IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO.

1, JANUARY 2017 883

Analysis and Design of an Electronic On-Load

Tap Changer Distribution Transformer for
Automatic Voltage Regulation
Josemar de Oliveira Quevedo, Student Member, IEEE, Fabricio Emmanuel Cazakevicius,
Rafael Concatto Beltrame, Member, IEEE, Tiago Bandeira Marchesan, Member, IEEE,
Leandro Michels, Member, IEEE, Cassiano Rech, Senior Member, IEEE,
and Luciano Schuch, Member, IEEE

Abstract—Current solutions for voltage regulation close The large line impedance in association with load variations,
to the consumers usually require technicians for manually which are features of distribution systems, may cause voltage
changing the taps of the transformer, which may entail variations that impair the power quality [1]. As a result, equip-
high maintenance costs and uncontrolled voltage levels. In
this context, electronic on-load tap changers (OLTCs) are ment connected throughout the grid may present malfunctioning
a prospective solution for present-day and future power if voltage regulation is not guaranteed [2].
grids, since they provide automatic voltage regulation. In consonance with this problem, the increase in power de-
This paper presents the analysis and design guidelines for mand and the integration of intermittent distributed generation
an electronic OLTC applied to a distribution transformer,
(DG) to the existing power grid may complicate voltage reg-
encompassing the physical layout design for external
access to the transformer tap terminals, the evaluation ulation even more [3]–[9]. These issues require technological
of current and voltage transients during the commutation solutions to guarantee the power quality [10], such as the use of
process, and the dimensioning of the electronic switches tap changers, which can contribute to compliance with voltage
and protection system. The dielectric withstand of the level requirements [11].
proposed physical layout is also analyzed through the
Currently, mechanical no-load tap changers are widely em-
finite-element approach, guaranteeing adequate insulation
for the electronic circuits located outside the transformer ployed in distribution transformers to provide adequate voltage
tank, which facilitates circuitry maintenance and provides levels. However, it is important to emphasize that they do not
high modularity. The electronic switches and the protection allow online voltage regulation, since they are unable to auto-
circuit of the electronic OLTC are experimentally tested matically commutate the taps. Although these devices are ex-
under normal and faulty operational conditions in a 5 kVA,
tensively used due to their low cost, tap commutation must be
7.69 kV/220 V, single-phase earth return distribution
transformer. carried out in loco by specialized workers. Additionally, the grid
must be de-energized, which increases the overall operational
Index Terms—On-load tap changer (OLTC), smart-grid, costs of the distribution system.
voltage regulation.
On the other hand, electromechanical on-load tap chang-
ers (OLTCs) enable automatic tap commutation and voltage
I. INTRODUCTION regulation [12]. Even though they have been adopted in both
medium- and high-power systems, their high implementation
ISTRIBUTION transformers are used to fit the voltage
D level to the final consumers, supplying residential, com-
mercial and industrial loads in medium and low voltage levels.
costs prohibit them from being used in medium- to low-voltage
distribution systems. In addition, tap commutation in these de-
vices results in arcing and carbonization of the contacts and
degradation of the insulation oil, requiring regular maintenance
Manuscript received October 30, 2015; revised March 26, 2016 and
[13]–[16].
June 3, 2016; accepted June 23, 2016. Date of publication July 18, 2016; In the recent past, the increase in voltage and current ratings
date of current version December 9, 2016. This work was supported of semiconductor devices has enabled the application of power
by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientı́fico e Tecnológico
(CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nı́vel Superior
electronic solutions to distribution systems [7], [17], including
(CAPES) and Centrais Hidrelétricas de Carazinho (Eletrocar). the replacement of mechanically operated tap changers by elec-
J. O. Quevedo, F. E. Cazakevicius, R. C. Beltrame, L. Michels, C. Rech, tronic counterparts [16]. Two approaches have been a subject of
and L. Schuch are with the Power Electronics and Control Research
Group (GEPOC), Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, 97105-
study in the last few years: mechanical tap changers assisted by
900, RS, Brazil (e-mail: [email protected]; cazakevicius@ electronic switches [18]–[21] and fully electronic tap changers
mail.ufsm.br; [email protected]; [email protected]; cas- [22]–[26].
[email protected]; [email protected]).
T. B. Marchesan is with the Intelligence in Lighting Research Group
In addition to voltage regulation, the employment of elec-
(GEDRE), Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, 97105-900, tronic OLTC in distribution transformers, associated with a
RS, Brazil (e-mail: [email protected]). proper communication system and remote supervision, enables
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
the development of a smart device, usually called a smart trans-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2016.2592463 former [27]. This device can provide additional functionalities

0278-0046 © 2016 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
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884 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

