Impact of grounding method on transformer transient performance

Impact of the transformer’s grounding method
on its transient performance under lighting

impulse
Dr. Waldemar Ziomek

Senior Expert – Power Transformers and HV Insulation
PTI Manitoba Inc., Winnipeg, Canada
PTCA
PTI Manitoba Inc. November 2015
April 2017 IEEE CONFIDENTIAL
Transformers Committee 1 1
Introduction
The industry standards for grounding methods (e.g. IEEE Std 142 ) describe the system configurations
and impact of grounding method on performance of the system, but do not estimate the impact of the
grounding method on the overvoltages inside the neutral-grounded transformer.
This study will analyze the influence of specific grounding method, i.e. directly, through reactance or
resistance, on the transients developing in a transformer under lightning impulse.
The calculation of internal overvoltages inside the transformer can be performed using different
methods, however the most popular is a lumped parameter method in which the physical winding is
represented by a system of RLC components. An equivalent circuit of the transformer is created by
subdividing the winding into a cascade of equivalent RLC circuits. The RLC circuit parameters are
calculated considering the ohmic value of resistance between the terminals of each winding, the value
of self-inductance of each coil, L, the values of mutual inductances between the coils, M, the
capacitance values found along each coil (series capacitances - Cs) and the values of capacitances
between adjacent coils and between coils and grounded structural parts of the transformer
(capacitances to ground - Cg). An example of such winding model is illustrated in Figure 1, excluding
mutual inductances. In this example the winding is divided into n branches or inductive elements,
represented in the model by ‘local’ RiLiCi components. By increasing the number of circuits by finer
subdivisions, the accuracy can be extended to higher frequency.
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Introduction
Figure 1 Transient response of a transformer winding to standard lightning impulse with the neutral
directly grounded; a) representation of a transformer winding for transient studies as a ladder of MLRC
elements (mutual inductances, Mij, not shown), b) voltage distribution along the winding vs time for a
helical winding
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Introduction
Figure 2 Representation of one phase of a transformer with windings coupled through capacitances to
each other and to ground
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Introduction
HV SYSTEM
LV SYSTEM
Buried TV
Figure 3 Example of a three-phase transformer with three circuits; TV is buried, delta-connected with
one corner directly grounded; LV and HV windings are wye-connected with directly grounded neutrals
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Introduction
Short examination of the model shown in Figure 3 would lead to a conclusion that prediction of
such a transformer model’s behavior under a lightning impulse excitation without performing all
necessary transient calculations is not possible, especially if one would need to take into
account interaction between windings of a phase subjected to the impulse (transferred surge),
transients flowing to connected phases, action of non-linear arrestors, if any, impact of the
grounding method, etc. Only through generation of a precise model the proper transient
characteristic of a transformer can be obtained.
Moreover, if a transformer is connected to a specific power system, such interaction between a
transformer and system needs to be taken into account, especially the presence and transient
characteristics of circuit-breakers, transmission line(s), cables, etc.
In all cases described above the winding neutral was grounded directly, hence the voltage in
neutral would be zero. Various types of system grounding (ungrounded, directly grounded,
grounded through resistance, reactance or ground-fault neutralizer) with a system
characteristics are described in IEEE standard. Three grounding types relevant to this study –
direct grounding, grounding through resistance or reactance - are presented in Figure 4.
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Introduction
Figure 4 Selected cases for transformer grounding and corresponding zero-sequence

components of neutral circuit; XG0 – zero sequence impedance of transformer or generator, RN –
resistance of a grounding resistor, XN – reactance of a grounding reactor (from IEEE Std 142)
PTCA
Transient study on
a windfarm collector step-up transformer
Rating Terminal Winding BIL [kV]

