IEEE C57.12.

59-1989

IEEE Guide for Dry-Type

Transformer Through-Fault
Current Duration

Energy and Power

Sponsored by the
Transformers Committee of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society

b
U

Published by the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers, Inc., 345East 47th Street, New York, NY loOlZ USA.

December 1, 1989
SH12963

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 IEEE
C57.12.59-1989

IEEE Guide for Dry-Type Transformer

Through-Fault Current Duration

Sponsor
Dry-Type Transformer Subcommittee
of the
Transformers Committee
of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society

@ Copyright 1989 by

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017-2394, USA
No part of this publication m a y be reproduced i n any form,
i n an electronic retrieval system or othenuise,
without the prior written permission of thz publisher.

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 IEEE Standards documents are developed within the Technical Com-
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I I

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 Foreword

(This Foreword is not a part of IEEE C57.12.59-1989, IEEE Guide for Dry-Type Transformer Through-Fault Current Duration.)

This guide provides recommendations for the application of overcurrent protective devices to limit the
exposure time of dry-type transformers to short circuits. It must not be confused with ANSI C57.109-
1985, “Guide for Transformer Through-Fault Current Duration,” which applies only to liquid-filled
transformers.
Dry-type transformers differ significantly from liquid-fdled types in several respects:
(1) There are six different temperature ratings for dry-type transformers: 60 “C, 80 “C, 100 “C, 115 “C,
125 “C, and 150 “C; whereas, there are only two liquid-type ratings: 55 “C and 65 “C, which are
sometimes used in dual ratings.
(2) There are significant variations in dry-type winding constructions, including conventional varnish-
impregnated layered windings, vertically stacked varnish-impregnated disk windings, and solid
cast resin windings and combinations thereof, all of which have different transient heating
characteristics during time intervals greater than about 100 s.
( 3 ) The transient heating of liquid-filled transformer windings are considerably buffered by the liquid
in which they are immersed, providing a relatively long thermal time constant as compared to
dry-type transformers.
Because of the foregoing, the through-fault protection curves for dry-type transformers are limited to
overload time intervals of 100 s or less. No one curve for longer time intervals would characterize the
thermal performance of all the different dry-type transformer constructions and temperature ratings.
Moreover, such curves are not known or, at least, not available. Consequently, the curves in this guide
pertain to the temperature rise of the windings during time intervals less than 100 s, wherein nearly all
the heat generated is stored in the conductors. For longer time intervals, it is recommended that
reference be made to ANSI/IEEE C57.96- 1989, “IEEE Guide for Loading Dry-Type Distribution and Power
Transformers.”
As short-circuit time intervals become progressively less than 100 s, mechanical considerations become
more important than thermal characteristics.
Short-circuit characteristic information is contained in ANSI/IEEE C57.12.01-1979,“IEEE Standard
General Requirements for D r y - m e Distribution and Power Transformers.” This guide supplements that
infwmation, but in no way supersedes it.

At the time this guide was approved by the Transformers Committee, the following were the members
of the working group:

R. E. UptegrafT, Jr., Chairman

B. F. M e n F. Huber, Jr. B. K. Patel
A. Bimbiris E. W. Kalkstein J. Rodden
F. J. Brutt M. L. Manning D. E. Shefka
H. E. Gabel, Jr. W. H. Mutschler E. W. Schmunk
R. L. Grubb J. J. Nay B. E. Smith

I -- 1

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 The following persons were on the balloting committee that approved this document for submission to
the IEEE Standards Board:

D. J. AUen D. A. Gillies C. H. Millian

B. F. M e n A. W. Goldman R. E. Minkwitz
R. AUustiarti R. L. Grubb H. R. Moore
E. H. Arjeski G. Gunnels R. J. Musil
J. C. Arnold G. Hall W. H. Mutschler
Roy Bancroft J. H. Harlow E. T. Norton
P. L. Bellaschi T. K. Hawkins B. K. Patel
S. Bennon F. J. Heinrichs H. A. Pearce
J. J. Bergeron W. R. Henning Dan Perco
J. V. Bonucchi K. R. Highton D. A. Roach
J. D. Borst P. J. Hoefler C. A. Robbins
G. H. Bowers C. C. Honey L. J. Savio
F. J. Brutt Fred Huber D.E. Shefka
D. J. Cash Carl Hurty L. R. Smith
E. Chitwood G. W. IW W. W. Stein
0 . R. Compton R. G. Jacobsen L. R. Stensland
F. W. Cook Sr. C. P. Kappeler R. B. Stetson
Jerry Corkran Otto Keller F. R. Stockum
D. W. Crofts J. J. Kelly A. L. Tanton
M. G. Daniels A. D. Kline R. C. Thomas
D. H. Douglas W. Lampe F. W. Thomason
J. D. Douglas H. F. Light J. A. Thompson
J. C. Dutton T. G. Lipscomb T. P. Traub
J. K. Easley R. I. Lawe D. E. Truax
J. A. Ebert M. L. Manning R. E. Uptegraff
E. C. Edwards H. B. Margolis R. A. Veitch
R. L. Ensign J. W. Matthews L. B. Wagenaar
C. G. Evans L. S. McCormick J. W. Walton
P. P. Falkowski C. J. McMiUen R. J. Whearty
W. R. Farber G. C. McCrae S. A. Wiencek
H. G. Fischer Jack McGiU Alan Wilks
J. A. Forster W. J. McNutt W. E. Wrenn
S. L. Foster S. P. Mehta A. C. Wurdack
M. Frydman N. J. Melton D. A. Yannucci
H. E. Gabel, Jr. C. K. Miller E. J. Yasuda

