EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

Published online 29 February 2008 in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/etep.240

A case-based reasoning approach to power transformer fault diagnosis

using dissolved gas analysis data
Z. Qian1,*,y, W. S Gao2, F. Wang3 and Z. Yan4
1

School of Instrument Science & Optoelectronics Engineering, BeiHang University, Beijing, China
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
3
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China
4
School of Electrical Engineering, Xian Jiaotong University, Xian, China

SUMMARY
A synthetic diagnosis approach based on case-based reasoning is presented to diagnose incipient fault of power transformer. First, the base case
bank is established according to the characteristics of dissolved gas analysis (DGA) of transformer oil. Based on different artificial intelligence
techniques, three kinds of case searching method are adopted to retrieve the set of base cases, which the symptom of every retrieved case is similar
to that of suspected transformer to some extent. And then a synthetic estimation method is presented to achieve the optimal base case for all
retrieved base cases. Since similar symptoms may be induced by the same kind of faults, the diagnosis conclusion of suspected transformer could
be drawn by the similar degree comparison between the optimal case and the suspected transformer. The application results show that the method
has higher reliability and is more practical for the transformer incipient fault diagnosis. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words: transformer; fault diagnosis; case-based reasoning; dissolved gas analysis

1. INTRODUCTION
Power transformer problems can be characterized as those that arise from defects and develop into incipient faults, those that caused
by deterioration processes, and those induced by operating conditions that exceed the capability of the transformer. Usually, these
problems may last many years before developing into a serious problem or failure. Since the loss caused by problems or failures
could be decreased if they were found earlier, a maintenance action should be carried out according to the insulation state of the
transformer which can be evaluated by the diagnosis techniques.
Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) has been proven to be a valuable and reliable diagnosis technique for the detection of incipient fault
in oil-immersed transformers [12]. Therefore, the diagnosis method based on DGA results has been utilized to identify the
incipient faults broadly. As well known, all fault diagnosis method can be classified as the knowledge based diagnosis, the model
based diagnosis, and the signal processing based diagnosis [3]. For power transformer, it is difficult to use the last two methods to
make fault diagnosis because of its stronger randomicity. Therefore, the knowledge based diagnosis methods such as fuzzy method,
expert system, and neural network are especially studied in recent years [415]. However, the above methods applications meet
some problems. For example, the generalizing ability of neural network is worse if the training samples are not enough; the theory
basis for the calculation of fuzzy membership degree is insufficient. Therefore, the research on new, synthetic diagnosis method has
been paid more attentions recently. The synthetic diagnosis method combining case-based reasoning with some artificial
intelligence techniques is a focus since the known knowledge could be utilized better and the merit of each method could be well
integrated.

*Correspondence to: Zheng Qian, Department of Measurement and Control, School of Instrument Science & Optoelectronics Engineering, BeiHang University,
Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
y
E-mail: qianzheng@buaa.edu.cn

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A CASE-BASED REASONING APPROACH

519

In this paper, the case-based reasoning diagnosis approach is presented. First, the basic principle of case-based reasoning is
introduced. And then the fault types of transformer are re-classified in order to give better instruction for transformer maintenance.
After that three kinds of base case indexing method are put forward respectively. Some valuable base cases, which the symptom of
each one is much similar to that of suspected transformer, can be retrieved, and a synthetic estimation method is presented to achieve
the optimal base case. Since similar symptoms may be induced by the same kind of faults, the diagnosis conclusion of suspected
transformer can be drawn by the instruction of optimal base case-based on the comparison of similar degree between the optimal
base case and the suspected transformer. The application results show that this proposed method is more reliable and practical. The
diagnosis conclusion could give more detailed guidance for power transformer maintenance.

