18 IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 10, No.

1, February 1995

ANALYSIS OF THREE-PHASE TRANSFORMER NO-LOAD

CHARACTERISTICS
Y. Baghzouz, Senior Member, IEEE X. D.Gong, Student Member, IEEE
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV 89154

Abstract: The traditional laboratory experiment on three- However, some current waveforms observed in the labora-
phase transformer connections consists of a qualitative obser- tory cannot be explained in simple terms where ideal con-
vation of current and phase voltage waveforms by means of an ditions are assumed. To illustrate, Fig. 1 shows the phase
oscilloscope, with emphasis placed on the dominant third har- and neutral currents of a wye-delta transformer connection
monic component. Some recorded waveshapes, however, can- with grounded neutral. These waveforms show by no means
not be explained in simple terms without considering other a dominant third harmonic component in either current.
harmonic components and the quality of power supply. This
paper outlines an improved IectureJexperiment that quanti-
tatively analyzes the waveforms of various transformer con-
nections under steady-state no-load conditions while taking
into account the non-ideal voltage supply. The experimental
data obtained with the aid of a harmonic analyzer are then
compared to the qualitative predictions and the discrepancies
are discussed.

Keywords: exciting current, neutral current, harmonics,

three-phase transformer connections.

INTRODUCTION Fig. 1: Phase and Neutral Currents in Wye-Delta

The conventional undergraduate laboratory experiment on
single-phase and three-phase transformer characteristics un-
der no-load conditions generally consists of two parts: Part
I covers single-phase transformer core nonlinearity by ana-
lyzing the hysteresis loop and exciting current nonsinusoidal
waveform. Part I1 examines the effect of various three-phase
transformer connections on transformer current and mutual
flux (or phase voltage) waveforms.
Traditionally, the latter part above consists of visual obser-
vations. More emphasis is placed on the striking difference
between the current waveforms found in wye-connections with
grounded neutral and those with isolated neutral. This is
often explained in electric machinery and transformers text-
hooks by examining the path of the third harmonic compo-
nent which dominates the frequency spectrum of the exciting
current.
94 SM 384-8 PWRS A paper recommended and approved
by the IEEE Power Engineering Education Committee of
the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation
a t t h e IEEE/PES 1994 Summer Meeting, San Francisco,
CA, July 24 - 28, 1994. Manuscript submitted August
2, 1993; made a v a i l a b l e f o r p r i n t i n g May 3, 1994.
Transformer Connection (with Neutral Grounded).
Questions addressed by students as to why currents take
specific waveshapes calls for a need to upgrade the tradi-
tional experiment procedure and lecture content. In refer-
ence [l],the authors presented an improved experiment on
single-phase transformer core nonlinearity (i.e., Part I of the
traditional experiment) where detailed analysis of hysteresis
loop, core loss and magnetizing current components may be
found. This paper fills the need mentioned above by intro-
ducing students to phase sequences of harmonic components
and integrating a personal computer or workstation and a
harmonic analyzer in the laboratory experiment. This is in
line with the national trend to renew interest in power engi-
neering education [2]. Furthermore, with the recent concern
of utility companies over power quality, more specifically, the
rise in harmonic levels, it is desirable to introduce students
to this field in the early stages 131.
The content of the paper is composed of two parts: The
lecture part covers Fourier series description of nonsinusoidal
waveforms, classification of harmonic components in terms
of phase sequences, and some basic concepts of three-phase
circuits to predict qualitatively the phase-voltage and current
waveforms found in various transformer connections. The ex-
perimental part displays several recorded current and voltage
waveforms and their harmonic contents in order to verify the
theoretical predictions. The sources causing the discrepancies
are discussed.

