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Biggest Transformer?

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Steve Conner

Sat Jan 07 2012, 10:58AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Radiotech, tell me about it! That's my day job, building condition monitoring equipment for high voltage plant.

Unfortunately, we don't have anything that will tell you if the transformer is still good after falling off a truck.

Patrick

Sat Jan 07 2012, 11:16AM

Registered Member #2431 Joined: Tue Oct 13 2009, 09:47PM
Location: Chico, CA. USA
Posts: 5639

Steve Conner wrote ...

Unfortunately, we don't have anything that will tell you if the transformer is still good after falling off a truck.

how about developing a "shock watch" that consists of a sheet of metal, which bends when exposed to 10Mega-Newton/meters... lol! or just dont drop them.

Steve Conner

Sat Jan 07 2012, 12:00PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

G-force loggers for shipping containers are readily available and cheap. The problem is to figure out what level of G force the transformer can be expected to withstand. I don't know if any manufacturer ever specifies this. The tank and core supports are probably designed to support the unit's own weight only, like a building or bridge.

Patrick

Sat Jan 07 2012, 01:08PM

Registered Member #2431 Joined: Tue Oct 13 2009, 09:47PM
Location: Chico, CA. USA
Posts: 5639

Steve Conner wrote ...

G-force loggers for shipping containers are readily available and cheap. The problem is to figure out what level of G force the transformer can be expected to withstand. I don't know if any manufacturer ever specifies this. The tank and core supports are probably designed to support the unit's own weight only, like a building or bridge.

the real problem is not so much the G-force, as the multi-directional force vectors. the transformers are generally only meant to take force from up and down, (G and Fn ), not left right, fore aft, or rotation. and thats when the forces are no longer balanced and stuff breaks...

if idiots would just not roll them off trucks, this wouldnt be a problem at all.

Steve Conner

Sat Jan 07 2012, 01:37PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Yup. The G force loggers are 3 axis, and shock and vibration specs require testing in all 3 axes. So all of these things are covered, except maybe rotation.

The loggers were famously used by Mythbusters. They even fitted one inside Buster's skull.

radiotech

Sat Jan 07 2012, 08:25PM

Registered Member #2463 Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546

Steve Conner wrote : Radiotech, tell me about it! That's my day job, building condition monitoring equipment for high voltage plant.

Unfortunately, we don't have anything that will tell you if the transformer is still good after falling off a truck.

We do ! It is called Ministry of Environment. The last one that fell off a truck, where I
worked soaked the ground with PCB oil. So we built a security area and stored about
40 sealed of containers of the earth for about 15 years until a rendering plant came
on line to get rid of it

Tetris

Sat Jan 07 2012, 09:56PM

Registered Member #4016 Joined: Thu Jul 21 2011, 01:52AM
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 660

klugesmith wrote ...

As STL pointed out, larger doesn't necessarily mean higher voltage, and vice-versa.

That said, very high voltage -requires- size because of insulation requirements.
And very large / heavy transformers are mostly used in connection with very high voltage power transmission.

To address the OP's question directly: S T F I !
Here is a reference to a 1 million KVA, 2000 kV transformer weighing over 700 tons.

Here are two 300-ton transformers traveling by train.

Here are a 400 ton tranformer that fell off a truck

and a pretty big one that fell off a barge (scroll way down)

[edit] By the way, transformers (like motors and diesel engines) tend to scale up very well, in terms of being more efficient. Often the upper limit is set by transportability.

Heh pointlesssites.com directed me to it.

klugesmith

Mon Jan 09 2012, 07:49AM

Registered Member #2099 Joined: Wed Apr 29 2009, 12:22AM
Location: Los Altos, California
Posts: 1716

HighVoltageChick wrote ...

Heh pointlesssites.com directed me to it.

Good find, QK. thanks for sharing.
I'm surprised they didn't include open trailers of tomatoes in their list of loads spilled too frequently to be featured. At least on highways in the agricultural regions of California.
Now let's both find or start threads where we can stay on topic.

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