RISK OF FERRORESONANCE IN ISOLATED NEUTRAL NETWORKS AND REMEDIES C. Stuckens Laborelec P.A. Monfils Balteau N. Janssens Th.

Van Craenenbroeck CPTE K.U.Leuven Belgium D. Van Dommelen K.U.Leuven

2. THREE-SINGLE-PHASE FERRORESONANCE 1. INTRODUCTION Ferroresonance phenomena are due to the interaction between non-linear inductances and capacitances of a network forming a resonant circuit. These phenomena may be caused by switching operations or such disturbances as temporary short-circuits. They are characterised by the possible existence of several stable states, besides the normal steady state, that induce dangerous over-currents and over-voltages. The present study deals with the ferroresonance phenomena in three-phase isolated neutral networks with three single-phase voltage transformers. It is the socalled three-single-phase ferroresonance, Germay et al (1). Three-single-phase ferroresonance cases have been observed in public distribution networks, in power plants auxiliaries and in internal networks of factories. When such phenomena occur, unwanted tripping of the protections and automatic devices is likely, as well as breakdown of the transformers due to over-voltages. The major risk nevertheless remains the abnormal temperature rise of the transformers due to the very high currents circulating in the windings, currents caused by the extreme saturation of the cores. In the absence of any measure intended to stop the phenomenon rapidly, the transformers will be severely damaged, which may generate a short-circuit, an explosion or even fire in the plant. Previously, a computation method has been developed and implemented for the single-phase ferroresonance; it enables direct calculation of the domains where ferroresonance may occur in a space of parameters such as the operating voltage, the capacitance, the resistance and the saturable inductance of a damping circuit, Janssens et al (2). This method has now been extended to the study of the three-single-phase ferroresonance and validated by means of full scale tests. The result is an efficient method to determine if there is a risk of three-singlephase ferroresonance for a particular situation, and to design the damping circuit that will enable to avoid the phenomenon. Figure 1 shows a typical situation where three-singlephase ferroresonance may occur (1). The diagram includes a balanced three-phase voltage source with isolated neutral, phase-to-earth voltage transformers with a saturable iron core (T) and zero sequence capacitances of each phase-to-earth (C0). Source
T C0 T C0 T C0

figure 1 : network with isolated neutral There is a simple physical interpretation for the threesingle-phase ferroresonance phenomenon : it is an oscillation of the zero sequence circuit that lasts indefinitely owing to the energy transfer from the source through the non-linear elements, provided the transferred energy is large enough to compensate for the system losses, Janssens et al (3). The ferroresonance phenomena occur when the zero sequence capacitances C0 are very small. In the specific case of the 15kV/ 3 transformers tested in laboratory, ferroresonance phenomena have been observed for capacitances ranging between 0 and 100 nF. For a cable with synthetic insulation having a capacity of 200 pF/m, 100 nF corresponds with a cable length of 500 m. The ferroresonance oscillation modes which are most likely to occur in practice are the unbalanced fundamental mode (UF) and the quasi-periodic subharmonic mode (QP1/2).

a. Fundamental ferroresonance

The fundamental ferroresonance oscillation mode is periodic at the network frequency f0, and is characterised by very different amplitudes for the three phase-to-earth voltages and, consequently, for the three magnetising currents. This is thus an unbalanced mode. One or several phases may be saturated and the voltage of the neutral at the source, which also oscillates at the network frequency, is high. Figure 2 shows, over three periods, the voltages at the terminals of the three transformers (U1, U2, U3) and the voltage of the isolated neutral (Un) as obtained during the tests for C0 = 12 nF and Usource = 19.2 kV. It should be noticed that the unbalance is more important than the one observed in a phase-to-earth fault.
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Voltage Un (kV)
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Time (sec)

U2
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U3

figure 3 : quasi-periodic 1/2 ferroresonance

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Un

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Tension (kV)
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U1

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Voltage U1 (kV)

