High Frequency Model and Transient Response

of Transformer Windings
Yoshikdzu Shibuya. and Shigeto Fujita

Ab,wocr-Thr high frequency niudel of translnrmer winding

is indispcnsahle in analyzing the transients particularly cause!!
by the very last transients which uccur at the lime of
disconnecting switch rrperations. The bansients in transfnrmer
have heen analyzed using a circuit ur interlinked inductances and
capacitances whnse values have lo he pniperly determined. 'Ihe
circuit constants have heen hitherto calculated in a niudel laking
each cui1 sectinn pair as a huilding hlnck. T h e present paper
proposes the niethnd thal enahles further suhdividing the unit.
l h e circuit Iramients are computed utilizing the FFT technique.
T h e voltage mcillatiuns n l the winding subjected tn an inipulse
voltage are calculated. The compcmdence with the experimental
resulls is satisfactory. The response to a chopped impulse shows
this method's applicahility tu high frequency analyses. Since the
cnnstants are calculated direclly Item the design parameters of
transformer winding, this technique is particularly useful in
developing and designing transfurmen.

Calculated rcsiilts are shown for the experimental model

winding with which voltage oscillations are observed applying
an impulse. Transients generated by a chopped inipulsc
demonstrate the applicability of ibis method.
11. WINDING
CONSTAN-I

A . Shupe of Uirirrliiig
Fig. 1 shows the winding of corc-type transformer. The
high voltage (HV) winding with electrostatic plates (SP)
surrounds the low voltage (LV) winding. A high frequency
surge is assumed to arrive at the I.IV tcrniiual. The voltages of
LV winding and core are assumed to he zero in this paper. In
the case of high frequency transients, the mapetic field or
flux in those areas are estimated to be relatively small because
of the eddy currents.
A number of disk coils are connected in scries iu I.IV
Index T e m v - Transformers, Transformer winding,
winding. Usually, turns in the roil are interleaved within a pair
Inductance, Capacitance, Transient analysis, Transient response,
of coils as shown in Fig. 1 to improve the initial voltage
Disconnecting switches
distribution. A set of these two coils or "section pair" has been
so far used as the building block of HV winding in considering
I. INTRODUCTION
the equivalent inductances and capacitances. In below, the
complex voltage oscillation can be excited in the
constants are examined io turn -to-turn basis.
transformer subjected to a lightning surge or switching
surge. Since it may cause the dielectric breakdown, the B. Lrilucfarrces
analysis of voltage oscillation has k e n attempted for ii loug
The self and mutual inductances in all the turns are
time [l],[2].
expressed by the inductance matrix [ L ] .The size of matrix is
The transformer winding is usirally described by a circuit of N,xN,, where N , is the total number of turns.
interlinked inductances and capacitances. It has been the
In thr first approximation, thc effects of LV winding and
common practice that the circuit constants are evaluated for an
abbreviated equivalent circuit taking each coil section pair as
the building block 131, 141.
n e fast transients with high frequency components of MHz
order generated in GIs by disconnecting switch operation may
cause a high frequcucy oscillation in the. directly rounccted
GIs-transformer system [5). To analyze this phenomcnon, the
conventional equivalent circuit is not precise enough because
the coil Ienglh in a section pair exceeds the spatial wavelenglh
at such high frequencies. The present paper proposes a model
in which each scclion pair is subdivided into groups of smaller
number of toms. l'he constants are lo be evaluated in turn-tm
I
turn basis.

Hvwinding

9
0-7803-7525-4/021~17.000 2002 IEEE.

I839

@)Mutual inductance

@)Self-mduclauce

Rg.2. Assumptioiis inolculsting inductances.

core are neglected, i.e. the fluxes of HV winding are to exiend

freely in those spaces. The self-inductance of one turn having
the length E can bc evaluated from the inductance of straight
conductor of the same length and cross-section as shown in
Fig.2a. The following expression is obtained [6]:
2e

L , ; -%[In

-1)

Where, R is the geometrical mean diameter (GMD) of crosssectional area where current flows. Because high frequency
currents mainly distribute in the surface region, R can be
calculated as GMD of the conductor peripheral (the thick
rectangular lines in the figure). The mutual inductance
between tums I and j in Fig.2b is obtained from that of the two
ring wires whose positions are specified by r z ,r,. z [7]:

Fig.3. Capacitances evaluated hy paralle~plaleapproximation

ri: insulation thickness, W conductor width, E: oue turn length.

