ELECTRICAL MACHINES 214 (EMC611S) LABORATORIES – EXPERIMENT 2

Student’s Surname: ______________________ Student’s Initials: ______________________

Bench No: ________ Student No: _____________ Date: ______________

TRANSFORMER TESTS AND TRANSFORMER OPERATION

OBJECTIVES:

1. To determine the equivalent circuit parameters of a single-phase transformer.

2. To plot transformer voltage regulation and efficiency curves from experimental data.
3. To calculate transformer voltage regulation using data obtained from the short-circuit test.
4. To calculate transformer efficiency using data obtained from the short-circuit and open-circuit tests.
5. To verify the correct connection and establish coil polarities of a multi-coil transformer.

NB: Lab duration is 2 Hours only.

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS:

Transformer: 220 V/110 V, 0.33 kVA – 1 off.

Wattmeters (Analogue/Digital) – 2 off.
Variable Voltage AC Supply – 1 off.
Digital Multimeters (DMM) – As required.
Variable Resistors – 3 off.
Variable Inductors – 3 off.

MARKS OBTAINED:
Part 1
61

Part 2
39

TOTAL Marks
100

EMC611S Electrical Machines 214 – Labs - 2020; Lab 2 Page 1 of 10 K. Kanyimba; R Tjiwemu
BACKGROUND THEORY:
See the ‘Single-phase Transformer - Lecture Notes’ (EMC611S_Single-phase_Transformers_Lecture-
4_2021) by K. Kanyimba.
Also see
1. Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology (10th ed), Revised by John Hiley, Keith Brown and
Ian McKenzie Smith, (Pearson) Prentice Hall.
2. Bhag, S. Guru., & Huseyin, R. Hiziroglu (2001). Electric Machinery and Transformers (3rd ed),
Oxford University Press
3. Stephen, J. Chapman. (2005). Electrical Machinery Fundamentals (4th ed), McGraw-Hill;

PART 1: LAB EXERCISE

LAB PROCEDURES:

1. DC Resistance Test
Measure the d.c. resistance of the secondary (110-V) and the primary (220-V) windings of the test
transformer using an ohmmeter. Record the values in the results section.

2. Open Circuit Test

2.1. Set up the circuit as shown in Figure 2.1 for the open-circuit test.
2.2. Energise the primary winding to its rated voltage and measure P oc, Voc, Voc-s and Ioc and record the
values in Table 2.1.
2.3. Use the 2-A current range and the 240-V voltage range on the analogue wattmeter.

3. Short Circuit Test

3.1. Set up the circuit as shown in Figure 3.1 for the short circuit test.
3.2. Energise the primary winding so that rated current flows and measure P sc, Vsc, Isc and Isc-s and
record the values in Table 3.1.
3.3. Use the 2-A current range and the 110-V voltage range on the analogue wattmeter.

Be extremely careful with this test to ensure that the rated current is not exceeded. Start
with zero voltage and increase the primary voltage gradually until the rated current flows.
Watch the ampere reading as you increase the primary voltage.

4. Transformer Operation on Unity Power-factor Load

Set up the circuit as shown in Figure 4.1.
Apply the rated load (voltage and current) to the transformer primary and record all the meter++ See
Table 4.1.

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5. Transformer Operation on Lagging Power-factor Load
5.1. Set up the circuit as shown in Figure 5.1.
5.2. Apply the rated load (voltage and current) to the transformer primary at 0.8 pf lagging and
record all the meter readings.
5.3. Decrease the load in ten steps from full-load to zero and record all the meter readings for each
step. See Table 5.1.

A lagging or leading 0.8 power-factor load is easily obtained using the triangular graph of Figure 5.2.
This graph is a 3-4-5 right-angled triangle. It provides the correct relative magnitudes of resistive,
reactive and total current phasors for a 0.8 power-factor load situation. The power-factor may be either
lagging or leading. An inductance load would provide the reactive current for a lagging power-factor
load. A capacitance load would provide the reactive current for a leading power-factor load.

