Critical electrical infrastructure doesn’t just need power; it needs to breathe. At Fluxiss, we provide specialized CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) thermal modeling to prevent equipment failure and optimize cooling efficiency.

Whether you are managing a utility grid in the US or high-voltage substations in the Middle East, heat is your primary enemy. Here is how we used advanced fluid dynamics to validate a passive cooling strategy for a major power authority.

Project Spotlight: Cooling 66kV Transformer Rooms in Riyadh

High Heat Loads in Desert Environments

The Gulf Power Authority in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, required a thermal audit of five separate 66kV transformer rooms. Each room housed equipment generating significant continuous heat loads. In an environment where ambient temperatures are naturally high, relying on mechanical cooling isn’t always cost-effective or sustainable. The goal was to prove that natural ventilation alone could keep these critical assets within safe operating limits.

The Physics of Natural Ventilation

How do you move massive amounts of air without a single fan? We focused the analysis on passive cooling via wall-mounted slots and louvres positioned at a 2m height. The challenge was to ensure that the “stack effect”—the process where hot air rises and pulls cooler air in—was sufficient to offset the kW heat loss from the transformers. We simulated these conditions using a 32°C (89.6°F) dry-bulb ambient temperature to represent standard operating conditions.

Overcoming Stagnant Air & Hot Spots

The primary difficulty in natural ventilation design is the risk of “dead zones”—areas where air becomes trapped and temperatures spike far above the average. To solve this, Fluxiss engineers used ANSYS Fluent and OpenFOAM to create high-fidelity 3D airflow models.

We didn’t just look at a single data point; we mapped the entire 3D environment. We specifically targeted the 10.5m elevation mark to visualize temperature distribution where heat accumulation is typically most volatile. This allowed us to see exactly how the air moved around the 66kV units and whether the louvre placement was effective.

Proven Thermal Stability

The results provided the Gulf Power Authority with the empirical data needed to proceed with confidence.

• Steady-State Validation: The CFD models predicted the average steady-state room temperatures would remain within the manufacturer’s safe threshold.
• Visual Verification: 3D temperature distribution plots confirmed that no dangerous hot spots existed at the critical 10.5m height.
• Design Optimization: The analysis verified that the 2m high wall slots provided sufficient mass flow rates to maintain equipment health without requiring expensive HVAC upgrades.

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