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CONTENTS

1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Birth of Transformers 4. Transformer Losses 5. Loss Reduction Using Electromagnetic Shielding 6. Reduction Of Dielectric Losses 7. Impact Of The Joint Design Parameters On Core Losses 8. Magnetic Flux Distribution In Step Lap Joints 9. Conclusion

INTRODUCTION Electrical energy is generated at places where it is easier to get water head,oil or coal for hydroelectric,diesel or thermal power stations respectively.The energy is to be transmitted at considerable distance for use in villages,towns and cities.Transmission of electrical energy at high voltages is economical,therefore some means are required for stepping up the voltages at generating stations and stepping down the same at the places where it is to be used.Electric machines used for this purpose is TRANSFORMER.

In our country the electrical energy is usually generated at 6.6 or 11 or 33 KV,stepped upto 132,220,400 or 765KV with the help of step up transformers for transmission and then stepped down to 6.6k KV or 33 KV at grid substations for feeding various substations which further step down the voltage to 11 KV for feeding distributing transformers stepping down the voltage further to 400/230V for the consumer uses.

Thus transformer is an AC machine which transfers electrical energy from one electric circuit to another without a change of frequency by the principle of electromagnetic induction.Since the basic construction requires no moving parts,so it is often called the static transformer.Owing to the lack of rotating parts,there are no friction or windage losses.Typical transformer efficiencies at full load lies between96 and 97%.

BIRTH OF TRANSFORMERS Michael Faraday built the first transformer in 1831,although he used it only to demonstrate the principle of electromagnetic induction.Then in 1836 Nichollas Callan showed the wide use of transformer with the invention of induction coil.Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs who first exhibited a device called a secondary generator in London in 1881and then sold the idea to an American company Westinghouse.This may have been the first practical power transformer. Russian engineer Pavel Yablochkov in 1876 invented a lighting system based on a set of induction coils,where primary windings were connected to a source of alternating current and secondary windings could be connected to several electric candles.Evidently the induction coil in this system operated as a transformer. Russian engineer Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky in 1889 developed the first three phase transformer.

TRANSFORMER LOSSES An ideal transformer would have no losses and therefore be 100% efficient.But an ideal transformer is impossible.As transformer is a static machine there are no friction or windage losses.The various losses occurring in a transformer are: 1. IRON OR CORE LOSSES Iron loss is caused by the alternating flux in the core and consists of hysterisis and eddy current losses. a).Histerisis Loss: The core of a transformer is subjected to an alternating magnetizing force and for each cycle of emf a hysterisis loop is traced out.The hysterisis loss per second is given by,

Hysterisis loss,Ph =.Bmax.x.f.v watts,where F=supply frequency in hertz V=volume of core in m3 =hysterisis coefficient Bmax=peak value of flux density in the core x=lies between 1.5 and 2.5 depending on material and often taken as 1.6 b).Eddy Current Loss:

Induced eddy currents circulate with in the core causing resistive heating.Silicon is added to the steel to help in controlling eddy currents. Eddy current loss/unit volume={2/6}.B2max.f2.t2 ,where =resistivity of the material Bmax=max flux density f=applied frequenc t=thickness of lamination

These losses are minimized by using steel of high silicon content for the core and by using very thin laminations (0.3mm to 0.5mm). 2.COPPER OR OHMIC LOSSES: These losses occur due to the ohmic resistance of the transformer windings. 3.STRAY LOSSES: Not all the magnetic field produced by the primary is intercepted by the secondary.A portion of the leakage flux may induce eddy currents within nearby

conductive objects such as the transformers support structure and be converted to heat.

4.DIELECTRIC LOSSES: This loss occurs in the insulating material particularly in oil and solid insulations.

5.MAGNETOSTRICTION: Magnetic flux in the core causes it to physically expand and contract slightly with the alternating magnetic field,producing a buzzing sound,an effect known as magnetostriction.This inturn causes losses due to frictional heating in susceptible ferromagnetic cores.

