Comsol > Case Studies > From Spreadsheets to Multiphysics Applications, ABB Continues to Power Up the Transformer Industry

From Spreadsheets to Multiphysics Applications, ABB Continues to Power Up the Transformer Industry

Company Size

1,000+

Region

Europe

Country

Sweden
Switzerland

Product

COMSOL Multiphysics
Application Builder
COMSOL Server

Tech Stack

Finite Element Analysis
Java
Electromagnetic Simulation
Acoustic Simulation

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Innovation Output
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization

Applicable Industries

Electrical Grids
Utilities

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Machine Condition Monitoring
Predictive Maintenance
Process Control & Optimization

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration
Training

About The Customer

ABB is one of the biggest manufacturers of transformers used around the world, headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company is renowned for its expertise in power and automation technologies, providing solutions for a wide range of industries including utilities, industry, transport, and infrastructure. ABB’s transformers are integral to the electrical grid, which powers buildings like homes, businesses, and schools. The company’s transformers are used to increase and decrease voltage levels in power lines that carry alternating current, ensuring efficient and safe power transmission over long distances. ABB’s commitment to innovation and quality has led them to use advanced numerical analyses and computational applications to predict and minimize noise levels in their transformers, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and enhancing customer satisfaction.

The Challenge

Companies developing new and improved power transformer equipment incur costs for prototyping and testing as they work to reduce transformer hum. At ABB, a team of engineers develops multiphysics simulations and custom-built applications to offer insight into their designs. Transformer noise often comes from several sources, such as vibrations in the transformer core or auxiliary fans and pumps used in the cooling system. Each of these sources needs to be addressed differently to reduce noise. ABB’s transformers comprise a metal core with coils of wire wound around different sections, an enclosure or tank to protect these components, and an insulating oil inside the tank. Passing alternating current through the windings of one coil creates a magnetic flux that induces current in an adjacent coil. The voltage adjustment is achieved through different numbers of coil turns. Because the core is made of steel, a magnetostrictive material, these magnetic fluxes — which alternate direction — cause mechanical strains. This generates vibrations from the quick growing and shrinking of the metal. These vibrations travel to the tank walls through the oil and the clamping points that hold the inner core in place, creating an audible hum known as core noise. In addition to the core noise, the alternating current in the coil produces Lorentz forces in the individual windings, causing vibrations known as load noise that add to the mechanical energy transferred to the tank.

The Solution

The ABB Corporate Research Center (ABB CRC) in Västerås, Sweden, developed a series of simulations and computational apps using COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software and its Application Builder. These tools calculate magnetic flux generated in the transformer core and windings, Lorentz forces in the windings, mechanical displacements caused by magnetostrictive strains, and the resulting pressure levels of acoustic waves propagating through the tank. The team created an electromagnetic model to predict the magnetic fields induced by the alternating current and the magnetostrictive strains in the steel. They then calculated the resonance for different frequencies using a modal analysis, predicting the sound waves moving through the oil and calculating the resulting vibrations of the tank. This allowed them to adjust the geometry and setup of the core, windings, and tank to minimize noise. The CRC team also developed custom applications using the Application Builder, which can be easily customized to suit the needs of different departments within ABB. These applications simplify testing and verification for designers and R&D engineers, allowing them to access finite element analysis through a user interface without needing to learn finite element theory. The applications include both the physics model developed in the COMSOL® software and custom methods written in Java® code, programmed within the Application Builder.

Operational Impact

The CRC team continues to use the COMSOL software to improve their understanding and models, extending their knowledge to the rest of ABB’s designers and business units.
Using the Application Builder in COMSOL Multiphysics, they have created apps from their multiphysics models, which can be easily customized to suit the needs of each department.
These simulation applications simplify testing and verification for designers and R&D engineers, allowing them to access finite element analysis through a user interface without needing to learn finite element theory.
The custom applications allow users to check how certain combinations of geometry, material properties, and other design parameters will affect the resulting transformer hum.
The team is focusing on a second application that will calculate load noise, further removing the burden of tedious calculations and enabling ABB to more quickly and easily produce the world’s best transformers.

Quantitative Benefit

The COMSOL Server™ license allows the distribution of apps to other offices for testing, making it easy to share and benefit from these apps globally.
The custom application calculates the specific eigenfrequencies of the transformer core, implying noise-related issues due to frequencies that fall within the audible range.
The applications include parametric studies that illustrate the complex relationships between design parameters and the resulting transformer hum, allowing for optimized designs.