Microcontroller Based Power Transformer Monitoring and Protection System (P-0242) (MFN 4688)

Abstract

Power Transformer is an electrical device which transfers energy between two circuits through Electromagnetic Induction. Power transformers are the most important and expensive equipment in any power supply system. Keeping in view its high cost, the basic need in any power supply system is the protection of power transformer from any sort of damages or malfunctioning. A transformer may be used as a safe and efficient voltage converter to change the AC voltage at its input to a higher or lower voltage at its output. A power transformer is a very expensive electrical device. Due to its high cost, there has always been a debate for the protection of Power Transformer among Electrical Researchers. This project is actually a demo/prototype of protection of power transformer. This project has proposed a method of protection for power transformer from different faults. The various faults occurring in the transformer and the steps taken to protect the device from these faults are also discussed. The electrical parameters like current, voltage and temperature of the transformer are monitored. These parameters are fed as base values to micro-controller. The output signal is provided to operate a relay by comparing the base values with the operating electrical parameters. As soon as voltage and currents will exceed maximum ratings, relays will operate and turn off the transformer to avoid any sort of damage. The thing which distinguishes this scheme from other protection schemes is the use of PIC microcontroller and LCD display in it, which is a perfect example of an efficient monitoring and protection scheme for a Power Transformer.