IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-100, No.

1, January 1981

431

VOLTAGE STRESSES PRODUCED BY APERIODIC AND OSCILLATING

SYSTEM OVERVOLTAGES IN TRANSFORMER WINDINGS

R.J. Musil, SM, IEEE.

American ELIN Corporation

E . Schopper
ELIN-Union AG, Weiz/Austria

G. Preininger

Abstract - This paper investigates the

internal voltages produced by various types
of system overvoltages with special conresonance
winding
part
sideration to
phenomena19297 which can result in very high
voltage stress but may not be:adequately considered in design and test practice. A case
of oscillating voltage excitation is reported
which caused the failure of a generator
internal
due
to
transformer
step-up
theoretical conAccording to
resonance.
and
oscillation
internal
siderations,
voltages depend on the damping of
resonance
the excitation voltage and of the windings.
step-up
For a 500 kV single phase generator
that
it
is
demonstrated
transformer,
of the
favorable damping characteristics
windings can reduce to a large extent the
risk of excessive internal voltages.

S. Wenger

HI

INTRODUCTION

Work continues in the industry and in the

to develop
Committee
IEEE Transformer
information and possibly new test procedures
standards reflecting actual
system
and
current
transient voltages. Of particular
interest is a fast front long tail aperiodic
The response of
surge
wave.
switching
transformer windings to such a surge is
different from that to the traditional slow
rise switching surge. Also the occurence of
can
oscillating switching surges which
be
cannot
resonance
excite winding
discounted. The possibility and form of such
overvoltages will have to be considered in
the design and application of transformers.
BASIC THEORY
inductances and
With
distributed
capacitances, transformers are oscillatory
by
structures. Oscillations can be excited
and
and
surges
switching
lightning
alternating voltages.
To represent the transformer for the
computation of transient phenomena, various
the
equivalent network diagrams are used
selection of which depends on technical and
economic considerations. The diagram must
describe the surge behavior with sufficient
accuracy and in particular extend to higher
natural frequencies but without going into
to
excessive
too
much
avoid
detail
computation time and cost.
The capacitive equivalent circuit network defines the response to rapid
voltage
changes as they might occur in the front of

Fig. 1: Basic construction and data of 500kV single.phas gpenrater step-up

500 *3x2,5, /
transformr
455(535) NVA, 60 Hz, XVj
1x2,5%/ 22,5 kV
a

HV . High voltage winding ( OIL . 1675 kV

LV . Low voltage inding
Tl . Tapped indinmg

Hi
High vltag terminal
lightning impulse wave and is used for the
computation Qf the so-called initial voltage
distribution . The inductive equivalent netcomwork diagram defines the response to
paratively slow voltage changes as in the tail
of impulse or switching surge waves#with it
the quasi steady-state voltage distribution,
is
i.e. the so-called final distribution
developed. The oscillatory equivalent circuit
network serves for the computation of the
transient voltage distribution.The parameters
(
for
this
inductances, mutual
network
inductances, capacitances ) can be determined
from the geometric dimensions of the trasfamer4.
Fig.1 shows the basic construction of a 500kV
455 MVA single-phase generator step-up transformer and in Fig. 2 for this transformer the
oscillatory equivalent circuit network as used
for the computation of the
internal voltages
in Fig.9, 11 and 16 is shown.
For the calculation of the inductances
and capaci ances and of the transient oscildigital computers normally
-are
lations 3*
used.
in
As variously shown, for instance
references3 and 5,the voltage u (t) appearing
at a free node of the equivalent network in
- 1 applied
response to a step voltage of U
to a terminal is described by:
a

A paper recommended and approved by the

IEEE Transformers Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation at the IEEE PES
Summer Meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 13-18
1980. Manuscript submitted January 22, 1979; made
available for printing April 21, 1980.

80 SM 519-9

u(t)

Lst

a -

0018-9510/81/0100-0431$00.751981

k=l

bk.e

n =

.cos(w kt +..k)

(1

number of free nodes in the

oscillatory equivalent circuit

network
i/._ Time constant of damping
IEEE

432
U

50

150

100

200

flg. 3: Fundametnl oscillatiem of squsre Yae respons".

1ng of the square wav response.

