Inter national J our nal of P o wer Electr onics and Dri v e Systems (IJPEDS) V ol. 12, No. 4, December 2021, pp. 2423 2434 ISSN: 2088-8694, DOI: 10.11591/ijpeds.v12.i4.pp2423-2434 r 2423 Characterizing po wer transf ormer fr equency r esponses using bipolar pseudo-random curr ent impulses Fr edrick Mwaniki 1 , Ahmed A. Sayyid 2 1 Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Uni v ersity of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2 Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Uni v ersity of Nairobi, Nairobi, K en ya Article Inf o Article history: Recei v ed Apr 22, 2021 Re vised Sep 23, 2021 Accepted Sep 27, 2021 K eyw ords: Excitation signals Frequenc y response Harmonics P arameter estimation Po wer quality Po wer transformer ABSTRA CT The beha viour of a po wer tr ansformer is comple x and dif ficult to predict during tran- sient conditions or during operation at frequencies belo w or abo v e its nominal fre- quenc y , a phenomenon common in rene w able ener gy plants due to harmonic distor - tion. Furthermore, the accurac y of a po wer system simulation depends on the models of critical subsystems such as the po wer transformers. This paper presents the use of a unique e xcitation w a v eform com prising of pseudo-random current impulses to ac- curately identify the wideband characteristics of a po wer transformer . By injecting the e xcitation w a v eform to the rele v ant transformer terminals, frequenc y responses are determined by cross-correlation of the perturbation signal, and the measured response. Compared to the traditional t ransformer identification methods, the pseudo-random current impulses of fer a wideband e xcitation with a higher de gree of controllability such that its spectral ener gy can be focused in the frequenc y band of interest. The pro- posed method w as in v estig ated on a 16 kV A, 22 kV/240 V single-phase transformer . The obtained wideband frequenc y responses pro vide useful information in harmonic penetration and o v er -v oltage studies and are also used to estimate, with a high de gree of accurac y , the lumped parameters of the equi v al ent transformer broadband circuit model. This is an open access article under the CC BY -SA license . Corresponding A uthor: Fredrick Mw aniki Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Stellenbosch Uni v ersity Banghoek Road, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa Email: fmmw aniki@sun.ac.za 1. INTR ODUCTION In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in rene w able ener gy sources such as photo v oltaic and wind generators [1]-[3]. These ener gy sources ha v e presented ne w challenges such as the risk of high harmonic v oltage distortion due to their use of po wer electronic con v erters [1], [4], [5]. These po wer system harmonics ha v e increased in both amplitude and frequenc y bandwidth. Step-up transformers that are used to connect these rene w able plants to the grid are adv ersely af fected by the harmonics from these rene w able plants [6]. Po wer transformers do not ha v e a flat frequenc y response, which mak es them unsuitable for use in applications with high harmonic components and high frequenc y transient signals. T ransformer impedances are functions of the input signal frequencies and v oltage, as well as the loading conditions [7], [8]. T ransformer parameters such as leakage i n duct ances, winding capacitances, and the non-linear core components interact to cause comple x series and/or parallel resonant phenomena in the transformer frequenc y characteristics [9]. J ournal homepage: http://ijpeds.iaescor e .com Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
2424 r ISSN: 2088-8694 When a minimally damped resonant point in the po wer tr ansformer’ s wideband transformation ratio charac- teristics is e xcited by a harmonic v oltage or a transient e v ent, e xcessi v e v oltage and/or current amplification occurs. Ov er -v oltages and o v er -currents may cause protection de vices to acti v ate, or cause damage to the po wer transformer and other equipment connected to the netw ork, resulting to unnecessary do wntime. In this conte xt, the response of transformers to input signals with multiple frequencies needs to be modeled and understood. Therefore, this gi v es rise to rene wed interes t in performing broad frequenc y band measurements, especially on po wer transformers that are connected to wind and photo v oltaic (PV) ener gy sources. A common approach in transformer identification is the use of non-parametric m ethods that compute the transformer frequenc y responses. Frequenc y response analysis (FRA) has been widely used for condition monitoring of transformers [10]-[15]. Frequenc y response measurements ha v e also been applied in transformer parameter estimation [10], [16]-[18]. Although po wer transformer frequenc y responses ha v e been widely used for condition monitoring and parameter estimation [10]-[12], [18] their use in po wer qual ity studies, especially in cases where the transformers are used in rene w able ener gy sources, has not been gi v en much attention. In practice, frequenc y response measurements are conducted by applying an e xcitation signal that can perturb the tar get system at the frequencies of interest. The system input and output s ignals are measured o v er an interv al for further processing to o bt ain the rele v ant frequenc y re sponses. The e xcitat ion signals proposed in liter ature for transformer FRA include the swept sine and the impuls e [11], [19], [20]. The sine sweep in v olv es a v ariable-frequenc y sinusoidal signal which is simple to impl ement using lo w-v oltage sinusoidal signal generators. In practice, ho we v er , it is dif ficult to design and implement a sinusoidal source to perturb a lar ge po wer transformer o v er the frequenc y range of interest, especially at lo w and high ends of the range. This is due to reduced magnetizing reactance and winding capaciti v e reactance at these frequencies respecti v ely . Consequently , v ery lo w signal le v els result in measurement errors due to a lo w signal to noise ratio (SNR). The impulse method in v olv es perturbing the transformer with a classical v oltage impulse Which has a lo w rise time and a higher f all time. Although this method is more accurate, the spectral ener gy of t he classical impulse w a v eform drops rapidly with frequenc y which w ould result to limited accurac y in some frequencies. Controlled signals ha v e been proposed for use in po wer system equipment identification [21]-[23], and ha v e adv antages in that the ir spectral characteristics can be controlled and are repeatable. Therefore, accurate measurements are poss ible at the e xpense of comple x instrumentation [11]. Despite the adv antages presented by controlled perturbation signal method, there has been limited application of these signals for transformer FRA. In the cas e of a pseudorandom bi nary sequence (PRBS), the clock frequenc y and sequence length can be controlled to induce persistent e xcitation for the dynamic modes associated with the de vice under test. The PRBS has a flat frequenc y spectrum at frequencies belo w the -3 dB point which allo ws for perturbation with uniform ener gy [24]. The PRBS is ho we v er not suitable as a perturbation signal for transformers due to a possibility of injecting lo w frequenc y components that w ould cause core saturation. This particularly occurs when a long PRBS is used [25]. The main contrib ution of this w ork, therefore, includes the follo wing: The use of a wideband controlled perturbation signal to obtain accurate transformer frequenc y responses. The use of transformer frequenc y responses for po wer quality studies and parameter estimation. In this paper the use of a unique signal consisting of bipolar pseudo-random current impulses as a broadband e xcitation signal to determine the frequenc y responses of a transformer in the harmonic frequenc y range is proposed. The obtained responses are then used t o study the ef fects of harmonics especially on the v oltage transfer function, to characterise the po wer transformer o v er a wide frequenc y band as well as to obtain transformer wideband parameters. The sequence combines the adv antages of the PRBS and the classical double e xponential type impulse. An adv antage of using this signal is that its po wer spectrum can be controlled, for instance, in reducing the ener gy in lo w frequencies to a v oid transformer saturation during measurements. Properties of the signal such as the clock frequenc y and time const ants can be used to focus the spectral ener gy to the frequenc y range of interest and impro v e the SNR. The bipolar nature of the sequence ensures that the transformer is not dri v en t o w ards a biased of fset point from the normal operating point whereas its wideband nature allo ws tests to be conducted within short time periods compared to con v entional methods such as the sine sweep. In section 2, a methodology for transformer frequenc y response measurements is discussed. Experi- mental results and parameter estimation of a high frequenc y po wer transformer model using the e xperimental frequenc y responses is discussed in section 3. The conclusion is presented in section 4. Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst, V ol. 12, No. 4, December 2021 : 2423 2434 Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst ISSN: 2088-8694 r 2425 2. RESEARCH METHOD 2.1. T ransf ormer testing using a sequence of bipolar pseudo-random curr ent impulses The idea of using a bipolar pseudo-random impulse sequence as a perturbation signal in the ener gy systems and po wer equipment w as first proposed in [26]. The bipolar pseudo-random impulse sequence is a wideband signal consisting of a ser ies of chopped positi v e and ne g ati v e impulses. In this w ork, a sequence of bipolar pseudo-random current impulses w as used as a perturbation signal for transformer identification and modelling. Figure 1 illustrates the bipolar pseudo-random impulse sequence. Bipolar pseudo-random current impulses can be generated using an ef ficient circuit topology consisting of a DC source, a full-bridge whose switches are controlled by a PRBS g ate signal and a series RLC netw ork as sho wn in Figure 2. Time 0 PRIS (t) Figure 1. Bipolar pseudo-random impulse sequence Figure 2. Circuit diagram for the bipolar Pseudo-random current impulses generator The PRBS is a random, deterministic and periodic signal that can be produced using shift re gist ers dri v en by a clock sequence. The occurrence and duration of t h e binary states is random. The data length for one PRBS period is defined as N = 2 n 1 bits, where n denotes the number of shift re gisters. The series RLC netw ork pro vides a means of opt imizing the time-constants associated with the rise-and f all-times of the bipolar Pseudo-random current impulses. The circuit of Figure 2 can be vie wed as an application of a step input to a series RLC circuit, wh e re the step is controlled by the PRBS signal. The sequence of bipolar current impulses generated by the circuit in Figure 2 o v er one period can be e xpressed as: i p ( t ) = (( N +1) = 2) 1 X i =0 ; 2 ; 4 ::: h e t= 1 ( V 0 V dc + I 0 L 1 ) e t= 2 ( V 0 V dc + I 0 L 2 ) i 1 2 L ( 2 1 ) h u ( t t i ) u ( t t i +1 ) i (( N +1) = 2) X i =1 ; 3 ; 5 ::: h e t= 1 ( V 0 V dc + I 0 L 1 ) e t= 2 ( V 0 V dc + I 0 L 2 ) i 1 2 L ( 2 1 ) h u ( t t i ) u ( t t i +1 ) i : (1) where u ( t t i ) u ( t t i +1 ) depict random switching interv als in the full bridge circuit, 1 and 2 are the time constants associated with the series RLC netw ork, I 0 and V 0 denote the initial current through the inductor and the initial v oltage across the capacitor respecti v ely . In (1) indicates that the e xcitation current depends on the DC source, the RLC netw ork time const ants and the PRBS switching interv als which in turn are dependent on the PRBS clock frequenc y . In practice, Char acterizing power tr ansformer fr equency r esponses using bipolar ... (F r edric k Mwaniki) Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
2426 r ISSN: 2088-8694 the shape of the perturbation signal is also af fected by the initial ener gy in the inductor and capacitor in each switching c ycle. The properties of the current impulses can easily be controlled by v arying e xcitation source parameters namely the input DC source, PRBS clock frequenc y f c , and the impulses time constants. This high de gree of control of fers capability to impro v e the signal’ s SNR, guarantee repeatable e xperiments and allo w the user to concentrate the signal’ s ener gy in the required frequenc y band. The broadband nature of the sequence ensures that the transformer identifi cation procedure is conducted f ast compared to using con v entional e xcitation signals such as stepped sine. This is an adv antage especially in in situ po wer system measurements where parame ters such as harmonics are time-dependent. The bipolar pseudo-random impulse sequence can, therefore, be adjusted to achie v e persistent e xcitation for a broad range of frequencies and applications. This is an important aspect especially in identification of systems in v olving electromagnetic components such as transformers where superior performance is achie v ed when e xcitation ener gy is directed in the higher frequenc y band and the lo w frequenc y perturbation is restricted. 