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Study on the Hotspot Distribution Characteristics of

Oil Immersed Transformer Based on
Electromagnetic-fluid-thermal Fields Coupling
Analysis
Jingxian Cui, Tong Zhao, Yuantao Zhang, Yongkang Guo, Liang Zou
School of Electrical Engineering, Shandong University
Jinan, Shandong 250061, P. R. China
sinecui@163.com

Abstract—Power transformer is one of the key equipment in thermal stress, leading to a threat of operation security. Study
power system. The main failure factor of oil immersed on the hotspot temperature of transformer is helpful to grasp its
transformers is the high temperature generated during running condition in time and predict the further running state,
operation. Therefore, it is necessary to study the hotspot so as to avoid the occurrence of thermal fault.
distribution of iron core and winding temperature of oil
immersed transformers. This paper analyzes the tendency of II. CHARACTERISTIC ANALYSIS OF TEMPERATURE RISE
winding, iron core and oil in the course of temperature rise and AND HEAT DISSIPATION OF TRANSFORMER
cooling stage. And the distribution area of hotspot temperature is
clear eventually. Three-dimension model of oil immersed A. Study on Temperature Rise Characteristics
transformer is established by the finite element software. And the
When the transformer starts to work, the winding and core
distribution of temperature can be obtained through the accurate
calculation and analysis on the coupling field of electromagnetic-
begin to heat up, and the internal component temperature
fluid-thermal. The conclusion of electromagnetic analysis is gradually increases. After a period of heating and cooling
generated into the thermal field model as the pre-additive load in process to achieve balance, the temperature tends to be stable.
the thermal analysis. The conclusion of thermal characters The main sources of heat during the operation are load loss PK
studied before is verified. And a deeper comprehension of hot- and no-load loss Po. The load loss mainly refers to the loss of
spot temperature is obtained simultaneously. resistance of winding wire, eddy current loss and the stray loss
of other conductor parts when the transformer is running. The
Keywords--electromagnetic-fluid-thermal fields coupling; finite temperature rise of transformer is mainly caused by the load
element method; hotspot temperature; oil immersed transformer; loss. The no-load loss generally refers to the hysteresis loss and
temperature distribution eddy current loss in the iron core. It is the key factor of the
transformer core temperature rise.
I. INTRODUCTION Some heat increases the temperature of windings and cores,
With the rapid growth of our economy, more and more also leading to the temperature rise of transformer oil by
electrical energy is required, leading to a higher reliance on the thermal transmission. The others pass through the tank walls to
power supply. Power transformer is the most widely used the surrounding environment. From the energy conservation
equipment in the power grid. Once it fails or stops operating law, it can be seen that the heat generated by winding and core
for some reasons, the whole power grid will suffer a lot of is equal to the sum of the heat absorbed by internal parts and
damage [1, 2]. Especially, because of the increases of voltage emitted into the environment at the time of thermal
level and power supply demand, the voltage level and capacity equilibrium, dt. The expression formula is as follows:
of transformers are also increasing. The leakage magnetic field
intensity of transformers increases with the increase of their
larger capacities, leading to more eddy current loss and more C ⋅ M ⋅ d Δθ + S ⋅ λ ⋅ dt = p ⋅ dt (1)
stray loss. It will inevitably cause the overheating problem of
winding and the metal component coupled with the flux In the formula, C is the specific heat capacity of material,
leakage [3, 4]. It is pointed out that when transformers operate J/(kg.Ԩ); M is the mass of object, kg; S is the heat radiation
beyond the designed ambient temperature, the winding, clamp area of object, m2; Ȝ is the surface heat dissipation coefficient;
and oil will heat up, facing a certain degree of risk [5]. The P is the loss power, W; t is time, S.
moisture content in transformer oil will change with the
variation of temperature, leading to the decline in the quality When p is constant, Ȝ is constant, and the solution of
[6]. The structure of related equipment, such as tap changers Formula (1) is obtained:
and mutual inductors, may deform due to the increase of

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Δθ = Δθm (1− e−t /T ) + Δθoe−t /T (2)

In the formula, T is the heating and cooling time constant, s.

ǻșo is the initial temperature rise when t=0, K; ǻșm is the final
stable temperature rise, K.
If the initial temperature rise is ǻșo =0, then the Formula (2)
can be changed to:

Δθ = Δθm (1− e−t /T ) (3)

Formula (3) indicates the change of temperature rise.

