Electr Eng (2007) 89: 301309

DOI 10.1007/s00202-006-0008-4

O R I G I NA L PA P E R

Ebrahim Rahimpour Davood Azizian

Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type

transformers

Received: 17 September 2005 / Accepted: 16 January 2006 / Published online: 11 April 2006
Springer-Verlag 2006

Abstract Non-flammable characteristic of dry-type castresin transformers make them suitable for residential and hospital usages. However, because of resins property, thermal
behavior of these transformers is undesirable, so it is important to analyze their thermal behavior. Temperature distribution of cast-resin transformers is mathematically modeled in
this paper. The solution of the model was carried out successfully by finite difference method. In order to validate the
model, the simulation results were compared with the experimental data measured from an 800 kVA transformer. Finally,
the influences of some construction parameters and environmental conditions on temperature distribution of cast-resin
transformers were discussed.
Keywords Thermal modeling Dry-type transformer
Cast-resin Finite difference

1 Introduction
The transformer is a key component in the transmission and
distribution system of electrical energy. In some cases, as
in hospitals and residential areas, transformers must be protected against flame and explosion. Therefore, specialists
and designers tend towards new kinds of transformers. Thus,
non-flammable transformers have been built [1]. These transformers employ non-flammable insulations in their structure.
One of such insulations is askarel, which includes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However, in the mid-1970s, it was
determined that PCBs were not environmentally acceptable.
E. Rahimpour (B)
Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering,
University of Zanjan,
Daneshgah road (Tabriz road km 5),
P. O. Box 45195-313, Zanjan, Iran
E-mail: ebrahim.rahimpour@web.de
Tel.: +98-241-5152678
D. Azizian
Iran Transformer Research Institute (ITRI),
Zanjan, Iran

Therefore, the usage of askarel in existing transformers has

gradually been phased out [2,3]. As a consequence, some
kind of new transformers have been developed among which
dry-type transformers are a common type.
One of the most common kinds of dry-type transformers
is cast-resin type which is investigated in this paper. These
transformers are protected against flammability and moisture attraction but they lack some advantages of oil-filled
transformers. Oil in the oil-filled transformers is not only
an electrical insulation but also works as a cooling matter,
while the cast-resin transformers lack any fluid for cooling.
In addition, resin used by these transformers is class F insulation with insulation system temperature of 155 C [4]. Thus,
analyzing the temperature behavior in such transformers is
crucially important.
A lot of papers have investigated experimental results of
temperature distribution in some kinds of dry-type transformers [58] and even Pierce in [9] has modeled the temperature
behavior of ventilated dry-type transformers. However, no
mathematical model has been presented for the cast-resin
transformers. Hence, thermal behavior of these transformers
is modeled in this paper. The modeling results are compared
with the experimental data collected from an 800 kVA and
20/0.4 kV transformer and accuracy of the model is validated.
Moreover, the influences of some construction parameters
and environmental conditions on temperature distribution are
discussed.

2 Heat transfer in cast-resin transformer

A schematic view of cast-resin transformer is shown in Fig. 1.
In this figure, LV and HV denote low voltage and high voltage, respectively. Regarding the cylindrical structure of the
transformer, temperature in direction can be assumed to be
symmetric, so the heat transfer can be taken into two-dimensional coordinates. In addition, we can divide this transformer
into four areas in terms of heat transfer (Fig. 2), described as
follows.

302

E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian

where,
qro : local radiation heat, transferred in height z in outer
surface (W),
 :
qro
local radiation heat flux in height z in outer surface
(W/m2 ),
h ro : local heat transfer coefficient for radiation from outer
surface [W/(m2 K)],
:
emissivity coefficient of surface,
Ts :
local temperature of surface (K),
Tair : ambient temperature (K),
A:
the surface on which radiation occurs (m2 ), and
:
Stephan Boltzmans coefficient (5.67 108 W/
(m2 K4 )).
Fig. 1 Schematic view of cast-resin transformer

Natural convection Theoretical equations for convection [10,

11] are very complex and unimportant to use here. Therefore,
some experimental equations are used for thermal modeling.
These equations were used by Pierce in [9] and are given
below:
qco

qco
(z) =
(4)
= h co (Ts Tair )
A
h co (z) =

Nuz =
Fig. 2 Different parts of heat transfer in cast-resin transformer

2.1 Part 1: windings (combination of conductors and

insulations)
Considering the solid structure of this part, the heat transfer mechanism is conduction. The heat transfer equation in
cylindrical coordinate can be written as


1
q
T
2T
r
+ 2 =
r r
r
z
ku
(1)
wherein, the quantities are as follows:
q:

T:
ku :

specific loss density (W/m3 ),

temperature (K), and
thermal conductivity of unit [W/(m K)].