As

A * b'/b . damp-

Lightnig and switching impulse waves as

standardized for transformer testing can be
mathematically described as a super position
of exponential functionsa

0(t

iuJ

-t/TT
(e -teT

,,

It/TF

3
(3)

Fig. 4 and 5 show the influence of the front

and tail of the exciting wave respectively:

1
H2
H2

Tank

Fig. 2: Oscillitory equivalent network diagram of transformr according to

Fig. 1
NI . Nigh vIotag terminal
N2 . Nigh voitage neutral
X1, X2 . Low vItage tArinals
The time funiction of the voltage u (t)
according to equation (1) is called squarewave response. The coefficients a and bk as
can be
well as the natural frequencies c)' k
calculated from the oscillatory equivalent

network diagram bymeans of matrix equations5.

The solutions'for the step voltage (u =1)
according to equation (1) are the basis for
the calculation of the response to any
Duhamel's
particulgr wave
shape, using
integral
For elementary considerations only the
oscillation of order k = 1, i.e. the fundamental oscillation is used. Having generally
the highest amplitude and beeing subject to
less damping than the higher harmonics, its
behavior for different excitations is representative for the total voltage u(t) at a
free node.The fundamental oscillation of the
square wave response thus becomes

u(t)

-{bi.

cos( co

)]

(2)

.I

200
MIKROSEC

Fig. 4 : Transient voltag oscillations for a) square a"e, b) expoentially

decreasing impulse vwav.

100

80
I

/u

60

4(t)

40
20
0

This time function voltage is shown in

Fig.3 (neglectingo( and the small influence
of the damping on wt ) .

100

5a)
o0

100

200

[MIKROSEC

1o0

200

fMIKROSEC

Fig. 5: Transient voltage oscillations for a) squqr wvae, b) exponentially

rising impulse wave.

433
The amplitude factor defined as v =
maximum voltage with any particular wave
shape/maximum voltage with square wave can
be plotted in diagrams Fig. 6 for various
f- T*/Tt
ratios of b/a over T'= 2 T*/T or
(T = Front Time,T, = Half value Time). The
diagrams are combined to show the factor v
to
separately as a function of Ct or T and
share a common frequency scale in the range
of 1 to 100 kHz relevant for transformers,
assuming a time to half valueT#T of 50 microseconds and a front time TF
F of 100 microseconds.

exp(c

Fig. 7: Exciting voltage acording to equation (4).

) . damping of exciting voltage
6. c'/c . exp( - TTi

114

0
- 1-_ Tos.EdS E .-f.gi ij ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~iij

Damping is defined as the amplitude

ratio of two succeeding voltage crests within
one oscillation period (Fig.3 and 7).Diagram
Fig. 8 reveals that considerable internal
overvoltages can develop even with strong
damping.

VI

I .9

9 t

- I

8
.8

7
04

.2 1 IIII

tIS

1 101+11010

4'

luptilse wae

Front time of i mpulsnvav

Naialue ti
wav

fiuls

00t )

cos (

(4)

on the oscillating component of the internal

voltage (equation 2)
/I

u(t)

-.00

CcosCo1t)
.%
,^

(2.1 )

^%

0-1.
__,o

-2

The occurrence of oscillating system

possibility.
overvoltages is an additional
Analysing the effects of such an overvoltage
as shown in Fig. 7
=

2r/6

TF . Rise tin constant

T . Decay t"m constant

o(t)

Fig. 6: Amplitude factor v as a function of front and tail of the exciting

T .

and now having to take into account the

damping but neglecting the generally small
phase shift o( we can display in Fig. 8 for
the case of resonance the overvoltage factor
v as
function of the damping of the
a
exciting wave (6) in relation to the damping
of the excited wave (A).

-.01

.5

-00

e.-.-0100 1-01-.

>

.4

.3

.1

--.

.3

.4

.5

.6

.7

.8

.91

Fig. 8 Overvoltage factor v for oscillating excitation according to eq.(4)

v * ratio of maximum voltag for any particular excitation to
square wave excitation.
A. damping of excited voltage, 6.damping of excitilng voltage
RESPONSE TO APERIODIC OVERVOLTAGES

The calculation of all

significant
voltages across and between windings and to
ground by means of a digital computer is
indispensable for major transformers. The
calculated results can be verified by tests
with a repetitive surge generator on the canplete transformer.Fig. 9 shows for the 500kV
transformer according to Fig. 1;
a) the
calculated voltage D across the tap winding
for a 1,2/50microseconds lightning
impulse

434
wave, b) the test connection and c)
voltage measured on the transformer.
U

100 %
BIL = 1675kV

the

100 %
BIL = 11675kV

100

80

9b)

