2520
6, DECEMBER 2017
Search Coil Based Online Diagnostics of
Transformer Internal Faults
Prasad Arvind Venikar , Member, IEEE, Makarand Sudhakar Ballal, Senior Member, IEEE,
Bhimrao Sitaram Umre, Member, IEEE, and Hiralal Murlidhar Suryawanshi, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractAn online approach based on application of search
coil for transformer winding fault detection is presented in this
paper. Earlier attempts report use of search coil for the detection
of transformer interturn fault. This paper extends application of
search coil for detection of winding displacement in addition to in-
terturn fault identification. Experimental results based on specially
designed 10-kVA transformer are presented to analyze search coil
voltages during healthy and faulty conditions. The algorithm de-
tects phase (U , V , W ), side (LV, HV), and precise location of the
fault. Discrimination between interturn fault and winding radial
displacement is also achieved by search coil voltage analysis. The
results are experimentally verified based on impedance analyzer
plots. Experimental analysis indicates that the proposed method
is independent of load on the transformer, vector group, nature
of winding, balanced or unbalanced source voltage, source voltage
harmonics, inrush, and overexcitation conditions.
Index TermsInterturn fault, search coil, transformer internal
faults, winding radial displacement.
I. INTRODUCTION
RANSFORMER monitoring and interpretation of test re-
T sults is at the forefront of utilities for incessant and reliable
operation of this strategic asset of the power system. Literature
survey suggests winding failure as main cause for transformer
failure [1]. Apart from transformer tests, techniques based on
signal processing of primary and secondary side voltage and
current by differential protection [2], terminal voltage and cur-
rent analysis [3], [4], Parks vector analysis [5], [6], symmetrical
components [7][10], Fourier transform [11], wavelet analysis
[12], [13] are reported. Parks vector and symmetrical compo-
nent analysis based approaches offer significant improvement
over conventional differential protection. As compared with [6],
the algorithm proposed in [7] offers sensitivity for interturn fault
detection. However, advantage with [6] is that same algorithm
is applied for fault detection and stability during inrush. Use of
symmetrical component theory based incipient fault detection
and stability against inrush and over-excitation is reported in
[9]. However, the algorithm is not applicable for sympathetic
inrush condition.
Manuscript received August 18, 2016; revised October 29, 2016, December
30, 2016, and February 26, 2017; accepted March 4, 2017. Date of publication
March 15, 2017; date of current version October 16, 2017. Paper no. TPWRD-
01009-2016.
The authors are with the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology,
Nagpur 440010, India (e-mail: pavenikar@gmail.com; makarandballal@
yahoo.com; bsumre@rediffmail.com; hms_1963@rediffmail.com).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2017.2682083
0885-8977 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 32, NO.
Search coil is popularly used for fault diagnosis in electrical
machines such as induction machine [14][19], synchronous
machine [20], [21] and transformer [22][25]. It also has wide
range of applications in various fields such as observing flux
density distribution in transformer core [26], [27], effect of DC
bias on core modelling and inrush current [28] and rotor posi-
tion sensing [29]. It has been observed that use of search coil
offers conclusive results for detection of faults in motors. Finite
element method (FEM) based simulation studies present obser-
vations regarding deviation in leakage flux path in transformer
during interturn fault [22], [30] and winding abnormalities such
as buckling and bulging [22]. Therefore, these variations can be
sensed to predict healthy or faulty operating condition. Based
on this principle, search coil based analysis for detecting pres-
ence of interturn fault in transformer is reported in [22][25].
DC severity factor discriminates a healthy condition from fault
condition as reported in [22]. However, discrimination between
interturn fault and winding deformation is not reported. Similar
approaches with difference in nature of search coil arrange-
ments are investigated in [23][25]. However, the objective is
restricted to interturn fault detection. Therefore, literature sug-
gests scope for extending application of search coil for detection
of winding displacement fault, discrimination between interturn
and winding displacement fault in transformer.
Internal faults related to transformer winding such as inter-
turn fault and winding radial displacement changes the winding
inductances as compared with the healthy condition. This pa-
per presents application of search coil to monitor these changes
to detect winding related faults by means of induced voltage
variation analysis. Experimental results on a specially designed
10 kVA transformer indicate reduction in voltage induced in
search coil for interturn fault and increase in search coil induced
voltage for winding displacement. These observations are used
to develop indices for detecting, discriminating and locating the
fault in the transformer.
II. ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO THE SEARCH
COIL INDUCED VOLTAGES
Transformer is a magnetically coupled stationary machine,
wherein voltage induced in a coil depends on number of turns,
applied voltage, mutual and leakage inductances. As shown
in Fig. 1 the direction of placing or the sense of winding of
search coil is same as that of direction of transformer winding.
Therefore, the voltage induced in the search coil is due to the
transformation action as shown in Fig. 2.
VENIKAR et al.: SEARCH COIL BASED ONLINE DIAGNOSTICS OF TRANSFORMER INTERNAL FAULTS 2521

