Chapter 1

AC Circuits

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2 CHAPTER 1. AC CIRCUITS
Chapter 2

Transformers

2.1 Introduction
Electric Power can be generated at 11-37kV voltage levels considering economic and
technical feasiblity. But most convenient utilization voltages are 230/440V for industrial,
commercialand domestic purposes. Large industrial motors may be run at 3.3, 6.6 or
11kV. It is impossible to transmit directly, even over modest distances, the electric power
as it is generated. Unacceptably large power losses and voltage drops would result. As
a rule of thumb economical transmission voltage is 0.625 kV/km line-to-line, e.g. 400kV
for a line of about 640 km. It is therefore essential to step-up voltages at the power
generating end and to step-down at the power receiving end. Usually more that one step
of step-down may be necessary. Step-up and step-down of voltage levels is accomplished
by means of static electromagnetic devices called TRANSFORMERS. Being a static
machine the efficiency of a transformer could be as high as 99

2.2 Principle of Operation

An alternating flux is set up in a core by a coil with ac voltage, which in turn induces coil
emf of excitation frequency proportional to the number of coil turns. If another coil is
wound on the same core, the mutual flux (alternating) would induce emf in it also of the
same frequency and of magnitude proportional to its coil turns. The ratio of the voltage
of the two coils can be easily adjusted by means of their turn-ratio.

2.3 Ideal Transformer

To understand the working of a transformer it is always instructive, to begin with the
concept of an ideal transformer with the following properties.

• Primary and secondary windings has no resistance.

• All the flux produced by the primary links the secondary winding i,e., there is no
leakage flux.

• Permeability µr of the core is infinitely large. In other words, to establish flux in

the core vanishingly small (or zero) current is required.

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4 CHAPTER 2. TRANSFORMERS

Figure 2.1: Ideal Transformer

• . Core loss comprising of eddy current and hysteresis losses are neglected.

When an alternating voltage V1 is applied to the primary winding of an ideal trans-

former, counter emf e1 will be induced in the primary winding. As windings are purely
inductive, this induced emf e1 will be exactly equal to the apply voltage but in 180 degree
phase opposition. Current drawn from the source produces required magnetic flux. Due
to primary winding being purely inductive, this current lags 90◦ behind induced emf e1 .
This current is called magnetizing current of the transformer Iµ . This magnetizing cur-
rent Iµ produces alternating magnetic flux φ. This flux φ gets linked with the secondary
winding and emf e2 gets induced by mutual induction (based on faraday’s electromagnetic
induction). This mutually induced emf e2 is in phase with e2 . If closed circuit is provided
at secondary winding, e2 causes current i2 to flow in the circuit.
For an ideal transformer, e1 i1 = e2 i2 .

The dots indicate on the two coils are the polarity marks. As the mutual flux alter-
nates, these coil ends simultaneously acquire the same polarity. Also current into the dot
in one coil and out of the dot in the other coil would tend to produce core flux in the
opposite direction.

2.3.1 Under No load condition

Let us assume that the ideal transformer of Figure 2.1 is on NO LOAD. i.e., the secondary
is open-circuited
√ (i2 = 0). The primary is excited from a sinusoidal source of voltage
v1 = 2V1 sinωt. This requires the transformer core to carry a sinusoidal mutual flux φ
which induces primary emf e1 to balance the applied voltage v1 . Since the core has ∞
permeability, the primary windings doesn’t draw any exciting current from the source,
ie., i1 = 0. On the two sides of the transformer, we can write the circuit equations,

dφ
v1 = e1 = N1 (2.1)
dt
dφ
v2 = e2 = N2 (2.2)
dt
2.3. IDEAL TRANSFORMER 5

From eqns. (2.1) and (2.2) the voltage transformation ratio ’k’ is
v1 e1 N1
= = =k (2.3)
v2 e2 N2
For sinusoidal primary excitation,
√
v1 = 2V1 sinωt (2.4)
integrating eqn. (2.4) gives
√ √
2V1 2V1
φ=− cosωt = sin(ωt − π/2) (2.5)
ωN1 ωN1
From eqn (2.5), the maximum value of the core flux is
√ √ √
2V1 2V1 2V2
φmax = =√ =√ Wb (2.6)
ωN1 2πN1 2πN2
It is noted from eqn 2.6 that the maximum flux in the core of a transformer is dictated
by the V1 /f ratio at which the transformer is excited.