C7.17:
As an alternative to the above scheme, the circulating current Differential protection with in-zone earthing transformer, with
system can be completed via a three-phase group of alternative arrangement of restricted earth fault relay
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
C7.16.

A
B
C

Earthing
transformer

Differential relay Id> Id> Id>

Figure C7.16:
Differential protection with in-zone earthing transformer;
no earth fault relay

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 Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 11. Earthing transformer protection

Earthing transformers not protected by other means can use

the scheme shown in Figure C7.18. The delta-connected A
current transformers are connected to an overcurrent relay
B
having three phase-fault elements. The normal action of the
earthing transformer is to pass zero sequence current. The C
transformer equivalent current circulates in the delta formed
by the CT secondaries without energising the relay. The latter
may therefore be set to give fast and sensitive protection
against faults in the earthing transformer itself. I>

Earthing transformer

Figure C7.18:
Earthing transformer protection

12. Auto-transformer protection

Auto-transformers are used to couple EHV power networks

if the ratio of their voltages is moderate. An alternative to A
Differential Protection that can be applied to auto-transformers B
is protection based on the application of Kirchhoff’s law to a C

conducting network, namely that the sum of the currents

flowing into all external connections to the network is zero.
A circulating current system is arranged between equal ratio High
current transformers in the two groups of line connections Id> impedance
relay
and the neutral end connections. If one neutral current
transformer is used, this and all the line current transformers (a) Earth fault scheme
can be connected in parallel to a single element relay, thus
providing a scheme responsive to earth faults only; see Figure A
C7.19(a). B
C
If current transformers are fitted in each phase at the neutral
end of the windings and a three-element relay is used, a
A
differential system can be provided, giving full protection B
against phase and earth faults; see Figure C7.19(b). This C
provides high-speed sensitive protection. It is unaffected by
Id> Id> Id>
ratio changes on the transformer due to tap-changing and is
immune to the effects of magnetising inrush current. N

(b) Phase and earth fault scheme

It does not respond to interturn faults, a deficiency that is
serious in view of the high statistical risk quoted in Section
1. Such faults, unless otherwise cleared, will be left to develop
Figure C7.19:
into earth faults, by which time considerably more damage Protection of auto-transformer by high impedance differential
to the transformer will have occurred. relays

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12. Auto-transformer protection C7

In addition, this scheme does not respond to any fault in a separate from the main winding protection. If the tertiary
tertiary winding. Unloaded delta-connected tertiary windings winding earthing lead is connected to the main winding neutral
are often not protected; alternatively, the delta winding can above the neutral current transformer in an attempt to make
be earthed at one point through a current transformer that a combined system, there may be ‘blind spots’ which the
energises an instantaneous relay. This system should be protection cannot cover.

13. Overfluxing protection

The effects of excessive flux density are described in Section harmonic detection feature, which can be used to detect such
2.8. Overfluxing arises principally from the following system a condition, as levels of this harmonic rise under overfluxing
conditions: conditions.
a. high system voltage
b. low system frequency
Operating
c. geomagnetic disturbances time (s)
1000
The latter results in low frequency earth currents circulating
through a transmission system.
100
Since momentary system disturbances can cause transient K=63
K=40
overfluxing that is not dangerous, time delayed tripping is 10 K=20
required. The normal protection is an IDMT or definite time K=5
characteristic, initiated if a defined V/f threshold is exceeded. 1 K=1
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
Often separate alarm and trip elements are provided. The
alarm function would be definite time-delayed and the trip
function would be an IDMT characteristic. A typical
characteristic is shown in Figure C7.20.
Geomagnetic disturbances may result in overfluxing without Figure C7.20:
the V/f threshold being exceeded. Some relays provide a 5th Typical IDMT characteristic for overfluxing protection

14. Tank-earth protection

This is also known as Howard protection. If the transformer

tank is nominally insulated from earth (an insulation resistance
of 10 ohms being sufficient) earth fault protection can be
provided by connecting a relay to the secondary of a current
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 [C6: Busbar
Protection].

