Electric Power Systems Research, 28 (1994) 235-240 235

Comparison of Scott and Leblanc transformers for supplying

unbalanced electric railway demands

Tsai-Hsiang Chen
Department of Electrical Engineering and Technology, National Taiwan Institute of Technology, 43 Keelung Road, Section 4,
Taipei (Taiwan)

(Accepted October 5, 1993)

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison of Scott and Leblanc transformers for supplying unbalanced electric
railway demands mainly from the point of view of voltage imbalance. Feeding traction loads from the
public power system may lead to some voltage imbalance on the latter and consequently affect the
operation of its power supply system and other equipment connected with it. A Scott connection transform-
ing a three-phase to a two-phase supply (or two single-phase supplies) can reduce the degree of the voltage
imbalance due to large unbalanced railway demands and therefore is adopted in some railway power supply
systems, particularly in systems with small short-circuit capacity. A Leblanc connection has the same effect
but has not gained the same popularity as the Scott connection and is by no means so well known. The
equivalent loads and formulas for estimating the voltage imbalance for these two connections are derived
and compared in this paper. The results are of value to engineers and consultants working in the field to
make a correct selection during periods of planning and design.

Key words: Scott connection; Leblanc connection; Electric railway; Voltage imbalance; Equivalent and
traction loads

1. I n t r o d u c t i o n Scott c o n n e c t i o n to be adopted in some r a i l w a y

A h i g h speed electric r a i l w a y between Taipei
and K a o h s i u n g is c u r r e n t l y p l a n n e d in Taiwan.
The required t r a c t i o n power of this West T a i w a n
h i g h speed rail link will be supplied by electrical
energy from seven feeder stations s i t u a t e d along
the r a i l r o a d route a n d each feeder s t a t i o n will be
supplied by two i n d e p e n d e n t incoming feeds from
the 161kV h i g h voltage grid of the T a i w a n
Power C o m p a n y (Taipower). Because feeding
t r a c t i o n loads from the public power system m a y
lead to some voltage imbalance on the l a t t e r a n d
consequently affect the operation of its power
supply system a n d o t h e r equipment c o n n e c t e d
with it, considerable a t t e n t i o n has been paid to
the voltage imbalance problem by the Taipower
engineers [1-3].
A Scott c o n n e c t i o n transforms the three-phase
to a two-phase supply (or two single-phase sup-
plies), a n d therefore can reduce the degree of the
voltage imbalance due to large u n b a l a n c e d rail-
way demands. This a d v a n t a g e has caused the
power supply systems, p a r t i c u l a r l y in systems
w i t h small short-circuit capacity. However, be-
cause of the relatively high cost (about 70%
more for a Scott t r a n s f o r m e r compared with a
single-phase transformer) a n d the low efficiency
of this special transformer, it seems advisable
to use single-phase transformers. A l t h o u g h the
single-phase c o n n e c t i o n scheme can also be
switched in a 'V' c o n n e c t i o n very easily if re-
quired, Taipower engineers still prefer the three-
phase power supply scheme c o n c e r n i n g the
voltage imbalance problem. Therefore, the
Leblanc connection, an a l t e r n a t i v e to the Scott
c o n n e c t i o n for t r a n s f o r m i n g from a three-phase
to a two-phase supply, is also being considered.
A l t h o u g h the L e b l a n c c o n n e c t i o n has been ac-
cepted by engineers from the end of the nine.
t e e n t h c e n t u r y it has not gained the same
p o p u l a r i t y as the Scott connection.
Here, we devote a t t e n t i o n to the Leblanc con-
nected transformer. M u c h effort has been ex-
pended on the derivation of the equivalent loads

