Furnace and Rectifier Transformers for the Metal Industry

by Chris Odendaal and Ben Visser of ABB Powertech Transformers

Furnace transformers are somewhat different from other power transformers due to their application, operating conditions and their close proximity to hot furnaces. This paper highlights some differences and gives some useful recommendations when specifying furnace transformers.
Furnace Transformers Furnace transformers are used to step down from voltages between 11 and 33 kV to levels of several hundred volts only. This results in massive secondary currents. As an example a 30 MVA unit at 150 V would result in a secondary current of 115 kilo Ampere. For these high secondary currents special bushings are required to connect to the bus-bars. These bushings are specified with very specific arrangements to suit the bus-bar arrangement and cooling system. Furnace bus-bars are mostly water cooled. Due to the high secondary currents and resistive losses the furnace layout is such as to limit the bus-bar length. The furnace transformers are then located close to the furnace itself and if they are single phase units, arranged in a triangle around the furnace. This means that there is a high risk of fire, a high ambient temperature and this whole set up is located at a level associated with the third story of the building. The location above ground level encourages single phase units due to the structural limitations of the buildings. To reduce the fire risk the transformers are contained in rooms, which adds to the high ambient temperature. Furnace transformers are very much in a production environment. Loading of these transformers is then very close to rated values and even beyond. This demands very reliable transformers. Shutdowns due to transformer problems are frowned upon. When shutdowns occur, the problem needs to be solved quickly. This in turn calls for good accessibility of the tap changer and other parts of the transformer. Large inspection covers in close proximity to the tap changer are often specified. Due to the nature of the process furnace transformers are specified with large tapping ranges. Thirty tap positions is not uncommon. Adding to the wide tapping range is the utilisation of the tap changer. Some users require up to 800 operations of the tap changer per day. This demands high maintainability and efforts to increase the maintenance intervals. On line tap changer oil filters are thus essential. To reduce downtime further, plug-in type diverters are specified. This allows a quick changeover of the diverter switch and an overhaul in a workshop environment with more time at hand. Another aspect of the process is the large number of short circuits that these transformers are subjected to every day. Transformers associated with open arc furnaces can be subjected to a number of short circuits per melt as the material being melted collapses across the electrodes. Bus-bar flashovers are also a fact of life on most furnace installations. To add to this peril, furnace transformers are required to have a lower than normal impedance. This gives rise to higher over-current factors. A very robust design in terms of the transformers ability to withstand the dynamic effects of repeated short circuits is required. Minimum impedance values for furnace transformers of the core type are in the order of 4 5 %. To achieve lower values, one would need a shell type transformer. Upper levels for impedance could be any value from 10 to 24 % depending on the configuration and tapping range.

The current sharing within the transformer is often dependant on equal resistance of parallel external bus-bars. This cannot be guaranteed and then results in sections of the transformer secondary being overloaded without overloading the transformer as a whole. Internal equalising bus-bars are often specified to reduce this problem. HV bushings are preferred above non standard cable boxes. The cable boxes make the removal of a failed transformer more troublesome and preclude the use of a non standard transformer in the case of an emergency. The coolers are either of the Oil Forced Air Forced (OFAF) or Oil Forced Water Forced (OFWF). In the OFAF case the cooler is situated at the side of the building to facilitate cool air intake. Water coolers are in close proximity of the transformers with the water piped to the transformers. Water coolers have a double membrane tube system. There is leakage detection between the oil and the water tubes to prevent water getting into the transformer oil. The water is usually at a lower pressure to rather have oil in the water than visa versa. Coolers are often over-designed to be able to cool the transformer sufficiently even with the loss of some cooler capacity. Cooler fail detection devices are specified to assist the operator to be able to detect cooling problems at an early stage. Connections and ratings are of utmost importance. The production capacity of the furnace is directly connected to this rating. The wide tapping range makes it expensive to have the full rating across the complete tapping range. Reduced rating at the lower secondary voltages are allowed to reduce size and costs.

LV Output HV Input LV Output HV Input Figure 1(b) Two core transformer (input regulation)

Figure 1(a) Variable flux (induction) regulation

Another factor that can make a furnace transformer expensive is the step size of the different LV tap voltages, as well as the regulating range, the ratio of range to lowest LV voltage and the existence and level of the knee point voltage. If equal LV voltage steps are specified, the internal connection of the transformer requires a dual active part as in figure 1(b), the one being the regulator and the other the furnace transformer. The regulating and the furnace transformer have different magnetic flux levels and are then on separate cores, but in the same tank. For the regulating transformer an auto connection is preferred. The variable flux induction regulation transformer has one active part with the LV step voltages not equal. Multi-ratio current transformers are required on single active part units to facilitate the accurate estimation of the secondary current. Computers can also be used to estimate the LV current based on the HV current and tap position. Regarding fittings to the tank, furnace transformers have their unique requirements as well. Base mounted wheels that allow multi-directional hauling is a requirement. When the core earth bushing is mounted externally, this needs to be enclosed in an oil tight compartment to reduce fire risk in the event that this lead burns off due to a LV to core fault. The pipe-work to the Buchholz relay needs to have a connection above the LV windings and bus-bars to give a short

response time for LV faults inside the transformer. If explosion vents are required, the placement thereof on the tank should be as far away as possible from the furnace to reduce the risk of fire. Winding resonance has contributed to some failures. These can be reduced by establishing the winding resonant frequencies beforehand and then installing filters to reduce the possibility of these resonant frequencies occurring. Rectifier Transformers Rectifier transformers are used to supply rectifier bridges for DC applications such as DC arc furnaces. These transformers step down the distribution voltages to the level used by between 500 and 3300 V depending on the configuration of the power electronics. The bridge rectifiers can have different arrangements requiring vector groups with phase displacements other than 30 intervals. Zig-zag and extended delta vectors are not uncommon. Depending on the number of pulses used in the bridge rectifier there could be a requirement for two active parts in one tank. Furthermore the power electronics generate DC and harmonics which influences the transformer design. The design flux density is kept low to prevent core saturation due to DC components and the winding conductor and cooling design need to cater for the additional losses due to the harmonic currents. Conclusion It is now quite clear that furnace transformers are power transformers, but animals of a different breed. Compared to power transformers they are more robust, but also more pricey. References James, D. Furnace Transformer Specification - additional requirements. Seminar on Practical Application and Maintenance of Power Transformers. University of Pretoria. 1995. Pages 6973. Hochard, Bernard. Power Transformer Handbook. 1987 English Edition. Butterworths, London, Pages 254-265. ASEA Metallurgy. Furnace Transformers. Pamphlet AU 50 114E. Edition 2. Sweden 1984.