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 Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 15. Oil and gas devices

All faults below oil in an oil-immersed transformer result in

localised heating and breakdown of the oil; some degree of 3 x Internal pipe
arcing will always take place in a winding fault and the diameter (min) Conservator
resulting decomposition of the oil will release gases. When
the fault is of a very minor type, such as a hot joint, gas is 5 x Internal pipe
released slowly, but a major fault involving severe arcing diameter (min)
causes a very rapid release of large volumes of gas as well
as oil vapour. The action is so violent that the gas and vapour
do not have time to escape but instead build up pressure
and bodily displace the oil.
When such faults occur in transformers having oil conservators,
the fault causes a blast of oil to pass up the relief pipe to
the conservator. A Buchholz relay is used to protect against 76mm typical
such conditions. Devices responding to abnormally high oil
pressure or rate-of-rise of oil pressure are also available and Transformer
may be used in conjunction with a Buchholz relay.
15.1 Oil Pressure relief devices
Figure C7.21:
The simplest form of pressure relief device is the widely used Buchholz relay mounting arrangement
‘frangible disc’ that is normally located at the end of an oil
relief pipe protruding from the top of the transformer tank.
The surge of oil caused by a serious fault bursts the disc, a cast housing which is connected in the pipe to the
so allowing the oil to discharge rapidly. Relieving and limiting conservator, as in Figure C7.21.
the pressure rise avoids explosive rupture of the tank and A typical Buchholz relay will have two sets of contacts. One
consequent fire risk. Outdoor oil-immersed transformers are is arranged to operate for slow accumulations of gas, the
usually mounted in a catchment pit to collect and contain other for bulk displacement of oil in the event of a heavy
spilt oil (from whatever cause), thereby minimising the internal fault. An alarm is generated for the former, but the
possibility of pollution. latter is usually direct-wired to the CB trip relay.
A drawback of the frangible disc is that the oil remaining in The device will therefore give an alarm for the following fault
the tank is left exposed to the atmosphere after rupture. This conditions, all of which are of a low order of urgency:
is avoided in a more effective device, the sudden pressure
relief valve, which opens to allow discharge of oil if the a. hot spots on the core due to short circuit of lamination
pressure exceeds a set level, but closes automatically as insulation
soon as the internal pressure falls below this level. If the b. core bolt insulation failure
abnormal pressure is relatively high, the valve can operate
c. faulty joints
within a few milliseconds, and provide fast tripping when
suitable contacts are fitted. d. interturn faults or other winding faults involving only lower
power infeeds
The device is commonly fitted to power transformers rated
at 2MVA or higher, but may be applied to distribution e. loss of oil due to leakage
transformers rated as low as 200kVA, particularly those in
When a major winding fault occurs, this causes a surge of
hazardous areas.
oil, which displaces the lower float and thus causes isolation
15.2 Rapid pressure rise relay of the transformer. This action will take place for:
This device detects rapid rise of pressure rather than absolute a. all severe winding faults, either to earth or interphase
pressure and thereby can respond even quicker than the
b. loss of oil if allowed to continue to a dangerous degree
pressure relief valve to sudden abnormally high pressures.
Sensitivities as low as 0.07bar/s are attainable, but when An inspection window is usually provided on either side of
fitted to forced-cooled transformers the operating speed of the gas collection space. Visible white or yellow gas indicates
the device may have to be slowed deliberately to avoid that insulation has been burnt, while black or grey gas
spurious tripping during circulation pump starts. indicates the presence of dissociated oil. In these cases the
gas will probably be inflammable, whereas released air will
15.3 Buchholz protection
not. A vent valve is provided on the top of the housing for
Buchholz protection is normally provided on all transformers the gas to be released or collected for analysis. Transformers
fitted with a conservator. The Buchholz relay is contained in with forced oil circulation may experience oil flow to/from the

