Detection of transformer winding faults using FRA and image features

Abstract

Frequency response analysis (FRA) is a widely used approach for detecting winding faults in a transformer. Appropriate and quantitative FRA features will help to improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis. In this study, a novel FRA interpretation including new image features is proposed based on the image processing technique. First, winding faults of different windings are simulated in a test autotransformer and the FRA curves are measured under various faults. Then frequency region division method and image processing technique are first applied to the measured FRA curves. The area ratio and centroid deviation in different frequency regions are calculated through a novel algorithm. Finally, the image features are used as the inputs to support vector machine model. Additionally, three different parametric optimisation algorithm are compared during the training process. The results show that the particle swarm optimisation and image feature exhibit best performance for identifying winding faults.