Power rating: 200 MVA H1, H2, H3 1050
Cooling type: ONAN/ONAF/ONAF H0 110
Winding temperature rise: 65oC average/ X1, X2, X3 200
80oC hot spot X0 200
Liquid top temperature 65oC
rise:
HV rated voltage 345 000 GrdY/ 199 200 V
LV rated voltage 34 500 Y/ 19 200 V
TV buried
Insulating liquid Mineral oil, Type II
LTC in HV neutral for HV MR VM-III-500Y-72.5/C
variation
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Transient study on
a windfarm collector step-up transformer
The objective of this study is to evaluate the transient performance of a transformer under LI
excitation (LI applied in turn to HV and LV terminals) for three different methods of the
neutral grounding: directly, by resistance, or by reactance.
The study was performed on a three-phase model of a transformer, with a TV winding

grounded directly in one corner and the HV neutral directly grounded, under lighting impulse
for both full wave (FW) at 200kV, 1.2/50 ms and chopped wave (CW) at 220kV and 3.5/50
ms.
As the performance under LV CW impulse at 220 kV is decisive, only these results are
presented here.
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Directly grounded LV neutral
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Transformers Committee 1010
Resistance grounded LV neutral
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Reactance grounded LV neutral
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Reactance grounded LV neutral –
the voltage across NGR
The voltage across the neutral grounding reactance vs time during 220 kV LI (CW)
applied to the LV line terminal – maximum voltage across the reactor is 138kV
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Comparison of CW impulse results
with different grounding methods
LV voltage to gnd TV voltage to TV to LV TV voltage to
LV neutral’s grounding [kV] gnd [kV] voltage [kV] shield
method: [kV]
Directly grounded 220/-220 220/-200 230/-170 180/-220
Resistance grounded 220/-220 230/-200 230/-160 180/-220
Reactance grounded 230/-230 255/-270 320/-320 260/-280
From the above shown results one may see that the magnitudes of overvoltages developing
inside a transformer with the neutral grounded by reactance are significantly higher than those
achieved with the neutral directly grounded or resistance-grounded. While LV voltage to ground
does not change significantly with grounding method, the voltage from TV to ground and to LV
is some 35-45% higher when the neutral is reactance-grounded, with worst case for the voltage
LV-TV increasing twice for this type of grounding.
These results were re-checked by performing RSG tests, which confirmed the higher transient
voltages at reactance grounding, but it was noticed that due to damping and air background (vs
oil) the differences between resistance/direct vs reactance grounding were around 25-35%.
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Conclusions from a study
 The industry standards for grounding methods (e.g. IEEE Std 142) describe the system
configurations and impact of grounding method on performance of the system, but do
not estimate the impact of the grounding method on the overvoltages inside the
neutral-grounded transformer.
 Grounding a transformer directly or with a resistor results in lower internal