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15. Oil and gas devices C7

conservator on starting/stopping of the pumps. The Buchholz a transformer tank filled with oil have shown that operation
relay must not operate in this circumstance. times of 0.05s-0.1s are possible. Electrical protection is
generally used as well, either to obtain faster operation for
Cleaning operations may cause aeration of the oil. Under
heavy faults, or because Buchholz relays have to be prevented
such conditions, tripping of the transformer due to Buchholz
from tripping during oil maintenance periods. Conservators
operation should be inhibited for a suitable period.
are fitted to oil-cooled transformers above 1000kVA rating,
Because of its universal response to faults within the except those to North American design practice that use a
transformer, some of which are difficult to detect by other different technique.
means, the Buchholz relay is invaluable, whether regarded
as a main protection or as a supplement to other protection
schemes. Tests carried out by striking a high voltage arc in

16. Transformer-feeder protection

A transformer-feeder comprises a transformer directly

connected to a transmission circuit without the intervention
HV LV
of switchgear. Examples are shown in Figure C7.22.
The saving in switchgear so achieved is offset by increased
complication in the necessary protection. The primary
requirement is intertripping, since the feeder protection
remote from the transformer will not respond to the low current
fault conditions that can be detected by restricted earth fault
and Buchholz protections. LV HV HV LV

Either unrestricted or restricted protection can be applied;

moreover, the transformer-feeder can be protected as a single
zone or be provided with separate protections for the feeder
and the transformer. In the latter case, the separate protections
can both be unit type systems. An adequate alternative is
the combination of unit transformer protection with an HV LV
unrestricted system of feeder protection, plus an intertripping
feature.
16.1 Non-unit schemes
The following sections describe how non-unit schemes are
applied to protect transformer-feeders against various types
of fault.
16.1.1 Feeder phase and earth faults Figure C7.22:
Typical transformer-feeder circuits
High-speed protection against phase and earth faults can
be provided by distance relays located at the end of the
feeder remote from the transformer. The transformer constitutes Although the distance zone is described as being set ’half
an appreciable lumped impedance. It is therefore possible way into the transformer’, it must not be thought that half the
to set a distance relay zone to cover the whole feeder and transformer winding will be protected. The effects of auto-
reach part way into the transformer impedance. With a normal transformer action and variations in the effective impedance
tolerance on setting thus allowed for, it is possible for fast of the winding with fault position prevent this, making the
Zone 1 protection to cover the whole of the feeder with amount of winding beyond the terminals which is protected
certainty without risk of over-reaching to a fault on the low very small. The value of the system is confined to the feeder,
voltage side. which, as stated above, receives high-speed protection
throughout.

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 Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 16. Transformer-feeder protection

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 protection can be obtained using high set instantaneous
overcurrent relays.
These should have a low transient over-reach, defined as: = Relay setting =
Setting ratio =

IS − IF = Transient over-reach
×100%
IF Transient
over-reach (%) 5 25 50 100

where: 0.25 1.01 1.20 1.44 1.92

Is = setting current 0.5 0.84 1.00 1.20 1.60

IF = steady - state r.m.s. value of fault current which when 1.0 0.63 0.75 0.90 1.20

fully offset just operates the relay 2.0 0.42 0.50 0.60 0.80

The instantaneous overcurrent relays must be set without risk 4.0 0.25 0.30 0.36 0.48

of them operating for faults on the remote side of the 8.0 0.14 0.17 0.20 0.27
transformer.
Referring to Figure C7.23, the required setting to ensure that
the relay will not operate for a fully offset fault IF2 is given by: Figure C7.23:
Over-reach considerations in the application of transformer-
Is = 1.2 (1 + t) IF2 feeder protection

