Trasfor Dry-type transformers for Rolling Stock
Advantages for railways application
Throughout the long history of Trasfor, research, design and manufacture of custom-built dry-type transformers and reactors have always been the leitmotiv of the company.
Approaching its 50th anniversary, Trasfor SA can boast worldwide leadership besides being a primary company in the industrial factories of the Canton Ticino in Switzerland.
The factory, which is located on the original site near Lugano, is the result of several phases of expansion and modernization incorporated in various strategies to develop the company and diversify its product lines. Trasfor dry-type transformers and inductors are an unique and reliable solution for railways applications, both indoor and outdoor. Well-known for providing its customers with an extended portfolio, Trasfor ensures the best-tailored product option.
Dry-type are the only transformers that can be installed close to the utilization point; this allows optimized installation designs, reduction of low voltage circuits and losses, aside from other main advantages:
Ecology & Sustainability
Research & development
Quality Standards
(click above on the yellow menu to read more about our main advantages)
Research and development
Thank to continuous investment in research and development (R&D) and a dedicated on-site profit center, Trasfor offers a wide range of customizable products.
An optimal and reliable transformer design requires a multi-disciplinary approach that brings together leading edge competences and experience in the fields of electrical, structural, acoustic and fluid dynamics areas. Numerical simulations are the key for a deep understanding of physic mechanisms that drive the product performances. Numerical analyses in TRASFOR cover a wide range of simulations. Leakage fields, stray and no-load losses, fatigue, shock, seismic, short circuit, lifting, fluid-thermal, air-borne and structure-borne noise are only some of the studied physic and structural mechanisms.
Specific methodologies are continuously developed by the R&D department and proficiently used by the technical department for delivering products with the highest performances, minimum cost and best reliability. At the basis of these complex numerical tools are the best software packages currently available on the market, such as ANSYS, COMSOL, Maxwell, nCode, Fluent and Matlab.
Measurements during real experiments and tests help validate the design tolls and simulation results.
Electrical tests:
- Lightening impulse
- Short circuit
- No-load
- Insulation
- Leakage field
- Inductance measurement
Acoustic tests
- Airborne noise - Sound power level (thru pressure or intensity)
- Structure-borne noise (transmitted acceleration or velocity)
Thermal tests:
- Temperature rise
- Overload
Structural tests:
- Shock
- Vibration (fatigue)
- Seismic
- Salt mist
- Short circuit (explosion)
Ecology and Sustainability
Environmentally friendly product as there is no risk of leakages of inflammable or contaminating substances.
Maintenance free thanks to the raw materials used such as steel, iron, aluminum and copper which allows approximately 90% of the total weight of the transformer to be recycled.
All the products are designed to increase efficiency in all installations on and off board trains and are focused on energy saving.
Quality standards
Since rail vehicles are subjected to extreme environmental conditions (high vibrations and shock) and corrosion (undergrounds or tunnel), Trasfor factory, which is IRIS certified since 2006, focuses on optimizing all processes as required, complying with major international standards:
- IRIS (International Railway Industry Standard) certification complements the internationally recognized ISO 9001 quality standard introducing rail specific requirements. IRIS is modelled on similar quality standards already in place in the aerospace, and automotive industries and it aims at the avoidance of multiple business management system auditing and therefore increases cost efficiency.
- Our railways products are certified accordingly IEC 60310 “Traction transformers and inductors on board rolling stock” which considers the new generic railway standards, more specifically general service conditions including significant technical specification, as vibration, temperature limits.
- Our railways products are fire certified according to EN45545-HL3 “Fire protection on railways vehicles”, which considers Flammability, Opacity and Toxicity of Smokes. This standard specifies test methods, limit values, and establishes requirement sets for components, besides to fire safety requirements to protect passengers and staff of railway vehicles in the event of a fire on board.
- Our railways products are certified according to EN 50124 “Insulation coordination” which defines clearances and creepage distances for all electrical and electronic equipment.
- Our railways products are certified according to EN 61373 “Shock and Vibration tests” which specifies the requirements for testing items of equipment intended for use on railway vehicles that are subsequently subjected to vibrations and shock owing to the nature of railway operational environment.
- Our railways products are certified according to EN 15085-CL1 “Welding of Railway Vehicles and Components” which defines the standard reference for the design and manufacture of rail vehicles with regard to the welding of the welded metal components.
Technical features
Trasfor manufacture all Dry-type transformers according to the IEC and EN standards meeting the customer expectations in each request.
- Up to 2 MVA
- Catenary voltage up to 25 kV
- Insulation Class H or higher
- Protection class up to IP54
- Winding material: aluminum, copper
- Cooling: AN, AF, AFWF
Introduction
Trasfor offers a wide range of innovative design solutions and products for rolling stock applications. As part of our ongoing efforts to meet customer requirements, our products are developed to be reliable, safe and easy to install.
