MEA 3103L – Laboratory Manual

LAB ACTIVITY 6: TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE, CURRENT AND

IMPEDANCE RATIO
Name: ________________________________________ Grade

Program & Year: ______________________________

Course Code & Group No.: ______________________

Objectives
To study the relationship between the primary and the secondary voltages and currents in a transformer
Theory

A transformer is an electrical device that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to transfer energy
from one electric circuit to another [1]. There are various types of transformers, but in this activity, we will
use a step-down power transformer typically used in the electrical substation to cater to an enormous amount
of loads or a large number of customers.

A simple transformer is shown in Figure 6.1. It offers essential components, such as the primary, secondary,
and core. The primary winding is connected to an AC source, while the secondary coil is to the load. The
core is the magnetic flux path linking the primary and secondary windings to enable energy transfer.

Figure 6.1 – Pictorial diagram of an electrical transformer [2]

When a load is connected to the secondary winding of the transformer, the secondary current sets up an
MMF, which opposes the flux produced by the applied primary voltage. As a result, the primary flux and
the primary counter EMF are reduced. The primary current increases because the applied primary voltage
has less opposition from the induced primary voltage. This increase in primary current supplies the energy
required by the load. Note that the primary ampere-turns increase the flux while the secondary ampere-
turns decrease the flux. The net effect is that the flux remains unchanged for various load conditions.

1 - https://www.fierceelectronics.com
2 - https://www.geeksforgeeks.org

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MEA 3103L – Laboratory Manual

Neglecting the small exciting current and other transformer losses, the primary and secondary ampere-turns
are equal, i.e.,

𝐼! 𝑁! = 𝐼" 𝑁"

where:

𝐼! = primary current
𝐼" = secondary current
𝑁! = primary turns
𝑁" = secondary turns

Thus the relationship between voltage and current and the number of turns is given by:

𝐸" 𝑁" 𝐼!
= = =𝑎
𝐸! 𝑁! 𝐼"

where 𝑎 is called the transformation ratio. The voltages 𝐸! and 𝐸" are the primary and secondary voltage
values, respectively. The impedance or total opposition to the current flow under load is:

#! #"
𝑍! = 𝑍" =
$! $"

Combining the last two equations gives us the relation below.

𝑁" %
𝑍" = ' ( 𝑍!
𝑁!

𝑍" = 𝑎% 𝑍!

Circuit Diagram

Figure 6.2 – Circuit Diagram for the actual experimental setup

© Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines Page 2
MEA 3103L – Laboratory Manual

Procedures

1. Load MATLAB (Online).

2. Develop a Simulink model for the circuit diagram shown in Figure 6.2. Using the following block
from specialized power systems:

Table 6.1 – Simulink blocks used in the simulation

Electrical Component Simulink Block

Transformer Linear Transformer
Voltage Source AC Voltage Source
Load Parallel RLC Load
Voltmeter Voltage Measurement, RMS, Display
Ammeter Current Measurement, RMS, Display
Ground Ground
Continuous (Calculator) PowerGUI

3. In the Linear Transformer, uncheck “Three windings transformer” and keep the default values.
4. Set 735kVrms (i.e., 1,039,447 Vmax) in the AC Voltage Source since it is the default voltage rating
of the primary winding and set the frequency to 60 Hz.
5. In the Parallel RLC Load, set the nominal voltage to 315kV (i.e., 315,000 Vrms) since it is the
rating of the secondary winding of the transformer, and make sure that the frequency is also 60 Hz.
Then, set the active power and the inductive and capacitive reactive power according to the load
values in the observation table.
6. Run the simulation for 1 second.
7. Record the primary and secondary voltages and currents in the observation table.
8. Calculate the apparent power of the loads.

𝑆 = *𝑃% + (𝑄& − 𝑄' )%

9. Calculate the corresponding values of primary and secondary impedances using Ohm’s Law.
10. Plot the primary and secondary voltages versus the apparent power of the loads.
11. Plot the primary and secondary currents versus the apparent power of the loads.

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MEA 3103L – Laboratory Manual

Observation Table

Load (Power) VP IP ZP VS IS ZS
MW/MVAR MVA kV A Ω kV A Ω
45 MW
63 MW & 16 MVAR
84 MW & -13 MVAR
117 MW, 58 MVAR & -14
MVAR

Discussions

1. Explain the plot in Procedure 10. Are there significant variations in voltages? Do the voltage
values indicates a step-up or step-down transformer?
2. Explain the plot in Procedure 11. Is the relation linear? Why or why not?
3. Take the ratios of the secondary to the primary voltages. Are the ratios approximately equal? Are
these similar to the proportions of the primary to the secondary currents? Explain.
4. Take the ratios of the secondary to the primary impedances. How are these values related to the
proportions in Discussion 3?
5. Calculate the apparent power in the primary and secondary windings. Are these values
approximately equal to the apparent power of the loads? Should that be the case?

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