CHAPTER 3

BASIC THEORIES OF TRANSFORMER

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is a basic discussion of the transformer operation and construction basics.

3.2 PRINCIPLE OF TRANSFORMER

Transformer works on the principle of mutual induction of two coils or Faraday Laws of
Electromagnetic induction. When current in the primary coil is changed, the flux linked to the
secondary coil also changes. Consequently, an EMF is induced in the secondary coil due to
Faraday laws of electromagnetic induction.

Figure-3.1: Principle of Transformer

The transformer is based on two principles first, that an electric current can produce a magnetic
field (electromagnetism) and second that a changing magnetic field within a coil of wire induces
a voltage across the ends of the coil (electromagnetic induction). Changing the current in the

pg. 13
primary coil changes the magnetic flux that is developed. The changing magnetic flux induces a
voltage in the secondary coil.

A simple transformer has a soft iron or silicon steel core and windings placed on it (iron core).
Both the core and the windings are insulated from each other. The winding connected to the
main supply is called the primary and the winding connected to the load circuit is called the
secondary.

Winding (coil) connected to higher voltage is known as high voltage winding while the winding
connected to low voltage is known as low voltage winding. In case of a step-up transformer, the
primary coil (winding) is the low voltage winding, the number of turns of the windings of the
secondary is more than that of the primary. Vice versa process is for step down transformer.

3.3 HOW TRANSFORMERS WORK

It is important to remember that transformers do not generate electrical power; they

transfer electrical power from one AC circuit to another using magnetic coupling. The core of the
transformer is used to provide a controlled path for the magnetic flux generated in the
transformer by the current flowing through the windings, which are also known as coils.

There are four primary parts to the basic transformer. The parts include the Input Connection, the
Output Connection, the Windings or Coils and the Core.

Input Connections - The input side of a transformer is called the primary side because the main
electrical power to be changed is connected at this point.

Output Connections - The output side or secondary side of the transformer is where the
electrical power is sent to the load. Depending on the requirement of the load, the incoming
electric power is either increased or decreased .

Winding - Transformers have two windings, being the primary winding and the secondary
winding. The primary winding is the coil that draws power from the source. The secondary
winding is the coil that delivers the energy at the transformed or changed voltage to the load.

pg. 14
Usually, these two coils are subdivided into several coils in order to reduce the creation of flux.

Figure- 3.2: Internal structure of transformer

Core - The transformer core is used to provide a controlled path for the magnetic flux generated
in the transformer. The core is generally not a solid bar of steel, rather a construction of many
thin laminated steel sheets or layers. This construction is used to help eliminate and reduce
heating.

When an input voltage is applied to the primary winding, alternating current starts to flow in the
primary winding. As the current flows, a changing magnetic field is set up in the transformer
core. As this magnetic field cuts across the secondary winding, alternating voltage is produced in

the secondary winding. The ratio between the numbers of actual turns of wire in each coil is the
key in determining the type of transformer and what the output voltage will be. The ratio
between output voltage and input voltage is the same as the ratio of the number of turns between
the two windings.

pg. 15
A transformers output voltage is greater than the input voltage if the secondary winding has more
turns of wire than the primary winding. The output voltage is stepped up, and considered to be a
step-up transformer. If the secondary winding has fewer turns than the primary winding, the
output voltage is lower. This is a step-down transformer.

Figure 3.3: Diagram of step up & step down transformer

3.4 TYPES OF TRANSFORMERS

There are two basic Types of Transformers:

Single Phase Transformer

Three Phase Transformer

Below are the more types of transformer derived via different functions and operation etc.

3.4.1 TYPES OF TRANSFORMERS ACCORDING TO CORES

According to cores are two types of Transformer there are below that:

Core type Transformer

Shell Type Transformer

pg. 16
3.4.2 TYPES OF TRANSFORMER ACCORDING TO USES

According to using Transformer are below that:

Large Power Transformer

Distribution Transformer

Small Power Transformer

Sign Lighting Transformer

Control & Signaling Transformer

Gaseous Discharge Lamp Transformer

Bell Ringing Transformer

Instrument Transformer

Constant Current Transformer

Series Transformer for Street Lighting

3.4.3 TYPES OF INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMER

Instrument Transformer is there:

Current Transformer

Potential Transformer

Constant Current Transformer

Rotating Core Transformer or Induction regulator

Auto Transformer

pg. 17
3.3.4 TYPES OF TRANSFORMER ACCORDING TO COOLING

There is virus type of cooling Transformer below that:

Self-Air Cooled or Dry Type Transformer

Air Blast-Cooled Dry Type

Oil Immersed, Self-Cooled (OISC) or ONAN (Oil natural, Air natural

Oil Immersed, Combination of Self Cooled and Air blast (ONAN)

Oil Immersed, Water Cooled (OW)

Oil Immersed, Forced Oil Cooled

Oil Immersed, Combination of Self Cooled and Water Cooled (ONAN+OW)

Oil Forced, Air forced Cooled (OFAC)

Forced Oil, Water Cooled (FOWC)

Forced Oil, Self-Cooled (OFAN)

3.5. TRANSFORMER WINDING

The conducting material used for the windings depends upon the application, but in all
cases the individual turns must be electrically insulated from each other to ensure that the current
travels throughout every turn. For small power and signal transformers, in which currents are low
and the potential difference between adjacent turns is small, the coils are often wound from
enameled magnet wire, such as Formvar wire. Larger power transformers operating at high
voltages may be wound with copper rectangular strip conductors insulated by oil-impregnated
paper and blocks of pressboard. A completed coil assembly with taps is often called a winding.
Winding is the process of making an electromagnetic coil.

pg. 18
Transformer windings form another important part of a transformer construction, because they
are the main current-carrying conductors wound around the laminated sections of the core.

Figure 3.4: Transformer Core Type Winding

Transformer windings form another important part of a transformer construction, because they
are the main current-carrying conductors wound around the laminated sections of the core.

In a single-phase two winding transformer, two windings would be present as shown. The one
which is connected to the voltage source and creates the magnetic flux called the primary
winding, and the second winding called the secondary in which a voltage is induced as a result of
mutual induction.

If the secondary output voltage is less than that of the primary input voltage the transformer is
known as a Step-down Transformer. If the secondary output voltage is greater than the primary
input voltage it is called a Step-up Transformer.

pg. 19
3.6 TRANSFORMER CORES

A magnetic core is a piece of magnetic material with a high magnetic permeability used
to confine and guide magnetic fields in electrical, electromechanical and magnetic devices such
as electromagnets, transformers, electric motors, generators, inductors, magnetic recording
heads, and magnetic assemblies. It is made of ferromagnetic metal such as iron, or ferromagnetic
compounds such as ferrites.

Figure 3.5: Transformer core

It is made of ferromagnetic metal such as iron, or ferromagnetic compounds such as ferrites. The
high permeability, relative to the surrounding air, causes the magnetic field lines to be

concentrated in the core material. The magnetic field is often created by a current-carrying coil
of wire around the core. The presence of the core can increase the magnetic field of a coil by a
factor of several thousand over what it would be without the core

The use of a magnetic core can enormously concentrate the strength and increase the effect of
magnetic fields produced by electric currents and permanent magnets. The properties of a device
will depend crucially on the following factors:

pg. 20
 The geometry of the magnetic core.

The amount of air gap in the magnetic circuit.

The properties of the core material (especially permeability and hysteresis).

The operating temperature of the core.

Whether the core is laminated to reduce eddy currents.

In many applications it is undesirable for the core to retain magnetization when the applied field
is removed. This property, called hysteresis can cause energy losses in applications such as
transformers. Therefore, 'soft' magnetic materials with low hysteresis, such as silicon steel, rather
than the 'hard' magnetic materials used for permanent magnets, are usually used in cores.

The insulation used to prevent the conductors shorting together in a transformer is usually a thin
layer of varnish or enamel in air cooled transformers. This thin varnish or enamel paint is painted
onto the wire before it is wound around the core.

