Analysis of a three-limb core power transformer under earth fault

M. A. Tsili S. A. Papathanassiou
Laboratory of Electric Machines and Power Electronics
Electric Power Division, School of Electrical & Computer Engineering
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
9, Iroon Polytechneiou Street, 15780 Athens, Greece
tel: (+30)-210-7723658, fax: (+30)-210-7723593, e-mail: st@power.ece.ntua.gr









Abstract In this paper, the zero sequence equivalent circuit
is derived for three-limb core (core-type) YNyn0 3-phase
power transformers, to take proper account of the low zero-
sequence magnetizing reactance and neutral earthing
arrangements of the transformer. Subsequently the sequence
component theory is applied to calculate the expected
sequence and phase currents and voltages for a variety of
unbalanced conditions, including single and double phase-to-
earth faults and open conductor situations. The results can
provide the basis for the detection of zero-sequence flux
conditions in the transformer, that may appear under certain
unbalanced faults which remain undetected by the standard
transformer protections.
I. NOMENCLATURE

k
, k=a,b,c : Limb magnetic flux, phase k,
e
p0
: primary winding zero sequence internal
EMF,
e
s0
: secondary winding zero sequence internal
EMF,
I
p0
: primary winding zero sequence current,
I
s0
: secondary winding zero seq. current,

lpk
, k=a,b,c : leakage flux of primary winding phase k,

lsk
, k=a,b,c : leakage flux of sec. winding phase k,
Z
GP
: primary neutral earthing impedance,
Z
GS
: secondary neutral earthing impedance,
Z
G
: substation earthing system impedance
(resistance) to infinite earth,
lpk
R , k=a,b,c
: reluctance of leakage flux path for phase
k of primary winding,
lsk
R , k=a,b,c
: reluctance of leakage flux path for phase
k of secondary winding,
k
R
, k=a,b,c:
: reluctance of phase k limb of the
magnetic core,
0
R
: reluctance of zero-sequence flux (3
0
)
path external to the core,
Z
p
: primary series (short-circuit) impedance,
Z
s
: secondary series (short-circuit)
impedance.,
m0
Z
: zero-sequence magnetizing reactance,
N : primary/secondary winding turns ratio,
U
p0
: primary zero sequence terminal voltage
U
s0
: secondary zero sequence terminal voltage
R
p
: primary winding resistance
R
s
: secondary winding resistance
Z
S
: positive/negative sequence impedance of
the system upstream the fault position,
Z
TL
: positive/negative sequence impedance of
the transmission line (fault to substation),
Z
T
: series (short-circuit) impedance of the
transformer (positive sequence),
Z
L
: Positive/negative sequence impedance of
the load (MV side),
Z
S0
: zero sequence impedance of the system
upstream the fault position,
Z
TL0
: zero sequence impedance of the
transmission line (fault to substation),
Z
PO
: primary series impedance of the zero
sequence transformer equivalent circuit,
Z
SO
: secondary series impedance of the zero
sequence transformer equivalent circuit,
Z
MO
: shunt impedance of the zero sequence
transformer equivalent circuit,
Z
L0
: zero sequence load impedance (MV
side),
Z : Z
TL
+Z
T
+Z
L

Z
0
: Z
TL0
+Z
T0
+Z
L0

II. INTRODUCTION
Large high to medium voltage power transformers are
vital and expensive components in electric power systems
and accordingly high demands are imposed on the study of
their behaviour and the implementation of suitable
protections. Correct representation of the transformer
under unbalanced operating conditions is crucial for the
accurate calculation of fault currents, as well as for the
selection and setting of appropriate transformer and
network protection schemes.
Although sequence transformer equivalents are widely
available in the literature, these models do not always pay
due attention to the type of the transformer magnetic core,
which affects critically its apparent impedance in zero-
sequence conditions, [1,2]. It is a known fact that in core-
type 3-phase power transformers, a high reluctance return
path exists for zero-sequence flux, via the transformer tank
surrounding the core, which results in low values of the
zero-sequence magnetizing impedance, typically of the
order of 50-150%.
In the present paper, the zero sequence equivalent
circuit is derived for a three-limb core YNyn0 3-phase
power transformer, to take proper account of the low zero-
sequence magnetizing reactance, as well as of the neutral
earthing arrangements. Subsequently the sequence
component theory is applied to calculate the expected
sequence and phase currents and voltages for a variety of
unbalanced conditions, including single and double phase-
to-earth faults and open conductor situations. Special
emphasis is placed on the developed zero-sequence flux in
the transformer. The results can provide the basis for the
detection of zero-sequence flux conditions, that may
appear under certain unbalanced faults which remain
undetected by the standard transformer protections. The
motivation for this work has been provided by a case of


