How to reduce the losses of transformer in 2023 │Electronicsinfos

What type of losses is in Transformer?

The Transformer is the Most Efficient Machine in electrical, but there are also some types of losses that occur in the transformer. if we Discuss the losses in the transformer we categorise them into two main branches first is Copper loss and another is Iron Loss. The copper losses occurred in the winding of the transformer, The copper losses depend on which type of material is used and what quality of the material is used in the winding of the transformer. 

Copper losses only occur when the transformer is on load conditions because when we connect the transformer with the load the current flows, Now the resistance plays its role and resists the flow of electric current. Another type of loss in a transformer is core loss or iron loss. we further divide the core loss into eddy current loss and hysteresis loss. The eddy current loss depends on the core material whether it is steel or iron. 

The hysteresis loss is dependent on the magnetization and demagnetization effect of the material. The other type of loss is Dielectric loss which is appeared in the insulation of the transformer. if we want to reduce or minimize the losses we need to understand what type of losses appear in the transformer. The condition for maximum Efficiency of the Transformer only appears when copper losses are equal to the iron losses

Cu losses=Iron losses 

Losses in Transformer    

✔ Copper Losses
✔ Core Losses
✔ Dielectric Losses
✔ Hysteresis losses
✔ Iron losses
✔ Eddy's Current loss
✔ stray losses

Copper Losses

Copper loss is a type of loss that occurs in a conductor due to the ohmic resistance of the material. There are many types of conductors used for windings. Every conductor has internal resistance depending on length, area and type of material. when current flows in a conductor the I²R losses occur due to the ohmic resistance of the material. if the size of the conductor is greater then losses are small and if an area is small then losses are high just like the water pipe analogy.

Solution

if we want to reduce the copper losses we need to use a type of wire whose cross-sectional area must be large. the other solution is we use a  better type of conductive material whose resistance is low as compared to other materials for example cooper as compared to iron or use alloy material as compared to iron etc

Iron losses

iron loss due to the core of the material. if we use a solid piece of iron more losses happen in a core which produces heat in the core. the iron loss constant from no load to full load condition. if we need to measure the iron loss we used the open-circuit test .another name for iron losses is core losses. because these types of losses occurred in the core we further divide them into  types which are described below

• Hysteresis losses 

• Eddy current losses

    W loss = Wei + Whi  

W loss = total losses
Wei = Eddy's current losses 
Whi = hysteresis losses

Both types of losses depend on the type of materials and quality of material 

Hysteresis losses:

To understand the Hysteresis loss we help with the B-H curve, in this curve, current leads to the magnetic field which defines the magnetization and demagnetization effect. when this effect happens heat is produced as a result of the hysteresis losses is produce heat.

Solution

if we want to reduce the hysteresis losses so we select such type of material in which the hysteresis curve is slight. for example, we use laminated silicon steel core to reduce the losses. we used High-grade steel as compared to the iron core in the manufacturing of the transformer core.

Eddy's current losses

Eddy's current losses depend on the type of material. Faraday's law, states that “Any change in the environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage to be induced in the coil w.r.t Faraday Law, regardless of how the magnetic change is produced.

Solution

if we want to reduce the eddy current losses we need to design a  core by stacking thin sheets together. This will decrease the eddy current and hence the losses made by it too. 

Dielectric Losses

Dielectric losses depend on the insulation Medium which medium used either Mineral oil or another insulating medium. The dielectric losses also depend on the frequency of the input supply. dielectric losses are constant overall no load to full load condition.

Solution

if we want to reduce the dielectric losses we need to care about the dielectric material does not matter which material is used we just need to regularly check their insulation so that the overall result remains good.

Stray Losses

Stray losses due to produced in the transformer by leakage flux, produce losses known as stray losses.

Efficiency of transformer

 The efficiency of a transformer is defined as the ratio between the output and the input power is called the efficiency of a transformer. the output of a transformer is always less than the input power because of the losses of a transformer.

Efficiency = output/input = output/output + losses

The losses consist of iron loss and copper loss. the value of the iron loss is the overall contact from no load to full load. the copper loss depends on the load because it changes from no load to full load. The cooper loss is directly proportional to the I²R losses. the efficiency of a transformer is varied from 95-98% on full load. the efficiency also depends on the design and size of the transformer. the efficiency of a transformer is maximum when both copper and iron losses are equal for a specific load.

Final Thoughts

if we want to increase the transformer's overall efficiency, we need to tackle all losses one by one and mitigate the problem.to improve the overall efficiency of the transformer we take steps from scratch if the design of a transformer is followed the IEEE and ISO rules the end result is much better.

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