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Transformer Lab: Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering
Transformer Lab: Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering
Transformer Lab
1. Objectives:
2. Introduction
By now we should all be familiar with the wall power transformers used to power PC peripherals,
calculators, radios, and other electronic devices. These transformers convert the 110V 60Hz line
voltage to low voltage DC using a diode bridge rectifier. In addition to power supplies, transformers
find use in circuits as power line isolators, impedance matchers, pulse transformers, voltage
amplifiers, and as speaker drivers in radio circuits.
A transformer is a specific form of a coupled circuit in which the coupling mechanism is the mutual
inductances between two coils. The common magnetic flux path is provided by an iron core. A
transformer can be represented as shown in Figure 1a. A physical implementation is given in Figure
1b.
(b)
(a)
Figure 1 (a) An iron core transformer Figure 1 (b) Construction of an iron core
showing magnetic paths. transformer. For clarity the coils are
shown separated, Physically, one coil is
usually wound around the second coil to
maximize the magnetic coupling
1
N1, N2 are the number of turns at the primary and secondary windings; 1 is the flux produced by I1
and 2 is the flux produced by I2. In Figure 1a, it is seen by using the right-hand rule method that with
the currents as shown the magnetic flux produced by the coils is additive; if the secondary current
direction is reversed, the flux would be subtractive.
When coil 1 is supplied with an alternating current, the magnetic field is coupled into coil 2 which
induces a voltage V2 across the coil. The resultant current in coil 2 creates its own magnetic field
which, in turn, is coupled to coil 1. This mutual coupling results in a term called mutual
inductance, M. The mutual inductance M is related to the self inductances through the coupling
factor k (k 1):
M=k L1/ L2
where L1 and L2 are the self-inductances of coils 1 and 2, respectively. The symbol for mutually
coupled coils is shown in Figure 2. For sinusoidal steady-state the relationship between the voltage
and currents (phasors) is given below:
V1 jL1 I1 jMI 2
V2 jMI1 jL2 I 2 (1)
The dots shown in the drawing will indicate the sign of M. By convention, if both currents are leaving
the dots or entering the dots, the sign of M is positive (i.e. the fluxes are additive). A consequence of a
subtractive M is a 180 deg phase reversal between the input and output voltages measured from a
reference point.
An equivalent circuit model of a lossless transformer is shown in Figure 3 (T-model). The equivalent
inductances are La, Lb and Lm and have the following expressions. Notice the sign reversal for M in
the expressions for La and Lb.
La L1 m M Lb L2 m M
Lm M (2)
In the ideal transformer the core flux links both coils (i.e. the leakage flux is zero) so that the
coupling coefficient k=1. We also assume that the winding resistance is zero and the hysteresis and
eddy current losses in the iron core are zero. The symbol for the ideal transformer is shown in Figure
4. The relations that describe the ideal transformer are given below. Z1 is the impedance seen at the
primary when the load impedance is ZL (impedance reflection in the primary).
V2 N 2 n V1N1
I 2 N1 1
(3)
I1 N 2n
Z1 ZL / n 2
Figure 4 Symbol for the ideal transformer' ZL is the load impedance.
(b)
Figure 5: (a) Audio transformer used in the lab (P side is the x11.5 coil); (b) schematic representation of the audio transformer w
(a)
IV
While properly designed transformers are assumed to be essentially ideal over the frequency range for
which they were designed, it would be interesting to note the parameters of a physical transformer and
their high frequency effect on transformer performance. Figure 6 shows the equivalent circuit that takes
into account the non-idealities of an iron core transformer. We have added the effects of the
resistances of the windings, Ra and Rb. The losses in the core is represented by the resistor Rm. The
capacitors Ca and Cb represent the winding capacitances that are very small so that their impedance
can usually be neglected in the mid-frequency range of operation. Since the circuit contains both
capacitive and inductive components (RLC circuit) a condition for resonance exists at high frequency.
In this lab you will measure and investigate the effects of these physical parameters on transformer
performance.
The mutual inductance Lm is much greater than La, the leakage inductance. Since the impedance
seen at the primary terminals Z1 = ZL/n2 (ZL is the load impedance in the secondary circuit) we can
simplify the circuit by reflecting the secondary impedance to the primary side as shown in Figure 7a.
The circuit can be simplified a shown in Figure 7b. The approximation is valid since the current in Lm
and Rm is very small as compare to I1. We have also neglected the effect of the capacitances.
