Optimal shape design of the HV winding of a test transformer Available to Purchase

In the paper, attention is focused on a class of single‐phase transformers that are employed when a high‐voltage withstand test is required for verifying the quality of the dielectric insulation of a given component. The HV winding of this kind of transformer is made up of several layers, characterized by height that decreases along with the increase of the voltage profile in order to keep the distance between winding and ground within acceptable limits. Therefore, the designer of such devices is mainly concerned with the shaping of the HV winding; starting from a tentative configuration, he has to find the winding shape such that the electric breakdown cannot occur, at the same time keeping the volume of oil and active materials as small as possible. Traditionally, the design is developed by means of a trial‐and‐error approach based on a sequence of field analyses, varying a design variable at a time; the paper shows how the design problem can be solved more efficiently by optimizing the profile of the winding in an automatic way.