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TRANSFORMERS
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TRANSFORMERS . An See also:electrical transformer is the name given to any See also:device for producing by means of one electric current another of a different See also:character. The working of such an appliance is, of course, subject to the See also:law of conservation of See also:energy. The resulting current represents less See also:power than the applied current, the difference being represented by the power dissipated in the translating See also:process. Hence an electrical transformer corresponds to a See also:simple See also:machine in See also:mechanics, both transforming power from one See also:form into another with a certain energy-dissipation depending upon frictional losses, or something See also:equivalent to them. Electrical transformers may be divided into several classes, according to the nature of the transformation effected. The first See also:division comprises those which See also:change the form of the power, but keep the type of the current the same; the second those that change the type of the current as well as the form of power. The power given up electrically to any See also:circuit is measured by the product of the effective value of the current, the effective value of the difference of potential between the ends of the circuit and a See also:factor called the power factor. In dealing with periodic currents, the effective value is that called the See also:root-mean-square value (R.M.S.), that is to say, the square root of the mean of the squares of the See also:time equidistant instantaneous values during one See also:complete See also:period (see See also:ELECTROKINETICS). In the See also:case of continuous current, the power factor is unity, and the effective value of the current or voltage is the true mean value. As the electrical measure of a power is always a product involving current and voltage, we may transform the character of the power by increasing or diminishing the current with a corresponding decrease or increase of the voltage. A transformer which raises voltage is generally called a step-up transformer, and one which lowers voltage a step-down transformer. Again, electric currents may be of various types, such as continuous, single-phase alternating, polyphase alternating, undirectional but pulsating, &c. Accordingly, transformers may be distinguished in another way, in accordance with the type of transformation they effect. (I) An alternating current trans-former is an appliance for creating an alternating current of any required magnitude and electromotive force from another of different value and electromotive force, but of the same frequency. An alternating current transformer may be constructed to transform either single-phase or polyphase currents. (2) A continuous current transformer is an appliance which effects a similar transformation for continuous currents, with the difference that some See also:part of the machine must revolve, whereas in the alternating current transformer all parts of the machine are stationary; hence the former is generally called a rotatory transformer, and the latter a static transformer. (3) A rotatory or rotary transformer may consist of one machine, or of two See also:separate See also:machines, adapted for converting a single-phase alternating current into a polyphase current, or a polyphase current into a continuous current, or a continuous current into an alternating current. If the portions receiving and putting out power are separate machines, the See also:combination is called a motor-generator. (4) A transformer adapted for converting a single-phase alternating current into a unidirectional but pulsatory current is called a rectifier, and is much used in connexion with arc See also:lighting in alternating current See also:supply stations. (5) A phase trans-former is an arrangement of static transformers for producing a polyphase alternating current from a single-phase alternating current. Alternating current transformers may be furthermoredivided into (a) single-phase, (b) polyphase. Transformers of the first class change an alternating current of single-phase to one of single-phase identical frequency, but different power; and transformers of the second class operate in a similar manner on polyphase currents. (6) The See also:ordinary See also:induction or spark coil may be called an intermittent current transformer, since it transforms an intermittent See also:low-tension See also:primary current into an intermittent or alternating high-tension current. Alternating Current Transformer.—The typical alternating current transformer consists essentially of two insulated electric circuits See also:wound on an See also:iron core constituting the magnetic circuit. They may be divided into (r) open magnetic circuit static transformers, and (2) closed magnetic circuit static trans-formers, according as the iron core takes the form of a terminated See also:bar or a closed See also:ring. A closed circuit alternating current trans-former consists of an iron core built up of thin sheets of iron or See also:steel, insulated from one another, and wound over with two insulated conducting circuits, called the primary and secondary circuits. The core must be laminated or built up of thin sheets of iron to prevent See also:local electric currents, called eddy currents, from being established in it, which would See also:waste energy. In See also:practical construction, the core is either a simple ring, See also:round or rectangular, or a See also:double rectangular ring, that is, a core whose See also:section is like the figure 8. To prepare the core, thin sheets of iron or very mild steel, not thicker than •014 of an See also:inch, are stamped out of See also:special iron (see See also:ELECTROMAGNETISM) and care-fully annealed.
