Thermal Management in 500 kV Oil-Immersed Converter Transformers: Synergistic Investigation of Critical Parameters Through Simulation and Experiment

Zhengqin Zhou, Chuanxian Luo, Fengda Zhang, Jing Zhang, Xu Yang, Peng Yu and Minfu Liao ()
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Zhengqin Zhou: Wuhan NARI Limited Liability Company of State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan 430074, China
Chuanxian Luo: Wuhan NARI Limited Liability Company of State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan 430074, China
Fengda Zhang: State Grid Shandong Electric Power Research Institute, Jinan 250002, China
Jing Zhang: Wuhan NARI Limited Liability Company of State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan 430074, China
Xu Yang: Wuhan NARI Limited Liability Company of State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan 430074, China
Peng Yu: School of Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Minfu Liao: School of Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: Aimed at solving the problem of insulation failure caused by the local overheating of the oil-immersed converter transformer, this paper investigates the heat transfer characteristics of the 500 kV converter transformer based on the electromagnetic-flow-heat coupling model. Firstly, this paper used the finite element method to calculate the core and winding loss. Then, a two-dimensional fluid-heat coupling model was used to investigate the effects of the inlet flow rate and the radius of the oil pipe on the heat transfer characteristics. The results show that the larger the inlet flow rate, the smaller the specific gravity of high-temperature transformer oil at the upper end of the tank. Increasing the pipe radius can reduce the temperature of the heat dissipation of the transformer in relative equilibrium. Still, the pipe radius is too large to lead to the reflux of the transformer oil in the oil outlet. Increasing the central and sub-winding turn distance, the oil flow diffusion area and flow velocity increase. Thus, the temperature near the winding is reduced by about 9%, and the upper and lower wall temperature is also reduced by about 4%. Based on the analysis of the sensitivity weight indicators of the above indicators, it is found that the oil flow rate has the largest share of influence on the hot spot temperature of the transformer. Finally, the surface temperature of the oil tank when the converter transformer is at full load is measured. In the paper, the heat transfer characteristics of the converter transformer are investigated through simulation and measurement, which can provide a certain reference value for the study of the insulation performance of the converter transformer.

Keywords: oil-immersed transformer; local overheating; transformer oil; fluid thermal coupling; heat transfer characteristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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