1st International Conference on Electrical Materials and Power Equipment - Xi'an - China
A Study of Hot-Spot Localization in
Distribution Transformers
Thinh Dao and B.T. Phung
University of New South Wales
School of Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
b.t.dao@unsw.edu.au
1
Abstract—Ageing of transformer winding insulation is
strongly temperature dependent and the problem of temperature
rise in transformer during operation has been investigated.
However, accurate temperature determination in transformer
winding is still a challenge and the location of hottest-spot
temperature in transformer also requires further studies. In this
study, COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software was used to
simulate an oil-filled distribution transformer, taken into account
the temperature dependence of cooling fluid properties. The
temperature rise in the transformer was investigated by solving
the heat equations along with the equations for free convection
flow. The proposed approach is able to predict the hottest-spot
location as well as the hottest-spot temperature.
Index Terms — Hot-spot temperature, heat transfer,
transformer.
I. INTRODUCTION
T ransformer winding insulation deterioration is strongly
dependent on the winding operation temperature. Any
excessive heating in the insulation accelerates chemical
reactions (Arrhenius’s law) which deteriorate the material and
thus reduce the effective service life of transformer [1].
However, it is a challenge to predict the hottest spot in the
transformer. Also, the presence of harmonic distortion in the
power system results in extra losses as well as increased
temperature in the transformer. This further complicates the
determination of temperature rise in transformer.
In recent decades, a number of methods have been
considered to calculate the maximum temperature rise in
transformers [2-5]. Firstly, the maximum temperature in
windings insulation can be directly measured by embedded
temperature sensors. Following the advent of optical fiber
technology, fiber temperature sensors have been developed
and employed in measuring temperature in transformers [5, 6].
In the method, multiple fiber sensors are installed at different
locations along the windings. Although able to measure
accurately the winding temperatures on-line, this approach is
not practical to apply to existing in-service transformers.
Furthermore, it is difficult to justify the additional costs,
particularly in applications on low-cost medium-voltage
distribution transformers.
Zoran Radakovic et al. have developed a two-node
equivalent thermal model for transformers [4, 7-9]. The
method is similar to the Thermal Ohm’s law where the losses
are presented as the heat source, the retaining of thermal
energy is represented by the heat capacity and the heat energy
978-1-5090-5736-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
36
transfer among transformer parts is denoted by the heat
conductance. In the method, the heat exchange occurs at the
node. The method consists of three steps. Firstly, the hot-spot
temperature from the short-circuit heat run test is determined.
Then, the equivalent parameters of the model are calculated.
Finally, the hot-spot temperature is discretely calculated at the
actual loading conditions. In terms of accuracy, the authors
claimed a maximum temperature deviation of 7.5K.
Another method to determine the temperature in
transformer winding is detailed in the IEC 60076-2 Standard
[2]. In order to provide a convenient method to determine the
temperatures, several assumptions have been made [10]. The
calculation is achieved by determining the top-oil, bottom-oil
and the average winding temperatures. The top-oil and
bottom-oil temperature can be determined by immersing
temperature sensors in the insulating liquid. The average
winding temperature is determined by measuring the total
windings resistance (after disconnecting the transformer). This
method is simple, quick and it is independent from the
structure of transformers; hence, it could be applied for a wide
range of transformer ratings. However, it is not practical for
on-line monitoring implementation. Furthermore, it was
developed based on a number of assumptions that might not
be accurate. Also, the additional temperature rise due to
harmonic contamination was not taken into account. In the
situation of harmonic, IEEE recommendation [11] suggested a
correction. In this standard, the temperature rise in
transformers under current harmonic condition was achieved
by determining transformer losses followed by harmonic loss
factors. In both standards, the hottest-spot temperature was
calculated but the location of the hottest-spot was not
revealed.
Another approach to investigate the thermal stress on
winding insulation in transformers is to utilize computer-based
simulation software. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is an
effective computational technique that has been developed to
solve a wide range of engineering problems (structural,
thermal, electromagnetic, etc). FEM has been utilised in
investigation of temperature rise in transformers [12-16]. In
these researches, the structure of transformer was simplified in
the simulation to reduce its complexity and the theory of
conduction heat transfer in solid (i.e. winding conductor, core
and insulation) was applied to solve the thermal problem.
In the present paper, the temperature rise in transformer
was investigated by solving the heat equation along with the
equation for free convection flow. The dependence of fluid
 2

properties on temperature was taken into account. buoyancy force.