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Time (sec)

figure 2 : fundamental ferroresonance b. Quasi-periodic ferroresonance Unlike the periodic oscillation mode, where the harmonics are multiples or sub-multiples of the network frequency, the quasi-periodic sub-harmonic mode has a basic frequency f1 slightly smaller than half the network frequency f0; it includes also a slow oscillation f2, with a value ranging between some tenths of a Hz up to nearly 5 Hz. Both these frequencies depend on the parameters of the circuit and meet the relation f2 = f02f1. Other combinations of the basic frequencies f0 and f1 are also present. The figures 3 and 4 show respectively the voltage of the isolated neutral Un and the voltage at the terminals of one of the transformers U1 for C0 = 60 nF and Usource = 18.0 kV. The oscillation mode being balanced, the other phases have similar voltages. The quasi-periodic character appears more obviously when only one dot (*) per period is represented (stroboscopic representation). The voltage of the neutral oscillates with a frequency slightly smaller than 25 Hz. The voltage U1 includes a 50 Hz component as well as a slow frequency (beat frequency).

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Time (sec)

figure 4 : quasi-periodic 1/2 ferroresonance These figures illustrate the most common waveforms that can be measured, either at the transformer terminals, or at the neutral, during a three-single-phase ferroresonance phenomenon and enable discrimination between the two major oscillation modes described above. 3. REMEDIES Damping a ferroresonance phenomenon may be achieved by increasing the zero sequence losses in order to prevent the source to provide the required energy for maintaining it. The problem here is to find a damping circuit that will damp all ferroresonance modes taking into account the characteristics of the transformers, the characteristics of the circuit, the admissible over-voltage level and the permanently admissible load on the windings of the transformers.

Three solutions have been considered : a. As a first solution, an ohmic load may be connected to the terminals of the open delta formed by the tertiary windings of the three transformers. However, this method is limited by the thermal capacity of the transformers that imposes a lower limit for the value of the resistance that can be inserted into the circuit. This lower limit is obtained by considering a phase-to-earth fault which generates, in the tertiary, a driving voltage equal to three times the rated voltage. b. Another solution, when the imposed requirement for the resistance does not allow damping of all ferroresonance modes, is the addition, in series with the resistance mounted at the terminals of the open delta, of a saturable inductance. c. Damping is also achievable by means of an auxiliary voltage transformer connected to the neutral of the power transformer, provided this one is accessible, and loaded with a damping resistance or a damping reactance coil, ELECTRA (4). A calculation programme developed by the authors enables, in its present version, to investigate the solutions a and c; the study of solution b will be possible within the near future. During the tests, the first solution has been studied; in practice, it is the most easy to implement and enables to solve most problems. 4. CALCULATION METHOD In order to compute periodic oscillations of the circuit of figure 1, the programme uses the harmonic balance method, Van Craenenbroeck et al (5); this is a particular case of the Galerkin method which represents the flux evolution within the non-linear inductances by means of a finite Fourier series :

networks can be investigated with a reduced number of equations to be solved. There is only one complex equation per phase for each harmonic component. In order to apply this method to the cases of quasiperiodic oscillation modes, an approximation has to be introduced since the frequencies of the oscillation modes are not known in advance. For the representation of the QP 1/2 mode, we have chosen for the use of components multiple of 25 Hz (this necessitates insertion of a DC component for the fluxes and the currents). The quasi-periodic mode becomes periodic. Simulations have corroborated the validity of this approximation when the frequency f2 is slow enough (less than 5 Hz), which is verified for most of the considered configurations. However, the description of the DC components is not simple since these should represent the low frequency component. We have made use of the observed fact that the slow component is a direct symmetric component type, Woodford (6). Using the method of the harmonic balance, the stability limits of the calculated modes are also computable, expressing a zero value of the determinant of the Jacobian (3, 5). 5. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP - MODELLING Laboratory tests have been performed in order to determine by experimental means the stability limits of the fundamental and the quasi-periodic sub-harmonic 1/2 ferroresonance, for different values of the zero sequence capacitances of the circuit, with and without damping resistance. Full scale tests have been performed on a three-phase circuit corresponding to figure 1; the neutral of the three-phase source being earthed, the floating neutral has been located at the common point of the transformers and capacitances. This circuit includes : - a 40 kVA three-phase source continuously adjustable between 0 and 50 kV. - a set of 3 identical 15kV/ 3 BALTEAU UKM24 voltage transformers. These saturable transformers are non-linear devices. - a sufficiently large number of 24 and 36 kV capacitances ranging between some nano-Farads and sixty nano-Farads that enables to achieve different zero sequence capacitance values. - three 65 kV 15 VA voltage transformers of class 0.2 for measuring the supply voltage. (not saturating) - one 45 kV 10 VA voltage transformer of class 0.5 for measuring the voltage of the neutral point. (not saturating)