When the heating and cooling are in equilibrium, the
temperature formula is as follows:
Fig. 1. The flow chart of the cooling process.

p The temperature distribution is shown in Fig. 2. Curve

Δθ = Δθ m = (4) A1~A2 represents the heat transfer from winding and iron core
Sλ to the outer surface with a temperature difference of only
several degrees centigrade. Curve A2~A3 represents the
In the Formula (4), when p for winding copper loss, S for thermal convection that makes heat transfer from the core and
the contact area of winding and transformer oil, the heat winding to oil. The temperature difference is about 20%~30%
dissipation coefficient of winding to oil Ȝ is 80~100W/ (m2.K), of the total temperature rise of the winding to environment.
then the temperature rise of winding to oil can be obtained. Curve A4~A5 represents that the heat from the transformer oil
When p for the overall loss of transformer, S for the effective tank is transferred to the inner wall of oil tank or the inner
heat dissipation area of transformer tank, the temperature rise surface of radiator, leading to a little temperature difference.
of transformer oil to environment can be obtained. Here, the Ȝ Curve A5~A6 represents the process of heat transfer from the
represents the heat transfer coefficient of tank to air, and the inner surface to the outer surface of the tank wall. The
value is related to the tank structure. temperature difference is generally not more than 2~3 ć .
Curve A6~A7 represents the process of heat transfer through
B. Analysis of Heat Dissipation Process convection or radiation to the environment by the tank or
As soon as the transformer starts to run, the losses begin to radiator wall, which accounts for 60%~70% of the total
take place. In the early stage of transformer operation, because temperature rise.
the heat generated by winding and core is little, the temperature
rise is small, and the heat dissipation is little, leading to the
temperature rising fast. The rate of heat transfer in the
transformer winding is proportional to the temperature
difference between winding and environment. Thus, in the
process of winding temperature rise, the rate of external heat
dissipation is also accelerating. In this process, the current
flowing through the winding increases, leading to a
corresponding increase in load loss and hotspot temperature
rising. The heat is transferred to the transformer oil, so that the
oil temperature increases. The higher the temperature of
transformer oil, the lower the density. Therefore, when the oil
temperature near the coil and the core surface rises, the nearby
oil will move to the top under the action of thermal buoyancy.
When the heat is passed to the tank wall with lower
temperature, the oil temperature decreases and the density
increases. Then, the oil moves down the tank wall and flows
back to the bottom of tank. In the insulating oil, there is an oil
flow cycle. And the heat is continuously carried to the
transformer radiator and then distributed to the environment.
When the heating and cooling process achieves balance, the
transformer hotspot temperature becomes steady, leading to the Fig. 2. Temperature distribution of horizontal cross section of transformer.
thermal stable state of transformer. The flow chart of the
cooling process is as follows.


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III. HOTSPOT DISTRIBUTION OF TRANSFORMER voltage windings (mm)