HV

D0

TW

60
40

ILV

20

0
- I - I -_M_

.,

1dov
77-l

43Os
~~~~1
0bl)

__
K.

9c),....
e_-44

.I

4---

4-+--

.---

: ..L_

.++

, _

. .+.....

100V

_ __

1c_

ioov~
~~~~~~~~~HH

(FW, ChW, FoW)

Lightning impulse waves
primarily impose a stress along the winding
axis, particularly near the line end.Fig. 10
shows the potential difference during a full
and from ground
wave test from the line end
to a point located about
1/4 of the winding
length away from the line end.This particular
winding is relatively oscillation-free due to
suitable interleaving.
Fig. 11 compares the voltage across the
tap winding of the transformer according to
Fig. 1 and 2 for various test voltage wave
shapes.It is apparent that the standard test
waves
and connections (Fig. Ila and llb) do
not necessarily represent the mostunfavorable
voltage stress conditions for the transformer. A comparision of oscillograms llb
and lld reveals the material influence ofthe
front rise time. Fast front switching surge
wave
shapes similar to lie have been found
in field tests and analytical studies.
The
tail
application of a fast front long
switching surge wave therefore can considerably influence the transformer design and
require
may
additional insulation and/or
shielding.

Fig 10: Voltages ceasured on a full size codel of the 500kV vindings of
transforeer according to Fig. 1: a) Test set.op, b) and c) test
caci legra.s

h.-

-~~
...

1,

N---

Fig. 9 Couparison between a) calculated and c) wasured voltage 0 across

tap vinding of transforer accordng to Fig. 1.
NOTTE: If the low voltag vinding is grounded at both eds D diminshes I

RESPONSE TO OSCILLATING OVERVOLTAGES

If the frequency of an exciting oscillating voltage at the terminals coincides with
one of the fundamental natural frequencies
of a winding or part of a winding, resonant
overvoltages will occur.
The case of constant AC voltage excitation
( of a frequency other than the system
voltage ) is of no practical significance in
itself.However, laboratory measurements,i.e.
ina frequency scan can yield valuable
the resonance and
concerning
formation
damping characteristics of a transformer.The
resonance voltages are determined by the
design ( winding arrangement etc. ) and the
damping for which the frequency dependent
is
effective resistance of the windings
relevant and not the ohmic value. A thorough
calculation of these resistances is very
laborious, however, they must be considered
particularly in resonance investigations.

435
100

Hl
1 la2/5) ls
-BIT,

80

167-5ikv

HV

.60

40

TW

1 la)

20
0

Is

40

20

60

LV(

80

100

80
60

~~SS

139QkV

40

The essential influence of the damping of

the winding (damping of the impulse response
A) can be calculated:
A = 0,5
.D/uo = 40 %
(see Fig. 12)
A = 0,7 .*eo**...... D/Uo = 96 %
A = 1 (undamped) ... D/Uo = 0o
In Fig. 12 b the rapid rise
of the
voltage D from the instant of energization
can be observed.

Df

20
0

Fig. 12 a shows the voltage D across the tap

winding of the transformer according to Fig1

as
a
function of the frequency of
the
exciting voltage and of the loading of the
low voltage winding.As can be seen, resonant
overvoltages can occur across the tap winding
(and across the tap changer) only if the low
voltage winding is open circuited. Further,
Fig. 12 a and 12 b show that in the case of
resonance (i.e. for f = 56 kHz) the voltage
D attains 40 % of the applied AC voltage U .

1100

9
20

40

60

60
40

20

t
0s

16%

20

100

40

60

80

t ld)
-50

1* 0

18%
10

20

-100.

40

60

Fig. 12: Neasured(a) and calculated (b) resonant ovrvoltages across the tap
winding of transformr according to Fig. 1.

80

100

Oscillatory switching surges can be

caused by sudden voltage changes( switching
operations,ground fautlts,particularly shortline faults, etc.) at some distance from the
transformer terminals. The natural frequency
of the line is expressed as:

80

60

kHz

20

10 %

100

R=50
-R=0 I,VN

,R=no

50

40

20

10

switchi.ng surge

60

40

I
____

TW

100

Fast front

.1

80

20
20

li1c )
I

HV

60

2/5)Ls

80-

80

100

80.

ru

D/U 0

11lb)

. /

Eample of a switcb-ing
ove rvro1t age fovind in

~field tests

. lie)
-6
20

40

L
I

60
80
Fig. 11: Voltage D across tap winding of transforer according to Fig.1 for
various test voltage shapes and connections.
a) and b) current standard wave shapes and connections.

l/TL =

fL=
t =

Vw=

vW/4t

(5)

natural frequency of line

length of line

wave

propagation velocity

Vw
Vw

100

m/ls

m/,us
lines
300

for cables
for overhead

436
Fig.14a represents the basic connection
of the HV winding at the time of energizing
phase V first ( Connected line simulated by
300Q surge impedance ). Fig.14b compares the
voltage within the HV winding for various
exciting voltages.