to distribution transformers, such as power dispatch control for II. ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTRONIC OLTC
DG units, load shedding, revenue control, monitoring of load
In the development of an electronic OLTC with external tap
behavior at the point of common coupling (PCC), load identifi-
terminals, located at the transformer primary side, the insulat-
cation, among others. In these devices, the electronic OLTC is
ing characteristics need to be evaluated, since the electronic
a key component of the smart transformer and brings controlla-
switches are not immersed in insulating oil. Furthermore, the
bility to voltage levels and power flow.
evaluation of the voltage and current levels through the elec-
In order to reduce power losses, the electronic circuitry of
tronic switches during the commutation process [16], [22], [24],
OLTC is located at the high-voltage side of the transformer.
[29]–[32] is the main constraint for selecting the adequate tech-
As a result, devices that comprise the OLTC are exposed to
nology and designing the protection circuits. In the following,
high dielectric voltage stresses. Since it is important to have
these aspects are analyzed for the transformer topology pre-
access to the electronic circuitry outside the transformer tank
sented in Fig. 1(a). It should be noticed that the same analysis
to facilitate maintenance and to guarantee modularity and easy
can be extended for transformers with different number of tap
part replacement [28], the dielectric withstand of the insulation
windings, voltage levels, and power ratings.
structure is one of most important design issues of an elec-
tronic OLTC. However, there is a lack of research addressing
this issue. A. Dielectric Withstand Analysis
Furthermore, the electronic switches of an OLTC are sub- In the design of electrical and electronic circuits for high-
jected to voltage and current stresses. Previous works have an- voltage applications, the insulating characteristic shall be ana-
alyzed these stresses for different topologies [16], [22], [24], lyzed to avoid the deterioration of the dielectric properties of the
[29]–[32]. However, these studies did not take into considera- insulating material. One method used to evaluate such feature
tion the magnetic coupling of the transformer windings, which is the analysis of the dielectric withstand [34]. This analysis
may lead to inaccurate results. is based on the comparison between the cumulative stress and
Moreover, under faulty conditions, OLTC electronic switches the dielectric characteristic of an insulating material along an
are subjected to high voltage and current stresses. As a result, the evaluation path. The cumulative stress is the voltage difference
protection scheme must be suitably designed in order to obtain between two distinct points in a determined evaluation path,
a system with high reliability. This issue has been addressed in divided by the distance between them [35]. Usually, due to the
previous studies [22]–[23], [33], but a detailed design and the complex geometry involved, such analysis is performed with
experimental validation of the components, which comprise the data obtained from the finite-elements analysis of the physi-
protection scheme, have not been fully presented. cal layout. In Section IV-B, an example of such analysis is
In this context, this paper presents both an analysis and de- presented for a given physical transformer layout, designed to
sign guidelines for an electronic OLTC installed at the primary enable access to the tap terminals externally to the tank, favor-
side of a distribution transformer. The main contributions of ing modularity and maintenance of the electronic circuitry of
the proposed methodology are the evaluation of the dielectric the OLTC.
withstand for the proposed physical layout of transformer taps
using a finite-element approach; determination of voltage levels B. Steady-State Voltage Across the Electronic Switches
across the electronic switches for all the operation conditions;
evaluation of the current through the electronic switches during For the proper sizing of the electronic OLTC and its pro-
commutation and for a short-circuit in the secondary side, taking tection system, the maximum voltage level across each elec-
into account the magnetic coupling of the transformer windings; tronic switch shall be known in any operational condition of
and design of overcurrent and overvoltage protections (OP), in- the transformer [31]. Since the main and tap primary windings
cluding the dimensioning of voltage spike protection (VSP) are magnetically coupled, the commutation of taps changes the
circuitry. The proposed methodology is applied to the design of transformer turns ratio and, consequently, changes the voltage
an electronic OLTC embedded in a 5 kVA, 7.69 kV/220 V single across each switch.
wire earth return (SWER) distribution transformer. Experimen- The analysis presented in this paper can be expanded for
tal validation for this electronic OLTC under normal and faulty transformers with K tap windings, considering the following
operational conditions is carried out. conditions: 1) the main windings have the same turns ratio, 2)
The paper is organized as follows. Section II presents the the tap windings have the same turns ratio, and 3) the voltage
analysis of the proposed electronic OLTC, with an explana- drop across the winding impedances can be neglected. Thus, the
tion of the dielectric withstand method and an evaluation of voltage across the switch Sp when the switch Sq is turned ON is
the voltage and current levels across the electronic switches given by
for a general topology configuration. Section III summarizes √
2Vps |q − p| Nt
the protection circuit. The control system is presented in V sp = (1)
(M Nm + KNt ) − (q − 1) Nt
Section IV. Section V presents a design example applied
to a 5 kVA, 7.69 kV/220 V SWER distribution transformer. where K is the number of tap windings, M is the number of
The proposed electronic OLTC is experimentally evaluated main windings, p is the index of the switch under analysis, q is
for normal and faulty conditions and the results are presented the index of the turned-ON switch, and Vps is the rms nominal
in Section VI. primary voltage. Nm and Nt are the turns ratio of the main and

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QUEVEDO et al.: ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC OLTC DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER FOR AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE REGULATION 885

Fig. 1. Electronic OLTC characteristics. (a) OLTC topology, transformer, bidirectional switches, and protection circuit. (b) Bidirectional switch
configuration, S a —positive pole, S b —negative pole. (c) Transformer front view. (d) Transformer lateral view.

tap primary windings, respectively; they are normalized to the

secondary winding turns ratio (Ns ).

C. Steady-State Current Through the Electronic

Switches
The electronic switches are expected to conduct the trans-
former primary current. For transformers with K taps at the pri-
mary side, the peak current through the switch Sq (Isq ) during
normal operation of the transformer is given by
√ S Ns
IS q = 2 (2)
Vsec (M Nm + KNt ) − (q − 1) Nt
where S is the nominal apparent power, Vsec is the secondary
rms voltage, and Ns is the secondary winding turns ratio.

