Conventional Dissolved Gases Analysis in
Conventional Dissolved Gases Analysis in
Conventional Dissolved Gases Analysis in
Review
Conventional Dissolved Gases Analysis in Power
Transformers: Review
Alcebíades Rangel Bessa, Jussara Farias Fardin , Patrick Marques Ciarelli and Lucas Frizera Encarnação *
Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitoria 29075-910, Brazil
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +55-27-4009-2644
Abstract: Transformers insulated with mineral oil tend to form gases, which might be caused by
system faults or extended use. Based on an evaluation of the main failure analysis techniques using
combustible gases, this study reviewed the conventional techniques for Dissolved Gas Analysis
(DGA), present in the norms IEC 60599 and IEEE Std C57.104, and their failure analysis tendency.
Furthermore, to illustrate distinct technique performances and failures, the performance of the
following techniques was analyzed based on the IEC TC10 database: Dornenburg, Duval Triangle,
Duval Pentagon, IEC ratio method, Key Gas, and Rogers. The objective of this work was to present
relevant information to support students and professionals who work in failure analysis and/or
assist in the development of new tools in the DGA field.
Keywords: analysis of dissolved gases; DGA; transformer fault diagnosis; incipient faults
1. Introduction
The insulation of power transformers usually consists of solid and liquid insulation.
The solid insulation is made of Kraft paper, manila, and pressboard [1,2]. Ester liquids
are used in some types of power transformers, such as wind turbines or solar; however,
mineral oil is still by far the liquid most widely used, and their liquid insulation is achieved
using mineral oil.
Citation: Rangel Bessa, A.; Farias The mineral oil insulation used in electrical equipment is extracted from petroleum,
Fardin, J.; Marques Ciarelli, P.; which is a hydrocarbon compound. Their composition and characteristics depend on the en-
Frizera Encarnação, L. Conventional vironment where the petroleum was extracted, which might be paraffinic or naphthenic [3].
Dissolved Gases Analysis in Power Laboratory studies have shown that these elements, under normal operating condi-
Transformers: Review. Energies 2023, tions, present the formation of gaseous compounds of low molecular weight hydrocarbons,
16, 7219. https://doi.org/10.3390/ as well as CO and CO2 . This formation is continuous in low volume during the equipment
en16217219 lifetime; however, in failures or other abnormal conditions, an imbalance in the chemical
Academic Editor: Pawel Rozga
formation and an increase in the amount of these gases can be observed. Hotspots with
temperatures above 300 ◦ C predominantly result in the formation of unsaturated hydro-
Received: 30 August 2023 carbons. Furthermore, if the cellulosic system is reached, there is also the formation of
Revised: 9 October 2023 abnormal concentrations of CO and CO2 .
Accepted: 10 October 2023 The analysis of dissolved gases (DGA) in power transformers is registered as the
Published: 24 October 2023
analysis of the formation of hydrocarbon gases, and the first study regarding this topic was
published in February 1919 in “The Electric Journal” [4]. In this study, the first observations
regarding the pattern of gas formation were reported, and the gases formed were composed
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
of CO2 (1.17%), Heavy Hydrocarbons (4.86%), O2 (1.36%), CO (19.21%), H2 (59.10%), N2
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. (10.10%), and CH4 (4.2%). The author highlighted the high proportion of H2 and the
This article is an open access article influence of temperature on the growth and amount of dissolved gases.
distributed under the terms and In 1928, based on knowledge of the problem, the gas formation in equipment failure,
conditions of the Creative Commons the Buchholz relay, was developed. Figure 1 illustrates the functions and actuation mecha-
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// nism of the relay, the purpose of which was to protect the equipment through its action
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ with the passage of gases through the pipeline interconnected to the equipment with an
4.0/). expansion tank [4].
(a) (b)
Figure 1. Buchholz relay, (a) electrical schematic [5]; (b) an example of a Buchholz relay [6].
Analyses at that time were already possible in samples of gases and liquids, and in
1959, a field chromatography analyzer was developed by H.H. Wagner [4]; Figure 2 shows
a piece of equipment in the field of chromatography.
From the 1960s onwards, gas chromatography (GC) saw its first applications in identi-
fying dissolved gases in transformers from electrical faults.
