Application of Digital Image Processing to Diagnose Transformer Winding Deformation using FRA Polar Plot

Abstract

Digital image processing (DIP) technique has been growing rapidly as an essential tool to interpret various image features for many applications of science and engineering. Condition monitoring and diagnosis are considered the main areas that relay on DIP. Frequency response analysis (FRA) technique has become a popular and reliable diagnostic tool in detecting various winding deformations within power transformers. However, interpretation of FRA signatures still requires high expertise because of its reliance on graphical analysis. This paper presents a new technique for the interpretation of transformers FRA signatures. The proposed technique relies on incorporating both magnitude and angle of the FRA signature in one polar plot, which is manipulated to extract some unique features using DIP techniques. The proposed technique can assess in identifying and quantifying various winding deformation within power transformers. The proposed technique is easy to implement in any frequency response analyser.