2. PRINCIPLE OF CASE-BASED REASONING

For case-based reasoning theory, the problem or condition being considered is target case, and the previous problems or conditions
memorized are base case. During the course of case-based reasoning, the first step is to find the set of base cases in accordance with
the information of target case. And then the optimal base case is selected based on the all-round comparison and analysis. At last the
optimal base case is adopted to instruct the solution of target case [16].
For a power transformer, the base case bank is consisted of the DGA results of transformers which have definite diagnosis
conclusion. The target case is the suspected transformer being considered. According to the similar degree of DGA results between
base case and target caser, some valuable base cases could be retrieved. After all-round analysis, the optimal base case whose
symptom is the most similar to target case is selected. Since similar symptom was caused by the same type of faults, the fault of
target case is most similar to that of optimal base case, thus the diagnosis conclusion can be achieved ultimately. The structure block
chart for case-based reasoning is shown in Figure 1, and the input is target case.
From Figure 1 one can find that the case-based reasoning is consisted of three parts.
First is the retrieving course, the useful retrieving index of target case is picked through the analytical model. And then the
analogy retrieve course can search the set of base cases in accordance with corresponding retrieving method. After that, the analogy
mapping is utilized to retrieve the optimal base case by the comparison between base case and target case one by one. This course is
the most important in case-based reasoning. If the optimal case is unbefitting, the diagnosis conclusion will be worse without doubt.

Figure 1. Structure block chart for case-based reasoning.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

520

Z. QIAN ET AL.

Thus, the research of retrieving method is the key part in this paper. In the following section, some new retrieving methods will be
presented. The results of each retrieving method are listed simultaneously. All these work are the foundation of diagnosis course.
Second is the course of analogy conversion. The characteristic of optimal base case is compared with that of target case carefully
during this course. In accordance with the difference of similar degree, the conclusion of optimal case can be utilized to instruct the
acquisition of the conclusion for target case by different conversion rules. In other words, the conversion rules should be designed
smartly in this course; otherwise the conclusion of target case will also be worse.
The last step is the verification and analysis of conclusion for target case. If the conclusion is right, the course of case-based
reasoning will be finished. Otherwise the wrong conclusion will be fed to the explanation model, and it will give the possible cause
to process case remedy according to corresponding remedy rule. And then the corrected conclusion will be drawn as the final answer
of the target case. Since case-based reasoning gives the wrong conclusion, this target case should be saved as a new case in base case
bank. Based on the persistent refreshment, the base case bank could possess better knowledge. In other words, since the knowledge
of case-based reasoning is refreshed dynamically, this method is more vigorous.
It can be seen from above operating course that the knowledge of case-base reasoning is represented by base case. The acquisition
of base case is usually easier than that of diagnosing rule; therefore the difficulty of achieving knowledge is reduced. Compared with
other intelligent methods such as neural network and fuzzy theory, the case-based reasoning could achieve the diagnosis conclusion
by the instruction of optimal base case, and this can avoid the establishment of diagnosis model between symptoms and reasons,
which is the main mission of neural network and fuzzy theory. As well known, it is very difficult to establish such diagnosis model
since the uncertainty and randomicity of diagnosed problem is usually very serious. Thus, the method of case-based reasoning
perhaps achieves expected effect if it is utilized to diagnose the incipient fault of power transformer. But it should be emphasized that
the efficiency of retrieving method is the most important step during diagnosis course. Though there are still some shortcomings for
neural network and fuzzy theory, it is effective in realizing new case retrieving method. In the following section, these new retrieving
methods will be described carefully, and its validity will be illustrated by some simulation results.

3. CLASSIFICATION OF TRANSFORMER FAULT

DGA or gas chromatography is a chemical process of detecting concentrations of various gases that remain soluble in oil. Electrical and
thermal stresses generated by arcing and partial discharge results in decomposition of insulation, which is oil-impregnated paper and
oil. The products are mainly hydrocarbon gases such as hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4). Thus, several techniques have been
developed in the past to analyze the results of gases and infer faults. The International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) also
published the standard, which is utilized to interpret the detecting results of dissolved gases [1]. The main contents are shown in Table I.
Recently, the IEC renews the standard [2]. In the new standard, the range of gases ratio instead of the code is used to diagnose the
incipient fault; cases 1 and 2 are united into one case named partial discharge, cases 5 and 6 are also united into one case named
thermal fault of low temperature. The fault types defined by IEC are the common classification method which is widely accepted.
However, this method only gives the physical symptom of faults. Sometimes the occurring position of fault is more concerned; it
could give definite guidance for transformer maintenance. In Reference [17], the research results show that the concentrations of
dissolved gas in oil are different owing to the differences of the faults positions and mechanisms. For example, the floating potential
discharge and the treeing discharge at insulating barrier are all discharge in physical description, but the analysis results of DGA are
greatly different. Thus, it is possible for transformer faults to make more detailed identification on the basis of the better
understanding of DGA results. In order to give more specific and useful diagnosis conclusion, re-classification for transformer faults
is necessary, and its results are shown in Table II.
In Table II, F1, F2, and F3 are the overheating fault of electric circuit; F4 and F5 are the overheating fault of magnetic part; F6, F7,
and F8 are the discharge fault related to solid insulation; and F9, F10 are the discharge fault unrelated to solid insulation.
As shown in Table II, the separability of fault is the basic principle, and the purpose of re-classification is to provide better
instruction for transformer maintenance. Moreover, this re-classification does not conflict with IEC method. The fault is still
classified into overheating and discharge, which is presented by IEC method. However, this new classification tries to identify the
transformer fault more definitely. For example, if it is an overheating fault, one wants to know further whether it occurs in electric
circuit or magnetic part; if it is a discharge fault, whether it is related to solid insulation is the key problem. Maybe some faults can be
easily identified by some other testing measures, but it should be stressed that DGA is the primary testing measure for transformer
monitor. Therefore, it is valuable to achieve the initial diagnosis conclusion only by using DGA results.
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

