Electr Eng (2007) 89: 301–309 DOI 10.1007/s00202-006-0008-4 O R I G I NA L PA P E R Ebrahim Rahimpour · Davood Azizian Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers Received: 17 September 2005 / Accepted: 16 January 2006 / Published online: 11 April 2006 © Springer-Verlag 2006 Abstract Non-flammable characteristic of dry-type castresin transformers make them suitable for residential and hospital usages. However, because of resin’s property, thermal behavior of these transformers is undesirable, so it is important to analyze their thermal behavior. Temperature distribution of cast-resin transformers is mathematically modeled in this paper. The solution of the model was carried out successfully by finite difference method. In order to validate the model, the simulation results were compared with the experimental data measured from an 800 kVA transformer. Finally, the influences of some construction parameters and environmental conditions on temperature distribution of cast-resin transformers were discussed. Keywords Thermal modeling · Dry-type transformer · Cast-resin · Finite difference 1 Introduction The transformer is a key component in the transmission and distribution system of electrical energy. In some cases, as in hospitals and residential areas, transformers must be protected against flame and explosion. Therefore, specialists and designers tend towards new kinds of transformers. Thus, non-flammable transformers have been built [1]. These transformers employ non-flammable insulations in their structure. One of such insulations is askarel, which includes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However, in the mid-1970s, it was determined that PCBs were not environmentally acceptable. E. Rahimpour (B) Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Zanjan, Daneshgah road (Tabriz road km 5), P. O. Box 45195-313, Zanjan, Iran E-mail: ebrahim.rahimpour@web.de Tel.: +98-241-5152678 D. Azizian Iran Transformer Research Institute (ITRI), Zanjan, Iran Therefore, the usage of askarel in existing transformers has gradually been phased out [2,3]. As a consequence, some kind of new transformers have been developed among which dry-type transformers are a common type. One of the most common kinds of dry-type transformers is cast-resin type which is investigated in this paper. These transformers are protected against flammability and moisture attraction but they lack some advantages of oil-filled transformers. Oil in the oil-filled transformers is not only an electrical insulation but also works as a cooling matter, while the cast-resin transformers lack any fluid for cooling. In addition, resin used by these transformers is class F insulation with insulation system temperature of 155◦ C [4]. Thus, analyzing the temperature behavior in such transformers is crucially important. A lot of papers have investigated experimental results of temperature distribution in some kinds of dry-type transformers [5–8] and even Pierce in [9] has modeled the temperature behavior of ventilated dry-type transformers. However, no mathematical model has been presented for the cast-resin transformers. Hence, thermal behavior of these transformers is modeled in this paper. The modeling results are compared with the experimental data collected from an 800 kVA and 20/0.4 kV transformer and accuracy of the model is validated. Moreover, the influences of some construction parameters and environmental conditions on temperature distribution are discussed. 2 Heat transfer in cast-resin transformer A schematic view of cast-resin transformer is shown in Fig. 1. In this figure, LV and HV denote low voltage and high voltage, respectively. Regarding the cylindrical structure of the transformer, temperature in φ direction can be assumed to be symmetric, so the heat transfer can be taken into two-dimensional coordinates. In addition, we can divide this transformer into four areas in terms of heat transfer (Fig. 2), described as follows. 302 E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian where, qro : local radiation heat, transferred in height z in outer surface (W), : qro local radiation heat flux in height z in outer surface (W/m2 ), h ro : local heat transfer coefficient for radiation from outer surface [W/(m2 K)], ε: emissivity coefficient of surface, Ts : local temperature of surface (K), Tair : ambient temperature (K), A: the surface on which radiation occurs (m2 ), and σ: Stephan Boltzman’s coefficient (5.67 × 10−8 W/ (m2 K4 )). Fig. 1 Schematic view of cast-resin transformer Natural convection Theoretical equations for convection [10, 11] are very complex and unimportant to use here. Therefore, some experimental equations are used for thermal modeling. These equations were used by Pierce in [9] and are given below: qco qco (z) = (4) = h co (Ts − Tair ) A h co (z) = Nuz = Fig. 2 Different parts of heat transfer in cast-resin transformer 2.1 Part 1: windings (combination of conductors and insulations) Considering the solid structure of this part, the heat transfer mechanism is conduction. The heat transfer equation in cylindrical coordinate can be written as 1 ∂ q̇ ∂T ∂2T r + 2 =− r ∂r ∂r ∂z ku (1) wherein, the quantities are as follows: q̇: T: ku : specific loss density (W/m3 ), temperature (K), and thermal conductivity of unit [W/(m K)]. 