Fig. 1. Detailed winding diagram with search coil locations and HV disc radial displacement provision.

coil. Therefore (1) is written as

Fig. 2. Transformation action between primary winding and search coil.
The emf induced in the search coil (Esc ) is given as,
dI1 dIsc
Esc = M Isc Rsc Lsc
dt dt
where, Isc is the current in search coil, Lsc is self inductance of
search coil, M is the mutual inductance between primary wind-
ing and search coil and I1 is the current in primary winding.
This is shown in Fig. 2 and it represents a lumped nature of
parameters. In Fig. 2, L1 is the self inductance of primary wind-
ing, which in-turn reflects leakage inductance and magnetising
inductance [31] of the transformer primary winding, N1 is the
number of turns on the primary winding.
The self inductance of primary winding L1 and Lsc can be
written in terms of M as [32],
 
M = k1 k2 L1 Lsc . (2)
In (2), the search coil parameters are not varying and as a
result search coil self inductance (Lsc ) is assumed to be constant.
Therefore,
 wlm
M L1 . (3)
Since, the search coil is not loaded (Isc = 0), Isc Rsc and
Lsc (dIsc /dt) cannot decrease the emf induced in the search
dI1
Esc = M . (4)
dt
Thus, for a distributed winding model, the voltage induced in
the search coil wound in a specific region depends on mutual
inductance between search coil and transformer winding of that
particular region. Therefore, the voltage induced in the search
coil is due to the transformation action expressed through (4).
Under healthy operating condition, the coupling between search
coil and transformer winding is same irrespective of the location
(1)
of search coil. Therefore, it is expected that equal voltage is
induced in each search coil due to this transformation action for
healthy condition. Winding related faults result in the deviation
of inductance parameters and as a result the mutual coupling
between search coil and transformer winding of faulted region
is different than the mutual coupling between search coil and
transformer winding of the healthy region.
A. Effect of Interturn Fault
Decomposition of leakage flux into radial and axial compo-
nent is reported in [33]. For a faulty winding with short cir-
cuit leakage inductance L (S C ) , mean perimeter lp , mean coil
perimeter lm , width of winding w, width of primary winding wp ,
N1 turns on primary and Nb faulted turns; the axial component
of leakage inductance L (ax) is
L (S C ) wp lp (N1 Nb )2
L (ax) = . (5)
(N1 )2
Similarly, by applying Rogowski coefficient for radial
(k (r ad) ) and axial fluxes (k (ax) ) for a winding with height
h, and number of kL layers; the radial component of leakage
2522 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 32, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2017

