5 Transformers

Summary R.F. Giese

Argonne National Laboratory

Potential Application B.W. McConnell

of HTSCs to Power Transformers

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

50

Applied Superconductivity

Summary

One-sixth of the annual losses associated with transmitting electricity over the national grid occur in power transformers. Losses in power transformers are equal in magnitude to the output of five large-scale, base-load power plants. Installation of superconducting power transformers could reduce these losses.

Section 5 considers a design for a l,OOO-MVA generation step-up transformer with superconducting windings. incorporating Nb3Sn developed by Westinghouse Electric Corp. under contract to DOE in 1981. This design, together with the cost assumptions, formed the basis of B.W. McConnells following evaluation of the potential impact of the new high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) on power transformers. Since almost nothing is known concerning the AC properties of the new HTSCs, Nb3Sn properties were assumed (except for the high critical temperature). The results of this analysis indicate that use of the new HTSCs will result in total life-cycle costs that are 35% lower than for Nb3Sn and 60% lower than for conventional power transformers of this size. To date, no full-scale superconducting power transformer has been built or tested. This is probably due in large part to the high value electric utilities assign to reliability; failure of the power transformer could result in a shutdown of the entire generating plant. Furthermore, although the cost savings associated with the superconducting power transformer appear to be substantial, the power transformer itself represents only a small part of the entire generating plant.

Transformers

51

Potential Application of HTSCs to Power Transformers

5.1 INTRODUCTION at temperatures above the The recent discoveries of materials that are superconducting boiling point (77 K) of liquid nitrogen (LN2) may allow the development of power apparatus with significantly higher operating efficiencies and, hence, greatly reduced These materials also might have the advantage of remaining in the operating costs. superconducting state at significantly higher magnetic fields than previously seen in Type I and II superconductors. (However, the high field region has not yet been studied in At present, these high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) appear to be detail.) extremely brittle and have a low current density (nominally 100 A/cm). However, reports of wires and ribbons fabricated from the materials offer hope that potential fabrication problems can be solved. In addition, IBMs announced increase of the current density in thin films by a factor of 100 is encouraging. The use of LN2 as a coolant implies immediate economic advantages over the previously required liquid helium (LHe). LN2 is considerably less expensive, because the basic raw material is free and the production process is considerably more efficient. In fact, the process is so inexpensive that the operation of HTSC apparatus at LN2 temperatures may well be considered for other technical reasons, even if highertemperature superconductors are found. This section presents a first evaluation of power transformers ss one technological application of the new HTSCs. This evaluation is based on the following general assumptions: 1. Extension of previous HTSC operating region These materials will working configurations Adequate bulk current designs using is possible. LHe superconductors to the

2.

prove no more difficult than existing applications carrying capability

to fabricate using Nb3Sn.

into

3. 4.

can be obtained. or can be

The AC properties made favorable.

of the

materials

will be favorable

operating possible. operating

In addition, the best technological estimates of realistic improvements in efficiencies consistent with other engineering constraints are applied where No credit is taken for the higher heat capacities or the greater thermal These latter credits may well further range present at LN2 temperatures.

52

Applied Superconductivity

improve the HTSC economic advantage and may provide for technical solutions to some perplexing problems seen in LHe designs. Also, no credit is taken for the elimination of any iron or the subsequent reduction in losses that may be possible with these materials. Transformer technology is evaluated using the set of baseline economic assumptions presented in App. A. The total life-cycle costs (TLCC) are compared for conventional and HTSC applications, and a time to break-even is estimated. Potential problems and research areas for the technology are summarized.

5.2 APPLICATION OF SUPERCONDUCTORS

TO POWER TRANSFORMERS

5.2.1

Method of Analysis

The application of high-magnetic-field, high-current-density Type II superconductors has presented a challenge to power engineers for the last 30 years. However, the design of a power transformer using Type II superconductors has proven to be an extremely difficult engineering problem. First attempts at designing a superconducting transformer began in 1961 and continued through 1981. Over a ZO-yr period, a truly viable design was not found. However, near the end of this period, a joint did succeed in achieving a transformer design DOE/Westinghouse (DOE/WH) project that showed favorable economic results and appeared capable of prolonged steady-state Prior to this 1981 design, designs were unsuccessful due to a lack of operation. knowledge of AC losses in Type II superconductors, the excessive volumes of the configurations, and high AC losses due to large AC magnetic fields or large superconductor volumes. The 1981 DOE/WH study produced a design for a l,OOO-MVA generation step-up transformer, which had superconducting windings and operated at LHe temperatures. The study included an economic comparison of the new design with a conventional design of the same rating. The superconducting design was seen to have an economic advantage as a result of (1) a careful design of the conductors and windings, which substantially reduced AC losses, and (2) the inclusion of all costs associated with ownership over the transformers useful lifetimes (i.e., TLCC). This evaluation of HTSC application to transformers is based on (1) a careful extension of the results of the 1981 study using the ANL guidelines for TLCC analysis in the economic evaluation, (2) the inclusion of common costs that were not previously considered, and (3) a conservative replacement of the HTSC design during the design life of the system. This last change in the economic evaluation is based upon the present trend of replacing or overhauling large power transformers at the midpoint of the 30-yr book life. In this evaluation, the conventional transformer is not replaced during its lifetime; however, the HTSC transformer is replaced at the 10th and 20th years. The design parameters of the generator step-up transformer Power Voltage Basic impulse level 1,000 MVA 22-500 kV 1,300 kV under study are:

Transformers

53

Impedance Construction

12% Three-phase,

core-form

The original economic study considered only the components of the two designs that would differ (i.e., core, windings, refrigeration, and losses). Other items, such as the tank, manufacturing, instrumentation, and bushings, were not included because their costs were judged to be the same for both designs. Relative costs were computed, with 100 being the total cost of the items considered for a conventional unit. The present study includes these latter costs to obtain a more realistic economic evaluation. The economic parameters used in the present study are those provided in App. A. The losses include (1) for the conventional design, conductor IR losses, iron (hysteresis) and stray (or unknown) losses, and dielectric losses and (2) for the superconducting design, conductor AC losses, iron and stray losses, dielectric losses, heat leakage through the leads and dewar, and input power to the refrigerator. The procedure for adapting the results of the previous study at LHe temperature to a design at LN2 temperature was to identify the most significant items that would be changed and to estimate the impact of these changes on the cost. The items that were identified are:
1.

Refrigeration Power losses,

plant, for refrigerator to remove low-temperature

2.

requirements

3. 4.

Superconducting Thermal insulation

windings, around

and superconducting windings.

The refrigeration plant is required to remove about 2,000 W from the lowtemperature area. From Fig. 10 of Ref. 1, the efficiency of such a refrigerator is about 18% of the Carnot efficiency. Combined with a Carnot efficiency of 77/(300 - 77) and expressed as a reciprocal of efficiency, the coefficient of performance for an LN2 refrigerator is calculated to be 16.1. For this study, a more conservative value of 20 is assumed. Using the two coefficients-of-performance (COP) values, the cost of an LN2 refrigerator was determined (from Fig. 11 of Ref. 1) to be about one-eighth that of an LHe refrigerator. The second item to be altered was the cost of powering the was accounted for by multiplying the portion of the cost of losses refrigeration by the ratio (20/400) of the COP of the two systems. refrigeration plant itself and the cost of refrigeration power, the sufficiently low that it no longer represents a significant portion Therefore, the result is not sensitive to the exact value of the applied refrigeration. This attributable to the In both cases, the resultant value is of the total cost. correction factors.

Finally, the superconducting windings and the thermal insulation were assumed to be equal to LHe values. These represent a small portion of the total costs. The HTSC materials are undefined at this time, although there are indications that their brittleness and difficult handling characteristics will be quite similar to those of Nb3Sn. Since

54

Applied Superconductivity

fabrication costs will be a large part of the total cost of this material and fabrication processes may be quite similar, it is reasonable to assume that the cost of the new material will be close to that of the old. Perturbations on the costs of these materials were evaluated, and an extreme case, which demonstrates the effect on the final result, is included in Fig. 5.1.

5.2.2

Reaulta

The results of the comparison are shown in Table 5.1, with the base data for the conventional and LHe-cooled units taken from Table 6 of Ref. 2. The assumption is made and that the previously ignored costs of the tank, manufacturing, instrumentation, bushings account for about 94% of the capital cost of a conventional transformer. This value is added to the cost of all three designs, and the other component costs are adjusted so that the TLCC of the conventional transformer continues to be expressed as 100, as in the original study. The result of this adjustment 60% for the complete transformer. is to show a present-value, life-cycle savings of

On the basis of the data from Table 5.1, the effect of significant changes in the Factors of up to 10 times were cost of the superconducting materials was explored.

go-

Conventional

Superconductor (Materials costs = 10 x costs of LHe

10

HTSC (Materials costs = costs of LHe superconductor)

00 0

12

20

24

28

Time i;r)
FIGURE 5.1 Relative Costs of 1,006-MVA Power Transformers (costs are normalized to the cumulative costs of the eomrentional system in year 30)

Transformers

55

TABLE 5.1 Relative Costs of 1,000~MVA Transformers (costs are normalized to the cumulative costs of the conventional system in yeer 30)

Conventional Cost Item Conventional materials Superconducting materials Refrigeration plant Miscellaneous costs Efficiency Cost of lossesb Total life-cycle Percent savingsd aIncludes tank, costsC Case 1 0.47 0 0 7.28 0.997 92.25 100.00 Case 2 0.63 0 0 9.83 0.997 92.25 102.71 -3

Superconducting LHe 0.38 0.50 1.76 12.67 0.9985 46.14 62.20 38 HTSC 0.38 0.50 0.22 12.67 0.9992 25.53 39.61 60

manufacturing,

instrumentation,

and bushings. book life,

bPl-esent value based on 11.55% discount rate, 30-yr and 4% inflation; the capacity factor is 80%.

