tank may have radiators through which the oil circulates by natural convection. Very large or high-power transformers (with capacities of millions of watts) may have cooling fans, oil pumps and even oil to water heat exchangers. Large and high-voltage transformers undergo prolonged drying processes, using electrical self-heating, the application of a vacuum, or both to ensure that the transformer is completely free of water vapor before the cooling oil is introduced. This helps prevent electrical breakdown under load.
Oil transformers tend to be equipped with Buchholz relays - safety devices sensing gas buildup inside the transformer (a side effect of an electric arc inside the windings) and switching off the transformer.
Experimental power transformers in the 2 MVA range have been built with superconducting windings which eliminates the copper losses, but not the core steel loss. These are cooled by liquid nitrogen or helium.
Very small transformers will have wire leads connected directly to the ends of the coils, and brought out to the base of the unit for circuit connections. Larger transformers may have heavy bolted terminals, bus bars or high-voltage insulated bushings made of polymers or porcelain. A large bushing can be a complex structure since it must both provide electrical insulation, and contain oil within the transformer tank.
Transformer designs Edit
An autotransformer has only a single winding, which is tapped at some point along the winding. AC or pulsed DC power is applied across a portion of the winding, and a higher (or lower) voltage is produced across another portion of the same winding. Autotransformers are used to compensate for voltage drop in a distribution system or for matching two transmission voltages, for example 115 kV and 138 kV. For voltage ratios not exceeding about 3:1, an autotransformer is less costly, lighter, smaller and more efficient than a two-winding transformer of a similar rating.
Variable autotransformers Edit
Variac is a trademark of General Radio (mid-20th century) for a variable autotransformer intended to conveniently vary the output voltage for a steady AC input voltage. The term is often used to describe similar variable autotransformers made by other makers. To provide very small increments of adjustment, the secondary connection is made through a brush that slides across the winding coils. A variable autotransformer is an efficient and quiet method for adjusting the voltage to incandescent lamps. While lightweight and compact semiconductor light dimmers have replaced variacs in many applications such as theatrical lighting, variable autotransformers are still used when an undistorted variable voltage sine wave is required.
Polyphase transformers Edit
For three-phase power, three separate single-phase transformers can be used, or all three phases can be connected to a single polyphase transformer. The three primary windings are connected together and the three secondary windings are connected together. The most common connections are Y-Δ, Δ-Y, Δ-Δ and Y-Y. If a winding is connected to earth (grounded) the earth connection point is usually the center point of a Y winding. There are many possible configurations that may involve more or fewer than six windings and various tap connections.
Resonant transformers Edit
A resonant transformer is one that operates at the resonant frequency of one or more of its coils. The resonant coil, usually the secondary, acts as an inductor, and is connected in series with a capacitor. If the primary coil is driven by a periodic source of alternating current, such as a square or sawtooth wave, each pulse of current helps to build up an oscillation in the secondary coil. Due to resonance, a very high voltage can develop across the secondary, until it is limited by some process such as electrical breakdown. These devices are therefore used to generate high alternating voltages. The current available from this type of coil can be much larger than that from electrostatic machines such as the Van de Graaff generator and Wimshurst machine. They 