Single and Polyphase Transformers

Experiment 2
Single and Polyphase Transformers
Revised 2024

Objectives:

• To study the no-load conditions of a single-phase transformer and view the waveform of no-
load current,
• To study the components of losses in a transformer and determine the parameters of the
equivalent circuit by using the open-circuit and short-circuit results,
• To determine the polarities of transformer terminals
• To familiarize with the three-phase transformers and study features of a Y/Δ connected three-
phase transformer.

Pre-Lab

Read the appendix at the end of this manual.

1. Explain the “Additive” and “Subtractive” polarity of two magnetically coupled windings.
2. Why transformers are rated in kVA rather than kW like electric machines?
3. What are meant by the rated voltage and the current of a transformer?
4. Explain why it is normal to do the “Open-circuit test” from the low voltage (LV) side with
the high voltage (HV) side open, and to do the “Short-circuit test” from the HV-side with the
LV-side short-circuited.
5. Draw the equivalent circuit of a typical single-phase 600/400V transformer. If a 20Ω resistor
is connected across the 400V terminals, what will be its equivalent value referred to the 600V
side?
6. Why an iron-cored transformer is considered as a non-linear magnetic circuit?
7. What is a possible application of a 110V/110V single-phase transformer?
8. How will the eddy-current loss and hysteresis loss be affected in a transformer if both the
frequency and the applied voltage are doubled? What if only the voltage is doubled while the
frequency is kept constant?
9. What are different connections of a three-phase transformer? Draw a phasor diagram for the
input and output voltages of a three-phase, Δ/Y transformer. A sample diagram is given in
the appendix for Y/Δ connected transformer.

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LAB Work
Equipment List
• 19 kVA, Hammond, 3-phase, multi-winding Transformer
• Load Bank (3-phase Resistive)
• Ammeters (0-2.5-5 A)
• Voltmeter (0-130-260 V)
• AVW meter
• Ohmmeter
• Oscilloscope with a differential probe
• 1Ω sampling resistor

Summary of the Experiment

This experiment includes several tests on single-phase and three-phase transformers as follows:
a. Polarity test of a single-phase transformer: In this test the similar terminals of the windings of
a transformer will be identified.
b. Investigation of the waveform of the no-load current in a transformer: The waveform of the
current is not same as that of the applied voltage in a nonlinear circuit. This will be studied for
a transformer with different voltages.
c. Short-circuit and open-circuit tests on a single-phase transformer: These standard tests will be
performed to determine the equivalent circuit parameters.
d. Load test on a single-phase transformer: The transformer will be loaded and the variation of
voltage with current will be studied.
e. Some introductory experiments on three-phase transformers: Different configurations of
three-phase transformer are possible; a step down Y/Δ connected transformer will be studied
in this section as a sample.

Procedure
1. Polarity Test of a Single-Phase Transformer
1.1 Familiarize yourself with different terminals of each phase of the given transformer and
identify the terminals that belong to each individual phase. Also, note the rated voltage and
rated current of each individual winding.
1.2 Select phase A of the transformer and use it as single-phase transformer and wire up the
circuit as shown in Figure 1.

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Answer the following questions:

Q1. Assuming that the rated voltage of the transformer is applied on the LV winding, what
will be the maximum and minimum values of V A1 X1 in Figure 1.

1.3 Adjust the variable voltage knob to zero and then turn on the power. Increase the voltage to
around 30V and measure three voltage indicated by the voltmeters in the circuit. You do not
need three individual voltmeters in this section; move the voltmeter from one position to
another and record the reading of the voltmeter in each position.

Figure 1 Polarity test of single-phase transformer

1.4 Identify the polarity of the terminals with respect to each other from your voltmeter readings.

Table 1. Polarity test results

V A1 A2 = V A1 X1 = V X1 X 2 =

2. Investigation on the Waveform of the No-Load Current

2.1 Turn off the power and setup the circuit as shown in Figure 2. Note that terminals AlA2 and
A3A4 on the LV side are connected additively.

Figure 2 Circuit diagram for the investigation of the no-load current waveform

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2.2 Reduce the voltage variation knob to zero and turn on the power. Increase the voltage
gradually from zero to 110% of the rated voltage and observe the variation of the waveform
of no-load current across the sampling resistor. Take some notes about your observations and
print the waveforms of the current when the applied voltage is 50% or 100% of the rated
voltage by using the attached printer (two waveforms).
Answer the following questions:
Q2. What are the components of the no-load current in a transformer?

Q3. You are going to apply a sinusoidal voltage across the transformer winding. Are you
expecting a sinusoidal waveform for the current?

3. Open-Circuit Test
3.1 Turn off the power and modify the existing circuit as shown in Figure 3.
3.2 Reduce the voltage variation knob to zero and turn on the power. Increase the voltage from
zero to 110% of the LV side rated voltage in 5 steps. Read all of the meters in each step and
record your results in appropriate cells of Table 2. Note that only the values recorded at rated
voltage will be used in finding the equivalent circuit parameters.