regions can be calculated as follows [34],

N1 I12 D1 a1
W1 = , (9)
6h
N1 I12 D2 a2
W2 = , (10)
6h
and
N1 I12 D3 a3
W3 = , (11)
2h
The total energy is therefore,
N1 I12 (D1 a1 + D2 a2 + 3D3 a3 )
WT = , (12)
6h
where, D1 , D2 and D3 are mean diameters of region 1, 2 and
3 respectively, is the magnetic permeability and is a math-
ematical constant. Similarly, a1 , a2 and a3 correspond to the
Fig. 3. Effect of winding displacement on the overall dimensions of trans- thickness of region 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The leakage induc-
former (a) healthy condition (b) winding radial displacement. tance is given by,
N12 (D1 a1 + D2 a2 + 3D3 a3 )
inductance L (r ad) is Ll1 = , (13)
3h
L (S C ) k (r ad) h2 lp kL (N1 Nb )2 In case of healthy condition, transformer windings are con-
L (r ad) = . (6) centric and symmetric to the transformer core as shown in
k (ax) wwp lm (N1 /kL )2
Fig. 3(a). Therefore, the average diameters D1 , D2 and D3 is
Therefore, total leakage inductance is addition of (5) and (6). calculated as shown in Fig. 3(a). With winding radial displace-
It can be seen that, in the event of fault Nb is non-zero positive ment (HV), the average diameters of D1 and D3 are slightly
integer and therefore, resultant leakage inductance is less than higher due to the displacement (Fig. 3(b)). Also, average thick-
the inductance of transformer for healthy condition. ness of region 3 is higher. Therefore (13) can be written as,
With the reduction in the leakage inductance, the mutual
inductance between faulted winding and search coil wound on N12 (D1f a1f + D2 a2 + 3D3f a3f )
Lw dg disp = , (14)
the faulted region reduces (2). Therefore, from (3) the voltage 3h
induced in the search coil in the faulted region also reduces. where Lw dg disp is the leakage inductance for winding dis-
placement condition.
Esc.f = kf Esc , (7) With this increased leakage inductance corresponding to the
where, kf is the factor for indicating correlation between search winding displaced region, the mutual inductance of this region
coil induced voltage during healthy and faulty condition given with search coil of the region also increases (3). As a result, it
as, is expected that emf induced in the search coil of this region
should increase.
kf = 1 2(Nb /N1 ) + (Nb /N1 )2 . (8) Therefore,
Since, Nb is a fraction of N1 , kf is less than unity for in- Esc.f = kf Esc (15)
terturn fault. Therefore, search coil voltage is less during faulty
condition as compared with the healthy condition. In this case kf is greater than unity.
Therefore from, (7), (8) (15) an analytical observation for kf
is developed as,
B. Effect of Winding Radial Displacement
Common reason for winding radial displacement is the re-
= 1 (healthy condition),
duced spacer tensile strength. This may happen due to vari- kf < 1 (interturn fault condition) (16)


ous reasons such as improper design, fabrication defects, non- > 1 (winding radial displacement fault)
uniformity in the structure of spacers, damage during transporta-
With m search coils wound on a winding, the summation of
tion and repeated heavy short circuit current in the winding.
search coil voltages can be used to estimate transformer primary
Also the, improper pre-stress magnitude may not give sufficient
applied voltage (VP e s t i m a t e d ) for that winding as,
strength to the transformer winding against radial forces acting
in the transformer. 
m

To simplify the analysis, the leakage channel is divided into VP e s t i m a t e d = k Esci (17)
three regions, region of primary winding (region 1), region of i=1

secondary winding (region 2) and spacing between windings where k is the fixed multiplication coefficient calculated for
(region 3) (Fig. 3(a)). The magnetic energy stored in these three healthy condition as k = N1 /NS C . During online operation, the
VENIKAR et al.: SEARCH COIL BASED ONLINE DIAGNOSTICS OF TRANSFORMER INTERNAL FAULTS 2523

difference between the estimated voltage and measured voltage

(VP m e a s u r e d ) is calculated as,
VP e s t i m a t e d VP m e a s u r e d
V (%) = 100 (18)
VP m e a s u r e d
It is important to note here that (17) is applicable in case of
unbalanced voltage and non-linear supply voltage conditions.
The algorithm developed in this paper measures and sum-
mates search coil voltages to estimate applied voltage (17).
Deviation greater than threshold between these two quantities
suggests presence of winding related fault in that particular
winding. To precisely locate the fault, consecutive search coil
voltage ratio (kc.sc.i ) is calculated as,
Esc i + 1
kc.sc.i = |(i=1,2,...,m 1) (19)
Esc i
During healthy condition, as voltage induced in search coils is
equal, kc.sc.i is unity. Deviation from unity detects the pres-
ence of fault, discriminates between interturn or winding ra-
dial displacement fault and simultaneously determines the fault
location.