Chromatographic analysis of gases dissolved in oil is carried out in three steps. First,
the oil sample is collected, which can be collected with flexible aluminum bottles or using a
tt the
syringe (Figure 3), and the collected gases can be stored in the Buchholz relay. Second,
gases are extracted from the oil sample [8,9]. Third, the gases extracted from the sample
are analyzed using the gas chromatograph [10], which consists of separating the different
gases from the mixture, and then identifying and quantifying them. tt
ff
ff
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 3 of 28
According to [13], the following individual gas components can be identified and
determined: hydrogen (H2 ), nitrogen (N2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2 ),
methane (CH4 ), ethane (C2 H6 ), ethylene (C2 H4 ), acetylene (C2 H2 ), propane (C3 H8 ), and
propylene (C3 H6 ). With the exception of oxygen (O2 ) and nitrogen (N2 ), the other gases are
formed from secondary chemical reactions, as a result of the breakdown of hydrocarbon
molecules due to electrical or thermal stresses.
From the observation of this behavior, several studies have been developed with
the objective of defining the type of failure in the equipment from the analysis of the
composition of the gases formed.
These techniques make it possible to predict failures before the need to shut down the
equipment, the oil draining process, and access for inspection, which can require days of
work. Figure 5 illustrates two practical uses of DGA analysis in failures.
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 4 of 28
(a) (b)
Figure 5. Illustration of practical failure case [14]: (a) thermal fault; (b) thermal and electrical fault.
In Figure 5a, the monitoring of the equipment power transformer 315MVA 15.75/
400 kV identified a large formation of C2 H4 gas through analysis, showing a possible high-
intensity thermal failure. During the inspection, two flexible windings from the bushing
were found heated. Figure 5b presents another example of monitoring the equipment
power transformer 55 MVA 110/11 kV, which showed a large formation of C2 H2 . DGA
analysis indicated thermal failure coupled with the arc flash. The inspection revealed that
the winding coil of a phase was burnt out.
In this article, we present the most popular DGA analysis techniques adopted among
international standardsff and analyzed their performance in more detail. These analyses
were made with a modified confusion matrix, with the data and types of failures presented
in [15]. In addition to using an accessible failure database [15,16],
tt the current study shows
whether the techniques are determining the right hypothesis or not. This gives readers a
clear and easy-to-interpret direction when using the analysis or developing new techniques.
Therefore, the combinationtt of the interpretations of these techniques and the per-
formance detailing different types of failure, with more than just a generic indicator of
accuracy, makes this study an unprecedented review [17–24]. In addition, a table is pro-
vided with a combination of all of the responses to the pattern failure of the techniques
adopted in [15], allowing the comparison to be more organized and more specific. Other
studies have made unclear comparisons of the results of the adopted techniques that often
did not have the same pattern of failures defined in [15].
The detailed analysis of the performance techniques from Rogers [11] and the IEC
tt
method [11], with the confusion matrix for standardized failures in [15], resulted in a table
that grouping the incipient fault types codes for conventional DGA techniques showed
in Section 3. These techniques, as presented in the results of this article, presented an
overall performance superior to those seen in Rogers’ IEEE method [12] and the IEC 60599
method [25]. Therefore, this study presents a new approach to the use of these techniques
that can contribute to better failure analysis performance.
It should be noted that, in this article, the techniques will not address mineral oil-
insulated switching equipment; for example, load tap changers, circuit breakers, reclosers,
or others. The analysis of dissolved gases in switches is not easy to interpret, as the
formation of gases is very high in this equipment, normally associated with electrical arcs.
Despite this, in the specific case of load tap changers, there are scientific documents such
as [26] and standards such as [27], which serve as guidelines for interpreting failures.
tt
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 7 of 28
2.2. Dornenburg
A report published as part of the CIGRE International Conference on Large High
Tension Electric Systems in 1970 [31] was one of the first failure analysis methods based
on the ratio of CH4 , C2 H2 , C2 H4 , and H2 gases. Figure 10 presents an image of the early
publication of the relationship between gases by Dornenburg [4].
Figure 10. Early Dornenburg ratio plot of the symptomatic indicator of transformers fault [4].
In this methodology, if any of the gases exceed twice the value of the reference in
Table 1 or if one of the CO or C2 H6 gases is greater than this, it will be considered a failure
and then this type of failure will be analyzed.
ff
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 8 of 28
Table 1. Reference value gas concentrations; values may differ according to criteria defined by standards.