6.MECHANICAL LOSSES: In addition to magnetostriction, the alternating magnetic field causes fluctuating electromagnetic forces between the primary and secondary windingsThese incite vibrations within nearby metal work,creating a familiar hum ming or buzzing noise and consuming a small amount of power.

LOSS REDUCTION USING ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDING We are considering 3 methods to reduce distribution transformer losses: The first method investigates the effects of electromagnetic shields upon distribution transformer tank losses. In todays competitive market, accurate estimation and subsequent reduction of the stray loss by shielding techniques could give a competitive advantage.

REDUCTION OF STRAY LOSSES USING ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDS

Of the various materials required to build a transformer, the electrical steel comprises the largest investment. Table below shows a comparative analysis of transformer costs by component.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRANSFORMER COSTS

In the case of a distribution transformer, the leakage flux is high in the tank walls, which causes high-power losses. The main effort to reduce load losses has concentrated in the area of stray losses. A reduction of the magnetic flux is required to reduce these losses. Placing a physical barrier, called a shield, between the electromagneticfield source and the region of interest can accomplish this purpose. Shielding materials include magnetic and electric conducting materials. Magnetic materials are high permeability material and shield by a mechanism called flux shunting. In this

case, the flux from a source is diverted into the magnetic material and away from the region to be shielded.

Electric materials are high-conductivity materials and shield by a phenomenon known as eddy-current cancellation. In this case, currents are induced in the conductor, which create magnetic fields that partially cancel those from the source. Here aluminum, steel and an assumptive material with zero-conductivity and a high relative permeability of 10000 are chosen to analyze and compare their shielding effect. The three-dimensional finite element method is adopted to calculate the leakage field outside the transformer tank. Due to the high conductivity of aluminum and steel, the induced eddy current in the tank is large, which can generate magnetic field and ultimately contributes to the shielding effectiveness. Therefore, to correctly evaluate this eddy current effect, the transformer tank region is finely meshed. The schematic diagram of the transformer in the underground substation and the cared region is shown in the figure. The thickness of the tank is 2 mm, and the observed line of the cared region is 2m above the top of the transformer tank.

The schematic diagram of the transformer in the underground substation and the cared region.

Material

Conductivity (S/M)

Relative Permeability

Maximum B (T)

Reduction Ratio

Air

4.20

Steel

1.03E+07

2.00E+03

0.134

96.81%

Aluminum

3.80E+07

0.219

94.79%

Material 3

1.00E+04

0.647

84.60%

The shielding effectiveness is evaluated by using the reduction ratioof the leakage field, which is defined as follows:

From the table it is seen that both the steel and the aluminium can obtain better shielding effectiveness than Material 3, because the induced eddy current on the high conductivity material tank is large, which can generate inverse direction magnetic flux density to counteract the original leakage magnetic field.

Besides, the steel achieves the best among the three materials, which means that the shielding effect of the material with both high conductivity and high permeability is better than the one only with high conductivity, and the one only with high permeability. The main load-losses are the I2R losses. The stray losses arise from eddy currents induced in metallic parts of the transformer; for instance, in clamps and in tank walls. The stray losses are a

function of many factors including physical geometry of the cores and windings, voltage class, and the material used in the tank construction. The stray losses increase with the growing of transformer rating as shown in the graph.

The stray losses that could be reduced by placing shielding areexpressed as a function of the transformer rating as follows: Pstray=0.0007(kVA)2+.9838(kVA) - 4.7359

A magnetic shield comprises a large number of packets of aluminum laminations mounted on the vertical sides of the steel tank. The load loss and stray loss are measured under three conditions:(a) without shield, (b) with aluminum shield of 1.2 mm of thickness, (c) with aluminum shield thickness of 10 mm.

