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Maintenance of Transformers

The document outlines the maintenance procedures for power transformers, emphasizing the importance of routine preventative maintenance to ensure optimal performance and longevity. It details various maintenance tasks categorized by frequency, including daily, monthly, half-yearly, yearly, and bi-yearly checks, as well as emergency maintenance practices. Additionally, it covers maintenance protocols for current transformers and voltage transformers, highlighting the necessity of regular inspections and specific actions to maintain system integrity.

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Pankaj Kumar Mehta
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26 views7 pages

Maintenance of Transformers

The document outlines the maintenance procedures for power transformers, emphasizing the importance of routine preventative maintenance to ensure optimal performance and longevity. It details various maintenance tasks categorized by frequency, including daily, monthly, half-yearly, yearly, and bi-yearly checks, as well as emergency maintenance practices. Additionally, it covers maintenance protocols for current transformers and voltage transformers, highlighting the necessity of regular inspections and specific actions to maintain system integrity.

Uploaded by

Pankaj Kumar Mehta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Maintenance of Transformers

A power transformer is the most costly and essential equipment piece of


equipment within an electrical substation. As such it is desirable to perform
various preventative maintenance activities to ensure the transformer
maintains a high level of performance and a long functional life.

A power transformer requires various routine maintenance tasks including


measurement and testing of different parameters of the transformer. There are
two main types of maintenance of transformer. We perform one group on a
routine basis (known as preventative maintenance), and the second group on
an ad-hoc basis (i.e. as required).

That means for getting smooth performance from a transformer we have to


perform some maintenance actions on a regular basis.

Some other types of maintenance for a transformer we perform only as they are
required – known as emergency or breakdown transformer maintenance. But
if one performs regular maintenance properly, this significantly reduces the
chances of needing to perform such emergency maintenance. The regular
checking and maintenance of transformer is also known as condition
maintenance.

Hence by proper condition maintenance, one can avoid emergency and


breakdown maintenance. That is why technical personnel should mainly
concentrate on condition maintenance. As 100% of condition maintenance
causes 0% breakdown of equipment.

There are many different preventative maintenance actions to be performed on


a power transformer. They can be on a daily, monthly, yearly, quarterly, half-
yearly, or yearly basis. Some transformer maintenance activities only need to
be performed once in a 3 to 4 years interval.
Monthly Basis Maintenance of Transformer
Let us first discuss about the action to be taken on power transformer in
monthly basis.

1. The oil level in oil cap under silica gel breather must be checked in a one-
month interval. If it is found the transformer oil inside the cup comes
below the specified level, oil to be top up as per specified level.

2. Breathing holes in silica gel breather should also be checked monthly and
properly cleaned if required, for proper breathing action.

3. If the transformer has oil filled bushing the oil level of transformer oil
inside the bushing must be vidually checked in the oil gage attached to
those bushing. This action also to be done monthly basis.

If it is required, the oil to be filled in the bushing upto correct level. Oil filling
to be done under shutdown condition.

Daily Basis Maintenance and Checking


There are three main things which to be checked on a power transformer on a
daily basis:

1. Reading of MOG (Magnetic Oil Gauge) of main tank and conservator


tank.

2. Color of silica gel in breather.

3. Leakage of oil from any point of a transformer.

In case of unsatisfactory oil level in the MOG, oil to be filled in transformer and
also the transformer tank to be checked for oil leakage. If oil leakage is found
take required action to plug the leakage. If silica gel becomes pinkish, it should
be replaced.
Yearly Basis Transformer Maintenance Schedule
1. The auto, remote, manual function of cooling system that means, oil
pumps, air fans, and other items engaged in cooling system of
transformer, along with their control circuit to be checked in the interval
of one year. In the case of trouble, investigate control circuit and physical
condition of pumps and fans.

2. All the bushings of the transformer to be cleaned by soft cotton cloths


yearly. During cleaning the bushing should be checked for cracking.

3. Oil condition of OLTC to be examined in every year. For that, oil sample
to be taken from drain valve of divertor tank, and this collected oil sample
to be tested for dielectric strength (BDV) and moisture content (PPM). If
BDV is low and PPM for moisture is found high compared to
recommended values, the oil inside the OLTC to be replaced or filtered.

4. Mechanical inspection of Buchholz relays to be carried out on yearly


basis.

5. All marshalling boxes to be cleaned from inside at least once in a year.


All illumination, space heaters, to be checked whether they are
functioning properly or not. If not, required maintenance action to be
taken. All the terminal connections of control and relay wiring to be
checked an tighten at least once in a year.

6. All the relays, alarms and control switches along with their circuit, in
R&C panel (Relay and Control Panel) and RTCC (Remote Tap Changer
Control Panel) to be cleaned by appropriate cleaning agent.

7. The pockets for OTI, WTI (Oil Temperature Indicator & Winding
Temperature Indicator) on the transformer top cover to be checked and
if required oil to be replenished.
8. The proper function of Pressure Release Device and Buchholz relay must
be checked annually. For that, trip contacts and alarm contacts of the said
devices are shorted by a small piece of wire, and observe whether the
concerned relays in remote panel are properly working or not.

