MONITORING

ABSTRACT
Interest in sealed distribution trans-
formers, with and without gas cush-

Sealed
ions, increased in the 1950s. How-
ever, the tank of hermetically sealed
transformers must tolerate a higher

transformer
pressure, and this can lead to me-
chanical sealing problems. Contra-
rily, a lower pressure in the tank can
put the internal dielectric seal at risk.

monitoring
Therefore, the pressure and tem-
perature monitoring in hermetically
sealed transformers are crucial to
keep the pressure behaviour under
control and to have the ability to per-
Introduction This equipment has found a large market
form proactive prevention.
request due to the following reasons:
Interest in sealed distribution transform-
KEYWORDS: ers, with and without gas cushions [1], • The insulating liquid is protected
increased in the 1950s. against the effects of the atmosphere.
hermetically sealed transformers, This allows for keeping the quality of
monitoring, pressure, prevention, We will talk more about the latter ones, the insulating materials with little or no
temperature usually used in smaller sizes. maintenance.

64 TRANSFORMERS MAGAZINE | Special Edition: New Trends | 2022

 Andrea TONIN, Fiorenzo STEVANATO

Oil is under pressure in hermetically

sealed transformers, except in
situations when the oil is under low
pressure - contrary to transformers
with a conservator

• Since a conservator is not required for expansion and contraction of the trans- Solution: Monitoring of the temperature
a hermetically sealed design, this type former tank. It affects transformer tank rise with a thermostat
of transformer has additional advan- design, behaviour, and aging. Transform-
tages arising from the reduced overall er tanks are manufactured in corrugated The thermostat provides a system for
height if installed at the wind turbine form for efficient heat transfer and oil controlling the temperature and operates
or application where dimensions are a cooling. The ribs of the corrugated tank only when a prefixed temperature value is
critical point. have the essential rule in cooling and tol- exceeded.
• Suitable to be filled with natural ester erating pressure variations [2], [3].
oil (environmentally friendly) with Case 2: Overpressure inside the
flash point higher than 300 °C. tank
Critical aspects
In hermetically sealed transformers, the Case 1: Transformer overloading An accentuated overpressure could cause
oil pressure is usually higher than the at- permanent deformation of the corrugated
mospheric pressure, and despite conser- When the transformer is overloaded be- fins with consequent lowering of the oil
vator-type transformers, the tank of these yond the nameplate rating, there is an level and internal discharge.
transformers acts as a pressurized vessel. increase in temperature due to increased
The tank of hermetically sealed trans- load losses. There are several methods that can be
formers must tolerate a higher pressure. used to ensure that the internal pressure
Due to the elimination of the conserva- Excessive temperatures prematurely age in the transformer tank is kept within an
tor, the oil temperature variations lead to the insulations. acceptable safe range.

w w w . t ra n sfo r m e r s - m a g a z i n e . co m 65
MONITORING

Pressure and temperature monitoring in For example:

Use of gas cushion (typically nitrogen)
hermetically sealed transformers are crucial where a pressure relief valve is used to
to keep the pressure behaviour under control reliving over-pressure, and an external-
ly mounted regulated nitrogen supply to
and to have the ability to perform proactive tops up the pressure if it falls below the
design permitted lower pressure level.
prevention
Another solution: Monitoring of
the pressure and oil level with an
integrated safety device

The maximum pressure is kept under

control with an overpressure valve or re-
lay set, typically in the range 0.3–0.5 bars,
the minimum level of oil is kept under
control with an oil level indicator.

Case 3: Negative pressure inside

the tank

In environments with huge ambient

temperature fluctuations and strong
load variations, the transformer oil
temperature can reach values below the
equilibrium temperature point “zero”.
The equilibrium point “zero” is set in
Graph 1: Breakdown voltage of insulation oil as a function of pressure (logarithmic scale) the factory during the oil filling of the

66 TRANSFORMERS MAGAZINE | Special Edition: New Trends | 2022

 A60D_TransformerMag_2_283x10_236.qxp_Layout 1

and gas with the possibility to reach

the saturation conditions of the gases
at low pressure with a further negative
impact on the discharge voltage.

Conclusion
Continuous monitoring of pressure and
temperature in hermetically sealed trans-
formers became crucial to:

DATA-BUS
- keep the pressure behaviour under
control also in the negative range,
where the breakdown voltage reduc- MIL-STD-1553
TRANSFORMERS
tion could be dangerous,
- map the correlation between tempera-
ture and pressure to have proactive
prevention of abnormal behaviour.

Bibliography
[1] E. B. Franklin, Sealed transformers,

Surface Mount
Proceedings of the IEE, June 1955

[2] S. Lee et al., Development of thermal

and structural design technology for & Thru-Hole
a hermetically sealed oil transformer, Built To Perform.
Transactions on The Built Environment, With transparent signal processing &
vol 126 -2012 minimal distortion, the LL-68500 series
of data-bus transformers are an
[3] D. Herfati et al., Calculation of me- essential series for Aerospace and
chanical stresses in hermetically sealed Military Applications ensuring
high reliability for communications
transformers, CIRED 2007
involving transmitters and receivers.
• Complies with
transformer. If the temperature reaches [4] M. Koch et al., The breakdown volt- MIL-PRF-21080 Requirements
point zero, negative pressure occurs in- age of insulation oil under the influenc- • Minimal Leakage Inductance
side the transformer tank. This specific es of humidity, particles and pressure, & DC Resistance
condition can generate the following Int. Conference APTADM, ept. 2007, • Ultra-miniature (.18”ht.)
considerations: Wroclaw, Poland • High Reliability
• Available with Custom Design
EWED
a. Even under ideal conditions, oil has PEER REVI Engineering Support Available
a discharge voltage that depends on Contact PICO Electronics
the pressure, and it decreases in case at 800-431-1064 or
of negative pressure (see Graph 1). Authors www.picoelectronics.com
What can explain this phenomenon? Andrea Tonin is
In areas with an intense electric field, the Chief of Tech-
gas bubbles are formed in oil before nology at COMEM
the discharge. Bubbles are less easily Group, with over 15
absorbed at a low pressure, where the years of experience
solubility of the gas in oil decreases Electronics, Inc.
in transformer com-
[4]. Pico Representatives
ponents.
b. The experience of operation with England
these types of transformers teaches
that this is a relevant aspect with a sig- Fiorenzo Stevanato 800-431-1064
Solid State Supplies/Ginsbury
E-mail: [email protected]
nificant number of transformers that is a technical con- www.picoelectronics.com
Phone: 44 1634 298900
Fax: 44 1634 290904
develop partial discharges and con- sultant and has over
Belgium/France/Germany
sequent generation of hydrogen with 40 years of experi- Luxemburg/Netherlands/Scandinavia
the relative risks of reliability. ence in operation ELCOS/BVBA
c. Possible development of gas inside the and maintenance of E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 32 3 218 20 73
transformer; this creates an internal power transformers. www.elcos.be
variation of the equilibrium among oil

w w w . t ra n sfo r m e r s - m a g a z i n e . co m 67