The preparation of the particular See also:sheet steel or iron used for this purpose is now a speciality. It must possess extremely small See also:hysteresis loss (see See also:MAGNETISM), and various See also:trade names, such as " stalloy," " lohys," are in use to describe certain brands. See also:Barrett, See also: Lond., 1902, 31, p. 713) that a See also:silicon iron containing 2.87 % of silicon has a hysteresis loss far less than that of the best See also:Swedish soft iron. In any case the hysteresis loss should not exceed 3•0 See also:watts per kilo-See also:gram of iron measured at a frequency of 5o — and a See also:flux-See also:density of 10,000 lines per square centimetre. This is now called the " figure of merit " of the iron. Examples of the shapes in which these stampings are supplied are shown in fig. 1. The plates when annealed are varnished or covered with thin See also:paper on one See also:side, and then piled up so as to make an iron core, being kept together by bolts and nuts or by pressure plates. The designer of a transformer y in core has view, eco i. j eeonom in See also:metal, so that there may ma be no waste fragments, and second, a mode of construction that facili- tates V ' \~O the winding of the See also:wire circuits. These consist of coils of See also:cotton- covered See also:copper wire which are wound on formers and baked after being well ~,. saturated with shellac See also:varnish. The primary and secondary circuits are j~~'I' ~~I I I! I See also:ill sometimes formed of separate bobbins !i l which are sandwiched in between each other; in other cases they are wound one over the other (fig. 2). In any case the primary and secondary coils must be symmetrically distributed. If they were placed on opposite sides of the iron circuit the result would be considerable magnetic leakage. It is usual to insert sheets or cylinders of micanite between the primary and secondary windings. The transformer is then well baked and placed in a See also:cast-iron case sometimes filled in with heavy insulating oil, the ends of the primary and secondary circuits being brought out through See also:water-tight glands. The most ordinary type of alternating current transformer is one intended to transform a small electric current produced by a large electromotive force (2000 to 10,000 volts) into a larger current of low electromotive force (100 to 200 volts). Such a step- down transformer may be obvi- ously employed in the See also:reverse direction for raising pressure and !~~!! Primary reducing current, in which case it circuit is a step-up transformer. A trans- former when manufactured has to $econdary be carefully tested to ascertain, ` Circuit first, its power of resisting break- down, and, second, its energy- dissipating qualities. With the first See also:object, the transformer is subjected to a See also:series of pressure tests. If it is intended that the primary shall carry a current II ,, Trams produced by an electromotive force of 2000 volts, an insulation test must be applied with double this voltage between the primary and the secondary, the primary and the case, and the primary and the core, to ascertain whether the insulation is sufficient. To prevent electric discharges from breaking down the machine in ordinary See also:work, this extra pressure ought to be applied for at least a See also:quarter of an See also:hour. In some cases three or four times the working pressure is applied for one See also:minute between the primary and secondary circuits. When such an alternating current transformer has an alternating current passed through its primary circuit, an alternating magnetization is produced in the core, and this again induces an alternating secondary current. The secondary current has a greater or less electromotive force than the primary current according as the number of windings or turns on the secondary circuit is greater or less than those on the primary'. Of the power thus imparted to the primary circuit one portion is dissipated by the See also:heat generated in the primary and secondary circuits by the currents, and another portion by the iron core losses due to the energy wasted in the cyclical magnetization of the core; the latter are partly eddy current losses and partly hysteresis losses. In open magnetic circuit transformers the core takes the form of a laminated iron bar or a bundle of iron wire. An ordinary induction coil is an inst:ument of this description. It has been shown, however, by careful experiments, that for alternating current trans-formation there are very few cases in which the closed magnetic circuit transformer has not an See also:advantage. An immense number of designs of closed circuit transformers have been elaborated since the See also:year 1885. The See also:principal See also:modern types are the Ferranti, Kapp, Mordey, See also:Brush, Westinghouse, See also:Berry, See also:Thomson-See also:Houston and Ganz. Diagrammatic representations of the arrangements of the core and circuits in some of these transformers are given in fig. 3. A B C (C) Ganz Transformers. r, i Primary circuit; 2, 2 Secondary circuit. Alternating current transformers are classified into (i.) Core and (ii.) See also:Shell transformers, depending upon the