2.2 Part 2: outer surface Outer surface is a vertical cylindrical surface and can be assumed as a vertical plate. Two types of heat transfer can occur in the outer surface, including radiation and natural convection, which are described as follows. Radiation For the outer surface, radiation can be expressed as the equation below [10,11]: qro 4 qro (z) = ) = h ro (Ts − Tair ) (2) = εσ (Ts4 − Tair A 3 3 h ro = σ ε(Ts3 + Ts Tair + Ts3 Tair + Tair ) (3) Gr∗ = Nuz kair Z 4 Pr 2 Gr∗ 36 + 45 Pr gβq co Z 4 kair ν 2 (5) 1/5 (6) (7) where, qco : local convection heat, transferred in height z in outer surface (W), : qco local convection heat flux at location z in outer surface (W/m2 ), q co : average heat flux in outer surface (W/m2 ), h co : local heat transfer coefficient for convection from outer surface [W/(m2 K)], kair : thermal conductivity of air [W/(m K)], Gr∗ : Grashoff number for uniform heat flux, Nuz : Nusselt number, Pr: Prandtl number, β: volumetric expansion of air (1/K), ν: kinematical viscosity of air (m2 /sec), g: acceleration of gravity (m/sec2 ), and Z: vertical distance (m). The aforementioned equations are valid over the Grashoff’s range (105 ≤ Gr∗ ≤ 1010 ) [9]. Note that β, ν, and kair are dependent on unknown temperatures [10,11]. 2.3 Part 3: air ducts In this part, the radiation and conduction heat transfers are negligible in comparison to the convection. Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers 303 Natural convection As before, it is preferable to use the experimental equations which are used by Pierce [9], these are given below: qcd = h cd (Ts − Tair ) (8) Nuz kair (9) h cd (z) = b wherein, 1/3 Nu Z = C1 (1 + R)1/6 ψ Z , for ψ Z ≤ 60◦ (10) −1 1/2 1 9 1 24 − , + Nu Z = C2 (1 + R) ψZ 1 + R 70 2 2.4 Part 4: top and bottom surfaces for ψ Z ≥ 60◦ wherein, (b/Z )Gr∗ Pr ψZ = 1/2 (b/L)Gr∗ Pr 3 Mathematical modeling with finite difference method (11) (12) Gr∗ = gβq Dh4 kair ν 2 (13) Dh = 2 π(ro2 − ri2 )/N − a · b Duct area =2 Duct perimeter 2π(ro + ri )/N − 2a + 2b (14) in which C1 = 0.697, C2 = 1, and heat transferred by convection at location z in qcd : inner or outer wall (W/m2 ), qcd : local convection heat flux at location z in inner or outer wall (W/m2 ), average heat flux in inner wall (W/m2 ) see q̄i : Fig. 3, q̄o : average heat flux in outer wall (W/m2 ) see Fig. 3, q : is equal to q̄i and q̄o for inner wall and outer wall, respectively, R: is equal to q̄o /q̄i for inner wall, and q̄i /q̄o for outer wall, h cd : local heat transfer coefficient for convection from inner or outer wall [W/(m2 K)], Ts : local temperature in inner or outer wall (K), a: width of dog bones (m), see Fig. 3, b: width of the air duct, which is equal to the length of dog bones (m) see Fig. 3, ri and ro : radii of inner and outer walls (m), L: total height of duct (m), and N: number of dog bones. Heat transfer from bottom surfaces can be neglected with a good precision (this assumption is because of the low quantity of Ts − Tair ). For top surfaces, heat transfer is unknown and depends on many parameters such as air speed, color of surface and so on, so the worst case in terms of the calculated temperature was assumed and this heat transfer is neglected. If it is necessary to consider the heat transfer from this part, two equations similar to Eqs. (2) and (4) must be used. Finite difference method, in which the so called resistive elements are employed, is used to solve the Eq. (1). This method applies the energy conversion law to state the Eq. (1) in the numerical form. The energy conversion law in the steadystate expresses: Heat transferd to other Heat generated (15) = units or ambient in the unit In finite difference method, the solid parts are divided into a number of units properly (see Fig. 4). Each unit is represented by a node which is related to other nodes by thermal resistances. Heat transfer between two nodes can be expressed as follows: (T1 − T2 ) q12 = (16) R12 wherein, T1 and T2 : q12 : R12 : temperatures of the nodes 1 and 2, heat transferred