BASIC ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY

DET 211/3

Chapter 6: Single Phase

Transformer
 Introduction to
Transformer
A transformer is a device that changes ac electric
energy at one voltage level to ac electric energy at
another voltage level through the action of a magnetic
field.
The most important tasks performed by transformers are:

• changing voltage and current levels in electric power systems.

• matching source and load impedances for maximum power
transfer in electronic and control circuitry.
• electrical isolation (isolating one circuit from another or
isolating dc while maintaining ac continuity between two
circuits).

It consists of two or more coils of wire wrapped around a common

ferromagnetic core. One of the transformer windings is connected
to a source of ac electric power – is called primary winding and
the second transformer winding supplies electric power to loads –
is called secondary winding.
 Ideal Transformer
An ideal transformer is a lossless device with an
input winding and output winding.
v p (t ) Np
 a N p i p ( t )  N s is ( t )
v s (t ) Ns

i p (t ) 1 a = turns ratio
 of the
i s (t ) a
transformer

Sp
1 lossless
SS
 Power in ideal transformer

Pout  Pin  V p I p cos 

Qout  Qin  V p I p sin 

S out  S in  V p I p sin 

Where  is the angle between voltage and

current
 Impedance transformation through the
transformer

The impedance of a device – the ratio of the phasor

voltage across it in the phasor current flowing through
it:

VL
ZL 
IL

ZL'  a2Z L
 The equivalent circuit of a transformer
The major items to be considered in the construction of such a model
are:
• Copper (I2R) losses: Copper losses are the resistive heating in the primary
and secondary windings of the transformer. They are proportional to the
square of the current in the windings.

• Eddy current losses: Eddy current losses are resistive heating losses in the
core of the transformer. They are proportional to the square of the voltage
applied to the transformer.

• Hysteresis losses: Hysteresis losses are associated with the arrangement

of the magnetic domain in the core during each half cycle. They are
complex, nonlinear function of the voltage applied to the transformer.

• Leakage flux: The fluxes ΦLP and ΦLS which escape the core and pass
through only one of the transformer windings are leakage fluxes. These
escaped fluxes produce a self inductance in the primary and secondary
coils, and the effects of this inductance must be accounted for.
Nonideal or actual transformer
Mutual flux
Nonideal or actual transformer
 Nonideal or actual transformer
Transformer equivalent circuit, with secondary impedances referred to
the primary side
Ep = primary induced voltage
Vp = primary terminal voltage
Ip = primary current
Ie = excitation current
XM = magnetizing reactance
RC = core resistance
Rs = resistance of the secondary winding
Xs = secondary leakage reactance
Es = secondary induced voltage
Vs = secondary terminal voltage
Is = secondary current
IM = magnetizing current
IC = core current
Rp = resistance of primary winding
Xp = primary leakage reactance
Nonideal or actual transformer

Transformer equivalent circuit

 Dot convention

1. If the primary voltage is positive at the dotted

end of the winding with respect to the
undotted end, then the secondary voltage will
be positive at the dotted end also. Voltage
polarities are the same with respect to the
dots on each side of the core.

2. If the primary current of the transformer flows

into the dotted end of the primary winding, the
secondary current will flow out of the dotted
end of the secondary winding.
Exact equivalent circuit the actual transformer

a) The transformer model referred to primary side

b) The transformer model referred to secondary side
Approximate equivalent circuit the actual
transformer

a) The transformer model referred to primary side

b) The transformer model referred to secondary side
Exact equivalent circuit of a transformer
Ep = primary induced voltage
Vp = primary terminal voltage
Ip = primary current
Ie = excitation current
XM = magnetizing reactance
RC = core resistance
Rs = resistance of the secondary winding
Xs = secondary leakage reactance
Es = secondary induced voltage
Vs = secondary terminal voltage
Is = secondary current
IM = magnetizing current
IC = core current
Rp = resistance of primary winding
Xp = primary leakage reactance
 Primary side Secondary side

I p  Ie  Is / a ES  I s ( Rs  jX s )  Vs

Ie  IC  I M Vs  I s Z L

V p  I p ( R p  jX p )  E p Vp Ep
Is N p
a   
Vs Es I p N s
E p  I C RC

E p  I M ( jX M )

E p  I e ( RC // jX M )
Exact equivalent circuit of a transformer referred to
primary side

