EXPERIEMENT 1  THREE-PHASE TRANSFORMER

1.1 Aim
 To determine the parameters of the per-phase equivalent circuit of a three-phase transformer.
 Verify the equivalent circuit model of the transformer by a load test

1.2 Theory
Transformer Models

Ignoring any phase shift from primary to secondary due to the way the transformer is connected
(which has no effect on the parameters measured in this experiment), the per phase equivalent circuit
of a three phase transformer is shown in Fig. 1.

Here R1 , R2 are the primary and secondary resistances

X 1 , X 2 are the primary and secondary leakage reactance
Rc accounts for the core loss (eddy current and hysteresis losses in the iron)
Xm is the magnetising reactance - accounts for finite permeability of iron.

The impedances Rc and X m are shown on the primary side. They could as easily be referred to the
secondary.

I1 R1 X1 X2 R2 I2

+ +

V1 Rc Xm V2
_ _

Ideal Transformer
Turns ratio = n
Fig. 1 Per phase equivalent circuit

I1 R X I2

+ +
V1 Rc Xm V2
_ _

Ideal Transformer
Turns ratio = n
Fig. 2 Equivalent circuit with impedances referred to primary

In Fig. 2, the secondary resistance and leakage reactance have been referred to the primary and added
to the primary resistance and leakage reactance.
R  R1  n 2 R2 , X  X 1  n 2 X 2
The turns ratio (primary turns /secondary turns) is n . The term ‘turns ratio’ can be a bit confusing in
the case of a three phase transformer - think of it as the turns ratio of the transformer in the per
phase equivalent circuit (or simply as the inverse of the ‘voltage gain ratio’).
Parameter Calculation
The parameters R c and X m can be calculated from the open circuit test measurements using the
circuit of Fig.3 (a). As Voc, Ioc and real power P are measured, the reactive power Q can be worked out
2
by Q  VI sin   S 2  P 2 , where the complex power S=VI. From P  Voc and Q  Voc the
2

Rc Xm
parameters in the magnetising branch can be worked out then.
I oc I sc R X

+ +
Voc Rc Xm Vsc

_ _

(a) (b)

Fig. 3 Circuits for parameter calculation

R and X can be calculated using the circuit of Fig. 3 (b). Similarly work out the reactive power Q.
Based on the short-circuit equivalent circuit Fig. 3(b), the overall resistance and leakage reactance for
both primary and secondary side of the transformer can be calculated by P  I sc 2 R and Q  I sc 2 X .
The current flowing in the shunt branch can be ignored because of its very high impedance. Note the
formulae above are for single phase equivalent circuit calculations. Therefore the voltage should be
line-to –neutral and powers are for single phase as well.

1.3 Pre-lab Work

1) Explain what the parameters in the per phase equivalent circuit (R1, R2, X1, X2, Xm and Rm)
represent correlating the physical model of a transformer. In other words, what are the physical
meanings of these parameters in terms of loss of a transformer?
2) How to calculate the parameters in the per-phase equivalent circuit of a transformer from the
measurements in the open- and short-circuit test?
3) What are the phase shifts between primary and secondary of a transformer if its configurations
are Y0/Y0, Y0/ or / Y0 , respectively? Explain your answers in phasor diagram.
4) What is the voltage regulation of a transformer and how to calculate from a load test?

1.4 Lab Equipment

 3-phase Transformer
 3-phase variac
 Labvolt 9063-B Data Acquisition and Control Interface
 Labvolt 8311 Resistive Load
 Labvolt 30004-2 24 V AC Power Supply

1.5 Safety Warnings

The labs are involved high voltages and currents. The outcome can be fatal if the lab instructions are
not correctly and strictly followed. To ensure the safety of personnel and equipment, you must:
 Ensure the WHS (workplace health and safety) induction on Canvas completed.
 Be aware and always fulfil the safety rules and requirements working in the lab 435 described
in the Introduction lab notes.
 Ask a tutor to check the connections before power on.
  DO NOT touch any part of experiment connections once the setup is energised.
 Always switch off the power first if any experiment connections are to be changed.
 Ensure the Variac is at Zero position before switching on it.