III. PROPOSED ALGORITHM

The algorithm is shown in Fig. 4 and explained as follows:
1) Initially, transformer nameplate details, number of search
coils and their turns are stored. The algorithm then pro-
ceeds for online monitoring and diagnostics.
2) The algorithm checks whether voltage is applied at the
primary. This check is necessary to avoid mal-operation
by search coil for de-energised transformer.
3) In next step, OLTC position is monitored prior to the
measurement of the search coil induced voltage.
4) In case of OLTC operation, the algorithm adapts number
of turns data corresponding to the new tap condition. This
change is important prior to the computations related to Fig. 4. Flowchart of the proposed algorithm.
search coil so as to avoid inaccuracy in analysis.
5) The algorithm then measures Esc to detect any disconti-
nuity in the search coil circuitry. Further, depending on
Esc , the algorithm calculates VP estim ate . The VP estim ate
is compared with VP m easu r ed to monitor deviation of esti-
mated voltage from measured voltage. Tolerance of 0.5%
is considered to avoid mal-operation. If percentage devia-
tion between VP estim ate and VP m easu r ed is within limit,
the algorithm returns to step-2 and continues monitoring.
6) In case of deviation above threshold of 0.5%, the algorithm
detects and classifies fault based on (16). This threshold
is developed based on experimental analysis.
7) The algorithm also detects faulty phase and winding based Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of experimental setup.
on analysis of kc.sc.i plot of each winding. In the final step,
the algorithm calculates kc.sc.i to locate the fault position.
winding radial displacement. The schematic diagram is shown
Thus, a single scheme is applied to detect, locate and classify
in Fig. 5 and the experimental photograph is shown in Fig. 6.
transformer winding related faults.
The transformer offers flexibility of connection in various wye
and delta configurations. Turns are taken out from both LV and
IV. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
HV windings (Fig. 1) to create interturn fault. The interturn
The experimentation is performed on a specially designed fault is created by shorting these turns through a variable re-
10 kVA transformer to analyse the effect of interturn fault and sistance to control the fault severity [5]. Equidistant vertical
2524
Fig. 6. Photograph of experimental setup.
spacers are placed between LV and HV windings only on one
half side of the spacing. Therefore, the winding can be displaced
in one outward direction and it is possible to set the disc back to
the normal condition. Thus, transformer structural integrity re-
mains intact. Search coils are wound on HV and LV windings as
shown in Fig. 1. The objective of search coil on LV winding is to
improve performance against effect of screening in layer wind-
ings when the fault is in the LV (internal layer). A controlled
power source is applied by a three-phase auto-transformer. Triac
based circuitry is used to produce distorted supply conditions
for analysing the effect on performance of search coil. A load
bank is used to create balanced and un-balanced load condi-
tions. Hall effect based voltage sensors reduce supply voltage to
a level suitable for the NI-6361 data acquisition system (DAQ).
Search coil terminals are directly interfaced with the DAQ de-
vice. Programming is performed in LabVIEW based software
platform. According to the common format for transient data
exchange (COMTRADE) [35], for supply frequency of 50Hz,
sampling frequency of 3.2 kHz is used. Accordingly, 64 sam-
ples per cycle are used for computation and analysis. Tektronix
DPO 3054 records voltage and current signals at the transformer
primary terminals. The results are experimentally validated on
Agilent E4990A impedance analyser.
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
The proposed algorithm is experimentally tested on 100/400V
Y N d1, 400/200V Y N yn0 and 100/400V Dyn11 connections.
Various system conditions such as balanced and unbalanced
source voltage, source voltage with harmonics are considered for
testing. Unbalanced loading as experienced in field applications
is maintained for all experimental conditions.