D. Analysis of the Commutation Process

The commutation process of an OLTC requires an overlap of
two switches during a small period of time, i.e., both switches
are turned ON at the same time. This strategy has been widely Fig. 2. Currents through the electronic switches during the overlap
time. (a) Transformer circuit. (b) Transformer T equivalent model.
applied to electromechanical OLTC to avoid the interruption
of the secondary voltage and/or primary current [16]. It has
also been employed in electronic OLTC with the additional pur- The analysis presented in this paper is performed based on
pose of preventing the application of the entire primary voltage the transformer T equivalent circuit, which considers the effect
across the electronic switches [22]–[24], which may cause their of the magnetic coupling of the transformer windings. It is con-
damage. sidered that the commutation occurs only in the zero current
Unfortunately, this approach may result in high current lev- crossing instant and the total leakage inductance in the primary
els through the overlapped switches due to the resultant short- circuit is distributed proportionally to the number of turns of
circuit. The slow commutation performed by electromechani- each winding [22].
cal OLTC requires the employment of diverter circuits to limit For instance, considering Fig. 2(a), the overlap during com-
this short-circuit current [36]. Fortunately, electronic OLTC are mutation from S1 to S2 short-circuits a tap winding, which
designed to commutate quickly, avoiding high short-circuit cur- behaves as a tertiary circuit. As can be noticed in Fig. 2(a), the
rents in this process. current through S1 is the short-circuited tap winding current,
Previous studies have evaluated the short-circuit current due which is defined as the tertiary current (it ). In addition, the
to overlap of the switches in electronic OLTCs. For instance, the branch of the switch S2 is common for the primary and tertiary
influence of the overlap angle, power factor (PF), and switch- currents (ip and it ). For this reason, the resultant current through
ing angle over the current for thyristor-based applications is S2 is the sum of these two components. The remaining variables
analyzed in [22]. The use of an auxiliary winding for demag- of Fig. 2(a) are defined as follows:
netization of the overlap current was firstly mentioned in [30] 1) vin —nominal peak primary voltage;
and [32]. In [24], it is presented the analysis of the commuta- 2) Req and Leq —total resistance and inductance of the
tion process considering the auxiliary winding for different hard primary side circuit disregarding the short-circuited tap
switching topologies of OLTC. winding impedance;

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886 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

3) Rsec and Lsec —resistance and inductance of the sec- It is possible to replace (5)–(7) in (13) to solve the primary
ondary winding; circuit, which is equivalent to (14). Analogously, by replacing
4) Rtap and Ltap —resistance and inductance of the tertiary (10)–(12) in (13), it is possible to solve the tertiary circuit,
winding (short-circuited winding); as given by (15). Ip (s) and It (s), respectively, represent the
5) Lm —magnetizing inductance; currents ip and it in the Laplace domain.
6) Rload and Lload —resistance and inductance of the load.
Ip (s) = I1,pri (s) (14)
By using the T equivalent model, both primary and tertiary
circuits can be independently modeled, as shown in Fig. 2(b), It (s) = I3,ter (s) . (15)
where the subscript “x” is equal to “pri” when the variables
The current Isc (s), which represents the branch current isc
are referred to the primary side or “ter” when the variables are
through S2 in the Laplace domain, can be found by summing
referred to the tertiary side.
Ip (s) and It (s) as
To refer the impedances from the secondary and tertiary sides
to the primary side, two conversion coefficients are defined: α1 Isc (s) = Ip (s) + It (s) . (16)
refers the variables from the secondary to primary side, given
By solving (16), it is possible to define the short-circuit current
by (3), and α2 refers the variables from the tertiary to primary
during the commutation process.
side, given by (4)
α1 = [(M Nm + (K − 1) Nt )/Ns ]2 (3) E. Primary Current for Short-Circuit in the Secondary
α2 = [(M Nm + (K − 1) Nt )/Nt ] . 2
(4)
Side
The design of the protective devices of the electronic OLTC
The voltage and impedances referred to the transformer pri-
depends on the primary current level for the condition of short-
mary side are given as follows:
√  circuit in the secondary side. This value can be obtained by
[vin , p ri Re q , p ri Le q , p ri ] = 2Vp s sin(2πf t) Re q Le q (5) Ip,sc = |Vps/[Zeq + (α5 Xm  α5 Zsec )]| (17)
   
Rse c , p ri Rlo a d , p ri 0 Rse c Rlo a d 0 where Ip,sc is the rms value of primary current for short-circuit
= α1 (6)
Lse c , p ri Llo a d , p ri Lm , p ri Lse c Llo a d Lm in the secondary circuit, Zeq = (Req − 3Rtap ) + jω(Leq −
3Ltap ) is the primary circuit impedance when S5 is turned ON
[Rta p , p ri Lta p , p ri ] = α2 [Rta p Lta p ] (7)
(ω is the line angular frequency), Xm = jωLm is the magnetiz-
where f is the line frequency (60 Hz in this case) and t is the ing impedance, Zsec = Rsec + jωLsec is the secondary circuit
time variable. impedance, and α5 is the conversion coefficient of the secondary
To refer the impedances from the primary and secondary sides impedances to the primary side when S5 is turned ON, which is
to the tertiary, other two conversion coefficients are defined, such given by
that α3 refers the variables from the primary to tertiary and α4 α5 = [(M Nm − KNt )/Ns ]2 . (18)
refers the variables from the secondary to the tertiary, given,
respectively, by
III. PROTECTION SYSTEM
α3 = [Nt/(M Nm + (K − 1) Nt )]2 (8) The protection system is of great importance for the proper
2 operation of the electronic OLTC. This system should en-
α4 = (Nt/Ns ) . (9)
sure that the voltage and current levels through the electronic
Thus, the voltage and impedances referred to the transformer switches do not exceed their safety operation levels. In [22], the
tertiary side are given by implementation of a bypass switch preventing primary winding
√ of being opened during the transformer start-up is suggested.
[vin , te r Re q , te r Le q , te r ] = α3 [vin , p ri ( α3/α3 ) Re q Le q ] (10)
    This bypass switch is also designed to conduct the current dur-
Rse c , te r Rlo a d , te r 0 Rse c Rlo a d 0 ing fault conditions, such as short-circuit at secondary side. In
= α4 (11)
Lse c , te r Llo a d , te r Lm , te r Lse c Llo a d Lm [33], it is presented a self-commutated crowbar circuit to con-
[Rta p , te r Lta p , te r ] = [Rta p Lta p ] . (12)
duct the current caused by inrush and/or short-circuit of the
load.
Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law in the circuit of Fig. 2(b) Based on this, the complete protection system presented in
and the Laplace transform, the currents through the primary and Fig. 1(a) aims to fulfill the following:
tertiary circuits can be found as 1) ensuring the safe operation of the electronic switches
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤−1 ⎡ ⎤ when the transformer is energized;
I1,x (s) k11 k12 k13 Vin,x (s)
⎣ I2,x (s) ⎦ = ⎣ k21 k22 k23 ⎦ ⎣ 0 ⎦ 2) protecting the electronic switches against overcurrent
(13)
during a short-circuit in the secondary side;
I3,x (s) k31 k32 k33 0
3) protecting the electronic switches against overvoltage
where the subscript “x” might be replaced by “pri” for solving during its on-load commutation (voltage spikes), due to
the primary circuit or by “ter” for solving the tertiary circuit. surges in the power supply or accidental open-circuit in
The coefficients k11 to k33 are presented in the Appendix. primary side; and