II. THERMAL MODEL AND GOVERNING EQUATIONS
The temperature of the conductors and insulation can be
generally characterized by the equation:
wT
UC p  UC p u ˜’T Q  ’ ˜ (k’T )
wt
where k is thermal conductivity of the solid material (W/mK),
Q is the heat generation source (W/m3), ρ is the material
density (kg/m3), Cp is the specific heat capacity of winding or
insulation (J/kgK), and T is the absolute temperature (K), u is
the velocity of liquid (m/s).
In the study, the simulated transformer was assumed to
undergo a short-circuit test. Hence, the losses are purely
winding losses. Due to the small portion of dielectric loss as
compared to the load losses [3], the heat generation source
was assumed to be purely load losses and defined as the
winding losses divided by the total conduction volume:
I12 R1  I 22 R2
Q
Vw
In equation 6, the left-hand side represents the inertial
forces of the fluid. On the right-hand side, the last term
represents the external forces applied on the liquid (in free
convection, it is the buoyancy force) whilst the first term
represents the pressure forces and viscous forces.
(1)
III. SIMULATIONS
A COMSOL Multiphysics computer model was built to
simulate an 11/0.25kV oil-filled distribution transformer. The
transformer has two windings. The low voltage (LV) winding
consists of 15 disks. The high voltage (HV) winding has 16
disks. Each disk of windings is separated by a spacer with
thickness of 3mm. The HV winding is separated by a gap of
12 mm. This gap allows the oil flow through the HV
conductor. Figure 1 shows the geometry and meshing of the
transformer model.
(2)

where I1, I2 are the current in the primary and secondary

windings (A), R1, R2 are the primary and secondary windings
resistance (Ω), Vw is the total winding volume (m3). It is
assumed that the losses are distributed homogeneously in
transformer conductors.
In natural convection flow, Rayleigh number is the ratio of
between buoyancy and viscous forces [17, 18]:

g E'TS 3 (3)
Ra
DQ
where g is the earth gravity ( m/s2), α is the thermal diffusivity
(m2/s), ΔT is the temperature difference (K), S is the distance
between windings (m), β the coefficient of thermal expansion
(1/K), and ν the kinematic viscosity (m2/s). If the value of Ra
falls below 109, the oil circulation in the transformer is laminar
rather than turbulent.
The windings were heated and the oil played the role of the
cooling medium. For the boundary condition at the surface of
the solid insulation, core and tank, there is no oil velocity
(zero slip condition) [17, 18]:
u 0 (4)
Fig. 1 – Meshing of the oil-immersed distribution transformer model.
The mass conservation equation is given by:
The active part of transformer (i.e. core, tanks, windings
wU and solid insulation) was assumed temperature independent
 ’U u 0 (5)
wt and the basic material properties used in the simulation are
Following the law of conservation of momentum, the fluid listed in Table I.
motion is governed by the Navier-Stokes equation: TABLE I
INPUT MATERIAL PROPERTIES
ª  pI  P  ’u   ’u  T º Winding conductor
§ wu · « » (6) Density 8700 kg/m3
U ¨ +u ˜ ’u ¸ ’˜« 2 »F
w
« P  ’ ˜ u  I
© t ¹ Thermal conductivity 400 W/(m∙K)
»
¬ 3 ¼ Specific heat capacity 385 J/(kg∙K)
Insulation paper
where p is the fluid pressure, u is the velocity of liquid, ρ is the
Density 1000 kg/m3
fluid density, μ is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid, F is the
Thermal conductivity 0.24 W/(m∙K)

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 3

Specific heat capacity 1400 J/(kg∙K)

The transformer oil properties are temperature dependent
[19] and the basic properties of transformer oil are presented
in Figures 2-5. It should be noted that these graphs were
plotted with temperature unit of Kelvin.