1.6 Experimental Work

The three-phase transformer bank is composed of three single phase transformer connected in Y0/y0.
The ratings of each transformer are 200VA, 240V/52.5V. In terms of line-line voltage and current, the
ratings are 415V/0.83A on the primary and 91/3.8A on the secondary side. To protect the
transformers, particularly overcurrent in the short-circuit test, fuses of 5A are installed for each phase
on the LV side of the transformers. In the first two parts of this experiment, you will conduct open
circuit and short circuit test for a 3-phase transformer bank, and then work out the parameters in the
equivalent circuit based on the measurements. In the last part, conduct a load test on the transformer
to verify the equivalent circuit, and measure the efficiency and voltage regulation.

1.6.1 Open Circuit Test (O.C)

The connection diagram of O.C. test is shown in Figure 4. You will use the Module 9063-B Data
Acquisition and Control Interface (DACI) and the software LVDAC-EMS to take the measurements of
voltage, current and power. However before starting the O.C test in the steps below, make sure you
are clear of:

 What is the voltage you should apply to the secondary side of the transformer bank if the
primary side is open-circuited?
 Which meters in the setup in Figure 4 should be monitored for the voltage?

+ com
A
a

I1
+
A
red
HV
Secondary LV

E1 E3
B

com
b

Primary

com
B
yellow
E2

+ +
C

com
c

I2

C
blue

3-phase Transformer
Variable 3-ph AC 0~415V Bank

Figure 4. Open Circuit Test

1) Set up the DACI in the steps below.

 Connect the Power Input of the DACI to the 24 V ac Power Supply.
 Connect the USB port of the DACI to the host computer with LVDAC-EMS installed.
 In LVDAC-EMS, open the Metering window from Instruments in the top bar menu. Set meter
E1 and E2 to measure the secondary line-line voltage, I1 and I2 for line current, as well as a
meter E3 for the primary line-line voltage. Note: all the meters should be set as AC. The red
(+) and black (com) terminal on DACI should be connected exactly as indicated in Figure 4.
  With these voltage and current meters, the power meter can be set up to measure real
power P and reactive power Q as well as apparent power. Here we use two-Watt meter
method to measure the three phase power. Set up power meter PQS1(E1, I1) to get P1, and
PQS2(E2, I2) to get P2, respectively. The three-phase active and reactive power can be
calculated by P3ph=P1+P2 and Q3ph=√3( 2 − 1), respectively. Why?
 Insert a Data Table from the top bar menu and include the meters of E1, E2, E3, I1, I2,
PQS1(E1, I1), and PQS2(E2, I2).
 Click the Continuous Refresh button to enable continuous refresh of the values indicated
by the various meters in the Metering application.

2) Before starting to connect the circuit, check all the circuit breakers (located at the bottom of the
bench) are at the OFF position and the knob of 3-phase variac is turned back to ZERO position.
Then connect the open-circuit test system shown in Figure 4. Ask a tutor to check your
connections and turn on the power supply for you. Note: Incorrect connections on the positive
(red) and COM (black) of voltage and current meters will cause the wrong readings for power
measurements.
3) Slowly increase the 3-phase variac and watch the meter E1, E2 and E3. Stop increasing the variac
till reaching the rated voltage on either side of the transformer. Take 2~3 sets of readings for the
meters by clicking Record Data from the top bar menu in the Data Table. Export the data table to
Excel file for further process.
4) After save the readings, carefully turn the 3-phase variac back to ZERO and switch off the circuit
breaker for the 3-phase variable AC supply.
5) From these readings, calculate the parameters Rc and Xm in Fig.2. When doing these calculations,
assume that the voltage across the series impedance R+jX of Fig.2 is negligible. Note: you should
use single phase real and reactive power to do the calculation.

1.6.2 Short Circuit Test (S.C)

The connection diagram for S.C. test is shown in Figure 5. The S.C. test of a transformer is
conducted under its rated current so that a large current can be involved, particularly when
 applying voltage from the secondary side of the transformer in which even very low voltage
(about 8V) can make the secondary current to 3.8 A. Therefore it is extremely important to follow
up the instructions and increase the voltage of the variac very slowly and carefully. Before
starting the S.C. test, make sure you are clear of:

 What are the rated currents of the transformer used in this test?
 At what currents you should stop increasing the 3-phase variac?
 Which meters in Fig.5 you should watch for these currents?