The types of failure are evaluated in a generic diagnosis based on the proportion
between the gases, according to Table 2, which allows the identification of three types of
failure: hot spot, electrical discharge (arc), and partial discharges.
CH4 C2 H2 C 2 H2 C2 H 6
Suggested Fault Diagnosis
H2 C2 H4 CH4 C2 H 2
Thermal Decomposition >1 <0.75 <0.3 >0.4
Partial Discharge (Low intensity) <0.1 Not significant <0.3 >0.4
Arcing (High intensity) 0.1 to 1 >0.75 >0.3 <0.4
2.3. Rogers
Based on the Dornenburg method, the Rogers method proposed the evaluation of
failures by the relationship between the gases C2 H2 , C2 H4 , C2 H6 , CH4 , and H2 , originally
published according to Table 3.
CH4 C2 H6 C2 H4 C 2 H2
Fault
H2 CH4 C2 H6 C 2 H4
Normal ≥0.1 and <1 <1 <1 <0.5
Partial discharge ≤0.1 <1 <1 <0.5
≥1 and <3
Overheating < 150 ◦ C <1 <1 <0.5
or ≥3
≥1 and <3
Overheating 150 ◦ C to 200 ◦ C ≥1 <1 <0.5
or ≥3
Overheating 200 ◦C
to 300 ◦C >0.1 and <1 ≥1 <1 <0.5
General conductor overheating >0.1 and <1 <1 ≥1 and <3 <0.5
Winding circulating currents ≥1 and <3 <1 ≥1 and <3 <0.5
Core and tank circulating currents ≥1 and <3 <1 ≥3 <0.5
Flashover without power follow through >0.1 and <1 <1 <1 ≥0.5 and <3
≥1 and <3 ≥0.5 and <3
Arc with power follow through >0.1 and <1 <1
or ≥3 or ≥3
Continuous sparking to floating potential >0.1 and <1 <1 ≥3 ≥3
≥0.5 and <3
Partial discharge with tracking ≤0.1 <1 <1
or ≥3
The publication of the Rogers method through the IEEE Std C57.104 standard [12] did
not consider the relationship between C2 H6 and CH4 , reducing the amount of failure types,
as shown in Table 4.
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 9 of 28
C 2 H2 CH4 C2 H4
Fault
C 2 H4 H2 C2 H6
Normal <0.1 ≥0.1 and <1 <1
Low-energy density arcing-PD <0.1 <0.1 <1
Arcing high-energy discharge ≥1 and ≤3 ≥0.1 and ≤1 >3
Low temperature thermal <0.1 ≥0.1 and ≤1 ≥1 and ≤3
Thermal < 700 ◦ C <0.1 >1 ≥1 and ≤3
Thermal > 700 ◦ C <0.1 >1 >3
2.4. IEC
This method was published in the IEEE article in 1978 [11], differentiating from the
Rogers method by removing the ratio analysis between the C2 H6 /CH4 gases. The purpose
of removing this ratio was to simplify the analysis of failures, since the contribution of this
relationship was limited to a small range in terms of the decomposition temperature and
was not useful in identifying the failure.
Table 5 presents the first version of the IEC ratio method published in the article “IEE
and IEC Codes to Interpret Incipient Faults in Transformers, using Gas in Oil Analysis” [11]
and Table 6 shows the recent codification through the IEC 60599 standard [25].
C 2 H2 CH4 C2 H4
Fault
C 2 H4 H2 C2 H6
No fault <0.1 ≥0.1 and <1 <1
Partial discharge of low-energy density <0.1 <0.1 ≥1 and <3
Partial discharge of high-energy density ≥0.1 and <3 <0.1 ≥1 and <3
≥0.1 and <3
Discharge of low energy ≥0.1 and <1 <1
or ≥3
Discharge of high energy ≥0.1 and <3 ≥0.1 and <1 <1
Thermal fault of temperature < 150 ◦ C <0.1 ≥0.1 and <1 <1
Thermal fault of low temperature range
<0.1 ≥1 >3
150 ◦ C to 300 ◦ C
Thermal fault of medium temperature range
<0.1 ≥1 >3
300 ◦ C to 700 ◦ C
Thermal fault of high temperature range > 700 ◦ C <0.1 ≥1 >3
C2 H2 CH4 C2 H4
Fault
C2 H4 H2 C2 H6
Partial discharges (PD) NS <0.1 <0.2
Discharge of low energy (D1) >1 ≥0.1 and ≤0.5 >1
Discharge of high energy (D2) ≥0.6 and ≤2.5 ≥0.1 and ≤1 >2
Thermal fault t < 300 ◦ C (T1) NS ≥1 but NS <1
Thermal fault 300 ◦ C < t < 700 ◦ C (T2) <0.1 >1 ≥1 and ≤4
Thermal fault t > 700 ◦ C (T3) <0.2 >1 >4
NS: Non significant whatever the value.