0885-8950/95/$04.00 0 1994 E E E

~~~
~~~
 19

An argument made by some faculty is that todays labora- i.e., phase A leads phases B and C by 120 and 240 degrees,
tory experiments cover too many subjects, especially in those respectively. The same applies for the 4th, 7th, ... (3m+l)th
institutions that combined power system simulation studies harmonic components.
with the traditional machines laboratory, and there is not It is easy to verify from equations (1)-(3) that the 3rd har-
enough time to cover what is considered a detail. But with monic components ( n = 3) do not lead or lag one another:
the appropriate instrumentation, it is found that it actually they are in phase, and named zero sequence components. The
takes far less time to perform the proposed experiment and same applies for the 6th, 9th, ... (3m+3)th harmonic compo-
answer all the related questions than the traditional proce- nents.
dure where some unanswered questions and confusion in the The rest of the harmonic current components, 2nd, 5th,
mind of a novice linger. 8th, ..., (3m-l)th, form what is called a negative sequence
or ACE sequence, i.e., phase A leads phases C and B by
120 and 240 degrees, respectively. These phase sequences are
BASIC PRINCIPLES Summarized in Table I below.
In three-phase transformers, currents will take shape im-
posed by the particular connection used, and unlike single- TABLE I: PHASE ORDER OF VARIOUS HARMONIC
phase transformers, the flux can be nonsinusoidal even when COMPONENTS
the supply voltage is sinusoidal. Another source that affects
the current waveshape is the quality of the power supply. In Harmonic Order Phase Order
practical situations, it is impossible to find perfectly balanced 1, 4, 7, ... (3m+l) AEC (positive sequence)
and sinusoidal voltages. A certain degree of imbalance and 3, 6, 9, _..(3m+3) in phase (zero sequence)
waveform distortion (with mainly odd harmonics) are.always 2, 5, 8, ... (3m-1) ACB (negative sequence)
present due to the nature of distribution systems and elec-
trical loads. Even harmonics are also found in the supply
voltages due to half-wave rectifier loads and lack of isotrophy It is of interest to examine the sum of the three current
in core materials, but often much smaller than adjacent odd components iAn + ign+ ic, at different harmonic orders.
harmonics. This sum is zero for positive and negative sequence compo-
In order to predict the current waveforms found in differ- nents, but 3 times iAn for zero sequence components. Another
ent three-phase transformer connections supplied by practical quantity of interest is the difference between two phase har-
power supplies, it is best to assume a balanced three-phase monic currents, e.g., i,in -is,. This is equal to 0, v5i~,,e~,
circuit and examine the phase sequence of harmonic frequen- f i i ~ , , e l - ~ ,for zero, positive and negative sequence compo-
cies found in such a circuit. The effect of imbalance will be nents, respectively. Table I1 summarizes these results.
addressed afterwards.
Consider a wye-wye connected transformer with the pri- TABLE 11: SUM AND DIFFERENCE O F CURRENTS AT
mary neutral connected to a three-phase source neutral as DIFFERENT HARMONIC FREQUENCIES
shown in Fig. 2. Since the circuit is assumed to be balanced,
the phase currents may be written in terms of Fourier series: Harmonic Order iAn i g , + ic, + iAn - i s ,
1., 4.< 7., ... (3m+l)
\ . , 0 J3i
. . .ejmo
An
.
iA = iAn = I,sin(nwt -en), (I) 3, 6, 9, ... (3m+3) 3iAn 0
n=1,2.3 ,... n=1,2,3 ,._. 2, 5, 8, , ... (3m-1) 0 &iA,,ej-mOO
ig = ig, = C I,,sin(nwt - B, -n120), (2)
n=1.2.3 ,... n=1.2,3 ,...
As a consequence, the neutral current i N of the wye-wye
ic = icn = I,sin(nwt - 8, +n120), (3) connection in Fig. 2 contains only the sum of the zero se-
n ~ 1 . 2 .,...
3 n=1,2.3 ,...
quence current components found in the phase current, hut
where inn is the n-th harmonic current component of phase magnified three times;
current i ~ .
iN = ix = iAn =3 I,sin(nwt-8,).
X=A,B,C n=3.6,9 ,... n=3.6.9, ...
(4)
In addition, Table I1 indicates that the line current in a
delta connection cannot contain zero sequence components

