Numerical simulation and detection of dry-type air-core reactor temperature field based on laminar–turbulent model

The hot-spot temperature of a dry-type air-core reactor is a crucial factor that determines the service life of the reactor. Although the environment elevation has a significant influence on the reactor’s heat dissipation performance and hot-spot temperature, studies seldom focus on the temperature distribution for different altitude scenarios. To this end, this paper proposes a temperature field simulation model with multi-parameter coupling constraints based on the laminar–turbulent flow state. The calculation of the temperature field with the hot-spot temperature at different altitudes is finally achieved. The simulation results show that the hot-spot is located at 6.3% from the top of the sixth encapsulated-winding. It also shows that the hot-spot temperature of the reactor increases by 5 K–11 K with the altitude ascending by 1 km. Moreover, the hot-spot temperature of the reactor exceeds the temperature index at an altitude of 3.25 km, which will result in a shortened service life. Fiber Bragg grating temperature sensors are embedded in encapsulated-windings to detect the temperature for verifying the validity of the temperature field model, which could provide critical temperature rise evaluation rules for the operation safety of the dry-type air-core reactor.