2019 8th International Conference on Modern Power Systems (MPS)

Design Analysis of a Toroidal Transformer for

Traction Application
Mihai Chirca1, Marius Alexandru Drancă1, Dan-Cristian Popa1, Stefan Breban1, Mihai Iusep2
1
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2
SC REMARUL “16 Februarie” SA

Abstract- This paper approaches the electromagnetic design and By imposing the value of the flux density in the columns of
finite-element analysis of two types of transformers to be used in the transformer we obtain the area of the column, which leads
electric traction applications. A comparison is made between a to its diameter Dcw [3].
single phase toroidal transformer and a classical construction
type transformer, with columns. The benefits for such an Uw
ACw = (1)
application of the toroidal transformer topology over the classic 2 ⋅ π ⋅ f n ⋅ BC
transformers are highlighted by the finite element method
analysis results. ACw
DCw = 2 ⋅ (2)
Keywords: toroidal transformer, finite element analysis, traction π ⋅ kuFe
application
For the toroidal transformer, the whole iron core is made of
I. INTRODUCTION one piece. But for the one with columns the iron core is made
of steel sheets with various widths: 7 steps for the column and
The recent necessity of decreasing the use of fossil fuels,
4 for the yoke. The total number of 0.5 mm steel sheets, the
determined a significant development of greener, more
same for the column and the yoke, is 798. Still based on the
efficient transportation systems, mostly relying on electrical
value of Uw we can compute the number of turns of the
vehicles. Consequently, nowadays suburban railway electrical
traction is a big beneficiary, becoming a mass transportation primary and secondary winding for both transformers. These
system for working people travelling back and forth between values are given also in Table 1.
business areas and cities outskirts.
TABLE I. MAIN DATA OF THE PROPOSED TRANSFORMERS
Toroidal transformers are usually used in power electronics
application where the volume or weight of the system Type of the transformer
components is important. Also, they are restricted to ratings Design data With columns
Toroidal
of hundreds of kilo volt amps, respectively tens of kilo volts. a) b) c)
[1]. The benefits of the toroidal topology over a classic Rated power [kVA] 300 300 300 300
transformer consist of a lower volume and weight, as well as Rated primary voltage [kV] 25 25 25 25
a low leakage flux, thus leading to an increased efficiency Rated secondary voltage [kV] 1 1 1 1
and a minimal electromagnetic interference [2].
Length of the steel sheets pack mm 280 175 175 170
This paper proposes a comparison between a single-phase
Primary number of turns 2629 3263 3263 2560
toroidal transformer and a transformer with columns for the
supply of a railway vehicle traction system. Whereas the Secondary number of turns 105 130 129 102
latter has a classical transformer construction, the proposed For the toroidal transformer, Fig. 1, the solution with the
application requires a special construction which requires an primary winding placed on a half of the iron core, and the
appropriate design. These aspects will be detailed in the secondary winding on the other half was adopted. But for the
paper. Besides the comparison from the constructive point of variant with columns three solutions were considered, Fig. 2.
view, one between two transformers of different powers will
The first takes into consideration the placement of the
be made in order to evaluate which is the best solution for
primary winding on one column, and the secondary on the
such an application: the use of a single unit of a certain power
other one, Fig. 2.a. The second possibility is to place both the
rating or of two identical transformer that together can deliver
the same power. primary and secondary winding concentric on one column
and the other one is used only for closing the magnetic
II. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS circuit, Fig. 2.b. The third constructive solution is to place
One of the most important issues in the design of the half of the concentric primary and secondary winding on one
transformer is the value of the voltage on a turn Uw. The usual column and the other half of the concentric primary and
graphs for the three phase transformers have to be adopted for secondary winding on the other column, Fig. 2.c.
the design of the single-phase transformers.
Two types of transformers were designed here, of toroidal
shape and with columns, respectively.