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QUEVEDO et al.: ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC OLTC DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER FOR AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE REGULATION 887

4) protecting the electronic OLTC against atmospheric dis- the transformer secondary side. Such devices prevent the system
charges in the transformer primary and secondary sides. against damages due to an overvoltage originated in primary or
secondary sides.
A. Starting Circuit and Short-Circuit Protection (SCSCP)
D. Voltage Spike Protection
The electromechanical switch (R1 ) ensures the operation of
the OLTC even during a failure in electronic circuitry, behaving When a tap commutation occurs, the required overlap time
as a redundancy to the system. It is a no-load normally closed results in a current it through the tap winding which was turned
contact switch, positioned in parallel with the switch S1 , as can OFF. As a result, it stored a certain amount of energy in the
be seen in Fig. 1(a). This switch is also used during the start- tap inductance. After the overlap period, the precedent switch
up process of the transformer, conducting the inrush current, is turned OFF and the energy stored shall be diverted from the
and during permanent short-circuit in the transformer secondary tap winding, otherwise, a voltage spike is produced across the
side. Therefore, the current rating of this device must support turned-OFF switch, resulting in its damage.
the transformer primary current when there is a short-circuit in The capacitors in parallel with each tap winding, as presented
the secondary side of the transformer. The voltage rating should in Fig. 1(a), can absorb this energy and limit the voltage spike
be superior to that presented for the electronic switch S1 given across the turned-OFF switch [23]. However, the inclusion of
in (1). the capacitor creates a resonant tank with the tap inductance.
Therefore, if the tap resistance is not sufficient to attenuate the
B. Overcurrent Protection and OP—Crowbar voltage oscillations resulting from the energy exchange between
the capacitor and tap inductance in the commutation process, a
The OP system has the functionalities of protecting the elec- damping resistor should be included in series with the capacitor.
tronic OLTC against overcurrent and overvoltage events [33]. It The capacitor value is found matching the energy stored in
is important to note that the electromechanical switch is able to the tap winding inductance with the energy that must be stored
protect the electronic switches against permanent short-circuits in the capacitor. The energy stored in the inductance is given by
in the secondary side of the transformer until the operation of
the primary feeder fuse, but the slow response of this switch EL tap = 0.5Ltap It,overlap 2 (19)
(usually in milliseconds) requires that the crowbar circuit acts
where EL tap is the energy stored in the tap inductance and
first. When the crowbar circuit is active, the electromechanical
It,overlap is the value of the current it resulting from the com-
switch can be definitely closed and the crowbar circuit can be
mutation process found solving (15) for the specified overlap
disabled. Therefore, the OP system also acts as an aid for the
time.
SCSCP system.
The energy stored in the capacitor Cs is given by
It should be noted that the overcurrent protection of the crow- ⎡ ⎤
bar circuit is activated by the control system when the primary
current exceeds 120% of the peak current. Since the thyris- ⎢ ⎥
Ecap = 0.5Cs ⎣(Vtap + ΔVc )2 − (Vtap )2 ⎦ (20)
tors require a few microseconds to be turned ON, the electronic      
E1 E2
switch in parallel with the crowbar (S5 ) is turned ON simultane-
ously with the thyristors. Therefore, the electronic switch that where Ecap is the energy stored in the capacitor, Vtap is the
was previously operating can be turned OFF quickly, avoiding maximum peak voltage across the tap windings (which occurs
high overlap currents. As the voltage drop across the thyristors when the switch S5 is ON), and ΔVc represents the maximum
is smaller than the insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), the acceptable voltage variation across the capacitor. Considering
current naturally flows through the thyristors when they are op- that the commutation process occurs at the peak voltage of the
erating effectively. So, as a redundancy, the IGBTs of the switch tap winding (worst case), the energy stored in the capacitor
S5 can be maintained in on state during the operation of the previously to the commutation (E2 ) must be subtracted from
crowbar. the energy stored after the commutation (E1 ).
Concerning the OP, the crowbar circuit actuates automatically The voltage Vtap can be found by
whenever the voltage across it reaches the operation level of √
the break over diode (BOD) [33]. This operation prevents the Vtap = 2Vps [Ntap/(Ntotal − KNtap )] . (21)
electronic switches from getting damaged if the primary circuit
Further, ΔVc is given by
is accidentally open-circuited.
ΔVc = Vtap (ΔV%/100) . (22)
C. Atmospheric Discharge Protection (ADP) For the proper capacitor sizing, it is necessary to define the ac-
In addition to the surge arresters conventionally connected ceptable voltage increase across the tap winding (ΔV% ). How-
to the transformer primary terminals, the employment of an ever, it should be noticed that the inclusion of Cs creates a
electronic OLTC requires additional protection against atmo- circulating current through the tap winding. Therefore, there is
spheric discharge. In order to accomplish such requirements, a compromise between the acceptable voltage spike across the
common- and differential-mode metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) capacitor and the circulating current. In order to balance these
are installed in parallel with the crowbar circuit, as well as in two parameters, values for ΔV% should be considered between

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888 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

TABLE I
TRANSFORMER TURNS RATIO

Terminals Windings Turns ratio

X1 − X2 Secondary winding Ns = 1
H1 − H2 Primary winding N t o t a l = 36.210
H1 − T1 , T6 − H2 Main primary windings N m = 14.957
T1 − T2 , T2 − T3 T4 − T5 , T5 − T6 Tap primary windings N t = 1.575

Fig. 3. Design guideline.