2.2 Part 2: outer surface

Outer surface is a vertical cylindrical surface and can be assumed as a vertical plate. Two types of heat transfer can occur
in the outer surface, including radiation and natural convection, which are described as follows.
Radiation For the outer surface, radiation can be expressed
as the equation below [10,11]:
qro

4
qro
(z) =
) = h ro (Ts Tair )
(2)
= (Ts4 Tair
A
3
3
h ro = (Ts3 + Ts Tair
+ Ts3 Tair + Tair
)
(3)

Gr =

Nuz kair
Z
4 Pr 2 Gr
36 + 45 Pr

gq  co Z 4
kair 2

(5)
1/5
(6)

(7)

where,
qco :
local convection heat, transferred in height z in outer
surface (W),
 :
qco
local convection heat flux at location z in outer surface (W/m2 ),
q  co : average heat flux in outer surface (W/m2 ),
h co :
local heat transfer coefficient for convection from
outer surface [W/(m2 K)],
kair :
thermal conductivity of air [W/(m K)],
Gr : Grashoff number for uniform heat flux,
Nuz : Nusselt number,
Pr:
Prandtl number,
:
volumetric expansion of air (1/K),
:
kinematical viscosity of air (m2 /sec),
g:
acceleration of gravity (m/sec2 ), and
Z:
vertical distance (m).
The aforementioned equations are valid over the Grashoffs range (105 Gr 1010 ) [9]. Note that , , and kair
are dependent on unknown temperatures [10,11].
2.3 Part 3: air ducts
In this part, the radiation and conduction heat transfers are
negligible in comparison to the convection.

Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers

303

Natural convection As before, it is preferable to use the

experimental equations which are used by Pierce [9], these
are given below:

qcd
= h cd (Ts Tair )
(8)
Nuz kair
(9)
h cd (z) =
b
wherein,
1/3
Nu Z = C1 (1 + R)1/6 Z , for Z 60
(10)




1
1/2

1
9
1
24

,
+
Nu Z = C2 (1 + R)
Z 1 + R
70
2

2.4 Part 4: top and bottom surfaces

for Z 60
wherein,
(b/Z )Gr Pr
Z = 
1/2
(b/L)Gr Pr

3 Mathematical modeling with finite difference method

(11)
(12)

Gr =

gq  Dh4
kair 2

(13)

Dh = 2

(ro2 ri2 )/N a b

Duct area
=2
Duct perimeter
2(ro + ri )/N 2a + 2b

(14)

in which C1 = 0.697, C2 = 1, and

heat transferred by convection at location z in
qcd :
inner or outer wall (W/m2 ),

qcd :
local convection heat flux at location z in inner
or outer wall (W/m2 ),
average heat flux in inner wall (W/m2 ) see
qi :
Fig. 3,
qo :
average heat flux in outer wall (W/m2 ) see
Fig. 3,
q  :
is equal to qi and qo for inner wall and outer
wall, respectively,
R:
is equal to qo /qi for inner wall, and qi /qo for
outer wall,
h cd :
local heat transfer coefficient for convection
from inner or outer wall [W/(m2 K)],
Ts :
local temperature in inner or outer wall (K),
a:
width of dog bones (m), see Fig. 3,
b:
width of the air duct, which is equal to the length
of dog bones (m) see Fig. 3,
ri and ro : radii of inner and outer walls (m),
L:
total height of duct (m), and
N:
number of dog bones.

Heat transfer from bottom surfaces can be neglected with a

good precision (this assumption is because of the low quantity of Ts Tair ). For top surfaces, heat transfer is unknown
and depends on many parameters such as air speed, color of
surface and so on, so the worst case in terms of the calculated
temperature was assumed and this heat transfer is neglected.
If it is necessary to consider the heat transfer from this part,
two equations similar to Eqs. (2) and (4) must be used.

