Thermal Analysis of Power Transformers with Different Cooling Systems Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

This article performs a thermal study through the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) of a transformer prototype considering six different cooling configurations. Each configuration was computationally designed and simulated in the ANSYS CFX ©\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\copyright $$\end{document} software. It was possible to analyze the temperature data of the hotspot, at the top oil and at the average temperature, thus comparing the thermal performance of each system and implementing the data in a simplified methodology for estimating the transformer lifespan standardized by IEEE C57.100-2011. In addition, the rendering of the results allows visualizing the temperature distribution and, consequently, the performance for each cooling system. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of each cooling system were summarized, providing useful information for transformer designer’s decision. As some results, the forced air-cooled transformers have a thermal reduction of approximately 8.81% compared to natural air-cooled and the directed oil system transformers have superior cooling performance than forced oil and natural oil. The directed oil and forced air combination means a useful life 52.76% longer than the natural oil and natural air combination.