Temperature distribution in foil winding for ventilated dry-type power transformers

Predicting temperatures of transformers is important in order to prevent the deterioration of electrical insulation since the life of the transformers corresponds with that of the insulation. Reports of thermal behavior of ventilated dry-type transformers are rare in the literature. In particular, foil winding has received little attention despite their wide usage in practice. In this study, a thermal model for foil winding was proposed and temperature distributions were determined by the finite element method (FEM). In order to cope with the non-uniformity of the heat fluxes in the foil winding due to induced currents, different convection coefficients and varying air temperature along the vertical height of the foil winding were suggested and applied to the thermal model. The thermal model was solved by coupling it with the electromagnetic model to calculate the non-uniform power losses. The model was applied to a ventilated dry-type power transformer rated at 2000 kVA. Experimental temperatures were measured with thermocouples, and used to verify the finite element results. They showed reasonable agreement and will provide a useful tool for transformer engineers.