TRANSFORMER ENGINEERING

 ABOUT THE NEED OF DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

 A distribution transformer is a very vital equipment in an electrical system

since this is an equipment directly connected at the consumer’s end.

 Generally there will be four stages of power transmission with reference to

stepping up and stepping down the voltages.

 In order to transmit the generated power with minimum power loss and
further, economically, generated voltages are stepped up in stages to
convenient transmission voltages.

 But it is very essential to distribute electrical power to the consumers at a

very safe level to handle in order to protect human lives.

 Hence the need for the distribution transformer.

 WHY EMPHASIS ON QUALITY, HIGH EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY

OF DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMERS.

 In the present day conditions of living standards, quality of electrical power

is very important since dependency on electrical power is increasing day
by day.

 This evidently stresses the need for high quality and reliability of
distribution transformers. Further there is a very vital need for producing
energy efficient transformers.

 Transmission and distribution losses in India is about 27 % as against a

world average of about 9%. In North American, European countries and in
China it is about 7%.

 In an electrical network, a distribution transformer is the second largest

loss making component. The savings due to high energy efficient
transformers brings in technical, economic and environmental benefits.
  General design aspects and considerations

 Design Philosophy:
Customer satisfaction through designs is VEL’s Motto

 A good transformer design should have following features:

 Transformer should be electrically, mechanically and thermally robust.

 The present situations demands low loss parameter transformers with

high efficiency in view of our Government’s policy to go with Energy
Efficient Transformers.

 Transformers are supposed to last for the expected life time with trouble
free services to the customer.

 Customer’s specification forms the basis for meeting the requirements

with due reference to the respective national and international standards.

 Design Considerations:

 Provide adequate electrical clearances from flash over or creep point of

view.

 To consider the short circuit forces encountered during its service or

during the type test and take adequate precautions.

 To provide adequate cooling features by cooling ducts in the

windings wherever required.

 To provide required external cooling equipment by way of cooling tubes,

tank corrugations or radiators.

 To design the tank for adequacy against internal pressure developed

during faults and against specified vacuum level.
 Based on the nature of construction, transformers are broadly
classified as :

  Conventional : In these transformers, conservator is provided on

the top cover for the expansion of the oil.

  Sealed : In these transformers, free space is provided above

the oil level for expansion. In some cases, these
are completely filled with oil.

 Based on the type of protection employed :

 CSP: Transformers are protected from lightning surges, secondary faults

severe overloads and provides visual warning of the existence of
uneconomical loading conditions.

 For surge protection the surge arrester is mounted directly to the

transformer tank and directly connected to HV bushing.

 For secondary fault and overload protection, the circuit breaker is mounted
inside of the transformer and it is connected between the secondary
winding and the secondary bushings such that load current flows through
the circuit breaker.

 For visual indication of uneconomical loading condition, the signal light is

mounted on the exterior wall of the transformer.

 For line protection, the expulsion fuse is mounted inside of the transformer
and it is connected between incoming HV lead from the bushing and the
HV line lead from the transformer primary winding.

 CSP Components:
 HV fuse
 LV circuit breaker
 Surge arrester
 Signal lamp

 NON-CSP : No specific components are provided for protection

against overloads and surges.
 By the nature of cooling method:

 Natural cooling
 In case of natural cooling, the cooling medium will be oil with
natural oil circulation aided by plain tank cooling,
corrugations, cooling tubes, and pressed steel radiators.

 Forced cooling
 In case of forced cooling transformers, the oil circulation can
be increased with the help of external mounted cooling fans
and also circulation can be aided by cooling pumps.
 Generally Following Materials are used:

 Core material:

 CRGO : Cold rolled grain oriented silicon steel

 In CRGO different grades are available like M3, M4, M5,

MOH, ZDMH etc. Depending on watt loss / kg and
thickness, these are classified as such.

 CRGO Thickness  0.23mm M3 material

 0.27mm M4 material
 0.30mm M5 material
 0.35mm M6 material

 AMT : Amorphous metal

 Amorphous metal is the superior one with thickness 10 times

less than that of silicon steel.

