A Case Study for 50 kVA Toroidal Core Partially Superconducting Transformer

Abstract

We report some numerical results obtained for 50kVA single phase partially superconducting toroidal and core power transformers. Transformers are calculated using the Comsol Multiphysics software with ac/dc and heat transfer modules. They are modeled in such a way that their primary parts (medium voltage) consist of copper windings and secondary parts (low voltage) are formed by superconducting MgB2 windings which are immersed into the liquid helium. Magnetic flux density profile on the iron core, primary and secondary currents, transformer power, and AC losses in superconducting windings are explored for one full cycle of AC voltage. Short-term temperature investigation for quenching showed that AC losses act as a heat source. We think that these numerical results are very important in terms of industrial-scale superconducting transformer applications because there are very few studies on MgB2 transformers. Our results will enable the design of toroidal-type power transformers that may be operable in practice. According to the numerical simulation results, it seems that a compact low cost superconducting MgB2 toroidal transformer can be realized with advances in cryostat systems and reducing AC losses. We suggest that the present study will contribute to the literature according to both the models applied and the results obtained.