2.2. T ransf ormer test arrangement 2.2.1. Offline fr equency r esponse measur ements In of fline frequenc y response measurements, the transformer is disconnected from the normal A C supply v oltage. A perturbation source is then connected to the transformer terminal s thus pro viding e xcitation. Figure 3 sho ws a test arrangement that can be used to obtain the frequenc y response of the secondary open- circuit input impedance. This is the impedance seen from the secondary terminals of transformer T r with primary terminals left open. A perturbation source is connected to the secondary terminals as sho wn in Figure 3. The w a v eforms of the applied perturbation signal, i p ( t ) , and the perturbed v oltage across the secondary winding, v s ( t ) , are then recorded o v er a time interv al. Figure 3. T est arrangement for secondary open-circuit input impedance frequenc y response Re g arding the transformer as a linear time-in v ariant system and ignoring measurement and quantiza- tion noise, the sampled v oltage is gi v en by the discrete con v olution of the impulse response with the perturba- tion signal which can be e xpressed as. v s [ n ] = 1 X k =1 z [ k ] i p [ n k ] (2) where v s ( n ) is the discrete-time v oltage signal, i p ( k ) is the discrete-time perturbation signal and z ( k ) is the sampled system impulse response. Con v olution of time domain signals implies multiplication of the signals in frequenc y-domain and therefore, the secondary open-circuit input impedance frequenc y response Z s ( ! ) can be obtained by applying the F ourier transform to the measured v oltage and current signals. Z s ( ! ) can then be e xpressed as. Z s ( ! ) = F f v s ( t ) g F f i p ( t ) g (3) where F denotes the F ourier transform. The primary open-circuit input impedance frequenc y response Z p ;open ( ! ) can be obtained from the test arrangement sho wn in Figure 4. The e xcitati on source is connected to the primary winding terminals and the perturbation current, i p ( t ) , and the perturbed v oltage across the primary winding, v p ( t ) , are then recorded o v er a time interv al. Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst, V ol. 12, No. 4, December 2021 : 2423 2434 Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst ISSN: 2088-8694 r 2427 Figure 4. T est arrangement for primary open-circuit input impedance frequenc y response The frequenc y response of the primary open-circuit input impedance can be obtained from the e xpres- sion Z p ;open ( ! ) = F f v p ( t ) g F f i p ( t ) g (4) The frequenc y response of the transformation ratio T R ( ! ) can be obtained using the topology sho wn in [4] by recording the perturbed v oltages across both primary and secondary windings. The transformation ratio frequenc y response can be e xpressed as. T R ( ! ) = F f v p ( t ) g F f v s ( t ) g (5) By short-circuiting the secondary term inals of the test arrangement sho wn in Figure 4 the primary short-circuit input impedance frequenc y response can be obtained using the e xpression in (4). 2.2.2. In situ fr equency r esponse measur ements In in situ measurements, the transformer stays connected to the con v entional supply v oltage during perturbation. The transformer does not need to be disconnected, which reduces do wn time. Furthermore, during in situ measurements, the ef fects of the normal transformer operat ion are accounted for [26]. The dynamic range of the e xcitation signal ho we v er has to be k ept lo w enough to ensure that the transformer is not perturbed too f ar from its optimal operating point. Figure 5 sho ws a connection scheme that can be used to characterize, in situ , the secondary open- circuit input impedance Z s . The transformer is connected to its normal ac v oltage supply V T h which has an internal impedance Z T h . The perturbation source is then connected across the v oltage source, thereby injecting the e xcitation current into the transformer terminals. The perturbation current, i p ( t ) , causes a v oltage perturbation to be superimposed on the supply v oltage V T h due to a v oltage drop across Z T h . Figure 5. T est connection for in situ transformer perturbation The perturbed v oltage v s ( t ) and current i s ( t ) into the transformer are then measured o v er a time interv al. The secondary open-circuit input impedance frequenc y response Z s ( ! ) can be obtained from the e xpression, Z s ( ! ) = F f v s ( t ) g F f i s ( t ) g (6) A similar arrangement can be used to obtain the v oltage transformation ratio whereas the s econdary short-circuit input impedance measurement can be done with the primary-s ide terminals shorted. In in situ measurements, a high SNR can be achie v ed with lo wer e xcitation compared to the of fline measurements. Char acterizing power tr ansformer fr equency r esponses using bipolar ... (F r edric k Mwaniki) Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