severe transformer tank heating, following a permanent
earth fault on the transmission line near the substation,
which went undetected by the existing protections.
III. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY-CASE SYSTEM
A simplified single-line diagram of the studied system
is shown in Fig. 1. It comprises a 150/21 kV YNyn0
transformer fed by an overhead 150 kV transmission line.
Near the substation, one phase of the 150 kV line has been
interrupted and the transformer side conductor has fallen
on the ground, creating thus a combined phase-to-earth and
open conductor fault. The event remained undetected by
the transmission line and transformer protections, resulting
in severe tank heating of the transformer, which was
eventually tripped by the tank temperature protection.
The system and transformer winding connections and
earthing arrangements are shown in Fig. 1. The
transformer under study is a 150/21 kV, 40/50 MVA
(ONAN/ONAF), 3-limb core unit, shown in the pictures of
Fig. 2. Both windings are Y-connected with neutrals
grounded to the substation grounding system, directly at
the HV side and via a 12 /1000 A neutral resistor at the
MV side. The distribution transformers (20/0.4 kV)
connected to the 20 kV distribution network downstream
the power transformer are all delta-connected at the 20 kV
side (vector group Dyn11).


Figure 2. The 150/20 kV, 40/50 MVA, core-type transformer.

The main transformer protection relays are indicated in
Fig. 1. Basic transformer protection is the differential
protection (87T), trigerred by the difference of primary and
secondary winding phase currents. A time over-current
protection relay (51) serves as back up protection for the
HV side. The MV side includes the secondary winding
differential protection (Restricted Earth Fault-87REF), as
well as low-set and high-set ground over-current relays
(resp. EFL and EFH). Time-delayed over-current
protection (51, 51N) is also used for the secondary breaker.
IV. ZERO SEQUENCE EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT
In the case of 5-limb core (shell-type) YY-connected
transformers, zero sequence excitation in one winding
results in negligible current, if the other winding is open
circuited with respect to this sequence, due to the high
magnetizing reactance of the iron core. However, 3-limb
core (core-type) units differ fundamentally in this
respect. The resulting zero-sequence flux path is now
external to the core, via the insulating medium (oil), the
tank and metallic connections other than the core, as
shown schematically in Fig. 3. Due to the high reluctance
of this path, the resulting zero-sequence magnetizing
reactance of the transformer is low and therefore a
significant zero-sequence current may result in the excited
winding. To properly account for such situations, a proper
zero-sequence equivalent circuit is required, which should
also take into account the transformer and substation
grounding arrangements.
To derive such a circuit, the transformer representation
of Fig. 3 is used, along with the respective magnetic
equivalent circuit of Fig. 4. Zero sequence voltages are
applied at the terminals of the primary winding, resulting
in a zero sequence flux
0
per core limb. From the circuit
of Fig.4 the following relations hold:
0 a
R R
0 0 s0
i
s p0
i
p
3 N N + = (1)
a
R
lpa p0 p
N i = (2)
(3)
a
R
lsa s0 s
i N =
Considering that the reluctance of the flux path external
to the core is much higher than the reluctance of the core
iron (R ), eq. (1) can be reduced to:
a 0
R >>
0
R
0 s0 s p0 p
3 N N i i = (4)
150/20 kV substation
DP
O/C
EFH
EFL
REF
DIF
O/C
Alarm
400/150 kV
autotransformer
Transmission
line fault
LEGEND
DP: Distance protection
O/C: Over-current
DIF: Differential
REF: Restricted earth fault
EFH: Earth fault - High
EFL: Earth fault - Low
Voltage transformer
Current transformer
Circuit breaker (CB)
Protection relay
Measurement
C/B trip command
150 kV
busbars
20 kV
busbars
Figure 1. Single line diagram of the system, including the main transformer protections.


Core 3
0

0

0

0
i
p0
i
s0 Z
GP
Z
G
Z
GS
3i
s0
3i
p0
-i
s0
3(i
p0
)
e
p0
+
-
e
s0
+
-

lpa

lsa

lpb

lpc

lsb

lsc
Tank

Figure 3. Three-phase core-type YNyn transformer under zero
sequence conditions.

N
p
i
po
N
s
i
so
R
lpa
R
lsa
R
a
N
p
i
po
N
s
i
so
R
lpb
R
lsb
R
b
N
p
i
po
N
s
i
so
R
lpc
R
lsc
R
c
R
o

a

b

c
3
0

Figure 4. Magnetic equivalent circuit for transformer of Fig. 3.

