SP ECI AL R EP OR T | T R AN S FOR ME RS ABB ABILIT Y POWER TR ANSFORMER 15

eDevices

Product type Description

Winding temperature
The beating heart of a power transformer is its
eSDB Self-dehydrating breather
windings, but traditional methods for controlling
eOTI Liquid temperature indicator transformer cooling are based on monitoring
the oil temperature rather than what is actually
eWTI Winding temperature indicator
happening at the transformer’s hotspot. The aging
eOLI Liquid level indicator
of the insulation at the hottest point in the winding
typically determines the life span of a power
eVIEWER Remote viewer for eOLI transformer; an oil temperature just 8°C above
nominal could reduce the insulation life by up to 50
eBR Buchholz relay
percent [3] →6.
ePRD Pressure relief device
The AAPT’s modern Electronic Temperature
Monitoring solution can accurately calculate the
Dissolved gas analyzers transformer’s hotspot based on design data and
factory type-test results, together with dynamic
Product type Description
variables such as the loading and oil temperature.
CoreSense Hydrogen and moisture monitor
This can then be used to regulate the transformer’s
hotspot temperature.
CoreSense M10 Monitor for nine different gases and moisture

CoreTecTM 4
04 The brain of the AAPT is the CoreTec 4 module.
CoreTec 4 is a digital hub, responsible for collecting
— The design models, drawings, installation and and analyzing readings from the different sensors,
02 Transformer loading
behavior: As the operating instructions, plus functional and and processing them to provide an assessment
transformer loading installation tests are compatible with any power of transformer operation (including cooling
increases, there is an
offset in the oil’s ability transformer and have been defined with this global equipment governance, if needed) and life
to transfer the additional requirement in mind. Last, but not least, the AAPT is expectancy.
heat, which leads to
increased hotspot fully compliant with industry standards applicable
temperature. to both power transformers and low-voltage For the development of CoreTec 4, ABB was able
02a Oil temperature level controls for any region of the world. to leverage existing expertise and experience in
and hotspot temperature. transformer monitoring systems, building on
02b Transformer loading. Connectivity developments that go back to the 1980s with first
Many customers now demand actionable fiber-optic temperature monitoring systems, the
—
03 The standard information, intelligent asset optimization and 2000s with Transformer Electronic Control (TEC)
ABB Ability Power the ability to use real-time data to mitigate “nasty and the previous CoreTec generations.
Transformer offering.
surprises.” The potential to network the AAPT
— is, therefore, a driver for many customers. The Apart from functionality, additional design
04 DGA and eDevices.
transformer can easily be connected to the station requirements such as compactness, expandability
control via a built-in Ethernet cable and fiber-optic (by plug-ins), ease of installation and durability
interfaces or via wireless. All connectivity solutions were considered in the development process.
are supported by state-of-the art cyber security and
options include connection to ABB Ability cloud- To ensure system robustness, demanding
based services. mechanical, thermal and dielectric laboratory trials
were carried out. Mechanical testing covered not
Today, not everybody wants their most critical only vibration but also thorough seismic and shock
assets connected to the outside world. So, tests (over 10 G). Thermal validation was achieved
independent of the onboard cyber security, in steady-state conditions and in contingency
transformer monitoring can operate in on-premise situations, such as when cabinet cooling is lost.
or in standalone mode. Customers may send ABB All these validation tests had positive results – the
raw data for interpretation and translation into readings were consistent during the tests with
useable information. Alternatively, customers can no interruption, no visual damage and successful
utilize ABB’s expertise on site. operation after the tests.
 16 ABB R EVI EW SMARTER

ePRD
eBR Pressure relief
eOLI
Buchholz device
Liquid level
relay
indicator

eOTI
Liquid
temperature
indicator

SDB
Self-dehydrating eWTI
breather Winding
temperature
indicator

CoreSense
CoreTec Gas sensor

05

The AAPT has been validated as an integrated Field experience

solution in several new and retrofit applications of Various use cases were identified and proven in the
different types. The validation included thousands field. In a transmission network, the information
of hours of real on-site conditions, at different provided on temperature and load enabled the
locations and applications around the world. Data operator to optimize the cooling control in such
gathered during validation demonstrated reliable way that the top oil temperature fluctuation was
performance, with all functional parameters within reduced from over 15 °C to less than 5 °C, under
expected ranges, confirming the benefits of the varying ambient and load conditions. This results in
measurement analysis. Indeed, the owners of these stable conditions for the insulation and extends the
pilot units have started to see the benefits of the transformer’s lifetime.
AAPT technology by making use of the advanced
analytics to translate the collected data into In an industrial installation, the operator noticed an
actionable information. increase of temperature and dissolved gases while
the load was constant. An investigation found a that
a mineral buildup had resulted in a faulty fan at a
heat exchanger – a situation that could have proven
1000
costly in the long run.

In a smelter application, the customer wanted to

100
increase their production capacity by 15 percent.
Thanks to the digital capability it was possible
Aging acceleration factor

10
to calculate the trade-off in terms of remaining
transformer life, and to ensure the asset integrity
1
while running the transformer in overload condition.

0.1

0.01

0.001
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200

Hottest spot temperature (°C)

06