Skip to content
ELECTROMASHElectrical machines since 1959
Metallurgy · 2024

Furnace transformer, electric arc steel plant

16 MVA furnace transformer with on-load tap changer, replacing a unit that had failed twice in five years.

Rating
16 000 kVA
Primary
35 kV
Tap changer
On-load
Duty basis
Measured, not assumed
The problem

The previous transformers had failed from winding movement under repeated through-faults. The plant's electrode control produced more short-circuit events per shift than the original design had assumed.

What was done

The design was carried out against the plant's measured event count rather than a standard duty. Winding bracing and clamping were dimensioned for the actual number of through-faults expected over a twenty-year life.

Outcome

In service since 2024 with no winding fault. The measured duty data collected during the project became the plant's specification baseline for future units.