Internal diameter of high / low
Alternating current in a winding coil of transformer 255/206
voltage windings (mm)
generates alternating magnetic flux in the iron core, including Yoke spacing (mm) 1000
the main magnetic field and the leakage magnetic field. The Core center distance (mm) 650
leakage magnetic field induces an electric potential in the wire, Tank size (mm) 1600×900×1200
which then generates eddy currents. The coexistence of eddy
current and load current leads to uneven current distribution in
According to the structural parameters of transformer, the
the wire. Finally, due to the influence of the leakage magnetic
three-dimensional simulation model is established by Ansoft
field, the effective resistance of winding increases. And the
Maxwell. The properties of each structural material are shown
vortex field is generated inside, thus increasing the loss of the
in Table II. The three phases is set in turn with a difference of
wire. In addition to the heat generated by the winding itself,
2ʌ/3. The transformer operates with rated load. Winding
other heat causing the transformer temperature rises comes
resistance is calculated by the basic formula of R=ȡ/lS, ȡ as the
from the eddy current losses generated by the leakage magnetic
winding resistivity, S as the cross-sectional area of winding, l
field. It should be pointed out that in the whole process, the
as the length of winding. Then the analysis time and step for
leakage magnetic field, eddy current field and temperature rise
electromagnetic analysis is set.
are mutually influenced by each other. The eddy current field is
generated by the leakage magnetic field of winding, leading to
unnecessary temperature rise of the transformer. At the same TABLE II. PHYSICAL PROPERTY OF TRANSFORMER MATERIAL
time, the temperature rise, and the eddy current field will affect Physical
the distribution of the leakage magnetic field in turn. Therefore, Winding Tank Core Oil
property
it is necessary to establish a unified model to study the hotspot Resistivity˄˄
0.021 0.13 0.22 1020
distribution of transformer. We should consider the coupling ×10-6ȍ.m˅
effects of leakage magnetic field, eddy current field and Relative
1 200 BH curve 1
temperature field synthetically. permeability
Density
8978 7850 7550 -0.62T+1102.2
In order to facilitate the calculation, we make the following (kg/m3)
assumptions: (1) The transformer pulling plate and clamping Note: the sign T in oil parameter formula is oil temperature, and the unit is ć.
structure are ignored; (2) The properties of the structural
materials are constant and will not change with the
temperature; (3) The core is regarded as an isotropic material Fig. 3 presents a mesh dissection diagram of a three
with infinite permeability; (4) The field quantity is a volume dimensional model of transformer in Maxwell. The
that varies sinusoidally with time, neglecting the effect of electromagnetic analysis of transformer is shown in Fig. 4.
harmonic coil. When the B phase voltage reaches its peak, the magnetic field
strength of the corresponding iron core is higher. The B phase
A. Electromagnetic Analysis of Three Dimensional core and the other two are magnetic circuits for each other. At
Transformer Model the corner of core structure, magnetic leakage density is larger,
especially at the B phase core. The eddy current loss of B phase
In this paper, an oil immersed transformer with rated is larger than that of other two phases, and the magnetic flux
capacity of 6300kVA and rated voltage of 35/10kV is modeled density distributions of A and C phases are similar. The current
and analyzed. Firstly, the three-dimensional model of density of B phase is larger than that of the other two phases,
transformer is established by Ansoft Maxwell software, and the reaching 80526 A/m2. It is found that, when the phases of A
electromagnetic simulation analysis of the model is carried out. and C reach peak value, the magnetic field intensity of cores
Then, the electromagnetic simulation results are applied as the and the current density of windings are similar to those of B. In
load, and the temperature distribution of transformer is general, the magnetic field and current distributions of overall
obtained by ANSYS Workbench. The winding connection transformer are relatively uniform.
mode of transformer is Yy0. The rated frequency is 50Hz. And
the cooling mode is the natural oil circulation. The winding coil
material is flat copper wire. The low voltage winding is around
the core, while the high voltage winding is at the periphery of
the low voltage winding. The core material is silicon steel sheet
DW540-50. And the fuel tank material is structural steel. The
structural parameters of transformer are shown in Table I.

TABLE I. STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS OF TRANSFORMER (a) Mesh dissection of oil tank. (b) Front view of windings and core.

Structural parameter Parameter values

Number of phases 3
Core lamination thickness (mm) 360
Core height (mm) 700
Cross section of high / low voltage
26.5/300
windings (mm2) (c) Overhead view of windings and core.
Outer diameter of high / low 275/218
Fig. 3. Mesh dissection of transformer in Maxwell.


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(c) Overhead view of windings and core.

Fig. 5. Mesh dissection of transformer in ANSYS Workbench.

TABLE III. PHYSICAL PROPERTY OF TRANSFORMER MATERIAL

(a) Magnetic field distribution.
Thermal
Winding Tank Core Oil
properties
Thermal
conductivity 387.6 60.5 50 -0.0001T+0.1306
[W/(m2.ć ć)]
Heat
capacity 381 434 480 4.2T+617.2
[J/(kg.ć)]
Dynamic
0.0002T2-
viscosity / / /
0.12T+15.01
(paΦs)
Note: the sign T in oil parameter formula is oil temperature, and the unit is ć.

(b) Magnetic field vector diagram.

In the analysis of temperature field, the heat transfer
process between transformer windings, core and oil, as well as
the convective heat transfer process of oil are taken into
consideration. The convective heat transfer coefficient of
internal structure and transformer oil is required. The
calculation equation for convective heat transfer coefficient is
as following [7]:

R = 1.15 ρCγ v 2H (5)

