Redesigned distribution transformers filled with natural ester dielectric fluids from Cargill are helping Tata Power Company resolve multiple challenges in providing electricity - safely and economically - to its customers in Mumbai, India.
With more than 22 million residents, Mumbai, India, is the third-most-densely populated urban area on Earth. This megacity is home to more than 53,000 people per square mile - roughly twice the current population density of New York City. As a result, electric power companies in Mumbai are facing space-constraint issues that will soon be a challenge for other large cities around the world. Thanks to the foresight of the Tata Power Company, headquartered in India, other power generation and distribution companies will soon have a roadmap to refer to for their future.
"Natural ester dielectric fluids offer a number of advantages over mineral oil - especially when it comes to operating in densely populated areas," says R Pillai, chief corporate operations (transmission and distribution), Tata Power Company.
FR3 fluid delivers powerful solutions to the grid
The Tata Power Company is India's largest integrated power company with a growing international presence, serving more than 600,000 residential and commercial customers in Mumbai, and more than 1,400,000 customers in New Delhi. It began exploring the use of natural ester-fluid-filled transformers in 2003, according to Pillai, but didn't have a local manufacturer to provide the product and fluids expertise. In 2013, Tata Power began working on a prototype for a more compact 25MVA transformer filled with Envirotemp™ FR3™ - the natural ester fluid most widely used in transformers - and tapped into the expertise of Cargill's dielectric fluids team.
"Key drivers for us were the space constraints to install the transformer and increased fire safety - plus the Indian Government's push towards smart cities and a smart grid," says Pillai. "But the other properties of FR3 fluid - its high temperature capacity and environmentally friendly characteristics - coupled with a need for additional capacity, were also attractive to us."
Tata Power's engineers, collaborating with Cargill's dielectric fluids team and a transformer manufacturer, leveraged FR3 fluid's capabilities to develop the initial blueprint for a 25MVA transformer with the footprint of a 20MVA transformer. After refining the initial design scheme, Tata Power's engineers built a prototype. Factory-based tests of the prototype revealed even better performance than the engineers had planned for, according to Pillai.
The tests revealed that the new transformer design:
As successful as it was, the initial redesign didn't even take full advantage of FR3 fluid's high-temperature functionality. The transformer could safely perform at temperatures as much as 20°C higher; which means the transformer could operate at a higher capacity, or be redesigned with an even smaller footprint.
A new industry paradigm
Since completing tests and gaining statutory approvals, Tata Power has installed two of these new FR3 fluid-filled transformers in Mumbai's financial district.
"Our team has created an awesome new transformer, but we're not finished yet," Pillai says. "We plan to refine the design to further decrease the footprint and improve performance. This could change the landscape of the power industry in India and create a new paradigm that can be adopted successfully by any country in the world."