To obtain a 0.8 lagging power-factor load, first apply the desired resistive load, next, travel vertically
from the value of resistive current obtained (from an ammeter connected in series with the resistive
load) to the hypotenuse of the triangle. The value indicated on the scale is the value of total current (as
indicated by an ammeter in series with the line) required to produce 0.8 power-factors. Adjust the
inductance load to yield this value of total current. Re-check the resistive load current to determine if
voltage variations have changed the value slightly. If so re-adjust the total current accordingly.

The associated formula is IResistive = 0.8 × ITotal, e.g. 4 = 0.8 × 5

6. Transformer polarity test

6.1. To determine the relative polarities between the primary and secondary windings of the
transformer, make the connections shown in Figure 6.1(a). Measure and record the voltage between
H1 and X1. Reconnect the transformer as shown in Figure 6.1(b) and measure and record the voltage
between H1 and X4. Copy the diagram of Figure 6.1(a) (without any connections) and indicate the
polarities of the transformer using the ‘dot notation’. (7)
6.2 To determine the correct polarity between two primary or two secondary windings connected in
series, make the connections shown in Figure 6.2(a). Be sure the supply’s voltage control knob is
turned to its fully anti-clockwise (0-V) position before energising the transformer (and increasing the
voltage, gradually). Do not exceed the rated current through the ammeter. Record the voltage and
current values. Re-connect the transformer as shown in Figure 6.2(b) and repeat the above procedure
and measurements. Re-draw the transformer with the correct polarity markings on the secondary
windings. (7)
6.3 To determine the correct polarity between two primary or two secondary windings connected in
parallel, make the connections shown in Figure 6.3(a). Measure and record the voltage between X 1
and X4. Re-connect the transformer as shown in Figure 6.3(b) and measure and record the voltage
between X1 and X3. From your observations determine which sides can be connected together for
parallel operation of the two windings. (7)

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CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS

Figure 2.1. Circuit diagram for the open-circuit test on a transformer.

Figure 3.1. Circuit diagram for the short-circuit test on a transformer.

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 Figure 4.1. Circuit diagram for Transformer operation on Resistive Load.

Figure 5.1. Circuit diagram for Transformer operation on Inductive Load.

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 Figure 5.2. 0.8 Power Factor Load

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 Figure 6.1(a) Figure 6.1(b)

Figure 6.2(a) Figure 6.2(b)

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 Figure 6.3(a)
Figure 6.3(b)

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 RESULTS

DC Resistance Test:

Rp-dc = _________ R s-dc = _________ (2 Marks)

Table 2.1. Open-circuit Test

Poc Ioc Voc Voc-s

(4 Marks)

Table 3.1. Open-circuit Test

Psc Isc Isc-s Vsc

(4 Marks)

Table 4.1. Load Test – Resistive Load

% of Full-load 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
P Vp
R Ip
I Pp
S Vs
E Is
C Ps
Regulation %
Efficiency %

(15 marks)

Table 5.1. Load Test – Inductive Load

% of Full-load 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
P Vp
R Ip
I Pp
S Vs
E Is
C Ps
Regulation %
Efficiency %

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 (15 marks)
PART 2: POST LAB & LAB REPORT

CALCULATIONS, COMPARISONS & GRAPHS:

1. From the open circuit test calculate the core loss ‘resistance’, core loss current, magnetising
current, magnetising reactance, magnetising inductance and the turns ratio (using the voltage ratio).

(6 marks)

2. From the short-circuit test, calculate the total resistance referred to the primary, the leakage
reactance, the leakage inductance and the turns ratio (using the current ratio). Compare the
equivalent resistance referred to the primary circuit (R eq-p) obtained from the above short-circuit test
with the dc equivalent resistance referred to the primary circuit (Rdc-p). Comment on the results.

NB: R = Rp-dc + Rs-dc’ (6 marks)

3. Calculate full-load transformer voltage-regulation and efficiency using the data from the short-
circuit and open-circuit tests. (6 marks)

4. Using the results from Tables 4.1 and 5.1, plot the measured % Regulation and %
Efficiency vs. Load-current for both the unity and 0.8 pf lagging loads. (5 marks)

5. What are the polarities of the three windings of the transformer under test? Answer this
question in a circuit diagram. (5 marks)

CONCLUSIONS:

Write a Short Lab Report and draw your conclusions from your results. . (11 marks)

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