10% and 50% of the voltage across the tap winding in order to
prevent damage to the electronic switches.
Hence, matching (19) and (20) and isolating Cs , it is possible
to define the capacitor value as follows:
 
Cs = Ltap (It,overlap )2 ΔVc 2 + 2Vtap ΔVc . (23)
Fig. 4. Physical layout of the external tap terminals.
IV. DESIGN EXAMPLE
In order to exemplify the application of the analysis of the electronic switches, since the latch and hold currents of com-
previous sections, the electronic OLTC presented in Fig. 1(a) is mercial devices are higher than the nominal current through the
designed considering the flowchart given in Fig. 3. transformer primary side. Therefore, IGBTs connected in the
common emitter configuration (antiseries) and associated with
A. Transformer and Electronic OLTC Characteristics antiparallel diodes can be adopted as bidirectional switches, as
presented in Fig. 1(b) [23]. The fast commutation time of these
The proposed methodology is used to design an electronic semiconductor devices allows performing the commutation pro-
OLTC applied to the SWER transformer presented in Fig. cess in a short period of time (synchronized with the current zero
1(a) (60 Hz, 15 kV insulation class, S = 5 kVA). This trans- crossing), which minimizes the overlap current.
former configuration is ranged in terms of power from 3 to
100 kVA, with insulation classes from 15 to 36.2 kV, according
to the Brazilian standard NBR5440 [37]. The same standard B. Analysis of Dielectric Withstand for the Proposed
also defines the transformer characteristics, where the nominal
Physical Layout for Access to the Tap Terminals
rms primary voltage for the analyzed transformer is rated at The transformer under analysis consists of an especial config-
Vps = 7967 V, and the commutation of tap windings is able to uration, which presents the tap terminal access externally to the
maintain the secondary voltage at Vsec = 220 V for the follow- transformer tank. On the other hand, the design of the windings,
ing primary voltages (through the selection of the proper tap): the cooling system, and other characteristics of the transformer
7621, 7274, 6928, and 6581 V. The objective of the transformer were not changed. Fig. 1(c) presents the transformer front side
with the electronic OLTC is to adjust the secondary voltage view, and Fig. 1(d) presents the lateral side view. The pro-
within the limits of 201 to 229 V at the PCC [38]. posed physical layout for the external tap terminals is presented
As can be noticed in Fig. 1(a), the transformer presents in Fig. 4. This structure is a compromise between the possi-
two main windings (M = 2) and four tap windings (K = 4). bility of access to the transformer taps, dielectric withstand,
The respective transformer turns ratio are presented in Table I. cumulative stress, and ease of construction. The connections of
The tap connections are located in the primary circuit, reduc- the terminals T1 to T6 follow the sequence shown in Fig. 1(a).
ing the short-circuit currents through the electronic switches. The analysis of the dielectric withstand is performed through
In this case, thyristors are not adequate to be employed as the software Ansys Maxwell R
and considers Epoxy-Kevlar as

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QUEVEDO et al.: ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC OLTC DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER FOR AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE REGULATION 889

TABLE II
VOLTAGE REFERRED TO GROUND WHEN T 1 AND T 6 ARE INTERCONNECTED

Tap terminal rms voltage Tap terminal rms voltage

T1 3986 V T4 4825 V
T2 3567 V T5 4406 V
T3 3147 V T6 3986 V

Fig. 6. Dielectric withstand analysis. (a) Voltage along the path A–B.
(b) Analysis of the cumulative stress and dielectric withstand.

Fig. 5. Voltage distribution across the transversal section C–C .

