FRANEO 800 for SFRA testing

FRANEO 800 from OMICRON is an SFRA test set. Since the IEC 60076-18 and IEEE C57.149 standards were introduced, SFRA has become one of the common electrical tests for detecting winding defects and faults in the magnetic core of power transformers and its acceptance in the market has increased accordingly.

As with its predecessor the FRAnalyzer, FRANEO 800 looks for mechanical and electrical changes within windings, internal contacts, the clamping structure or the transformer core by analysing the frequency response. These changes can be caused by shocks, e.g. during transportation, seismic activities or mains power failures such as short circuits. SFRA is the most reliable testing method for recognising these changes. In addition, it is fast and cost-effective, given that the active component of the transformer does not need to be removed.

FRANEO 800 has a newly developed and highly robust housing, which is suited for on-site testing. The output voltage is freely adjustable between 0.1 V_pp and 10 V_pp. This means measurements can be easily compared with previous tests – irrespective of the output voltage used to run them. The higher maximum output voltage now even allows users to perform measurements in areas with high levels of interference without any problem. A higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and an improved clamp design assures the reproducibility of the test. The integrated battery also allows tests to be carried out in areas without a power supply.

FRANEO 800 operates with the Primary Test Manager (PTM) software for the diagnostic testing and condition assessment of power transformers, current transformers, and circuit breakers. The software provides the best-possible support for performing SFRA measurements: Once the measurement clamps have been connected to the power transformer, PTM checks the ground loop. This minimises connection errors and makes future measurements easier to reproduce. Due to the high-performance database of PTM, users can manage the test results easily and quickly. Existing results from the testing devices of other manufacturers can also be imported into the database without a problem. With just the click of a button, PTM also allows measurements to be compared with matching values from a reference measurement in the database. This means that users will save valuable time when testing their transformers.