Y
Fig. 2: Wye-Wye Configuration with Primary Neutral
Connected to Source Neutral.
The fundamental components (n = 1) of these currents
form what is called a positive sequence or AEC sequence,
even though they may be present in the phase currents. Fur-
thermore, the positive sequence components of the line cur-
rent lead those of the phase current by SO degrees, while the
negative sequence components lag hy 30 degrees. These facts
modify the line current waveshape significantly from that of
the phase current.
The same definitions above apply to the voltage quantities.
From Table 11, it can be concluded that the sum of the three
phase voltages contains only zero sequence components, and
the line-to-line voltage contains only positive and negative
sequence components.
20
Considering a practical unbalanced voltage supply may ap-
pear more complicated for students who are introduced to
the mhject for the first time, but must be at leased briefly
discussed so that the experimental measurements can be ex-
plained. In this case, equations (1)-(3) will have different
values of I , and B,, and each harmonic component (includ-
ing the fundamental) will have its own positive, negatives and
zero sequence components. Hence, all three sequences exist
at each harmonic frequency, and the content of Table I1 is no
longer valid.
PREDICTION OF CURRENT AND VOLTAGE
WAVEFORMS UNDER BALANCED CONDITIONS
The principles above are now applied to the four standard
three-phase transformer connections; namely, wye-wye, wye-
delta, delta-wye and delta-delta connections. Primary em-
phasis will be placed on the zero sequence harmonic compo-
nents which contain the large third harmonic component and
whose paths depend of the type of transformer connection.
Other transformer connections found in distribution systems
(e.g., T or Scott, wye-delta or delta-delta with 4-wire secon-
daries, and V connections) are only exposed to the students
under loaded conditions where installed capacity and current
imbalance are of prime importance.
The predictions below apply only in caSe where the source
is balanced. With an unbalanced power supply, all harmonics
components are expected to be present in all voltages and
currents of all transformer connections.
A) W y e - W y e Connection (with G r o u n d e d Neutral):
This connection is shown in Fig. 2. The line-to-neutral volt-
age at the transformer terminals W A N is equal to the line-
to-neutral supply voltage u A N , . Hence, the exciting current
should be identical to the one recorded in single-phase trans-
formers [I]. This current is known to contain a large 3rd
harmonic component, in the order of 30% - 50% of the fun-
damental component, and small values of other harmonics.
From equation (4), the neutral current should contain three
times the zero sequence component of the phase current iA
and no positive nor negative sequence components.
B) W y e - W y e Connection (with Isolated Neutral): In
here, the zero sequence current components are suppressed by
the isolated neutral. Hence, the exciting current is allowed
to contain only positive and negative sequence components.
Consequently, the exciting current waveform will be close to
a sinusoid since the magnitudes of the positive and negative
sequence harmonic are small as indicated above.
Due to core nonlinearity, the 3rd harmonic component must
now appear in the flux 4, and phase voltage since vAhr =
-dd/dt. Therefore, the phase voltage will be nonsinusoidal
and can be described by
VAN =
n=1.3.6. ...
WAN,, = c
n=1.3.6. ...
V,sin(nwt -&),