2428 r ISSN: 2088-8694 3. RESUL TS AND AN AL YSIS 3.1. Fr equency r esponse analysis V erification of the proposed perturbation method is done by perturbing, of fline, a 16 kV A, 22 kV/240 V single-phase distrib ution transformer using a pseudo-random current impulse described in section 2.1. The perturbation signal is generated by controlling the H-bridge switches using a PRBS g ate signal with f c set to 15 kHz thereby switching a series RLC netw ork with v alues R = 50 ; L = 100 H ; C = 2 F . A DC v oltage of 60 V is applied to the H-bridge input. The e xcitation current generated is then applied to the transformer terminals usi n g the test arrange- ments discussed in section 2.2 to obtain the v arious frequenc y response estimates. Each measurement is con- ducted for a duration of 1 s and the required v oltage and current data recorded. V oltage and current w a v eforms are recorded using the GW instek GDP-025 dif ferential v oltage probe and the A622 T ektronix current probe respecti v ely . The National Instruments CompactD A Q chassis and the NI 9223 module is used for data acqui- sition. Figure 6 sho ws the measured w a v efor ms for the bipolar Pseudo-random perturbation current and the PRBS g ate signal obtained for the circuit sho wn in Figure 2. Figure 6. Experimental w a v eforms for the bipolar Pseudo-random perturbation current (top) and PRBS g ate signal (bottom) T o eliminate stochastic measurement noise and reduce leakage and aliasing problems, the acquired data is processed i n Matlab using the W el ch estimator where the measured data is di vided into o v erlapped and windo wed se gments. The transfer function of each se gment is computed and then a v eraged to generate a frequenc y response. The Hann windo w w as sele cted as it of fered good frequenc y resolution and an o v erlap percentage of 50% is used. The lo w v oltage (L V) open circuit input impedance is measured by using the test arrangement sho wn in Figure 3. In this case, the bipolar pseudo-random current impulses generator is connected to the L V side termi- nals of the transformer while the high v oltage (HV) winding is left open. The perturbed L V V oltage and the perturbation current are recorded and used for the impedanc e estimation. The obtained e xperimental L V open circuit input impedance magnitude and phase frequenc y responses are sho wn in Figure 7. The impedance frequenc y response in Figure 7 indicates v arious resonance peaks. The first resonance peak indicates a parallel resonance at approximately 100 Hz, a series resonance at about 6 kHz and a parallel and series resonance pair between 20 kHz and 30 kHz. A highly damped parallel and series resonance pair is also noticeable between 40 kHz and 50 kHz. Experiments to det ermine the transformer input response from the HV side are conducted using the test arrangement sho wn in Figure 4. T o determine the HV short-circuit input impedance, the perturbation current is applied to the HV terminals with the L V terminals shorted. The perturbed HV V oltage and the injected current are recorded and used in the estimation of the impedance response. In this case, a lar ge current is dra wn by the winding resistances and leakage inductances due to the shorted L V winding. Figure 8 sho ws the obtained e xperimental short-circuit input impedance magnitude and phase frequenc y responses of the HV side of the transformer . A parallel resonance at about 2.5 kHz and a series resonance at about 3 kHz are e vident. At lo w frequencies, up to about 2 kHz, the impedance is pr edominantly inducti v e which can be attrib uted to the leakage inductance of the transformer . Ho we v er , at higher frequencies be yond 4 kHz, the impedance turns capaciti v e which can be attrib uted to the lar ge HV winding capacitor . The transformation ratio is obtained by applying the pseudo-random current impulse sequence to the HV side with the L V winding open. V oltage w a v eforms v H V ( t ) and v LV ( t ) are recorded and us ed to estimate the transformation ratio frequenc y response. F igure 9 sho ws the obtained e xperimental HV to L V transformation ratio magnitude and phase frequenc y responses. Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst, V ol. 12, No. 4, December 2021 : 2423 2434 Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst ISSN: 2088-8694 r 2429 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 4 10 6  Magnitude [Ohms] 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 Frequency (Hz) -200 -100 0 100 200  Angle [Degrees] Figure 7. Experimental L V open-circuit input impedance magnitude (top) and phase (bottom) frequenc y responses 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 6 10 8 Magnitude [Ohms] 10 1 10 2 10 3 Frequency (Hz) -200 -100 0 100 200 Angle [Degrees] Figure 8. Experimental HV short-circuit input impedance magnitude (top) and phase (bottom) frequenc y responses 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 1 10 2 Transformation Ratio 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 Frequency (Hz) -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 Angle [Degrees] Figure 9. Experimental HV -L V v oltage transformation ratio magnitude (top) and phase (bottom) frequenc y responses From the magnitude res pon s e of the transformation ratio, it can be seen that at lo w fr equencies up to approximately 10 kHz, the ratio V H V ( f ) =V LV ( f ) is flat at a v alue of about 91 as e xpected. As the frequenc y increases be yond 10 kHz, resonant peak pairs are observ ed to appear at frequencies be yond 20 kHz. These Char acterizing power tr ansformer fr equency r esponses using bipolar ... (F r edric k Mwaniki) Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
