Power Equipment Failure Forensics — Multiphysics FEM

When high-value equipment fails — a surge arrester, a power transformer, a synchronous generator — the question is rarely whether it failed but why, and whether the rest of the fleet is at risk. For a regional utility in Colombia, Gridradix performed finite-element forensic analyses of failed equipment: surge arresters subjected to fast-front lightning overvoltages and to temporary overvoltages from single-phase ground faults; power transformers under electrical and thermal stress; and synchronous generators, modelled electromagnetically in ANSYS. Each study combined EMT-level event reconstruction with component-level multiphysics modelling to pinpoint the failure mechanism.

1. 01

   Root-cause analysis of surge arrester failures caused by fast-front overvoltages from lightning strikes, using EMTP event reconstruction and COMSOL Multiphysics component models.

2. 02

   Root-cause analysis of surge arrester failures under temporary overvoltages arising from single-phase-to-ground faults.

3. 03

   Finite-element modelling of power transformers in COMSOL Multiphysics — including 2D coupled electromagnetic–thermal analysis of windings under fault conditions.

4. 04

   Electromagnetic finite-element modelling of synchronous generators in ANSYS to investigate failure modes.

5. 05

   Correlation of simulated stress distributions with physical failure evidence, and definition of preventive measures for the remaining fleet.

Multiphysics FEM turned post-mortem inspections into quantified failure mechanisms — showing where and why stresses exceeded design limits — so the utility could target replacements and setting changes at the actual risk rather than replacing equipment fleet-wide.

• Short-circuit All cases — Short-circuit →
• Insulation coordination All cases — Insulation coordination →

Systems & technologies

• COMSOL Multiphysics
• ANSYS
• EMTP
• Surge arresters
• Power transformers
• Synchronous generators
• Root-cause analysis