Figure 3 Circuit diagram for the open circuit test

Answer the following questions:
Q4. What is the rated voltage of the LV side when it is connected as shown in Figures 3?

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4. Short-Circuit Test
4.1 Reduce the voltage variation knob to zero and turn off the power. Connect the circuit
shown in Figure 4 for the short-circuit test.
4.2 Check the voltage variation knob. Turn on the power and increase the voltage “very
gradually” from zero and take up to five sets of readings without exceeding the current
ratings of either the transformer or the power supply. Record your readings in corresponding
cells of Table 2.
4.3 Turn off the power, and isolate the windings from each other and from the rest of the circuit.
Measure the DC resistances of the primary and the secondary windings by the digital multi-
meter. Record your results in the allocated cells below Table 2.

Figure 4 Circuit diagram for the short-circuit test

Answer the following questions:
Q5. What are the rated currents of the HV and LV windings?

Table 2 Open-circuit and short-circuit test results

Open circuit test Short circuit test

VOC , LV (V) VOC , LV (V) I OC , LV (A) VSC , HV (V) I SC , HV (A) WSC , HV (W)

RDC , LV = Ω RDC , HV = Ω

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5. Load Test
5.1 Reduce the voltage variation knob to zero and turn off the power. Modify the circuit as
shown in Figure 5.
5.2 Turn on the power and adjust the voltage to transformer’s rated voltage at X1X2 side.
5.3 Load the transformer in 6 steps; do not exceed the rating of either the transformer or the
supply. Record your results in Table 3.

Figure 5 Circuit diagram for load test

Table 3 Load test results

Load Primary (HV) Secondary (LV)

Step
V1 (V) I 1 (A) W1 (W) V2 (V) I 2 (A)
1
2
3
4
5
6

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6. Polyphase Transformers
6.1 Review the polarity test results and identify the similar terminals of HV and LV windings on
each phase.
6.2 Connect the HV windings in Y and the LV windings in A as shown in Figure 6 leaving one
corner of the delta open; close the open corner via a voltmeter, VDelta, as shown. Connect the
Y-connected HV windings to the fixed voltage supply (208VAC line-to-line) from terminals
1, 2 and 3.
6.3 If the reading of VDelta is zero, turn off the power and replace the voltmeter with a short
circuit. Also, add a three-phase load across the A side as shown in Figure 6.
6.4 Turn on the power and load the transformer up to its rated current; measure and record the all
of the voltages and currents as indicated in Table 4. Use the clamp ammeter of the AVW
meter for all currents, one in a time. You may also use only one voltmeter to measure all of
the voltages, one at a time, to complete the measurements.

Figure 6 A Y/Δ connected three-phase transformer

Table 4 Measurement results for the three-phase Y/A connected transformer at full load

Primary VL , X1Y1 V p , X1 X 2 V p ,Y1Y2 V p ,Z1Z 2 VNn I L, X I L ,Y I L ,Z

(Y connected)

Secondary VL , A1B1 V p , A1 A 4 V p , B1B4 V p ,C1C4 I L, A I L,B I L ,C

(Δ connected)

Answer the following questions:

Q6. Suppose the HV side of the Y/Δ connected transformer in Figure 6 is supplied from a
balanced 208V 3-phase source. What are the possible readings of VDelta? You may

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include both a correct connection and an also incorrect connection of the windings. Use
a phasor diagram to answer this question.

Q7. What happens if the source voltage is not symmetrical? Consider a correct connection
only.

Q8. VDelta should read zero for correct connection. What should you do in case VDelta reads a
large voltage?

Note: The following section is optional (time permitting). The detailed circuit diagram is not
given here. You should consult the supervisor before you attempt to perform it.
7. Investigation on the Effect of Neutral Wire on the Waveform of the Line Current
7.1 Turn off the load and the main power. Insert the sampling resistor in the circuit to observe the
waveform of the line current.
7.2 Turn on the power and observe the waveform of the line current when the neutral line is not
connected.
7.3 Turn off the power and connect the neutral line of the voltage source to the neutral point of
the Y connected winding of the transformer.
7.4 Repeat section 7.2.