from node 1 to node 2 (negative value means that the heat is transferred from node 2 to node 1), and thermal resistance between nodes 1 and 2. From Eq. (16), it is obvious that there is a duality between heat flow and electrical current and also between energy conversion and kirchoff’s laws. By using relation (15), the following equation results: (A) Δ ro Δ ri (B) m ,n+1 Δr R+n a Δz Δ zu Δ zd qi m,n b Δ z = Δ zu /2+ Δ zd /2 Δ r = Δ ri /2+ Δ ro /2 qo Fig. 3 Schematic view of a duct (including four dog bones) from top of the transformer m-1,n Rm- m+1,n R+m Rnm,n-1 Fig. 4 a Units in radial and vertical directions (2 nodes in radial direction and 13 nodes in axial direction are shown in this division). b Schematic view of a unit, which is represented by a node named m, n 304 E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian Table 1 Thermal resistances otherwise otherwise Heat transfer from top surface (in nodes of top surface) otherwise Heat transfer from bottom surface (in nodes of bottom surface) otherwise (Tm,n − Tm−1,n ) (Tm,n − Tm+1,n ) (Tm,n − Tm,n−1 ) + + Rm− Rm+ Rn− (Tm,n − Tm,n+1 ) + = qm,n (17) Rn+ wherein Rm− , Rm+ , Rn− , and Rn+ are thermal resistances between nodes which m,n and inner, outer, lower and upper nodes (Fig. 4) which are given in Table 1. Note that, Tm−1,n , Tm+1,n , Tm,n−1 , and Tm,n+1 in the nodes belong to outer surface or inner wall of air ducts, the outer wall of the air ducts, the bottom surfaces and the top surfaces are, respectively, replaced by ambient temperature (Tair ). Obviously these replacements are not equalities and just resulted from Eqs. (2), (4), and (8). The qm,n in Eq. (17) is the total losses in the unit m,n and its value is 0 for the insulation units, with ignoring very small dielectric losses. For windings, qm,n can be calculated as explained in the next subsection. K eddy in Eq. (18) is given in the references [12–14] and: Pdc = Rdc |I |2 = 2πr m ρ 2 |I | hw (19) where ρ, rm , and I represent electrical resistivity, mean radius, and current of conductor, respectively. Now assume that the nodes in the radial direction are selected in the middle of insulation (Fig. 6), so that the related unit contains fourth part of four conductors beside insulation. In this case, losses of each unit (qm,n ) can be calculated as shown in Fig. 6, as the summation of the losses in its conducting parts. Note that, winding losses depend on temperature, as it can be seen in the following equation. K eddy Ptotal−new = Pdc K E + (20) KE with, KE = 3.1 Winding losses Figure 5 shows the cross-section of a conductor with the insulation around it. For the unit shown in Fig. 5, the total losses can be expressed as follows: Ptotal = (1 + K eddy )Pdc (18) Tnew + Tk Tbase + Tk (21) and Tk : −48 K for Aluminum and −38.5 K for Copper, Pdc : dc losses calculated in the temperature Tbase , and Ptotal−new : total losses in the new temperature Tnew . Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers 305 test object. Its geometrical construction is shown in Fig. 7 and its rating parameters are given in Table 2. The LV terminals of the transformer were short-circuited and the applied voltage to the HV terminals were adjusted until the currents reached their rated values in three phases. After reaching the steady-state condition of temperature, temperatures were measured in the outer surface of the outer legs by infrared periscope in different angles (Fig. 8a). It can be seen from Fig. 8a that the assumption of symmetry in φ direction, which is discussed in Sect. 2, might not occur in practice, because of a number of reasons, such as influence of neighbor phases, terminal connections, production tolerances, and non-uniform conditions of environment. Therefore, the temperature varies with φ, which was not considered in the modeling process. Hence, the average value of these temperatures is considered as the experimental data and is compared with the modeling results, as shown in Fig. 8b. It can be seen that the modeling is valid with a good accuracy. For further verification of the model, Table 3 shows the average and the hottest spot temperatures, predicted by modeling and comparison of them with experimental and international electrical committee (IEC) rated values [4]. From Table 3, it is seen that the ratio of the hottest spot temperature rise/the average temperature rise (HS/AV) predicted in this study is near the value predicted by [9]. The causes of differences between modeling and experimental results can be grouped into experimental and modeling errors, as follows: Fig. 5 Cross-section of a conductor with its insulation Fig. 6 Losses of one unit (qm,n ) as the summation of the losses in its conducting parts 3.2 Solving thermal equations By using the above process, the matrix form of Eq. (17) can be derived as follows: [G]n∗n [T ]n∗1 = [Pc ]n∗1 (22) wherein, [G]: coefficients matrix, [T ]: temperatures matrix, and [Pc ]: heat matrix. [G] and [Pc ] are dependent on matrix [T], so an iterative process is necessary to solve the Eq. (22). For thermal modeling of cast-resin dry-type transformer, 58 nodes are selected in the radial direction and 55 nodes in the vertical direction and temperatures are calculated by solving (22). 