DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRANSFORMER

There are different types of transformer that are used in electrical

power system which are used in different purposes like
generation, distribution and transmission and utilization of
electrical power.
Here are the list of different types of transformer.

STEP UP AND STEP DOWN

1
TRANSFORMER

* categorized on the basis of a number of turns in the primary and secondary

windings and the induced emf.

* Step-up transformer transforms a low voltage, high current AC into a high

voltage, low current AC system. Where the number of turns in the secondary
winding is greater than the number of turns in the primary winding. If (V2 > V1)
the voltage is raised on the output side and is known as Step-up transformer.

* Step down transformer converts a high primary voltage associated with the low
current into a low voltage, high current. The number of turns in the primary
winding is greater than the number of turns in the secondary winding. If (V2 < V1)
the voltage level is lowered on the output side and is known as Step down
transformer
2 POWER TRANSFORMER

*It is very widely used for stepping up and stepping down the voltage at the
electrical power generating station and distribution station (or substation)
respectively.  

* The power transformers are used in the transmission networks of higher

voltage.

* The ratings of the power transformer are as follows 400 KV, 200 KV, 110 KV, 66
KV, 33 KV. They are mainly rated above 200 MVA.

* Mostly installed at the generating stations and transmission substations. 

* They are designed for maximum efficiency of 100%.

* Larger in size as compared to the distribution transformer.

 First time is at power generating station to step-up the voltage

generated by the wind generator.

 Second is at the distribution station (or substation) to step-down the

voltage received at the end of the transmission line.

At a very high voltage, the power cannot be distributed to the consumer

directly, so the power is stepped down to the desired level with the help of step-
down power transformer. The transformer is not loaded fully hence the core loss
takes place for the whole day, but the copper loss is based on the load cycle of the
distribution network.

If the power transformer is connected in the transmission network, the load

fluctuation will be very less as they are not connected at the consumer end
directly, but if connected to the distribution network there will be fluctuations
in the load.
3 DISTRIBUTION TRASFORMER

* type of transformer that performs the last voltage transformation in a distribution

grid. It converts the voltage used in the transmission lines to one suitable for
household and commercial use, typically down to 240 volts.

*Has lower ratings like 11 KV, 6.6 KV, 3.3 KV, 440 V and 230 V. 

* They are rated less than 200 MVA and used in the distribution network to provide
voltage transformation in the power system by stepping down the voltage level
where the electrical energy is distributed and utilized at the consumer end.

TYPES OF DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

 POLE MOUNT TRANSFORMER

MOUNTING
1 LOCATION


PAD MOUNT TRANSFORMER
UNDERGROUND TRANSFORMER

TYPE OF  LIQUID IMMERSED

2 INSULATION USED  DRY TYPE

3 NATURE OF SUPPLY  SINGLE PHASE SUPPLY

 THREE PHASE SUPPLY

As it does not work for constant load throughout 24 hours as in the

daytime its load is at its peak, and during the night hours it is very lightly
loaded thus the efficiency depends on load cycle and is calculated as All Day
Efficiency. The distribution transformers are designed for maximum efficiency
of 60 to 70%.
USES OF DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

* Used in pumping stations where the voltage level is below 33 KV

* Power supply for the overhead wires railways electrified with AC

* In urban areas, many houses are fed with single-phase distribution

transformer and in rural areas, it may be possible that one house requires one
single transformer depending upon the loads.

* Multiple distribution transformers are used for industrial and commercial

areas.

* Used in wind farms where the electrical energy is generated by the

windmills. There it is used as a power collector to connect the substations
which are away from the wind energy generation system.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POWER AND DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

POWER TRANSFORMER DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER

* usually operated in full

load because it is * high efficiency when the
designed to have high load stays between 50%
efficiency at 100% load. and 70%.

* leads to high voltages * leads to low voltages

during step-up and step- during step-up and step-
down, the windings have down, the windings have
high insulation low insulation

* usually not connected * distribution

to homes directly, they transformers experience
experience less load heavy load fluctuations.
fluctuations
* flux density in the
* flux density in the Distribution Transformer
Power Transformer is is lower
higher
 INSTRUMENT
4
TRANSFORMER

* They are generally known as an isolation transformer.

* Instrument transformer is an electrical device used to transform current as well as

a voltage level.

* The most common use of instrument transformer is to safely isolate the

secondary winding when the primary has high voltage and high current supply so
that the measuring instrument, energy meters or relays which are connected to
the secondary side of the transformer will not get damaged. 

