Presented by Jay Gosalia, Power Diagnostic Instrument Company

To ensure power is delivered from generation to the load, a healthy transformer is a must. As we all know, a transformer is the simplest electrical machine but takes lot of manual labor and extended time to manufacture. Loss of transformer will result in a loss of revenue as the replacement of the failed transformer may take a long time to manufacture if there is no spare transformer available. When the transformer is installed in the system, it experiences more through faults and few internal faults. Every time it experiences faults in the system, high short circuit current flows through primary and secondary windings. Short circuit current creates axial and radial forces called hoop stress, but mechanical holding system of the transformer windings and core keeps the transformer mechanically safe. Repeated short circuit current experienced by transformer puts high stresses on mechanical holding system and ultimately the mechanical system collapse and fails the transformer. When a transformer fails, it may inflict collateral damage to the associated equipment nearby and may cause a serious health hazard for the personnel and of course loss of revenue for the company. SFRA test method is a well proven method in last two decades to ensure the reliability and suitability of the transformer to function properly in electric power delivery system.