_30

14a)

'HP-sine voltage

<

f = 10,5kHz

13b)

30* /
14b)
200 _-/

T_ooQ

~~~T300s2

lightning impulse
wave

\_

1 *,. t 21

1,2/50ps

switching impulse

wave 100/1 50s

behavior of the transformr in Fig. 13a a) basic

arrangement of NV windings b) voltages masured on original trans-

Fig. 14 OvervOltage

Fig. 13: Back-feed energization of generator-transformr ( 110kV ):

a) connection diagram, b) schematic voltage at transformr
c) masured voltage at transformr

If the natural frequency of the line

corresponds to a natural frequency of the
considerable internal
transformer windings,
overvoltages can develop.In the llOkV system
shown in Fig.13a, closing of circuit breaker
S at a distance of 7,5 km produced oscillatUT at the transformer
ing switching surges
terminals as shown in Fig.13b schematically.
Typical for such a case of resonance is a
failure at the center of the windings rather
for
lightning
than at the line end (as
surges).Syst em tests. confirmed an oscillating
voltage UT as shown in Fig.13c at the transformer terminals if I phase was energized at
the voltage maximum U,, . A natural frequency
of about 10,5 kHz can be recognizedgthe
super imposed harmonics originate from other
system components (instrument transformers
etc.).

X m 6.0.kz....

..*******

formr for various types o} exciting voltage.

It can be demonstrated that excitation
with oscillatory switching surges also can
produce - depending on the damping - considerable internal overvoltages. According
to Fig. 15 c the voltage to ground Uw at the
center of the HV winding considerablyexceeds
the maximum value of the exciting voltage UT.
That implies: The windings therefore can be
overstressed even when the exciting voltage
remains well below arrester sparkover level
These frequent -the transformer was switched
several times a day - and extended high
amplitude oscillations finally led to severe
damage of the HV winding and the failure of
the transformer after about 2200 switching
operations. The problem was resolved by
moving the circuit breaker S to the transformer terminals.
Defined conditions such as the energization of a transformer through an overhead
line or a cable can be simulated by means of
line models or calculated by digital computer.
shows for this case the laboratory
Fig. 16
test arrangement as well as the measured and
precalculated voltage D across tap winding
of transformer according to Fig. 1 . The
favourable damping characteristic of the
winding reduces resonant overvoltages across
the tap winding!
Even a slight deviation between the
natural frequencies fL of the line and fl of
the winding will considerably reduce the
overvoltages (compare Fig. 16b to 16c).
As already presented in Fig. 8, the
winding response to oscillating surges depends

materially on the damping of the exciting

voltage 6 and on the damping of windings A .
Fig. 17 shows the voltage D across the tap

437
winding of the transformer according to Fig.1
as measured and as calculated for various
winding damping factors and constant damp ing for the exciting voltage. A comparison
of the oscillograms 17 c and f confirms the
strong damping of this particular winding
due to the location adjacent to the core.
225 . .
200
175

150

125
100

75
50
25
0
-25

-50
400

.,

300

200

100
0

-100.

-200.
-300
500
400
300
200

100
0

-2001
-300..

-400.

15d)

-500

Fig. 15: Calculated voltages U for transformer according to Fig. 13a

a)
basic winding arrangeent, b) U for lightning impulse a", c) Uw
for back-feed sergization accorling to Fig. 13 an d) UV for
sine wav steady-state excitation ( resonance, coare wvith Fig.14b)

Fig. 16: Voltage 0 across tap winding of transformr according to Fig. 1 in

response to an oscillating votag U: a) Test arran"ment; c
asured voltags for en-resonce, b) and d) msured and calcv.
lated voltages for resonance

438
250

200

UT gH1
HV

t7a)
150

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

100 -

TW

17b)

50

LV

MIKROSEC
-50

-1 00
50.

-50 50
0

17c) D (A = 05)
AA AA\ \-

oV

17d) 0

- V VlW

150

MIKR0SEC

(A =0.7)

P
-A
aLA
IA
VIVVVVV

_
A A~
V 158 [I-MIKROSEC

Theoretical considerations confirmed by

test on complete transformers indicate that
certain aperiodic overvoltage wave shapes
such as a fast front long tail switching
surge and in particular oscillating overvoltages can excite high internal voltage
stresses in
transformer windings
which
exceed the levels encountered during current
standard tests.The user of a transformermust
know the shape and magnitude cfthe switching
impulse waves occuring -in his system to
specify the so required shape of test impulse
waveo If such overvoltages actually occur ,
close cooperation between manufacturer and
user is necessary to review and possibly
modify design and test practices. In orderto
supply a transformer which operatessatisfact orly under all system conditions,a manufacturer must have precise information on
