Demonstration of the feasibility of the use of amorphous magnetic material as transformer core material

No load losses in distribution transformer cores are estimated to consume at least 3% of all energy generated in Europe. Energy efficient distribution transformer cores are made from high quality grain oriented silicon iron laminations having losses of around 0.8 W/kg at 1.5 T. Amorphous magnetic material has losses of around 30% that of the best quality silicon iron. The material is difficult to use because it is thin and its magnetic properties are very stress sensitive. This paper outlines work being carried out as part of a THERMIE project to demonstrate the energy saving potential of amorphous magnetic materials. Transformers ranging from 25 kVA to 315 kVA have been designed with wound toroidal cores. The losses are expected to be 25-30% of equivalent transformers with conventional cores. An estimate of the benefit of widespread replication is made