521

A CASE-BASED REASONING APPROACH

Table I. Code for examining analysis of gas dissolved in mineral oil.

4. PREPARATION FOR CASE-BASED REASONING

In this section, some basic problems are analyzed and discussed in order to make case-based reasoning more effective. It can be
easily drawn from Figure 1 that the key problems are the composing of base case bank and the research of retrieving method.
However, data pretreatment for suspected transformer is also important. Sometimes if the DGA data were used to diagnose the fault
directly, the diagnosis result was usually unsatisfied since the scattering degree of DGA data is great. So the pretreatment is
necessary, and usually the normalization method is adopted to decrease its scattering degree.

4.1. Composing of base case bank

During the factual diagnosis, the diagnosis conclusion is usually drawn step by step with the acquisition of more information. The
initial diagnosis conclusion maybe rather rough, but its accuracy is higher. With the better understanding of monitoring information,
the detailed diagnosis course can be implemented. Thus, the case in bank is marked by two diagnosis results, one is the rough
conclusion such as the overheating of electric circuit, and the other is the detailed result such as bad connection of on-load tap
changer. In accordance with the statistical results of fault samples, the base case bank is composed of 570 diagnosed transformers
and the set of suspected transformer is composed of 228 fault transformers (shown in Table III).
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

522

Z. QIAN ET AL.

Table II. Re-classification for transformer faults.

Fault No.

Fault types

Note 1

F1

Bad connections of tap changer

F2

Bad connections of winding leads

F3

Partial overheating of winding

F4

Multi-grounded fault or partial short circuit of core

F5

Overheating caused by leakage flux

F6

Treeing discharge on insulation barrier

F7

Short circuit between interturns

F8

Discharge between winding leads and ground

F9

Floating potential discharge

F10

Partial discharge initiated from bubble in oil

Note 2

Overheating fault of
electric circuit
Overheating
fault
Overheating fault of
magnetic part

Discharge fault
related with solid
insulation
Discharge fault
Discharge fault
unrelated with solid
insulation

4.2. Pretreatment of DGA data

As a basic conception of data reliability analysis, the cumulative frequency should be adopted to normalize the DGA results of
power transformer [18].
The cumulative frequency can be expressed as follows:
Pi
Fi

j1

Drj

ri
n

(1)

where ri is the cumulative numbers of DGA samples up to group i; n is the total numbers of collected DGA samples.
Take hydrogen as an example, the relationship between the concentrations and the cumulative frequency is shown in Figure 2.
After the conversion, the cumulative frequency of hydrogen is among 0 and 1. Thus, the scattering degree of DGA results will be
reduced. And the greater the cumulative frequency is, the more the fault of transformer will take place. In other words, the
cumulative frequency will be helpful to reflect the developing course of fault to a great extent. Thus, the DGA data of another gas
will also be converted by using the same calculation method.
4.3. Research of retrieving method
Usually, the retrieving method based on Euclidean distance is the preferred selection when make case-based reasoning. But the
uncertainty and randomicity of diagnostic problem will influence its accuracy. Since the application of artificial intelligence
technique will be helpful for decreasing the influence of uncertainty and randomicity, new retrieving methods based on artificial
intelligence such as neural network are studied.
The retrieving course of each method consists of two steps. The first step is to make the rough diagnosis of suspected transformer.
After that the second step will start, which the detailed diagnosis conclusion can be drawn. During the second step, the DGA data of
suspected transformer is just compared with those base cases which have the same rough conclusion in order to improve the
efficiency. It is just like to see a doctor. First, according to the primary identification, the department is selected, and then the doctor
of selected department will make the father diagnosis. Since the doctor of given department possesses copious experience on certain
diseases, the detailed diagnosis is more professional, thus the accuracy is higher.
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

