Opportunity Overview
INTRODUCTION
Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA) Management & Operating Contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) owned Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) from industry providers to provide information regarding solutions aimed at increasing the seismic resilience of large power transformers.
BACKGROUND
The flexibility and density of massive power transformer tanks can cause them to act as a vibration amplifier for equipment mounted on them. During an earthquake, the transformer tank and mounted bushings can be in resonance, increasing the shaking in the bushing beyond its design levels and resulting in bushing failure. As seen in past earthquakes around the world, this seismic vulnerability can concurrently damage many transformers and cause cascading failures on the grid. INL is currently working to address this vulnerability by developing a low-cost retrofittable bushing decoupler system. The system will be designed with modern materials, mounted at the bushing base, and can be tuned to any bushing-transformer combination to avoid resonance.
As a part of this effort, INL is performing large-scale shake table testing of a fully dressed 230 kV power transformer at the University of California San Diego Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST) facility. In addition to this first-of-a-kind bushing decoupler system, INL will also test another mitigation option called seismic base isolation, which involves placing the transformer on isolator devices that absorb the incoming earthquake energy and alter the system structural dynamics to protect the transformer. A few units have been installed this way; however, full scale experimental testing on a fully dressed power transformer is lacking. The bushing decoupler technique is the focus of this project, which aims to perform a shake table test of a large power transformer in its substation installation configuration.
INL is seeking industry partners...
Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA) Management & Operating Contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) owned Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) from industry providers to provide information regarding solutions aimed at increasing the seismic resilience of large power transformers.
BACKGROUND
The flexibility and density of massive power transformer tanks can cause them to act as a vibration amplifier for equipment mounted on them. During an earthquake, the transformer tank and mounted bushings can be in resonance, increasing the shaking in the bushing beyond its design levels and resulting in bushing failure. As seen in past earthquakes around the world, this seismic vulnerability can concurrently damage many transformers and cause cascading failures on the grid. INL is currently working to address this vulnerability by developing a low-cost retrofittable bushing decoupler system. The system will be designed with modern materials, mounted at the bushing base, and can be tuned to any bushing-transformer combination to avoid resonance.
As a part of this effort, INL is performing large-scale shake table testing of a fully dressed 230 kV power transformer at the University of California San Diego Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST) facility. In addition to this first-of-a-kind bushing decoupler system, INL will also test another mitigation option called seismic base isolation, which involves placing the transformer on isolator devices that absorb the incoming earthquake energy and alter the system structural dynamics to protect the transformer. A few units have been installed this way; however, full scale experimental testing on a fully dressed power transformer is lacking. The bushing decoupler technique is the focus of this project, which aims to perform a shake table test of a large power transformer in its substation installation configuration.
INL is seeking industry partners...
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| Issuing agency | Energy, Department of |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Category | Government Procurement |
| NAICS | 335311 |
| Published | May 27, 2025 |
| Procurement stage | Active solicitation |
| Closed | June 01, 2026 |
| Status | Closed — no longer accepting responses |
| Official source | View original notice |
| Last verified | October 11, 2026 |
Source: U.S. Government (SAM.gov) — public domain. GlobalGov is not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government.
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