Air temperature effect on thermal models for ventilated dry-type transformers

The temperature of the air surrounding the windings of ventilated dry-type transformers is an important factor in the cooling of the windings since they are cooled only by the air. In particular, inner windings are sensitive to the air temperature in vertical cooling ducts. This study presents air temperature effect on the temperatures in foil-type inner winding for the dry-type transformers. A transformer rated at 2000 kVA was selected for the research and temperature distribution was calculated under constant and varying air temperatures inside vertical ducts at three different loads. The 2-D transient heat diffusion equation was solved using the finite element method by coupling it with the vector potential equation due to non-uniformly generated heat caused by eddy currents in the foil winding. The calculated temperatures at constant and varying air temperatures are presented together with experimental values. The numerical and experimental results of this study showed that the air temperature affects the accuracy of temperatures in foil-type inner winding greatly.