In order to use the IEC 60599 ratio method, at least one of the gases shown in Table 1
must be above its limit, if these limits are not exceeded, the conditions of the equipment
will be considered normal.
The use of the IEC 60599 ratios method on the Cartesian axis, as shown in Figure 11,
allows for the visualization of fault types D1 and D2 overlapping (both related to the
discharge of energy). Despite illustrating cases of lightning strikes, this intersection area
can lead to the wrong interpretation of their intensity.
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 10 of 28
CH4
%CH4 = (1)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H2
C 2 H4
%C2 H4 = (2)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H2
C 2 H2
%C2 H2 = (3)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H2
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 11 of 28
When low energy or temperature faults are identified from Triangle T1 (PD, T1, and
CH
%CH =with Triangle T4, as shown in Figure 13, and gases
T2), more information can be obtained
CH
H2 , C2 H4 , and C2 H6 from Equations (4)–(6). + C H +C H
%C H = CH4
%CH4 = (4)
CH4 + C2 H6 + H2
%C H =
C 2 H6
%C2 H6 = (5)
CH4 + C2 H6 + H2
H2
%H2 = (6)
CH4 + C2 H6 + H2
If the analysis from Triangle T1 includes highCHor extremely high temperatures (T2 and
T3), a more detailed analysis can be%CH = with Triangle T5, as shown in Figure 14, with
obtained
CH + C H + H
the analysis of CH4 , C2 H4 , and C2 H6 gases from Equations (7)–(9).
%C H =
CH4
%CH4 = (7)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6
%H =
C 2 H4
%C2 H4 = (8)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6
CH
%CH =
CH + C H + C H
%C H =
CH
%CH =
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 CH + C H + C H 12 of 28
%C H =
C 2 H6
%C2 H6%C
= H = (9)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6
This analysis proposal aimed to overcome a failure of the Duval Triangle method
in that it does not have the gases C2 H6 and H2 in its analysis, which are relevant in the
analysis of failure due to low overtemperature and discharge.
The Duval Pentagon method was published in 2014 [33], presenting fault boundary
regions different from the proposal in [30] and divided into Duval Pentagons 1 and 2.
Figureff 16 shows the Pentagon Duval 1, which is for the general analysis of fault types.
ff
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 13 of 28
C H
%C H =
CH + C H + C H + C H + H
H
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 14 of 28
C 2 H4
%C2 H4 = (11)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6 + C2 H2 + H2
C 2 H6
%C2 H6 = (12)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6 + C2 H2 + H2
C 2 H2
%C2 H2 = (13)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6 + C2 H2 + H2
H2
%H2 = (14)
CH4 + C2 H4 + C2 H6 + C2 H2 + H2
With the percentages of gas concentration, the coordinates of each of these on the
Cartesian axis are calculated [33] with Equations (15) to (19).
1 n−1
∑
Cx = i = 0
(xi + xi+1 ) xi yi+1 − xi+1 yi (20)
6A
1 n−1
6A ∑i=0 i
Cy = y + yi+1 xi yi+1 − xi+1 yi (21)
1 n−1
∑
A= i = 0
xi yi+1 − xi+1 yi (22)
2
In Equations (20)–(22), n is the number of coordinates of the gases under analysis.
search for this computational improvement, conventional methods are still debated with
each new evaluation proposal.
Although the focus of this review is based on conventional methods standardized
through the standards [12,25], the following subsections will briefly present some of the
recently developed techniques for the conventional analysis of dissolved gases.
C2 H6 + C2 H4
R1 = (23)
H2 + C2 H2
C2 H2 + CH4
R2 = (24)
C2 H4
C2 H2
R3 = (25)
C2 H4
Based on these ratios, a new fault coding is proposed, as shown in Table 7.