Other capacitances are obtained likewise, in which different
relative dielectric constants may be introduced for the
insulation be.tween sections (E.) and HV-LV space (E~).
The capacitance matrix [ C ] can be composed arranging
above capacitances in the following manner. The capacitance
C g j is taken as a diagonal element C i j . As for K i j , the
corresponding element Cij is set as -Kjj and, at the same time,
the diagonal eleme.nt on the same row C i i is increased by tKij.
These are to be repeated for the tnms 1si, j 5 N , and SPs.
111. REDUCTION OF DMENSION

Where, k ' - 4 ~ , j / { ( ~ ~ + , , ) * + ~and

' } , K ( k ) , E ( k ) are the
complete elliptic integrals.
The next approximation assumes that the flux is excluded
from a cylindrical region r c ro as the result of eddy-currents
in the LV winding and core. This situation is simulated
considering an opposing current at position 'i against the
current at turn i as shown in Fig.2b. Then, the se If and mutual
inductances are approximated, respectively, by

A. Circuit Equation
The equivalent circuit of transformer winding at high
frequencies is shown in Fig.4. Sinusoidal voltage Eo (angular
frequency ID) represents the oncoming high frequency surge..
The voltage and current at each turn are expressed by vectors
(V) and (I),respectively. The circuit equations are described
in the form [SI:

(AI) = -[Y].(V)

(AV) = - [ Z ] . ( I ) ,

(5)

H e n , (AV) and ( A I ) mean the veclors composed of Vt-K.1

using the inductances by (1) and (2).

C. Capacitances
The capacitance matrix [C] is defined regarding all the
turns and SPs as so many isolated conductors. The matrix size
is (N,t2)X(N,t2). Most of elements will be close to zero
except those of two turns situated face to face.
As an approximation, let only the capacitances shown in
Fig.3 count. They are:
(a) Conductor-ground capacitances
C --e , :between turn and ground (or LV windinr)
-,
C
,,
Cge:between SP and ground (or L V winding)
(b) Couductor-conductor capacitances
K,: between turns (within a coil or in separate coils)
K O , K.: between turn and SP
These values can he estimated by the parallel plane

and li- li.,. respectively. The impedance and admittance

matrices [ Z ] , [yl in (5) are related to the matrices [ L ] , [ C ] .
?be followings are obtained, if the Joule loss and the dielectric
loss are taken into account 191.

{[ z I = ( ~ ~ + J G G X ) [ L I
(6)

[Y]=( j m + o t a n 6 ) [ ~ ]

Where, a, d, and tan6 are the conductor conductivity, typical

insulation thickness, and loss tangent of insulation, p,, being
the permeability of vacuum.

approximation. For example, the interlum capacitance is

obtainable from the formula:
Kij-

Where,

w.e

E
~

E~ ~ d :dielectric

..-----_------_
~

>
:

L 1 G--Py

y-

".-+

.;ft

_ - - _

(4)
constant of interturn insulation,
1840

Fig.4. Equivalent circuit oftransformerwinding at high frequencies.

The dimension of (6) is normally too large for numerical

calculation for a conventional computer as long as the
constants are given turn-by-turn.

dependent waveform, it is possiblr lo calculate the voltage or

current waveform of any p i n t using the fast Fourier transfon
(FIT)technique. In the analysis, the sinusoidal response has to
be calculated for t i p frequencies:

B. Constants of Grouped-Turn Model

Using the section pair as the building block in the circuit
model has been common in calculating the transients
following a lightning or switching surge [4]. Usage of a
smaller unit is preferable for higher frequency simulations.
Fig.5 shows the case that the section pair is further subdivided
into groups of smaller number of turns. Let the function n , ( i )
indicate the group number the turn i belongs. This reduces the
dimension to the total number of groups N .
Iectmn Po"

Sp.

f =o,

fo,

Zfo,

.-.*

fm(=liPf0)

From this result, the transfer function is obtained in FIT form.

Multiplying the above transfer function by the FFTof input
voltage, the wanted voltage (or current) is obtained in the form
of FFT. Taking the inverse FFT gives the timc response which
is given at 2np sampling times:

t = o , t o , 2 io,

(=2np

to)

The following relations exist between frequency and time

domain sampling parameters.
1, =

11(2 f.).

