Electrical Stress on the Medium Voltage Medium Frequency Transformer

Abstract

This paper proposes an equivalent circuit model to obtain the transient electrical stress quantitatively in medium voltage medium frequency transformers in modern power electronics. To verify this model, transient simulation is performed on a 1.5 kV/1 kHz transformer, revealing voltage overshoot quantitatively between turns and layers of the transformer’s HV winding. Effects of rise time of the input pulse voltage, stray capacitance of the winding insulation, and their interactions on the voltage overshot magnitude are presented. With these results, we propose limiting the voltage overshoot and, thereafter, enhancing medium voltage medium frequency transformer’s insulation capability, which throws light on the transformer’s insulation design. Additionally, guidance on the future studies on aging and endurance lifetime of the medium voltage medium frequency transformer’s insulation could be given.