(1)the breakdown of the insulation between winding to winding, winding to core, winding to tank will cause the winding short-circuit or winding earthing.
(2) the puncture of the insulation between turn to turn, segment and segment will cause the turn short-circuit.
Generally, the atmosphere over-voltage will cause two or more kinds of damage. And therefore, it usually applies the arrester to protect the
transformer.
the way to protect the damage of over-voltage: besides to improve the insulation level of the HV winding, it also should strengthen the insulation level of the two ends turns, or applies the electrostatic ring or electromagnetic screen to balance the voltage of the first few turns of the winding. To 35KV or above
transformer, it also should apply the neutral point earthing system to protect the over-voltage damage.