Magnetic Shunt Design and Their Effects on Transformer Winding Electromagnetic Forces

The major design purpose of the magnetic flux shunts is to reduce stray losses in the power transformer. Their influence on the surrounding leakage field, and thus the winding electromagnetic (EM) forces are also serious concerns, which are relevant to transformer operation safety. In this paper, the EM forces of transformer windings in the occurrence of magnetic flux shunts were studied based on the finite element method, which was validated by a double Fourier series method. The sensitivities of transformer EM forces to the shunt size and position were also investigated through parametric studies. The discussion on factors that influence the EM force should be of interest to practicing engineers in the transformer industry in winding strength calculation and magnetic shunt design.