0378-7796/94/$7.00 © 1994- Elsevier Sequoia. All rights reserved

SSDI 0378-7796(93)00803-X
236

and the evaluation of the voltage imbalances due

to large u n b a l a n c e d railway demands t h a t are
c o n n e c t e d to a public power system via the Leblanc
and Scott connections. The results provide a simple
criterion to estimate these voltage imbalances. It a2 SLI
is of value to engineers and consultants working
in this field when selecting a suitable connection
scheme and during the planning and design stages. Biol [ i[~<=~ b~ S~
O
B N C
a2
b2 bl

b2
2. Scott connection
PCC
Figure 1 shows the phasor and connection dia- Fig. 1. P h a s o r and c o n n e c t i o n d i a g r a m s of a Scott connected
grams of a Scott c o n n e c t e d t r a n s f o r m e r [4]. It is transformer.
obvious t h a t the Scott c o n n e c t e d t r a n s f o r m e r
transforms the three-phase to a two-phase supply
(or two single-phase supplies). Because this con- 2.2. Equivalent loads
nection scheme makes the two single-phase loads To simplify the derivations, the transformers
in the s e c o n d a r y side draw three-phase power from were assumed to be ideal. Hence, no impedance
the power supply system on the primary side, it exists in the transformers and therefore no
reduces the degree of voltage imbalance caused by voltage drop and loss is incurred. According to
single-phase traction loads on their power supply this assumption, the t r a c t i o n load and transform-
system. ers in the railway substation can be simply repre-
sented by their equivalent loads and the voltage
2.1. Current and voltage relationships imbalances of the p r i m a r y side of the t r a n s f o r m e r
From Fig. 1, the c u r r e n t and voltage relation- t h a t is the point of common coupling (PCC) can
ships of the primary and s e c o n d a r y of the Scott therefore be e v a l u a t e d easily.
t r a n s f o r m e r are The relationships of the complex powers, cur-
rents, and voltages of the s e c o n d a r y are
-2N2.
i~ - x/~ N1 ~LI (la) SL1 - SL1
i'1 - VL1 -- x/3(N2/N1) Y~,cc (5a)
i~ - i~
2 N2 . ----~N2 ( ~ 3 ~L~
N~ ~L2 " -- iL2) (lb) SL2 -- j SL2
i*z -- VL2 -- x/3(N2/N~) V~cc (55)
ic = i~ g2. N2f 1 )
L --~--~-~L2=~ll~iL~+iL2 (lc) Substituting eqn. (5) in eqn. (1),
----
gpcc/-30
ab o 2 SL1
VL1 = N2 (2a) i~* -- - (6a)
Ni 3 V apcc

N2 ab ib , _ 1 SL1 }_j SL2 (6b)

VL2 = j Nll Vpcc/ --30° (2b)
3 y oo ,/Sy cc
and 1 SL1 SL2
ab o i~*=---~-- j - - (6c)
Va __ V p c c / - 3 0 (3a) 3 vp o ,f/V;cc
pcc
Therefore,
-- ab e
Vb V p c J - 3 0 (2z (3b) S~ = ~za ;a. 2
pcc ~-~ Vpcc ~L : 5 SL1 (7a)
ab
V c - Vpcc/-30° (ac) (2 2 6(2
pCC S b = ~Zb -b* = Sal + j Sa2 (7b)
in which (2 =/120 °. Therefore,
S c _ Ire ic* (2 (2

VL, = --W/3 ~1 V~pcc (4a)

Equation (7) shows the equivalent three-phase
load of the two single-phase t r a c t i o n loads SLI
VLZ = jX/~ ~ V"p~o (4b)
and SL2- It means t h a t the Scott t r a n s f o r m e r
 237

S.C. MVA for the construction of a Leblanc connected trans-

former compared with two single-phase cores for
the Scott connected transformer• In addition to a
BI ; somewhat simpler standard core arrangement the
Leblanc transformer is less costly to manufacture
due to the fact that for a given rating less active
materials are required for its construction• The
Loads
PCC fact that a three-phase core, and hence a single
(Point of common coupling) tank, can be employed to house the Leblanc trans-
Fig. 2. Simplified circuit diagram for the Scott connection. former means that the unit is more economical in
floor space t h a n the Scott transformer, particu-
larly if compared with the a r r a n g e m e n t of two
transforms two single-phase loads to their equiv- separate single-phase cores, each in its own tank.
alent three-phase loads• The simplified circuit 3•1. Current and voltage relationships
diagram of the Scott connection is therefore rep-
From Fig. 3, the current and voltage relation-
resented by Fig. 2.
ships of the primary and secondary of the
Leblanc transformer are