where I F2 is the fault current under maximum source

conditions, that is, when ZS is minimum, and the factor of It can be seen that for a given transformer size, the most
1.2 covers possible errors in the system impedance details sensitive protection for the line will be obtained by using
used for calculation of IF2, together with relay and CT errors. relays with the lowest transient overreach. It should be noted
As it is desirable for the instantaneous overcurrent protection that where r is greater than 1, the protection will not cover
to clear all phase faults anywhere within the feeder under the whole line. Also, any increase in source impedance above
varying system operating conditions, it is necessary to have the minimum value will increase the effective setting ratios
a relay setting less than IF1 in order to ensure fast and reliable above those shown. The instantaneous protection is usually
operation. applied with a time delayed overcurrent element having a
lower current setting. In this way, instantaneous protection
Let the setting ratio resulting from setting IS be is provided for the feeder, with the time-delayed element
IS covering faults on the transformer.
r =
I F1 When the power can flow in the transformer-feeder in either
direction, overcurrent relays will be required at both ends.
Therefore,
In the case of parallel transformer-feeders, it is essential that
rIF1 = 1.2 (1 + t) IF2 the overcurrent relays on the low voltage side be directional,
operating only for fault current fed into the transformer-feeder,
Hence,
as described in Chapter [C1: Overcurrent Protection for
ZS + Z L Phase and Earth Faults, Section 14.3].
r = 1. 2(1 + t )
ZS + Z L + ZT 16.1.3 Earth faults
ZS + Z L Instantaneous restricted earth fault protection is normally
r = 1. 2(1 + t )
(1 + x ) ( Z S + Z L ) provided. When the high voltage winding is delta connected,
a relay in the residual circuit of the line current transformers
1. 2(1 + t ) gives earth fault protection which is fundamentally limited to
= the feeder and the associated delta-connected transformer
1+x winding. The latter is unable to transmit any zero sequence
where: current to a through earth fault.
ZT
x =
ZS + Z L

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16. Transformer-feeder protection C7

When the feeder is associated with an earthed star-connected 16.1.4 In-zone capacitance
winding, normal restricted earth fault protection as described
The feeder portion of the transformer-feeder will have an
in Section 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,
Restricted protection can be applied using a directional earth and the resulting zero sequence component of voltage will
fault relay. A simple sensitive and high-speed directional produce a corresponding component of zero sequence
element can be used, but attention must be paid to the capacitance current. In the limiting case of full neutral
transient stability of the element. Alternatively, a directional displacement, this zero sequence current will be equal in
IDMT relay may be used, the time multiplier being set low. value to the normal positive sequence current.
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
When the supply source is on the high voltage star side, an charging current. The value of this component of in-zone
alternative scheme that does not require a voltage transformer current should be considered when establishing the effective
can be used. The scheme is shown in Figure C7.24. setting of earth fault relays.
16.2 Unit schemes
The basic differences between the requirements of feeder
and transformer protections lie in the limitation imposed on
the transfer of earth fault current by the transformer and the
need for high sensitivity in the transformer protection,
suggesting that the two components of a transformer-feeder
should be protected separately. This involves mounting current
Relay >
transformers adjacent to, or on, the high voltage terminals
of the transformer. Separate current transformers are
desirable for the feeder and transformer protections so that
these can be arranged in two separate overlapping zones.
The use of common current transformers is possible, but
Relay > > > may involve the use of auxiliary current transformers, or
special winding and connection arrangements of the relays.
+ Intertripping of the remote circuit breaker from the transformer
Trip protection will be necessary, but this can be done using the
circuit
communication facilities of the feeder protection relays.
Although technically superior, the use of separate protection
systems is seldom justifiable when compared with an overall
Figure C7.24: system or a combination of non-unit feeder protection and
Instantaneous protection of transformer-feeder a unit transformer system.
An overall unit system must take into account the fact that zero
sequence current on one side of a transformer may not be
For the circuit breaker to trip, both relays A and B must operate,
reproduced in any form on the other side. This represents little
which will occur for earth faults on the feeder or transformer winding.
difficulty to a modern numerical relay using software phase/
External earth faults cause the transformer to deliver zero zero sequence compensation and digital communications to
sequence current only, which will circulate in the closed delta transmit full information on the phase and earth currents from
connection of the secondary windings of the three auxiliary one relay to the other. However, it does represent a more difficult
current transformers. No output is available to relay B. Through problem for relays using older technology. The line current
phase faults will operate relay B, but not the residual relay A. transformers can be connected to a summation transformer
Relay B must have a setting above the maximum load. As the with unequal taps, as shown in Figure C7.25(a). This
earthing of the neutral at a receiving point is likely to be solid arrangement produces an output for phase faults and also
and the earth fault current will therefore be comparable with some response for A and B phase-earth faults. However, the
the phase fault current, high settings are not a serious limitation. resulting settings will be similar to those for phase faults and
no protection will be given for C phase-earth faults.
Earth fault protection of the low voltage winding will be
provided by a restricted earth fault system using either three An alternative technique is shown in Figure C7.25(b).
or four current transformers, according to whether the winding
is delta or star-connected, as described in Section 7.

