Transformer

Basics

Electro-magnetism: Faradays laws

First Law : Whenever the magnetic
flux linked with a circuit changes, an
electromotive force (EMF) is always
induced in it
Second Law : The magnitude of the
induced EMF is equal to the rate of
change of flux linkages.

Two different ways of changing the

flux:
Sweeping a magnet past a loop of
wire (rotating machines)
Changing the current that originates
the field (transformer)

What is transformer?
A transformer is a device
that transfers electrical
energy from one circuit to
another through inductively
coupled conductorsthe
transformer's coils.

Transformer Applications

AC power transmission
STEP-UP

Transformer

STEP-DOWN

Transformer

Impedance matching
These will be
Electrical Isolation

discussed in later
lectures.

AC power transmission
Before invention of transformers, in initial
days of electrical industry, power was
distributed as direct current at low voltage.
The voltage drop in lines limited the use of
electricity to only urban areas where
consumers were served with distribution
circuits of small length. All the electrical
equipment had to be designed for the same
voltage. Development of the first transformer
around 1885 dramatically changed
transmission and distribution systems.

AC power transmission
The alternating current (AC) power
generated at a low voltage could be
stepped up for the transmission purpose
to higher voltage and lower current,
reducing voltage drops and transmission
losses. Use of transformers made it
possible to transmit the power
economically hundreds of kilometers
away from the generating station.

AC power transmission
Step-down transformers then
reduced the voltage at the receiving
stations for distribution of power at
various standardized voltage levels
for its use by the consumers.

POWER STATION

132/11 KV

400/132 KV

132/33 KV

LARGE INDUSTRY
11 KV/240 V
RESIDENTIAL

Basic Principle of
Transformer
As mentioned earlier the transformer is
a static device working on the principle
of Faraday's law of induction. Faraday's
law states that a voltage appears across
the terminals of an electric coil when
the flux linkages associated with that
coil changes. This emf is proportional
to the rate of change of flux linkages.

Basic Operation
Basic Operation:
The primary winding is connected to an ac
voltage source. The magnetic field (flux) builds
up (expands) and collapses (contracts) about
the primary winding. The expanding and
contracting magnetic field around the primary
winding cuts the secondary winding and
induces an alternating voltage into the
winding. This voltage causes alternating
current to flow through the load. The voltage
may be stepped up or down depending on the
design of the primary and secondary windings.

Basic Operation

Basic Operation

Principle parts of a transformer and their

functions are:
The CORE, which provides a path for the
magnetic lines of flux.
The PRIMARY WINDING, which receives energy
from the ac source.
The SECONDARY WINDING, which receives
energy from the primary winding and delivers it
to the load.
The ENCLOSURE, which protects the above
components from dirt, moisture, and mechanical
damage.

Constructional Features

Constructional aspects can be

divided into three categories.
1. Core construction
2. Winding arrangements
3. Cooling aspects

Constructional Features
Core Construction:
Transformer core for power frequency
application is made of highly
permeable material. The high value of
permeability helps to give a low
reluctance for the path of the flux and
the flux lines mostly confine
themselves to the iron. Silicon steel in
the form of thin laminations is used for
the core material.

Constructional Features
The steel has a permeability many
times that of free space, and the core
thus confine the flux to a path which
closely couples the windings.
Powdered iron cores are used in
circuits (such as switch-mode power
supplies) that operate above main
frequencies and up to a few tens of
kilohertz.

Constructional Features
The composition of a transformer
core depends on such factors as
voltage, current, and frequency. Size
limitations and construction costs
are also factors to be considered.

Constructional Features
Depending upon core configuration
transformer is divided into two
categories.
(a) core type.
(b) shell type

Core Type

Shell type

Constructional Features

Constructional Features
Why Laminated Core?
To minimize the loss resulting from eddy
currents, transformer cores are LAMINATED.
Since the thin, insulated laminations do not
provide an easy path for current, eddy-current
losses are greatly reduced.
The main strategy in mitigating these wasteful
eddy currents in transformer cores is to form
the iron core in sheets, each sheet covered with
an insulating varnish so that the core is divided
up into thin slices. The result is very little width
in the core for eddy currents to circulate in:

Constructional Features

Constructional Features
Eddy current losses increase with
frequency, so transformers designed to
run on higher-frequency power (such
as 400 Hz, used in many military and
aircraft applications) must use thinner
laminations to keep the losses down to
a respectable minimum. This has the
undesirable effect of increasing the
manufacturing cost of the transformer.

Constructional Features
Winding arrangement:
Windings form another important part of
transformers. In a two winding transformer
one is connected to a voltage source and
creates the flux is called as a primary winding.
The second winding where the voltage is
induced by induction is called a secondary. If
the secondary voltage is less than that of the
primary the transformer is called a step down
transformer. If the secondary voltage is more
then it is a step up transformer.

Constructional Features
A step down transformer can be made a step
up transformer by making the low voltage
winding its primary. Hence it may be more
appropriate to designate the windings as High
Voltage (HV) and Low Voltage (LV) windings.
The winding with more number of turns will be
a HV winding. The current on the HV side will
be lower as V-I product is a constant and given
as the VA rating of the machines. Also the HV
winding
needs to be insulated more to withstand the
higher voltage across it.

Schematic Symbol

Air Core

Ferrite
Core

Iron
Core

Classification of
Transformer

By power level (from fraction of a watt to

many megawatts),
By application (power supply, impedance
matching,
circuit isolation),
By frequency range (power, audio, RF)
By voltage class (a few volts to about 750
kilovolts)
By cooling type (air cooled, oil filled, fan
cooled, water cooled, etc.)
By purpose (rectifier, arc furnace, amplifier
output, etc.).
By ratio of the number of turns in the coils

Transformer Losses

Transformer losses are divided into losses in the

windings, termed copper loss, and those in the
magnetic circuit, termed iron loss. Losses in the
transformer arise from:
Winding resistance
Current flowing through the windings causes resistive
heating of the conductors. At higher frequencies, skin effect
and proximity effect create additional winding resistance
and losses.

Hysteresis losses

Each time the magnetic field is reversed, a small amount of

energy is lost due to hysteresis within the core. For a given
core material, the loss is proportional to the frequency, and
is a function of the peak flux density to which it is subjected.

Transformer Losses

Eddy currents
Ferromagnetic materials are also good
conductors, and a core made from such a
material also constitutes a single shortcircuited turn throughout its entire length.
Eddy currents therefore circulate within the
core in a plane normal to the flux, and are
responsible for resistive heating of the core
material. The eddy current loss is a complex
function of the square of supply frequency
and inverse square of the material thickness.

Transformer Losses

Magnetostriction
Magnetic flux in a ferromagnetic
material, such as the core, causes it to
physically expand and contract slightly
with each cycle of the magnetic field, an
effect known as magnetostriction. This
produces the buzzing sound commonly
associated with transformers, and can
cause losses due to frictional heating.

Transformer Losses

Mechanical losses
In addition to magnetostriction, the
alternating magnetic field causes
fluctuating forces between the primary
and secondary windings. These incite
vibrations within nearby metalwork,
adding to the buzzing noise, and
consuming a small amount of power.

Stray losses
Leakage flux that intercepts nearby
conductive materials such as the
transformer's support structure will
give rise to eddy currents and be
converted to heat.