Finite difference method, in which the so called resistive elements are employed, is used to solve the Eq. (1). This method
applies the energy conversion law to state the Eq. (1) in the
numerical form. The energy conversion law in the steadystate expresses:



Heat transferd to other

Heat generated
(15)
=
units or ambient
in the unit
In finite difference method, the solid parts are divided into a
number of units properly (see Fig. 4). Each unit is represented
by a node which is related to other nodes by thermal resistances. Heat transfer between two nodes can be expressed as
follows:
(T1 T2 )
q12 =
(16)
R12
wherein,
T1 and T2 :
q12 :
R12 :

temperatures of the nodes 1 and 2,

heat transferred from node 1 to node 2 (negative value means that the heat is transferred from
node 2 to node 1), and
thermal resistance between nodes 1 and 2.

From Eq. (16), it is obvious that there is a duality between heat

flow and electrical current and also between energy conversion and kirchoffs laws. By using relation (15), the following
equation results:

(A) ro

ri

(B)

m ,n+1

R+n

zu
zd

qi

m,n

b
z = zu /2+ zd /2
r = ri /2+ ro /2

qo
Fig. 3 Schematic view of a duct (including four dog bones) from top
of the transformer

m-1,n

Rm-

m+1,n
R+m
Rnm,n-1

Fig. 4 a Units in radial and vertical directions (2 nodes in radial direction and 13 nodes in axial direction are shown in this division). b
Schematic view of a unit, which is represented by a node named m, n

304

E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian

Table 1 Thermal resistances

otherwise

otherwise

Heat transfer from top surface

(in nodes of top surface)

otherwise

Heat transfer from bottom surface

(in nodes of bottom surface)

otherwise

(Tm,n Tm1,n ) (Tm,n Tm+1,n ) (Tm,n Tm,n1 )

+
+
Rm
Rm+
Rn
(Tm,n Tm,n+1 )
+
= qm,n
(17)
Rn+
wherein Rm , Rm+ , Rn , and Rn+ are thermal resistances
between nodes which m,n and inner, outer, lower and upper
nodes (Fig. 4) which are given in Table 1.
Note that, Tm1,n , Tm+1,n , Tm,n1 , and Tm,n+1 in the
nodes belong to outer surface or inner wall of air ducts, the
outer wall of the air ducts, the bottom surfaces and the top
surfaces are, respectively, replaced by ambient temperature
(Tair ). Obviously these replacements are not equalities and
just resulted from Eqs. (2), (4), and (8). The qm,n in Eq. (17)
is the total losses in the unit m,n and its value is 0 for the
insulation units, with ignoring very small dielectric losses.
For windings, qm,n can be calculated as explained in the next
subsection.

K eddy in Eq. (18) is given in the references [1214] and:

Pdc = Rdc |I |2 =

2r m 2
|I |
hw

(19)

where , rm , and I represent electrical resistivity, mean radius, and current of conductor, respectively. Now assume that
the nodes in the radial direction are selected in the middle of
insulation (Fig. 6), so that the related unit contains fourth part
of four conductors beside insulation. In this case, losses of
each unit (qm,n ) can be calculated as shown in Fig. 6, as the
summation of the losses in its conducting parts.
Note that, winding losses depend on temperature, as it
can be seen in the following equation.


K eddy
Ptotalnew = Pdc K E +
(20)
KE
with,
KE =

3.1 Winding losses

Figure 5 shows the cross-section of a conductor with the insulation around it. For the unit shown in Fig. 5, the total losses
can be expressed as follows:
Ptotal = (1 + K eddy )Pdc

(18)

Tnew + Tk
Tbase + Tk

(21)

and
Tk :
48 K for Aluminum and 38.5 K for Copper,
Pdc :
dc losses calculated in the temperature Tbase , and
Ptotalnew : total losses in the new temperature Tnew .

Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers

305

test object. Its geometrical construction is shown in Fig. 7

and its rating parameters are given in Table 2.
The LV terminals of the transformer were short-circuited
and the applied voltage to the HV terminals were adjusted
until the currents reached their rated values in three phases.
After reaching the steady-state condition of temperature, temperatures were measured in the outer surface of the outer legs
by infrared periscope in different angles (Fig. 8a). It can be
seen from Fig. 8a that the assumption of symmetry in direction, which is discussed in Sect. 2, might not occur in practice,
because of a number of reasons, such as influence of neighbor phases, terminal connections, production tolerances, and
non-uniform conditions of environment. Therefore, the temperature varies with , which was not considered in the modeling process. Hence, the average value of these temperatures
is considered as the experimental data and is compared with
the modeling results, as shown in Fig. 8b. It can be seen that
the modeling is valid with a good accuracy.
For further verification of the model, Table 3 shows the
average and the hottest spot temperatures, predicted by modeling and comparison of them with experimental and international electrical committee (IEC) rated values [4]. From
Table 3, it is seen that the ratio of the hottest spot temperature rise/the average temperature rise (HS/AV) predicted in
this study is near the value predicted by [9].
The causes of differences between modeling and experimental results can be grouped into experimental and modeling errors, as follows:

Fig. 5 Cross-section of a conductor with its insulation

Fig. 6 Losses of one unit (qm,n ) as the summation of the losses in its
conducting parts

3.2 Solving thermal equations

By using the above process, the matrix form of Eq. (17) can
be derived as follows:
[G]nn [T ]n1 = [Pc ]n1

(22)

wherein,
[G]: coefficients matrix,
[T ]: temperatures matrix, and
[Pc ]: heat matrix.
[G] and [Pc ] are dependent on matrix [T], so an iterative
process is necessary to solve the Eq. (22). For thermal
modeling of cast-resin dry-type transformer, 58 nodes are
selected in the radial direction and 55 nodes in the vertical
direction and temperatures are calculated by solving (22).
4 Verification of model
To evaluate the validity and accuracy of the discussed thermal model, a cast-resin dry-type transformer is chosen as a

Fig. 7 Geometrical construction of cast-resin dry-type transformer

(dimensions are in mm)

306

E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian

Table 2 Rating parameters of the used test object

LV terminal voltage

400 V

HV terminal voltage

20 kV

Core heat flux

667.54 watt/m2

LV line current

1154.7 A

HV line current

23.09 A

Power

800 kVA

LV connection

HV connection

Frequency

50 Hz

LV turns

18

HV turns

1,559

120

120

(B)
110

110

Temperature ( C)

Temperature ( C)

(A)

100

=60C
=120C
=240C
=300C

90
80
70

100
90
80
70
60

200
400
600
Vertical Distances (mm)

Measured
Calculated

800

200
400
600
Vertical Distances (mm)

800

Fig. 8 Comparison of modeling and experimental results. a Measured temperature distribution in different angles. b Comparison between
measured and simulated results
Table 3 The average and the hottest spot temperature rises of the test object

Modeling
Experience
IEC std [4]
Reference [9]

The average temperature rise (AV) ( C)

The hottest spot temperature rise (HS) ( C)

HS/AV

LV

HV

LV

HV

LV

HV

88
85
100

95.8
93
100

103
Not measured
115

119.3
Not measured
115

1.17

1.24

1.15
1.26

1.15
1.26

1. Experimental errors
1. Some laboratory environmental conditions such as air
displacements, which cannot be determined precisely
and create inaccuracy.
2. Body of the infrared periscope may be warmed subject
to magnetic fields. This can cause an error in temperature reading [15].

A number of assumptions such as neglecting the heat

transfer from top and bottom surfaces can influence the modeling results too. In the next section, influence of some of
them on the modeling results will be discussed.

5 Analyzing some factors affecting temperature

distribution

2. Modeling errors
1. Errors caused by numerical calculations due to some
computational operations such as rounding and estimation.
2. Errors due to limited number of nodes, increased number of nodes in radial and vertical directions can
improve the precision, but the time for running the
program outweigh the precision.

With the help of verified model, the influences of some parameters on temperature distribution are evaluated. These parameters and results of their analysis are given as follows:
1. Air ducts
There are three air ducts in the test object. The behavior
of all of them is similar. The influence of the air duct
between LV and HV windings (air duct 3 in Fig. 7) on

200

1.5

(A)

180

307

(B)

LV
HV

LV
HV

1.4

160

HS/AV

Average Temperature ( C)

Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers

140
120
100

1.3
1.2
1.1

80
0

20
40
60
80
Air duct's width (mm)

100

20
40
60
80
Air duct's width (mm)

100

Fig. 9 Effect of air ducts width on temperature distribution of windings. a Average temperature. b Ratio of HS/AV

95

90
85
80
120

110

(A)
Temperature( C)

Temperature( C)

100

With eddy Losses

Without eddy Losses
140

160

180

(B)

105
100
95
210

With eddy losses

Without eddy losses
220

230

240

250

Radius(mm)

Radius(mm)

Fig. 10 Effect of eddy losses on temperature distribution in LV winding (a) and HV winding (b), in the middle of windings

average temperatures and HS/AVs of LV and HV windings is given in Fig. 9.