523

A CASE-BASED REASONING APPROACH

Table III. Distribution of faults in base case bank and suspected transformer set.

Overheating fault
of electric circuit

Overheating
fault of
magnetic part

Discharge fault related

with solid insulation

Discharge fault
unrelated with solid
insulation

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

F10

Base case bank

117

78

14

129

57

23

36

34

61

21

Suspected
transformer

25

35

53

26

12

20

15

24

13

4.3.1. Retrieving method based on Euclidean distance. In this method, retrieving index consists of the normalized DGA data
which includes seven characteristic gases: hydrogen, methane, ethane (C2H6), ethylene (C2H4), acetylene (C2H2), carbon monoxide
(CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2). And the Euclidean distance is utilized to calculate the similar degree between target case and base
case
r
X7
xik
xjk 2
dij
k1

(2)

where dij is the Euclidean distance between ith case and j th case, xik is the kth characteristic gas of ith case, and xjk is the
kth characteristic gas of jth case.
If ith case is the target case, jth case is the base case, the value of dij will reflect the similar degree of two cases. The smaller the
value is, the greater the similarity is.
In order to construct following synthetic diagnosis model, the similar degree between base case and suspected transformer should
be limited below 1. And the definition of similar degree is expressed as follows:
Sim1

1
1 dij

(3)

The diagnosis accuracy of case-based reasoning model by using Euclidean retrieving method is shown in Table IV, which
includes the accuracy of the rough and detailed diagnostic results.

Figure 2. Relationship between concentrations and cumulative frequency of hydrogen in DGA.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

524

Z. QIAN ET AL.

Figure 3. Illustration of the combinatorial neural network.

From Table IV, one can find that the accuracy of Euclidean method is unsatisfied. However, the accuracy of discharge fault
unrelated to solid insulation and corresponding detailed diagnostic results are higher. Therefore, in following synthetic diagnosis
model, this part can be adopted and utilized to achieve better diagnostic conclusion, and the other part will be ignored.

4.3.2. Retrieving method based on neural network. In this method, the combinatorial neural network (Figure 3) is introduced to
make the rough diagnosis. The input of combinatorial neural network is still consisted of normalized DGA data, which is the same as
that of Euclidean method.
The identification rule of each non-terminate node in combinatorial neural network can be selected as follows:
RULE 0: According to the operation experience of power system, the attention values are introduced to identify the transformer
status, which is normal or abnormal.
ANN1ANN2-2: Back propagation neural network (BPNN) is adopted as the elemental classifier, then different identification
rules can be achieved according to the learning results of independent fault samples and input vectors.
Table IV. Diagnosis results of case-based reasoning method using Euclidean retrieving method.

Overheating
fault of electric
circuit

Overheating
fault of
magnetic part

Discharge fault
related with solid
insulation

Discharge fault
unrelated with solid
insulation

Step 1

Suspected
transformer

65

79

47

37

Rough
results

Right numbers

52

65

33

34

Accuracy (%)

80.0

82.3

70.2

91.9

Step 2

Suspected
transformer

Detailed Right numbers

results
Accuracy (%)

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

F10

25

35

53

26

12

20

15

24

13

16

24

38

19

13

10

19

10

71.7

73.1

50.0

65.0

66.7

79.2

76.9

64.0 68.6 60.0

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

525

A CASE-BASED REASONING APPROACH

Since different training samples and input vectors are applied to train the neural network in different non-terminate nodes, the
designed method is flexible and the performance will be improved.
During the detailed diagnosis course, the correlation coefficient is used to describe the similar degree between base case and
suspected transformer. It can be expressed as follows:
P
xi
xyi
y
Sim2 r q
P
xi
x2 yi
y2

(4)

where xi and yi are the ith characteristic gas of base case and suspected transformer respectively, x and y represent the average value.
The diagnosis results are shown in Table V. And similar to that of Euclidean method, the diagnosis results also include rough and
detailed results.
From Table V, the accuracies of rough diagnostic conclusion are higher than that of Euclidean method. Thus, in the following
synthetic diagnosis model, the neural network method is crucial. All the parts will be adopted and utilized to achieve the final
diagnostic conclusion.