A. Three Phase, 10 kVA, 100/400 Volt, Y N d1 Connection
1) Balanced Supply Voltage and Interturn Fault: In order
to understand the behavior of induced emfs, the transformer is
initially operated for healthy condition. For 100.2 V phase-to-
phase supply, k is calculated as 17.5. The estimated voltage
from this search coil induced voltage is 100.27 V. The percent-
age variation between measured and estimated voltages is below
specified limit and therefore the algorithm suggests no fault con-
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 32, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2017
dition. Applied voltage and summation of search coil induced
voltages are shown in Fig. 7(a) and (b) respectively. Ratios of
adjacent search coils of W -phase HV winding are also unity as
shown in Fig. 7(c). Interturn fault is created on W -phase HV
winding (Nf = 2.5%,If = 1 pu and 2 pu) for balanced supply
condition. The pu current is calculated based on voltage rating
of LV and HV side. Based on estimated voltages of each phase
(17), it is observed that W -phase HV winding estimated volt-
age is less than applied voltage by 1.05% for fault current of
1 pu and reduces further to 2.03% for increasing fault current
to 2 pu. This indicates presence of internal fault on W -phase
HV winding. Ratios of adjacent search coils for W -phase HV
winding are shown in Fig. 7(c). It is observed that kc.sc.1 and
kc.sc.2 are at unity, therefore, equal emf is induced in Esc1 ,
Esc2 and Esc3 (Fig. 8(a) and (b)). Whereas kc.sc.3 has increased
as compared with the healthy condition. This is possible only
in case of decrease in Esc4 (Fig. 8(c)). Therefore, according to
(16) an interturn fault is detected in the region of search coil
number 4 of W -phase HV winding. Thus, precise fault location
and discrimination is possible by application of search coil.
2) Unbalanced Supply Voltage and Interturn Fault: In this
case, the response for unbalanced supply conditions is moni-
tored. Fig. 9(a) shows terminal voltage, Fig. 9(b) search coil
induced voltage and Fig. 9(c) kc.sc.i plot for healthy and faulty
conditions respectively. Even-though the applied voltage is un-
balanced, during healthy condition equal emf is induced in
search coils of a particular phase. This is due to the transfor-
mation action between two windings. The correction factor is
independent of unbalance in applied voltage and needs to be
adapted only in the case of tap changer operation. Therefore,
during healthy condition estimated voltages are within specified
limit and system indicates healthy condition. With introduction
of interturn fault on V -phase HV winding (Nf = 3%, If =
1 pu and 2 pu), estimated voltage of V -phase HV winding re-
duces to 98.84 V. This reduction is of 1.209% as compared with
measured voltage of 100.05 V. From this result it is concluded
that fault has occurred on V -phase HV winding. By analysing
adjacent search coil voltage ratios (Fig. 5 (c)), it is observed that
kc.sc.2 and kc.sc.3 has deviated from unity. As kc.sc.1 is unity,
Esc1 and Esc2 are equal. From experimental measurement it
is observed that Esc3 has reduced and Esc4 is same as Esc1
and Esc2 . This has also reflected in increment of kc.sc.2 and
reduction of kc.sc.3 . The kc.sc.2 increased by 1.1% for 1 pu fault
current and by 2.3% for fault current of 2 pu. Similarly, kc.sc.3
reduced by 1.1% and 2.3% respectively. Therefore, search coils
are applicable to detect interturn fault for unbalanced supply
voltage conditions.
3) Supply Voltage With Harmonics and Interturn Fault: Ef-
fect of supply voltage distortions on compatibility for applica-
tion of search coil for fault detection is tested. A simple, triac
based circuit (Fig. 5) is used to apply non-sinusoidal voltage to
the transformer. This experimental analysis is extremely impor-
tant for transformer application in case of non-linearity in supply
voltage because of non-linear load. An important observation
from Fig. 10(a) and (b) is that the search coil induced voltage
follows supply voltage. Interturn fault condition is created on
U -phase LV winding with 2.5% turns short. Fault current is
VENIKAR et al.: SEARCH COIL BASED ONLINE DIAGNOSTICS OF TRANSFORMER INTERNAL FAULTS 2525