TYPES OF INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMER

CURRENT TRANSFORMER (C.T)

* used to step down the current of power system to a lower level to make it
feasible to be measured by small rating Ammeter

* The current transformer is used for measuring and also for the protection.
* The primary winding of the current transformer is connected in series to the
main supply and the various measuring instruments like ammeter, voltmeter,
wattmeter or protective relay coil.
* They have accurate, current ratio and phase relation to enable the meter
accurately on the secondary side. The term ratio has a great significance in CT.
In the current transformer, the total primary current is the vector sum of the
excitation current and the current equal to the reversal of secondary current
multiplied by turn ratio.

Where,
Ip – primary current
Is – secondary or reversal current
I0 – excitation current
KT – turn ratio

POTENTIAL TRANSFORMER (P.T)

* used to step down the voltage of power system to a lower level to make is
feasible to be measured by small rating voltmeter .

* The potential transformer is also called as the voltage transformer.

* The primary winding is connected across the High voltage line whose voltage is
to be measured, and all the measuring instruments and meters are connected to
the secondary side of the transformer.

*The main function of the Potential transformer is to step down the voltage level
to a safe limit or value. The primary winding of the potential transformer is
earthed or grounded as a safety point.
The percentage voltage error is given by the equation shown below

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CURRENT AND POTENTIAL TRANSFORMER

CURRENT TRANSFORMER POTENTIAL TRANSFORMER

* Connected in series
* Connected in Parallel
with power circuit.
with Power circuit.
* Secondary is connected
* Secondary is connected
to Ammeter.
to Voltmeter.
* Secondary works almost
* Secondary works almost
in short circuited
in open circuited
condition.
condition.
* Primary current
* Primary current
depends on power circuit
depends on secondary
current.
burden.
* Primary current and
* Primary current and
excitation vary over wide
excitation variation are
range with change of
restricted to a small
power circuit current
range.
* One terminal of
* One terminal of
secondary is earthed to
secondary can be earthed
avoid the insulation
for Safety.
break down.
* Secondary can be used
* Secondary is never be
in open circuit condition.
open circuited.
 SINGLE PHASE
5
TRANSFORMER

* is a static device, works on the principle of Faraday’s law of mutual Induction.

* type of power transformer that utilizes single-phase alternating current, meaning

the transformer relies on a voltage cycle that operates in a unified time phase.

* At a constant level of frequency and variation of voltage level, the transformer

transfers AC power from one circuit to the other circuit.

* the primary winding of a transformer receives power while the secondary winding
delivers power.

HOW DOES SINGLE PHASE TRANSFORMER WORKS ?

When the primary of a transformer is connected to an AC supply, the current flows in the coil and
the magnetic field build-up. This condition is known as mutual inductance and the flow of current is
as per the Faraday’s Law of electromagnetic induction. As the current increases from zero to its
maximum value, the magnetic field strengthens and is given by dɸ/dt

this electromagnet forms the magnetic lines of force and expands outward from the coil forming a
path of magnetic flux. The turns of both windings get linked by this magnetic flux. The strength of a
magnetic field generated in the core depends on the number of turns in the winding and the amount
of current. The magnetic flux and current are directly proportional to each other.
 Primary Winding Secondary Winding

Star (Wye) Star

Delta (mesh) Delta

Star Delta

Delta Star
THREE PHASE
6
TRANSFORMER
* If the three single-phase transformer is taken and connected together with their
all the three primary winding connected to each other as one and all the three
secondary windings to each other, forming as one secondary winding, the
transformer is said to behave as a three-phase transformer, that means a bank of
three single-phase transformer connected together which acts as a three-phase
transformer.

* Three-phase supply is mainly used for electric power generation, transmission

and distribution for industrial purpose. It is less costly to assemble three single-
phase transformer to form a three-phase transformer than to purchase one single
three-phase transformer. The three-phase transformer connection can be done by
Star (Wye) and Delta (Mesh) type.

The connection of primary and secondary winding can be done by various

combinations
 1 IRON CORE TRANSFORMER

* uses multiple soft iron plates as the core material. Due to the excellent magnetic
properties of iron, the flux linkage of the iron core transformer is very high. Thus, the
efficiency of the iron core transformer is also high.

Few common shapes are E, I, U, L, etc. The iron plates are thin, and multiple plates
are bunched together to form the actual core. For example, E type cores are made
with thin plates with a look of letter E.

FERRITE CORE
2
TRANSFORMER

* uses a ferrite core due to high magnetic permeability. This type of transformer offers
very low losses in the high-frequency application. Due to this, ferrite core transformers
are used in high-frequency application such as in switch mode power supply (SMPS), RF
related applications.

