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1s IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics. Intelligent Control and Energy Systems (ICPEICES-2016)

FEM based No-load Loss Calculation of

Triangular Wound Core Transformer

l 2
Gaurav Upadhyay , Amita Singh ,
3 4
Santanu Kumar Seth and R.K. Jaria1
1234
, , , Electrical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, India

Abstract-Distribution transformers have inherently losses dominate which is a concern for a power
high emciencies, but as they are in eontinuous operation and transformer [4]. The selection process for a transformer
are designed for all day emcieney of around 70% and have a involves analyzing of the total ownership cost (TOC) [5]
long life span, so their power loss eost is still a matter of
to the customer. Usage of triangular wound core
eoneern. A small inerease in emcieney level ean lead to a
configuration in distribution transformers helps in
eonsiderable amount of energy savings over the life time of
increasing all day efficiency as they reduce the no load
the transformer. Symmetrie eore design has the potential to
improve transformer emcieney. Reeently, distribution losses by 15 to 20% [6]. Another option for customers
transformers based on triangular wound eores have started who desire very high efficiency distribution transformers
attraeting inereased attention. They provide the eonsumers [17] is by the use of amorphous meta\. The use of
large number of advantages at a slightly higher price than a Amorphous Metal Distribution Transformers (AMDT)
eonventional transformer. Therefore, the most important core techn01 ogy, along with optimum coil design, can
property of these transformers whieh is the lower no load provide great reduction in no-load losses (of up to 70%)
loss than other topologies of transformers is analyzed in this
resuIting in higher energy efficiency [18].
paper in order to assess the potential benefits.
Keywords-Distribution Transformer; Planar Core; 11. C ORE TOPOLOGIES
Triangular Core; Core Ring; Core Limb; Yoke; Filling Factor;
No-load Loss; Stray Loss; Harmonics; Mesh; Amorphous Generally, three-phase distribution transformers
Metal feature planar core types as seen in Fig.1, i.e. the core
limbs and the yoke are in the same plane. These planar
I. INTRODUCTION cores are manufactured using either stacked or wound core
Transformers form an integral part of the electricity standard technologies. However, these planar core
grid. They however do not generate any electrical power; topologies introduce an asymmetric component in the

they are voItage changers used to step-up or stepdown three-phase AC system, as the outer phases have different

voItages in the electrical grid [1]. Transformers are not electromagnetic properties than the center phase [7].
fully 100% efficient. There are always electrical losses
associated with them. Distribution transformers have
inherently high efficiencies compared to other electrical
devices; however, they are in continuous operation and
have a relatively long lifespan. As a resuIt, a small
efficiency increase can add up to significant savings over
the lifespan of the transformer [2]. Distribution
transformers play a large role in the electrical grid. They
Fig. I: Planar Core Configuration [61
are used in large numbers to facilitate the distribution of A. Stacked Core
electricity to the end user [3].
The losses in a transformer happen in two regions: For constructing stacked planar cores, the core limbs

first, the no-load loss which is independent of load and and yokes are manufactured by stacking large number

occurs in the iron core due to the sinusoidal change of oftlat sheets of electrical steel on top of one another. The

magnetization resuIting from the connected AC voItage; joints where core lirnbs and yokes are connected, have to

and secondly, the load loss, which is dependent on the be buiIt using special techniques as seen in Fig. 2 for

electrical resistance in the transformer windings and on minimizing the material consumption and core reluctance,

the actual transformer current tlowing. Overall, this for instance using the step-Iap technique [7]-[8].

produces an efficiency curve that is load dependent. When

B. Wound Core
the loading on transformer is low, the no-load losses will
be dominating which is a prirnary concern for a The wound planar cores usually consist of many
distribution transformer, whereas at high loading, the load individual bodies of different shapes. These wound bodies

978-1-4673-8587-9/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE [1]

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1s IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics. Intelligent Control and Energy Systems (ICPEICES-2016)

are manufactured by winding thin electrical steel foils on a complex CAD model is first designed in the commercial
mandre!. Usually, the core bodies are cut and opened CAD software Solid Works [12] and then imported into
during the manufacturing process to position the windings Ansys Maxwell for its simulation.
on the limbs. The air gap that creeps up from the cutting
and opening of the core bodies increases the reluctance of
the core and correspondingly the no-load losses of the
transformer units [7].

IftewA-A
=<= =
'----" �
=<=> ==
== D=
== ==

Conventlonal Sleplap

GereraJ s!acldrq pa!!rrn Irr a three-phase thme/lrrtJ roro wlfh ronven!!on� a srep-lap jolll!s.

Fig. 2: Stacked Core using Step-Iap Technique [13]