3.7 TRANSFORMER LOSSES

Real transformer energy losses are dominated by winding resistance joule and core
losses. Transformers' efficiency tends to improve with increasing transformer capacity. The
efficiency of typical distribution transformers is between about 98-99%. As transformer losses
vary with load, it is often useful to express these losses in terms of no-load loss, full-load loss,
half-load loss, and so on. Hysteresis and eddy current losses are constant at all load levels and
dominate overwhelmingly without load, while variable winding joule losses dominating
increasingly as load increases. The no-load loss can be significant, so that even an idle
transformer constitutes a drain on the electrical supply. Designing energy efficient transformers
for lower loss requires a larger core, good-quality silicon steel, or even amorphous steel for the
core and thicker wire, increasing initial cost. The choice of construction represents a trade-off
between initial cost and operating cost.

pg. 21
3.7.1 CORE LOSSES

The ability of iron or steel to carry magnetic flux is much greater than it is in air, and this
ability to allow magnetic flux to flow is called permeability. Most transformer cores are
constructed from low carbon steels which can have permeabilitys in the order of 1500 compared
with just 1.0 for air.

This means that a steel laminated core can carry a magnetic flux 1500 times better than that of
air. However, when a magnetic flux flows in a transformers steel core, two types of losses occur
in the steel. One termed eddy current losses and the other termed hysteresis losses

3.7.2 COPPER LOSSES

But there is also another type of energy loss associated with transformers called copper
losses. Transformer Copper Losses are mainly due to the electrical resistance of the primary and
secondary windings. Most transformer coils are made from copper wire which has resistance in
Ohms, (). This resistance opposes the magnetizing currents flowing through them.

When a load is connected to the transformers secondary winding, large electrical current flow
both the primary and the secondary winding, electrical energy and power losses occur as heat.
Generally copper losses vary with the load current, being almost zero at no-load, and at a
maximum at full-load when current flow is at maximum.

A transformer VA rating can be increased by better design and transformer construction to

reduced core and copper losses. Transformer high voltage and current rating required conductors
of large cross-section to help minimize their copper losses. Increasing the require of heat
dissipation by forced air or oil, or by improving the transformer insulation so that it will
withstand higher temperature can also increase a transformer VA rating.

Then we can define an ideal transformer as having:

No Hysteresis loops or Hysteresis losses 0

Infinite Resistivity of core material giving zero Eddy current losses 0

Zero winding resistance giving zero I2R copper losses 0

pg. 22
3.7.3 STRAY LOSSES

Leakage inductance is by itself largely lossless, since energy supplied to its magnetic
fields is returned to the supply with the next half-cycle. However, any 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. There are also radiative losses due to the oscillating
magnetic field but these are usually small.

3.7.4 HYSTERESIS LOSSES

Transformer Hysteresis Losses are caused because of the friction of the molecules against
the flow of the magnetic lines of force required to magnetize the core, which are constantly
changing in value and direction first in one direction and then the other due to the influence of
the sinusoidal supply voltage.

This molecular friction causes heat to be developed which represents an energy loss to the
transformer. Excessive heat loss can overtime shorten the life of the insulating materials used in
the manufacture of the windings and structures. Therefore, cooling of a transformer is important.
Also, transformers are designed to operate at a particular supply frequency. Lowering the
frequency of the supply will result in increased hysteresis and higher temperature in the iron
core. So reducing the supply frequency from 60 Hertz to 50 Hertz will raise the amount of
hysteresis present, decreased the VA capacity of the transformer

3.7.5 MECHANICAL LOSSES

The alternating magnetic field causes fluctuating electromagnetic forces between the
coils of wire, the core and any nearby metalwork, causing vibrations and noise which consume
power.

3.7.6 EDDY CURRENT LOSSES

Ferromagnetic materials are also good conductors and a core made from such a material
also constitutes a single short-circuited 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

pg. 23
the core material. The eddy current loss is a complex function of the square of supply frequency
and Inverse Square of the material thickness.

Eddy current losses can be reduced by making the core of a stack of plates electrically insulated
from each other, rather than a solid block; all transformers operating at low frequencies use
laminated or similar cores.

Transformer Eddy Current Losses on the other hand are caused by the flow of circulating
currents induced into the steel caused by the flow of the magnetic flux around the core. These
circulating currents are generated because to the magnetic flux the core is acting like a single
loop of wire. Since the iron core is a good conductor, the eddy currents induced by a solid iron
core will be large.

Eddy currents do not contribute anything towards the usefulness of the transformer but instead
they oppose the flow of the induced current by acting like a negative force generating resistive
heating and power loss within the core.

