Impact of unbalanced harmonic loads towards winding temperature rise using FEM modeling

Abstract

This paper investigates the hot spot temperature of transformer thermal model due to unbalanced harmonic loads from the network. The finite element method has been used to solve the coupling multiphysic for heat transfer in solid and fluid. All material properties in the model were been took into consideration such as copper as the coil material, iron as the core material and transformer oil as the coolant material for the transformer. The transient study on the model has been set for 1minutes using 30 degree celcius as the ambient temperature reference. The simulation hot spot temperature result has been compared for rated load (without harmonic) versus the unbalanced load (with harmonic) which shown in 2D regime. It can be clearly seen the significant increment of the hotspot temperature of the transformer from the rated load to the unbalanced harmonic load. The result has successfully shows the detection of the prospect failure of the transformer due to the harmonic current load in a form of winding loss that contributes to the hotspot temperature of the transformer.