overvoltages, than those appearing when a neutral grounding reactor is used: e.g.
based of this study one may state that while the LV voltage to ground does not change
significantly with grounding method, the voltage from a TV winding to ground and to the
LV winding is some 35-45% higher when the neutral is reactance-grounded, with worst
case for the LV-TV voltage increasing twice for this type of grounding.
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Conclusions from a study
 As a prediction of the transformer and system performance under transients is strictly
dependent of their characteristics, specific to given design, location, system
configuration, and type of the neutral grounding device, such a study should be
performed in the design stage for a specific transformer.
 This case demonstrated that the transients developing inside the transformer under LI
with the neutral grounding reactor are excessive, would lead to a failure of the
transformer. On the other hand, the analysis of the voltage appearing across the
neutral grounding reactor showed that this voltage is high, but it could be controlled by
higher BIL of the transformer neutral or application of an arrester. Therefore a warning
needs to be formed: when using the neutral grounding reactor, the transient
voltages need to be thoroughly analyzed not only across the grounding device,
but more importantly – inside the transformer to whose neutral this device is
connected. This is typically analyzed when the NGR is defined in the specification, but
may be a problem when the user of a transformer decides to change the grounding
method later, e.g. after a few years in operation.
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Proposal for IEEE Std C57.142
The transformer neutral grounding method
Typically, the analysis of the transformer response to a transient excitation is performed with the excited
winding’s neutral grounded directly; hence the voltage in the neutral would be equal to zero, if one would
ignore the ground impedance. This is a very typical situation for the large power, high voltage transformers,
but in many situations the grounding method may be different and would have impact on the development of
the oscillatory voltages inside the transformer under transient conditions. Various types of system grounding
(i.e. ungrounded, directly grounded, grounded through resistance, reactance or ground-fault neutralizer) with a
system characteristics are described in IEEE Standard 142.
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The impact of the neutral grounding method on the transient response of a transformer cannot be predicted without performing
the transient calculations, nevertheless one may observe the following characteristics of some of these methods:
 The direct grounding will ensure that the voltage in the neutral is zero, or near zero – for both steady state and transients
(the voltage rise of neutral during the system faults is not discussed here),
 The resistive grounding will have a damping effect on the transients – both inside and outside a transformer, as
resistance will dissipate the energy of transient current; it is stated in [1] that “a system properly grounded by resistance is
not subject to destructive transient overvoltages”;
 The grounding by reactance will sustain the transient state and lead to overvoltages as reactance will store and release
1
the electric energy, We: 𝑊𝑒 = 2 𝐿𝑖 2
In other words, one may expect that the presence of the reactance in the neutral will promote and uphold the transient
overvoltages inside and outside the transformer; as the energy stored in the reactor flows through the system including a
transformer – one may expect its possible adverse impact of the transient voltages inside the transformer. The standard [1]
addresses the presence of reactance in the neutral only for the system faults and states as follows: “in reactance-grounded
system, the available ground-fault current should be at least 25% and preferably 60% of the three-phase fault current to
prevent serious overvoltages (X0 ≤ 10X1)”.
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As the transformer and system performance under transients is strictly dependent of their characteristics,
specific to given design, location, system configuration, etc., there is no universal description covering all
possible cases. Some specific theoretical and experimental work related to the methods of transformer
grounding can be found in the references [2-4], but a detailed analysis of a specific case is always required to
fully understand the response of a given transformer to transients.
Under typical circumstance the neutral grounding method is communicated to the transformer manufacturer
and its impact on the transient voltages can be taken into account during design and can be mitigated by
developing the enhanced insulation system or application of the internal, or external non-linear resistors.
The situation becomes more complicated if the transformer grounding method is changed later, e.g. by a new
owner of the substation, and the transformer manufacturer is not consulted for possible impact of a new
grounding method on the oscillatory overvoltages developing inside the transformer under transient
excitation. This may result in the excessive internal voltages breaking down the transformer insulation system
and leading to a transformer failure.
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References
[1] IEEE Std 142 – Recommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power
Systems, 1991 (revised in 2007)
[2] C. Tian et al, “Lightning Transient Characteristics of a 500-kV Substation Grounding Grid”, 7th
Asia-Pacific International Conference on Lightning, November 1-4, 2011, Chengdu, China
[3] M.Saied “Effect of Transformer Sizes and Neutral Treatments on the Electromagnetic Transients
in Transformer Substations”, IEEE Transactions On Industry Applications, VOL. 31, NO. 2, MAR-
APR 1995
[4] J.C.Balda et al, “ Measurements of Neutral Currents and Voltages on a Distribution Feeder”,
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 12, No. 4, October 1997
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Impact of grounding method on transformer transient performance

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Impact of grounding method on transformer transient performance

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Impact of the transformer’s grounding method

on its transient performance under lighting

Dr. Waldemar Ziomek

PTI Manitoba Inc., Winnipeg, Canada

Figure 4 Selected cases for transformer grounding and corresponding zero-sequence

Rating Terminal Winding BIL [kV]

The study was performed on a three-phase model of a transformer, with a TV winding

 Grounding a transformer directly or with a resistor results in lower internal

The transformer neutral grounding method

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