An Equivalent Instantaneous Inductance-Based Technique for Discrimination Between Inrush Current and Internal Faults in Power Transformers

A novel equivalent instantaneous inductance (EII)-based scheme is proposed to distinguish the inrush current from internal faults in power transformers, which is derived from the inherent difference of the magnetic permeability, due to the saturation and unsaturation, in the transformer iron core between the inrush current and an internal fault. First, the EII that represents these differences is defined, and its calculation methods and the criteria to identify the internal fault in the time and frequency domains are respectively developed. A total of 98 experimental cases are used to test the performance of the technique. In all of the tests, the inrush current is characterized by the drastic variation of the EII, but the EII of the faulty phase is kept almost constant. The experimental results verify the dependability, security, and fast operation of the proposed scheme. Besides, its easy implementation in real time is another advantage of the proposed method because of its simplicity.