APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COOLING THE CORE OF LIQUID COOLED TRANSFORMER

Apparatus for containing liquid coolant within a liquid cooled transformer includes a vessel having opposing sides for forming a chamber. The chamber is prevented from decreasing below a predetermined volume limit when compressive force is applied to the vessel by providing separation elements which are coupled to at least one of the sides and extend into the chamber for contacting the other side when the limit is reached, thereby preventing further volume reduction of the chamber. When a liquid under pressure is supplied to the chamber the vessel tends to expand, such that when the apparatus is disposed between laminations of a core of a transformer for cooling the transformer, force is exerted on the laminations, thereby ensuring that the laminations do not loosen under adverse operating conditions.