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Post-Lab

1. Use the recorded data in Table 1 and draw to scale the phasors of V A1 A2 , V A1 X1 , and V X1 X 2 ;
show how you can determine whether or not A2 and X2 have the same polarities.
2. Comment on the waveforms of the no-load current. Answer the following questions knowing
that the applied voltage is sinusoidal at all times:
a. Why the waveform of the current is not sinusoidal?
b. Why the waveform of the current changes as the voltage increases?
c. Why the peak value of the current increases significantly at higher values of the applied
voltage.
3. Calculate the parameters of the equivalent circuit referred to the LV side. You should use the
collected data from the OC test at rated voltage and also the SC test in this calculation.
4. Explain the difference between DC and AC resistance of a winding. Transfer RDC,HV to theLV
side and calculate RDC,eq=RDC,LV +R′DC,HV. Compare RDC,eq to the R′eq calculated from the SC
test and comment on your results.
5. Calculate the values of the voltage regulation and efficiency for each load step used in the
load test (Table 3) and fill in your results in corresponding cells of Table 5. The regulation
can be calculated from:
Vno-load − Vloaded
Voltage regulation =
Vloaded
Also, note that the output voltage and current are sinusoidal and therefore the output power
can be calculated from P2=V2I2 for a pure resistive load.

Table 5 Comparison of the load test results and theoretical results

Steps Extracted from load test results Theoretical results

I2 Pin Pout η% Reg% Pin Pout η% Reg%

1
2
3
4
5
6

6. Use the equivalent circuit of the transformer and calculate the theoretical values of the
voltage regulation and efficiency of the transformer for six values of secondary currents; use

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the same values of the secondary current as you have measured in load test. Also, assume
that the input voltage is constant, and equal to V1 in the load test. Do not forget transferring
the valued to appropriate side before your calculations. Fill in your results in the
corresponding cells of Table 5. The procedure for the calculations is given in the appendix
7. Compare the experimental result for the regulation and efficiency to corresponding
theoretical results and comment on any discrepancies.
8. Use the equivalent circuit of the transformer and calculate the theoretical values of voltage
regulation and efficiency of the transformer at the following loads:
a. Full-load at 0.8 power factor lagging,
b. Full-load at 0.8 power factor leading.
9. Use the collected results from the SC test and plot the variations of the applied voltage
2
(VSC,HV) and the copper losses (WSC,HV) against the short-circuit current squared ( I SC ,HV )• Do

you expect a specific shape for each of these graphs (e.g. straight line, ...)? Do they meet
your expectations? Comment on each of them.
10. Use the collected results from the OC test and plot the variations of the core losses (WOC,LV)
and the magnetizing current (IOC,LV) against the input voltage (VOC,LV) in the same coordinate
systems. Do you expect any specific shape for each of these graphs? Do they meet your
expectations? Comment on each of them.
11. Use the collected results from the load test and plot the variations the load voltage and the
efficiency against the load current.
12. Summarize the observed relationships between the line and phase voltages, and between the
line and phase currents for a Y/Δ connected transformer.
13. If you had closed the secondary Delta connected windings of the three-phase transformer
without checking the zero voltage as in Figure 6, what could happen? Support your answer
by using a phasor diagram.
14. Draw a phasor diagram and show the phase difference between corresponding line-to-line
voltages in the primary and secondary of the Δ/Y connected transformer.
15. Make general comments on the experiment and the results.

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Appendix
Calculation of equivalent circuit parameters
The equivalent circuit of a single-phase transformer, referred to the primary side, is shown in
Figure A-l(a). The performance characteristics of the transformer at any load can be predicted by
using this equivalent circuit. The voltage drops across R1 and X1 in a practical transformer are
usually very small compared to the rated voltage. Therefore, a simplified form of the circuit so
called "approximate equivalent circuit of the transformer" is usually used for this purpose. The
approximate equivalent circuit of the transformer is shown in Figure A-l(b).

Figure A-1 (a) Equivalent circuit of a transformer

Figure A-1 (b) The approximate equivalent circuit

The parameters of the approximate equivalent circuit are calculated from the measurement
results of an "Open-Circuit" (OC) test, and a "Short-Circuit" (SC) tests on the transformer.
During the OC test, one winding of the transformer is connected to its rated voltage while the
other winding is left open. Then, the values of open-circuit current, applied voltage, and the input
power are measured to be used in the calculation of Rc and Xm. The open-circuit test is usually
performed on the LV side of the transformer with HV winding open.
One winding of the transformer is short-circuit during the short-circuit test while the other
winding is supplied from a very small voltage, compared to the rated voltage of the winding. The
applied voltage should be limited to produce the rated current of the transformer in its windings.
The short-circuit test is usually performed on the HV side of the transformer with LV winding
short-circuit. The values of applied voltage, current, and power input to the winding are
measured to be used in the calculation of the Req and Xeq.