the the insulating material. The choice for this material was
motivated by its dielectric characteristics, high moldability, and
cure at room temperature.
For the cumulative stress calculation, the smaller path from
the terminal with the highest voltage and the transformer
Fig. 7. Steady-state peak voltage across the electronic switches.
grounded shield was selected. Considering that the voltage dif-
ference among the tap terminals is significantly lower than that
referred to the ground, the cumulative stress will be lower among
lation material, presenting the minimum margin of 52.79% for
terminals and higher between each terminal and the ground.
the worst case in the analysis, demonstrating that the proposed
Therefore, ensuring the dielectric withstand for the worst case
physical layout of the tap terminals presents adequate dielectric
of cumulative stress, the other cases are automatically satisfied.
withstand in normal operational conditions.
Thus, considering that the nominal voltage is applied to the
primary circuit, the condition for the highest voltage applied
to the transformer tap terminals is obtained when the switch C. Voltage Requirements for the Electronic Switches
S5 is active, i.e., when the terminals T1 and T6 are intercon-
and Protective Devices
nected. In this condition, it is possible to demonstrate that the The design of the electronic switches and the protection sys-
tap terminal T4 presents the highest voltage level referred to tem depends on the voltage levels involved during the normal
the ground compared with any other terminal for all other tap and fault operation conditions. As expected, neither the elec-
configurations. tronic switches should be damaged during the normal operation
The shortest path from the terminal T4 to ground reference is nor should the protection system actuate incorrectly. Consider-
defined along the path A–B, as shown in Fig. 4. With the voltage ing (1), and the transformer parameters provided in Table I, it
levels presented in Table II, it is possible to perform the finite- is possible to evaluate the voltage level across each electronic
element analysis and to obtain the voltage distribution along switch of Fig. 1(a), as shown in Fig. 7. As can be noted, the
the physical layout. It must be highlighted that the sinusoidal highest voltage level across the switches under normal opera-
steady-state analysis is adopted as the solution method [34]. tion occurs across the switch S1 when the switch S5 is turned ON,
The two-dimensional analysis of the transversal section C– C reaching V s1 = 2.37 kV. Therefore, based on this information,
is shown in Fig. 5. it is possible to define the electronic switches and the protection
The voltage behavior along the path A–B, obtained from the system in terms of the required voltage level.
finite-element analysis, is shown in Fig. 6(a). The cumulative In this case, 3 kV IGBTs associated with antiparallel diodes
stress and the dielectric withstand were calculated as presented can be used as bidirectional switches. In order to protect these
in [35], where industrial parameters of dielectric properties switches, the overvoltage limit defined for operation of the OP
for the insulation material were used. Results are presented in system is 2400 V (actuation voltage of the BOD components).
Fig. 6(b). As can be seen in Fig. 6(b), the cumulative stress along The selection of the electronic devices, which composes the OP
the path A–B is lower than the dielectric withstand of the insu- system, can be done following the example shown in [33]. In

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890 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

TABLE III
TRANSFORMER PARAMETERS

Impedance Value Impedance Value Referring coefficient Value

Req 133.52 Ω Leq 191.46 mH α1 1200

Rsec 106.45 mΩ Lsec 152.65 μH α2 483.62
Rtap 6.07 Ω Ltap 8.7 mH α3 0.002067
– – Lm 662.96 mH α4 2.4806

addition, the operation voltage of the SCSCP shall be higher than

the 2.37 kV, preferably using devices with contact insulation
class higher than 3 kV. Fig. 8. Current through the switch S 2 (isc ) during the overlap time for
Considering V s5 in Fig. 7, for differential mode protection different conditions of PF.
of the ADP system, Littlefuse V142BB60 MOVs can be used.
On the other hand, for common-mode protection, surge arresters
such as ABB POLIM-D 04-01 can be a choice, since commercial Considering the operation current of the designed IGBT (e.g.,
varistors were not found for the required voltage range. Further- 10 A) and numerically solving (16), the maximum overlap time
more, to prevent induced discharges originated in the secondary acceptable for inductive load is 181 μs, as can be observed in
side, ABB OVR.T1+2.15.255/7 voltage surge suppressors can Fig. 8. This overlap time is perfectly suitable for commercial
be used in differential and common-mode configuration, as pre- IGBTs, since their turn-on and turn-off switching times accom-
sented in Fig. 1(a). plish this requirement. In this case, typical values for the overlap
time can be set between 5 and 50 μs. These values consider the
D. Current Requirements for the Electronic Switches and delays in the optical channels, gate-driver circuits, and turn-
Protective Devices on and turn-off times, guaranteeing the safe operation of the
electronic switches.
For the design of the electronic switches and protective de- Regarding the VSP system and considering Ltap = 8.7 mH,
vices, the operation current through the electronic switches as given in Table III, It,overlap = 0.586 A (for full load at PF = 0
should be considered. It can be calculated by (2), and the max- and overlap time of 10 μs) and ΔV% = 35%, the capacitor value
imum value of current is observed through the switch S5 (Is5 ), can be defined as Cs = 10.3 nF (10 nF for commercial compo-
which is Is5 = 1.075 A in normal operational conditions. With nents), given by (23). Even though the commutation occurs at
this information, 10 A/3 kV IGBTs (IXYS IXGH10N300) were zero current instant, due to the VSP protection system, the com-
selected, since they attend the current and voltage requirements, mutations can occur at any given angle of the primary current,
and the nonrepetitive peak current is significantly higher than since the capacitors are sized considering conservative voltage
the operation current, representing a safe margin for both the increase across the electronic switches. Furthermore, it should
commutation process operation and to support the transition to be noted that no additional resistors were employed to attenuate
the OP system during short-circuit in the secondary circuit. the LC resonance since the winding resistor is large enough in
The design of the OP and the SCSCP systems shall consider this case. This can be verified in Fig. 14, which presents the
the primary current for short-circuit in the transformer secondary experimental result for the voltage across the switch S5 , when
side. This information can be obtained by (17), considering val- S5 is commutated to S4 , considering PF = 0.91.
ues of Table III. For the studied case, Ip,sc = 38.9 A; therefore,
the OP thyristors and the electromechanical switch shall present
V. CONTROL SYSTEM
operation current levels higher than this value.
The control system is responsible for both the secondary
voltage regulation and the zero crossing detection of the pri-
E. Maximum Overlap Time and VSP Design mary current for the tap commutation. The primary current is
For the overlap current (isc ) given by (16), the parameters measured through a current transformer (CT). In addition to
considered for the analyzed transformer are summarized in the measurement of the primary side voltage, the voltage trans-
Table III. Assuming that the transformer operates at nominal former (VT) supplies the gate-driver circuits, instrumentation,
load, with PF varying from purely inductive (PF = 0) to re- and control systems, ensuring the proper operation of the system
sistive (PF = 1) load, and numerically solving (16), the cur- regardless of the secondary side voltage availability.
rent through the switch S2 for half-cycle of the line frequency The control strategy is performed by measuring the secondary
is shown in Fig. 8. As can be noticed, the more inductive voltage and comparing it with a reference value, enabling, if nec-
the load, the faster the current rises through the switches during essary, the tap commutation to perform the secondary voltage
the commutation process. This way, for a conservative design, regulation. The primary current zero crossing detection is per-
the overlap time must be defined based on the evaluation of a formed by the Kalman filter [39]. The application of this method
purely inductive load. permits the synchronization of the primary current and the

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QUEVEDO et al.: ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC OLTC DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER FOR AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE REGULATION 891

Fig. 9. Developed electronic OLTC.

