Electromagnetic Thermal Finite Element Modeling of MCR via Homogenization Method

The magnetic valve controllable reactor (MCR) has been widely used in Ultra High Voltage/distribution networks for the reactive power compensation. The magnetic valves of MCR are stacked up by laminated sheets and work in the domain of deep saturation. This results in high power loss and abnormal high-temperatures in the iron cores, which can threaten safety operation of MCR. In this paper, an electromagnetic thermal FEM model of three-phase 35kV/10MVA MCR via homogenization method is presented. The magnetic field and temperature field distribution of a full-size MCR are presented in three-dimension (3-D) view. The simulation results show that homogenization of MCR's laminated iron core is necessary and effective.