Fig. 7. Experimental results for the healthy and interturn fault condition (W -phase HV winding fault with N f =2.5%) during balanced voltage (a) applied
voltage, (b) search coil induced voltages, (c) variation in k c . s c . i plot for increasing fault severity level.

Fig. 8. Experimental results of voltages induced in each search coil of W -phase (a) healthy condition, (b) faulty condition, (c) search coil in faulted region E s c 4.

Fig. 9. Experimental results for analysing effect of unbalanced supply voltage where (a) supply voltage (b) variations observed in voltage induced in the search
coil for HV V -phase interturn fault, (c) k c . s c . i plot suggesting presence of fault.

initially 1 pu and later increased to 1.5 pu. Since, the fault is
created in the lower region of the winding, a change in induced
voltage of fourth search coil is observed. Fig. 10(c) shows plot
of rms values of Esc for U -phase LV winding. Reduction in the
induced emf of search coil number four results in increase in
kc.sc.3 , whereas kc.sc.1 and kc.sc.2 are at unity. This observation
assists in concluding that fault has developed on U -phase HV
winding.
4) Winding Radial Displacement Fault: During external
faults, the fault current of magnitude higher than transformer
rated current flows through the transformer until the fault is
cleared. Heavy internal mechanical forces cause winding dis-
placement in transformer. This paper considers effect of winding
radial displacement on voltage induced in search coil. During
realtime operation of transformer, HV W -phase disc 1 is dis-
placed initially by 5 mm followed by 8 mm in outward direction.
The kc.sc1 has increased by 0.7% and by 1.6% respectively,
whereas kc.sc.2 and kc.sc.3 are at unity. This is due to increase
in Esc1 and unchanged magnitudes of Esc2 , Esc3 and Esc4 . It is
also accounted by increase in estimated voltage of W -phase HV
by 0.2% to 100.11 V and then by 0.52% to 100.43 V, as against
applied voltage of 99.92 V. Ratios of adjacent search coil is
2526
Fig. 10. Experimental results for non-sinusoidal supply condition with interturn fault on U -phase LV winding (a) applied voltage (X-axis:4ms/div, Y-axis:50
V/div), (b) search coil voltage (instantaneous) (X-axis:4ms/div, Y-axis:4 V/div), (c) search coil voltage variations indicating fault location.
Fig. 11. Experimental results of effect of winding displacement on k c . s c . i
plot for (a) gradual variation in disc 1 of U -phase HV, (b) disc 2 of W -phase
HV.
Fig. 12. Experimental results for W -phase HV disc 1 and disc 2 (8 mm
displacement). (a) k c . s c . i plot, (b) E s c of W -phase HV
shown in Fig. 11(a) indicting fault in disc 1. As induced voltage
has increased, the fault is categorised as radial displacement. In
next case, disc 2 of same phase (Fig. 11(b)) is displaced by 5
mm and 8 mm in outward direction. Results similar to the previ-
ous conditions are noticed with variations in kc.sc.1 and kc.sc.2 .
Experimentation is also performed for two discs displacement.
Fig. 12(a) shows experimental results for displacement of both
disc 1 and disc 2 by 8 mm. The estimated voltage increased
from 99.89 V to 100.695 V. Therefore, estimated voltage based
on search coil induced voltages suggests increase of 0.80%. In
this case it is important to note that unity ratio for kc.sc.1 does
not imply healthy condition of disc 1 and disc 2. The unity ratio
is because of equal increment in the induced voltages of Esc1
and Esc2 . This similar increment in Esc1 and Esc2 is shown
in Fig. 12(b). Therefore, it is necessary to interpret the results
carefully before deriving final conclusion.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 32, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2017
Fig. 13. Experimental results suggesting deviation in k c . s c . i plot for simulta-
neous occurrence of interturn fault (N f = 2.5% turns, If = 1 pu) and winding
displacement (disc 2, 8 mm) of W -phase. (a) variations in k c . s c . i indices
(b) search coil induced voltages of faulty winding
5) Combined Interturn and Winding Radial Displacement
Fault: A condition of simultaneous presence of interturn fault
and radial displacement is analysed. Interturn fault is created
on W -phase HV winding and radial displacement of 8 mm is
created on disc 2. Based on measured values of search coils
a kc.sc.i plot for variations in indices is shown in Fig. 13(a).
The measured values indicate 0.8053% increase in search coil
wound over disc 2, whereas search coil wound over disc 4 re-
ports 0.7983% reduction compared with search coils wound on
healthy discs. The reason for the smaller deviation is less num-
ber of turns of search coils. In this case, only 2 search coils
are wound and the sensitivity can be increased by suitably in-
creasing the number of turns of search coil. Fig. 9(b) shows
the observations related to search coil induced voltages for the
faulty phase. The results indicate similarity with respect to the
mathematical analysis. These results also suggest practical use-