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 D D

E E

Transformer and Transformer-Feeder Protection

C7 16. Transformer-feeder protection D Bias winding

E Operating winding
Differential relays

(a) Circulating current system

A
Feeder
A

B
B

C
C

D D

E E

Pilots

D Bias winding Differential relays

E Operating winding

(a) Circulating current system

Relay electromagnets
(bias inherent)

(b) Balanced voltage system

Figure C7.25 (a):

Methods of protection for transformer-feeders using A
electromechanical static technology
B
Figure C7.25 (b):
Methods of protection for transformer- feeders using
The B phase is taken through a separate winding on another C electromechanical static technology
transformer or relay electromagnet, to provide another
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 in
pilot cost.

Pilots

Relay electromagnets
(bias inherent)

(b) Balanced voltage system

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17. Intertripping C7

In order to ensure that both the high and low voltage circuit
breakers operate for faults within the transformer and feeder,
A
it is necessary to operate both circuit breakers from protection
B
normally associated with one. The technique for doing this
is known as intertripping. C

The necessity for intertripping on transformer-feeders arises

from the fact that certain types of fault produce insufficient
current to operate the protection associated with one of the Voltage
transformer
circuit breakers. These faults are:
a. 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
b. 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
c. earth faults on the feeder or high voltage delta-connected
winding which trip the high voltage circuit breaker only, Residual voltage relay
leaving the transformer energised from the low voltage
side and with two high voltage phases at near line-to-line
voltage above earth. Intermittent arcing may follow and Figure C7.26:
there is a possibility of transient overvoltage occurring Neutral displacement detection using voltage transformer
and causing a further breakdown of insulation
Several methods are available for intertripping; these are The relay normally receives zero voltage, but, in the presence
discussed in Chapter [D2: Signalling and Intertripping in of an earth fault, the broken-delta voltage will rise to three
Protection Schemes]. times the phase voltage. Earth faults elsewhere in the system
17.1 Neutral displacement may also result in displacement of the neutral and hence
discrimination is achieved using definite or inverse time
An alternative to intertripping is to detect the condition by characteristics.
measuring the residual voltage on the feeder. An earth fault
occurring on the feeder connected to an unearthed transformer
winding should be cleared by the feeder circuit, but if there
is also a source of supply on the secondary side of the
transformer, the feeder may be still live. The feeder will then
be a local unearthed system, and, if the earth fault continues
in an arcing condition, dangerous overvoltages may occur.
A voltage relay is energised from the broken-delta connected
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 C7.26.

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C7 18. Condition monitoring of transformers