3.8 TRANSFORMER DESIGN PARAMETERS

For designing a transformer, we need:

Power rating

Voltage levels (primary and secondary)

Currents on both sides

Primary and secondary coils wire diameter/size

Iron Core area

Numbers of turns (primary and secondary)

Transformer rating= 200KVA , Frequency f= 50Hz

Primary voltage level Vp= 11KV, Secondary voltage level Vs= 0.415KV

pg. 24
3.9 EFFICIENCY OF TRANSFORMER

The losses in a transformer are the core loss due to hysteresis and eddy currents in the
core, and the copper losses in the windings and stray losses due to eddy currents induced by the
leakage fluxes in the tank and other parts of the structure. The sum of the copper losses and the
stray losses is known as load losses and is determined from the short-circuit test, being I2Req
The core loss is determined from the open-circuit test.

The power efficiency of a device is the ratio of the useful power output to the power input, the
power input being equal to the useful power output plus the power losses.

3.10 THREE PHASE TRANSFORMERS

Three phase transformers are manufactured by inducting three single phase coils into a
single core. This is placed in a dielectric oil filled enclosure. The oil present here perform various
functions, first of all it provides insulation between coils and the encasement, secondly it works
as a coolant and also prevent moisture from forming. Moisture can be dangerous to the insulation
of the coils. A total of 4 combinations are constructed by transformer manufacturers when
making 3 phase transformers. The first kind is the delta to delta mostly used with industrial
applications. Delta to Wye transformers are the second and are used mainly for common
purposes in industrial and commercials setups.

pg. 25
For high voltage transmission Wye to Delta combination is manufactured and the last one and
the rarely used one is the Wye to Wye, because this does not vibe or balance well .Figure 3.6
three phase Transformer.

Figure 3.6: Three phase Transformer

One can commonly sight a three legged iron core in a 3 phase electrical transformer. Each of the
leg comprise of a primary and secondary winding respectively. This transformer distributes three
phase AC power for the consumer. The manufacturing process rotates the windings with the help
of a magnetic field created in the generator. The assembly of coils sets them apart at 120 degrees
and they rotate within the magnetic field and generate power that is distributed to power lines. A
3 phase transformer should have the coils connected in a proper order to sync with the input
power. This will enable the transformer to transform the company voltage to the required level of
power and at the same time maintain proper division of power.

pg. 26
Most manufacturers know that the 3 phase transformer is more effective in distributing power
than the single phase counterpart. This ensures an output of almost 173% which is more than
what two single phase system could produce when clubbed together. 3 phase power also allows
heavy industrial machinery to run effectively without any hitch.

3.11 THREE PHASE TRANSFORMER STAR AND DELTA CONFIGURATIONS

But what do we mean by "star" and "delta" three-phase transformer connection. A three
phase transformer has three sets of primary and secondary windings. Depending upon how these
sets of windings are interconnected, determines whether the connection is a star or delta
configuration. The available voltage which is each displaced from the other by 120 electrical
degrees and flow of the transformers currents are also decided by the type of the electrical
connection used on both the primary and secondary sides.

Figure 3.7: Transformer Star and Delta Configurations

With three single-phase transformers connected together, the magnetic fluxes in the three
transformers differ in phase by 120 time-degrees. With a single the three-phase transformer there
are three magnetic fluxes in the core differing in time-phase by 120 degrees.

pg. 27
The standard method for marking three phase transformer windings is to label the three primary
windings with capital (upper case) letters A, B and C, used to represent the three-phases of RED,
YELLOW and BLUE. The secondary windings are labeled with small (lower case) letters a, b
and c. Each winding has two ends normally labeled 1 and 2 so that, for example, the second
winding of the primary has ends which will be labeled B1 and B2, while the third winding of the
secondary will be labeled c1 and c2 as shown. Symbols are generally used on a three phase
transformer to indicate the type or types of connections used with upper case Y for star
connected, D for delta connected and Z for interconnected star primary windings, with lower
case y, d and z for their respective secondarys. Then, star-star would be labeled Yy, delta-delta
would be labeled Dd and interconnected star to interconnected star would be Zz for the same
types of connected transformers.

3.12 CONCLUSION

The Output voltage of the Transformer across the secondary coil depends upon the ratio
(Ns/Np) with respect to input voltage. There is a loss of power between input and output coil of a
transformer. There is a three phase transformer its aloes connected star or delta connection.

pg. 28