Fault R1 R2 R3
T3 R1 > 0.05 R2 ≤ 1 R3 < 0.5
T2 R1 > 0.05 1 ≤ R2 ≤ 3.5 R3 < 0.5
T1 R1 > 0.05 R2 > 3.5 R3 < 0.5
T0 0.05 ≤ R1 ≤ 0.9 NS. R3 < 0.05
PD1 R1 ≤ 0.05 R2 > 1 R3 < 0.5
PD2 R1 ≤ 0.05 R2 > 1 R3 ≥ 0.5
D1 R1 ≥ 0.05 R2 > 3.5 R3 ≥ 0.5
D2 R1 ≤ 0.9 R2 ≤ 3.5 R3 ≥ 0.5
DT R1 > 0.9 R2 ≤ 3.5 R3 ≥ 0.5
NS, non-significant whatever the value; (T3): Thermal faults of T > 700 ◦ C; (T2): Thermal faults of 300 < T < 700 ◦ C;
(T1): Thermal faults 150 < T < 300 ◦ C; (T0): Thermal faults T < 150 ◦ C; (D1): Low-energy discharge; (D2): High-
energy discharge; (PD1): Low-energy-corona partial discharge; (PD2): High-energy-corona partial discharge;
(DT): Mix of electrical and thermal faults.
Figure 18. Boundaries of the Heptagon graph limits. Boundaries of the Heptagon, which is ex-
pressed from 0 to 100 in a clockwise direction. HCCD, high concentration of cellulose degrada-
tion; MCCD, medium concentration of cellulose degradation; LCCD represents low concentrations
of cellulose degradation; T1, thermal fault < 300 ◦ C; T2, thermal fault from 300 to 700 ◦ C; T3,
thermal fault > 300 ◦ C; TD, electrical and thermal faults; D1, low-energy discharges; D2, high-energy
discharges; PD, partial discharge fault.
If any of the gases present values above the limits in Table 1, the evaluation of the type of
failure will begin with the conversion of values into proportions, using Equations (26) to (32).
5.3846 × C2 H6 × 100
%C2 H6 = (27)
(2.9167 × CH4 + 5.3846 × C2 H6 + 7 × C2 H4 + 116.6667 × C2 H2 + 3.5 × H2 + CO + 0.14 × CO2 )
7 × C2 H4 × 100
%C2 H4 = (28)
(2.9167 × CH4 + 5.3846 × C2 H6 + 7 × C2 H4 + 116.6667 × C2 H2 + 3.5 × H2 + CO + 0.14 × CO2 )
116.6667 × C2 H2 × 100
%C2 H2 = (29)
(2.9167 × CH4 + 5.3846 × C2 H6 + 7 × C2 H4 + 116.6667 × C2 H2 + 3.5 × H2 + CO + 0.14 × CO2 )
3.5 × H2 × 100
%H2 = (30)
(2.9167 × CH4 + 5.3846 × C2 H6 + 7 × C2 H4 + 116.6667 × C2 H2 + 3.5 × H2 + CO + 0.14 × CO2 )
CO × 100
%CO = (31)
(2.9167 × CH4 + 5.3846 × C2 H6 + 7 × C2 H4 + 116.6667 × C2 H2 + 3.5 × H2 + CO + 0.14 × CO2 )
3. Results
To analyze the performance of the main techniques presented in this study, the failure
database, with real cases, available in Appendix A, was used.
We adapted the type of failure of some techniques to the classification pattern of
failures presented in [15], enabling the analysis of technique performances. Table 8, based
on [41] and adapted according to the observations of this work, presents the summary of
the adaptations developed.
Table 8. Grouping of the incipient fault type codes for conventional DGA interpretation techniques.
