Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021): Volume 1, Issue 1 (2021)
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE OF POWER TRANSFORMER USING MACHINE LEARNING - A CASE STUDY
Richmond Ofori Amaning
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19356496
Published: March 31, 2026
Abstract
The importance of power transformers in electrical power systems cannot be overstated, as
their failures can lead to considerable economic losses and disruptions. The typical
malfunctions encountered by a power transformer comprise dielectric issues, thermal losses
due to copper resistance, distortions in winding caused by mechanical faults, failure of
bushings, malfunction of tap changers, core malfunction, tank malfunction, failure of the
protection system, and failure of the cooling system. Traditional methods for transformer
fault detection involve using the ratio of key gases present in the transformer oil when a
fault occurs. These gases include Hydrogen (H2), Methane (CH4), Ethane (C2H6), Ethylene
(C2H4), Ethyne (C2H2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). For accurate
and early detection of faults, traditional methods require complex algorithms. This project
focuses on the predictive maintenance of power transformers using machine learning
techniques, aiming to identify and address potential faults pre-emptively. By analysing
various fault types and leveraging machine learning tech like Decision Trees, Support
Vector Machines (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), the project develops models
that predict transformer failures based on historical data. Dataspell software and Python
libraries such as Numpy and Matplotlib were used to train the model. The testing results
showed the efficiency of the SVM, KNN, and Decision Tree methods in detecting the faults
experienced by the power transformer. The testing accuracy for SVM, KNN and Decision
Tree models was 95.65%, 95.65% and 89.13%, respectively. It was observed that the SVM
and KNN models performed better than the decision tree model.
Full Text:
Read the Full Article
The HTML galley is loaded below for inline reading and better discovery.
How to Cite
Richmond Ofori Amaning (2026). PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE OF POWER TRANSFORMER USING MACHINE LEARNING - A CASE STUDY. African Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021): Volume 1, Issue 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19356496
Keywords
Predictive MaintenancePower TransformersDecision TreeSupport Vector MachineK-Nearest NeighbourDissolved Gas Analysis (DGA)
Research Snapshot
Desktop reading viewLanguage
EN
Formats
HTML + PDF
Publication Track
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021): Volume 1, Issue 1 (2021)
Current Journal
African Maintenance Engineering