+ com

A
a
I1
+
A
red

HV
Secondary LV
E1 I3

B
com

Primary
com
B
yellow
E2

+ +

C
c
I2 com

C
blue

3-phase Transformer
Variable 3-ph AC 0~415V Bank

Fig. 5 Short Circuit Test

1) In Metering window of LVDAC-EMS, set meter E1 and E2 to measure the secondary line-line
voltage, I1 and I2 for line current, as well as a meter I3 for the primary side line current. The setup
of power meters remains the same as in O.C test. Clear the Data Table and update the meters in
the Table accordingly. Click the Continuous Refresh button to enable continuous refresh of the
measurements.
2) Before connecting the circuit, ensure all the circuit breakers are at OFF positions and the 3-phase
variac is turned back to ZERO. Each phase on the secondary side of the transformer (LV side) has
a 5A fuse in series (pre-connected) to protect an overcurrent. Connect the setup based on Fig.5.
Ask a tutor to check your connections, and turn on the power supply as well as increase the variac
for you.
3) In the case of S.C, the voltage to reach the rated currents is very low, just a fraction of rated
voltage (around 10% of rated voltage). In this part, when applying the voltage from the secondary
side and short-circuit the primary side, the voltage is only about 7-8 volts which means to turn
the variac a little bit. Hence increase the 3-phase variac steadily and slowly till the point where
the rated current of either side of the transformer is reached. Watch the meter I1, I2and I3 for
the currents when applying the variac. Note! the variac is must be ensured at the ZERO position
before the system is energised, as the voltage of the AC variable supply is controlled by the 3-
phase variac.
4) Once reach to the rated current, record the meter readings in the Data Table for a number of
times and export the Table to Excel.
5) Turn the variac back to zero and then switch off the circuit breaker.
6) Use the formula in section 1.2 to calculate R and X of Fig. 2. To simplify the calculation, the
current flowing through the magnetising branch can be ignored due to the large magnetising
impedance.

Complete the per phase equivalent circuit of the transformer and draw the circuit with all the
parameters calculated from the above O.C and S.C test. Note the parameters should be referred to the
LV side as the voltages are applied to LV side during the experiments.

1.6.3 Load Test

As soon as load is applied to the transformer the terminal voltage is decreased. This phenomenon of
changing the voltage is called “voltage regulation”. The voltage regulation is defined as “it is change in
the terminal voltage from no load to full load with respect to the no load voltage”. Thus, percentage
voltage regulation= ∗ 100, where VnL is no-load voltage and VfL is full load voltage.

In this part of exercise, you will measure the voltage regulation and efficiency when the load current
reaches to a part of the rated current (depending on the available load). Then verify the equivalent
circuit you work out from the above by comparing the calculations with measurements at a load
condition.

The connection diagram for load test is shown in Figure 6. The resistor bank module 8311 is used as a
three-phase load.

R1
+ com + com
A
a

I1 I3
+ +
A
red
HV

E3
S econdary LV

E1
R2
B

com com
b

Primary

com com
B
yellow E4
E2

+ + R3
+ + com
C

com
c

I2 I4
C
blue

3-phase Transformer
Variable 3-ph AC 0~415V Bank

Figure 6. Load circuit test

1) In Metering window of LVDAC-EMS, set meter E1 and E2 to measure the secondary side line-
line voltage, I1 and I2 for secondary line current. On the primary side of the transformer, set
meter E3 and E4 to measure the line-line voltage, I3 and I4 for line current. The meters
PQS1(E1,I1), PQS2(E2,I2), PQS3(E3,I3), andPQS4(E4,I4) are set up for real power
measurements. Clear the Data Table and update the meters in the Table accordingly. Click the
Continuous Refresh button to enable continuous refresh of the values.
2) Check the bench 3-phase variable supply is OFF and the variac is at Zero position. Connect the
setup in Figure 6 and get a tutor to check the connections and switch on for you.
3) Make the three resistors (1200Ω, 2400Ω, 4800Ω) in the bank at position of O (means open). In
this case the transformer is open circuit. Slowly increase the variac till the secondary side
voltage E1 or E2 reaches to rated voltage. Click Record Data to take the measurements.
4) Then switch on the resistor 1200Ω for three phase, you should be the load voltage (primary
side) drops a bit and currents (from meter I1, I2, I3 and I4) increases. Click Record Data to take
the measurements.
5) Then switch on the three resistors for three phase (three resistors in parallel for each phase).
Click Record Data to take the measurements.
6) Calculate the voltage regulations and efficiency at these two load conditions.
7) Use the measured secondary side voltage and the equivalent circuit of the transformer to
calculate the current and power, as well as the efficiency. Compare the calculations with the
measurements at the load condition in the step 5). Comment on the discrepancy.