with a relatively large value of 15.
According to Khirchoffs voltage law, the difference be-
tween the phase voltage at the transformer and source ter-
minals appears as a voltage U,,,,,,, across the two neutrals:
P ~ = WAN
~ ~- uAlV,
, = V, sin(nwt - 6,)
n=3.6, ...
This connection is undesirable and can be a hazard under
certain conditions for two reasons: (a) the peak value of the
phase voltage can be significantly greater than that of the
fundamental component; thus increasing voltage stress on the
insulation, (h) the third harmonic voltage in uNNr can be a
hazard due to its large magnitude.
C ) Wye-Delta Connection (with G r o u n d e d Neutral):
First, let one corner of the secondary delta be open. This
configuration is similar to Fig. 2 with the exception of the
secondary transformer windings that are connected in series
(to form an open-delta) instead of a star connection. The
voltage across the open corner of the secondary delta is equal
to the sum of the three secondary phase voltages, and will
contain only zero sequence harmonic components found in the
supply voltage since the supply is assumed to be balanced,
I.e.,
+ +
Uabc = U s lib U c = 3T Wan, (7)
3.6, ...
where T and ,.w represent the transformer turn ratio and
nth harmonic voltage component found in the power supply,
respectively. When the secondary delta is closed, there will
be a circulating zero sequence current proportional to U&.
Furthermore, there will be another source of current flow in
the secondary: the primary phase current will no longer be
equal to the exciting current whose zero sequence components
will now have two paths (primary and secondary circuits are
both closed). The amount of harmonic current flowing in each
path depends on the relative impedances of the supply and
delta circuits. The neutral current will still measure 3 times
the zero sequence components found in each phase current.
D ) Wye-Delta Connection (with Isolated N e u t r a l ) :
Disconnecting the neutral wire from the connection above
will open the once closed path in the primary circuit. Hence,
the zero sequence harmonic components of the primary phase
currents can no longer exist and the exciting current zero se-
quence components are forced to flow only in the secondary
circuit. The flux and phase voltage will remain near a sinu-
soidal waveform.
E) Delta-Wye Connection: In here, the line-to-line volt-
age is applied across each leg of the delta. Hence, the flux
has the same waveform as the voltage supply. The primary
delta connection provides a path for the zero sequence cur-
rents. The exciting or phase current in each leg is nonsinu-
soidal and contains all sequence components, as in the case of
wye-wye connection (with grounded neutral). The line cur-
rent is however very different in shape and in size from the
phase current due to the fact that it does not contain zero
sequence components, and its positive and negative sequence
+
components are shifted by 30 degrees as indicated in Table
11.
F) Delta-Delta Connection: This connection provides two
(5) paths for the zero sequence components of the exciting cur-
rent. Hence zero sequence currents are expected to circulate
in both primary and secondary paths. In a balanced circuit,
the sum of the three secondary voltages prior to closing the
delta is zero (unlike the wye-delta connection where phase
voltages are added instead of line voltages). The line and
phase currents in the primary side of the transformer should
(6) be similar to those found in the delta-wye connection above.