 Amorphous metal thickness  0.023mm

 Advantages of Amorphous Metal Transformers

 No-load loss reduced to round 25% to 35% as compared to CRGO

transformers
 Less magnetizing current
 Total owning cost to customer is much less
 Better “demand side management”
 Less temperature rise of core
 Less noise level due to less magnetostriction
 As the sheet thickness of the material is 1/10th of conventional grade
material, the eddy current losses in the amorphous core are less

However, amorphous metal can be used only in lower range of

transformers since only wound core construction is to be adopted because
of very low thickness.

 Winding Material:

 Copper or Aluminum material is used.

 In the case of oil filled transformer, class “A” insulation is used. Generally
 covering employed are: Super enamel (SE);Double paper covering(DPC).

 We will be selecting the conductor material either copper or aluminum

based on customer’s requirement.

 Insulation oil:

 It forms a very significant part of transformer insulation system and has

the important function of acting as an electrical insulation as well as
coolant to dissipate losses.

 Different standards are applicable such as IS 335; BS 148; IEC 296

 The oil thus chosen for transformer should have no moisture content.
Since presence of moisture has adverse effects on the electrical
characteristics of oil and accelerates deterioration of insulating paper.

 Viscosity of the oil should be as low as possible so that heat transfer is

efficient otherwise if the viscosity is high it will hinder the formation of
convection currents and thus cooling of the equipment will be severely
affected.

 Kraft paper :

 This is used as conductor covering, interlayer insulation and for winding

leads etc.

 Epoxy dotted paper :

It is used as interlayer insulation for better short circuit strength.

 Press board:

This is used in the manufacture of LV-Earth cylinders, phase barriers,

as runners to maintain oil ducts, coil to coil spacers, yoke insulation, angle
rings etc.

 Permawood:

This is used to manufacture cleats, blocks, rings (insulation) etc.

 Sealing material:

 Nitrile / Neoprene rubber bonded cork : This is used as gasket in different

places to prevent oil leakage from joints such as tank top cover, inspection
cover etc.

 Clamping material :

 MS channels and tie rods are used for core.

 Tank: MS material is used for the construction of the tank, thickness of

the material is decided based on the rating of transformer and the
pressure withstand ability.
 COMPONENTS OF A TRANSFORMER:

 CORE

 The core construction can be of stacked core or wound core in case of

CRGO material. In case of AMORPHOUS metal, core will be wound type
which incorporates either core type or shell type. Major design
consideration in case of Amorphous transformers are the available ribbon
width ( 5.6”, 6.7” & 8.4”)

 For CRGO cores, annealing will be done by a suitable furnace for a

temperature of 800ºC.

 Amorphous core loops will be annealed by continuous annealing furnace

for a temperature of 360ºC.

 The normal saturation flux density will be around 1.92Tesla for CRGO and
1.58Tesla for Amorphous core material. This aspect has to be considered
with allowance for voltage variations in the system while designing the
core of the transformer.

 WINDINGS

 The winding material will be of copper or aluminum for distribution

transformers. Covering can be super enameled covering or double paper
covering. The current density of the conductors can be decided on the
following important parameters.

 Meeting required load losses

 Meeting short circuit temperature rise as per the relevant standards
 Winding temperature gradients corresponding to the guaranteed
winding temperature rise
 Any customers’ stipulation
 Further, a maximum current density of 3.8 Amp/mm² for copper and 2.2
Amps/mm² for aluminum can be taken meeting the above mentioned
considerations.

 Types of windings:

1) LV winding : LV winding will be predominantly Spiral

winding with two layers or foil winding.

2) HV Winding: HV winding will be generally of multilayer

 helical for 11kV transformers and cross over
coils in case of 22 kV and 33 kV transformers.

 Each type of winding has its own merits & demerits

 Layer windings provide better cooling features with vertical

oil ducts. But for higher voltages like 33kV multi layer
winding needs more interlayer insulation and hence cross
over coils are preferred which can split the voltages.