Ferrite core transformers also

offer a different type of shapes,
sizes depending on the
application requirement. It is
mainly used in electronics rather
than electrical application. The
most common shape in the ferrite
core transformer is E core.
 TRANSFORMER TYPES
TOROIDAL BASED ON CORE MATERIAL
CORE
3
TRANSFORMER

* uses toroid shaped core material, such as iron core or ferrite core. Toroids are ring
or donut shaped core material and widely used for superior electrical performance.
Due to the ring shape, the leakage inductance is very low and offers very high
inductance and Q factors. The windings are relatively short and weight is much less
than traditional, same rating transformers.

4 AIR CORE TRANSFORMER

* Air Core transformer does not use any physical magnetic core as the core material.
The flux linkage of the air-core transformer is made entirely using the air.

* It is used in portable electronics as well as Radiofrequency related applications.

Due to the absence of physical core material, it is very light in terms of weight.
Properly tuned air core transformer also used in wireless charging solutions, where
the primary windings are constructed inside the charger and the secondary windings
are situated inside the targeted device.

TRANSFORMER TYPES BASED ON WINDING ARRANGEMENT

AUTO WINDING
1
TRANSFORMER

* the primary and secondary winding is fixed but in case of an auto-winding

transformer, the primary and the secondary coil can be connected in series and the
center tapped node is movable. Depending on the center tapped position, the
secondary voltage can be varied.

The most common use is the VARIAC, an

instrument to produce variable AC from a steady
AC input. It is also used in Power transmission
and distribution related applications where the
high voltage lines are needed to be changed
frequently.
 TYPES OF TRANSFORMER BASED ON USAGE

TRANSFORMERS USED IN
1
POWER DOMAIN

* Power domain deals with the power generation, measurement, and distribution.
However, it is a very large field where transformers are an essential part to
accommodate safe power conversion and successful power delivery to the substation
and to the end users.

The transformers which are used in the power domain can be both
outdoor and indoor but mostly outdoor.

Power Transformers are larger in size and used to

POWER TRANSFORMER transfer the energy to the substation or the public
electricity supply. This transformer acts as a bridge
between the power generator and the primary
distribution grid.

Depending on the Power rating and specification,

Power transformers can further be classified into three
categories: 

Small power transformer

Medium Power transformers

The rating can be more than 30KVA to the 500-

700KVA or in some cases that can be equal to or more
than 7000KVA for small rated power transformer. The
medium rated power transformer can be up to 50-100
MVA whereas large rated power transformers are
capable to handle more than 100MVA.

Measurement transformer is often referred to as an

instrument transformer. This is another commonly
MEASUREMENT used measurement instrument in the power domain. A
TRANSFORMER measurement transformer is used to isolate the main
power and convert the current and voltage in a
smaller ratio to its secondary output. By measuring
the output, the Phase, Current and Voltage of the
actual power line can be measured.
 Distribution transformers can be further categorized
into based on the type of insulation it uses. It can be a
dry type or can be liquid-immersed. It is made using
laminated steel plates mostly constructed in C shape as
a core material.

TRANSFORMER USED IN
2
ELECTRONICS DOMAIN

* various small miniature transformers are used which can be PCB mounted or can be
fixed inside the small product enclosure.

Pulse transformers are one of most used PCB mounted

PULSE TRANSFORMER transformers that produce electrical pulses in a
constant amplitude. It is used in various digital circuits
where pulse generation is needed in an isolated
environment. Therefore, the pulse transformers isolate
the primary and secondary and distribute primary
pulses to the secondary circuit, often digital logic gates
or drivers.

Audio Transformer is another commonly used

transformer in the electronics domain. It is specially
used in Audio related application where impedance
AUDIO TRANSFORMER matching is required. Audio transformer balances the
amplifier circuit and loads, typically a loudspeaker.
The audio transformer can have multiple primary and
secondary coils, separated or center tapped.

REFERENCES
https://circuitdigest.com/tutorial/what-is-power-transformer-and-how-does-it-work

https://circuitglobe.com/types-of-transformer.html

https://www.electrical4u.com/instrument-transformers/

https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-a-single-phase-transformer-construction-and-its-working/
 This is used in the last phase of the power distribution
DISTRIBUTION
system. Distribution transformers are step down
TRANSFORMER
transformer, which converts High grid voltage to the
end customer required voltage, 110V or 230V. It can
also be single phase or three phases.