T -11 fo

(8)

Iv. MODELWINDING AND CONSTANTS

Y

tw7gtoup

Rg.5. Formarion of turn groups by dividing section pair.

Assume the tum-base inductance L j j is known. Then, the

reduced inductance L'jj for the grouped turn system can be
calculated iterating the following procedure
*AddthevalneLjj to L'ng(j)ns(j)
(lsi,jsN,)

As for the capacitance C X j (including CEO,C8=), the

grouped turn base quantity C',j can be obtained by the
iteration:
Add the value CSjto
(19 i 6N,)
As for the capacitance Kjj (including KO, Ke),the grouped
can be obtained by the iteration:
turn base quantity
Add the following AK:;(equivalent to K j j )to K;,(j)n,(j)

A. Model Winding
The model winding shown in Fig. 6 is used in the
experiment to observe the voltage oscillation. The interleaved
HV winding has 76 coil sections and 960 tums in all. Major
dimensions are given in the figure. The winding consists of
three regions of slightly different specifications. Their
dimensions are listed in Table 1. The experiment is conducted
in absence of the LV winding and core in the air. In
substitution, a cylindrical aluminum plate is inseded in the
center. In this condition, the relative dielectric constants are
estimated as sd=3.0,&,=1.77,,=1.0.
A low impulse voltage of 12/50 (11s) shape is applied at
the upper terminal of HV winding. The voltage waveforms are
observed at the outermost turns of selected sections using an
oscilloscope with voltage probes.

(15 i $ N , )

TABLE 1
DIMENSIONS OFMODBL
WINDING

reaion
(7)

The equivalent capacitance is the concept postulating the

transformer action in the groups turns i and j belong 121, [lo].
Here, N k denotes the nominal tnm number of group k. In the
case that the denominator becomeszero (i.e. n E ( i ) = n g ( l ) ),
either n J i ) or ngU)has to be deliberately shifted by 1.
The capacitance matrix [ C'] of reduced dimension can be
constructed using the CAscaand K L 8 ( + ( j l , just as in the same
way as [ C] is composed from C E jand K j j in section ILC.

C. Frequency and Time Doniairi Analyses

The circuit equations of grouped-turn model are obtained
using the constants [ L ' ] , [C'] in (5) and (6) or in Fig.4. If the
terminal voltage Eo is assumed to be a sinusoidal voltage, the
solution is obtainable by a matrix manipulation such as given
by Wilcox [SI. Then, the voltage or current of any point is
numerically calculable for a given frequency.
In the case the terminal voltage is given in the form of time
1841

number of sections
number of turns per section
conductorcross-section Imm)

A.C

14
12
3.2x9.5

48
13
3.2x9.5

I
V. VOLTAGEOSCILIATIONS

A.

Coll.sfurlfs ofw;~trfi!rg
The constants of the model winding are calculated for the
four cases shown in l a h l e 2. The uumhcr of divisions refers
thc subdivided number per section pair disciissrd in section
1II.B. Whether the zero-llux region is assumcd or not refers to
TXBE 2

zero-flux region
4 divisions / section pair

I divisions / section pair

A. VolfagrDisfribufioir by Siritisoirlal iripril

The solution for a constant sinusoidal voltage input gives a
voltage distribution if the frequency is given as mentioned in
Section 1II.C. Fig.9 shows calculated results in three cases 0,
0,
@ for the frequencies: 0.5 and 2 MHz. Here, and here
after, the loss related constants of 0=5 X 10' Sim. tand=O.04
are used.
In Fiy.9a (0.5 MHz), there are no siguificant differences
among three cases. However, in Fig.9b (2 MHz), differences
appear: the voltage distributious in the cases of subdivided
@) become bumpy compnred to case 0.
section pair

(a,

Fig.7. Di&hutiom of iod"c1rncr~~lculaled

for inodel winding.

@) I di" /section p a i r m a )
(a) 4 div I section pairfa@))
Fig.8. Diatributioin of capacilancewlculated fur mudcl winding.

the two ways of approximations in the ev;iluation of

inductances mentioned in section 11.B. In the case of assuming
zero-flux region, thr inductances are evaluated hy (3), with ro
set to the position of duminum plate.
Fig.7 shows cxamplcs of the distributions of calculated
inductance L ' j j (varyiug j for fixed i) for the four cases.
Fluctuations seen in the case of subdivided section pair
(Fig.7a) are duc to the effects of interleaved winding. The
assumption of zrro-flux leads to decreased iuductauces as seen
k t w e e n cases and @ (or cases 0and
Fig.8 shows graphs of ] C ' j j ] .They cover only a small part
of whole distributions. All the elements except the diagonal 3
lines are zero in the case the section pair is used as division
unit (Fig.8b). However, in the case of subdivided section piir
(Fig.Ra), the elements some distance away from the diagonal
are not zero. This is also due to the interleaving.

a).

