DGA: reference values from Power Transformers in

Spain
D. Urquiza

B. Garca, J.C. Burgos, J.L. Pirez

CEIS
Mstoles, Madrid, Spain
durquiza@ceis.es

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Legans, Madrid, Spain
bgarciad@ing.uc3m.es, jcburgos@ing.uc3m.es

Abstract One of the most important indicators of the

presence of a fault in a transformer is the presence of an
excessive content of one of the key gasses dissolved in the
transformer oil. The international standard IEC 60599 provides
reference values for C2H2, H2, CH4, C2H4, C2H6, CO and CO2.
The standard also alerts about the necessity of calculating the
typical values for each individual electrical grid, since the
maintenance protocols and other factors can highly affect these
values. In this work the percentiles of the different key gases in
the Spanish transformers are analyzed. A database with more
than 28,000 registers containing analysis performed on
transformers of different voltage levels, ratings and ages has been
used to this aim.
KeywordsPower Transformer; Failure diagnostics; Dissolved
Gas Analysis; Statistics

I.

INTRODUCTION

Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is the most important tool in

determining the condition of a transformer. By means of this
method, problems as solid or liquid insulation deterioration,
overheating, hot spots, partial discharges, and arcing can be
detected [1-3].
The most important indicators of the presence of an
abnormal condition are the individual and total combustible gas
generation rates and interpretation methods are provided by
IEEE C57.104 [1] and IEC 60599 [2] standards. In the 60s,
Michel Duval of Hydro Quebec developed the Duval Triangle
[4] using a database of thousands of DGAs as a transformer
diagnosis tool. This method has proven to be accurate and
dependable over many years and is now gaining in popularity.
However, it must be recognized that the analysis of the
gases and interpretation of their significance is at the present
not a science, but an art subjected to variability, as the presence
and concentration of various gases is dependent not only on the
transformer condition but also on its characteristics
(transformer type, location, load cycle, oil physical-chemical
condition, type of oil preservation etc). Thus, a consensus on
the acceptable content of the different gas limits and the normal
generation rates is difficult to obtain.
The experience of the authors in testing and helping to
evaluate the results for the most important utilities of the

Spanish electrical market has generated an important database

with more than 28.000 registers.
The aim of this paper is to report the statistical values
(percentile analysis) of gas concentration and gas generation
rates obtained from the analysis of these data. Duvals Triangle
was applied to data beyond percentile 90 allowing the
identification of the typical faults of the Spanish transformer
population, and the results have been classified attending to
some characteristics of the transformers, as power rating,
voltage, age, etc. The result of this analysis can be used to
establish gas reference values, and their typical generation
rates.
II.

STATISITCAL STUDY

In this section the statistical analysis performed on the

database is presented. The percentiles 90, 95 and 98 of the
complete database were calculated. Then the transformers were
classified into populations by age, power and voltage level and
the percentiles were recalculated and discussed.
A. Database description
The database used for the present study contains 28,572
registers, including the results of the oil analysis performed
between the years 1993 and 2012 to transformers of different
Spanish companies. Transformers of different power, voltage
level and age are included in the database. Most of
transformers are free breathing type. In table I, the
characteristics of these transformers are summarized. As can
be seen some of the transformers could not be classified
because of a lack of information. These transformers were
excluded of the analysis of the populations.
Transformers with power ratings below 5 MVA were also
excluded from the study for two reasons: first, the small
number of analyzed transformers (263) does not allow to
obtain statistically significant values. Second, it is not very
usual to conduct a routine gas analysis in transformers with so
reduced ratings, so it is very likely that a high number of the
analyzed transformer were transformers with an internal fault,
so that statistical study does not serve to establish reference
values for these units.

TABLE I.

TABLE I DESCRIPTION OF THE DATABASE USED IN THE

TABLE III.

STUDY

No.
Transformers

% of total
population

Unknown

10,370

36.29

<5 years

2,703

9.46

5 -20 years

6,966

24.38

20 30 years

4,479

15.68

>30 years

4,054

14.19

<72.5 kV

16,964

59.37

72.5 -132 kV

2,594

9.08

132 230 kV

2,704

9.46

>230 kV

6,310

22.08

Unknown

7,089

24.81

<5 MVA

263

0.92

5 - 40 MVA

10,535

36.87

40 -100 MVA

4,083

14.29

>100 MVA

6,602

23.11

Populations under study

Years of
service

Voltage

Rating

B. Percentile values
In table II the percentiles 90, 95 and 98 calculated from the
whole database for the main key gases (H2, C2H4, C2H2, CO,
CO2, CH4, C2H6) are shown. All data are expressed in ppm.
Table III shows the values provided by the standard
IEC_60599 for the percentile 90 of the different combustible
gas. As can be seen the values calculated by us are within the
established ranges except for the C2H6.
TABLE II.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR THE MAIN COMBUSTIBLE