Fault Types
Techinique
T1 T2 T3 PD D1 D2
Thermal Thermal fault Thermal Low-energy High-energy
Duval Triangle T1 Partial Discharge
fault < 300 ◦ C 300–700 ◦ C fault > 700 ◦ C discharge discharge
Partial Discharge
Dornenburg Thermal decomposition (T) Energy Discharge–Arcing (D)
(PD)
Thermal fault of low Core and tank Partial discharge
Continuous
temperature < 150 ◦ C circulation current with low energy
Sparking (D1_1)
(T1_1) (T3_1) (PD_1)
Thermal fault of Winding circulation Arc with power
Rogers temperature range current (T2) Insulated conductor Partial discharge follows through
Flashover (D1_2)
150–200 ◦ C (T1_2) overheating (T3_2) with tracking (D2)
Thermal fault of (PD_2)
temperature range
200–300 ◦ C (T1_3)
Low temperature Thermal < 700 ◦ C Thermal > 700 ◦ C Low-energy density
Rogers IEEE Arcing-High-energy discharge (D)
thermal (T1) (T2) (T3) arcing-(PD)
Thermal fault of
PD of low-energy
temperature < 150 ◦ C Thermal fault of Thermal fault of Discharge with Discharge with
IEC ratio method medium temperature high temperature density (PD_1) low-energy high-energy arcing
(T1_1)
Thermal fault of low range 300 ◦ C to range > 700 ◦ C (T3) density (D1) (D2)
temperature range 700 ◦ C (T2) PD of high-energy
150 ◦ C to 300 ◦ C density (PD_2)
(T1_2)
Thermal fault
IEC 60599 ratio Thermal fault Thermal fault Partial Discharge Discharge of low Discharge of high
300 ◦ C < t < 700 ◦ C
method t < 300 ◦ C (T1) t > 700 ◦ C (T3) (PD) energy (D1) energy (D2)
(T2)
Thermal fault Thermal Low-energy High-energy
Duval Pentagon 1 Termal fault < 300 ◦ C Partial Discharge
300–700 ◦ C fault > 700 ◦ C discharge discharge
Thermal degradation (TD) Partial Discharge
Key Gas Arcing (D)
Overheat cellulose (OC) (PD)
Note: For analysis of the results, information about non-failure—N and unidentified failure—Not-F will also be used.
One way to evaluate the results was by using confusion matrices. The confusion matrix
is a very popular way to evaluate classification tasks, representing counts of predicted and
actual values. For this reason, this form of analysis was selected to detail the response of
the techniques to the expected result.
The actual classes (types of failures) are vertically distributed, while the predicted
classes by the technique are horizontally distributed. The number in the intersection of
classes with the same name (actual and predicted classes) means the number of correct
identifications for that class. The numbers in the intersection of classes with different names
are misclassified failures.
Due to the adaptation of the predicted or expected results presented in Table 8, it
was necessary to modify the confusion matrix, since there will not always be predicted or
known values in all method scenarios. For example, for the key gas method, the actual
failures T1, T2, and T3 are included in the failures TD and OC. Therefore, different from the
common confusion matrix, in our analysis, the confusion matrix can be not square.
In addition to using the confusion matrix to analyze the techniques within each type
of failure, some performance measures were used and are detailed below:
• Precision: This metric measures how much we can trust a model when it predicts that
an example belongs to a certain class:
TP
Precison = (33)
TP + FP
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 18 of 28
• Recall: This metric measures the ratio of failures that were correctly identified for a
specific class:
TP
Recall = (34)
TP + FN
• F1-Score: This metric is the harmonic mean between accuracy and recall:
Precison × Recall
F1 − Score = 2 × (35)
Precison + Recall
• Accuracy: This metric is the fraction of predictions that the model got right:
TP + TN
Accuracy = (36)
TP + TN + FP + FN
• Support: This will give the information of the number of cases in analysis.
To solve Equations (33) and (34), the definitions used are:
• True Positive (TP): model correctly predicts the positive class (prediction and actual,
both are positive);
• True Negative (TN): model correctly predicts the negative class (prediction and actual,
both are negative);
• False Positive (FP): model gives the wrong prediction of the negative class (predicted-
positive, actual-negative);
• False Negative (FN): model wrongly predicts the positive class (predicted-negative,
actual-positive).
ffi
To visualize the efficiency of this technique, the types of standard faults [15] were
adapted according to the proposed grouping in Table 8, transforming the TD and OC faults
into T, with the result of the performance analysis of this technique shown in Table 9.
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 19 of 28
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D 0.82 0.71 0.76 51
PD 0.00 0.00 0.00 8
T 0.88 0.73 0.80 30
Accuracy 0.66 88
The analysis of the Precision, Recall, and F1-score performances shows that the tech-
nique presents a good performance for the failures that it identifies.
It is observed that despite a high overall accuracy of 66%, the ability to discriminate
the types of faults between thermal and electrical types is lost.