Traction transformers are critical components in the traction chain, affecting both train performance and operator services.
Trasfor supplies traction transformers for all applications: high-speed, regional trains, locomotives, tram-trains, underground and substations offering different designs in terms of size, weight and power ratings.
The manufacturing of Trasfor products depends mostly on the type of installation; in fact, the operating conditions of our products, both transformers and reactors, are affected by the localization of the product on board and its exposure to weather and corrosive agents.
In particular, we can distinguish products installed:
- Under the bottom: the product is placed under the locomotive floor and exposed to external agents and metal dust coming from the brakes.
- Inside: the product is placed inside the train, with less exposure to atmospheric agents and industrial dust.
- On the rooftop: the most common choice in the tram vehicles; the components have to be resistant to water and other meteorological conditions, including sunbeam.
Products overview
Transformers and inductors
Substation and rolling stock transformers and inductors
Substations generally have switching, protection and control equipment and one or more transformers. Trasfor is heavily involved in both substation and rolling stock applications thanks to its special design allowing our transformers and inductors to recover energy during braking.
Vacuum pressure impregnation or VPI transformer
This type of transformers is the most common and used in the railways application, consequently all products can be customized following clients specifications. Different types of cooling and filtering are also available for Trasfor tailor-made products.
Locomotive transformers and inductors
Locomotive transformers and inductors function is to transfer electric power from the catenary to the motor by lowering the network’s high voltage to low voltage for use by the converters. Trasfor transformers and inductors can be used for many applications, including on the roof or under the bottom of locomotives.
Product range application overview
Stand-alone products; mounted on the locomotives
- Line filter reactor
Auxiliary Converters
- Single or three phase transformers
- Transformers with an integrated reactor
- Single or three phase reactors
- Smoothing reactors with air core
DC/DC converters
- Chopper inductors
Oil-transformer tank of the locomotives
- Oil cooled reactors
Additional
Service
To consolidate its position, Trasfor has created an additional service tool to offer a complete technical consultancy, ranging from project specific engineering studies to routine inspection and maintenance. Trasfor Service offers a unique world-class service for any type of transformer, starting from commissioning, through scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and immediate intervention. Trasfor’s Service team of qualified and certified experts is ready 24/7 to fly all over the world and face any level of emergency situation, reducing to the minimum your down time.
For more in-depth technical analysis, Trasfor Service, through a pool of specialists, electrical mechanical and structural engineers, is able to assist with specific product developments and provide solutions to the most complex technical requests. This is also thanks to the availability of technical equipment for thermographic studies, vibration and shock monitoring.
Railways Service Key-Points
- Scheduled Maintenance
- Repair & Reconditioning of components
- On-site survey
- “In-House” technical support
- 24/7 Emergency support service
- Spare parts service
Trasfor Dry-type transformers for Rolling Stock
Advantages for railways application
Throughout the long history of Trasfor, research, design and manufacture of custom-built dry-type transformers and reactors have always been the leitmotiv of the company.
Approaching its 50th anniversary, Trasfor SA can boast worldwide leadership besides being a primary company in the industrial factories of the Canton Ticino in Switzerland.
The factory, which is located on the original site near Lugano, is the result of several phases of expansion and modernization incorporated in various strategies to develop the company and diversify its product lines. Trasfor dry-type transformers and inductors are an unique and reliable solution for railways applications, both indoor and outdoor. Well-known for providing its customers with an extended portfolio, Trasfor ensures the best-tailored product option.
Dry-type are the only transformers that can be installed close to the utilization point; this allows optimized installation designs, reduction of low voltage circuits and losses, aside from other main advantages:
Ecology & Sustainability
Research & development
Quality Standards
Introduction
Trasfor offers a wide range of innovative design solutions and products for rolling stock applications. As part of our ongoing efforts to meet customer requirements, our products are developed to be reliable, safe and easy to install.
Traction transformers are critical components in the traction chain, affecting both train performance and operator services.
Trasfor supplies traction transformers for all applications: high-speed, regional trains, locomotives, tram-trains, underground and substations offering different designs in terms of size, weight and power ratings.
The manufacturing of Trasfor products depends mostly on the type of installation; in fact, the operating conditions of our products, both transformers and reactors, are affected by the localization of the product on board and its exposure to weather and corrosive agents.
In particular, we can distinguish products installed:
- Under the bottom: the product is placed under the locomotive floor
and exposed to external agents and metal dust coming from the brakes.
- Inside: the product is placed inside the train, with less exposure to atmospheric agents and industrial dust.
- On the rooftop: the most common choice in the tram vehicles; the components have to be resistant to water and other meteorological conditions, including sunbeam.