GASES FOR THE WHOLE DATABASE

Key Gas

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

H2

85

189

729

C2H2

16

69

305

C2H4

141

443

1,395

CO

521

687

919

CO2

5,333

7,319

10,604

CH4

108

242

C2H6

141

260

PERCENTILE 90 FOR THE MAIN COMBUSTIBLE GASES

PROVIDED BY IEC 60599
Key Gas
H2

Percentile 90

50 150

C2H2

2 20

C2H4

60 280

CO

400 600

CO2

3,800 14,000

CH4

30 130

C2H6

20 90

The database was divided into four groups of age:

Transformers of less than 5 years, between 5 and 20, between
20 and 30 and transformers with more than 30. The number of
transformers included in each group of analysis was shown in
table I. Regarding to the voltage level, the transformers were
classified as: voltage lower than 72.5 kV, between 72.5 and
132 kV, between 132 and 230 kV and more than 230 kV.
Finally the transformers were classified according to its rating
in three groups: Transformers ranging from 5 to 40 MVA,
transformers ranging 40 to 100 MVA and transformer ratings
higher than 100 MVA.
The obtained percentiles for the different populations for
every individual gas can be seen in tables IV to XXIV.
TABLE IV.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR HYDROGEN ACORDING

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

HYDROGEN

Voltage

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

90

208

971

72.5 132 kV

98

205

400

132 230 kV

73

166

362

>230 kV

71

146

557

TABLE V.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR HYDROGEN ACORDING

TRANSFORMER RATING

HYDROGEN

Rating

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

94

205

956

967

40 100 MVA

120

247

630

504

>100 MVA

72

144

447

C. Percentile of different populations

The transformer in the database were divided into
populations, and the percentiles were recalculated for the
different groups to determine the influence of the transformer
characteristics in the gas content.

TABLE VI.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR HYDROGEN ACORDING

TRANSFORMER AGE

HYDROGEN

Age

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 20 years

88

182

581

20 30 years

84

166

382

>30 years

75

147

432

TABLE VII.

Voltage

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ACETYLENE ACORDING

TABLE XII.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ETYLENE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

TRANSFORMER AGE

ACETYLENE

ETYLENE

Age

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

22

88

453

<5 years

35

121

420

72.5 132 kV

19

70

185

5 20 years

137

528

1,517

132 230 kV

18

69

199

20 30 years

225

590

1,667

>230 kV

20

153

>30 years

262

699

1,738

TABLE VIII.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ACETYLENE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

CO

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

40

122

418

40 100 MVA

38

129

511

>100 MVA

27

204

TABLE IX.

Voltage

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

501

649

851

72.5 132 kV

539

727

1,028

132 230 kV

576

782

1,009

>230 kV

538

756

981

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ACETYLENE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER AGE

TABLE XIV.

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

CO

Percentile 98

<5 years

27

222

5 20 years

14

78

394

20 30 years

48

127

481

>30 years

18

60

149

TABLE X.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ETYLENE ACORDING

Rating

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

545

688

914

40 100 MVA

569

768

1,057

>100 MVA

531

740

949

TABLE XV.

CO

ETYLENE
Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

108

355

1,340

72.5 132 kV

97

222

428

132 230 kV

186

609

1,778

>230 kV

282

744

1,651

TABLE XI.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ETYLENE ACORDING

Age

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<5 years

276

383

551

5 20 years

483

635

877

20 30 years

630

801

1,100

>30 years

666

846

1,074

TABLE XVI.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR CO2 ACORDING

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

TRANSFORMER RATING

CO2

ETYLENE

Rating

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR CO ACORDING

TRANSFORMER AGE

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

Voltage

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR CO ACORDING

TRANSFORMER RATING

ACETYLENE

Age

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR CO ACORDING

ACETYLENE
Percentile
90

Rating

TABLE XIII.

TRANSFORMER RATING

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

136

365

1,352

40 100 MVA

135

386

1,079

>100 MVA

356

919

1,920

Voltage

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

5,050

6,758

9,350

72.5 132 kV

3,709

4,763

6,788

132 230 kV

4,351

5,450

8,506

>230 kV

7,179

10,064

16,117

TABLE XVII.

Rating

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR CO2 ACORDING

TABLE XXI.

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR METHANE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER RATING

TRANSFORMER AGE

C02

METHANE

Age

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

4,783

6,245

8,490

<5 years

65

149

500

40 100 MVA

4,504

6,425

11,392

5 20 years

131

299

777

>100 MVA

6,954

9,651

14,100

20 30 years

124

295

832

>30 years

142

274

695

TABLE XVIII. PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR CO2 ACORDING

TRANSFORMER AGE

TABLE XXII.

CO2

Age

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<5 years

2,707

3,725

5,168

5 20 years

5,883

8,064

12,255

20 30 years

6,400

8,492

>30 years

6,566

9,123

TABLE XIX.

ETHANE

Voltage

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

131

274

555

12,778

72.5 132 kV

51

101

201

12,221

132 230 kV

118

245

443

>230 kV

191

279

482

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR METHANE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE

TABLE XXIII. PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ETHANE ACORDING

METHANE

Voltage

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ETHANE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER RATING

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<72.5 kV

87

184

674

Rating

72.5 132 kV

38

81

208

132 230 kV

111

367

>230 kV

199

382

ETHANE
Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

133

275

524

976

40 100 MVA

99

187

366

780

>100 MVA

200

296

520

TABLE XXIV. PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR ETHANE ACORDING

TABLE XX.