MEASUREMENT VALUES OF STRAY LOSSES

It is observed that stray losses are increased by 20.9% when the 10-mm aluminum shield is not used. On the other hand, there was little change in the losses between the 1.2-mm shield and the unshielded case, since the depth of penetration is larger

than the aluminum shield thickness so the magnetic flux density reaches the carbon steel.

REDUCTION OF DIELECTRIC LOSSES

The no-load losses(Pno

load)

include the eddy-current losses(Pe) , the hysteresis

losses(Ph) , and the dielectric losses(Pd). Since the no-load current will be very small compared to the full load value, the losses in the windings will be negligible. Pno load=Pe+Ph+Pd

Table shows the no-load losses measured for a sample of four 37.5-kVA transformers during three stages of the manufacturing process.

NO-LOAD LOSSES DURING THREE STAGES OF TRANSFORMER MANUFACTURING

Column 1 shows the no-load losses when a test coil of 12 turns is used. Column 2 indicates the no-load losses when the cores are assembled with their design windings but without the tank. Column 3 indicates the no-load losses when the transformer is completed, that is, when the transformer has a tank and it is filled with oil.

From the table , two main observations can be made. First, the no-load losses of the active-element (set core winding) are higher than the no-load losses of the completed transformer because when the active-element is tested, its insulation contains a high content of moisture, which causes high dielectric losses. The dielectric losses are determined by the expression: Pd =V2 tan C

Where V=Voltage,

=angular frequency, =load angle,C=capacitance

column 2 losses are higher than the column 1 losses because undesirable stresses are created in the electric steel for manufacturing operations introduced during the core-coil assembly. The stresses due to the slitting of the core steel as well as the stresses due to the core winding and forming operations are relieved by the heat treatment process (or stress relief annealing). Normally, stresses create a harmful effect by causing a degradation of magnetic properties. These changes occur

because the metal crystals are distorted.Hence dielectric losses can be reduced by carrying out an adequate drying process.

IMPACT OF THE JOINT DESIGN PARAMETERS ON CORE LOSSES Joints play an important role in the performance of transformer cores.Due to the importance of improved electrical core performance,transformer manufacturers are

very active in the development of better steel cores.Hence the effect of following factors is considered: a) Overlap length b) Number of laminations per step or group Optimization of the core has significant impact on the total cost of the transformer.When the performance characteristics of the steel improve the size of the core can be reduced.

Use of better material with improved core joints will permit a higher operating flux density.With this for a given flux in the core,one can reduce core area with higher flux density.If flux density is kept constant,reduction in core size will reduce the mean turn length of copper,which inturn may compensate the increase in copper content on account of extra turns required.As a consequence,less copper and

insulation in the coil will be required.With a smaller core and coil,a smaller tank is required and as a result less insulating oil is required.

The following are the main core manufacturing parameter definitions:

Step or book. Set of laminations, which can vary between four and 25 and this set of laminations form a cycle. In the figure the first four laminations (from top to bottom) form a step. Air gap (g). The air gap is the separation between lamination and lamination in the direction of rolling. In the practice, this value is less than 3 mm. Overlap (L)

. The overlap is the length between the half points of the air gaps of two laminations contiguous in the rolling direction. The typical range of this parameter is 1 to 2 cm. Lamination thickness (T). Grain oriented silicon steel is graded according to the American iron and steel institute (AISI) designations.

Insulation thickness . Grain oriented electrical steels are coated with C-2 coating or C-5 over C-2 coating. Typical C-2 coating thickness is 0.0001 cm per surface. Whenever C-5 is applied over C-2 coating, the thickness of C-5 coating is approximately 0.0001 cm per surface for wound-core distribution transformer.

The laminations are in succession in order to obtain a higher mechanical stability. If the joints are rigid and strong, it prevents them from coming apart under severe operation conditions, and also diminishes the noise, from vibrations during the operation of the transformer. MAGNETIC FLUX DISTRIBUTION IN STEP- LAP JOINTS

A different and more common overlapping scheme at core Joints is the step-lap (SL) which is presented in the figure. The step-lap has 6 steps per group, which is

typical for modern power transformers. The basic property of a SL joint with 6 steps is that the flux in one lamination step travels, upon meeting a gap, on to the next 5 steps. The flux density in the mid sheet plane of the lower lamination of each step of a group is plotted along lines 16 of the figure.