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Fig. 1. Design features of the toroidal transformer.
Fig. 2. Design configuration of the proposed transformers with columns.
In order to lower the short-circuit voltage, we have to
reduce the reactances of the two windings. A practical
solution of this problem is the splitting into two parts of the
primary and secondary windings. Moreover, the two parts of
primary winding are placed between the two layers of the
secondary winding.
The main difference between the oil cooled and dry
transformers in the design process is the value of the
insulation distances between the core and the windings and
between the primary and secondary windings, respectively
[4]. Consequently, all the dry transformer principal
dimensions display larger values.
A possibility to reduce the size of the transformer with
columns is to increase the short-circuit voltage. This is
possible in this case given by the absence of the constraint for
this value. For the conventional transformers this has
standardized values, imposed by the need of parallel
connection of the transformers. In this case we have a greater
liberty considering the application intended for this
transformer. In this paper we have studied the case above
mentioned as future work will be dedicated to possible
optimization of this structure.
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III. RESULTS OF 2D FINITE ELEMENT METHOD ANALYSIS
In this paper, the design evaluation of the transformers is
conducted by time-stepped 2-D FE field analysis using the
commercial software JMAG-Designer. The toroidal topology,
Fig. 1, is presented as a possible solution to replace the
standard transformer of a railway vehicle traction system. The
most accurate way to simulate a toroidal transformer is to
create a 3D model, however 2D model will be easier to build
with the penalty of giving less accurate results.
The heat produced in a transformer under load is due to
two main sources: like hysteresis and eddy current losses
(magnetic core) and copper losses (windings). From this
reason the numerical analysis will be focused on obtaining
these values for rated load.
In each case the electric circuit associated to the geometric
model of the transformers was built and it is presented in
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. Electric circuits for the classic transformers.
The distribution of the flux-density in the iron core of the
toroidal transformer from 2-D FE analysis is presented in Fig.
4, which proves that magnetic saturation in the transformer
core is not of concern, since a maximum value of 1.58 T has
been achieved.
For the classic transformers, Fig. 5, FEM analysis reveals
maximum values for the magnetic flux density of 1.52 T,
1.65 T and 1.47 T. This level of localized magnetic flux
density is usually expected to occur in the inner corners and
T-joint regions of the transformer.
The joule losses obtained from the 2D FEM analysis for the
three classic transformers are brought in Fig. 6, while their
average values are presented in Table II along with the mass
of their active materials, iron losses and efficiency. Also, the
results obtained for the toroidal transformer are displayed.
Comparing the data from Table II, the results obtained tend
towards a solution given by the toroidal transformer.
 The new proposed transformer is designed and the main
parameters are displayed in Table III.

TABLE III. MAIN DESIGN DATA OF THE TOROIDAL TRANSFORMER

Design data Value

Rated power [kVA] 300 600
Rated primary voltage [kV] 25 25
Rated secondary voltage [kV] 1 1
Thickness of the magnetic circuit [mm] 170 200
Inner core radius [mm] 120 150
Outer core radius [mm] 290 350
Primary number of turns 2560 1812
Fig. 4. Magnetic flux density for the toroidal transformer. Secondary number of turns 102 73
Primary wire diameter [mm] 2.1 2.5
Secondary wire diameter [mm] 10.5 14

Fig. 7 displays the magnetic flux density of the toroidal

transformer from 2-D FE analysis which proves that magnetic
saturation in the transformer core is not of concern, since a
maximum value of 1.47 T has been achieved.
In Fig. 8 and 9, respectively, the computed voltage and
current for both primary and secondary winding under load
conditions are presented. Fig. 10 shows the iron losses from
the transformer core, where their rms value is 305 W. Joule
losses encountered in the primary and secondary winding are
presented in Fig. 11, with a rms value of 2900 W.
Fig. 5. Magnetic flux density for the classic proposed transformers.

Fig. 6. Joule losses for the classic transformers.

TABLE II. RESULTS OF THE 2D FEM ANALYSIS Fig. 7. Magnetic flux density in the iron core of the 600 kVA transformer.

Type of the transformer

Design data With columns
Toroidal
a) b) c)
Transformer core mass [kg] 539 593 487 268
Copper winding mass [kg] 86.11 128.4 128 132.8
Joule losses [W] 1919 3254 6400 2005
Iron losses [W] 138.3 355.1 67.2 238.3
Efficiency [%] 99.3 98.81 97.8 99.25

Another comparison will focus on determining whether a

600 kVA transformer is not more suitable and efficient than
two transformers of 300 kVA used individually for each
bogie. Fig. 8. Circuit voltage under load conditions.

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Fig. 9. Circuit current under load condition.
Fig. 10. Iron losses in the iron core of the 600 kVA toroidal transformer.
Fig. 11. Joule losses in the windings of the 600 kVA toroidal transformer.
The results obtained after 2D FEM analysis are presented
in Table IV, comparative with the results for the toroidal
transformer of 300 kVA.
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TABLE V. RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS FOR THE 600 KVA TRANSFORMER
Design data Value
Rated power [kVA] 300 600
Transformer core mass [kg] 268 458.2
Copper winding mass [kg] 132.8 220
Joule losses [W] 2005 2900
Iron losses [W] 238.3 310
Efficiency [%] 99.25 99.4
In the same Table the masses of the two structures,
obtained from the analytical design, are given.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
This paper approaches the electromagnetic design and
finite-element analysis of two types of transformers of 300
kVA for use in electric traction applications. A comparison is
made between a toroidal transformer and a classical
construction type transformer, with columns. The benefits of
the toroidal transformer topology over the classic
transformers for the proposed application are highlighted by
the finite element method analysis results, reaching similar
results but for a much lower active materials mass.
The toroidal transformer proposed is benefiting from a low
volume and weight compared to the conventional
transformer. Based on this conclusion, it was proposed a new
toroidal transformer of 600 kVA to substitute the two
transformers of 300 kVA used individually for each bogie.
The comparison evidences that a single unit offers has a much
lower mass than two transformers that give together the same
power.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by the project “Advanced
technologies for intelligent urban electric vehicles”-
URBIVEL-Contract no.11/01.09.2016, project co-founded
from the European Regional Development Fund through the
Competitiveness Operational Program 2014-2020
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