Earthquake-resistant transformers have huge demand in Switzerland

R&S Rauscher & Stoecklin is part of the Swiss-based R&S Group, a leading provider of electrical infrastructure products in key markets. Recently, the company recently launched a new transformer design for earthquake-prone regions. T&D India got in touch with a senior official of R&S Rauscher & Stoecklin, who, requesting anonymity, discussed the new product and its relevance to Switzerland.

Earthquakes can have adverse implications on electrical equipment. Elaborating on this point, the spokesperson explained that in the case of transformers, an earthquake could result in a transformer tipping over or even rolling away. There could be spillage of transformer oil causing substantial damage to the equipment. “All this can cause a power failure,” the official cautioned.

 

Conventional versus new

Conventional earthquake protection methods include rollaway- and tilting-safety devices. These solutions have their limitations. In the case of the solution introduced by R&S Rauscher & Stoecklin, there are four adjustable steel ropes for lashing down the transformer, and it is thus more flexible than the current solution that involves steel poles. Together with the transformer set, corner reinforcements are recommended. Since the ring loops on the transformers are often too weak, the steel ropes are attached to the corner reinforcements and to a wall or the floor. The assembly and installation is conducted by highly-skilled employees from R&S.

The current solution by R&S, the official elaborated, can be installed in almost any station because “it is so flexible due to the adjustable steel ropes”. You can attach them (the steel ropes) on the wall or on the ground or on anything else. “And the new solution is strong enough for any earthquake zone, also for heavy earthquakes,” the official stressed.

Discussing the demand for earthquake-prone transformers in Switzerland, the official asserted that the demand was simply getting “bigger and bigger!” The laws in Switzerland demand that transformers need to be protected and “the law is becoming stricter and stricter,” observed the spokesperson.

The newly developed earthquake-proof transformers were launched in August this year, and R&S has started marketing and selling the new product already. However, the activity is restricted to within Switzerland so far.

 

 

Retrofitting

T&D India posed the question of whether existing transformers could be retrofitted with earthquake-proofing solutions, and if so, could this solution be extended to any brand of transformer. The spokesperson explained that though the solution could not be extended to all transformers, “it is possible to retrofit most transformers.” The official expounded on a technical detail stating that retrofitting depends on whether the transformers in question are hermetically sealed or free breathing. “With hermetically-sealed transformers it is not easy to retrofit,” noted the official.

According to its official website, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich, with its monitoring network of more than 200 seismometers, records an average of between three and four earthquakes a day, or between 1,000 and 1,500 earthquakes a year, in Switzerland and its immediate neighbouring countries. Swiss citizens actually feel somewhere between 10 and 20 quakes a year, usually those with a magnitude of 2.5 or above. Based on the long-term average, 23 quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or above occur every year.

 

Outside Switzerland

When asked whether R&S would like to offer its solutions to other countries, outside home country Switzerland, the spokesperson replied that the company’s marketing plan would depend on whether the country in question was an earthquake zone, and more importantly, how strict are the laws in that country regarding earthquake protection to electrical equipment. As mentioned, laws in Switzerland are getting stricter by the day in terms of insistence on earthquake proofing.

 

Operations in India

R&S Rauscher & Stoecklin has no operations in India as yet, the spokesperson confirmed, without dwelling on the possibility of launching the same in the foreseeable future. However, some years ago, Italy-based Tesar, part of the R&S Group, did have operations in India though the company is not active any more.

Tesar, it may be mentioned, was established in 1979 and was the first Italian company to implement the technique of resin casting for transformers. After a few successful business years, the company decided to expand its portfolio to include oil-immersed and instrument transformers. In 2016, Tesar became part of R&S.

 

 

Innovations at R&S Group

R&S Group was in existence since 1919, engaged in the manufacture of transformers, switchgear and other electrical products. The spokesperson observed that in the initial decades, the transformer industry was pretty much conventional as there were no special technical demands on transformers. However, things began to change in recent decades with technical requirements from industries and power utilities getting more complex.

Highlighting on the achievements of R&S in the field of transformers, the official explained that between 2000 and 2020, R&S was high on innovation and offered to its customers, innovative products including transformers with lower radiation, low-loss transformers, amorphous transformers, self-regulated transformers and transformers equipped with bio oil.