( t ) = 0 + ( k , c cos( kt ) + k , s sin( kt ))
k K

Set K of the harmonic components is selected in accordance with the considered oscillation mode. This method implies that a system of non-linear algebraic equations is solved, the unknowns of these equations being the Fourier coefficients. When dealing with the current in a branch, the corresponding Fourier coefficients are calculated numerically, using the magnetic characteristic I() of the inductance. The linear part of the circuit can be represented using the generalised Thvenin theorem at various frequencies k K (5). Using Thvenin equivalents, complete

- three 15 VA current transformers of class 0.5 for the measurement of the primary currents of the transformers being tested. - a 10 MHz digital recorder for acquisition and storage of the tests. - an equipment for injection of calibrated current impulses that are synchronised with the source voltage; it is connected to the secondary winding of one of the transformers being tested. - some damping resistances. The magnetic characteristics of the three transformers being tested have also been measured. In order to have an accurate representation of the magnetic characteristic, a parabolic spline shape (succession of parabol arcs having the same value and slope at the connection points) has been selected. The iron losses of the magnetic cores are represented in the model by means of a conductance, in parallel with the non-linear characteristic and recalculated at the start of each iteration in order to take into account the specific behaviour of the eddy current losses and the hysteresis losses as a function of the oscillation amplitude, the frequency and the waveform. The effect of possible secondary hysteresis loops is included. As the internal impedance of the source is not negligible, it has been determined through regression on the values of the currents and the voltages at the terminals of the source. 6.COMPARISON CALCULATION-MEASUREMENT The impulse circuit has enabled observation of different ferroresonance modes (essentially the fundamental and the quasi-periodic oscillation modes). The source voltage has been maintained a few seconds in order to record the ferroresonance phenomenon, then its stability limit has been measured, by gradually lowering the voltage until the phenomenon disappears. 6.1 Comparison of the oscillation modes Figure 5 shows the agreement between the calculated and measured fluxes, obtained through integration of the voltages at the transformer terminals, for a relevant case of fundamental ferroresonance (C0 = 10 nF). The oscillation mode is obviously highly unbalanced, as a result of the displacement of the neutral. Note : for symmetry reasons there are three cyclic solutions for each configuration.

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figure 5 : fundamental ferroresonance - C0 = 10 nF For the quasi-periodic 1/2 oscillation mode, one of the unknowns of the problems is the beat frequency f2. Table 1 is a comparison of the measured and the calculated values.

C0 (nF) 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

Us (kV) 9.22 10.23 11.52 10.70 13.70 13.63 17.00 14.89 17.15 18.29 18.22 18.13

f2, mes (Hz) 0.714 0.833 0.926 1.250 1.250 1.471 1.064 1.563 1.429 1.724 2.174 2.500

f2, cal (Hz) 0.597 0.649 0.797 1.043 0.976 1.340 0.995 1.368 1.421 1.807 2.367 3.102

Table 1 : comparison of the measured and calculated beat frequencies Besides these two modes, which have been treated systematically, two other periodic modes have been observed for low capacitance values. The voltage of the floating neutral Un, as well as its frequency content show there are respectively a combined fundamental + 1/3 oscillation mode with the components 1/3, 1, 5/3, 7/3 and 3 (figure 6) and a combined fundamental + 1/2 oscillation mode with the components 1/2, 1, 3/2, 2, 5/2 and 3 (figure 7). The above described calculation method enables the calculation of these oscillation modes, as well as their stability limits.

