Transformers free essay sample

A world in transformation 6 Power below the waves 33 Transforming industry 45 Sustainable and available 64 ABB The corporate technical journal Special Report Transformers Transformers are essential pieces of electrical equipment that help to transmit and distribute electricity efficiently and reliably. They also help maintain power quality and control, and facilitate electrical networks. ABB is a global leader in transformer technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their energy efficiency while lowering environmental impact. Our key technologies include small, medium and large power transformers, as well as traction and other special-purpose units and components. In this special report of ABB Review, we present some of the latest developments and innovations from our wide range of transformers and components, which can be found across the entire power value chain and are critical components of the grid. 2 ABB review special report Contents Transformers in transformation Transformer applications 6 A world in transformation ABB is the world’s largest transformer manufacturer and service provider A legacy of transformation ABB is a leader in voltage and power breakthroughs. We will write a custom essay sample on Transformers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page UHVDC Meeting the needs of the most demanding power transmission applications Responding to a changing world ABB launches new dry-type transformer products The quiet life ABB’s ultralow-noise power transformers Power below the waves Transformers at depths of 3 km Shrinking the core Power electronic transformers break new ground in transformation and transportation Balance of power Variable shunt reactors for network stability control Workhorses of industry Industrial transformers in a DC environment 22 29 33 37 41 45 Trends in transformation 53 Smart transformer Transformers will have to do a lot more than just convert voltages Composing with components Innovative and high quality transformer components and services for diverse needs Sustainable and available Enhancing performance and reducing environmental impact of existing transformer fleets Green-R-Trafoâ„ ¢ Safety makes a green transformation Changing trends New technologies for the evolving grid 58 64 69 71 Contents 3 Editorial Transformer pioneers Bernhard Jucker Head of Power Products division Dear Reader, The commercial application history of transformers dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. The world’s first full AC power system, built by William Stanley, was demonstrated using step-up and step-down transformers in 1886. The transformer played a critical role in the outcome of the so-called war of currents, tilting the balance in favor of Tesla’s AC vision. ABB (then ASEA) delivered one of the world’s first transformers in 1893, integrating it with the first commercial threephase AC power transmission link – another of the company’s innovations – connecting a hydropower plant with a large iron-ore mine in Sweden. Today, with a presence in over 100 countries, more than 50 transformer factories and 30 service centers, ABB is the world’s largest transformer manufacturer and service provider with an unparalleled global installed base and a vast array of power, distribution and special application transformers. These transformers can be found wherever electricity is generated, transported and consumed – in power plants and substations, industrial complexes, skyscrapers and shopping malls, ships and oil platforms, locomotives and railway lines, wind parks, solar fields and water treatment plants. the world. This will enable up to 10,000 MW of power (the capacity of 10 large power plants) to be transmitted efficiently over distances as long as 3,000 km. Earlier this year ABB also introduced a PETT – a revolutionary traction transformer that uses power electronics to reduce its size and weight while increasing the energy efficiency of the train and reducing noise levels. Other recent pioneering developments include 1,200 kV AC technology, subsea transformers that can supply power at a depth of 3,000 m, ultralow sound transformers for noise-sensitive environments, and innovative amorphous core and biodegradable-oil-based transformers. ABB has also introduced high-efficiency distribution transformers, both liquid and dry-type, that can reduce energy losses by 40 to 70 percent. ABB continues to develop innovative asset optimization, refurbishment and maintenance solutions to serve the existing global installed base. ABB transformers can help customers address new challenges and opportunities like the integration of renewables and distributed power generation as well as accommodating new types of electrical loads such as data centers and electric vehicles – shaping the evolution of more flexible, stronger and smarter grids. We hope you enjoy reading this ABB Review special report in which many of ABB’s accomplished engineers share technology perspectives across a range of applications. Markus Heimbach Head of Transformers business unit Their most important function is to transform or adapt voltage levels, stepping them up for long-distance high-voltage transmission from the power plant, and stepping them down for distribution to consumers. ABB transformers contribute to grid stability and power reliability, while ensuring the highest safety standards and striving to increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Besides setting new records in transformer power ratings for both AC and DC transmission, ABB has pioneered a number of innovative transformer solutions over the past 120 years. The most recent of these is the development of a 1,100 kV UHVDC converter transformer – the highest DC voltage level in Bernhard Jucker Markus Heimbach 4 ABB review special report Editorial 5 A world in transformation ABB is the world’s largest transformer manufacturer and service provider MAx ClAESSEnS – History is marked by a series of great inventions that have  swept across society, acting as stepping stones in the emergence of the modern world. Most people would agree that fire, the wheel, modern transportation and communication systems, culminating with the Internet all have a place in this list. Maybe less obvious but equally pivotal is the large-scale transmission and delivery of electrical energy over long distances. This breakthrough that would not have been possible without t he transformer. This article takes a brief tour of the history and technology behind the transformer and looks at the different ways in which ABB has advanced and applied it. Review special report Power transformers were the main reason that the three-phase AC transmission system could establish itself as the main TD technology around 130 years ago. round 130 years ago a technical revolution took place that was to be a vital step in the development of modern society. That revolution was the commercial generation, transmission and usage of electrical energy. Nobody today can imagine a world without electricity. However, this article will start by taking the reader back to the early days when pioneers like Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse – and their ideas – were competing for the transmission system of the future: Should it be DC or should it be AC? Very early electrical installations were local: The sites of generation and consumption were at most a handful of kilometers apart: Direct connections from the steam- or hydro generators to the consumers were in the range of hun- A dreds of volts. In the early 1880s, for example, the â€Å"Edison Illuminating Company† supplied 59 customers in Lower Manhattan with electricity at 110 V DC. But the energy demand of the fast growing cities and industrial centers called for an increase in power transmission capability. The small steam- and hydro generators were no longer sufficient and larger power plants were erected more remotely from the cities. Voltage levels had to be increased to keep nominal currents on the power lines moderate and reduce losses and voltage drops. This was the time of the birth of a new component: the power transformer. In a transformer, two coils are arranged concentrically so that the magnetic field generated by the current in one coil induces a voltage in the other. This phys- ical principle can only be applied in AC systems, as only a time-varying magnetic field is able to induce a voltage. By using a different number of winding turns in the two coils, a higher or lower voltage can be obtained. The ability to transform from one voltage level to another one was the main reason for the breakthrough of AC three-phase transmission and distribution systems. These AC systems operate at a frequency high enough that human short perception does not see the time variation (â€Å"flickering†) and The power transmission breakthrough would not have been possible without the transformer.