4 Verification of model To evaluate the validity and accuracy of the discussed thermal model, a cast-resin dry-type transformer is chosen as a Fig. 7 Geometrical construction of cast-resin dry-type transformer (dimensions are in mm) 306 E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian Table 2 Rating parameters of the used test object LV terminal voltage 400 V HV terminal voltage 20 kV Core heat flux 667.54 watt/m2 LV line current 1154.7 A HV line current 23.09 A Power 800 kVA LV connection Y HV connection Δ Frequency 50 Hz LV turns 18 HV turns 1,559 120 120 (B) 110 110 Temperature ( C) Temperature ( C) (A) º º 100 ϕ =60ºC ϕ =120ºC ϕ =240ºC ϕ =300ºC 90 80 70 100 90 80 70 60 0 200 400 600 Vertical Distances (mm) Measured Calculated 800 200 400 600 Vertical Distances (mm) 800 Fig. 8 Comparison of modeling and experimental results. a Measured temperature distribution in different angles. b Comparison between measured and simulated results Table 3 The average and the hottest spot temperature rises of the test object Modeling Experience IEC std [4] Reference [9] The average temperature rise (AV) (◦ C) The hottest spot temperature rise (HS) (◦ C) HS/AV LV HV LV HV LV HV 88 85 100 – 95.8 93 100 – 103 Not measured 115 – 119.3 Not measured 115 – 1.17 1.24 1.15 1.26 1.15 1.26 1. Experimental errors 1. Some laboratory environmental conditions such as air displacements, which cannot be determined precisely and create inaccuracy. 2. Body of the infrared periscope may be warmed subject to magnetic fields. This can cause an error in temperature reading [15]. A number of assumptions such as neglecting the heat transfer from top and bottom surfaces can influence the modeling results too. In the next section, influence of some of them on the modeling results will be discussed. 5 Analyzing some factors affecting temperature distribution 2. Modeling errors 1. Errors caused by numerical calculations due to some computational operations such as rounding and estimation. 2. Errors due to limited number of nodes, increased number of nodes in radial and vertical directions can improve the precision, but the time for running the program outweigh the precision. With the help of verified model, the influences of some parameters on temperature distribution are evaluated. These parameters and results of their analysis are given as follows: 1. Air ducts There are three air ducts in the test object. The behavior of all of them is similar. The influence of the air duct between LV and HV windings (air duct 3 in Fig. 7) on 200 1.5 (A) 180 307 (B) LV HV LV HV 1.4 160 HS/AV Average Temperature ( º C) Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers 140 120 100 1.3 1.2 1.1 80 0 20 40 60 80 Air duct's width (mm) 1 100 0 20 40 60 80 Air duct's width (mm) 100 Fig. 9 Effect of air duct’s width on temperature distribution of windings. a Average temperature. b Ratio of HS/AV 95 º º 90 85 80 120 110 (A) Temperature( C) Temperature( C) 100 With eddy Losses Without eddy Losses 140 160 180 (B) 105 100 95 210 With eddy losses Without eddy losses 220 230 240 250 Radius(mm) Radius(mm) Fig. 10 Effect of eddy losses on temperature distribution in LV winding (a) and HV winding (b), in the middle of windings average temperatures and HS/AVs of LV and HV windings is given in Fig. 9. Along with the increment of air-duct width two phenomena occur: (1) The convection in the air duct increases the total heat transfer. (2) The total HV winding losses increase due to rise in conductors’ length of the HV winding. The first factor decreases the temperature, while the second one increases it. For small widths, the convection factor is dominant, while the losses factor is more efficient in high widths (Fig. 9). 2. Edge bands (see Fig. 7) Edge bands cover the edge of conductor foils in order to improve the insulation structure. The model shows no visible effect on temperature distributions by edge bands. 3. Eddy losses Fig. 10 shows the effect of eddy losses on temperature distribution. As expected these losses increase the temperature in both windings. While the temperature rise in HV winding is negligible, it is considerable in LV winding. The reason is that eddy losses in HV winding are small, since its conductor’s cross-section is smaller than in LV winding. 