Delivering power to the world’s highest airport

ABB has delivered six Resibloc dry-type transformers rated at 5860 kilovolt amperes (kVA) to facilitate the distribution of power to the Daocheng-Yading airport in the Sichuan Province of China. When the airport opens later this year, travellers will land and depart at an elevation of 4411 metres - 77 metres higher than the current record held by the Bamda airport.

The Daocheng-Yading regional airport will make travel easier between western Chinese cities, for example, cutting the bumpy 13-hour bus ride from Chengdu to Daoyang to one hour. With a 4200-metre runway and four tarmacs, the airport is expecting to handle around 500,000 passengers.

Built at ABB’s production facility in Shanghai, the Resibloc distribution transformers are specially designed to withstand challenging environmental conditions, such as extreme temperatures and very high altitudes. More than 60,000 ABB Resibloc dry transformers are in operation in demanding applications around the world.

“These robust oil-free transformers are safe, reliable, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly with the strength to withstand thermal and mechanical stresses from severe climates, cyclical loads and short circuit forces,” said Markus Heimbach, head of ABB’s Transformers business, a part of the company’s Power Products division.

Made of pure epoxy resin reinforced with glass fibre rovings, a material of enormous strength that enables them to withstand extreme mechanical stress and thermal shock, they are explosion resistant and designed to operate at temperatures as low as -60ºC or as high as 50ºC. The Resibloc design is flexible and the windings can be customised to fit customer specifications.

Dry-type transformers are frequently used in applications where contamination and fire risks for people and the environment must be mitigated. They are designed to meet stringent electrical parameters, have the ability to cope with tough ambient conditions and require minimal maintenance. This makes them a preferred option for sectors like oil and gas, marine, mining and steel, the paper and chemical industries, in commercial and high-rise buildings, as well as in power generation and distribution.