Three-dimensional electro-thermal coupling analysis of ultra-high-voltage autotransformer based on MPI-PETSc parallel computing framework

Abstract Ultra-high-voltage (UHV) autotransformers are widely employed in long-distance power transmission systems. Their operation involves complex energy conversion and coupling mechanisms, including high-intensity magnetic induction energy and strong induced currents. From the perspective of power systems and automation control, it is essential to construct a comprehensive equivalent control circuit for UHV autotransformers, integrating the analysis of induced current and magnetic flux density into the domain of analog electronics. Numerical analysis has become a core approach for investigating the external thermal physical characteristics of transformer power and various thermal management strategies. In this paper, the Message Passing Interface (MPI) and Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc) parallel computing framework is adopted to compute and analyze the electro-thermal coupling in a UHV autotransformer. The dielectric loss of transformer components is thoroughly examined. A linear numerical simulation method for evaluating dielectric loss is assessed through parallel computation and validated via the design of a three-dimensional coupling model for leakage flux and core temperature rise. The dielectric loss calculation is applied to the transformer. Magnetostriction measurements under rated output power and various current and voltage conditions reveal the correlation between the coupled data and the thermal topology. The MPI-PETSc framework significantly enhances the computational efficiency of three-dimensional electro-thermal coupling problems in UHV autotransformers through distributed computing and efficient numerical solving, making it suitable for large-scale, high-precision engineering simulations.