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Transformers

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EEL 3472C Fall 2018

TRANSFORMERS
JOSIA JACOB

Abstract - Transformer is an electrical device that can be used for distribution of voltage through

a transmission line in a suitable manner for commercial and household purposes. It can control the

power of alternating current thereby increasing the efficiency of distributing electrical energy.

Through the application of Faraday’s law of Induction, this use of electromagnetic energy has

many uses in the power industry. This report will review the description, functionality, various

applications and some energy losses of transformers.

INTRODUCTION

Transformer is a device that behaves under the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction

to transfer energy from one circuit to another by changing the voltage and current. It was in 1884

Ottó Bláthy with the help of Zipernowsky and Déri designed the first high voltage circuit

transformer. Later, the first commercial transformer was invented in 1886 by William Stanley. His

transformer was used in the electrification of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Later in 1891,

Mikhail Dobrovsky designed the three phase transformers in Germany. In the 1880’s DC power

was used to transmit power, but it was not beneficial to transmit power over large distance. The

two ways to transmit power was to use high voltage on a slim wire or a low voltage on a huge

wire. Both cases were not practical because you would not be able to step up or step down the

voltage. However, with AC power, we can move high voltage over a long wire and use a

transformer to step down the voltage before it is distributed to the households [1].

Transformers can be grouped in various ways. The ones that are constructed based on

functionality: step-up transformer, step-down transformer; those based on core type or shell type;
EEL 3472C Fall 2018

the others based on winding: two winding transformer, single winding (auto type), three winding

(power transformer); and those that are based on the arrangement of coil: cylindrical or disk type;

the ones based on the usage type: power transformer, distribution transformer, instrument

transformer (or current transformer) [2]. Other special types of transformer include

autotransformer, zigzag transformer and pulse transformer. There are much more transformers

than the ones above as they can come in a variety of forms for different applications.

HOW DOES A TRANSFORMER WORK?

The basic underlying principle that gives way to this technology is electromagnetic

induction. Magnetic field is produced in a current carrying conductor in a clockwise or counter-

clockwise direction. In a similar fashion, when current passes through a coil, it produces magnetic

field as shown in Figure 1. The magnetic field fluctuates because of the current flowing through

the coil. Then, as the first coil is linked with a secondary winding, the fluctuating magnetic field

will induce an EMF (electromagnetic force) in the secondary coil due to electromagnetic induction.

The net EMF in the secondary coil will be based on the number of turns in the first coil. The

resulting EMF in the second coil can be calculated based on the applied input voltage. Therefore,

the voltage can be transformed by changing the number of turns. By reducing the number of turns

in the secondary winding, we can produce an output voltage that is less than the input voltage,

such a transformer is known as a “Step-down Transformer.” Contrarily, by increasing the number

of turns in the secondary winding, the secondary output voltage will be greater than the primary

input voltage, such one is called a “Step-up Transformer.” Most transformers have built in cooling

system to reduce the increased power ratings. Large transformers are filled with transformer oil to

circulate the transformer tank so that it cools the electrical insulation and windings. It can also be

cooled through air, oil, water and other combinations.

EEL 3472C Fall 2018

TRANSFORMER TYPES AND APPLICATIONS

Transformer core is an essential part in the construction of a transformer because it

effectively transfers the magnetic flux in the primary winding to the secondary winding.

Transformers can be classified as core and shell type. In a core type transformer, the winding that

surrounds a core could be constructed in different ways. Transformers can be constructed for single

phase, two-phase, three phases and more. A single-phase core type transformer of two winding is

constructed using a core type construction (as show in Figure 2). It is commonly used to lower

long distance signals for electronic devices [3]. A three-phase transformer can be made by placing

the primary and the secondary coil concentrically. Then, the low voltage windings are connected

in a delta configuration and the high voltage windings are connected in a star configuration (as

shown in Figure 3). Thus, a three-phase power can be used to draw four output wires and one

neutral. Three phase transformers are commonly used by power distribution grids [4]. A

transformer that is used to transform a two-phase electric power from a three-phase power is called

the Scott-T-transformer (refer Figure 4) [5]. Shell type construction (refer Figure 2) is more

complex than core type. It is commonly used for small transformers and it is better than core type

in terms of mechanical strength and leakage flux [6]. Even though core type is more economical,

shell type is preferred because of its short circuit characteristics. Cylindrical or disk type

transformers (as shown in Figure 5) are used in low voltage high current transformer applications.

The windings are wound along the length of the cylinder with suitable disks in between the parallel

strands to minimize circulating currents [7].

Another type of transformer is autotransformer in which portions of the same winding acts

as both the primary and secondary windings of the transformer. It is used to step up or step down

the voltage for equipment that are designed for a given voltage. Other applications include power
EEL 3472C Fall 2018

transmission and distribution, speakers: for audio amplification, and railways: to increase

transmission distance [8]. Similarly, current transformers operate to step up or step down the

current and it is used for the ammeters. Also, air core transformer is a special type of transformer

that is used in radio-frequency circuits. It has its windings wrapped around a nonmagnetic form

thereby reducing undesirable characteristics caused by a ferromagnetic core material. They are

frequently used to tune radio frequencies to resonance by paralleling it with a capacitor [5].

Pulse transformer (refer Figure 7) is a special type of transformer that is used for

transmitting rectangular electrical pulses. Small versions of these transformers are used in digital

logic and telecommunications circuits to match logic drivers to transmission lines. To minimize

distortion of the shape, pulse transformer needs to have low values of leakage inductance and

distributed capacitance otherwise it can create power losses in semiconductors. Also, zigzag

transformer is a special purpose transformer that is used as a grounding transformer for a 3-phase

system to permit the grounding of the neutral line and as an autotransformer to supply 3-phase

power [9,12].