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The laboratory experiment consists of performing the fol-
lowing steps for each transformer connection: (a) record var-
ious currents and voltage waveshapes using an oscilloscope
and camera, (b) analyze the harmonic content of each wave-
form using a harmonic analyzer, (c) verify whether the pres-
ence or absence of the zero sequence harmonic components
comply with those predicted in class and discuss the sources
contributing to those cases that do not comply.
Fig. 3 shows the laboratory set-up with the transformer
shown in a wye-delta configuration with grounded neutral.
The station is composed of a 3-phase 4-wire supply, three
shell-type transformers (each rated at 120V/60V, 60VA), cur-
rent probes, an oscilloscope equipped with camera, and a
waveform analyzer interfaced with a personal computer for
data processing, storage and waveform reproduction. It is
worth mentioning that a transformer bank made up of three
single-phase transformers or a three-phase shell-type trans-
former will have the same characteristics. However, the char-
acteristics of a three-phase core-type transformer differ re-
markably due to the high reluctance experienced by the flux
at harmonic frequencies [4], [5].
sw,y v0-e
..... ................. .
1 found in the supply (e.g., the sum of fundamental compo-
Fig. 3: Laboratory Set-Up
The power quality is first examined by identifying the har-
monic contents and degree of imbalance of the voltage supply.
When displayed in an oscilloscope, the voltage waveforms ap-
pear to be balanced and sinusoidal to the naked eye. How-
ever, a closer look with a harmonic analyzer reveals that the
supply is not perfectly balanced and contains some harmonic
components. Table 111 shows the rms values of the low-order
harmonic components along with the Total Harmonic Distor-
tion (THD) of each phase. The following is noted:
The harmonic magnitudes are time-variant, the values in
Table 111 represent only a snapshot.
The magnitudes of even harmonics are very small (of-
ten more than one order of magnitude smaller than the
adjacent odd harmonics).
Harmonic orders above the 9th of the supply voltages
and exciting current are considered small. Hence, the
study is limited to harmonic frequencies up to 540 Hz
(for a 60 Hz supply).
21
a The 5th harmonic component is the dominant one in the
supply voltages.
a The imbalance found in the power supply violates the
assumption of balanced conditions. Hence all current
waveforms are expected to contain all harmonic orders.
TABLE 111: HARMONIC CONTENT O F LABORATORY
SUPPLY VOLTAGE
Harmonic Order V,, (V) Vin (v) vm ( v )
1 118.33 119.82 119.83
2 .02 .06 .04
3 .40 .65 .13
4 0.05 .06 .02
5 1.16 1.52 1.50
6 .02 .03 .01
7 .47 .39 .50
8 .01 .02 .01
9 .40 .25 .22
THD (W) 1.22 1.48 1.39
The data in Table 111 indicate that the degree of imbalance
and harmonic content of the power supply are small and well
below acceptable limits. As a consequence, the qualitative
predictions above can he used with little error.
A) W y e - W y e Connection ( w i t h g r o u n d e d neutral):
Fig. 4 shows the recorded phase voltage U R N , phase current
i A and neutral current i N , and Fig. 5 shows the harmonic
spectrum of these currents. The phase current is found to he
identical to the one recorded in Part I of the experiment with
the same harmonic component magnitudes [l]. The neutral
current was supposed to contain only the zero sequence com-
ponents, but the graph shows that it contains all sequence
components. This is due entirely to the slight imbalance
nents in Table I11 add up to a nonzero value). However, the
graph verifies that the zero sequence components of i~ are
about three times those of i ~ .
B) Wye-Wye Connection (with isolated neutral): Fig.
6 shows the phase current ia, transformer phase voltage
VAN, supply phase voltage vAN,and neutral-to-neutral volt-
age uNN, waveforms. Fig. 7 illustrates the dramatic change
in the harmonic content of the transformer phase voltage and
current when the neutral is disconnected. Note that the third
harmonic current and higher zero sequence components did
not get totally eliminated because of the unbalanced source,
but at least a significant drop is noticed. The third harmonic
phase voltage increased by nearly two orders of magnitude
(from 0.5 V to 48 V).
C ) Wye-Delta Connection (with g r o u n d e d neutral):
Due to the slight imbalance found in the power supply, the
sum of the voltages of the secondary windings adds up to a
nonzero value as shown in Fig. S. This voltage quantity v,bC
has a 9th harmonic component that is comparable to its 3rd
harmonic component as indicated by its frequency spectrum
in Fig. 9. The resulting 9th harmonic current circulating in
the delta (when closed) dramatically affects both the neutral
and phase current waveshapes in the primary side as shown
in Fig. 1. Fig. 10 shows the unusually large 9th harmonic
component in phase, neutral and delta currents.
22