3. Leblanc connection • (-1N2. 1N2 )

t~=\~NllLI+5~iL2 /
Figure 3 shows the phasor and connection dia- (LN2. ",
grams of a Leblanc connected transformer [5]. - \ x / ~ N tL~+ ~ t L 2 ) (8a)
The phasor diagram shows that the Leblanc con-
nected transformer also transforms three-phase i~= -g~iL2 - ~NliLl +g~iL2 (8b)
to a two-phase supply. Therefore, this connection
scheme can reduce the degree of voltage imbal- • ( 1 3/2. 1N2 ) (_2N2)
ance caused by single-phase traction loads. t~ = \ ~ N] tEl + g ~ iL2 + \3 N1 iL2 (8e)
The primary windings of the Leblanc connected
Rewriting eqn. (8),
transformer shown in Fig. 3 are connected in
three-phase delta which is the normal interphase 2 N~.
connection in the case of a step-down unit supplied i~. - - X~ N 1 tL2 (9a)
from a high voltage source• When the primary ]N2. N2.
three-phase winding is connected in the delta the i ~ - ~ N ~gel - - ~ 1 ~L2 (9b)
inherent advantage of this winding is the suppres-
sion of third-harmonic voltages. A common core • 1 N2. N2.
with three-limb, three-phase design is employed t~ - ~ N1 tel + ~ ~L2 (9C)

:2 qB2 "~ ]A2

B2 Bl
c ill VLI~-~SU

. -o Secondary Side
'p-".)\ ~, 12.~,,3
VL2 +--o SL2
2~ 1/3P'u"bl 2/3p.u. b2
1p.u.
y
c
vL2
@
Fig. 3. P h a s o r and c o n n e c t i o n diagrams of a Leblanc c o n n e c t e d transformer•
238

From Fig. 3, 7 PCC Z*

y~ - ~/sN~_, Y ~ ( 1 - ~) - N~
-@ I ~S [ .] L

N~ VP~C/- 30°

VL2--
1 N2
3 N
~b
V p c c ( - 1 -{- 2~2 - a) - N2VpcJ60O
N1
ab
(10a)

(10b)
< Z, ZL i[

Fig. 4. Equivalent impedance diagram.