arrangements of the iron and copper circuits. If the copper circuits are wound on the outside of what is virtually an iron ring, the transformer is a core transformer if`the iron encloses the copper circuits, it is a shell transformer. Shell transformers have the disadvantage generally of poor ventilaton for the copper circuits. Berry, however, has overcome this difficulty by making the iron circuit in the' form of a number of bunches of rectangular frames which are set in radial See also:fashion and the adjacent legs all embraced by the two copper circuits in the form of a pair of concentric cylinders. In this manner he secures See also:good See also:ventilation and a minimum See also:expenditure in copper and iron, as well as the possibility of insulating the two copper circuits well from each other and from the core. An important See also:matter is the cooling of the core. This may be effected either by ordinary See also:radiation, or by a forced See also:draught of See also:air made by a See also:fan or else by immersing the transformer in oil, the oil being kept cool by pipes through which See also:cold water circulates immersed in it. This last method is adopted for large high-tension transformers. The ratio between the power given out by a transformer and the power taken up by it is called its efficiency, and is best Efficiency. represented by a See also:curve, of which the See also:ordinate is the efficiency expressed as a percentage, and the corresponding abscissae represent the fractions of the full load as decimal fractions. The output of the transformer is generally reckoned in kilowatts, and the load is conveniently expressed in decimal fractions of the full load taken as unity. The efficiency on one-tenth of full load is generally a fairly good criterion of the See also:economy of the transformer as a transforming agency. "In large transformers the one-tenth load efficiency will reach go% or more, and in small transformers 75 to 80%. copper circuits increase about 0•4% per degree C. with rise of temperature. The current taken in at the primary side of the transformer, when the secondary circuit is unclosed, is called the magnetizing current, and the power then absorbed by the transformer is called the open circuit loss or magnetizing watts. The ratio of the terminal potential difference at the primary and secondary terminals is called the trans-formation ratio of the transformer. Every transformer is designed to give a certain transformation ratio, corresponding to some particular primary voltage. In some cases trans-formers are designed to transform, not potential 'difference, but current in a See also:constant ratio. The product of the root-meansquare (R.M.S.), effective or virtual, values of the primary current, and the primary terminal potential difference, is called the apparent power or apparent watts given to the transformer. The true electrical power may be numerically equal to this product, but it is never greater, and is sometimes less. The ratio of the true power to the apparent power is called the power factor of the transformer. The power factor approaches unity in the case of a closed circuit transformer, which is loaded non-inductively on the secondary circuit to any considerable fraction of its full load, but in the case of an open circuit transformer the power factor is always much less than unity at all loads. Power factor curves show the variation of power factor with load. Examples of these curves were first given by J. A. See also:Fleming, who suggested the See also:term itself (see Jour. Inst. Elec. Eng. Lond., 1892, 21, p. 6o6). A low power factor always implies a magnetic circuit of large reluctance. The operation of the alternating current is then as follows: the periodic magnetizing force of the primary circuit creates a periodic magnetic flux in the core, and this being linked with the primary circuit creates by its variation what is called the back electromotive force in the primary circuit. The variation of the particular portion The See also:general form of the efficiency curve for a closed circuit trans-former is shown in fig. 4. The See also:horizontal distances represent fractions of full secondary load (represented by unity), and the See also:vertical distances efficiency in percentages. The efficiency curve has a maximum value corresponding to that degree of load at which the copper losses in the transformer are equal to the iron losses. In the case of modern closed magnetic circuit transformers the copper losses are proportional to the square of the secondary cur-See also:rent (I2) or to 022, where q=Ria2+See also:R2; RI being the resistance of the primary and. R2 that of the secondary circuit, while a is the ratio of the number of secondary and primary windings of the transformer. Let C stand, for the core loss, and V2 for the secondary terminal potential difference (R.M.S. value). We can then write as an expression for the efficiency (n) of the transformer (n=I2V2/ (C + 4122+I2Vz)• It is easy to show that if Ci, V2 and q are constants, but I2 is variable, the above expression fore has a maximum value when C-gI22=O, that is, when the iron core loss C =the See also:total copper losses 022. The iron core energy-waste, due to the hysteresis and eddy currents, may be stated in watts, or expressed as a fraction of the full load secondary output. In small trans- iron and formers of r to 3 kilowatts output it may amount copper to 2 or 3%, and in large transformers of ro to 5o Losses. kilowatts and upwards it should be r or less than 1%. Thus the core loss of a 