With reference to Fig. 3, the voltage equation for phase
a of the primary winding is the following, where capital
letters are used for phasor notation in the following:
) I (I 3Z I 3Z E R I U
s0 p0 G p0 GP p0 p p0 p0
+ + + = (5)
Using eqs. (1) and (4), the zero sequence voltage, E
p0
,
induced in the primary can be expressed as:

+
=
dt
) d(
N e
lpa 0
p po

(
(

=
lpa
po p
0
s0 s p0 p
p po
I N
3
I N I N
N E
R R
j (6)
Combining eqs. (5) and (6), referring current I
s0
to the
primary winding turns and rearranging terms, it is
eventually obtained:
) I )(I 3N (
I 1) 3(N 3 Z U
s0 p0 G m0
p0 G GP p
po

+ +
+ = ] [
(7)
where Z
p
=
lpa
2
p
p
N
R
R
+ j is the primary resistance plus
leakage impedance and Z
m0
=
0
3
N
2
p
R
j the zero-sequence
magnetizing impedance.
For the secondary winding, using the voltage equation:
U (8) ) I (I 3Z I 3Z E I
s0 p0 G s0 GS s0 s s0 s0
Z + =
and working in the same way as for eq. (7), it is deduced:
) I )(I 3NZ (Z
I 1)Z 3N(N 3N Z U
s0 p0 G m0
s0 G Gs
2
s
Z
so

+ +
+ = ] -[
(9)
where

s
Z =
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
lsa
2
s
s
2
N
R
N
1
R
j is the secondary
winding series impedance referred to the primary turns.

0 s
U
0 p
U
0 s
I 0 p
I
P0
Z
M0
Z
S0
Z

Figure 5. Zero-sequence T equivalent circuit of a core-type YY
connected transformer, referred to the primary winding.

From eqs. (7) and (9), the zero-sequence equivalent
circuit of Fig. 5 is readily derived. Its parameters are:
( )
G GP p P0
Z 1 N 3 Z Z 3Z + = (10)
( )
G GS s S0
Z 1 N 3N Z
2
3N Z Z + = (11)
G m0 M0
3NZ Z Z + = (12)
where the neutral and substation grounding impedances
have been properly incorporated.
Eqs. (7) and (9), along with the equivalent circuit of
Fig. 5, can be per-unitized with the use of the primary and
secondary winding base quantities. In case of transformers
with on-load tap changers or fixed off-load tap positions,
the OLTC position or the off-nominal turns ratio (ONR)
must be taken into account ([3,4]).
V. ANALYSIS OF UNBALANCED FAULTS
To quantitatively analyse the fault conditions of the
study-case system of Fig. 1, the sequence component
theory can be applied, utilizing the established sequence
equivalent circuits of the various system elements ([1,2,5]).
In Fig. 6 the connection of the sequence equivalents is
shown for the combined earth fault and open conductor
situation, described in Section III. The various impedances
are defined in Section I.
Solving the sequence network equations permits the
calculation of the voltages and currents at the various
points of the network. For instance, the following
expression is derived for the zero sequence voltage U
f0
at
the point of the fault:

)] Z 2Z(Z ) Z (Z 2Z
) 4Z )(6Z Z (Z ) Z )(3Z Z [(Z
E )Z Z 3(Z
U
s 0 f 0 s0
s0 0 f 0 f s
s
f
0
fo
+ + + +
+ + + + +
+
= (13)
Hence, the voltage along the shunt impedance, Z
M0
,
which provides a measure of the zero-sequence flux in the
transformer, is given by:


E
s
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s0
Z
TL
Z
P0
Z
L0
Z
M0
Z
S0
1:1
1:1
1:1
3Z
f
I
s1
I
s2
I
s0
I
T1
I
T2
I
T0
I
f
I
f
I
f
I
f
U
f1
U
f2
U
f0


Figure 6. Connection of the sequence circuits for the study case
fault (combined earth fault and open conductor
conditions), [2].