Fig. 3: Perspective Model ofthe Core
C. Triangular Wound Core
The triangular wound core configuration as presented
here consists of three identical wound core rings as seen in
Fig. 3. The formation of these core rings is done by
continuously winding a lamination of electrical steel on a
mandre!. The transformer core is then assembled by
arranging these core rings in an equilateral triangle as
shown in Fig. 4. All the core Iimbs, which are formed by
two adjacent rings each, are positioned at the corners of
the equilateral triangle. As a result, a magnetically
symmetrie transformer topology is obtained [7].
This topology has the advantages [6] of a better core
construction involving negligible amount of air gaps and
thereby low stray magnetic loss. The filling or the stacking Fig. 4: Model as Seen from Above
factor is as high as 98% as each core ring limb resembles a According to Ansys Maxwell Transient Field Solver
semi-circ1e and two rings combine to form a core limb.
manual [13], the Transient Field Solver is a time domain
The magnetic circuit is balanced in all the 3 phases and
solver and solves for instantaneous magnetic fields at each
hence the exciting currents are also reduced. This reduces
time step. Since the simulation involves alternating current
the core losses by up to 15-20%. The stray field emissions
(AC) which produces alternating fields, hence the solution
are less [9] and noise generated is lower by 5-10 decibels.
type chosen for the simulation is Transient type.
The harmonie content is also lower. Additionally, the
The numerical formulation [13] implemented in
material consumption and cost is also reduced by about
Ansys Maxwell Transient Field Solver for 3D bodies
20% due to its compact footprint as compared to a
solves for the following equations where B is the magnetic
conventional planar transformer [10]. Studies have shown
tlux density and H is the magnetic field strength and <I> is
that the carbon footprint of triangular core transformer is
the magnetic tlux while the other symbols have their usual
up to 43% lower than that of a conventional transformer
meaning:
and thus helps in tackling the global warming problem.
1 oB
'\lx-'\lxH + - = 0 ( 1)
III. SIMULATION OF THE TRIANGULAR Wo UND CORE (J" ot
The simulation for calculating the no-load losses of V-B=O (2)
the triangular wound core transformer requires complex
modelling techniques as weil as accurate electromagnetic -'17. ( SV':)- '17.( aV'''') =0 (3)
field simulation software.
The numerical formulation is done by the commercial The FEM method is used for electromagnetic analysis
simulation software Ansys Maxwell [11] while the of no load loss calculation of 1110.433 kV triangular core

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1s IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics. Intelligent Control and Energy Systems (ICPEICES-2016)

dry type distribution transformer. The core and windings load current of value 0.13% of the rated value i.e. 1.733
are as shown in Fig. 5. The specifications of the Amperes tlows in the LV winding as per the
transformer model are given in Table 1. manufacturer's data [14]. This leads to hysteresis and eddy
current losses in the transformer core, while the ohmic
losses in the windings is negligible and thus gives the no
load loss of the transformer.
TABLE 2: SPECIFICATlONS OF WINDINGS OF THE TRANSFORMER

Classification Windinl(
HV LV
Rated Voltage (V) 11000 433
Type of connection Delta Star
Maximum current per phase (A) 30.3 1333.37
Number of turns 792 18
Number of layers 7 2
Inner diameter (mm) 332 260
Outer diameter (mm) 393 308
Resistance (Ohms) 1.585 0.000649
Working Current Density (Nmm2) 2.536 2.566

500 1e+{)03(mm) Mesh operations were defined in the Magnetic

Transient Solution Type for generating a sufficient mesh
Fig. 5: 3D CAD Representation of a 1000kVA, 11/0.433kV Triangular
for correct results as it does not have automatic adaptive
Core Dry-type Transformer with Low-voltage (LV, Shown in Red) and
High-voltage (HV, Shown in Green) Windings mesh refmement which is available in Magnetostatic
Solution Type [15]. The mesh generated was of good
TABLE I: SPECIFICATIONS OF II KV/0.433 KV TRIANGULAR
quality having 83056 tetrahedra. As the geometry is
WOUND CORE TRANSFORMER
smooth, so the mesh generation took only 68 seconds.
Classification Specification The no-load losses of the triangular wound core
Rated Power (kV A) 1000
transformer in the simulation came out to be 727 Watts as
Rated Voltage (V) 11000/433
Number of Phases 3 shown in Fig. 6 while the measured value as provided by
Rated Frequency (Hz) 50 the manufacturer [14] is 830 Watts. The average losses are
Type of Connection Delta/Star calculated in between the time period of 20-40ms as the
Winding Material Copper transient nature of the input wave dies down in the first
Maximum Current Density (Nmm2) 2.6
cycle of AC and so the second cycle is used for calculation
To compare the resuIts of the simulation to an actual purpose.
transformer, the no-load losses are to be compared as per ,: sS
,,d,-,L:lJ0",,
1000.00 �_____-"N":,o":L:",oa
"-___ ---r-=;;==::�
the measured losses by the manufacturer, so the resuIts of
2" 800.00
this simulation were compared to those of a similar rating <ä

transformer's datasheet [14]. � 600.00

'"

The material chosen for construction of core was � 400.00

i!!
M125_027 silicon steel whose B-H curve suited with that <3 200.00

of materials used for transformers and hence was added

10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00
manually in the Ansys Maxwell library. The core loss data Time [Illsl
for the material was also widely available which helped in
Fig. 6: Graph Depicting No-load Loss of Triangular Wound Core Dry­
estimating the losses in the core. The mass density of the
3 Type Transformer (Average Loss between 20 to 40ms)
material was 7650 kg/m and thickness of material 0.27
mm with a conductivity of 5000000 S/m. The simulated core losses are less than the measured
The material chosen for construction of windings was value provided by the manufacturer, which is acceptable
copper whose parameters are in-built in the Ansys because the material loss curve of the steel grade is used in
Maxwell library. The details of the 10w-voItage (LV) the computation processfor the no-load core losses in the
winding and high-voItage (HV) winding are given in simulation. The deterioration of the iron losses of the steel
Table 2. caused by the manufacturing process cannot be considered
For simulating the no-load losses, the LV winding of by this material curve. Due to this, the measured losses
the transformer, is energized at the rated voltage while the will always be higher than the losses calculated in the
HV winding is left in open-circuit. Since, the software simulation. Hence, it can be concluded that the simulation
doesn't support the HV winding to be open circuited is fairly accurate.
during simulation, a very high resistance of 1 Gigaohms The simulation got completed in 29 minutes and 58
representing an open circuit is connected with it. This seconds on a modern personal computer with the
helps the software to run the simulation. As a resuIt, no- specifications as shown in Table 3.

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1s IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics. Intelligent Control and Energy Systems (ICPEICES-2016)

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