3o-kilowatt transformer (one having a secondary output of 30,000 watts) should not exceed 250 watts. It has been shown that for the constant potential transformer the iron core loss is constant at all loads, but diminishes slightly as the core temperature rises. On the other See also:hand, the copper losses due to the resistance of the UIN x U 100 90 80 70 .60 80 40 30 20 10 0 2 3 •4 5 •6 7 8 •9 •10 Fraction of Full Load. Closed Circuit Transformer. of this periodic flux, linked with the secondary circuit, originates in this last a periodic electromotive force. The whole of the flux linked with the primary circuit is not interlinked with the secondary circuit. The difference is called the magnetic leakage of the trans-former. This leakage is increased with the secondary output of the transformer and with any disposition of the primary and secondary coils which tends to separate them. The leakage exhibits itself by. increasing the secondary drop. If a transformer is worked at a constant primary potential difference, the secondary terminal potential difference at no load or on open secondary circuit is greater than it is when the secondary is closed and the transformer giving its full output. The difference between these last two See also:differences of potential is called the secondary drop. This secondary drop should not exceed 2 °o of the open secondary circuit potential difference. The facts required to be known about an alternating current transformer to appraise its value are (t) its full load secondary output or the numerical value of the power it is See also:hours, and at full load for three hours. The matters of most practical importance in connexion with an alternating current transformer are (i) the iron core loss, which affects the efficiency chiefly, and must be considered (a) as to its initial value, and (b) as affected by " ageing " or use; (2) the secondary drop or difference of secondary voltage between full and no load, primary voltage being constant, since this affects the service and power of the transformer to work in parallel with others; and (3) the temperature rise when in normal use, which affects the insulation and See also:life of the transformer. The shellacked cotton, oil and other materials with which the transformer circuits are insulated suffer a deterioration in insulating power if continuously maintained at any temperature much above 8o° C. to too° C. In taking the tests for core loss and drop, the temperature of the transformer should therefore be stated. The iron losses are reduced in value as temperature rises and the copper losses are increased. The former may be to to 15% less and the latter 20% greater than when the trans-former is cold. For the purpose of calculations we require to know the number of turns on the primary and secondary circuits, represented by N, and N2; the resistances of the primary and secondary circuits, represented by Rr and R2; the See also:volume (V) and See also:weight (W) of the iron core; and the mean length (L) and section (S) of the magnetic section. The hysteresis loss of the iron reckoned in watts per lb per too cycles of magnetization per second and at a maximum flux density of 2500 C.G.S. See also:units should also be determined. The experimental examination of a transformer involves the measurement of the efficiency, the iron core 'loss, and the Testing. secondary drop; also certain tests as to insulation and See also:heating, and finally an examination of the relative phase position and graphic form of the various periodic quantities, currents and electromotive forces taking See also:place in the trans-former. The efficiency is best determined by the employment of a properly constructed See also:wattmeter (see See also:WATT-See also:METER). The trans-former T (fig. 5) should be so arranged that, if a constant potential trans-former, it is supplied with its normal working pressure at the primary side and with a load which can be varied, and which is obtained either by incandescent lamps, L, or resistances in the secondary circuit. A wattmeter, W, should be placed with its series coil, Se, in the primary circuit of the transformer, and its175 shunt coil, Sh, either across the primary mains in series, with a suitable non-inductive resistance, or connected to the secondary circuit of another transformer, Ti, called an See also:auxiliary transformer, having its primary terminals connected to those of the transformer under test. In the, latter case one or more incandescent lamps, L, may be connected in series with the shunt coil of the wattmeter so as to regulate the current passing through it. The current through the series coil of the wattmeter is then the same as the current through the primary circuit of the transformer under test, and the current through the shunt coil of the wattmeter is in step with, and proportional to, the primary voltage of the transformer. Hence, the wattmeter See also:reading is proportional to the mean power given up to the transformer. The wattmeter can be standardized and its See also:scale reading interpreted by replacing the transformer under test by a non-inductive resistance or series of lamps, the power absorption of which is measured by the product of the amperes and volts supplied to it. In the secondary circuit of the trans-former is placed another wattmeter of a similar See also:kind, or, if the load on the secondary circuit is non-inductive, the secondary voltage and the secondary current can be measured with a proper alternating current ammeter, See also:A2, and See also:voltmeter, V2, and the