4. Radiation from outer surface Radiation from outer surface does not have any significant effect on temperature of LV winding. Nevertheless, it has a considerable influence on temperature distribution of HV winding (Fig. 11). 5. Heat transfer from top and bottom surfaces The effect of radiation from top (εt ) and bottom (εb ) surfaces on temperature distribution are shown in Fig. 12, in which only radiation is considered as heat transfer factor. This figure shows that heat transfer from bottom surfaces is negligible and from top surfaces has a small effect on temperature. This behavior is in agreement with the assumption made in Sect. 2. 6. Dog bones (see Fig. 3) Only air ducts 1 and 2 (Fig. 7) contain dog bones. The effect of dog bones on average and the hottest spot temperature is modeled through changing its number between 0 and 12. It was observed that the dog bones had no considerable influence on temperature of HV winding, while they had a considerable influence on temperature of LV winding (Fig. 13). To give a better view of the effects of various parameters on temperature distribution of LV and HV windings, Table 4 shows a summary of the results. 6 Conclusion Cast-resin dry-type transformer is modeled in this paper in order to calculate temperature distribution in its windings. The validity and accuracy of the modeling results is shown with 308 E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian 100 130 95 90 ε =0.8 ε =0.9 ε =0.95 85 120 140 160 Temperature( º C) Temperature( º C) (A) (B) 120 110 ε =0.8 ε =0.9 ε =0.95 100 90 180 220 Radius(mm) 230 240 250 Radius (mm) Temperature( º C) Fig. 11 Effect of radiation of outer surface on temperature distribution in LV winding. (a) and HV winding (b), in the middle of windings (ε denotes emissivity coefficient of outer surface) 150 Table 4 Effects of various factors on temperature distribution of LV winding and HV winding 100 Air ducts Edge bands Eddy losses Radiation from outer surface Heat transfer from top surface Heat transfer from bottom surface Dog bones 50 0 εb=0.0 , εt=0.0 εb=0.8 , εt=0.0 εb=0.0 , εt=0.8 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Vertical Distances (mm) Fig. 12 Variation of temperature in inner surface of HV winding due to emissivity of top and bottom surfaces (εt denotes emissivity coefficient of top surface and εb denotes emissivity coefficient of bottom surface) the help of experimental results from an 800 kVA transformer and comparing the calculated and measured temperatures. The effects of some factors on temperature distribution are investigated with the help of model and the following results are obtained: (1) By increasing the air-duct width the temperature decreases for small air-duct widths, while it increases for large air-duct widths. º HV winding Strong Insignificant Considerable Insignificant Weak Insignificant Considerable Strong Insignificant Insignificant Considerable Weak Insignificant Insignificant (2) The dog bones have no influence on temperature of HV winding, while they cause a considerable increase on temperature of LV winding. (3) Edge bands have no evident effect on temperature distributions. (4) Eddy losses increase the generated heat and therefore the temperature of windings. They are dependent on crosssection of conductors. Consequently, the amount of temperature rise due to eddy losses depend on cross-section of conductors. (5) Radiation from outer surface influences only the temperature of outer winding considerably. (6) Heat transfer from bottom surfaces is negligible and from top surfaces has a small effect on temperature. (7) It is observed that the ratio of HS/AV varies slightly around a constant value. (B) 1.175 90 89 HS/AV Average Temperature( C) (A) LV winding 88 87 1.17 1.165 86 85 0 5 10 Nomber of dog bones 1.16 0 5 10 Nomber of dog bones Fig. 13 Effect of dog bones on temperature distribution of LV winding. a Average temperature b Ratio of HS/AVb Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers References 1. Nunn T (2000) A comparison of liquid-filled and dry-type transformer technologies. IEEE-IAS Cement Industry Committee, pp 105–112 2. Claiborne CC, Pearce HA (1989) Transformer fluids. IEEE Electr Insul Mag 5(4):16–19 3. McMahon MD, Rian BJ (1989) Reclassification of askarel transformers – Field application and results. IEEE Trans Ind Appl 25(2):371 4. Standard (2005) Dry type power transformers, IEC Standard Publication, 60076–11 5. 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