the expected overvoltages.
In the case of
oscillating overvoltages resonance usually
cannot be excluded and the internal voltage
stresses will only depend on the damping .
,This can lead to uneconomical designs. As a
result ,
system conditions and
operating
procedures may have to be revised such as
the back-feed of step-up transformers.
Further investigations
to establish
actual system transient voltages are encouraged.

,-

,-,

REFERENCES

-50Q
100 .4

[1]

A.A., McElroy A.J.:

"Experience with
Part Winding Resonance in EHV AutoTransformers. Diagnosis and corrective
IEEE Transactions on Power
Measures"
Apparatus and Systems.vol. PAS-94, pp.

1294-1300, July/August 1975.

[2]

McNutt W.W.,Blalock T.J., Hinton R.A.:

"Response of Transformer Windings to
System Transient Voltages" IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems,
vol. PAS-93, pp. 457-466, March/April

[3]

"Die Berechnung
der
Stofspannungsbeanspruchung von Transmittels
formatoren
Digitalrechner"
ELIN-Zeitschrift 19/1967, Heft
3 / 4
" Programmsysteme fur
Gerstl A.:
rotationssymmetrische Streufeld- und
Induktivitatenberechnung von Tr:ansformatoren" ELIN - Zeitschrift 1976,
Heft 2.
Mohseni H.:"Berechnung der elektrischen
Beanspruchungen bei StoBspannung und
Schaltuberspannung" ELIN - Zeitschrift
1976, Heft 2.
Bewley L.V.:"Travelling Waves onTransmission Systems"Chapman & Hall,London,

[4]

[5]
[6]

[7]

Fig. 17: Voltage 0 across tap winding as a functiso of the winding damping A
a) transferer according to Fig. 1, b) Caculated exciting voltage UT, c) throvgh a) calculated excited voltage 0, f) easured
voltages.

Margolis H.B.,Phelps J.D.M.,Carlomagno

1974.

Preininger G.:

1951.

McElroy A.J.: "On the Significance of

Recent EHV Transformer Failures involving Winding Resonance" IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems,
vol. PAS - 94, pp. 1301-1307, July/
August 1975.

439
Richard

(SM

J.

Austria,

in

'70)

Vienna,

in

born

was

1928.

He is

1951 graduate in Electrical

Engineering of the Technical University Vienna.

interSince 1951 with
for
ruptions
consulting
work he

has

associated

been

with ELIN-UNION
Vienna,
Austria, and since
1956
with the activities of ELIN
He has been
in the U.S.
primarily involved in the design,
testing
and installation of large electric power
equipment. He currently holds the position
of Senior Vice President of American ELIN
Corp.
Mr. Musil serves on ASTM Committee D 27
and the IEEE Transformer Committee.

Gustav Preininger was born

in Graz, Austria, in 1929.
He received the Dipl.-Ing .
in
and Dr. techn. degrees

Electrical Engineering from

the Technical
University
Graz in 1954 and 1962.Since
1954 he has been with EIJN

Weiz,

AG.

Austria,

where

he

is presently chief of the

Transformer Department.
Dr. Preininger is member
12
Committee
of
Study

(Transformers) of CIGRE and member of the

Technical
State Examining Board of the
University Graz.
Edwin

Schopper

was

born

in

Zwettl, Austria, in 1935.

He received the Dipl
Ing.
and Dr.
techn. degre#s in
Electrical Engineering from

transformer windings as a function of the various wave shapes applied.

It is readily apparent that raising the tail of a 1.2 x 50 micro-second full
wave or shortening the front of a 100 x 1000 micro-second switching
surge wave both approach a step wave and therby increase the stresses
to ground.
Although the standard test waves (Figures I la & 1 lb do not
necessarily represent the most unfavorable voltage stress conditions,
they probably are reasonable compromises for the multitude of wave
shapes and test connections that are possible. Removing the short on
the low voltage winding permits the voltage "D" to oscillate at the resonant frequency with the axis of the oscillation approximately equal to
the turns above ground (9%).
Figures 1lc and lld show these oscillations and indicate the stress
beyond approximately 40 micro-seconds is similar to the stress in Figure
II b. The only signicantly higher stress occurs at approximately 9 microseconds and the duration is less than 10 micro-seconds. The stress for
the full wave (1I c) is slightly lower than the step wave due to the lower
tail. This full wave test on the H.V. with the L.V. winding open circulated would undoubtedly over test the low voltage winding.
Figure I1 e with only 50%!7 crest voltage during the early portion of the
wave also gives stresses very similar to Figure I lb. In my IEEE paper
A-77-118-3 on fast front switching surge tests, I suggested a higher BIL
be considered if this initial crest approached 80% of the normal swit-

ching surge test KV.

Figure 14 indicates a natural frequency of 10.5 KILOHERTZ in the
high voltage winding with the neutral ungrounded and line surge impedance to ground on the other two lines. If the neutral were grounded,
the natural frequency of the winding would change from 10.5 KHZ to