It is possible to provide transformers with measuring devices A typical condition monitoring system for an oil-immersed
to detect early signs of degradation in various components transformer is capable of monitoring the condition of various
and provide warning to the operator in order to avoid a lengthy transformer components as shown in Table C7.5.
and expensive outage due to failure. The technique, which
There can be some overlap with the measurements available
can be applied to other plant as well as transformers, is called
from a digital/numerical relay. By the use of software to store
condition monitoring, as the intent is to provide the operator
and perform trend analysis of the measured data, the operator
with regular information on the condition of the transformer.
can be presented with information on the state of health of
By reviewing the trends in the information provided, the
the transformer, and alarms raised when measured values
operator can make a better judgement as to the frequency
exceed appropriate limits. This will normally provide the
of maintenance, and detect early signs of deterioration that,
operator with early warning of degradation within one or more
if ignored, would lead to an internal fault occurring. Such
components of the transformer, enabling maintenance to be
techniques are an enhancement to, but are not a replacement
scheduled to correct the problem prior to failure occurring.
for, the protection applied to a transformer.
The maintenance can obviously be planned to suit system
The extent to which condition monitoring is applied to conditions, provided the rate of degradation is not excessive.
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.
costly and not justified), the importance of the asset to system
operation, and the general record of reliability. Therefore, it
should not be expected that all transformers would be, or
need to be, so fitted.

Monitored equipment Measured quantity Health information

Voltage
Partial discharge measurement Insulation quality
(wideband voltage)

Bushings Loading
Load current Permissible overload rating
Hot-spot temperature
Oil pressure Insulation quality
Hot-spot temperature
Oil temperature
Permissible overload rating
Oil quality
Tank Gas-in-oil content
Winding insulation condition
Buchholz gas content Oil quality
Moisture-in-oil content Winding insulation condition
Position Frequency of use of each tap position
Drive power consumption OLTC health
Tap changer
Total switched load current OLTC contact wear
OLTC oil temperature OLTC health
Oil temperature difference
Cooling air temperature Cooler efficiency
Coolers
Ambient temperature
Pump status Cooling plant health
Conservator Oil level Tank integrity

Table C7.5:
Condition monitoring for transformers

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19. Examples of transformer protection C7

This section provides three examples of the application of to 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
P630 or P640 series relays provide advanced software to the protection relay. On the primary side of the transformer,
simplify the calculations, so an earlier relay is used to illustrate the delta connected main primary winding causes zero-
the complexity of the required calculations. sequence current to circulate round the delta and hence will
not be seen by the primary side main CTs. The protection
19.1 Provision of zero-sequence filtering
relay will therefore not see any zero-sequence current on the
Figure C7.27 shows a delta-star transformer to be protected primary side, and hence detects the secondary side zero
using a unit protection scheme. With a main winding connection sequence current incorrectly as an in-zone fault.
of Dyn11, suitable choices of primary and secondary CT
The solution is to provide the ICTs on the secondary side of
winding arrangements, and software phase compensation are
the transformer with a delta winding, so that the zero-sequence
to be made. With the MiCOM P630 or P640 series relays, phase
current circulates round the delta and is not seen by the relay.
compensation is selected by the user in the form of software-
Therefore, a rule can be developed that a transformer winding
implemented Interposing Current Transformers (ICTs).
with a connection to earth must have a delta-connected main
or ICT for unit protection to operate correctly.
Selection of Yy0 connection for the primary side ICTs and Yd1
Primary CTs Secondary CTs (–30°) for the secondary side ICTs provides the required
phase shift and the zero-sequence trap on the secondary
side.
19.2 Unit protection of a delta-star transformer
Figure C7.28 shows a delta-star transformer to which unit
protection is to be applied, including restricted earth fault
protection to the star winding.
Primary ICTs Unit protection relay Secondary ICTs

10MVA
Figure C7.27: 33/11kV
Transformer zero sequence filtering example Primary CTs Secondary CTs

With the Dyn11 connection, the secondary voltages and FLC = 175A FLC = 525A

currents are displaced by +30° from the primary. Therefore,

the combination of primary, secondary and phase correction
must provide a phase shift of –30° of the secondary quantities 600/1
relative to the primary.
For simplicity, the CTs on the primary and secondary windings
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 +30° or on the secondary
side having a phase shift of –30°. There is a wide combination
of primary and secondary ICT winding arrangements that Primary ICTs Unit Protection Secondary ICTs
can provide this, such as Yd10 (+60°) on the primary and Yd3 Relay

(-90°) on the secondary.