Fig. 11. Voltage regulation for ten cycles of the line frequency.
(a) Primary voltage. (b) Secondary voltage.

The primary variables were measured by using a 0.3P75-15

kV VT and a 0.3C12.5-15 kV CT, with transformation ratios of
36.2:1 and 1:1, respectively. In addition, a DPO3054 Tektronix
oscilloscope, and P6015A and TCP0150 test probes were used.
The results presented in Fig. 11 confirm the voltage regulation at
the PCC for the specified voltage range. Fig. 11(a) presents the
Fig. 10. Test assembly configuration.
positive half-cycles of the primary voltage with its rms value.
Fig. 11(b) presents the positive half-cycles of the secondary
voltage, being possible to verify the adequate voltage regulation.
commutation in the current zero crossing, avoiding voltage In this test, the specified period of commutation (from one tap to
spikes across the switches during the commutation process. the adjacent tap) is ten cycles of the line frequency, considered
Furthermore, the connection of the control system with the only for better visualization of the results. In addition, it should
electronic switches is accomplished by optical fiber channels, be noted that the increase in the secondary voltage increases the
ensuring high immunity to electromagnetic noise and high volt- primary current, which results in the reduction of the primary
age insulation. The switches are commutated by gate-driver voltage at the transformer primary winding due to the inserted
circuits designed to provide the same insulation class of the line series impedance.
transformer (15 kV). It must be highlighted that the system is able to commutate
the taps each half-cycle of the line frequency, as presented in
Fig. 12. The difference between the voltage levels of Figs. 11 and
VI. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS 12 are due to the variation in the grid voltage levels during the
The developed electronic OLTC is presented in Fig. 9. The ex- experiments. So, in Fig. 12(b), only three tap commutations are
perimental evaluation presented hereinafter considers the trans- required to regulate the secondary voltage within the established
former with the parameters shown in Tables I and III. The pri- limits, while in Fig. 11(b), four tap commutations are required.
mary voltage is initially set to 1 p.u. and it is taken as reference Fig. 13 shows the currents through the switches S1 (iS1 ) and
for the tests. In addition, a 4.8 kW load is connected at the S2 (iS 2 ) under nominal load, demonstrating the commutation
secondary side of the transformer. The test assembly configura- at zero crossing of the primary current (ip ). Fig. 14 presents
tion is presented in Fig. 10. For the system response evaluation, the voltage across the switch S5 during the commutation to S4
a series impedance of 0.3 p.u. is connected to emulate a long (considering PF = 0.91). It is possible to see the proper operation
distribution line, which results in a primary voltage drop of of the VSP system.
16.3% at the PCC. The transformer under test can maintain the Concerning the protection system, Fig. 15 shows the OP sys-
secondary voltage at 1 p.u. until a drop of 17.4% in the primary tem operation for overload protection. In this case, the system
voltage. is initially set to operate at nominal primary voltage and 4.1 kW

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892 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

Fig. 14. Validation of VSP circuit: voltage across switch S 5 during

commutation from S 5 to S 4 considering PF = 0.91.

Fig. 12. Voltage regulation for half-cycles of the line frequency.

(a) Primary voltage. (b) Secondary voltage.

Fig. 15. OP system overcurrent protection. iS 1 —current through S 1 ,

iO P —current through the OP system, and v S 1 —voltage across S 1 .

Fig. 13. Zero crossing current commutation.

load, when the switch S1 is ON. The load is then increased to

16.4 kW. When the current level reaches 20% above the nomi-
nal primary peak current the OP actuates, diverting the current
from S1 (iS 1 ) to the crowbar circuit (iOP ). The commutation
from switch S1 to the crowbar represents the worst case, since
the voltage level involved is four times higher than that for Fig. 16. OP system operation. ip —primary current and v S 5 − S 5
normal operation. Even though the overlap current is higher in switch voltage.
this case, the VSP system limits the voltage across the turned-
OFF switch S1 (vS 1 ).
Fig. 16 shows the automatic operation of the OP system for Regarding the efficiency of the electronic OLTC, the sum of
overvoltage protection. In this test, the electronic OLTC is ini- the conduction losses (for full load operation) and the total power
tially operating with the switch S5 turned-ON at nominal voltage required to feed the auxiliary power sources, control system, and
and 4.2 kW load. For the OP test, S5 is suddenly turned OFF, gate-driver circuits is about 25 W. Considering the implemen-
and the primary circuit remains open-circuited. When the volt- tation costs, the proposed transformer is approximately twice
age across the switch S5 (vS 5 ) reaches the BOD operation level as expensive as conventional no-load tap changer distribution
(2400 V in this case), the crowbar thyristors are automatically transformers for the same rated power. The more relevant fac-
switched ON, preventing the electronic switches to be damaged tors for the increase in costs are the production process for the
[33]. The operation of the OP system can be noticed in the external access to the tap terminals, the electronic switches, and
primary current (ip ). the protective devices.

