UsingTapChangerstoMatchtheSystemVoltage

Atransformersratedvoltagemaynotmatchthe
systemvoltageexactly,oritmaybenecessary
toraiseorlowertheoutputvoltagetosupplya
certainload.Inthesecases,aportionofa
windingcanberemovedoraddedtochange
thetransformerturnsratio.
Thesimplesttapchangingdeviceoperateson
abreakbeforemakeprincipleandchanges
tapsontheprimarywinding.

DryTypeTransformer

Obviously,suchadevicecannotbeoperated
whenthetransformeriscarryingloadoreven
whenthetransformerisenergizedbecauseit
wouldbreakloadcurrentand/ormagnetizing
currentotherwise.Thisdeviceiscalledatap
changerfordeenergizedoperation.

Yearsago,itwascalledanoloadtapchanger,butthisdescriptionhasfallenoutoffavorbecause
thenameimpliesthatitcanbeoperatedwhenthetransformerisenergizedbutnotcarryingload,
whichisnotthecase.Mosttapchangersfordeenergizedoperationhaveatotaloffivetappositions.
Thereareusuallytwotappositionsabovethenominalvoltageratingandtwotappositionsbelow
thenominalvoltageplusatapatthenominalvoltage.

Thevoltageincrementsbetweentapsaregenerally21/2%ofthenominalvoltage,so
thefulltaprangeis+5%.

ArotarydrumtypetapchangerandthewindingconnectionsareshowninFigure1.Aninsulated
rotatingshaftalignsaspringloadedshortingwedgebetweenpairsofhollowcylindricalelectrodes.
Thewindingtapsareconnectedtothecylindricalelectrodesbysolderingorbrazing.
Differentmanufacturershaveusedotherrotarytapchangerconfigurationsandmechanismswith
linearmovementareavailable.Thetapchangersfordeenergizedoperationareusuallymounted
abovethetransformercoreandcoilassemblytomakeinspectionandmaintenancepossible.The
tapsarechangedbyawheelontheoutsideofthetransformerthatlocksineachtappositionwith
indicatingmarkerstoshowwhattapthetransformerison.
Inthreephasetransformers,thetapchangersofallthreephasesaremechanicallyganged

togethersothatallthreephasesarealwaysonthesametaps.

Figure1Atapchangerfordeenergizedoperation(breakbeforemake).There
arefivetappositions,withtheconnectionsforfullwindingtapsshown

Ifthetapchangerisintheprimarywinding,thentheprimarycurrentincreaseswithrespecttothe
loadcurrentonthelowertaps,increasingtheprimarywindingcurrentwithrespecttotheload
current.Thefactthatpartofthewindingresistanceisremovedfromthecircuitonthelowertaps
partiallycompensatesfortheincreasedcurrenthowever,thelowesttapstillhasthehighesttotal
I2Rlossesforagivenloadcurrent.

Thewindingtapsarealwaysinthemiddleportionofthewindingtokeepthemagnetic
centeralignedwiththeotherwindingsassectionsofthewindingareremovedfromthe
circuitbychangingtaps.

Sincethewindingisneverquitebalancedontwoofthefivetaps,thewindingcanbesplitintothree
sections,asshowninFigure2.Thisarrangementrequirestwotapchangingmechanismsper
phase,butthemagneticcenterofthewindingisalwaysalignedatthenumber6taptohelpcontrol
shortcircuitforces.

Figure2Atappedwindingwithtwosetsoftapsthatbalancetheampereturnsaroundthegeometriccenterofthe
winding.Thisconfigurationminimizestheverticalforceswhenthetransformerissubjectedtoshortcircuits.

Tapchangersfordeenergizedoperationaredesignedtobemovedinfrequently.Thetapsettings
aregenerallyspecifiedfortheparticularlocationontheelectricalsystemandthesettingsdonot
changeunlesssystemconditionspermanentlychange.
Becauseagoodelectricalcontactoftendependsoncontactwipingitisgenerallyagoodideato
operatethetapchangerperiodically(whenthetransformerisoutofservice)towipethecontacts
clean.Thecontactsthemselvesaregenerallysilverortincoatedsincebarecopperhasa
tendencytodevelopacoppersulfatefilmunderoilwhichincreasesthecontactresistance.

Thiscanleadtoathermalrunawayeffectfromoilcoking.

Asthetemperaturearoundthecontactsincreases,theoilaroundthecontactscancokeorturninto
carbon.Thisformsacarbonfilmthatcanactuallyforcethecontactsapartsotheloadcurrentmust
passthroughalayerofhighresistancecarbon.Thisincreasesthetemperaturestillfurther,leading
tomorecokingandsoforthuntilthecontactsoverheatandaredestroyed.
Afteratapchangerisoperated,itisimportantthatthetappositionisverifiedbyatransformer
turnsratio(TTR)test.Therehavebeennumerouscaseswherethetapchangersofoneormore
phaseswerenotcorrectlyalignedevenwhentheexternalmarkingsindicatedthattheywere.
Energizingatransformerwithtapchangercontactspartedwillresultinimmediatefailurewhenthe
windingcurrentarcsacrossthegap.
Resource:PowerTransformers(PowerEngineering)J.Winders