The disclosure relates to polygonal transformers for medium and high voltages, and more particularly to gas insulated polygonal transformers with improved cooling properties.
Known dry-type transformers have advantages over oil-immersed units. These advantages can include, for example, a reduced risk of fire and explosion, increased environmental friendliness, maintenance free, and a capability to be installed closer to the consumption point.
Delta type transformer cores with different cross-sectional shapes have been proposed as an alternative to the known stacked core design with coplanar limbs, as they exhibit several comparative advantages: The no-load losses are lower, size and weight can be smaller, the inrush current is lower, and total harmonic distortion is lower. A Chinese company, Haihong Transformer, for example, produces delta core transformers including three wound core rings with approximately semi-circular cross-sections each. Another implementation of a wound delta core is provided by the Swedish company Hexaformer AB. The name Hexaformer hereby comes from the fact that the cross-sections of the limbs form regular hexagons, while the arrangement of the limbs still results in a rotational symmetric delta shaped core. WO 2006/056057A1 discloses an enclosureless delta shaped transformer with a cooling channel provided between the 3 core limbs in the centre of the transformer. Heat is removed from the transformer by air blown inside the channel by fans paced at the ends of the channel.
In known implementations, SF6 is used as an insulating gas. Due to the good dielectric and cooling capabilities of SF6, even high end distribution transformers with rated voltages and powers up to 170 kV and 60 MVA can be manufactured with moderate SF6 pressures, for example, equal to or lower than 2 bar.
However, due to the absence of oil, dry-type transformers are more demanding with respect to dielectric and thermal design and consequently they are larger and heavier than the corresponding oil-immersed transformers. DE4029097A1 discloses a delta shaped transformer in a gas insulated cylindrical housing. Cooling channels are formed in each corner of the delta shaped core between two adjacent core limbs. As a result, gas circulation reaches the transformer housing.
When the rated electrical loads of dry transformers are increased, cooling becomes an increasingly important subject, as there is no liquid—as in the case of oil-immersed units—which can be used as a cooling medium. Rather, the insulating gas can also serve for transporting produced heat to an outside of the transformer. However, gas can have a much smaller ability to transport heat than the same volume of liquid. Thus, the heat transport to an outside of a gas insulated delta shaped transformer can include more attention in the design phase than with a known oil-immersed type.
Even more so, due to the rotational symmetry of the delta shaped transformers, the high voltage coil outer walls adjacent to the transformer centerline can have nearly the same temperature. For this reason, the delta shape arrangement of the transformer can be characterized by a limited radiative heat exchange between the wall parts facing its center. Rather, the heat emitted from a coil towards the other two coils is absorbed by those, which in summary effectively reduces the heat emitted from the transformer to an outside, for example when compared with a design with three coils arranged in parallel in a plane (coplanar design).
In view of the above, designs for gas insulated delta shaped transformers should deliver improved cooling capabilities.
An exemplary encapsulated delta shaped transformer for medium to high voltages is disclosed, comprising: a housing enclosing a volume; a delta shaped transformer arranged in the housing; and a chimney protruding through the housing and including at least a part of a middle axis of the delta shaped transformer, wherein a volume enclosed by the chimney is in fluidal connection to an outside of the housing, and wherein the chimney includes a heat conducting element in contact with walls of the chimney.
A full and enabling disclosure, including the best mode thereof, to one of ordinary skill in the art is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying figures wherein:
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is directed to an encapsulated delta shaped transformer for medium to high voltages. In one exemplary embodiment the encapsulated delta shaped transformer includes a closed housing enclosing a volume, a delta shaped transformer situated in the housing, and a passageway, for example in a chimney for a fluid, protruding through the housing. The passageway including at least a part of the middle axis of the delta shaped transformer, wherein the volume enclosed by the chimney is in fluidal connection to an outside of the housing. The chimney includes a heat conducting element in contact with the walls of the chimney. The chimney is in physical contact with heat conducting element, so the heat is conducted by the walls of the chimney and the heat conducting element. The heat conducting element enhances the heat exchange of the chimney, so the heat absorbing surface and/or the heat distributing surface is enlarged. With the heat conducting elements, heat emitting places of the delta shaped transformer can be reached, which are more distant from the chimney and the heat can be conducted in this way efficiently to the wall of the chimney. The chimney is placed in the delta shaped transformer such that at least a part of the middle axis of the delta shaped transformer is included, and while using the space between the core legs of the transformer the chimney effect can be optimized.
Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, one or more examples of which are illustrated in each figure. Each example is provided by way of explanation and is not meant as a limitation. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other embodiments to yield yet further embodiments. It is intended that the present disclosure includes such modifications and variations.
Within the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers refer to the same components, and differences with respect to the individual embodiments are described.
In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “chimney” and “enclosure of a passageway” respectively “enclosure” are used interchangeably and mean that the fluid inside the chimney or inside the enclosure is sealed against the volume of the housing and is therefore not in communication with the volume inside the closed housing. Further, the term “delta shaped transformer” described herein relates to multi-phase transformers which are characterized by the fact that, in at least one cross sectional view, the transformer core is triangular shaped, for example the cross sections of the coils together form a triangle, for example, an equilateral triangle; and more specifically, the middle axes of the coils lie on the corners of a triangle in at least one cross sectional view of the transformer.
Exemplary embodiments described herein include a delta shaped transformer situated in a housing, which can be cylindrical. For providing best heat distribution via convection to the surrounding air, the housing is arranged such that a middle axis of the cylinder is in a vertical direction during operation of the transformer. In order to improve heat dissipation, a passageway for a fluid is integrated into the housing, wherein the passageway can protrude from one of the planes of the cylindrical housing to the other plane. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the passageway is formed by an enclosure, or chimney, such as a tube or cylinder provided along the middle axis of the cylindrical housing. This chimney also protrudes along the middle axis of the delta shaped transformer in the housing. Thereby, the volume enclosed by the chimney is in fluidal connection with the surrounding of the housing, and in other exemplary embodiments the surrounding air.
Additionally, cooling elements, for example plates, may be mounted to the outer walls of the chimney. As the passageway is a vertical channel that can protrude from the lower surface of the housing to the upper surface, a chimney effect sets in during operation, when the transformer is hotter than the environment. The part of the housing enclosing the passageway, or differently said, the walls of the chimney, take up heat on their side facing the transformer coils and transmit it via heat conduction to the air in contact with the chimney walls. The air is thus heated to a temperature above that of the surroundings, which leads to the air being elevated inside the chimney passageway by convection.
The air can then be expelled through the upper opening of the chimney, and fresh air can be continuously sucked in through the lower opening of the chimney, which provides for a convective cooling effect for the transformer inside the housing. Hence, the exemplary embodiment as described serves for promoting the dissipation of heat emitted from the transformer, respectively, from the transformer coils.
The cooling principle of the proposed solution is based on a manifold of synergistic effects. On one hand, the enclosure walls forming the chimney, and optionally any inner plates thermally connected to the chimney walls, act like collectors that extract radiative heat flux from the high voltage coil outer surfaces. On the other hand, the fluid (air, a cooling gas, or a liquid) circulating inside the chimney, driven by either forced or by free convection, takes the heat out of the chimney/enclosure walls and transfers it into the outer ambient air. Furthermore, the presence of the hole contributes to increase the exchange area between the pressurized fluid inside the chimney and the outer ambient air, which results in an augmentation of the heat removal from the transformer.
Expressed in terms of topology, the genus of a connected, orientable surface is an integer representing the maximum number of cuts along non-intersecting closed simple curves without rendering the resultant manifold disconnected. According to this logic, a sphere has a genus of 0, and a torus or cylinder with a cylindrical bore has a genus of 1. Hence, the housing 70, with the passageway 60 as a central clearance, has a topological genus of 1. Accordingly, the housing 70 of the encapsulated delta shaped transformer 10 according to the exemplary embodiment described above has a genus of 1.
