STUDY OF AN AMORPHOUS ALLOY CORE TRANSFORMER

Amorphous core transformers (ACT) have become a technological and comm ercial reality and there are an estimated 400,000 units installed worl dwide [1]. Their applications reflect changes in utility buying practi ces, where the efficiency evaluation is an important factor in the pur chasing decision for distribution transformers. Use of the total owner ship cost (TOC) concept facilitates the selection of a transformer on the basis of its performance. This concept is used in this paper to in vestigate the feasibility of applying a distribution ACT in Western Au stralian (WA). A 10 kVA ACT, evaluated by the TOC method, was compared with a traditional silicon iron core transformer of the same rating. The cost of amorphous metal (relative to alternative materials), the d istribution load profile, and the values of capitalised loss costs are factors which affect the cost effectiveness of ACTs.