@) 2 MHr

Fig.9. Vollafe dislrihutioii wlculrlrd forniodel winding

Comparing cases 0and 8,

the two ways of assumptions in
the flux region do not lead to much differences.

E. Frequency Characteristics
In the frequency domain calculation, voltages are calculated
for a rangr of frequency. Fig.10 shows the frequency
characteristics of induced voltages at the turn numbers:
49 (5), 169 (15), 481 (39). 793 (63)
These four points arc the outemiost tiims of selected coil
sections. The numbers in parcnthcsrs are the section numbers.
As expectcd from the last section's result, there arc
resonance peaks in the characteristics obtained for the
condition of 4 divisions per sectioii (i.e. Fig.lOa). In contrast,
there are no such peaks appear in the case of 1 divisioii pcr

1842

I5

experimenlol-

1.

VI. DISCUSSIONS

section pair (Fig.lOb). This suggests that the conventiouvl

method adopting the latter is not suitable to analyze the high
frequency resonance phenomena.

C. Volruge Oscrllatioris by Itnpulse

The full lines in Fig.11 are the experimrntally obtained
voltage oscillations at the four lums including the input
impulse. The corresponding broken lines are calculated using
the frequency
- in the time domain. The
. . domain data by case 0
tollowing FIT parameters are used:
fo=1.22 kIIz, fm=5 MHz,
IIp.2048
(r,=0.1 ps,
T=820 ps)

According lo the present method, our cau detemiiue the

iuductmcc and capacitance matrices of the niodel iu thc
condition that the scctiou pair is divided into a mimber of
groups. Since these constauts can be zalciilatcd from the
groinrtry of the winding, Ihe whole winding charactcristics
iiicluding t'requeucy and time domains are to be analyzed
using the des@ paramcters. These are the salieut features of
the method.
As seen in the frcquency charactrnslics of Fig.10,
resonance frequencies appear in lhe region 2 - 3 MHz in the
case the section pair is subdivided, but no resonance in the
rase the section pair is used as unit. The latter corresponds to
the common practice of modeling transformer used hitherto.
The model with subdivided section pair constructed by the
present method seems to comprise high natural frequencies,
which have not been included in tbe conventional model.
However, the two cases give almost the same time-responses
for an impulse input as mentioned in the. previa~~s
scctiou. This
is probably due to the fact that the full standard impulse
scarcely has frequency components highcr thau I MHz where
the resonauce might have occurred.

' h e experimental and calculated results

agree except at the wavetail area where
some extra oscillations are present in the
experimental.
The calculation using the constauts ot
case 0 gives similar results, showing uo
significant differences between in
calculation cases @ and Q.

1843

Fig.12 shows the computed responses of the model winding

subjected to a chopped impulse voltage. As seen in Fig.lZb,
the voltage at turn 169 changes abruptly at the time of
chopping, and an oscillation of about 3 MHz follows in case
0of 4 division per section pair, whereas no such oscillations
occur in case Q. One consequence of the voltage oscillation is
the increase of interlum voltage. Fig.12c shows the estimated
voltages to be induced in the first interrum (i.e. between tums
1 and 13) for the cases 0 and 0 .The maximum induced
voltage level calculated in case 0is twice larger than that in
Q. It is expected that the present method of dividing the
section pair provides more accurate evaluation of voltage
oscillation in the case very fast transients are involved.
The present method of determining the constants c a n be
applied not only to the interleaved winding but also to any
type of windings iucluding the simple continuous disk type
winding. Specifying the connection can be done simply
defining the function rtg(t) adequately.
The multiconductor transmission line model is proposed to
analyze the fast transients in the shell -type transformer
winding 1111, which is difficult to apply in the interleaved
core-type winding. There is an attempt to introduce resistors
(to represent the transmission line model's characteristic
impedance) in the conventional model 141, but the rational
determination of resistance values seems difficult.
Time domain calculations in the present paper are
conducted utilizing the FFT technique. To use a time-domain
software such as EM" is more straightfornard. This will be
possibly punued in future.