fulness of the proposed method.
Experimental validation of proposed analytical considera-
tions and experimental results is performed by Agilent E4990A
impedance analyser (Fig. 14). As reported in the analytical con-
siderations the leakage inductance has reduced in the case of
interturn fault resulting in reduced search coil induced voltage.
This is equivalent to a shift of the impedance plot in down-
ward direction. Analysis suggests increase in the leakage induc-
tance with winding radial displacement. Experimental results
presented indicate increase in search coil induced voltage during
winding displacement. This experimental result is also validated
experimentally by an upward shift of impedance analyser plot.
VENIKAR et al.: SEARCH COIL BASED ONLINE DIAGNOSTICS OF TRANSFORMER INTERNAL FAULTS
Fig. 14. Experimental validation by impedance analyser to analyse varia-
tions in impedance plot for healthy, interturn fault and winding displacement
condition.
Fig. 15. Experimental results for deviations in k c . s c . i plot for Y N yn0 con-
nection for (a) interturn fault on V -phase HV, W -phase LV and (b) HV U -phase
coil displacement (disc 1).
B. Three Phase, 10 kVA, 400/200 Volt, Y N yn0 Connection
Experimentation is performed on Y N yn0 vector group con-
nection to further analyse the effect of vector group on perfor-
mance of proposed method. Effect of interturn fault on V -phase
HV winding (2.5% turns, 1 pu fault current) and W -phase LV
winding (3% turns, 1 pu fault current) are shown in Fig. 15(a).
Increase in kc.sc.2 and decrease in kc.sc.3 with unchanged kc.sc.1
suggests presence of interturn fault on disc 3 of V -phase HV
winding. Similarly, increase in kc.sc.3 parameter suggest pres-
ence of interturn fault in the region of search coil number four of
W -phase LV winding. As seen in this experimental case, nature
of winding (disc type or continuous) has no effect on the per-
formance of the algorithm. Effect of coil displacement for wye
connection is analysed by displacing U -phase disc 1 by 4 mm
and 9 mm. Similar to previous experimental results, increase in
search coil induced voltage is observed from increase in kc.sc.1
and unity ratios of kc.sc.2 , kc.sc.3 . These deviations suggest pres-
ence of fault in disc 1 of U -phase. Therefore, vector group has
no effect on performance of the proposed algorithm.
C. Three Phase, 10 kVA, 100/400 Volt, Dyn11 Connection
In order to analyse the effect of fault on delta side (HV)
winding with supply given to the star (LV) side experimenta-
tion is performed on 100/400V, Dyn11 connection. This is a
commonly used vector group in the distribution system. The
interturn fault is created on V -phase HV winding. Here, it is
important to note that even-though the windings are arranged in
star or delta configuration, the search coils are independent and
not connected in any combination. In addition, the LV, HV and
2527
Fig. 16. Experimental results for effect of load on the performance of search
coil.
Fig. 17. Experimental results recorded for applied voltage, search coil induced
voltage and inrush current waveforms for U -phase indicating search coil voltage
following the applied voltage during this transient.
search coils of a phase (as in this case V -phase) are magneti-
cally coupled. As a result, the abnormalities in V -phase winding
(LV or HV) reflects only in the search coil wound on V -phase.
Therefore, fault in one winding of delta side does not reflect
on two phase voltages on star side. However, effect of interturn
fault may result in increment in two line currents on star side.
For this vector group with fault of 3% turns severity on V -phase
HV (delta) with fault current of 1 pu results in increase in kc.sc.2
and reduction in kc.sc.3 for search coils wound on V -phase HV
winding. Remaining all search coil ratios remain at unity.
D. Algorithm Performance During Commonly Observed
System Conditions
In this section, the proposed algorithm is experimentally
tested for commonly observed system conditions such as load
variation, inrush, and over-excitation. As shown in the Fig. 16,
the load is increased from no-load to 105% load. Initially, for
healthy condition, the percentage difference between measured
and estimated voltages is below threshold for all the loading
conditions. After initiation of the fault, the search coil induced
voltage reduced by 1.36% and simultaneously estimated voltage
also reduced. Since, the search coil induced voltage is due to
the transformation action of mutual coupling between the wind-
ings the proposed algorithm is stable for different load levels.
This can also be seen from the applied voltage and search coil
induced voltage waveforms recorded during inrush condition as
shown in Fig. 17. The percentage difference between the applied
voltage and the estimated voltage is below threshold level for
2528 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 32, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2017

