A new cast-resin transformer thermal model based on recurrent neural networks

Thermal modeling in the transient condition is very important for cast-resin dry-type transformers. In the present research, two novel dynamic thermal models have been introduced for the cast-resin dry-type transformer. These models are based on two artificial neural networks: the Elman recurrent networks (ELRN) and the nonlinear autoregressive model process with exogenous input (NARX). Using the experimental data, the introduced neural network thermal models have been trained. By selecting a typical transformer, the trained thermal models are validated using additional experimental results and the traditional thermal models. It is shown that the introduced neural network based thermal models have a good performance in temperature prediction of the winding and the cooling air in the cast-resin dry-type transformer. The introduced thermal models are more accurate for the temperature analysis of this transformer and they will be trained easily. Finally, the trained and validated thermal models are employed to evaluate the life-time and the reliability of a typical cast-resin dry-type transformer. © 2017 Polish Academy of Sciences.