When the IEEE Standards Board approved this standard on June 1, 1989, it had the following
membership:

Dennis Bodson, Chairman Marc0 W. Migliaro, Vice Chairman

Andrew G. Salem,Secretary
Arthur A. Blaisdell Kenneth D. Hendrix John E. May, Jr.
Fletcher J. Buckley Theodore W.Hissey, Jr. Lawrence V. McCall
Allen L. Clapp John W.Horch L. Bruce McClung
James M. Daly David W. Hutchins Donald T. Michael*
Stephen R. Dillon Frank D. Kirschner Richard E. Mosher
Donald C. Fleckenstein Frank C. Kitzantides Stig Nilsson
Eugene P. Fogarty Joseph L.Koepfingefl L. John Rankine
Jay Forster* Edward Lohse Gary S. Robinson
Thomas L. Hannan Donald W.Zipse

*Member Emeritus

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 Contents

SECTION PAGE

1. Scope .................................................................................. 7
2. Purpose ................................................................................ 7
3. References .............................................................................. 7
4 . General ................................................................................. 7
5. Transformer Coordination Curves ......................................................... 7

FIGURES
Fig 1 Category I Transformers ............................................................... 8
Fig 2 Category IITransformers ............................................................... 9

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 IEEE Guide for Dry-Type Transformer
Through-Fault Current Duration

1. Scope 4. General

This guide applies to dry-type transformers The magnitude and duration of fault currents
designated as Categories I and I1 in ANSIAEEE are of utmost importance in establishing a coor-
C57.12.01-1979 [ 21. dinated protection practice for transformers, as
both mechanical and thermal effects of fault
currents must be considered. For fault-current
2. Purpose magnitudes near the maximum short-circuit
current rating of the transformer, mechanical
Protective devices, such as relays and fuses, effects are more significant than thermal effects.
have well-defined operating characteristics that The maximum symmetrical short-circuit current
relate fault magnitude t o operating time. It is should not exceed 25 times normal base current,
desirable t h a t these characteristic curves be in accordance with ANSIAEEE C57.12.01-1979
coordinated with comparable curves applicable [ 21. At lower fault-current magnitudes approach-
to dry-type transformers that relate duration and ing the overload range, mechanical effects are less
fault magnitude to withstand capability. important unless the frequency and duration of
This guide sets forth recommendations believed fault occurence is high enough t o promote
essential for the application of overcurrent pro- thermal-mechanical degradation. The point of
tective devices applied to limit the exposure time transition between mechanical concern and ther-
of dry-type transformers to short-circuit currents. mal concern cannot be precisely defined; mechan-
This guide is not intended to imply overload ical effects tend to have a more prominent role in
capability. larger kVA ratings because the mechanical forces
are greater.

3. References

The following publications shall be used in con- 5. Transformer Coordination Curves

junction with this guide. When the following ANSI
standards and guides are superseded by a revi- For purposes of coordination of overcurrent
sion approved by the American National Stan- protective devices, Figs 1 and 2 are presented as
dards Institute, the latest revision shall apply protection curves for various sizes of transformers.
For Category I, a single curve applies that reflects
[ 11 ANWIEEE C37.91-1985, IEEE Guide for Pro- both thermal and mechanical damage considera-
tective Relay Applications to Power Transformers. tions. For Category 11, double curves apply, one of
[2] ANSI/IEEE C57.12.01-1979, IEEE Standard which reflects both thermal a n d mechanical
General Requirements for Dry-Type Distribution damage considerations, while the other reflects
and Power Transformers.2 primarily thermal damage considerations. Curves
for Category 111 transformers have not been
[3] ANWIEEE C57.96-1989, IEEE Guide for included since these are not commonly manufac-
Loading Dry-Type Distribution and Power Trans- tured and may require special consideration de-
formers. pending on the manufacturer's recommendations.
On curves that have both a solid and a dotted
portion, the solid portion represents a total fault
'The numbers in brackets refer to the references in Section 3.
duration beyond which thermal damage to insu-
2ANSI/IEEE publications are available from the Sales
Department, American National Standards Institute, 1430 lation adjacent to current-car@ng conductors
Broadway, New York, NY 10018. and anneal-softening of aluminum may occur,

