Power transformer fault diagnosis based on dissolved gas analysis by support vector machine

Abstract This paper presents an intelligent fault classification approach to power transformer dissolved gas analysis (DGA). Support vector machine (SVM) is powerful for the problem with small sampling (small amounts of training data), nonlinear and high dimension (large amounts of input data). The standard IEC 60599 proposes two DGA methods which are the ratios and graphical representation. According the experimental data, for the same input data, these two methods give two different faults diagnosis results, what brings us to a problem. This paper investigates a novel extension method which consists in elaborating an input vector establishes by the combination of ratios and graphical representation to resolve this problem. SVM is applied to establish the power transformers faults classification and to choose the most appropriate gas signature between the DGA traditional methods and a novel extension method. The experimental data from Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG) is used to illustrate the performance of proposed SVM models. Then, the multi-layer SVM classifier is trained with the training samples. Finally, the normal state and the six fault types of transformers are identified by the trained classifier. In comparison to the results obtained from the SVM, the proposed DGA method has been shown to possess superior performance in identifying the transformer fault type. The SVM approach is compared with other AI techniques (fuzzy logic, MLP and RBF neural network); the proposed method gives a good performance for transformers fault diagnosis. The test results indicate that the novel extension method and the SVM approach can significantly improve the diagnosis accuracies for power transformer fault classification.