approximately 17.2 KHZ which would detune it from the 7.5 kilometer
line.
Figure 15b indicates that Uw for full wave impulse has a peak of approximately .87 x 550 BIL = 487 KV. Figure^- 15c indicates that if UT =
110/v3xV2 x 2 = 180 KV peak, then UW 400 KV. This lower stress
for a longer period of time is approximately equivalent to the full wave
inpulse stress. A peak surge in excess of two times normal peak
operating voltage could therefore be excessive when compared to the
normal impulse stress unless the resonant condition is detuned.
It does not appear reasonable to have the user specify special test
voltages, wave shapes, and winding connections for each transformer.
Based on the magnitude and wave shapes found in his system studies,
the user must convert these findings to the nearest standard BIL that
will adequately test the transformer using standard wave shapes and
connections.

University,

Technical

the

Graz,

Austria

in 1962 and

1970.
Since

1962 he has been

ELIN-UNION AG, Weiz,
Austria,where he is presently chief of the High Voltage Laboratory.

with

Siegfried Wenger

was

born

Klagenfurt,
Austria, in
He
the
received
1948.
in
Ing.
Dipl.
degree
in

Electrical

Engineering

Graz,
He

Austria
joined

from

University,

Technical

the

in
the

1975.
High

volt-

age Laboratory of ELIN-UNION

AG,

Weiz,

His

main

are

research

Austria,
fields

overvoltages

ers

of

in

1975.

activity

on
transient
transformin

and rotating machinery.

Discussion

Jack D. Phlllips, (McGraw-Edison Company, Canonsburg, PA.): The

paper gives an analysis of the voltage stresses which occur in

Manuscript received July 31, 1980.

W. J. McNutt and R. G. Degeneff (General Electric Company, Pittsfield, Mass): This is a very good tutorial paper on the transient
response of transformer windings to various forms of externally applied
voltage. It illustrates several important points which are not universally

appreciated, namely:
1. The significant damping role played by external lines or loads
connected to windings other than that one receiving the transient
voltage excitation.
2. The fact that switching transients tend to excite relatively low
natural frequencies within the transformer windings, involving a
large percentage of winding turns (usually 20% or more).
3. The internal response to oscillatory voltages can be greater than that
for any form of aperiodic voltage. As a consequence of this fact,
windings can be overstressed by transient voltages below the arrester protective level if they are oscillatory in nature.
This last point is of extreme significance to a Working Group of the
IEEE Transformers Committee which has been investigating internal
winding resonance effects with respect to switching overvoltages. The
work to date has concentrated on fast front, long tail pulse voltages, but
it is now evident that oscillatory voltages must also be considered. Such
applied voltages are obviously not represented by present dielectric test
waves, nor are they representable. If suitable oscillatory voltage tests
could be devised, it would be technically possible to design transformers
which would be totally immune to applied waves of any frequency, but
it probably would not be economically desirable to do so. Our speculation on why this form of switching voltage has not produced more service failures is that it requires a very unique set of conditions to generate
an applied voltage exactly in tune with an internal winding resonance in
a region of the winding where there is dielectric sensitivity. We would
also invite the authors' speculation on this point.

440

One final question relates to the fashion in which the authors derive
their internal damping factor, A, which should be a function of frequency. Is this derived analytically or emperically?
We wish to commend the authors for a fine contribution to the
technical literature and we encourage their continued participation in
the Working Group activities aimed at introducing recognition of these
effects in industry standards.
Manuscript received July 31, 1980.
H. B. Margolis and A. J. McElroy (American Electric Power Service
Corporation, NY): In 1972 our colleagues and we described a number
of transformer failures experienced on the AEP system attributed to
part winding resonance. Since then a working group in the IEEE
Transformer Committee has been engaged in studying the

phenomenon.
The members of this working group are generally agreed that transients with fast fronts (5-40 us) and sustained tails can and do occur in
service and can give rise to part winding resonance which may damage
the transformer. The objective of the working group is to prescribe a
dielectric test to forestall field failures. This requires specifying the exact form of the wave to be imposed, its magnitudes and the conditions
at the terminals. The basis for such a test must be an understanding of