Flux lines in step-lap core joint at B (overall) = 1.7 T.

Sketch for identification of plot lines in a SL joint.

These plots demonstrate that, in the case of this type of step-lap, the flux almost totally avoids the gap (0.04 T) and redistributes almost equally in the laminationsof the other 5 steps, bringing the flux density in these close to the level of total saturation in the steel regions above and below this gap region. This repeats in all other laminations. This explains the significant effect the step-lap has on improving the flux distribution in the joint region and hence on the total core loss and the noise level of a transformer.

Magnetic flux density in all 6 different laminations in a step-lap core joint along lines 16 of above figure.

It can be observed from figure that normal flux density before and after the gaps reaches a peak magnitude of 0.25T, which is much less than the 0.7 T observed in a NSL joint. The flux density along a line crossing the sheets of a step-lap in normal direction at one of the 6 gap positions (line 9) .

We find a very small variation of induction (about 0.005 T) within those ten sheets of one group, where no gap is passed. In the figure, one can see that the regions in the ten laminations above and below a gap exhibit flux densities that are very much equal. The variation is only between 2.0282.035T, indicating again a very effective flux loading in the step-lap joint.

Normal magnetic flux density between sheets of different lamination

steps in a step-lap core joint (along lines 7, 8)

Flux density distribution along line 9.

The effects of core-parameter changes on wound-core losses in a distribution transformer is analysed here.At first the number of laminations per step or book is varied.It is shown in the table below. The transformers were excited with a 60-Hz generator and the measurements were made under design flux density.

NO-LOAD LOSSES FOR A 15-KVA TRANSFORMER WITH DIFFERENT LAMINATIONS PER STEP

Table shows that laminations per step do not have an important effect on the core losses. In order to comply with manufacturing limitations, the number of laminations per step is increased. Conversely, the overlap lengths are decreased and the net result of these opposing factors results in no change.

A separate experiment examined a sample of nine 37.5-kVA transformer cores, in which six cores were manufactured with an overlap length of 1 cm and three cores were manufactured with an overlap length of 2 cm. The results are shown below.

NO-LOAD LOSSES WITH DIFFERENT OVERLAP LENGTH

Table shows that the sample with higher losses was the transformer with an overlap length of 2 cm. This is most likely due to the increased area, where the flux is forced to pass perpendicularly to the laminations, since the core steel is anisotropic. The results of the no-load test vary with the temperature of the

transformer core . For this reason, the measurements were carried out at the same temperature.

CONCLUSION

This seminar thus gives 3 methods for the reduction of distribution transformer losses.The first method used electromagnetic shield for the transformer core.This prevented the penetration of magnetic stray flux in the magnetic materials where high losses would be induced.In this case,we have seen that an increase of stray losses by 20.9% was observed when the aluminium shield of 10mm was not used. The second method reduced dielectric losses of the transformer by carrying out drying process.Dielectric losses increases with the moisture content.

The third method used step lap joints for the loss reduction.It is observed that the number of laminations per step does not have much effect on the core losses.When the overlap length increases ,the core losses also increase.

REFERENCES

1.G. F. Mechler and R. S. Girgis, Magnetics flux distributions in transformer core joints, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 15, pp. 198203,Jan. 2000.

2.Reducing losses in distribution transformers, IEEE transactions on power delivery, vol. 18, no. 3, july 2003

3. Analysis on the shielding effect of the power transformer tank, Duo Chen, Haiyu Yu, and Jiansheng Yuan

4. International journal of power and energy systems,Vol 23,2003-Impact of the joint design parameters on transformer losses.

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