(a)
Figure 7 (a) Equivalent circuit for the non-ideal transformer in which Lb and Rb have been reflected into the primary; (b) Approx
5. Pre-lab Assignment
5.1 Consider the following circuit with an ideal transformer.
Find:
La L1 m
M Lb L2 m
M Lm M
Hint: You can prove this relationship by comparing the expressions (1) of the mutual
inductances with those of the equivalent circuit: find the expressions of V1 and V2 as a
function of I1 and I2 for the circuit of Figure 3. These expressions should be the same as
those if Figure 2.
6. Experimental Procedure
B. Experiments:
B1. Measurement of the transformer parameters with the Philips PM6303 RLC Meter
To measure the parameters of a real (non-ideal) transformer you will use the Philips RLC
meter. This meter provides a 1 kHz, 2 Vrms test voltage and displays the dominant reactive
component and associated resistive values (serial and parallel resistances, Rs and Rp,
respectively) of the device under test.
You will be using the transformer as a step-down transformer with a 11.5:1 ratio. Use the x11.5
coil as the primary. The parameters Lw, Rw, Lm and Rm (see Figure 7b) can be determined
from short-circuit test and open-circuit tests:
a. Short the x1 secondary coil. This will reflect as a short across the x11.5 primary coil
so that the RLC meter will measure the leakage reactance Lw and winding
resistance Rw. Obtain the values corresponding to the series connections (see
Figure 7b). Record these values.
b. Open circuit the secondary coil. Since the value of Lm and Rm are much larger
than those of Lw and Rw, respectively, you can ignore Lw and Rw, compared to Lm
and Rm. Measure the values of the inductance and resistor seen at the primary coil.
Obtain the values corresponding to the parallel circuit. Write down the values.
Compare the values of Lw and Rw to those measured here and verify that Lm and
Rm are much larger than Lw and Rw.
The goal of this experiment is to experimentally verify the operation of the transformer.
a. Build the circuit of Figure 9 (same as the one in the pre-lab). Use as 8.2 load resistance RL
(this is similar to the load of a speaker). For source resistance Rs use a 1 K resistor. Adjust
the output of the function generator for a sinusoid of 5 Vrms and 1kHz (check on the
oscilloscope). Measure the actual values of the resistors.
Note: for the calculations you can use RMS or amplitude values. Be consistent in your calculations.
The audio transformer should have a constant voltage ratio over it specified frequency range. The
manufacturer gives a frequency response of 300-3.4kHz with a variation of 3dB (note: dB
corresponds to 20xLog10A). As discussed earlier, at very high frequencies the effect of the capacitors
will be seen as a resonance that will cause the ratio n=V2/V1 to increase considerably above the
nominal value n (=1/11.5). The goal of this experiment is to measure the frequency response over a
large frequency range and verify that the response is within the specification of the manufacturer. You
will also measure the response at very high frequencies and measure the resonant frequency. This
will allow you to find the parasitic capacitance.
a. Connect a function generator to the x11.5 coil and leave the secondary open. Set the
generator frequency to 1 kHz sine waveform and adjust the output of the function generator
to 10 Vp-p. Use a 1:1 scope probe to measure the secondary voltage (don’t not use the white
scope probes (they cannot be switched to the 1x setting). The x10 probe contains circuits
causing multiple resonances to appear.
b. Starting at f = 100 Hz increase the frequency to 5 MHz (on a log scale) to obtain a
frequency response curve of |V2/V1|. Also measure the phase of V2 in reference
to V1. You will notice that at high frequencies (MHz range) the output voltage
starts to increase quickly. This is a result of the resonance due to the inductance
Lw and the capacitance. Increase the number of measurements around this
resonant frequency fo so that you can plot the frequency response accurately
around this peak. Plot 20Log|V2/V1| (in dB) vs frequency.
fo 1
(5)
2L wCr
NOTE: It is possible that you will observe multiple resonant frequencies if you go high
enough in frequency. Use the first peak for fo to calculate the capacitance.
Now you will add a capacitor of 68nF over the secondary terminals and measure the frequency
response of |V2/V1|, similarly as you did in the previous section. Since you add a larger capacitor than
the parasitic winding capacitances, you can expect that the resonant frequency will be smaller.
a. Select the x11.5 winding as the primary side of the transformer and set V1 = 10 V p-p at
a frequency of 1 kHz.
b. Load the secondary with the 68 nF capacitor. Vary the frequency from 100 Hz to
about 5MHz and record V1 and V2. Increase the number of measurements around
the resonant frequency.
c. Plot the frequency response of 20Log|V2/V1| (in dB) vs. frequency (log scale) This
plot can be drawn on the same graph as the previous one. Compare the location of
the resonant frequency.
References
Written by G. Hunka. Updated and revised by J. Van der Spiegel, January 25 2005.