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6.2 Comparison of the stability limits The stability limits of the UF and QP1/2 oscillation modes have been determined by experimental means for a set of zero sequence capacitances C0. Damping of the oscillation modes has also been tested by means of a resistance mounted at the terminals of the delta connection formed by the tertiary windings.
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The experimental and theoretical limit curves are given hereafter for the fundamental ferroresonance (figure 8) without damping and with a 500 resistance and for the quasi-periodic 1/2 ferroresonance (figure 9) without damping and with a 100 resistance.
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figure 6 : combined UF + 1/3 mode

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x : measured with Rd * : measured without Rd : computed

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figure 8 : fundamental ferroresonance

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without Rd x : measured with Rd * : measured without Rd : computed

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Co (nF)

Un (kV)

figure 9 : quasi-periodic ferroresonance When investigating these curves, the following observations can be made. As far as the fundamental mode is concerned, there is a difference of some 10 % between the calculated and measured curves.

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Freq. (Hz)

figure 7 : combined 1/2 + UF mode

In the quasi-periodic 1/2 mode without damping, the capacitances lower than 60 nF show a significantly better agreement (some %) with the measurement. With damping, these differences amount to 10 %. For higher capacitance values, with or without damping, the differences amount to 20 %, which can be explained by the fact that the beat frequency amounts to nearly 5 Hz; consequently, the approximation made for the calculation of the quasi-periodic mode is less good. From the manufacturers and users point of view, the calculations are on the safe side. The differences are essentially due to the losses in the measuring devices; it is not easy to evaluate these losses accurately. There is another error factor : the inadequate representation of the source. As a matter of fact the internal impedance varies as a function of the applied voltage and depends on the symmetric components of the currents. Networks with a negligible impedance do not have this disadvantage. Finally it should be noticed that the resistances used during the tests do not completely eliminate the ferroresonance risk at the rated voltage of 15 kV. In practice, lower resistances have to be used in order to avoid ferroresonance for sure. 7. CONCLUSIONS The work presented in this paper has enabled validation of an efficient and reliable calculation method for determining whether there is a risk of three-single-phase ferroresonance in an isolated neutral network and for calculating the characteristics of a damping system consisting of a resistance connected to the terminals of the open delta formed by the tertiary windings of the three transformers. This method also enables the dimensioning of a damping equipment made of an auxiliary voltage transformer connected to the neutral of the power transformer and loaded with a damping resistance or damping reactance coil. Adapting the model will in the future enable the calculation of a damping circuit composed of a saturable inductance in series with a resistance at the tertiary side. Provided a safety margin of 10 % is applied on the voltage, any point located under the stability limits of the different ferroresonance oscillation modes will undoubtedly result in damping of these modes. The method not only gives a global view of the systems behaviour, but also enables to design a damping circuit that prevents occurrence of ferroresonance oscillation modes for any value of the zero sequence capacitance;

this offers an additional safety, more particularly in case of future plant modifications. 8. REFERENCES 1. N. GERMAY, S. MASTERO, J. VROMAN, 1974, Review of ferro-resonance phenomena in high-voltage power system and presentation of a voltage transformer model for predetermining them, CIGRE 1974, Paper 33-18. 2. N. JANSSENS, V. VANDERSTOCKT, H. DENOEL, P.A. MONFILS, 1990, Elimination of temporary overvoltages due to ferroresonance of voltage transformers : design and testing of a damping system, CIGRE 1990, Paper 33-204. 3. N. JANSSENS, TH. VAN CRAENENBROECK, D. VAN DOMMELEN, F. VAN DE MEULEBROECKE, 1996, Direct calculation of the stability domains of three-phase ferroresonance in isolated neutral networks with grounded-neutral voltage transformers, IEEE PWRD, 11, N3, 1546-1553 4. 1990, ELECTRA, 129, 98 - 107 5. TH. VAN CRAENENBROECK, D. VAN DOMMELEN, N. JANSSENS, F. VAN DE MEULEBROEKE, 1995, Stability analysis of ferroresonant oscillations in networks with isolated neutral, Proc. of ICCDCS, 41-45 6. D.A. WOODFORD, 1996, Solving the ferroresonance problem when compensating a DC converter station with a series capacitor, Discussion par N. Janssens, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 11, N3, 1325-1331