Another possibility is Yd11 (+30°) on the primary and Yy0 (0°)
Figure C7.28:
on the secondary. It is usual to choose the simplest
Transformer unit protection example
arrangements possible, and therefore the latter of the above
two possibilities might be selected.
Referring to the figure, the ICTs have already been correctly
However, the distribution of current in the primary and
selected, and are conveniently applied in software. It therefore
secondary windings of the transformer due to an external
remains to calculate suitable ratio compensation (it is assumed
earth fault on the secondary side of the transformer must now
that the transformer has no taps), transformer differential
be considered. The transformer has an earth connection on
protection settings and restricted earth fault settings.
the secondary winding, so it can deliver zero sequence current

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C7 19. Examples of transformer protection

19.2.1 Ratio compensation where:

Transformer HV full load current on secondary of main CTs VS = stability voltage setting
is:
VK = CT knee point voltage
175 / 250 = 0.7
K = relay stability factor
Ratio compensation = 1/0.7 = 1.428
IS = relay current setting
Select nearest value = 1.43
Rct = CT winding resistance
LV secondary current = 525/600 = 0.875
RL = CT secondary lead resistance
Ratio compensation = 1 / 0.875 = 1.14
RB = resistance of any other components in the relay circuit
19.2.2 Transformer unit protection settings
Rstab = stabilising resistor
A current setting of 20% of the rated relay current is
For this example:
recommended. This equates to 35A primary current. Some
protection relays have a dual slope bias characteristic with VK = 97V
fixed bias slope settings of 20% up to rated current and 80%
Rct = 3.7Ω
above that level. The corresponding characteristic is shown
in Figure C7.29. RL = 0.057Ω
For the relay used, the various factors are related by the graph
of Figure C7.30.
600

500
0.1
Differential current (A)

70

400
Operate 60
Overall operationtime - milliseconds

300
50
0.2
200
Restrain 40
0.3

Factor
100
Overall op time
30
0.4
0
0 200 400 600 800 Unstable
20 0.5

Effective bias (A) differential current Stable 0.6

Factor
10 0.7
0.8
0.9
Figure C7.29: 0 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Transformer unit protection characteristic

19.2.3 Restricted earth fault protection Figure C7.30:

REF operating characteristic for KBCH relay
MiCOM P630 series relay implements high-impedance
Restricted Earth Fault (REF) protection. Operation is required
for a primary earth fault current of 25% rated earth fault current Starting with the desired operating time, the VK / VS ratio
(i.e. 250A). The prime task in calculating settings is to calculate and K factor can be found.
the value of the stabilising resistor Rstab and stability factor K. An operating time of 40ms (2 cycles at 50Hz) is usually
A stabilising resistor is required to ensure through fault stability acceptable, and hence, from Figure C7.30,
when one of the secondary CTs saturates while the others VK / VS = 4
do not.
K = 0.5
The requirements can be expressed as:
VS = IS Rstab and VS > KIf (Rct + 2RL + RB )

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19. Examples of transformer protection C7