Along with the increment of air-duct width two phenomena occur:
(1) The convection in the air duct increases the total heat
transfer.
(2) The total HV winding losses increase due to rise in
conductors length of the HV winding.
The first factor decreases the temperature, while the second one increases it. For small widths, the convection
factor is dominant, while the losses factor is more efficient in high widths (Fig. 9).
2. Edge bands (see Fig. 7)
Edge bands cover the edge of conductor foils in order
to improve the insulation structure. The model shows no
visible effect on temperature distributions by edge bands.
3. Eddy losses
Fig. 10 shows the effect of eddy losses on temperature
distribution. As expected these losses increase the temperature in both windings.
While the temperature rise in HV winding is negligible,
it is considerable in LV winding. The reason is that eddy
losses in HV winding are small, since its conductors
cross-section is smaller than in LV winding.
4. Radiation from outer surface
Radiation from outer surface does not have any significant effect on temperature of LV winding. Nevertheless, it

has a considerable influence on temperature distribution

of HV winding (Fig. 11).
5. Heat transfer from top and bottom surfaces
The effect of radiation from top (t ) and bottom (b ) surfaces on temperature distribution are shown in Fig. 12, in
which only radiation is considered as heat transfer factor. This figure shows that heat transfer from bottom surfaces is negligible and from top surfaces has a small effect
on temperature. This behavior is in agreement with the
assumption made in Sect. 2.
6. Dog bones (see Fig. 3)
Only air ducts 1 and 2 (Fig. 7) contain dog bones. The
effect of dog bones on average and the hottest spot temperature is modeled through changing its number between
0 and 12. It was observed that the dog bones had no considerable influence on temperature of HV winding, while
they had a considerable influence on temperature of LV
winding (Fig. 13).
To give a better view of the effects of various parameters on temperature distribution of LV and HV windings,
Table 4 shows a summary of the results.

6 Conclusion
Cast-resin dry-type transformer is modeled in this paper in order to calculate temperature distribution in its windings. The
validity and accuracy of the modeling results is shown with

308

E. Rahimpour and D. Azizian

100

130

95

90

=0.8
=0.9
=0.95
85
120

140

160

Temperature( C)

Temperature( C)

(A)

(B)

120
110

=0.8
=0.9
=0.95

100
90

180

220

Radius(mm)

230

240

250

Radius (mm)

Temperature( C)

Fig. 11 Effect of radiation of outer surface on temperature distribution in LV winding. (a) and HV winding (b), in the middle of windings
( denotes emissivity coefficient of outer surface)

150

Table 4 Effects of various factors on temperature distribution of LV

winding and HV winding

100

Air ducts
Edge bands
Eddy losses
Radiation from outer surface
Heat transfer from top surface
Heat transfer from bottom surface
Dog bones

50

b=0.0 , t=0.0
b=0.8 , t=0.0
b=0.0 , t=0.8
0

200

400

600

800

1000

Vertical Distances (mm)

Fig. 12 Variation of temperature in inner surface of HV winding due to
emissivity of top and bottom surfaces (t denotes emissivity coefficient
of top surface and b denotes emissivity coefficient of bottom surface)

the help of experimental results from an 800 kVA transformer

and comparing the calculated and measured temperatures.
The effects of some factors on temperature distribution are
investigated with the help of model and the following results
are obtained:
(1) By increasing the air-duct width the temperature decreases for small air-duct widths, while it increases for
large air-duct widths.

HV winding

Strong
Insignificant
Considerable
Insignificant
Weak
Insignificant
Considerable

Strong
Insignificant
Insignificant
Considerable
Weak
Insignificant
Insignificant

(2) The dog bones have no influence on temperature of HV

winding, while they cause a considerable increase on
temperature of LV winding.
(3) Edge bands have no evident effect on temperature distributions.
(4) Eddy losses increase the generated heat and therefore the
temperature of windings. They are dependent on crosssection of conductors. Consequently, the amount of temperature rise due to eddy losses depend on cross-section
of conductors.
(5) Radiation from outer surface influences only the temperature of outer winding considerably.
(6) Heat transfer from bottom surfaces is negligible and from
top surfaces has a small effect on temperature.
(7) It is observed that the ratio of HS/AV varies slightly
around a constant value.

(B) 1.175

90
89

HS/AV

Average
Temperature( C)

(A)

LV winding

88
87

1.17
1.165

86
85

5
10
Nomber of dog bones

1.16

5
10
Nomber of dog bones

Fig. 13 Effect of dog bones on temperature distribution of LV winding. a Average temperature b Ratio of HS/AVb

Analysis of temperature distribution in cast-resin dry-type transformers

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