4.3.3. Retrieving method based on fuzzy theory. The fuzzy theory is a powerful tool to solve the uncertainty and fuzziness [19].
Thus, a retrieving method based on fuzzy theory is put forward, and the main steps are:
1) The rough diagnostic results could be marked as A1, A2, A3, and A4 respectively. A1 is overheating fault of electric circuit, A2 is
overheating fault of magnetic circuit, A3 is discharge fault related with solid insulation, and A4 is the discharge fault unrelated
with solid insulation.
2) After analysis and comparison, the ratios of CH4/H2, C2H2/C2H4, C2H4/C2H6, and CO2/CO are selected as the retrieving
index, and defined as m1, m2, m3, and m4 respectively. Thus, the characteristic vector m [m1, m2, m3, m4] can be utilized to
describe the property of transformer and to realize diagnosis.
3) The fuzzy membership function is constructed. At first, the fuzzy subset of mj\in Ai can be expressed as
2

mAij mj e
Kij mj
aij

i 1; 2; 3; 4;

j 1; 2; 3; 4

(5

where Kij and aij are constant, and can be acquired by statistical analysis.
Table V. Diagnosis results of case-based reasoning method by using neural network retrieving method.

Overheating
fault of electric
circuit

Overheating
fault of
magnetic part

Discharge fault
related with solid
insulation

Discharge fault
unrelated with solid
insulation

Step 1

Suspected
transformer

65

79

47

37

Rough
results

Right numbers

59

72

43

35

Accuracy (%)

90.8

91.1

91.5

94.6

Step 2

Suspected
transformer

Detailed Right numbers

results
Accuracy (%)

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

F10

25

35

53

26

12

20

15

24

13

18

28

43

20

15

11

18

10

81.1

76.9

75.0

75.0

73.3

75.0

76.9

72.0 80.0 60.0

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

526

Z. QIAN ET AL.

Then, the membership function of Ai is

4

mAi m _ mAij mj
j1

i 1; 2; 3; 4

(6

4) To achieve the rough diagnostic conclusion. First, the characteristic vector of suspected transformer is calculated. And then the
membership degree of characteristic vector belonging to different rough result can be determined. Finally, the rough
diagnostic conclusion can be drawn based on the principle of maxim membership degree.
5) To achieve the detailed diagnosis result. The fuzzy closeness is adopted as the similar degree index in this course. It can be
defined as
P4
ak ^ bk
Sim3 s Pk1
(7
4
k1 ak _ bk
where ak and bk are the kth characteristic index of base case and suspected transformer respectively.
During this course, the fuzzy closeness between each base case with the same rough conclusion and suspected transformer is
calculated. And then the maximum one is selected as the optimal base case. Its faulty reason is the diagnosis conclusion of suspected
transformer.
The diagnosis results based on fuzzy retrieving method are shown in Table VI.
It is shown in Table VI that the accuracy is higher than that of Euclidean method except the last part. However, it is lower than that
of neural network method. Therefore, in the following synthetic model, the last part will be abandoned in achieving the final
diagnostic conclusion. And the other three parts will be adopted during the synthetic diagnosis course.
5. ESTABLISHMENT OF SYNTHETIC MODEL
The comparison between different retrieving methods shows that the neural network method is the best. Whether or not it is the best
selection to use this method to realize fault diagnosis of transformer? The answer is negative, since the other two methods also have
some good performances. Thus, the synthetic diagnosis method integrating the characteristics of each method should be developed
reasonably. For example, the validity of diagnosis for the discharge fault unrelated with solid insulation for Euclidean method is
better though another part is worse, thus this part should be adopted by the synthetic model in order to obtain the best diagnosis
conclusion. It is just like the consultation meeting in hospital. Every doctor could give his advice, and then the discussion between
them will be helpful for learning the merits of the others. Thus, the final result will be more reasonable and comprehensive. During
this course, the best doctor may make a wrong diagnosis, but this will not influence the accuracy of the final conclusion since the
Table VI. Diagnosis results of case-based reasoning method by using fuzzy theory retrieving method.