system behavior and the transformer's response, which is frequency
dependent.
The authors have made a convincing case for the need to deal with
this phenomenon so as to enhance the reliability of large transformers
whose natural frequencies often fall into the critical area where they can
resonate with the system. The authors' analyses and tests confirm
notable aspects which we have encountered in the 6 failures on the AEP
system attributed to part winding resonance.
1. Five of the failures occurred coincident with the line faults which
can produce fast front long tail switching surges; while one failure
occurred on back energizing a generator step-up transformer.
2. No arrester operations occurred with any of these failures which
indicated that the voltage was below the sparkover level of the arrester.
3. The failures occurred at tap leads or in the winding some distance
from the line leads.
4. Subsequent to the failure of 3 units, surge arresters were installed
through an added bushing and connected to a crossover connection close to the center of the common winding of the 200-MVA,
500/345-kV autotransformer. In the 5 years that elapsed since the
arresters were added, no failures have occurred while 6 arrester
operations were counted at the 500-kV terminals, zero operations
at the 345-kV terminals and 43 operations on the crossover ar-

resters.
5. On 3 bands which were suspect after one of the transformers failed, the solution was to add a capacitor bank to the tertiary winding increased the damping characteristic. This has proven effective to date.
The authors' investigations explain many of the conditions noted
above, viz:
1. The overvoltages generated by a fast front wave with a sustained
tail (Figure 6 and Ild).
2. The vulnerability of the tap winding in particular (Figure lId).
3. The failures at midwinding and at crossover connections (Figure
10).
4. The influence of terminal connections in establishing the damaping characteristics (Figure 11) which, in turn, determines the selection of the overvoltage factor (Figure 8).
To understand the factors involved, AEP has undertaken transmission
line model studies; sponsored factory tests; developed, with the
assistance of transformer designers, mathematical and physical
transformer models; and made staged fault field tests:
1. Transmission line model studies have shown that at critical frequencis significant changes in voltage can be generated directly on
the faulted phase and indirectly through coupling, on the unfaulted phases. The location of the fault with respect to the
transformer is critical.
2. Factory tests have confirmed the existence of amplification factors as high as 37:1 across parts of a winding at its resonant frequency.
3. Factory tests have further confirmed the critical role of
transformer termination i.e. grounded, ungrounded or terminated in surge impedance in establishing the damping
characteristic of the transformer.

4. Traditional mathematical transformer models coupled to existing

system models support the need to deal with the phenomenon of
resonance.
5. Recent advances in the mathematical modeling of transformers
emphasize the need for improved modeling of three phase
transmission lines at frequencies ranging from 3 to 30 kiloHertz.
In this connection, staged line fault tests performed on the AEP
system in April 1979 are providing data which we anticipate will
lead to the improved models. The test data is being analyzed and a
full report will be given at a subsequent IEEE meeting.
On the AEP system the magnitudes of Uo max in the authors' Figure
4 (b) are 1800-kV BIL at 765-kV and 900-kV BIL at 345-kV. Twice normal crest line to ground voltage at these classes is 1310 and 590-kV.
These values, when taken as excitation Uo in Figure 5(a) would lead to
response values u(t) in Figure 5a which are comparable to the response
values u(t) given in Figure 4(b) for a full wave test. The implication here
is that for a long tail test wave with a 10 microsecond front we would
need an amplitude that is some ten or fifteen percent above the twice
normal crest line-to-ground voltage, as a safety margin which approaches the switching surge test level.
Regarding the authors' Figures 4 and 5, the authors refer to u(t) as
the total voltage at a free node. Would the authors discuss more
specifically their selection of the free node for Figures 4 and 5, as well as
to what relation the free node of Figures 4 and 5 have to those of
Figures 9 and 10.
Manufacturers have on occasion passed transformers after full wave
impulse testing with tails substantially less than the 50 microsecond
standars shown in the authors' Figure 4(b). Also, we know from recent
field tests on transmission systems that transformer terminals can experience a change in voltage in a time well less than the 100
microseconds shown in the authors' Figure 5(b); the authors present a