in which
V~ V~bco/-30 ° (11a)
pcc ~- %/~ 4. Evaluation of the voltage imbalances
Vb _ V ~ c / - 3 0 °~2 (11b) The circuit diagram of the traction power sup-
pea
ply system with Scott and Leblanc connection
ab o schemes can be simplified as shown in Fig. 4
V~ = V p c J - 3 0 (11c)
pcc which is the equivalent impedance diagram cor-
responding to Fig. 2. The public high voltage
3.2. Equivalent loads network is represented by its Th6venin equiva-
According to the same assumption as that for lent circuit by using the short-circuit power at
the Scott transformer, the traction load and the point of common coupling.
Leblanc transformers in the railway substation For the per unit system
can be simply represented by their equivalent
1
loads. Z ~: ST (15)
The relationships of complex powers, currents,
and voltages of the secondary are and eqn. (7) shows the equivalent three-phase
SLI - - SL1 load of the two single-phase traction loads SL1
i*~ = VLI = x/3(N2/N1)V~,c~ (12a) and SL2. Therefore, the corresponding equivalent
impedances of the equivalent three-phase loads
SL2 --jSL2 are
i'2 = VL2 = x~(N2/N~ ) V;cc (12b)
Substituting eqn. (12) in eqn. (9), z~: 5 )lZL
zL1 = (10a)
2 SL1
i a*
L ~ ..... (13a) 1( 1 )
3 V apcc
1 Sm SL2
i~* . . .3 .V a + j - -
Z~ = 5 -_ (a/3ZL1) -j(a/X/f3ZL2)
(135) O~2ZL1ZL2
pea ,/ Y;oo - (16b)
1 SL1 SL2
it* = a J (13c)
3 Vpco ,/ V;oc
Therefore, z~ = 5 -_ (~/3z~1) + j(~/~/gz~2)
S a Ira ;aS 2
L = v pccVL = 5 SL1 (14a)
aZL1 ZL2 (16c)
-- ZL2 + j~-3ZL1
SbL = I--pc~
Zb ib*
L = ___~_0(2SL~ + j ~-~
cX2 SL2 (14b) For the load side of the PCC in Fig. 2,
i~ + i~ + i ~ = O (17)
S~ lZc ;c*
=
--pcc~L = --5~ SL, --j 3 SL2 (14c) Therefore,
Equation (14) shows that the Leblanc trans- i(~) = 0 (18)
former transforms the two single-phase traction
loads SLi and SL2 to the same equivalent three- Also from Fig. 2,
V~c~][Z~ [Vn]
phase loads as those of the Scott transformer.
Therefore, the voltage imbalance caused by the
single-phase traction loads via these two trans-
formers should be the same.
[V;ccJ
0

0
0 ][i~]

Zc"iClLJCL_J
vo
V"
(19)
 239

Transforming to symmetrical components, Therefore, eqn. (30) becomes

%c~ Zx Z~ v(})cc _ Zs(ZL? - zL?)
(32)
,_
,,<. L
Vpcc Zz Zx Zy|/i ) / = (20) V(1) 2
--pcc Zs(ZL1 ~- ZL2 ) Ji- Z L I Z L 2 ( Z L 1 Jr- ZL2 )
& z×Ai yJ Assuming
in which
SL1 = kS L (33)
1
z~ = 3 (zp++ z~ + z~) (21a) therefore,
SL2 = SL -- SL, = (1 -- k)SL (34)
Zy = 3 (z~ + ~2z~ + ~z~) (21b) For the per unit system with the same bases
1 1 1
Zz = 5 (Z~ + ~Zi~ + ~2zD (21c) ZLOCgL~ and Zs~:s--~s

From eqns. (18) and (20), in which SL is the a p p a r e n t power of the t r a c t i o n

load and Ss is the short-circuit power of the PCC,
V(~)
pCC= Zxi(~) .-U"-"Y"L
~ ;(2) (22) therefore,
V(p22~= Zzi(~) + Z x i i 2) (23) 1 k 1 1-k
For the source side of the PCC in Fig. 2, ZLI=ZZ and ZL 2 -- ZL (35)

V(p°)~ = - Zsi(~ ) (24) Substituting eqn. (35) into eqn. (32) yields
Vg23c_ - Z s ( 2 k - 1) (36)
Y(p~)o = E~~) - Zsi(~ ) (25)
Y(,'c)c zs + z,,
V(,2)c~= - Zsi(~ ) (26)
Hence,
Substituting eqn. (26) into eqn. (23) yields
V(,Z~)c= - SL(2k - 1) (37)
i(~) = Zx + Zs i(~) (27) V(,12c Ss + SL
Zz So
Substituting eqn. (27) into eqn. (22) gives
d2 = V~)~c - SLI2k -- 11 (38)
V(,) = - Z x ( Z x + Zs) + Z y Z z V~£ Ss + SL
pco Zz i ~) (28)
Equation (38) shows t h a t the imbalance is elimi-
Dividing eqn. (26) by eqn. (28), side by side, pro- n a t e d w h e n the two t r a n s f o r m e r loads are equal,
vides w h e n k --0.5. A comparison of the voltage imbal-
ance with t h a t of the single-phase connection
V(~)c - ZsZz (29) scheme appears in Fig. 5, w h e r e the voltage im-
V(pic)c ZX2 -]- Z x Z S -- Z y Z z balance of the single-phase connection scheme is
Substituting eqn. (21) into eqn. (29) yields
d2 = v~c)c SL
V~2c (z5 + ~ZbL+ ~2Z~)Z~ V(pl:c = SS -~- SL (39)
V(12c (ZLZ
L a b _~ ZLZLb c ~_ ZLZL
) c a -~- ( Z ~ -~- Z b -~- Z ~ ) Z S
(30) Singl¢-Ph~ Corme~on
1
in which
a b b ~ 3 Z L 1 2 Z L 2 ( Z L 1 71- ZL2 )
0.6. Le Blanc Connection
ZL Z L -~ ZL Z L --~ Z~ Z~ = ~ 3ZL12 ~- ZL22

