Transformer failure investigation and recovery
Mobilised breakdown response to remote sites, and the forensic work that establishes what actually happened.
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Who a transformer failure investigation is for
After a transformer fails, two questions follow: why it failed, and what can be done with it now. A transformer failure investigation answers the first with a root-cause analysis built on evidence: dissolved gas analysis, a frequency-response comparison, electrical tests and an internal inspection. The recovery work answers the second: limited service where the tests show it is safe, then repair, refurbishment or replacement.
Plants where every hour of downtime has a price
A mine or process plant whose production runs through the failed unit, where the questions are what happened and how much of the load can come back while the permanent answer is arranged.
Owners with a known fault or failure
A unit that has tripped on its protection, gassed or failed in service, and needs a documented finding before the decision on repair or replacement is made.
Insurers, warranty claims and disputes
Where a failure has to be explained to someone else — an insurer, a manufacturer under warranty, or the other side of a dispute — and the explanation has to rest on documented test evidence.
Remote sites
Sites where the capability is not local, so the team and its test equipment travel with what the investigation needs.
What failure investigation and recovery includes
Evidence first. The investigation combines several methods, because no single test establishes a cause.
Mobilisation to the site
The team and its equipment mobilised to the failed unit, including remote and cross-border sites, with the same planning, clearance and self-sufficiency as every programme.
Dissolved gas forensics
Dissolved gas results interpreted to IEC 60599, or IEEE C57.104, to indicate whether the energy released was overheating, partial discharge or arcing. Gas collected from the gas relay is analysed to IEC 60567.
Frequency response against the fingerprint
A sweep frequency response trace compared with the unit's earlier trace, to IEC 60076-18, shows whether a winding has moved.
Supporting electrical tests
Short-circuit impedance, excitation current, winding resistance and turns ratio, read against the unit's own earlier results to locate the damage.
Internal inspection
Entry to the tank to see the damage, run as confined-space work under its own procedure and rescue plan.
Temporary measures
Where the investigation shows it is safe, measures to restore limited service while a permanent repair is arranged.
Documentation for insurers, warranty and disputes
The investigation written up with its evidence, for an insurer, a warranty claim or a dispute.
How an investigation runs, from first contact to a decision
Phases, in order. Mobilisation follows the same eight stages as every programme, planned for your site.
First contact, with the records
Protection records, recent oil and gas results and earlier test reports, sent with the first call or email.
Mobilisation
Team, test equipment, route and clearance planned for the site, and the team deployed once the equipment has cleared.
On-site investigation
Oil and gas analysis, the frequency-response comparison, electrical tests and internal inspection.
Temporary measures where safe
Limited service restored only where the evidence supports it.
The documented finding
The likely cause, and the evidence for it, written up.
Return to service, refurbish or replace
A recommendation for the unit. If it is refurbishment, the investigation results become the baseline the repair is measured against.
What you provide
The assets and the site
The organisation, the site, the number of transformers with their rating and voltage ranges, the situation and your timeline: what the enquiry form asks for.
Existing records
DGA results, oil analysis and test reports, sent as a reply to our acknowledgement. A result means more when it is read against the same unit's history.
What the failure investigation report gives you
An investigation report
What was found, the test results with the method behind each, the inspection findings, and the likely cause with the evidence that supports it.
A record for insurers and warranty claims
Documentation prepared for an insurer, a warranty claim or a dispute: the evidence set out in full, with no conclusion stated beyond what the tests support.
A recommendation and a baseline
Return to service, refurbish or replace, and results that become the reference for any repair that follows.
Failure analysis methods and the standards behind them
The cause is established by combining methods, and each result is reported with the method it was obtained by.
| Standard | What it governs here |
|---|---|
| IEC 60567 | Sampling the oil, and gas from the gas relay, for dissolved gas analysis |
| IEC 60599 | Interpreting dissolved gas results: overheating, partial discharge or arcing |
| IEEE C57.104 | The IEEE guide to interpreting the same gas results |
| IEC 60076-18 | Comparing the frequency response with the unit's fingerprint |
The detail on the capabilities page
Transformer failure investigation: common questions
What information helps a failure investigation?
The protection records showing what operated and when; recent oil and dissolved gas results; any gas collected from the Buchholz relay; the unit's earlier test results and frequency-response trace; and its loading and switching history before the event. Send what you have with the first call or email. It shapes what the team brings and what it tests first.
How is the cause of a transformer failure established?
By combining evidence rather than relying on one test. Dissolved gas analysis, interpreted to IEC 60599, indicates whether the energy released was overheating, partial discharge or arcing. A frequency-response trace compared with the unit's fingerprint, to IEC 60076-18, shows whether a winding has moved. Electrical tests and an internal inspection then locate the damage.
Can a failed transformer be returned to limited service?
Sometimes. Where the investigation shows it is safe to do so, temporary measures can restore limited service while a permanent repair or a replacement is arranged. Whether that is possible, and at what loading, depends on what failed, and it is decided from the test evidence rather than assumed.
Is the investigation documented for insurers and warranty claims?
Yes. The report sets out what was found, the test results with the method used for each, the inspection findings, and the conclusion on the likely cause with the evidence behind it. It is written for an insurer, a warranty claim or a dispute to read, but it states only what the evidence supports, and the decision on a claim stays with the insurer or the parties. The same record serves as the baseline for any repair that follows.
What happens after the investigation?
The report ends with a recommendation for the unit: return it to service, rehabilitate it, or replace it. If rehabilitation is the answer, the investigation's results become the pre-intervention baseline that the post-repair tests are compared with, so the evidence carries through from the failure to the return to service.
Can a team reach a remote or cross-border site?
Remote and cross-border sites are what the mobilisation process is built for: equipment moves under temporary import, and the team carries its own power supply and spares. How soon a team can be on site depends on the country, the route and the customs position. That is stated for the specific site when you get in touch, rather than promised in general.
Scope this programme for your site
Tell us the assets, the site and the situation. The enquiry form opens with this programme already selected.