9. Insulation resistance and polarization index of transformer must be


checked with battery operated megger of 5 KV range.

10. Resistive value of earth connection and rizer must be measured annually
with clamp on earth resistance meter.

11. DGA or Dissolve Gas Analysis of transformer Oil should be performed,


annually for 132 KV transformer, once in 2 years for the transformer
below 132 KV transformer and in 2 years interval for the transformer
above 132 KV transformer.

The Action to be taken once in 2 years:

1. The calibration of OTI and WTI must be carried once in two years.

2. Tan & delta; measurement of bushings of transformer also to be done


once in two years.
Maintenance of Transformer on Half Yearly Basis
The transformer oil must be checked half yearly basis that means once in 6
months, for dielectric strength, water content, acidity, sludge content, flash
point, DDA, IFT, resistivity for transformer oil.

In the case of a distribution transformer, as they are operating light load


condition all the time of day remaining peak hours, so there are no maintenance
required.

Maintenance of Current Transformer


A Current Transformer or CT is very essential equipment installed in an
electrical substation for electrical measurement and protection purpose. If a
current transformer does not perform properly, there may be a huge
disturbance in the system due to malfunctioning of protection relays. So far
accurate measurement and smooth operation of an electrical power system,
CTs must be properly maintained. A schedule of such maintenance of current
transformer is preferred below for ready reference. Let us first discuss the
maintenance of CT which to be performed in a one-year interval.

1. Insulation resistance of the CT must be checked in yearly basis. During


insulation resistance measurement, it must be remembered that, in
current transformer there are two level of insulation. The insulation level
of primary of CT is quite high as it has to withstand full system voltage.
But the secondary of the CT has low insulation level generally 1.1 KV. So
primary to secondary and primary to earth of a current transformer are
measured with 2.5 or 5 KV megger. But this high voltage megger can not
be used for secondary measurement, as here insulation level is quite low
in the view of economy of the design. So secondary insulation is
measured with 500 V megger. Hence, primary terminals to earth, primary
terminals to secondary measuring core, primary terminals to secondary
protection cores are measured by 2.5 or 5 KV megger. In between
secondary cores and secondary to earth resistances are measured by 500V
megger.

2. Thermo vision scanning of primary terminals and top dome of a live CT


should be performed at least once in a year. This scanning can be done
with help of infra-red Thermo-vision Camera.

3. All the CT secondary connections in CT secondary box and CT junction


box must be checked, cleaned and tighten every year to ensure maximum
possible low resistance path for CT secondary currents. It should also be
ensured that CT junction box is properly cleaned.

There are some other maintenance of Current Transformer which to be


performed in half yearly basis, such as,
1. The porcelain housing of CTs should be checked for hire crack if any
crack is observed on insulator, necessary advice to be obtained from
manufacturer.
2. The porcelain insulator housing of current transformer, to be cleaned
properly by cotton clothes.

Now we will discuss about monthly basis maintenance of current transformer.

1. Oil leakage from any joint should be visually inspected if leakage found,
it must be plugged by taking shutdown.
2. The secondary terminals are also checked for oil leakage, if leakage
found, immediate action to be taken to plug the leakage.
In addition to these, tans or loss factor measurement to be performed on a
current transformer, preferably above 66 KV class, once in two years.

Dissolve Gas Analysis of oil also to be done preferably once in 4 years. If the
results are found unsatisfactory as per standard, the insulating oil must be
replaced.

Maintenance of Voltage Transformer and Capacitor Voltage Transformer


Construction wise a voltage transformer and a capacitor voltage transformer
are same. Hence basis scheme of maintenance of both voltage transformer and
capacitor voltage transformer are more or less same. As heavy current does not
flow through PT and CVT, the defect and fault generally very low.
That is why monthly maintenance of voltage transformer and maintenance of
capacitor voltage transformer may not be required. Moreover very frequent
maintenance of bus PT or CVT may not also be possible as far taking shutdown
of such PT or CVT total bus section would be out of protection and metering.
Only yearly maintenance of such equipments are sufficient.
Yearly Maintenance of Voltage Transformer or Capacitor
Voltage Transformer
1. The porcelain housing must be cleaned with cotton clothes.
2. The spark gap assembly to be checked on yearly basis. Remove the
moveable part of spark gap as assembly, clean the braes electrode with
emery paper and fix it back in position.
3. The high frequency earthing point should be visually checked yearly in
the case, the point is not used for PLCC.
4. Thermo vision camera to be used for checking any hot spots in the
capacitor stacks to ensure pro action of rectification.
5. The terminal connections PT junction box including earth connections to
be checked for tightness once in a year. In addition to that, the PT junction
box also to be cleaned properly once in a year.
6. The health of all gasket joint also to be visually checked and replaced if
any damaged gasket found.

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