VII. CONCLUSIONS
The following points are clarified in this paper.
l)A method is proposed to calculate the constants in the high
frequency circuit of HV winding in which the subdivided
p u p s of turns in the section pair are taken as the building
blocks.
2)The voltage oscillations of transformer windings are
calculated using the FIT technique. Those calculated for a
model winding subjected to an impulse voltage correspond
with the experimental.
3)The applicability to high frequency transient calculation is
demonstrated in the analysis of response to a chopped
impulse revealing an oscillation of about 3 m z .
Another feature of the method is that the high frequency
characteristics can be evaluated once the geometry of
transformer winding or the design paramrters are given. 7his
kind of analysis will be needed more frequently with
increasing number of transformers directly connected to GIS.

VIII. REFERENCES
[I]
121
131

[J]

[SI
IS]

171

..
I81

191
[IO]

Ill]

P. A. Abetti. "Bibliography OD the surge performance of transformers

and rotarisg machines". Trans.AIEE,vol. 77, pp. 1150-1168.1958.
A. Greenwood Eleciricol rronsirnrs in power rysremr. New York John
Wiky, 1991, p.322.
W.McNutt T. J. Blalock and R. A Hinloa "Response of transformer
windings to system transieot votiges", IEEE Tronr. Power Apparnrur
ondSysrems. vol. PAS93 (2) pp. 175-467.1974.
S . Okabc. M. Koto. 1. Teradnirbi. M. Irhikawa, T. Kobayarhi. and T.
Saida, "An electric model of gasinsulatcd shunt reactor and analysis of
wignilion surge voltagef. IEEE Trans. Power D c l i w v , vol. 14, pp.
378-386, Feb. 1999.
C E R E WG 33/19-03. "Very fast transient phenomena associated with
gas insulated substationP.CIGRE Report, 33-13.1988.
S. Takeyama, Theory of declromagnelism phenomena (idapaoere).
Tokyo: Maruzen, 1939, p.386.
K. Okuyama, "A numerical analysis of impulse voltage distribution in
lransfurmer windings (in Japanese): Trans. IEE Japan, ~01.87-I,
pp.181-189, Jan. 1967.
D.J. Wilcax. W.G. Hurley. T. P. M c h l e . and M.Conlon 'Aooliation
of modified m d a l theory io the modelling of practical transformers,
Proc. IEE,val. 139 PI. C (6). pp. 513-520,1992.
K. Curnick, , B. Filliat. C. Kieny. and W. MCller. "Distribution of very
fast transient overvoltages in transformer windings". CIGRE Report, 12
204.1992.
.~
Y. Kawaychi. "Calculation of the circuit constants for the compulation
of internal oscillating voltage in transformer winding* Trans. IEE
Jopon.vol.89-3, 88.537-546, Mar. 1969.
Y. Shibuya, S . Fujita andE. Tamaki, "Aaalysisof Very Fast Transienb
in Transformers," IEE Proc. Gmer. Tranrm. Distrib.. ~01.148,pp.377383. Sepl.2001.

..

Yoshihzo Shibuya received B.S. and M.S. in

electrical engineeriog from Kyoto University, Japan,
in 1964 and 1966, respenively. He received PhD in
dec1ric.l enginesing in 1976 from University of
Salford, UK.
Sincc he joined Mitsubirhi Elenric Corporation
in 1966. he has been engaged in researches on
lightning amsters, GIS and transformer iorulalion
problems. Since 1999. he is with Department of
Electrical Engineering Shibaura lnslimte
of
Technology. H e is ioteresled io fast mnsients I
power system. particularly their influence to
transformers Profesxrr Shibuya is a Fellow of IEE and a member of IEE
Japan.
Shieto Fojila received B.S. in p h y j i a in 1983
from Saitama University. Japan.He received PhD
in electrical engioeering io Zolfrom University of
Tokyo.
Since be joined Mitsubirhi Electric Corporation
in 1983. he has been engaged in research and
development of GIS and other power equipmnt
including iransformers. His cumnt interest is the
overvoltages in power systems and the insulation
mordinatioo of power equipment. Dr Fujita i s a
member of Pbysical Society of Japan aod IEE of
Japan.