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Calculation of the shunt branch parameters

The parameters of the shunt branch in Figure A-l(b), including Rc and Xm, are calculated as
follows:
2
VOC V2
POC = ⇒ Rc = OC (A-1)
Rc POC

VOC
Ic = (A-2)
Rc

I OC = I c2 + I m2 ⇒ I m = I OC
2
− I c2 (A-3)
VOC
Xm = (A-4)
Im
VOC,IOC , and POC are the measured values of the voltage, current, and power respectively during
the OC test. Note that the calculated values for Rc and Xm are referred to the side of the
transformer (HV or LV) that the measurements are carried out. For example, if this test is carried
out from the low voltage side, as it is more common, and the equivalent circuit referred to HV
side is required, both of the values should be transferred to the HV side by using the impedance
transfer law. Let the OC test is carried out from the LV side and the calculate parameters of the
shunt branch, referred to LV side, are Rc,LV and Xm,LV . Assuming that the HV to LV turn ratio is
a,
then:
Rc , HV = a 2 Rc , LV (A-5)

X m , HV = a 2 X m , LV (A-6)

Calculation of the series branch parameters

The values of series branch parameters in Figure A-l(b), including Req and Xeq , are calculated by
using the measured values in the short circuit test as follows:
PSC
Req = 2
(A-7)
I SC
VSC
Z eq = (A-8)
I SC

X eq = Z eq2 − Req2 (A-9)

VSC, ISC, and PSC are the measured values of the voltage, current, and power respectively during
the SC test. Note that the calculated values for Req and Xeq are referred to the side of the
transformer (HV or LV) that the measurements are carried out. If the equivalent circuit referred

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to another side is required, these values should be transferred to that side by using impedance
transfer law.

Prediction of Transformer Performance by Using the Equivalent Circuit

The procedure to predict the required input voltage, the input current, and the efficiency of the
transformer for a proposed load is given here as an example.
Let the equivalent circuit of the transformer referred to the primary, like the one in Figure A-l(b)
is in hand. Also, V2' = V2' ∠0 and I 2' = I 2' ∠θ 2 are the phasors of the voltage and current of the
proposed load, referred to the primary side. Then the required primary voltage, V1, can be
calculated from:
V1 = V2' + (Req + jX eq )I 2' (A-10)
The no-load current and the primary current are calculated as follows:
V1
I0 = (A-11)
Rc + jX m
I1 = I 0 + I 2' = I1 ∠θ1 (A-12)
From the above calculations, the values of input power Pin, output power Pout, and the efficiency
η are extracted as follows:
Pin = V1 I1 cos θ1 (A-13)

Pout = V2' I 2' cos θ 2 (A-14)

Pout
η= × 100% (A-15)
Pin

Three-phase transformers
A three-phase transformer may be constructed on a single magnetic structure, or by using three-
identical single-phase transformers. In both cases, the primary and secondary phase windings can
be connected either in Delta (Δ) or Star (Y). Therefore, four different combinations of
connections are possible for a three-phase transformer, including Δ/Δ, Δ/Y, Y/Δ, and Y/Y. Each
connection has special features, and therefore applications. The Y/Δ, and Δ/Y connected
transformers are the most commonly used group of three-phase transformers. Some features of a
Y/Δ transformer, which is included in the procedure of this experiment, is studied here.
The general connection diagram of a Y/Δ transformer is shown in Figure A-2(a). The phase
voltages, phase currents, line-to-line voltages, and line currents for selected phases/lines are
clearly indicated in either side of the transformer in this figure. The relationships between the
line-to-line voltages and phase voltages, and also between the line currents and phase currents in
the Y or Δ-connected windings can be extracted from Figure A-2(b)

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Figure A-2(a) Phase voltages/currents and line voltages/currents of a three-phase Y/Δ transformer

Figure A-2(b) Line voltage phase shift in the three-phase Y/Δ transformer
Figure A-2(b) shows that the line and phase currents are the same for each individual lines and
phases in the Y side. In general, for a balanced system, it can be concluded that:
I L ,Y = I p ,Y (A-16)
Applying KVL on the Y side of the same figure results in:
V AB ,Y = V AN − VBN (A-17)
Using the phasor diagram of Figure A-3(a), the ratio of the rms values for the line and phase
voltages in a balanced Y-connected three-phase system can be obtained as follows:
VLL ,Y = V AB ,Y = 3 V AN = 3V p ,Y (A-18)

The Δ side of the diagram in Figure A-2(b) clearly indicates that the rms values of the line-to-
line and phase voltages are the same for this side of the transformer:
VLL ,∆ = V p ,∆ (A-19)

Also, the ratio between the rms values of phase and line currents in a balanced Δ-connected
three-phase system can be extracted by applying KCL on node a in Figure 2-A(b), and using
phasor diagram of Figure A-3(b) as follows:
I a ,∆ = I ca ,∆ − I ab ,∆ (A-20)

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I L ,∆ = I a ,∆ = I ca ,∆ − I ab ,∆ = 3 I ca ,∆ = 3I p ,∆ (A-21)

Figure A-3(a) Phasor diagram of phase and line voltages for the primary side (Y-connected)

Figure A-3(b) Phasor diagram of phase and line currents for the secondary side (Δ-connected)

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