M0
m0
Z
M0
f0
m0
Z
U U
0
Z
Z
= (14)
To estimate the zero-sequence flux developed in the
transformer under other possible unbalanced conditions,
the same analysis has been conducted for other types of
unsymmetrical faults, occurring at the same position along
the HV in-feed line. Such are the single-phase and double-
phase-to-ground faults and the interruption of one or two
phases. The respective connections of the sequence
equivalent circuits are shown in Figs. 7 to 10 and the
relations for U
f0
are the following:

Interruption of one phase
s
s s0 0
0
fo
E
) Z (Z ) Z 2(Z
Z
+ +
=
+
U (15)
Interruption of two phases
s
s s0 0
0
E
) Z (Z ) Z (Z
Z
U
fo
+ +
=
+ 2
(16)
Single phase to ground fault
s
s f 0 s0 s
0 s0
E
ZZ 3Z //Z Z //Z )(Z Z (Z
) //Z Z Z
U
s
fo
+ + + +

=
)
(
(17)
Double phase to ground fault

(
(
(
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+
+ +
+
=
) )
f s0 0 s
s
fo
3Z //Z //(Z (Z//Z
1
s
Z
1
Z
1
f
3Z
0
//Z
s0
Z
0
//Z
s0
Z
Z
1
U
(18) s E

Eq. (14) can then be used to evaluate the zero sequence
voltage and hence flux along the transformer shunt
reactance.
E
s
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s0
Z
TL
Z
P0
Z
L0
Z
M0
Z
S0
I
s1
I
s2
I
s0
I
T1
I
T2
I
T0
U
f2
U
f1
U
f0


Figure 7. Connection of the sequence circuits for one open
conductor (phase a).
E
s
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s0
Z
TL
Z
P0
Z
L0
Z
M0
Z
S0
I
s1
I
s2
I
s0
I
T1
I
T2
I
T0
U
f2
U
f1
U
f0


Figure 8. Connection of the sequence circuits for two open
conductors (phases b and c).

VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Eqs. (13) and (15)-(18) can be further simplified to
derive practical rules of thumb regarding the expected zero
sequence voltage magnitude. For the typical parameter
values encountered in HV power systems, it holds in
general that Z
s
<<Z
TL
<<Z
T
<<Z
L
and Z
s0
<<Z
TL0
<<Z
T0
<<Z
L0
.
Hence, eq. (13) can be reduced to:
3
Es
U
fo
= (19)
For typical HV/MV transformer parameters and fault
position relatively close to the substation (small Z
TL0
), eq.
(14) yields U
mo
0.9U
fo
. Therefore, in the case of the
combined earth fault and open conductor situation, the zero
sequence voltage along the transformer magnetizing
impedance is approximately equal to 0.3 p.u., which is also
a rough indication of the zero sequence flux per limb.


E
s
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s0
Z
TL
Z
P0
Z
L0
Z
M0
Z
S0
3Z
f
I
s1
I
s2
I
s0
I
T1
I
T2
I
T0
I
f
I
f
I
f
U
f1
U
f2
U
f0
I
f


Figure 9. Connection of the sequence circuits for a single phase to
ground fault.

E
s
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s
Z
TL
Z
T
Z
L
Z
s0
Z
TL
Z
P0
Z
L0
Z
M0
Z
S0
3Z
f
I
s1
I
s2
I
s0
I
T1
I
T2
I
T0
I
f
I
f
U
f1
U
f2
U
f0


Figure 10. Connection of the sequence circuits for a double phase
to ground fault.

Following a similar line of reasoning, the simplified
equation for U
fo
, in case of interruption of one phase, is:
s
0
0
E
Z 2Z
Z
U
fo
+
= (20)
Taking into account that Z Z
0,
U
fo
is then approximately
equal to 0.33 p.u. and U
m0
approximately equal to 0.3 p.u.
For two open conductors, U
fo
is given by:
s
0
0
E
Z Z
Z
U
fo
2 +
= (21)
which also results in U
m0
0.3 p.u.
For the single phase to ground fault, eq. (17) can be
reduced to:
s
s0
s
s0
fo
E
Z 2Z
Z
+
= U (22)
Typically Z
s0
k Z
s
, with k=36. For a mean value of
k=4.5, U
mo
is eventually found 0.6 p.u.
In the case of the double phase to ground fault, eq. (18)
is reduced to:
s
s
s0
s0
fo
E
Z Z
0.5Z
U
5 . 0 +
= (23)
which results in U
mo
approximately equal to 0.4 p.u.
More accurate results regarding the currents and
voltages in the system are easily derived by solving the
sequence networks for each fault. For instance, for the
combined earth fault and open conductor situation of
Section III, the results are shown in Fig. 11, where the
phasors of HV and MV side voltages and currents are
illustrated. Initially the transformer operates with a 30
MVA, 0.9 ind. p.f. load. The calculated magnetizing
branch zero sequence voltage U
m0
is equal to 26.95 kV.
Notable, the approximate solution of the previous Section
resulted in U
m0
0.3 p.u. i.e. 0.3(150/3)=26 kV, very
close to the actual value.