ENERGY LOSSES IN A TRANSFORMER

Transformer efficiency improves with increasing transformer capacity. The four main

causes of energy losses in transformer are resistance of windings, flux leakage, eddy currents and

hysteresis. Current flowing through a winding contribute to heat loss depending on the resistance

of the copper wire used. Flux leakage associated with the coils can give rise to eddy currents that

can be converted to heat. Eddy currents are produced in the transformer core because of the

changing magnetic field that results in heat loss. However, these currents can be reduced by

laminating the core as shown (in Figure 8). Hysteresis losses happen because of the repeating core

magnetization process that expands energy as heat [10]. To reduce the heat generated, magnetic
EEL 3472C Fall 2018

materials with low hysteresis losses are generally used. Some transformers are operated at a higher

frequency because the voltage of a transformer increases with frequency. When a transformer is

operated at a higher frequency, the given core can transfer more power without reaching the

saturation level. However, properties such as core loss and conductor skin effect can also be

affected by frequency. Despite these energy losses, transformers are typically 98 to 99 percent

efficient [11].

SUMMARY

Transformer is an important technological innovation that was able to control the power of

alternating current and produce a desired voltage based on the applied input voltage. Distribution

transformers can be used to transmit power over large distance with the use of a step-up and step-

down transformer. The underlying principle of transformers is Faraday’s law of electromagnetic

induction. By applying this principle to different types of construction, we can efficiently transmit

power over many regions and electronic devices. Transformers come in different shapes and form

based on the functionality and usage for various purposes. It is one of the most efficient long-

lasting devices with few energy losses, that has advanced into many uses over the century.

CONCLUSION

Transformer is an important device that is used over the whole world for many applications.

The use of a transformer to transmit power over large distances have benefitted the world by

supplying electricity over remote regions. The key theory that gave way to this important

technology was Faraday’s law of induction. By applying the law of induction, a transformer was

designed to transform electrical energy by changing the number of turns around a core. Over the

100 years, transformers are still evolving to fit many special purposes such as the current
EEL 3472C Fall 2018

transformer and pulse transformer. Despite some of the energy losses, transformers are still one of

the highly efficient instruments used for power distribution. Therefore, ranging from small

household appliances to large industry a transformer is used to obtain the desired voltage by

changing the input current.

REFERENCES

[1] Center, Copyright 2014 Edison Tech. “The History of the Transformer.” Katharine Burr
Blodgett - Engineering Hall of Fame, edisontechcenter.org/Transformers.html.

[2] “The Working Procedure on How Transformers Work - Types & Equations.” ElProCus -
Electronic Projects for Engineering Students, 13 Oct. 2018, www.elprocus.com/working-
procedure-on-how-do-transformers-work/.

[3] “Single Phase Transformers: Operating Principles & Applications.” Blog, 14 Aug. 2017,
www.alliedcomponents.com/blog/single-phase-transformers-operating-principles-
applications/.

[4] “Three Phase Transformers Information.” Water Baths Information | Engineering360,

www.globalspec.com/learnmore/electrical_electronic_components/transformers/three_pha
se_transformers.

[5] “LATEST.” All About Circuits, www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/alternating-current/chpt-

9/special-transformers-applications/.

[6] “Core Type and Shell Type Transformers.” StudyElectrical | Online Electrical Engineering
Study Site, www.studyelectrical.com/2017/11/core-type-and-shell-type-transformers-
comparison-application.html.

[7] “Transformer Construction of the Core and Transformer Design.” Basic Electronics Tutorials,
31 July 2018, www.electronics-tutorials.ws/transformer/transformer-construction.html.

[8] Croft, Terrell, and Wilford I. Summers. American Electricians' Handbook. McGraw-Hill,
1987.

[9] Singh, M. D., and K. B. Khanchandani. Power Electronics. Tata McGraw-Hill, 2007.

[10] Alani, et al. “Energy Losses In Transformer.” Mini Physics, Mini Physics, 30 Dec. 2015,
www.miniphysics.com/energy-losses-in-transformer.html.
EEL 3472C Fall 2018

[11] Keulenaer, Hans; Chapman, David; Fassbinder, Stefan; McDermott, Mike (2001). The Scope

for Energy Saving in the EU through the Use of Energy-Efficient Electricity Distribution

Transformers. Institution of Engineering and Technology. Retrieved 10 July 2014.

[12] Sankaran, C. “The Basics of Zigzag Transformers.” Electrical Construction & Maintenance
(EC&M) Magazine, 3 Dec. 2012, www.ecmweb.com/content/basics-zigzag-transformers.

Figure 3. 3-Phase Transformer Wye &

Delta Connection
Figure 1. Magnetic field inside a coil
Photo courtesy of Ahmad Osama
carrying current
Photo courtesy of James Ko

Figure 4. Scott T Transformer

Photo courtesy of L/C Magnets
Figure 2. Core Type vs Shell Type
Photo courtesy of “Construction of a
Transformer”
 EEL 3472C Fall 2018

Figure 5. Circular (or Disc) Type

Winding
Figure 8. Laminated Core
Photo courtesy of LearnEngineering
Photo courtesy of Hydraulics&Pneumatics

Figure 7. Pulse Transformer

Photo courtesy of QuickField

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