CFD Study of the Impact of an Electrical Power Transformer on a Historical Building: Assessment and Solutions

Historical building reuse is aimed at preservation, where buildings are recovered for new uses connected to cultural activities. This paper presents the analysis of the impact of thermo-fluid dynamics due to a 500 kW electrical power transformer installed inside a historical building. The analysis is performed using computational fluid dynamics simulations validated through measurement campaigns carried out during the summer period. High temperatures and wide humidity variations can damage building plasters and cause malfunctions in power equipment. To avoid these situations, two different installation layouts were studied. One consists of the power transformer directly installed in the environment and cooled by an inlet fan, and the other consists of the power transformer being insulated from the external environment by an enclosure connected to a forced ventilation system. The second layout showed better results both inside and outside the transformer enclosure. The maximum indoor condition was about 4.3 °C, with a −7.2% RH and an airflow rate of 1100 m3/h, and the maximum outdoor air condition was 3.3 °C, with a −1.39% RH and a flow rate of 2200 m3/h. However, the temperatures and humidity inside the building and outside the transformer enclosure were almost the same.