Measurement Method of Deeply Saturated Excitation Characteristics of Converter Transformer Under AC-DC Hybrid Excitation

Abstract

During operation, converter transformers enter a saturation state, leading to phenomena such as magnetising inrush currents. Accurately measuring the excitation characteristic curve of an iron core under deep-saturation conditions is essential for analysing low-frequency transient phenomena in transformers. This paper presents a method for calculating the excitation characteristics of a converter transformer under deep iron core saturation. The method involves establishing an improved T model for the converter transformer and conducting open-circuit experiments in the linear working region to obtain the excitation characteristic curve and knee point parameters. AC-DC hybrid excitation is used to achieve deep saturation, and measurements of saturated inductance at different levels of saturation at the transformer terminals are taken. The mathematical relationship between saturated inductance and magnetic impedance is derived, allowing deduction of the magnetising characteristic curve of the converter transformer under deep-saturation conditions based on measured saturated inductance values. A finite element simulation analysis was performed on a single-phase four-column converter transformer with a capacity of 250 MVA. Additionally, a test platform for toroidal transformers and dry-type transformers has been set up to carry out excitation characteristic measurement and verification. Experimental results demonstrate that errors are maintained within 10% or less, validating this approach’s effectiveness.