(31a) 0.2-

3 (ZL1 ~ - ZL?)ZL~ 0 I I I I ~ I I I I I
Zp+ + ~ZbL+ ~2Z~+ - (31b) 0 0,1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0,5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
2 3ZL12+ ZL22
k
3 (z~ + z~)~z~,
Fig. 5. C o m p a r i s o n of voltage imbalances for v a r i o u s trans-
Z~ + Z~, + Z~ - 2 3ZL] 2 + ZL2 2 (31c) former c o n n e c t i o n schemes.
240
Assuming SL << Ss, eqn. (38) becomes
d2 = VV~)~
(1) ~
SL 12k _ 11 _ d2 (40)
--pcc
Figure 5 shows that the Leblanc connection
has the same performance as that of the Scott
connection from the imbalance point of view.
However, the great cost of the Scott transformers
is the major disadvantage of the Scott connec-
tion. Figure 5 shows that the imbalance is signifi-
cantly reduced if the two transformer loads are
closer. However, the two traction loads depend
on the normal scheduling and the need to main-
tain an adequate distance between trains. The
inherent diversity of the traction loads also
makes this condition impossible. Therefore, the
adoption of the Leblanc and Scott connections
requires a suitable operating schedule for the
trains to use the advantages of these systems
during the entire operating period.
5. C o n c l u s i o n
The Leblanc connection has been proved to
have the same imbalance effect on the power
supply system as that of the Scott connection.
However, more advantages can be obtained by
using the Leblanc rather than the Scott trans-
former. Hence, if a three-phase power supply
scheme is adopted, the Leblanc transformer is a
better choice than the Scott transformer.
To guarantee the quality of the power supply
system, more detailed study of the imbalance
effects of the traction load on its power supply
system is necessary [6, 7]. Hence, a three-phase
power flow program with some advanced func-
tions that are suitable to analyze the transmis-
sion system imbalance problem is under
development by the author and his research
team. More rigorous results will be obtained in
the near future.
References
1 D. I. Bailey and K. M. Jones, The supply of large rail traction
loads from small isolated power systems, Sources and Effects
of Power System Disturbance, IEE Conf. Publ., London, No.
210, 1982, pp. 260 266.
2 B. A. Ross, Meeting tomorrow's railroad power require-
ments, IEEE Trans. Power Appar. Syst., PAS-90 (1971) 393
400.
3 T. H. Chen, Measurement and Analysis of Taipower
Transmission System, Nat. Taiwan Inst. Technol., Taipei,
1992.
4 I. L. Kosow, Electric Machinery and Transformers, Prentice-
Hall, New York, 1991, pp. 559-562.
5 A. C. Franklin and D. P. Franklin, The J&P Transformer
Book, Butterworths, London, l l t h edn., 1983.
6 T. H. Chen, M. S. Chen, K. J. Hwang, P. Kotas and E. A.
Chebli, Distribution system power flow analysis a rigid
approach, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, 6 (1991) 1146
1152.
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Three-phase cogenerator and transformer models for distri-
bution system analysis, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, 6 (1991)
1671 1681.