Figure 11. Phasor diagram of the phase voltages (in kV) and
currents (in kA) after the occurrence of the fault.

The results of Fig. 11 correspond to distance of the
fault from the substation equal to 0.5 km. In order to
examine the impact of the fault distance on U
m0
and thus
on the zero sequence flux, the calculations have been
repeated for greater lengths of the transmission line


between the fault position and the substation. Fig. 12
illustrates the calculated variation of U
mo
with respect to
the fault-to-substation distance, for the five cases of
unbalanced conditions examined in the previous Section.
In Tables I and II, the resulting voltages U
fo
and U
mo

are presented for the loaded and unloaded transformer,
again for the same five types of unsymmetrical conditions.

TABLE I
TRANSFORMER ZERO SEQUENCE VOLTAGE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES
OF UNSYMMETRICAL CONDITIONS (LOAD 30 MVA, PF=0.9 IND.)
Fault U
f0
(kV) U
m0
(kV)
Earth fault and one open phase 29.26 26.95
One open phase 29.55 27.23
Two open phases 26.67 24.53
Phase to ground fault 63.62 58.61
Double phase to ground fault 40.9 37.68

TABLE II
TRANSFORMER ZERO SEQUENCE VOLTAGE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES
OF UNSYMMETRICAL CONDITIONS (UNLOADED TRANSFORMER)
Fault U
f0
(kV) U
m0
(kV)
Earth fault and one open phase 29.45 27.14
One open phase 0.24 0.22
Two open phases 0.12 0.11
Phase to ground fault 63.87 58.84
Double phase to ground fault 41.11 37.87

15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
0 20 40 60 80 100
Distance of substation from the postion of the fault (km)
U
m
o

(
k
V
)
earth fault and one open phase
one open phase
two open phases
phase to ground fault
double phase to ground fault

Figure 12. Variation of U
mo
with the fault-to-substation distance
for various types of unsymmetrical conditions.

Comparing the results shown in Tables I and II leads to
the following conclusions:

i) For a loaded transformer, the greatest values of U
mo

occur in the case of single and double phase to
ground faults. Open conductors result in similar and
relatively lower values.
ii) Under low load conditions, zero sequence voltage and
therefore flux in the transformer is negligible in case
of single- or two-phase supply. This is expected
because the core limbs of the interrupted phases
provide a low reluctance return path for the flux.
When significant load exists, the closed secondary
winding forces the zero sequence flux to partially
follow paths external to the core. The U
mo
magnitudes
for the other kinds of faults are similar as for the case
of the loaded transformer.
iii) The values of Table I (loaded transformer) are very
close to the simplified estimations of U
m0
provided in
Section V.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the zero sequence equivalent circuit of a
core-type 3-phase YNyn power transformer is derived,
taking into account the core structure and the winding
earthing arrangements. The equivalent circuit is then
applied for the analysis of various unsymmetrical operating
conditions. The analysis was prompted by an incident
where an unbalanced fault, which remained undetected by
the system and transformer protections, resulted in severe
tank heating of the transformer due to the zero sequence
flux circulating through the tank. The analysis is focused
on the zero sequence voltage and hence flux in the
transformer and can serve as the basis for the elaboration
and implementation of a suitable protection.
VIII. REFERENCES
[1] P. M. Anderson, Analysis of Faulted Power Systems. IEEE
Press, 1995
[2] Electrical Transmission and Distribution Reference Book,
Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 1964.
[3] S. A. Papathanassiou, Modeling Transformers with Off-
Nominal Ratios for Unbalanced Conditions, IEEE Power
Eng. Review, pp. 50-52, Feb. 2002.
[4] L. V. Barboza, H. H. Zurn, R. Salgado, Load Tap Change
Transformers: A Modeling Reminder, IEEE Power Eng.
Review, pp. 51-52, Feb. 2001.
[5] P. Kundur, Power System Stability and Control. McGraw
Hill, 1994.
IX. APPENDIX: PARAMETER VALUES
The system short-circuit capacity at the point of the fault is
3200 MVA and the X/R ratio is equal to 7. The distance
from the substation to the point of the fault is 0.5 km. The
other parameters of the study case system have the
following values:
Z
GP
= 0
Z
GS
= 12
Z
G
= 0.5
Z
m0
= 540j
Z
S
= 0.994+6.961j
Z
TL
= 0.097+0.391j /km
Z
T
= 90j
Z
L
= 675+326.92j
Z
S0
= 5.779+34.678j
Z
TL0
= 0.497+2.349j /km