TRANSFORMER
The transformer is an electrical device, which
can convert or transform electrical energy from
one coil to another coil.
The transformer is working on the principle of
mutual induction.
The alternating voltage , which is to be
transferred, is applied in the primary coil as input.
This produces a changing magnetic flux in the
iron core, which produces an alternating emf in
the secondary coil.
Input and output are AC.
TRANSFORMER CONSTRUCTION
Transformer consists of,
i) Winding
ii) Core
iii) Oil
i)Winding:
Primary coil or primary windings: It is an
electrical wire wrapped around the core on the
input side.
Secondary coil or secondary windings: It is an
electrical wire wrapped around the core on the
output side.
The transformer is usually made with secondary
coil have more turns when we compare to the
primary coil.
The primary will have a wire of medium thick,
whereas the secondary have thin and thick wires.
ii) Core:
The core may be a simple rectangle with
windings wound around opposite sides of the
rectangle.
Core is a ferromagnetic material that can
conduct a magnetic field through it.
The core is laminated by silicon steel to
eliminate eddy current losses.
iii) Oil:
Transformers are cooled by using oil or forced air,
to avoid over heating.
High voltage transformers are usually enclosed in
a metal tank filled with oil.
This oil penetrates into the inner spaces of the
windings and increases the effectiveness of the
insulation.
The oil prevents the windings from dust and
moisture and also act as a cooling medium.
The oil is a good insulator than air, it avoids
electrical short circuiting.
Oil also provides effective cooling to the
transformer.
WHAT IS MUTUAL INDUCTANCE?
The principle of mutual inductance says that
when two electrical coils are placed near to each
other, AC electrical current flowing in one coil
induces an AC voltage in the other coil.
This is because current in the first coil creates
a magnetic field around the first coil which in
turn induces a voltage in second coil.
TURNS RATIO
The voltage at the secondary coil can be different
from the voltage at the primary. This happens when the
number of turns of the coil in primary and secondary are
not the same.
The Turns Ratio (TR) is the ratio of the number of
turns in the primary coil to the number of turns in the
secondary coil.
TURNS RATIO FORMULA
TR=NP/NS
Where,
NP=number of turns in the primary
NS=number of turns in the secondary
TRANSFORMER OUTPUT VOLTAGE
FORMULA
VS=VP/TR
Where
VS=secondary voltage(volts)
VP=primary voltage(volts)
TR=turns ratio
TRANSFORMER EFFICIENCY
The efficiency of the transformer is the ratio
between the output power and input power.
The power loss is converted into heat. The
heat produced can be found by calculating the
transformer efficiency.
TRANSFORMER EFFICIENCY FORMULA
TRANSFORMER EFFICIENCY % = Power Out
X 100
Power In
TYPES OF TRANSFORMER
i) Step up Transformer
ii) Step down Transformer
iii) Autotransformer
STEP UP TRANSFORMER
If a transformer, transfers power of low voltage
and high current into power of high voltage and low
current , it is called step up transformer.
In this type, the secondary coil will have more
number of turns than the primary, i.e. NS> NP.
STEP DOWN TRANSFORMER
If a transformer, transfers power of high voltage
and low current into power of low voltage and high
current, it is called step down transformer.
In this type, the primary will have large number of
turns than the secondary, i.e. NS< NP.
AUTOTRANSFORMER
An autotransformer consists of a single winding
wound on a laminated closed core.
The autotransformer works on the principle of
self induction.
The primary and secondary windings are
interrelated.
An alternating current applied between the
input points will induce a flow of magnetic flux
around the core.
The magnetic flux will link with all the turns ,
inducing a voltage into each turn of the winding.
The autotransformer serves a function similar to
that of the ordinary transformer to raise or lower
voltages.
An autotransformer can be used as a step-up or
step- down transformer.
TRANSFORMER LOSSES
In practice, the output power is always lesser than
the input power.
The efficiency of the transformer is always less
than 100%.
This implies that some amount of energy is lost in
the form of heat.
This energy loss can be considered as
i) Copper losses
ii) Eddy current losses
iii) Hysteresis losses
iv) Flux leakage losses
COPPER LOSSES
Whenever a current I flows through a resistance
R, an amount of power equal to I2XRXt is
converted into heat.
This can arise in both copper coils and iron
core.
To reduce this loss, the resistance of the coil
must be minimized by using wire of low
resistivity.
Therefore, thicker wire should be used as
transformer coil to reduce the resistance.
The optimum thickness will be decided by
comparing the cost, space and saving of power.
EDDY CURRENT LOSSES
The iron core consists of concentric layers of
iron, each acts as a circuited single turn coil.
Whenever the magnetic field changes, an emf
will be induced in the core.
The current produced by the induced emf in the
core is called eddy current, which will give rise
to heat.
These eddy current can be eliminated by
making the iron core is laminated by an alloy of
steel.
HYSTERESIS LOSSES
The transformer core is magnetic material.
The core is magnetized twice in each cycle of
the alternating voltage.
When the direction of AC changes, the
magnetization is also gets reversed.
During this reversal, some energy is lost due
to the molecular friction and energy appears
as heat.
The loss of energy by molecular friction is
called hysteresis loss.
This can be reduced in practice by choosing a
suitable magnetic material, such as mu-metal.
Mu-metal is a ferromagnetic alloy containing
78% nickel, 17% iron, and 5% copper.
FLUX LEAKAGE
All the magnetic flux linked with the primary is
not linked with the secondary coil.
This is said to be flux leakage, which results in
loss of energy.
This can be minimized by using good core
design like shell type of core.