3.2. Dornenburg
The analysis of the Dornenburg method by the confusion matrix, as shown in Figure 20,
illustrates a high assertiveness of the types of failure; however, a large number of incorrect
results appear in terms of not identifying the type of failure. That is, the incorrect analysis
accounts for 17% and, according to Table 10, 12.5% of the errors were due to not being able
to classify the type of failure (Not-F).
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D 1.00 0.84 0.91 51
PD 0.83 0.71 0.77 7
T 1.00 0.80 0.89 30
Accuracy 0.82 88
However, it is important to point out that, in the same way as the Key Gas method,
the combination of the type of failure to analyze the performance of this method favors the
increase in this accuracy.
Despite the good performance of this technique’s accuracy, there is evidence of diffi-
culty in the failure analysis of the PD type, with low Precision and Recall metrics, confirm-
ing, respectively, the misclassification of two PD cases and the classification of one T1_T2
case as PD.
3.3. Rogers
The analysis of the Rogers method was divided in two ways. The first one was
based on the original methodology published in [11], as shown Figure 21, and adapted
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 20 of 28
considering Table 8. The second stage used the new boundaries defined in [12], as shown
in Figure 22, with the default failures of [15] adjusted to this model.
The general analysis between the two versions of the Rogers method highlights the
increase in the number of unidentified cases from 13 to 33 cases. Most of these cases were
D1 and D2 faults that were not identified by the Rogers IEEE version.
Through Tables 11 and 12, it is possible to see the performance of the Rogers method.
They show a decrease in the accuracy in relation to the original method, adapted in this
article, for the grouped form in the IEEE standard.
In addition, even though the failure database was adapted to the Rogers IEEE response
type, which would tend to increase accuracy, the opposite result is observed, ranging from
65% to 56%. The main reason for that is the increase in cases not classified (Not-F) and the
recall index reduction.
Table 11. Performance analysis of the Rogers method.
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D1 1.00 0.29 0.45 17
D2 0.72 0.85 0.78 34
PD 0.83 0.71 0.77 7
T1_T2 0.88 0.54 0.67 13
T3 0.79 0.65 0.71 17
Accuracy 0.65 88
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 21 of 28
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D 1.00 0.53 0.69 51
PD 0.80 0.57 0.67 7
T1_T2 0.75 0.46 0.57 13
T3 0.80 0.71 0.75 17
Accuracy 0.56 88
tt
3.4. IEC
The IEC methods were based on the methodologies published in [11,25]. The first [11]
did not show the formatting of the types of failures proposed in [15], therefore, the proposed
grouping in Table 8 was necessary.
The analysis of the confusion matrix for the IEC method, as shown in Figure 23, and
IEC 60599 method, as shown in Figure 24, presents a balance in not identifying the type of
failures from 9 to 10.
None of the faults were classified as a thermal fault of temperature < 150 ◦ C (T0) by
the IEC method.
For a comparative analysis of the performance of both methodologies, it was necessary
to group the IEC methods according to Table 8, observing that both methodologies present
similar accuracy, ranging from 74% to 66%.
ff
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 22 of 28
Despite the increase in Precision in identifying D1, T1_T2, and T3 failures in IEC 60599
compared to the IEC method, a general reduction in the Recall index is also observed,
which may explain the difference between the accuracies, see Tables 13 and 14.
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D1 0.86 0.71 0.77 17
D2 0.88 0.85 0.87 34
PD 0.83 0.71 0.77 7
T1_T2 0.70 0.54 0.61 13
T3 0.80 0.71 0.75 17
Accuracy 0.74 88
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D1 1.00 0.47 0.64 17
D2 0.87 0.79 0.83 34
PD 0.83 0.71 0.77 7
T1_T2 0.47 0.62 0.53 13
T3 0.83 0.59 0.69 17
Accuracy 0.66 88
Performance Analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D1 1.00 0.88 0.94 17
D2 0.94 1.00 0.97 34
PD 0.67 0.57 0.62 7
T1_T2 0.60 0.46 0.52 13
T3 0.82 0.82 0.82 17
accuracy 0.83 88
Through the confusion matrix, as shown in Figure 25, it is possible to identify that
among the observed failures, there was an error in the classification of two failures: T1_T2
as N, three T3 as N, two T1_T2 as PD, two T3 as T2, and three T1_T2 as T3.