The conventional Case 1 unit is assumed to have a full operating life of 30 yt. The conventional Case 2 unit is replaced at 15 yr, and the superconducting units are replaced in the 10th and 20th years. The present values of the capital costs are adjusted to reflect these assumptions. dCompared with the conventional Case 1 unit.

applied to this cost, and the effect on present-value cost of the LN3 superconducting transformer was computed. The results of this comparison indicate that significant variations in the value of these materials do not greatly change the final result. The fabricated materials cost used in the LHe study was $150/lb. Figure 5.1 shows the relative costs of the three designs as a function of time and includes a case where the cost of the LN3 superconducting materials exceeds the cost of LHe superconducting materials ten-fold. The payback time for the LN2 design, about three years, is still less than five years if the superconducting material is ten times as costly. Also, the conventional transformer has several distinct capital advantages in this analysis. If the superconducting transformers are assumed to have an effective life of 30 yr, the break-even time is about six months for the HTSC base case. The incremental capital costs were calculated to be $4,835/MVA, which means that an HTSC transformer in the l,OOO-MVA size range can have about 250% greater equivalent capital costs than a conventional transformer.

56

Applied Superconductivity

5.3 TRANSFORMER Several design this study:

l

DESIGN FEATURES features should be considered in an evaluation of the results of

The LHe transformer design is based on using Nb$n as the superconductor, with a current density of about lo5 A/cm2. Present superconducting materials at higher temperatures may not be able to sustain currents of this level within the near future. If the current density cannot be increased to at least this level, the HTSC transformer size would become excessive. The LHe transformer design had an unresolved technical problem If a quench occurred as a result concerning short-circuit conditions. of overcurrent, the LHe refrigeration could not provide adequate cooling to return the windings to the superconducting state. Because of the substantially lower cost of LN2 refrigeration, sufficient cooling capacity could feasibly be included to overcome this problem. concern when a complicated Reliability becomes a primary apparatus, such as a cryogenic refrigerator, is installed in a system. However, replacing an LHe refrigerator with an LN2 unit greatly simplifies the system, and the cost of the LN2 unit is sufficiently low that redundancy can be built into the system with little economic penalty. A central concept in the transformer design used in this study is a configuration of four windings, with a main and an auxiliary winding At a selected overcurrent level, the main at each voltage level. windings switch to the normal conduction state in response to the magnetic leakage field strength, with the auxiliary windings then carrying the current and limiting it to a small multiple of the fullload current while remaining superconducting. The LHe or LNg superconducting designs will be physically the same volume as a conventional unit, but they should have a moderate weight advantage. Hence, transportation costs will be comparable.

5.4

CONCLUSIONS

The technology of power transformers, which represents a potential application for the new HTSCs, has been evaluated. This evaluation was predominantly an economic scoping study developed from previous work on a similar device using earlier, LHe-based technology. Power transformers show a strong potential for significant cost reductions using HTSCs when evaluated on a life-cycle basis. Break-even occurs at between six months and three years, and the analysis is considered to be conservative (i.e., favorable to conventional technologies).

Transformers

57

These evaluations assume that the new HTSCs can be made to perform at least as well as LHe superconducting materials in their magnetic, current density, and material properties. Specifically, the AC properties of the HTSCs have not yet been determined, but they are expected to be similar to the earlier Type II superconductors. If this is indeed the case, AC power applications may not be so easily achievable. However, the knowledge gained in applying LHe materials to both AC and DC power devices should reduce the amount of time required to achieve useful applications. For example, the 20-yr period required to produce a reasonable power transformer may be cut in half for the HTSC application. Several key areas of research appear to have been uncovered by this evaluation. The obvious need for higher current densities and bulk current capability has been previously stated by many researchers. A better understanding of HTSC physics and material properties is also needed. In particular, experimental and theoretical research on HTSC properties under time-varying magnetic fields must be conducted as soon as possible. If the HTSCs reported to exist above 150 K are consistently reproducible, some severe thermal difficulties encountered in earlier designs for transformers may be essentially solved by operating these HTSC materials at LN2 temperatures. A more detailed study of the application of HTSCs to transformers could also identify certain needed properties that may be producible by materials researchers.

5.5 REFERENCES
1.

Westinghouse Electric Corp., Application of Low Temperature Technology Transformers, U.S. Dept. of Energy Report DOE-ET-29324-l (Feb. 1982).

to Power

2.

Riemersma, H., et al., Application of Superconducting Technology to Power Transformers, IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, PAS-100(7):3398-3407 (July 1991).