2430 r ISSN: 2088-8694 peaks in the v oltage transformation ratio are attrib uted to the resonance modes caused by t h e interaction of v arious transformer elements. It is seen that the v oltage transfer at 20 kHz is about twice the v oltage transfer at the fundamental frequenc y of 50 Hz. The presence of resonance characteristics in the wideband transformation ratio such as the one sho wn in Figure 9 presents challenges to the use of classical distrib ution transformers in applications that are prone to harmonic distortion and high frequenc y transient signals such as rene w able ener gy plants. 3.2. T ransf ormer equi v alent model and parameter estimation A transformer model with parameters representing its ph ysical beha viour is important for designers [27]. Such a model can also be used for po wer system simulation. The tes ted transformer w as modelled using the circuit presented in Figure 10 which sho ws the lumped-parameter equi v alent circuit model. The circuit has been simplified by referring the secondary circuit parameters to the primary side of the transformer . Figure 10. Lumped parameter circuit transformer model C p , C s and C ps denote the transformer primary winding, secondary winding and inter -winding capac- itances respecti v ely . R s and R e denote the transformer winding resistance and core losses resistor respecti v ely while L s and L m denote the leakage inductance and magnetizing inductance respecti v ely . The parameter estimation process is summarised in the flo wchart sho wn in Figure 11. S t a r t P o p u l a t e   t r a n sf o r me r   mo d e l   w i t h   i n i t i a l   p a r a m e t e r s,   θ   i n i t i a l Est i m a t e   t h e   m o d e l   i m p e d a n c e   f r e q u e n c y   r e sp o n se M i n i m u m   c r i t e r i o n ? O b t a i n   t r a n sf o r m e r   e x p e r i m e n t a l   f r e q u e n c y   r e s p o n s e O b j e c t i v e   f u n c t i o n   c a l c u l a t i o n ,   ϵ ( θ ) O p t i m i z a t i o n   a l g o r i t h m En d Z s m ( ω ) Z s e ( ω ) θ   N o Y e s + - Figure 11. Flo wchart of the transformer parameter estimation procedure used in this study Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst, V ol. 12, No. 4, December 2021 : 2423 2434 Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst ISSN: 2088-8694 r 2431 The current signal, i p ( t ) , that w as measured in the L V open circuit input impedance e xperiment is transformed to the intermediate v oltage le v el using the ratio 1 T R . The transf o r med current signal is applied to a Simulink model of the circuit in Figure 10, whose parameters ha v e been initialised with v alues based on a priori kno wledge of the transformer under in v estig ation. The secondary v oltage signal at intermediate v oltage le v el is then simulated. The transformed current and the simulated v oltage signals are used to estimate the frequenc y response of the secondary open-circuit input impedance, Z se ( ! ) . The measured and estimated responses, Z sm ( ! ) and Z se ( ! ) , were compared to yield an objecti v e function. The objecti v e function used in this estimation can be stated as. ( ) = M X k =1 j Z sm ( ! k ) Z se ( ! k ) j 2 ; (7) where M indicates the number of discrete frequenc y points in the compared frequenc y responses and ( ) is the objecti v e function and is the v ector of parameters to be estimated. The considered equi v alent circuit of a single-phase po wer transformer leads to a parameter v ector that can be represented as. = C p ; R s ; L s ; C s ; R e ; L m ; C ps (8) The optimization procedure w as used to minimize the objecti v e function by repetiti v ely changing the trans- former model parameters, such that the dif ference between Z sm ( ! ) and Z se ( ! ) w as at its minimum v alue. The fmincon optimization procedure w as used as the optimization algorithm to reduce the objecti v e function in this in v estig ation. T able 1 presented the estimated parameter v alues obtained for the test transformer . T able 1. Estimated parameter v alues for the transformer model in Figure 10 P arameter V alue P arameter V alue P