Fig. 5 – Dependence of transformer oil thermal conductivity on temperature.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The heat dissipation from the transformer windings occurs
Fig. 2 – Dependence of transformer oil specific heat capacity on temperature.
by the free convection between the boundary surfaces and the
cooling medium (i.e. transformer oil). Due to the density
difference between the heated oil adjacent to the winding and
the cooler oil, oil flow is induced by the buoyancy force. The
heated oil moves upward and the cooler oil from the
surrounding area moves in to replace. The hot oil transfers
energy with the transformer tank through conduction
mechanism and the heat dissipates to the ambient. The study
focuses on the oil flow inside the transformer; it was assumed
that the tank has a constant heat dissipation coefficient of 5.
The simulation was solved by time dependent study.

Fig. 3 – Dependence of transformer oil viscosity on temperature.

Fig. 6 - Temperature distribution in transformer.

Fig. 4 – Dependence of transformer oil density on temperature.

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Fig. 7 - Temperature variation in the transformer conductors.
It can be seen in Figure 7 that the windings are the hottest
part in the transformer as they are the only heat source in the
transformer. The LV winding is the hotter active part
compared to others. It can be explained as the LV winding
was wound between the core and the HV winding; hence, it is
difficult for the cool oil to replace the heated oil. Furthermore,
the winding temperature increases with higher location.
Fig. 8 - Temperature of the hottest-spot location.
The hottest-spot temperature in the transformer depends on
the transformer configuration. In this particular structure, the
hottest-spot location was found to be at the top conductor
insulation of the 14th disks of the LV winding. The variation
of temperature at the hottest-spot location is shown in Fig. 8.
Since the LV winding is the hottest active part of the
transformer, two lines have been drawn. The first line was
drawn on the left surface of the left turns of the LV winding
(blue trace). The second line was placed at the middle of LV
winding (red trace). The variation of temperature on these two
lines is shown in Fig. 9. The red trace is above the blue trace.
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4
The temperature profiles look like “teeth-shape”. Each tooth
corresponds to the temperature variation of one disk where the
tooth leg represents the oil temperature between two adjacent
winding disks. The red trace has flat tops indicating the
temperature between two adjacent turns shares the same
temperature value. In contrast, the blue trace has curved tops
due to the variation of the adjacent oil temperature which in
turns depends on the oil circulation; hence, it is dependent on
the oil properties.
Fig. 9 - Temperature distribution at the lines.
The hottest-spot temperature values at LV winding, HV
winding and near the top oil are presented in the Table II. The
temperature rise in the transformer is within the limitation that
was standardized in [2].
TABLE II
TEMPERATURE COMPARISON AMONG DIFFERENT LOCATIONS
Locations Value Ratio
LV winding hottest-spot (ᵒC) 78.3 1.03
HV winding hottest-spot (ᵒC) 77.6 1.02
Oil temperature near the top (ᵒC) 75.9 1.00
Ambient temperature (ᵒC) 25.0 --
V. CONCLUSION
This paper presented an application of heat transfer theory
into determination of the temperature distribution in an oil-
cooled distribution transformer. The method employed the
natural convection theory in investigation of temperature
distribution of cooling liquid. The results revealed the location
of the hottest-spot temperature on the LV winding and HV
winding. The results also showed the effect of oil movement
on the winding temperature. The method would be of value for
transformer manufacturers since it can assist engineers
verifying the transformer design. Furthermore, the approach
also is valuable for researcher to investigate the effect of
different insulating liquids in transformer. The method is
strongly transformer data dependent.
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