COMBINATION OF FINITE AND BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHODS IN INVESTIGATION AND PREDICTION OF LOAD-CONTROLLED NOISE OF POWER TRANSFORMERS

A recently developed calculation scheme for the computer modelling of the load-controlled noise of oil-insulated three-phase power transformers is presented. This modelling scheme allows the precise and efficient computation of the coupled electromagnetic, mechanical and acoustic fields. The equations are solved using the finite element method (FEM) as well as the boundary element method (BEM), resulting in a separation of the calculation of the winding and tank surface vibrations (using FEM) and the computation of the acoustic free-field radiation (using BEM). The complex dynamic behaviour of the loaded transformer can then be studied and, furthermore, an appropriate computer-aided design including an investigation and optimization of design parameters can be established. lidity of the computer simulations has been verified by means of appropriate measurements. Simulated and measured values for winding and tank surface vibrations as well as sound power levels of the loaded transformer are found to be in good agreement. The applicability of the calculation scheme with respect to the computer-aided design of power transformers is demonstrated by reporting two practical applications: the influence of the stiffness of winding supports and the influence of the tap changer positions.