Ip Is/a
R p X p a2X s a2R s

Ie

V p E p aV s

Exact equivalent circuit of a transformer referred to

secondary side
aIp Is
R p/a 2 X p/a 2 R s X s

aIe
aIm
V p/a aIc E p/a = E V s
s

R c/a 2 X /a 2
M
 Approximate equivalent circuit of a transformer
referred to primary side
Ip Reqp jXeqp Is/a
Reqp=Rp+a2Rs
+ +
Xeqp=Xp+a2Xs

jXM aVs
Vp Rc

- -

Approximate equivalent circuit of a transformer

referred to secondary side
aIp Reqs jXeqs Is
Reqs=Rp/a2+Rs
+ +
Xeqs=Xp/a2+Xs

Vp/a Rc/a2 jXM/a2 Vs

- -
 Example

A single phase power system consists of a 480V 60Hz

generator supplying a load Zload=4+j3 through a
transmission line ZLine=0.18+j0.24 Answer the following
question about the system.
a) If the power system is exactly as described below
(figure 1(a)), what will be the voltage at the load be?
What will the transmission line losses be?
b) Suppose a 1:10 step-up transformer is placed at the
generator end of the transmission line and a 10:1 step
down transformer is placed at the load end of the line
(figure 1(b)). What will the load voltage be now?
What will the transmission line losses be now?
 Example
ILine

ZLoad=0.18+j0.24 ILoad
IG +

VLoad

V=48000V ZLoad=4+j3

Figure 1 (a)

T1 ILine T2 ILoad

ZLine=0.18+j0.24
IG 1:10 10:1 +

V=48000V

VLoad -

Figure 1 (b)
 Solution Example

(a) From figure 1 (a) shows the power system without

transformers. Hence IG = ILINE = ILoad. The line current in
this system is given by:

V
I line 
Z line  Z load
4800V

(0.18  j 0.24)  ( 4  j 3)
4800 4800
 
4.18  j 3.24 5.2937.8
 90.8  37.8
 Solution Example

Therefore the load voltage is:

Vload  I line Z load

 (90.8  37.8 A)(4  j 3)
 (90.8  37.8 A)(536.9)
 454  0.9

and the line losses are

Ploss  ( I line ) 2 Rline

 (90.8 A) 2 (0.18)
 1484W
 Solution Example

(b) From figure 1 (b) shows the power system with the
transformers. To analyze the system, it is necessary to
convert it to a common voltage level. This is done in two
steps:
i) Eliminate transformer T2 by referring the load over to
the transmission’s line voltage level.
ii) Eliminate transformer T1 by referring the transmission
line’s elements and the equivalent load at the
transmission line’s voltage over to the source side.

The value of the load’s impedance when reflected to the

transmission system’s voltage is
Z 'load  a 2 Z load
10 2
 ( ) ( 4  j 3)
1
 400  j 300
 Solution Example

The total impedance at the transmission line level is now:

Z eq  Z line  Z 'load
 400.18  j 300.24
 500.336.88

The total impedance at the transmission line level

(Zline+Z’load) is now reflected across T1 to the source’s
voltage level:
Z 'eq  a 2 Z eq
 a 2 ( Z line  Z 'load )
1 2
 ( ) (0.18  j 0.24  400  j 300)
10
 (0.0018  j 0.0024  4  j 3)
 5.00336.88
 Solution Example
Notice that Z’’load = 4+j3  and Z’line =0.0018+j0.0024 .
The resulting equivalent circuit is shown below. The
generator’s current is:
4800V
IG   95.94  36.88 A
5.00336.88

a) System with the load

referred to the transmission
system voltage level

b) System with the load and

transmission line referred to
the generator’s voltage level
 Solution Example

Knowing the current IG, we can now work back and find Iline
and ILoad. Working back through T1, we get:

N p1 I G  N s1 I line
N p1
I line  IG
N S1
1
 (95.94  36.88 A)
10
 9.594  36.88 A
 Solution Example

Working back through T2 gives:

N p 2 I line  N s 2 I load
N p2
I load  I line
Ns2
10
 ( )(9.594  36.88 A)
1
 95.94  36.88 A

It is now possible to answer the questions. The load

voltage is given by

Vload  I load Z load

 (9.594  36.88 A)(536.87)
 479.7  0.01V
 Solution Example

and the line losses are given by:

Ploss  ( I line ) 2 Rline

 (9.594 A) 2 (0.18)
 16.7W

Notice that raising the transmission voltage of the power

system reduced transmission losses by a factor of nearly
90. Also, the voltage at the load dropped much less in the
system with transformers compared to the system without
transformers.