Re: Transformer tertiary winding 03/05/2010 11:52 AM Providing a tertiary winding for a transformer may be a costly affair.

However, there are certain constraints in a system which calls for a tertiary transformer winding especially in the case of considerable harmonic levels in the distribut ion system. Following is an excerpt from the book "The J&P Transformer Book". Tertiary winding is may be used for any of the following purposes: 1) To limit the fault level on the LV system by subdividing the infeed that is, double secondary transformers. 2) The interconnection of several power systems operating at different supply vo ltages. 3) The regulation of system voltage and of reactive power by means of a synchron ous capacitor connected to the terminals of one winding. It is desirable that a three-phase transformer should have one set of three-phas e windings connected in delta thus providing a low-impedance path for third-harm onic currents. The presence of a delta connected winding also allows current to circulate around the delta in the event of unbalance in the loading between phas es, so that this unbalance is reduced and not so greatly fed back through the sy stem. Since the third-order harmonic components in each phase of a three-phase system are in phase, there can be no third-order harmonic voltages between lines. The t hird-order harmonic component of the magnetising current must thus flow through the neutral of a star-connected winding, where the neutral of the supply and the star-connected winding are both earthed, or around any delta-connected winding. If there is no delta winding on a star/star transformer, or the neutral of the transformer and the supply are not both connected to earth, then line to earth c apacitance currents in the supply system lines can supply the necessary harmonic component. If the harmonics cannot flow in any of these paths then the output v oltage will contain the harmonic distortion. Even if the neutral of the supply and the star-connected winding are both earthe d, then although the transformer output waveform will be undistorted, the circul ating third-order harmonic currents flowing in the neutral can cause interferenc e with telecommunications circuits and other electronic equipment as well as una cceptable heating in any liquid neutral earthing resistors, so this provides an added reason for the use of a delta connected tertiary winding. If the neutral of the star-connected winding is unearthed then, without the use of a delta tertiary, this neutral point can oscillate above and below earth at a voltage equal in magnitude to the third-order harmonic component. Because the u se of a delta tertiary prevents this it is sometimes referred to as a stabilizin g winding. When specifying a transformer which is to have a tertiary the intending purchase r should ideally provide sufficient information to enable the transformer design er to determine the worst possible external fault currents that may flow in serv ice. This information (which should include the system characteristics and detai ls of the earthing arrangements) together with a knowledge of the impedance valu es between the various windings, will permit an accurate assessment to be made o f the fault currents and of the magnitude of currents that will flow in the tert iary winding. This is far preferable to the purchaser arbitrarily specifying a r ating of, say, 33.3%, of that of the main windings.