TABLE I
EFFECT OF OVER-EXCITATION ON PERFORMANCE OF SEARCH COIL

Applied voltage Search coil induced voltage Primary current

Magnitude (V) THD (%) Magnitude (V) THD (%) Magnitude (A) THD (%)

Rated 100.3 2.60 2.825 2.98 1.840 11.87

10% over-excitation 109.9 3.80 3.104 3.90 2.668 13.83

TABLE II
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN EXISTING SEARCH COIL BASED METHODS [22], [25] AND PROPOSED ALGORITHM

Algorithm in [22] Algorithm in [25] Proposed algorithm

Method of detection online offline online

Number of search coil turns 300 5 2
Location of search coil HV winding LV winding LV and HV winding
Interturn fault detection Possible Possible Possible
Interturn fault sensitivity 0.5% turns 0.1% turns 2.5% turns
Coil deformation detection simulated free buckling and axial collapse Not considered coil displacement experimentally verified
Discrimination in interturn fault and winding displacement Not considered Not considered Considered and possible

this inrush condition. Therefore, the algorithm remains stable. A
condition of 10% over-excitation [36] at no-load is considered
and the experimental results are shown in Table I. With increase
in voltage, the operating point enters the saturation region of
operation for the transformer. This results in increased harmon-
ics in primary current. However, the search coil induced voltage
Esc1 and estimated voltage increases linearly with the applied
voltage. Therefore, search coil induced voltage is not affected
during such transient conditions.
E. Performance Analysis With Existing Schemes
Comparison of proposed method with existing methods [22],
[25] is presented in Table II. Number of turns of search coil
plays a major role in this method. The sensitivity of the pro-
posed algorithm can be improved by increasing the number of
turns of the search coil appropriately. In addition to previously
developed algorithms, this paper presents an additional contri-
bution of winding displacement detection and discrimination
between interturn fault and winding radial displacement.
VI. DISCUSSION
This section discusses various possible mechanical and elec-
trical aspects considering field applications and a potential ap-
plication of the proposed method.
A. Mechanical and Electrical Aspects of Implementation and
Response of Search Coil
Literature suggests effectiveness of FEM based analysis to
predict probable location of hot spot where interturn fault can
occur. Such location is suitable for placing a search coil. Insula-
tion requirement is another important aspect of implementation
of search coil. There are certain constraints in the application
of search coil to EHV applications. Mechanical constraints are
mainly concerning installation of search coil and the size of in-
sulation. Nevertheless, search coil can be wound on HV winding
for already manufactured transformer. Therefore it is possible to
overcome this mechanical constraint. In addition to inrush and
over-excitation, a transformer in a power system is subjected
to various condition such as transient over-voltages, partial dis-
charge, corona, etc. The induction effect due to overhead EHV
lines, partial discharge and corona effect can affect the search
coil signal. Electrical constraints can be overcome by use of ad-
vanced fibre optic system and additional shielding to the proces-
sor circuitry. Application of shielding material is possible for in-
terfacing sensor with the processor. Therefore, the electrical con-
straints can also be overcome by adopting such methodologies.
B. Smart Grid Application Perspective
The technique developed in this paper is a low cost system
considering cost of transformers. The integration of distributed
energy resources (DER) on distribution side and applications
involving installations in residential and commercial complexes
necessitates transformer with lower rating and compact size.
Providing regular protection strategy to the low cost transformer
is therefore not possible. The method of fault detection proposed
in this paper is an ideal solution for these transformers.
VII. CONCLUSION
Transformer internal faults are major contributors of trans-
former failure and such failures result in tremendous revenue
loss and damage to the transformer and peripheral accessories. A
cost effective online monitoring solution based on use of search
coil for winding related fault detection is presented in this paper.
The technique relies on search coil induced voltage to estimate
transformer applied voltage. Deviation from measured primary
voltage is used to detect faulty phase and winding. Ratio of
adjacent search coils (kc.sc ) are calculated to discriminate be-
tween healthy and faulty condition, and to classify and locate the
faults. Experimental results verify applicability of search coil for
transformer interturn fault and winding displacement detection.
VENIKAR et al.: SEARCH COIL BASED ONLINE DIAGNOSTICS OF TRANSFORMER INTERNAL FAULTS
Results are experimentally validated by analysing impedance
analyser plots.
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Prasad Arvind Venikar (S15M17) received the M.Tech. degree in power
systems from Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli, India, in 2012. He
is currently a Research Scholar in the Department of Electrical Engineering,
Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India. He is working in
the field of condition monitoring of transformers. His Ph.D. thesis has received
the PPSA-2017 award for contribution in the field of power systems.
Makarand Sudhakar Ballal (M15SM16) received the Ph.D. degree from
RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, India, in 2007. He is currently an Associate
Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Visvesvaraya National
Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India. His research interests include condition
monitoring of electrical machines, power electronics, and drives.
Bhimrao Sitaram Umre (M15) received the Ph.D. degree from RTM Nagpur
University, Nagpur, India, in 2009. He is currently an Associate Professor in
the Department of Electrical Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of
Technology, Nagpur, India. His research interests include condition monitoring
of electrical machines, power systems, and torsional oscillations.
Hiralal Murlidhar Suryawanshi (M06SM12) received the Ph.D. degree
from RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, India, in 1999. He is currently a Professor
in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute
of Technology, Nagpur, India. His research interests include the field of power
electronics, emphasizing developmental work in the area of resonant converters,
multilevel converters, and condition monitoring of electrical machines.