Impact of amorphous metal based transformers on efficiency and quality of electric power distribution

The dramatic increase in the use of power electronics and conditioning devices in addition to ubiquitous nonlinear electrical equipment such as motor drives has resulted in a considerable amount of higher harmonics of the line frequency. These high frequency harmonics lead to increased transformer core losses, especially in power distribution transformers that use conventional steel core materials. Amorphous metal core distribution transformers (AMDTs), by comparison, are uniquely suited to providing low loss performance under higher frequencies. This is due both to unique processing techniques that result in a greatly reduced standard thickness for amorphous metal and a unique chemistry and atomic structure that give a higher electrical resistivity and low energy magnetic flux reversal.

I. Introduction

Amorphous metal core transformers improve electrical power distribution efficiency by reducing transformer core losses [1]. The loss reduction ranges from 65 to 90 % over silicon steel-based transformers under sinusoidal load conditions. These efficiency improvements result in reduced power generation that is accompanied by reduced emission of environmentally sensitive gases such as , etc. Viewed from this perspective, a 2000 kV A transformer with an amorphous metal core operated under 50 % load condition represents a lifetime reduction of about 960 metric tons in emissions [2].