 Fittings and Accessories:

 Rating and Diagram plate

 The transformer is supplied with rating and diagram plate made of non-
corrosive metal. It contains information regarding the rating, voltage ratio,
amperes, frequency, connection diagram, weight details, oil quantity,
vector group, oil/winding rise. Actual percentage impedance, along with
P.O.No. & date, Serial No., date of despatch will be punched later

 Logo plate

 The transformer is supplied with manufacturer’s logo plate. It is mounted

on width side of the transformer.

 Off-circuit tap switch :

 The distribution transformer is normally fitted with an off-circuit tap-

changing switch to obtain the required tap voltage. It can be operated by
a handle

 Earthing Terminals

 The CRGO assembly is connected to the core clamping frame which is, in
turn, connected to the tank. Two earthing terminals are provided on the
transformer tank. These should be connected to the earthing system or
the earthing station.

 Tank lifting Lugs

 Two lifting lugs of sufficient size are provided on width side to lift the empty
tank.
 Top cover lifting Lugs

Two top cover lifting lugs of sufficient size are provided on top cover to
facilitate removal of top cover.

 Drain cum Sampling Valve & filter valve

The drain valve is mounted at the bottom of the tank and filter valve at the
top of the tank. It is useful for filtering and easy draining of the oil.

 Oil Level Gauge

Oil level gauge gives the optic indication when the oil inside a transformer
decreases below safety level due to a leakage or to a permanent
deformation of the tank.

 Pressure Relief Device

It is provided to release the excessive pressure which is developed due to

internal faults.

 Thermometer pocket

It is provided on top cover. With the help of this, we can check for top oil
temperature while testing the transformer.

 Silica gel breather

Silica gel breather is provided to prevent ingress of moisture. Silica gel

dehydrating breather is fitted with a sight glass so that the color of the
crystal may be seen. The color changes from blue to pink as the crystals
absorb moisture.

 Bottom channels

Bottom channels are provided at the bottom of tank to facilitate mounting

of the transformer.

 Conservator

Conservators are so arranged that the lower part acts as a sump in which
any impurities entering the conservator will collect. A valve / plug is fitted
at the lowest point of the conservator for draining and sampling. The
 inside of the conservator should be cleaned or flushed with oil every two to
three years. A removable end is provided for this purpose.

It is provided for expansion of oil. The volume of conservator is 10% of

total quantity of oil. The volume of oil present in the conservator is 3% of
total quantity of oil. Conservator is provided with oil filling plug and drain
plug.

 Oil filling plug

It is provided on the top of the conservator. It is used to fill the oil.

 Bushings

Bushings are the media through which the transformer windings are
connected to the external circuit.

 TANK :

Tank shall be designed maintaining the required internal clearances from

the CCA depending on the Voltages.

 Cooling arrangement:

 Almost, universally, distribution transformers have Oil Natural & Air Natural
(ONAN) cooling method.

 In small range distribution transformers, corresponding to the losses, plain

tank will be adequate. As the rating goes higher, external cooling
arrangement is required.

 Different Types of Cooling Arrangements used in VEL:

 Cooling Tubes:

 This type of arrangement is normally used for Smaller Ratings. These

tubes are Circular in shape with a Diameter of 38 mm. Depending upon
the tank size and cooling surface area required, these tubes can be
arranged in a row or two. Similar to these cooling tubes, elliptical tubes
can also be used.

 Pressed Steel Radiators

 This is a very flexible method to increase the cooling area in the case of
higher ratings. No.of radiators, No.of elements and size of radiators can
be increased depending upon the tank size and cooling requirement.

 Corrugated fins:

 This is a recent trend in cooling arrangement and normally used for

smaller ratings. Following are the advantages:

 Compact in size.

 Improved heat dissipation

 Elegant appearance.

 Due to vertical oil channel greater stability is achieved.

 No blockage of oil flow into the fins. Blockage of oil is possible in pressed
steel type radiators due to possible closing of header pipe connection on
the tank wall.