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QUEVEDO et al.: ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC OLTC DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER FOR AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE REGULATION 893

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894 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 1, JANUARY 2017

[29] P. Bauer and R. Shoevaars, “Bidirectional switch for a solid state tap Tiago Bandeira Marchesan (S’03–M’08) was
changer,” in Proc. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 2003, vol. 1, pp. 466– born in Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1980. He received
471. the B.S. (with first class honors) and Ph.D. de-
[30] J. V. López, J. C. C. Rodrı́guez, S. M. Fernández, S. M. Garcı́a, and grees in electrical engineering from the Federal
M. A. P. Garcı́a, “Analysis of fast onload multitap-changing clamped- University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria,
Hard-switching AC stabilizers,” IEEE Trans. Power Del., vol. 21, no. 2, Brazil, in 2003 and 2008, respectively.
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Fernández, and C. C. Olay, “Electronic tap-changing stabilizers for UFSM. From 2009 to 2011, he was a Research
medium-voltage lines optimum balanced circuit,” IEEE Trans. Power Del., and Development Engineer in the Power Trans-
vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 1909–1918, Oct. 2012. former Group, WEG Electric Corporation, and a
[32] J. C. Campo, J. Vaquero, M. A. Perez, and S. Martinez, “Dual-tap chopping Professor at Sinos River Valley University, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
stabilizer with mixed seminatural switching analysis and synthesis,” IEEE His research interests include electronic circuits and systems and power
Trans. Power Del., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 2315–2326, Jul. 2005. transformers.
[33] P. Bauer and S. W. H. de Haan, “Protective device for electronic tap-
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Leandro Michels (S’98–M’09) was born in
pp. 663–671, Aug. 1994.
Não-Me-Toque, Brazil, in 1979. He received the
[35] S. V. Kulkarni and S. A. Khaparde, Transformer Engineering: Design,
B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineer-
Technology, and Diagnostics. New York, NY, USA: Marcel Dekker, 2004,
ing from the Federal University of Santa Maria
pp. 327–366.
(UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2002 and 2006,
[36] J. Faiz and B. Siahkolah, Electronic Tap-Changer for Distribution Trans-
respectively.
formers, vol. 2. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 2011, p. 184.
Since 2009, he has been with the Power Elec-
[37] ABNT. NBR 5440—Overhead Distribution Transformers - Requirements,
tronics and Control Research Group, UFSM,
2014, p. 52, in Portuguese.
where he is a Professor. His current research
[38] ANEEL—National Agency of Electric Energy, “Procedures for distri-
interests include photovoltaic systems, model-
bution of electrical energy in the national electric system (PRODIST),
ing and control of power electronic systems, and
Module 8—Electric power quality,” Brazil, pp. 1–75, Feb. 2014. [Online].
applied digital control.
Available: http://www.aneel.gov.br
Dr. Michels is currently a Member of the Deliberative Council of the
[39] R. E. Kalman, “A new approach to linear filtering and prediction
Brazilian Power Electronics Society. In 2011, he was the General Chair
problems,” J. Basic Eng., vol. 82, pp. 35–45, 1960.
of the Fifth Power Electronics and Control Seminar (SEPOC/UFSM),
and in 2013, he was a Technical Cochair of the 12th Brazilian Power
Josemar de Oliveira Quevedo (S’16) was born Electronics Conference.
in Panambi, Brazil, in 1988. He received the B.S.
degree in electrical engineering from Rio Grande
do Sul North-Western Regional University, Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil, and the M.S. degree in
electrical engineering from the Federal Univer-
sity of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil,
in 2012 and 2014, respectively. He is currently Cassiano Rech (S’01–M’06–SM’15) was born
working toward the doctoral degree in electrical in Carazinho, Brazil, in 1977. He received the
engineering at the UFSM. B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical en-
He has been with the Power Electronics and gineering from the Federal University of Santa
Control Research Group, UFSM, since 2012. His current research inter- Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1999,
ests include voltage regulation in distribution systems and smart grids. 2001, and 2005, respectively.
From 2005 to 2007, he was with the Uni-
Fabricio Emmanuel Cazakevicius was born in versidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do
Erechim, Brazil, in 1988. He received the B.S. Rio Grande do Sul. From 2008 to 2009, he was
degree in electrical engineering from the Federal with the Santa Catarina State University. Since
University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, 2009, he has been with the UFSM, where he is
Brazil, in 2016, where he is currently working to- currently a Professor. His research interests include multilevel convert-
ward the M.S. degree. ers, distributed generation, and modeling and digital control techniques
He has been with the Power Electronics and of static converters.
Control Research Group, UFSM, since 2009. His Prof. Rech was the Editor-in-Chief of the Brazilian Power Electronics
research interests include power electronics ap- Journal from 2014 to 2015. Since 2016, he has been the President of
plied to medium-voltage level, high-voltage gate the Brazilian Power Electronics Society.
drivers, and renewable energy applications.

Rafael Concatto Beltrame (S’10–M’13) was

born in Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1984. He received
the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electri-
cal engineering from the Federal University of Luciano Schuch (S’03–M’06) was born in
Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1974. He received the
2008, 2009 and 2012, respectively. B.S., M.S., and the Ph.D. degrees from the Fed-
Since 2005, he has been with the Power Elec- eral University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa
tronics and Control Research Group, UFSM, and Maria, Brazil, in 1999, 2001, and 2007, re-
since 2013, he has been a Professor at UFSM. spectively, all in electrical engineering (sub-area
His research interests include photovoltaic sys- power electronics).
tems, ac power sources, and voltage regulation Since 2009, he has been with the Power Elec-
in distribution systems. tronics and Control Research Group, UFSM,
Dr. Beltrame is currently the Treasurer of the Brazilian Power Electron- where he is currently a Professor. His research
ics Society (SOBRAEP) and a Member of the IEEE Power Electronics interests include PV systems, UPS, and high-
and IEEE Industrial Electronics Societies. performance power converters.

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