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What causes a transformer to fail? Symptoms of power quality issues include vibration, excessive buzzing or humming and overheating. Technicians should occasionally check the power of transformers that supply nonlinear loads, such as variable frequency drives (VFDs) or switching power supplies. Doing so ensures operation within acceptable limits.
- Age – The age of the transformer can lead to its failure. However, it’s not necessarily the calendar time, but the cumulative operating hours at a high load.
- Major Leakages – Moisture and oxygen can enter a transformer through leaking gaskets causing accelerated ageing of insulation and insulation failure. Leaks can be caused by cracks, tank damage, sealant damage, deformation, weld cracking and many other issues and have the potential to cause environmental harm if not adequately contained.
- Inadequate Maintenance – Transformer maintenance is primarily concerned with ensuring the level and condition of the oil and ensuring moisture does not enter the tank.
- Overloading / Overheating – Maintenance allows you to make sure the electrical load settings are appropriate for the specific type of transformer being used.
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- Causes of The Failure of A Transformer
- Types of Failures
- Early Discovery of The Failures
- Internal Defects of The Transformer
- How to Detect Internal Failures?
To track the cause of the failure is the first step to formulate its solution. The origin of the defects is not simple. Generally, it is the combination of many factors that can be classified in the following way // 1. Imperfection on the specifications 1.1. Mistake in the selection of the type of insulation. 1.2. Not appropriate capacity. 1.3. Lac...
Transformer failures produced by the causes mentioned above, create secondary failures and of a third type, hindering their tracking. However, the operating conditions in the moment of the failure, the inspection records of the relays of protectionof the various parts, as well as the transformer maintenance and the regular inspection, will help to ...
It is unnecessary to say that the sooner a failure is detected, the better for the transformer, and it requires a careful and detailed maintenance and inspection. There are procedures made for the regular inspection and of routine. Some defects are caused by reasons beyond human control, such as sudden transformer failures and defects that develop ...
4.1 Defects in the winding
4.1.1 Short circuits – There are short circuits between the turns, between the phases and between the windings. Most short circuits failures are caused by abnormal tensions on the surge arrestersand others because of the deterioration of the insulation oil and to the penetration of rain. Also, some short circuits are caused by the deterioration because of heat, caused by an electromagnetic mechanical force or by an abnormal excessive load. 4.1.3 Short circuit to ground– The impulse voltage or...
4.2 Defects in the core
There are defects due to poor insulation of the tightening screws of the core, or an oil-cooling duct obstructed, that cause excessive heating of the core. The defects on the core develop slowly. A poor or loose tightening between the core and the clamps of the windings can cause damaging vibrations. Go back to Transformer Failure Topics ↑
As additional protection, use the different relays that the transformer has to detect and be protected of failures. Next you can find which parts are used to protect the transformer from internal failures: 1. Those devices that are attached directly to the transformer, and detect failures mechanically: 1.1. Buchholz relay, 1.2. Pressure rise relay,...
- Earth faults. A fault on a transformer winding will result in currents that depend on the source, neutral grounding impedance, leakage reactance of the transformer, and the position of the fault in the windings.
- Core faults. Core faults due to insulation breakdown can permit sufficient eddy-current to flow to cause overheating, which may reach a magnitude sufficient to damage the winding.
- Interturn faults. Interturn faults occur due to winding flashovers caused by line surges. A short circuit of a few turns of the winding will give rise to high currents in the short-circuited loops, but the terminal currents will be low.
- Phase-to-phase faults. Phase-to-phase faults are rare in occurrence but will result in substantial currents of magnitudes similar to earth faults. Go back to transformer fault conditions ↑
- Overheating fault. One of the common issues that you can face with TR’s is that the temperature gets high. This issue has some causes which you should check step by step to overcome it.
- Earth Faults. Earth faults occur due to the earthing of transformer windings to the ground. In this case, the current depends upon the value of earthing impedance.
- Interturnes faults. This type of transformer fault is caused due to the winding turns flashover by line surges. When a number of turns in the same winding short circuit.
- Tank Faults (oil level) This type of fault is related to the oil in the transformer. When the oil reduces in tanks, it causes winding insulation reduction.
Mar 1, 2023 · Overheating. Overheating is one of the most common causes of transformer failure. When a transformer is overloaded or operated in high temperatures for an extended period, it can cause insulation breakdown, leading to a short circuit. This can cause the transformer to fail or even catch fire.
Sep 26, 2023 · Transformer Maintenance: Planning for Failure. September 26, 2023 by Ahmed Sheikh. This article examines transformer maintenance, including simple checks involving temperature and sound that indicate potential issues, maintenance procedures for energized and de-energized dry transformers, and assessments for energized liquid-cooled transformers.
