Assessment Criteria of Changes in Health Index Values over Time—A Transformer Population Study

Abstract

The current use of health index algorithms is mainly limited to single assessments of the unit’s condition or the device comparison. The paper focuses on the changes in the health index values between the consecutive analyses. The algorithm used for this purpose was previously developed by the authors. The test group included 359 complete oil evaluation results from 86 power transformers monitored over several years. For each outcome, the influence of the sub-components of the main score was calculated. Additional health index increase simulations were performed based on the IEC 60599 standard guidelines. The highest increases and decreases in the total score were listed and analyzed to determine the main factors behind the changes. The study has shown that the changes in dissolved gases concentrations have a much more significant influence on the health index values than the changes in physicochemical properties of the oil and furfural content. Based on the magnitude of the observed changes and the simulation outcomes, the authors have proposed two assessment thresholds—the 50th percentile health index increase within a population as an alarm zone, and the 90th or 95th percentile increase as a pre-failure zone.