With the exception of the PD and T1_T2 failures, there is a balance between the values
of the F1-score metric, reflecting the high precision and recall of these indicators.
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 23 of 28
Performance analysis
Failure
Precision Recall F1-Score Support
D1 0.84 0.94 0.89 17
D2 1.00 0.88 0.94 34
PD 0.83 0.71 0.77 7
T1_T2 0.78 0.54 0.64 13
T3 0.78 0.82 0.80 17
accuracy 0.82 88
4. Discussion
The performance analysis between techniques was plotted for each kind of failure
accuracy and for each technique, presented in the star graph below. Figure 27 shows the
result of this comparison, based on the analysis of the response of each technique for the
type of failure standardized in [15].
A comparative performance analysis of the techniques makes it clear that the Duval
triangle T1 with Duval Pentagon 1 presents the best performance, and that all techniques
present difficulties in identifying T1_T2 and PD failures.
Regarding T1_T2 failures, the technique that presents the best performance is the
Dornenburg technique.
tt
With regard to type D2 failures, except for the Duval Triangle T1 method, which
presented excellent performance, and Rogers and Rogers IEEE, which had the worst
performance, the others presented very similar performances.
ffi
The failures of types D1 and T3, in addition to the Duval Triangle and Pentagon
methods, highlight the good performance of the Dornenburg and Key Gas methods.
Finally, analysis of the performance of the techniques in the PD type failure highlights
the performance of the key gas method.
This kind of analysis, despite the high performance of the Duval Triangle T1 and Duval
Pentagon 1 method, emphasizes the importance of analyzing the failure by combining
more than one technique to increase the performance in correctly identifying the type of
failure. In addition, the visualization of the techniques through a star graph may be a
good tool to aid in the selection of which techniques to combine depending on the possible
failures in the analysis.
5. Conclusions
Through this article, it was possible to recognize the main steps of the process that
involves the science of gas analysis in power transformers insulated with mineral oil, from
the knowledge of sampling to the analysis of the results found.
Emphasis was placed on the evolution of the main methods adopted in interna-
tional standards with general knowledge of the evolution of research in this area. In
addition, two recently published techniques, TRT and Pentagon, were presented in an
illustrative way, presenting alternative forms of analysis and, in the case of TRT, with
great performances.
The way of presenting the results of conventional techniques with confusion and
performance matrices allows for a clearer visualization of the strengths and weaknesses of
each technique depending on the type of failure.
In addition, a comparative analysis between the star graph techniques brought a form
of comparative visualization to the performance of the techniques, helping to choose to
combine more than one technique depending on the type of failure under analysis
From the analysis of the results of conventional techniques, it is reaffirmed that the
T1 Duval Triangle technique, currently the most popular one, presents the best answers in
terms of accuracy associated with discriminating the types of failure. This is crucial when
professionals are trying to decide whether to stop the equipment in operation or not.
Finally, in order to support other researchers and other professionals in the field of
conventional gas analysis development or even artificial intelligence tools, it is expected
that this study will be a supporting document and support the comparison in the analysis
of improvements or results found by such methods.
Energies 2023, 16, 7219 25 of 28
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.R.B. and P.M.C.; methodology, A.R.B.; software, A.R.B.;
validation, A.R.B., P.M.C., J.F.F. and L.F.E.; formal analysis, A.R.B.; investigation, A.R.B.; resources,
L.F.E.; data curation, A.R.B.; writing—original draft preparation, A.R.B.; writing—review and editing,
A.R.B., P.M.C., J.F.F. and L.F.E.; visualization, P.M.C.; supervision, P.M.C., J.F.F. and L.F.E.; project
administration, L.F.E.; funding acquisition, L.F.E. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological
Development—CNPq (grant number 311848/2021-4) and Espírito Santo Research and Innovation
Support Foundation—FAPES (grant number 1024/2022).
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are openly available in A transformer
Fault Diagnosis Model Based on Hybrid Grey Wolf Optimizer and LS-SVM at https://doi.org/10
.3390/en12214170, reference number [12], and Interpretation of Gas-In-Oil Analysis Using New
IEC Publication 60599 And IEC TC 10 Databases at https://doi.org/10.1109/57.917529, reference
number [15]. The data used in the analysis are available in Appendix A.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Appendix A
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