The maximum earth fault current is limited by the earthing change position into account to avoid the possibility of
resistor to 1000A (primary). The maximum phase fault current spurious trips at extreme tap positions. For this example, the
can be estimated by assuming the source impedance to be same transformer as in Section 19.2 will be used, but with an
zero, so it is limited only by transformer impedance to 5250A, on-load tapping range of +5% to -15%. The tap-changer is
or 10A secondary after taking account of the ratio located on the primary winding, while the tap-step usually
compensation. Hence the stability voltage can be calculated does not matter.
as
The stages involved in the calculation are as follows:
VS = 0.5 x 10 (3.7 + 2 0.057) = 19.07V
a. determine ratio correction at mid-tap and resulting
Hence, secondary currents
Calculated VK = 4 x 19.07 = 76.28V b. determine HV currents at tap extremities with ratio correction
However, c. determine the differential current at the tap extremities
Actual VK = 91V and VK / VS = 4.77 d. determine bias current at tap extremities
Thus from Figure C7.30, with K = 0.5, the protection is unstable. e. check for sufficient margin between differential and
operating currents
By adopting an iterative procedure for values of VK / VS and
K, a final acceptable result of VK / VS = 4.55, K = 0.6, is 19.3.1 Ratio correction
obtained. This results in an operating time of 40ms.
In accordance with Section 8.4, the mid-tap position is used
The required earth fault setting current Iop is 250A. The chosen to calculate the ratio correction factors. The mid tap position
E / F CT has an exciting current Ie of 1%, and hence using is –5%, and at this tap position:
the equation:
Primary voltage to give rated secondary voltage:
Iop = CT ratio x ( IS + nIe )
= 33 x 0.95 = 31.35kV
where:
and
n = no of CTs in parallel (= 4)
Rated primary current = 184A
IS = 0.377, use 0.38 nearest settable value.
Transformer HV full load current on secondary of main CTs
The stabilising resistance Rstab can be calculated as 60.21Ω. is:
The relay can only withstand a maximum of 3kV peak under 184/250 = 0.737
fault conditions. A check is required to see if this voltage is
Ratio compensation = 1/0.737
exceeded – if it is, a non-linear resistor, known as a Metrosil,
must be connected across the relay and stabilising resistor. = 1.357
The peak voltage is estimated using the formula:
Select nearest value = 1.36
V P = 2 2V K ( V F − V K ) LV secondary current = 525/600
where:
= 0.875
VF = If (Rct + 2RL + Rstab ) Ratio compensation = 1/0.875
and
= 1.14
If = fault current in secondary of CT circuit and substituting Both of the above values can be set in the relay.
values,
19.3.2 HV currents at tap extremities
Vp = 544V. Thus a Metrosil is not required.
At the +5% tap, the HV full-load current will be:
10
19.3 Unit protection for on-load tap changing
transformer 33 × 1. 05 × 3
The previous example deals with a transformer having no =166.6A primary
taps. In practice, most transformers have a range of taps to Hence, the secondary current with ratio correction:
cater for different loading conditions. While most transformers
166.6 × 1.36
have an off-load tap-changer, transformers used for voltage =
control in a network are fitted with an on-load tap-changer. 250
The protection settings must then take the variation of tap- = 0.906A

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C7 19. Examples of transformer protection

At the -15% tap, the HV full-load current on the primary of 19.3.5 Margin between differential and operating
the CTs: currents
10 The operating current of the relay is given by the formula
=
33 × 0. 85 × 3 Iop = IS + 0.2Ibias
= 205.8 A Hence, at the +5% tap, with IS = 0.2
Hence, the secondary current with ratio correction: Iopt1 = 0.2 + ( 0.2 x 0.952 )
205.8 × 1.36 = 0.3904A
=
250
= 1. 12 A At the –15% tap,
19.3.3 Determine differential current at tap extremities Iop = IS + 0.2 + ( Ibias - 1 ) x 0.8
The full load current seen by the relay, after ratio correction (since the bias >1.0)
is 0.875 x 1.14 = 0.998A.
Iopt2 = 0.2 + 0.2 + ( 1.059 - 1 ) x 0.8
At the +5% tap, the differential current
= 0.4472A
Idifft2 = 0.998 - 0.906 = 0.092A
For satisfactory operation of the relay, the operating current
At the –15% tap, should be no greater than 90% of the differential current at
the tap extremities.
Idifft2 = 1.12 - 0.998 = 0.122A
For the +5% tap, the differential current is 24% of the operating
19.3.4 Determine bias currents at tap extremities
current, and at the –15% tap, the differential current is 27%
The bias current is given by the formula: of the operating current. Therefore, a setting of IS is satisfactory.

1
I bias = x ( I RHV + I RLV )
2
where:
IRHV = relay HV current
IRLV = relay LV current
Hence,
1
I biast1 = x ( 0.998 + 0.906 )
2
= 0.952A

and
1
I biast 2 = x ( 0.998 + 1.12 )
2
= 1.059A

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C7

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