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AES Indiana uses mobile DGA solution to gain
insight into aging transformers
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AES Indiana used Vaisala’s Optimus™ Mobile multi-gas DGA Monitor, the OPT100 Mobile and Delta-X
Research’s Transformer Oil Analyst™ software with Monitor Watch™ to detect and identify faults on a
suspect transformer. This was done without taking the transformer oine by using a mobile DGA online
monitor and feeding its information to a cloud-based analytic software tool.
For nearly one hundred years,
AES Indiana has been creating
value for its customers by
moving promptly, anticipating
opportunities, avoiding risk and
changing direction when needed
to best serve its clients. The
Vaisala multi-gas Dissolved Gas
Analyzer (DGA) OPT100 Mobile,
integrated with Delta-X Research’s
Transformer Oil Analyst (TOA)
software with Monitor Watch,
ensure AES Indiana’s tradition is
met.
To maintain service delivery
commitments, AES Indiana
has implemented Vaisala’s
revolutionary mobile online
Dissolved Gas Analyzer (DGA)
monitoring solution to stay
ahead of unforeseen outages
and failures. All maintenance
and asset managers know that
faulty transformers can cause
unplanned outages leading to
catastrophic events with impact
to the community, the bottom
line, and of course, you and your
maintenance teams. Upon learning
of the Vaisala OPT100 Mobile
solution, AES Indiana wanted to
run a pilot, as they immediately
saw how this technology could
be used for responding to DGA
gassing alarms/reports.
Traditionally, standard oil
sampling procedures are carried
out only once or twice a year. If
a transformer is not “healthy”
and shows signs of dysfunction
based on DGA measurements,
software tools, or lab consultants,
the frequency of testing is then
increased to almost every two
weeks. What is really needed
in these cases is an online DGA
monitor that provides real time
data that can be compared to
operating conditions.
Here an online DGA monitor with
capability to provide real time
data for comparison to operating
conditions is a traditional fix.
However, not every transformer
is worth the cost. A mobile online
solution to gather true DGA
analysis and fault determination
was the fix. Vaisala developed a
DGA monitor technology platform
to be mounted on a trailer and
deployed temporarily – no
onerous maintenance or manual
calibration between deployments.
Understanding this challenge,
Vaisala developed its OPT100
Mobile DGA platform and leak
detection solution to provide the
first truly mobile online solution on
the market - significantly improving
the ability of substation managers
to manage their assets and
drastically reduce unintended labor
costs and unplanned outages.
Scenario and challenge
Currently, AES Indiana owns
350 transformers, 3 fixed DGA
monitors, and 15 single gas
monitors. As expected, monitoring
transformer performance and
gas condition across the entire
portfolio can be rather time
consuming and extremely costly.
AES Indiana has been using
traditional DGA sampling from
existing laboratories, but those
can take days before AES Indiana
has access to any data at all.
After lab sampling and
further analysis from Delta-X
Research’s TOA software, AES
Indiana identified a 50-year-old
transformer showing signs of
active gassing and potentially
degrading health. Continuous
monitoring with the OPT100
Mobile became the primary
analytical tool to assess the
current condition of this particular
transformer.
In order to investigate the
scenario described further, Vaisala
provided AES Indiana with an
OPT100 Mobile multi-gas DGA
monitor. It measures 7 key fault
gases, moisture in transformer
oil and utilizes total gas pressure
for air leak detection. The unit
has zero-maintenance and no
consumables, partly due to its
non-dispersive infrared (NDIR)
technology and patented gas
extraction system. It also has
internal mechanisms to selfcalibrate the NDIR measurement
system as well as systems for
calibrating based on the local oil
condition.
AES Indiana also leveraged
Transformer Oil Analyst (TOA)
diagnostic software from Delta-X
Research (www.deltaxresearch.
com) to interpret both the
lab and the monitor data. As
well as supporting standardsbased interpretation methods,
TOA provides Reliabilitybased DGA interpretation
that compares a transformer’s
performance against that of a
statistically large population of
transformers, including failures,
to more correctly identify atrisk transformers and quantify
the risk of continuing operation.
With Reliability-based DGA, the
Monitor Watch option of TOA
correctly assesses transformer
health while avoiding the spurious
alarms that are common with
limits-based solutions typically
applied to monitor data. With TOA
providing correct and consistent
interpretation of both lab and
monitor data, AES Indiana relies
on TOA as a key decision support
tool for maintaining, refurbishing
and replacing critical assets while
optimizing capital budgets.
AES Indiana then uses the results
from TOA to prioritize problematic
transformers for further
investigation. Once identified,
these transformers are connected
to Vaisala’s OPT100 Mobile and
the continuously monitored online
data merges with the historical
lab data kept in TOA. In this case,
the results provided AES Indiana
with the missing pieces of data to
truly understand this problematic
transformer’s condition and
develop a proactive maintenance
plan.
The obstacle
AES Indiana wanted
to closely monitor the
gassing transformer to
make informed decisions
regarding its maintenance
or replacement. Moreover,
AES Indiana wanted to
avoid unpredicted outages,
but needed to do so
without having to commit
to a hefty investment for
a DGA monitor system
for the problematic
transformer before knowing
its true health. Therefore,
AES Indiana needed
factual and reliable data
to properly understand
this transformer’s status,
including the potential need
to adjust power loads across
other assets in their fleet.
The solution(s)
In this case, AES Indiana used a single gas monitor (e.g. MHT410) for alarming and lab sampling to qualify the
transformer with the help of the TOA software. AES Indiana then connected Vaisala’s Optimus™ OPT100 Mobile
to the 1967 transformer (GE step-up transformer, 69-280 kVA) and started the online measuring process.
Once connected to the transformer, the OPT100 Mobile began communicating with the Delta-X Research
Transformer Oil Analyst (TOA) software with Monitor Watch by interfacing with a Digi modem integrated into
the OPT100 Mobile platform. By combining the real-time online measurements of the key fault gases data from
the OPT100 Mobile with the interpretation and analysis of the DGA data by the TOA software, AES Indiana was
able to validate the health and confirm there was no active internal arcing or overheating and take the correct
preventative measures on the transformer.
Once the maintenance plan was completed and verified, the OPT100 Mobile and TOA software were
implemented on another transformer. The mobility of the OPT100 Mobile was crucial to the value of this project,
allowing AES Indiana to immediately deploy this online monitor to another problematic transformer needing
analysis, allowing for maximum return on investment in the equipment. This was only possible because of the
OPT100 Mobile design and functionality.
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