Fig. 6: Voltage and Current Waveforms in Wye-Wye

Fig. 4: Voltage and Current Waveforms in Wye-Wye Connection (with Isolated Neural).
Connection (with Grounded Neural).
100
Grounded Ndutra1'-
Isolated Neutral L
I.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Harmonic Order (n)

Fig. 5: Harmonic Content of Exciting and Neutral Currents

in Wye-Wye Connection (with Grounded Neural). 1000
'Grounded Neutral -
Isolated Neutral ----I

D ) Wye-Delta Connection (with isolated neutral): 100 +l .I

Fig. 11 shows the phase voltage and current waveforms. The
harmonic contents of the primary phase and delta currents
are displayed in Fig. 12. As expected, the phase current con-
tains primarily positive and negative sequence components,
while the delta current contains mainly zero sequence com-
ponents (with the exception of the fundamental component).
Other sequences are also present in both currents due to the
unbalanced voltage supply.

E) Delta-Wye Connection: Fig. 13 shows the phase

voltage, phase current, and line current current waveforms
of the delta-wye connection. Fig. 14 shows the harmonic
(b)
content of both phase and line currents. As expected, the
line current contains almost no zero sequence components, Fig. 7: Comparison of Harmonic Content of ( a ) Phase
while the phase current is rich in zero sequence components. Currents and (b) Phase Voltages in Wye-Wye Connections.
 23

Fig. 11: Phase Voltage and Current Waveforms in

Fig. 8: Voltage and Current Waveforms in Wye-Delta Wye-Delta Connection (with Isolated Neural):
Connection (with Grounded Neural).
100
1000. , I 'm552k:nt ' -

Fig. 12: Harmonic Content of Primary and Delta Currents

Fig. 9: Harmonic Content of Open Delta Voltage u.bc in in Wye-Delta Connection (with Isolated Neural).
Wye-Delta Connection (with Grounded Neural).

Fig. 10: Harmonic content of Phase, Neutral and Delta

Currents in Wye-Delta Connection (with Grounded Neural).

F) Delta-Delta Connection: Fig. 15 shows the line and

phase currents and their harmonic contents are displayed in
Fig. 16, along with those of the circulating current in the
secondary delta. It can be clearly seen that the line and
phase currents are very similar to those found in the delta-wye
connection above. The circulating current contains mainly
zero sequence components with the exception of the relatively
Fig. 13: Voltage and Current Waveforms in Delta-Wye
large fundamental CUI rent due the voltage imbalance.
Connection.
 d e cuirent -? magnitudes of voltages and exciting currents. The material
Phase Current .-.. i presented proved to be effective in analyzing some currents
lo waveshapes that often could not be explained with the tradi-
1:--------
i

1 tional teaching method.

-
w
I I ........
1 : I / ........
I
....
j j
-... - ,---: 3 REFERENCES
-
01
........ [l] Y . Baghzouz and X. D. Gong, Voltage-Dependent
Model for Teaching Transformer Core Nonlinearity,
0 01
IEEE Trans. on Power Systems, Vol. 8 , No. 2, 1993,

[2] P. T. Krein, and P. W. Sauer, An Integrated Laboratory

Fig. 14: Harmonic Content of Phase and Line Currents in for Electric Machines, Power Systems, and Power Elec-
Delta-Wye Connection, tronics, IEEE/PES 1991 Summer Meeting, San Diego,
California, 91 SM 315-2 PWRS.

[3] E. B. Makram and A. A. Girgis, A New Method in

Teaching Power System Harmonics in the Undergraduate
Power Curriculum, IEEE Trans. on Power Systems,
Vol. 5, No. 4, 1990, pp. 1407.12.

141 Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Electrical Trunsrnis-

sion and Distribution Reference Book, Chap. 5, 1964.
[5] Staff of EE department of MIT, Magnetic Circuits and
Transformers, John Wzley 8 Sons, INC. 1958, Chapter
XXIII.

Fig. 15: Phase and Line Currents in Delta-Delta Y. Baghzouz (S81-M86-SM90) was horn on August 13,
Connection. 1956, in Beni-Amrane, Algeria. He received the B.S., M.S.,
and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Louisiana
100 &

10
-_..

...........
. .
Line Current
Ph se Current
Defta Current
-
.--- ! State University, Baton Rouge, LA, in 1981, 1982, and 1986,
respectively.
He held a faculty position with the Electrical and Computer
. .......3.
Engineering Department of the University of Southwestern
.... / I : Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, for one year. He then joined the
1 i i ___
.. ... ... Iiniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he is presently As-
.......
1
.
1, I
..... sociate Professor and Chairman of the Electrical and Com-
.... puter Engineering Department. His areas of interest include
0.1 ........... -.......... .......... .......... .........
.......
......... ... .....
computer-aided analysis of power systems, power system har-
__ .......... monics and electric drives.
0.01 I . Dr. Baghzouz is a member of the IEEE Power Engineering
Society, Eta Kappa Nu, and the IEEE Working Group on
Power System Harmonics.
Fig. 16: Harmonic Content of Phase, Line and Delta
Currents in Delta-Delta Connection. X. D. Gong (S91) was born on April 5, 1961, in Nanchang
City, China. He received the B.S. and M. S. degrees in in elec-
CONCLUSION trical engineering from Jiangxi Polytechnic Institute (China)
in 1983, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1993,
The paper presented an improved lecture/laboratory ex- respectively.
periment on three-phase transformer characteristics under From 1983 to 1990, he was employed with the Nancbang
steady-state no-load conditions. The lecture introduces novel Automation Research Institute, China, where his primarily
information needed to explain the laboratory measurements, activity was on microprocessor control of adjustable speed
including hasic properties of three-phase nonsinusoidal cir- drives. He is currently currently employed with Casino Data
cuits, phase sequences of harmonic components and voltage Systems, Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada.
imbalance found in practical sources. Emphasis is placed on
the large zero sequence components whose current paths de-
pend on the type of transformer connection. The experi-
ment is conducted with the aid of a harmonic analyzer and
 25