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IEEE
C57.12.59-1989 IEEE GUIDE FOR DRY-TYPE TRANSFORMER

501 to 5 0 0 kVA three-phase

200
THROUGH-FAULT PROTECTION CURVE
FOR FAULTS THAT WILL OCCUR
FREQUENTLY OR INFREQUENTLY
100.

50
I2t = 1 2 5 0

where

20 I symmetrical fault current in

times normal base current

10
v)
n
z
0
$ 5
v)
c'
U'
5
F
2

05

02

01

while the dotted portion represents a total fault quent faults are presented in the Appendix of
duration beyond which cumulative mechanical ANWIEEE C37.91-1989 [ 11. The validity of these
damage may occur. The increasing significance of damage-limit curves cannot be demonstrated by
mechanical effects for higher kVA transformers is test, since the effects are progressive over the
reflected in these curves. The frequency of faults transformer lifetime. The curves are based princi-
varies with different transformer applications. pally on informed engineering judgment and
Applications characterizing frequent and infre- favorable historical field experience.

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 IEEE
THROUGH-FAULTCURRENT DURATION C57.12.59-1989

CATEGORY II TRANSFORMERS
501 to 1667 kVA single-phase
501 to 5000 kVA three-phase

THROUGH-FAULT PROTECTION CURVE THROUGH-FAULT PROTECTION CURVE

FOR FAULTS THAT WILL OCCUR FOR FAULTS THAT WILL OCCUR
FREQUENTLY, TYPICALLY MORE THAN INFREQUENTLY, TYPICALLY NOT MORE THAN
10 IN TRANSFORMER LIFETIME 10 IN TRANSFORMER LIFETIME
200

100

50

I2t = 1250
rn 20
n
z
:10
42
\ -
2 5
F I ’ . \ \
\
2
12108 6 4ORLESS
% TRANSFORMER
IMPEDANCE, Z
1
I
This curve may also be used for
For fault currents from 7096 to backup protection where the
100% maximum possible transformer is exposed to
05 I 2 t = 2 (100/Z)2 for 2 5 t 5 4 0 8 s frequent faults normally cleared
For fault currents less than 70% by high-speed relays
maximum possible
I2t = 1250 for 0 255 Z2 < t 5 1 0 2 s
Z = transformer impedance, %
02 I = symmetrical fault current in
times normal base current

01
1 2 5 10 20 50 1 2 5 10 20 50

Fig 2
Category II Transformers

Category I T r a n s f m s - The recommended Category 11 i ” r a n s f m s - The recommended

duration limit is based on the curve in Fig 1. The duration limits depend upon fault frequecny and
curve reflects both thermal and mechanical dam- are based upon the curves in Fig 2. Fault fre-
age considerations and should be applied as a quency refers t o the number of faults with magni-
protection curve for faults that will occur fre- tudes greater than 70% of maximum as limited
quently or infrequently. only by transformer impedance.

I -- -1

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IEEE
C57.12.59-1989

(1) The left-hand curve, reflecting both ther- Recommended through-fault duration-limit
mal a n d mechanical damage considerations, curves for transformers designated in ANSI/IEEE
should be applied as a protection curve for faults C57.12.01-1979 [2] as Category I and I1 are sum-
that will occur frequently (typically more than 10 marized for convenience as follows:
in transformer lifetime). It is dependent upon the
impedance of the transformer for fault currents
above 70% of maximum possible and is keyed to Minimum Nameplate kVA
the 12t of the worst-case mechanical duty (maxi- (Principal Winding)
mum fault current for 2 seconds).
Reference
(2) The right-hand curve reflects primarily Single- Three- Protection
thermal damage considerations. I t is not depen- Category Phase Phase Curves*
dent upon impedance of the transformer and
may be applied as a protection curve for faults I 5 t o 500 15 to 500 Fig 1
I1 501 to 1667 501 to 5000 Fig 2
which will occur only infrequently (typically not
more than 10 in transformer lifetime). This curve *NOTE: The times normal base current scale in Figs 1 and 2
may also be used for backup protection where relates to minimum nameplate kVA. Low values of 3.5 or less
times normal base current may result from overloads rather
the transformer is exposed to frequent faults than faults and for such cases loading guides should be
normally cleared by high-speed relaying. consulted. See ANSI/IEEE C57.96-1989 [3].

10

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