Overheating
fault of electric
circuit

Overheating
fault of
magnetic part

Discharge fault
related with solid
insulation

Discharge fault
unrelated with solid
insulation

Step 1

Suspected
transformer

65

79

47

37

Rough
results

Right numbers

58

70

42

33

Accuracy (%)

89.2

88.6

89.4

80.5

Step 2

Suspected
transformer

Detailed Right numbers

results
Accuracy (%)
Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

F10

25

35

53

26

12

20

15

24

13

20

26

42

20

14

12

17

79.2

76.9

66.7

70.0

80.0

70.8

69.2

80.0 74.3 80.0

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

527

A CASE-BASED REASONING APPROACH

conclusion of some other doctors are considered carefully and adopted duly. This is the original intention to establish the synthetic
diagnosis model. The configuration of synthetic model is shown in Figure 4.
The diagnosis course of synthetic model consists of following steps:
1) According to the order, three retrieving methods are defined as No.1, No.2, and No.3 method. And the rough diagnosis
conclusions are all made up of four faults, which are defined by Note 1 in Table II.
2) Based on the results of Tables IV, V, and VI, the accuracy of each rough diagnosis conclusion by each retrieving method can be
achieved, and defined as Rigij (i 1, 2, 3; j 1, 2, 3, 4).
3) To achieve the set of base cases of each method. As shown in Figure 4, they are denoted as No.1, No.2, and No.3 set respectively.
And in order to expand the retrieving scope, each set consists of three base cases, and the similar degree between base case and
suspected transformer is listed in descending order. The similar degree is defined as Simik (i 1, 2, 3; k 1, 2, 3).
4) To identify these retrieved base cases synthetically. Two steps are included:
a) Had achieved rough conclusions of every retrieving method, following principle should be adopted. For Euclidean
method, only the diagnostic result of discharge fault unrelated to solid insulation can be utilized in father synthetic
diagnosis. As to the fuzzy theory method, only the conclusion of discharge fault unrelated to solid insulation will be
abandoned in father synthetic diagnosis. The neural network method is the key part of synthetic diagnosis method, and
the entire conclusion can be adopted. This principle derives from the accuracy comparison of different methods.
b) Since the applying range of Euclidean method and fuzzy method is complementary, the valid sets of base case are
usually made up of two sets. One is the set retrieved by neural network method; the other is the set of Euclidean method
or the set of fuzzy method. Thus, the valid base cases can be identified one by one, and the following identifying index is
defined as
X
Simik
syn
Rigij
8
2
where Rigij is the accuracy of jth rough fault in ith retrieving method, Simik is the similar degree of kth base case in
ith set.
On the worst condition, only one set of base cases will be remained during this synthetic estimation course, which is
the set retrieved by neural network method. Thus, the base case of maximum similar degree is the optimal case.

Figure 4. Illustration of the synthetic diagnosis model based on case-based reasoning.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

528

Z. QIAN ET AL.

5) To arrange the identifying index according to the descending order. The base case of maximum identifying index is the optimal
one. The symptom of optimal base case will be much similar to that of suspected transformer. Since similar symptoms maybe
induced by the same type of faults, the diagnosis conclusion of suspected transformer can be drawn by the instruction of
optimal base case.

6. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
For instance, the DGA data of suspected transformer are (ppm)
H2 0:5; CH4 12:2; C2 H6 6:3; C2 H4 41:6; C2 H2 1:9; CO2 2860; CO 207:
The rough diagnosis conclusions of each method are all overheating fault of electric circuit. Based on the operating principle of
synthetic diagnosis, the sets of base case retrieved by neural network and fuzzy theory are valid. And the retrieving results are shown
in Table VII.
As shown in Table VII, the No.152 case in base case bank is the optimal one. Its DGA data are (ppm)
H2 0:5; CH4 11:8; C2 H6 7:8; C2 H4 42:6; C2 H2 1:7; CO2 3289; CO 195:
And the fault of No.152 is bad connections of winding leads. Thus, the suspected transformer maybe has the same reason. Then
corresponding check is finished, and the final conclusion is the disconnection of winding leads in low-voltage bushing of phase C. It
is coincide with the diagnostic conclusion. Since this method could give more definite conclusion, it will be helpful for the
acquisition of fault position with further test and analysis. So the arrangement of maintenance plan will be more easy.
The set of suspected transformer shown in Table III is utilized to verify the efficiency of synthetic model based on case-based
reasoning, and the simulation result is shown in Table VIII. In order to compare the performances of different methods, the
diagnostic result of combinatorial neural network based on decision tree is also shown in this Table [20].
As shown in Table VIII, the accuracy of synthetic diagnosis method is better than that of any individual method. It shows that the
synthetic idea is good, and the performance is better. Compared with the results of combinatorial neural network, the total accuracy
is higher, especially for overheating fault of electric circuit and the discharge fault related to solid insulation. In accordance with the
conclusion of case-based reasoning, and with further test and analysis, it is possible to provide better guidance for the transformer
maintenance.
For combinatorial neural network, the accuracy of some detailed conclusions is better than that of case-based reasoning method,
thus it should be considered in further research that a synthetic diagnosis model integrating the merits of these two methods can be
established. Considering the complexity, uncertainty, and randomicity of transformer fault, the idea of synthetic diagnosis is the best
choice.

Table VII. Retrieving and diagnosis results of example.

Base cases retrieved by neural

network method
Sequence
Similar
number of base denotacase in library1
tion

1.
2.

Base cases retrieved by fuzzy

theory method

Synthetic diagnosis results

Similar
Sequence
Similar
degree number of base denotacase in library
tion

Similar
degree

Sequence
number of base
case in library

Identifying
index2

137

Sim21

0.9976

152

Sim31

0.9249

152

0.8609

152

Sim22

0.9877

137

Sim32

0.9063

137

0.8571

148

Sim23

0.9853

148

Sim33

0.8591

148

0.8305

The sequence is the serial number of this base case in entire case library
The calculation of identifying index is:
syn = (Sim22 Rig 21 + Sim31 Rig 31 ) / 2 = (0.9877 0.908 + 0.9249 0.892) / 2 = 0.8609

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

529

A CASE-BASED REASONING APPROACH

Table VIII. Comparison of diagnosis results of different methods.

Suspected transformer
Right numbers
Synthetic
model based on
case-base
reasoning

Accuracy of detailed
conclusion (%)

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

F10

25

35

53

26

12

20

15

24

13

21

29

45

20

17

12

18

10

84.0 82.9 60.0 84.9 76.9 66.7 85.0 80.0 75.0 76.9

Accuracy of corresponding part (%)1

81.5

82.3

Total accuracy (%)

Right numbers
Combinatorial
neural network
based on
decision tree

Accuracy of detailed
conclusion (%)
Accuracy of corresponding part (%)

78.7

75.7

80.3
20

22

46

19

16

10

21

80.0 62.9 80.0 86.8 73.1 66.7 80.0 66.7 87.5 53.8
70.8

Total accuracy (%)

82.3

72.3

75.7

75.9

1. This part gives the accuracy of every rough diagnosis conclusions. For example, the overheating fault of
electric circuit of case-based reasoning, the accuracy is: (21+29+3)/(25+35+5)=81.5%.

7. CONCLUSIONS
A synthetic diagnosis model based on case-based reasoning is presented. After the introduction of the principle of case-based
reasoning, two new retrieving methods of base case are put forward; corresponding retrieving effect is shown simultaneously. Since
the valid range for each retrieving method is different, the synthetic diagnosis model is established in order to utilize the good
performances of each method. The simulation results of synthetic model show that this method can provide satisfied conclusions.
And it will provide more useful information to the transformer maintenance.
As the composing of base case bank plays a very important role in this method, the selection of typical base case will be the key
part in following research. And the useful information such as some effective electrical items should also be considered during the
retrieving course of base case. These should be considered carefully in further research.

8. LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

8.1. Symbols
Ai
dij
Fi
Rigij
Sim1
Sim2
Sim3
Simik
Syn
mj

the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the

ith rough diagnosis conclusion

Euclidean distance between ith case and jth case
cumulative frequency of ith sample
accuracy of jth rough diagnosis conclusion in ith retrieving method
similar degree of Retrieving method based on Euclidean distance
similar degree of Retrieving method based on neural network
similar degree of Retrieving method based on fuzzy theory
similar degree between kth base case and target case in ith retrieving method
identifying index of synthetic model
jth part in [CH4/H2, C2H2/C2H4, C2H4/C2H6, CO2/CO] vector

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep

530
mAi m
mAij mj

Z. QIAN ET AL.

the membership function of Ai

the fuzzy subset which describe the relationship between mj and Ai

8.2. Abbreviations
BPNN
DGA
IEC
ppm

back propagation neural network

dissolved gas analysis
international electro-technical commission
concentration unit of dissolved gas
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The financial support of NSFC (Natural Science Foundation of China, No.50607004 and 59637200) is gratefully acknowledged for this research
work.

REFERENCES
1. IEC Publication 599. Interpretation for the analysis of gases in transformers and other oil-filled electrical equipment in service. 1978.
2. IEC Publication 60599. Mineral Oil-impregnated Electrical Equipment in ServiceGuide to the Interpretation of Dissolved and Free Gases Analysis, Second
Edition, 199903.
3. Frank PM. Analytical and qualitative mode based fault diagnosisa survey and some new results. European Journal of Control 1989; 5(2):628.
4. Dijk HE. Exformer, an expert system for transformer faults diagnosis. Proceedings of 9th PSCC, Cascais, Portugal, 1987; 715721.
5. Marin MA, Jasmin JL. Cooperating expert system for diagnosis of electrical apparatus. Conference on Expert System Applications for the Electric Power
Industry, Orlando, USA, 1989; 58.
6. Lin CE, Ling JM, Huang CL. An expert system for transformer fault diagnosis using dissolved gas analysis. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 1993;
8(1):231238.
7. Zhang Y, Ding X, Liu Y, et al. An artificial neural network approach to transformer fault diagnosis. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 1996;
11(4):18361841.
8. Vanegas O, Mizuno Y. Diagnosis of oil-insulated power apparatus by using neural network simulation. IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical
Insulation 1997; 4(3):290299.
9. Wang ZY, Liu YL, Griffin PJ. A combined ANN and expert system tool for transformer fault diagnosis. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 1998;
13(4):12241229.
10. Huang YC, Yang HT, Huang CL. Developing a new transformer fault diagnosis system through evolutionary fuzzy logic. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery
1997; 12(2):761767.
11. Yang HT, Huang YC. Intelligent decision support for diagnosis of incipient transformer faults using self-organizing polynomial networks. IEEE Transactions on
Power Systems 1998; 13(3):946952.
12. Islam SM, Wu T, Ledwich G. A novel fuzzy logic approach to transformer fault diagnosis. IEEE Transactions on Dielectric and Electrical Insulation 2000;
7(2):177186.
13. Su Q, Mi C, Lai LL, et al. A fuzzy dissolved gas analysis method for the diagnosis of multiple incipient faults in a transformer. IEEE Transactions on Power
Systems 2000; 15(2):593598.
14. Yang HT, Liao CC. Adaptive fuzzy diagnosis system for dissolved gas analysis of power transformers. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 1999;
14(4):13421350.
15. Xu W, Wang D, Zhou Z, et al. Fault diagnosis of power transformers: Application of fuzzy set theory, expert systems and artificial neural networks. IEE
ProceedingsScience, Measurement and Technology 1997; 144(1):3944.
16. Schank RC, David BL. Creativity and learning in a case-based explainer. Artificial Intelligence 1989; 40(1):353385.
17. Hara T, Makino Y. Study on early detection of incipient faults in oil-filled transformers by analysis of dissolved gas in oil. The Transactions of The Institute of
Electrical Engineers of Japan 1996; 116(9):11511157 (in Japanese).
18. Mann NR, Schafer RE, Singpurwalla ND. Methods of Statistical Analysis of Reliability and Life Data. John Wiley & Sons: New York, 1974.
19. Zadeh LA. Fuzzy Set. Information and Control 1965; 8:338353.
20. Gao WS, Qian Z, Yan Z. A multi-resolution system approach to power transformer insulation diagnosis. ISEIM98, Toyohashi, Japan 1998.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Euro. Trans. Electr. Power 2009; 19:518530

DOI: 10.1002/etep