response corresponding to this effect in their Figure 11(d). Therefore,
with an abbreviated tail, full wave testing may lead to responses u(t)
which are substantially less than that shown in the authors' Figure 4(b);
and system initiated surges may lead to change in transformer internal
voltage u(t), with reference to the pre-surge 60HZ voltage level, which is
more like the authors; Figure 5(a) than their Figure 5(b). We would like
the authors thoughts on these comments.
It is our hope that further investigations will be undertaken to
establish a basis for designing transformers which can take into account
resonant phenomena and help to develop a dielectric test to confirm the
design.
Manuscript received July 31, 1980.

R. J. Musil and G. Preininger: It is gratifying to note that our paper attracted the attention of such distinguished discussors, which proves that
the subject of internal "resonant" overvoltages is of considerable current interest.
We appreciate the comments of Mr. Margolis and Mr. McElroy
because of their interest in and contributions to the investigation of
overvoltage phenomena. A principal purpose of writing this paper was
to encourage further system studies and tests in order to obtain conclusive data on actual transients which may form the basis for revised
dielectric test procedures. As manufacturers we can pretty well establish
the response of our transformers to various kinds of overvoltages but
cannot determine the reality or probability of such events. The effect of
the double grounded LV winding in Fig. 1 la is not considered damping
in the strictest sense but a change in the inductive coupling and thus a
shift in the steady-state distribution.
We realize that rapid changes in transformer terminal voltage similar
to a square wave can occur. If such steep-front waves do indeed approach twice normal crest line to ground voltage, this may lead to a fast
front switching surge test at about the level of the traditional slow rise
wave.
However, we would like to caution that a drastic reduction in front
time should be carefully considered and imposed only on the basis of
compelling evidence, as it may require on occasion more insulation and
thus a more expensive product.
Figure 4 and 5 show in an idealized form the response of a typical
oscillatory circuit to various exciting wave shapes. They do not represent voltages at a particular point of the transformers discussed in the
paper.
We sympathize with the discussors concern about the validity of full
wave tests with tails shorter than in the standards. Even with high
capacity impulse generators we often get shorter tails particularly for
high current windings. Hopefully, such a low surge impedance winding

441

will also cause a shorter wave tail for a system generated surge.
We generally agree with the comments and observations of Mr.
Phillips with some exceptions.
A full wave applied to the HV terminal of the transformer in Fig. 11
would not have overstressed the LV winding if open-circuited. This
condition - not unrealistic in service - was considered in the design. The
transformer in Fig, 14 was installed in an ungrounded system.
Therefore, de-tuning by grounding the neutral - as was quite correctly
observed - was not feasible.
The relationship between the stresses imposed by the single oscillation
peak of full wave and by the multiple though lower peaks of a resonant
condition is not too well defined and the solution to the questions of
equivalency elusive. As much as we would like to stay with established
procedures, it does not appear to be readily possible to simulate all resonant voltage stresses by the application of the present package of tests;
even with a higher BIL which would be undesirable because of the unnecessary increase in transformer cost. The user normally is not in the

position to fully analyze the response of our transformer but we would

at least hope to obtain from him realistic information on the transient
conditions to be expected.
We would like to thank Mr. McNutt and Mr. Degeneff for their
thoughtful comments which very well put into focus the key observations in our paper.
We agree that cases of perfect coincidence of oscillatory excitation
with internal resonance frequencies are - fortunately - rare, but if they
occur quite dangerous. The transformer failure described in the paper
under conditions shown in Fig. 13 and 14 can be considered illustrative.
An exact match with the exciting frequency existed only for the center
phase of the transformer, the other two phases with slightly different
resonance frequencies remained undamaged. This is also demonstrated
in Fig. 16. For practical purposes the internal damping factor A, which
is frequency dependent, mainly is developed empirically by testing of
different transformer types and winding arrangements.
Manuscript received September 19, 1980.