(c) Winding current density vector diagram.
Fig. 4. Electromagnetic analysis result of transformer. In the equation, R is the convective heat transfer coefficient
of W/(m2.Ԩ); ȡ is the transformer oil density; C is the specific
B. Simulation Study on Temperature Distribution of heat capacity of transformer oil; Ȗ is the thermal conductivity of
Transformer transformer oil; v is the oil circulation speed, with a value of
The transformer model and electromagnetic analysis results 0.1m/s; H is the height that transformer oil reaches in the
established by Ansoft Maxwell are imported into ANSYS cooling surface, with the value of 0.15m.
Workbench. And the internal temperature field of transformer The convection heat transfer coefficient of the outer surface
is solved by means of the Transient Thermal analysis module. of transformer tank and the external environment is 10
The mesh dissection diagram of transformer in ANSYS W/(m2.Ԩ). And the ambient temperature is set to 25 Ԩ.
Workbench is shown in Fig. 5. It is necessary to add material to Without considering the cooling process through the heat sink
each model, especially the thermal parameter characteristics of of transformer, in general, it requires about 2~3 hours for
material. And the thermal property parameters of each material transformer to reach the heat balance state. Thus, the analysis
are shown in Table III. time is set for 3 hours. Finally, it is found that the hotspot
temperature appears in the low voltage winding, because the
current in the low voltage winding is larger than that in the
high voltage winding. At the same time, the low voltage
winding is on the inside of the high voltage winding, leading to
smaller radiating area. The heat dissipation is passed through
the high voltage winding from the low voltage winding,
resulting in the temperature of low voltage winding higher than
that of high voltage winding. This result is consistent with the
analysis of temperature rise characteristics of transformer. The
(a) Mesh dissection of oil tank. (b) Front view of windings and core. transformer core temperature distribution and the winding
temperature distribution are shown in Fig. 6.


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The maximum temperature of the winding is higher than of transformer is nonlinear along the longitudinal direction of
the core temperature during temperature rise. The winding winding. In this model, the winding hotspot position from the
temperature rises gradually from the bottom to the top. Hotspot bottom of the winding is about 0.61m, while the distance
temperature appears in the upper part of winding, but not at the between the top and the bottom of winding is about 0.751m.
top. The reasons are as following: Firstly, there is no heat The calculation shows that the hotspot of winding is located in
source at the top of winding. And the oil with higher the 81.2% region of the low voltage winding from the bottom
temperature will transfer heat to the tank wall at the top. up.
Secondly, the radiating area at the top is larger than that of the
side, so that the winding temperature at the top will reduce. In IV. CONCLUSION
Fig. 7(a), a path at the side of winding is taken from the bottom In this paper, the cooling mechanism of transformer is
Point 1 to the top Point 2, to get the longitudinal temperature of studied. It is found that the load loss is mainly factor for the
transformer winding. The longitudinal temperature distribution transformer winding temperature rise. At the same time, the
curve of winding is shown in Fig. 7(b). heat transfer process inside the transformer and the process of
oil circulation and heat dissipation are described. The
temperature rise characteristic of the transformer is analyzed
mathematically. And the temperature variation characteristics
of winding, core, transformer oil and so on are provided. It is
showed that at elevated temperatures, the highest temperature
of transformer should appear in the winding. Finite element
software Ansoft, Maxwell and ANSYS Workbench are used to
build three-dimensional transformer simulation model. The
model is analyzed by coupling field of magnet-fluid-thermal.
(a) (b) (c)
The temperature distribution inside the transformer is obtained,
proving the temperature rise characteristic of transformer. The
Fig. 6. Temperature distribution diagram of transformer core and winding. (a)
Temperature scale. (b) Iron core temperature map. (c) Winding temperature
nonlinear distribution law of transformer winding temperature
distribution. is found.

REFERENCES
[1] LU Chang-bai. “Study on fault diagnosis of power transformer” M.
Harbin: Harbin Institute of Technology press, 1997. (in Chinese)
[2] PENG Hui. “Calculation of leakage magnetic field and eddy current loss
of transformer” D. Beijing: Tsinghua University, 2004. (in Chinese)
[3] XIE Yu-cheng. “Power transformer manual” M. Beijing: Mechanical
Industry Press, 2003. (in Chinese)
[4] CAO Fan. “Analysis of structural loss and local overheating of power
transformer” D. Shenyang: Shenyang University of Technology, 2011.
(in Chinese)
[5] GB/T15164-2008. “Oil immersed power transformer load guidelines” S.
National Technical Supervision Bureau, 2008. (in Chinese)
[6] LI Jian. “Study on the compatibility of insulating oil and oil filled
(a) (b) transformer insulation” D. Chongqing: Chongqing University, 2014. (in
Fig. 7. Temperature distribution diagram of transformer core and winding. (a) Chinese)
Temperature scale. (b) Iron core temperature map. (c) Winding temperature [7] ZHANG An-hong, LIU Jun. “180MVA2/20KV. Analysis of excess load
distribution. loss of power transformer” J. Transformer, 2004, 41 (8): 1-6. (in
Chinese)
The hotspot temperature is the highest temperature in the
transformer. As shown in Fig. 7(b), the temperature distribution