Discussion 200 I I I I I I I

Peter W.Sauer (University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign, Urbana, IL): This paper provides a
useful educational summary of the issues
E 50
surrounding exciting current in transformers. It fits 2.
X
exactly into the format of an experiment which we 3
ET -50 -
use in our laboratory course. I would like to have
the authors comments on the following issue. The
-100 -
phase current waveform of Figure 4 is quite
-150 -
I I I I I I I .
different in appearance from the phase voltage -200
-200 -100 0 100 200
waveform of Figure 6 (with isolated neutral). In Current (A)
Figure 4, the voltage is nearly pure fundamental
and in Figure 6, the current is nearly pure (4
fundamental. A common explanation is that in
Figure 4, the current has a strong 3rd harmonic,
whereas in Figure 6, the voltage has the strong 3rd h
harmonic. When I look at Figures 5 and 7, the 9 150
harmonic content of the phase current (in Figure 5 ) c.
c 100
and the isolated neutral phase voltage (in Figure 7) 2 50

-
L

are almost the same in percentage of each. So, 3

why are the distorted waveforms not similar in 0
n
shape? That is, why doesnt the current of Figure
4 have the same basic shape as the voltage of zX
-50
-1 00
Figure 6? Any comments which the authors can 1
-1 50
provide would be appreciated.
G
-200
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Manuscript received August 4, 1994. Angle (rad)

(b)

Y. Baghzous (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): I

would like to thank Dr. Sauer for his interest in our
article.
-9 200 I 1 1 1 1 1

c.
c
It is noted that the shape of current waveform in a a
L
wye-grounded connection is different from the phase
voltage waveform in a wye connection with a floating
neutral. While the relative magnitudes (in % of funda-
3
mental) of the dominant third harmonic components are
E
nearly the same in both waveforms, their phase angles L
X
(with respect to fundamental) are significantly different.
-150 -
1
For the laboratory transformer tested, these phase shifts i
i
measured looo and 1 7 5 O for 13 and V3, respectively. -200- I I I I I I

The shape of the voltage waveform under discussion 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

can be obtained graphically from the hysteresis loop of Angle (rad)
the core material, just like the conventional graphical
derivation of the excitation current waveform in single- tc)
phase twewinding transformers. To illustrate this pro-
cedure, consider the flux-excitation current loop in fig- Fig. A: Graphical Derivation of Excitation Current
ure A(a) below. To simplify the analysis, let the phase and Flux Waveforms in Wye-Wye Transformer
voltage and flux in a wye-wye with grounded neutral be Connection with (b) Grounded, and (c) Floating
purely sinusoidal. The resulting instantaneous values of Neutrals.
26

the flux and excitation current are shown in figure A(b).

With the transformer neutral floating, let the ex-
citation current be sinusoidal (i.e., ignore the higher
frequency components). The corresponding flux wave-
shape shown in figure A(c) resembles the measured one
displayed in figure B. One can visualize the general
shape of the transformer phase voltage by taking the
derivative of the flux waveform with respect to time
(i.e., V+ exhibits a sharp peak near the current zero-
crossing, and a nearly constant value around the flux
Ped).

Fig. B: Measured Excitation Current and Flux

Waveforms in Wye-Wye Transformer Connection with
Floating Neutral.

Manuscript received October 27, 1994.