arameter V alue C p 2 nF C ps 0.1375 nF C s 31.75 pF R s 1 k R e 1 M L s 0.32 H L m 1350 H The measured and estimated frequenc y responses of the L V open-circuit input impedance are sho wn in Figure 12. It can be seen that the considered transformer model pro vides a reasonable good prediction of the frequenc y response up to 20 kHz, despite its relati v e simplicity . The location of the major re sonant frequencies of the response, at 100 kHz and 6.2 kHz, and the amount of damping associated with these resonances is well predicted. Ho we v er , the order of the model is too lo w to accurately predict the minor resonances occurring at higher frequencies. The transformer model can be impro v ed by taking into account the non-linear phenomena such as magnetic saturation and frequenc y-dependence of the winding resistances due to skin ef fect. The inductance of the measurement cables between the perturbation source and the transformer terminals, which resonates with the transformer stray capacitors, also need to be tak en into account in the model. Frequencies at which the resonance occurs can be confirmed using (9) f r = 1 2 p LC (9) where f r is the resonant frequenc y , L and C denote the inductance and capacitance respecti v ely . F or instance, the firs t parallel resonance in Figure 12 occurs when L m resonates with C p while the first series resonance can be attrib uted to L s resonating with C p . T o v alidate the obtained parameters, the trans- former model sho wn in Figure 10 w as populated with the parameters in T able 1 and simulated by perturbing it using a sine sweep. The model w as used to estimate the frequenc y response of the transformation ratio. Figure 13 sho ws that the simulated results match with the measured results in Fi gure 9 indicating resonance points between 20-30 kHz. Char acterizing power tr ansformer fr equency r esponses using bipolar ... (F r edric k Mwaniki) Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.
2432 r ISSN: 2088-8694 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 Frequency [Hz] 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 Magnitude [Ohms] Figure 12. Measured and estimated frequenc y responses of the L V open-circuit input impedance; 1) solid-measured, 2) dashed-estimated 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 Frequency (Hz) 10 -1 10 0 10 1 Transformation Ratio Figure 13. T ransformation ratio frequenc y response simulated using the estimated parameters 4. CONCLUSION A no v el methodology that can be used to study the beha viour of po wer transformers not only at the fun- damental frequenc y b ut also at harmonic frequencies is presented. Accurate frequenc y responses are obtained by perturbing a 16 kV A, 22 kV/240 V po wer transformer using a sequence of bipolar pseudo-random current impulses. The time-and frequenc y-domain properties of this wideband e xcitation signal are controllable which mak es it particularly suitable in transformer identification where e xcitation ener gy should be concentrated to- w ards the higher frequenc y band with limited lo w frequenc y components. This reduces the saturation ef fects of the electromagnetic system and is a major adv antage of the proposed perturbation signal for transformer iden- tification, compared to other approaches such as those utilising sine sweep, impulse and PRBS. The proposed method can be used to study the impact of harmonics especially on transformers connected to rene w able ener gy sources. Furthermore, the measured frequenc y response results can be used to estimate the parameter v alues of a wideband lumped parameter equi v alent circuit model of the transformer . As future w ork, the accurac y of the estimated wideband transformer parameters can be impro v ed by considering non-linear phenomena such as core saturation and skin ef fect. The no n- linearity will result in additional model parameters and hence a higher order transformer model. REFERENCES [1] R. Murray and J. A. de K ock, A proposed method for e v aluating the frequenc y response of 22 kV outdoor cur - rent transformer for harmonic measurements in rene w able ener gy plant applications, 2019 IEEE 10th International W orkshop on Appli ed Measurements for Po wer Systems (AMPS) , 2019, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/AMPS.2019.8897784. [2] S. N. Nik olo vski, P . Z. Maric, and L. V . Majdandzic, “Inte gration of Solar Po wer Plant in Distrib ution Netw ork, International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE) , v ol. 5, no. 4, pp. 656–668, Aug. 2015. Int J Po w Elec & Dri Syst, V ol. 12, No. 4, December 2021 : 2423 2434 Evaluation Warning : The document was created with Spire.PDF for Python.