ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mech. Eng.
Sec. Heat Transfer Mechanisms and Applications
Multi-scale electromagnetic thermal fluid field coupling model for oil immersed transformer
Provisionally accepted
- 1State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co Ltd, Hefei, China
- 2State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co Ltd Electric Power Research Institute, Hefei, China
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Accurately predicting the hotspot temperature within large oil-immersed transformers is critical for operational safety and longevity. This paper presents a novel multi-scale electromagnetic-thermal-fluid indirect coupling model to address this challenge. The model's novelty lies in its comprehensive integration of a detailed disc-type winding structure with the complete radiator cooling circuit, overcoming common simplifications in existing studies. The methodology involves a sequential process: first, a 3D electromagnetic field simulation precisely determines the loss distribution, the winding eddy current loss accounts for 3.68 % of the total winding loss, and presents a U-shaped distribution in winding discs height direction. These losses are then imported as heat sources into a full-scale thermal-fluid model. Key findings reveal that the winding eddy current loss accounts for a significant portion of the total loss and its distribution critically influences the temperature field. Furthermore, the presence of oil washers creates localized temperature differences of up to 5.3 K. The model's accuracy is strongly validated by a transformer temperature rise test using embedded optical fiber sensors, showing a maximum deviation of only 3.1 K. This work provides a high-fidelity simulation framework for transformer thermal management and design optimization.
Keywords: Multi physics field simulation, Oil immersed transformer, Winding, Loss distribution, Hot-spot temperature
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Peng, Xu, Hu, Liu, Wang and Jiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Mingzhi Peng, pengmz1984@126.com
Tiantian Liu, liutt19930801@163.com
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