As already discussed, during operation of the encapsulated delta shaped transformer 10, the coils 40 emit heat, which is produced mainly due to ohmic losses in the windings of the coils. The heat emitted to the direction of the outer cylinder 90 of the housing 70 can be absorbed by the housing. It is then partially transferred to an outside of the transformer 10 via infrared radiation and simultaneously, to the air in contact with the outer surface of the housing 70. The heat emitted by coils 40 in the direction of the chimney 100 with the enclosed passageway 60 can be absorbed by the chimney. The chimney 100 transmits the heat via convection and radiation to a fluid, e.g., air, in the passageway 60. Via the above described chimney effect, the air is elevated out of the chimney 100 through passageway 60, and therefore transports the heat to an outside of encapsulated delta shaped transformer 10.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, passageway 60 may include a liquid as a cooling medium. e.g., a multi-phase heat exchanger can be provided in the passageway. A multi-phase heat exchanger can be characterized by a first part serving for taking up heat, and a second part where the heat is distributed to the surrounding air, to a condenser or to a cooling circuit with a cooling medium bringing the heat away from the heat source. In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first part can be situated inside the passageway 60 or chimney 100, wherein the second part is located outside the encapsulated transformer 10.
Further, the passageway 60 can be designed to have one opening 110, 120 located in one of the planes of the cylindrical housing, wherein the exchange of heat with the surrounding of the encapsulated transformer 10 is provided via the single opening 110, 120. This means, that the chimney 100 with passageway 60 is closed at one of its ends, and that the other end is in fluidal connection to an outside of the housing 70. As the chimney effect described above does not occur in this case, such embodiments can specify active measures for dissipating the heat from inside the passageway 60. This effect can be achieved by a water cooling or by a two-phase cooling system, such as a heat pipe.
Thus, the radiative heat flux in the region bounded by the three coils 40 can be partly collected by the plates 150, which are in average colder than the parts of the coil outer surfaces that face them. Such plates then act as radiative fins that remove the heat by radiation from the coils 40 and transfer it both into the pressurized fluid inside the housing 70 by natural convection, and into the ambient by the thermal conduction and convection mechanism via the chimney 100. At their outer edges facing the wall of housing 70, the plates 150 may also be in contact (not shown) with the walls of the housing, which further promotes heat exchange to the housing 70.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure (not shown), the plates 150 can have a length exceeding the length of coils 40, and be greater than the overall height of transformer 20 along its middle axis. Accordingly, the plates can be provided with clearances for taking up the yokes 50 of the transformer 20. e.g., the yokes can protrude perpendicularly through plates 150 and be partly enclosed by the plate. As in this case, the metallic plate would serve as a short-circuited winding for the coil such that measures have to be taken in order to provide safe operation. According to other exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, the plate can have a slit protruding from the clearance for the yoke outward to the edge of the plate, such that there is no closed current path around the yoke, which would cause a short circuit around the yoke.
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In the exemplary embodiments shown in
It should be understood that the concept and scope of a passageway as described herein is not limited to straight, vertical chimneys as described above, but that a passageway according to this disclosure may also have a significantly different shape, for example curved, as long as it provides for the cooling effects as described herein.
The systems and methods described herein are not limited to the specific embodiments described, but rather, components of the systems and/or steps of the methods may be utilized independently and separately from other components and/or steps described herein. Rather, the exemplary embodiment can be implemented and used in connection with many other applications, for example with high-voltage equipment.
For convenience, specific features of various embodiments of the disclosure may be shown in some drawings and not in others. In accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, it should be understood that a feature of any drawing can be referenced and/or claimed in combination with a feature of any other drawing.
This written description uses examples to disclose the disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. While various specific embodiments have been disclosed in the foregoing, those skilled in the art will recognize that the spirit and scope of the claims allows for equally effective modifications. Especially, mutually non-exclusive features of the embodiments described above may be combined with each other. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restricted. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof are intended to be embraced therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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11173263.2 | Jul 2011 | EP | regional |
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to International application PCT/EP2012/063418 filed on Jul. 9, 2012, designating the U.S., and claiming priority to European application EP 11173263.2 filed in Europe on Jul. 8, 2011. The content of each prior application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP2012/063418 | Jul 2012 | US |
Child | 14149228 | US |