TRANSFORMER AGE

PERCENTILE 90, 95 AND 98 FOR METHANE ACORDING

TRANSFORMER RATING

ETHANE

METHANE

Rating

Age

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

5 40 MVA

88

174

599

40 100 MVA

77

146

380

>100 MVA

225

460

963

The following conclusions can be extracted from this

analysis:
Evolution of the percentile with voltage level: The
analysis show two different reference values for the
percentile 90, regarding CxHx gases for voltages up and
below 132kV. The maximum IEC value of reference for
CO2 is too high for the Spanish transformer population
(mainly with free breathing conservation system).
Reference values can be established for key gases as a
function of the voltage level. Table XXV shows this
reference values compared with that of IEC 60599.

Percentile 90

Percentile 95

Percentile 98

<5 years

120

208

384

5 20 years

178

295

575

20 30 years

178

300

557

>30 years

173

306

561

TABLE XXV. REFERENCE VALUES OF SPANISH TRANSFORMERS FOR KEY

GASES AND PERCENTILE 90 OF IEC 60599
Reference values (percentile 90) by voltage
Gases

IEC 60599

<72,5kV 72,5-132kV 132-230kV >230kV

H2

50-150

90

98

73

71

C2H2

2-20

22

19

18

C2H4

60-280

108

97

186

282

CO

400-600

501

539

576

538

CO2

3800-14000

5050

3709

4351

7179

CH4

30-130

87

38

111

199

C2H6

20-90

131

51

118

191

Evolution of the percentiles with transformer

rating. Maintenance is usually related to the relevance
(or rating) of the transformer, for this reason
transformer ratings up to and beyond 100MVA
presents different reference values. Table XXVI shows
reference values according transformer rating obtained
from study compared with percentile 90 of IEC 60599.
The severity associated to the appearance of acetylene
in greater power transformers makes a change in the
evolution of the CxHx gases with the power rating.

III.

REPRESENTATION ON THE DUVALS TRIANGLE

After determining the percentile of the different

populations, Duvals Triangle was applied allowing to analyze
the health of the transformer population. Fig. 1 shows the
results for the data of the percentile 90 of transformers of
voltages higher than 230 kV. From Duvals Triangle it can be
concluded that there is not a predominant failure in the
transformers beyond percentile 90.

CO presents a very stable value of the percentiles for

the different populations and seems to be independent
of power.
TABLE XXVI. REFERENCE VALUES OF SPANISH TRANSFORMERS FOR KEY
GASES ACCORDING TO RATING AND PERCENTILE 90 OF IEC 60599
Reference values (percentile 90) by rating
Gases IEC 60599 (A.2)

5-40 40-100 >100

H2

50-150

94

120

72

C2H2

2-20

40

38

C2H4

60-280

136

135

356

CO

400-600

545

569

531

CO2

3800-14000

4783

4504

6954

CH4

30-130

88

77

225

C2H6

20-90

133

99

200

Evolution of the percentiles with transformer age:

The percentiles of most gases increase in some extent
with the age of the transformer. In the case of acetylene
a reduction appears for transformers of more than 30
years. This may be because the transformers that
remain into service with this elevated age are the ones
into the best condition while the more aged
transformers are retired. Finally it must be said that the
90, 95 and 98 percentile of Hydrogen diminish with
age and that in the case of ethane the value is quite
stable.

TABLE XXVII.

REFERENCE VALUES OF SPANISH TRANSFORMERS FOR

KEY GASES ACCORDING TO AGE AND PERCENTILE 90 OF IEC 60599

k
k

Fig. 1. Duval triangle for transformers of voltages > 230 kV and gas content
above percentile 90.

IV.

CONCLUSIONS

The reference values of key gases depend of the voltage

rating and age.
Reference values for hydrogen are quite independent from
age, voltage and rating. Methane and ethane reference values
are quite independent from age.
The value of reference showed in IEC 60599 to CO2 is
high for the Spanish transformer population.
It will be necessary to determinate the rates of growing and
values of reference for type of transformer to complete the
analysis.

Reference value (percentile 90) by age

Gases IEC 60599 (A.2) 5-20 20-30

REFERENCES

>30

H2

50-150

88

84

75

C2H2

2-20

14

48

18

C2H4

60-280

137

225

262

[2]

CO

400-600

483

630

666

[3]

CO2

3800-14000

5883

6400

6566

CH4

30-130

131

124

142

C2H6

20-90

178

178

171

[1]

[4]

IEEE Std C57.104-1991 Guide for the Interpretation of Gases

Generated in Oil-Immersed Transformers
IEC Std 60599-2007 Mineral oil-impregnated electrical equipment in
service. Guide to the interpretation of dissolved and free gases analysis.
CIGRE 296. Recent developments on the interpretation of dissolved gas
analysis in transformers. 2006
M.Duval, "New Techniques for Dissolved Gas in Oil Analysis", IEEE
Elec. Insul.Mag. Vol.19, No.2 (2003).