product of these readings taken as a measure of the power given out by the transformer. The ratio of the See also:powers, namely, that given out in the See also:external secondary circuit and that taken in by the primary circuit, is the efficiency of the transformer. In testing large transformers, when it is inconvenient to load up the secondary circuit to the full load, a See also:close approximation to the power taken up at any assumed secondary load can be obtained by adding to the value of this secondary load, measured in watts, the iron core loss of the transformer, measured at no load, and the copper losses calculated from the measured copper resistances when the transformer is hot. Thus, if C is the iron core loss in watts, measured on open secondary circuit, that is to say, is the power given to the transformer at normal frequency and primary voltage, and if RI and R2 are the primary and secondary circuit resistances when the transformer has the temperature it would have after See also:running at full load for two or three hours, then the efficiency can be calculated as follows: Let 0 be the nominal value of the full secondary output of the transformer in watts, Vi and V2 the terminal voltages on the primary and secondary, side, NI and N2 the number of turns, and Al and A2 the currents for the two circuits; then O/V2 is the full load secondary current measured in amperes, and N2N1 multiplied by O/V2 is to a sufficient approximation the value of the corresponding primary current. Hence O2R2/V22 is the watts lost in the secondary circuit due to copper resistance, and O2R1N22/V22Ni2 is the corresponding loss in the primary circuit. Hence the total power loss in the transformer (=L) is such that Appraise- designed to transform, on the See also:assumption that it See also:meat. will not rise in temperature more than about 6o° C. above the See also:atmosphere when in normal use; (2) the primary and secondary terminal voltages and currents, accompanied by a statement whether the transformer is intended for producing a constant secondary voltage or a constant secondary current; (3) the efficiency at various fractions on secondary load from one-tenth to full load taken at a stated frequency; (a) the power factor at one-tenth of full load and at full load; (5) the secondary drop between full load and no load; (6) the iron core loss, also the magnetizing current, at the normal frequency; (q) the total copper losses at full load and at one-tenth of full load; (8) the final temperature of the transformer after being See also:left on open secondary circuit but normal primary potential for twenty-four Transformers. L = C + V22 R2 -h \N~/ ? 2zRi = C -}- (R2 -{- Ria2)O2/V22. Therefore the power given up to the transformer is 0+L, and the efficiency is the fraction O/(O+L) expressed as 'a percentage. In this manner the efficiency can be determined with a considerable degree of accuracy in the case of large transformers without actually loading up the secondary circuit. The secondary drop, however, can only be measured by loading the transformer up to full load, and, while the primary voltage is kept constant, measuring the potential difference of the secondary terminals, and comparing it with the same difference when the transformer is not loaded. Another method of testing large transformers at full load without supplying the actual power is by W. E. Sumpner's See also:differential method, which can be done when two equal transformers are available (see Fleming, Handbook for the Electrical Laboratory and Testing See also:Room, ii. 6o2). No test of a transformer is complete which does not comprise some investigation of the " ageing " of the core. The slow changes which take place in the hysteretic quality wing of iron when heated, in the case of certain brands, give rise to a time-increase in iron core loss. Hence a trans-former which has a core loss, say, of 300 watts when new, may, unless the iron is well chosen, have its core loss increased from 50 to 300% by a few months' use. In some cases specifications for transformers include fines and deductions from See also:price for any such increase; but there has in this respect been See also:great improvement in the manufacture of iron for magnetic purposes, and makers are now able to obtain supplies of, good magnetic iron or steel with non-ageing qualities. It is always desirable, how-ever, that in the case of large sub-station transformers tests should be made at intervals to discover whether the core loss has increased by ageing. If so, it may mean a very considerable increase in the cost of magnetizing power. Consider the case of a 3o-kilowatt transformer connected to the mains all the year round; the normal core loss of such a transformer should be about 300 watts, and therefore, since there are 876o hours in the year, the total See also:annual energy dissipated in the core should be 2628 kilowatt hours. Reckoning the value of this electric energy at only one See also:penny per unit, the core loss See also:costs £Io, 19s. per annum. If the core loss becomes doubled, it means an additional annual expenditure of nearly iii. Since the cost of such a transformer would not exceed roo, it follows that it would be economical to replace it by a new one rather than continue to work it at its enhanced core loss. In Great See also:Britain the sheet steel or iron alloy used for the trans-former cores is usually furnished to specifications which See also:state the maximum hysteresis loss to be allowed in it in watts per lb (See also:avoirdupois) at a frequency of 50, and at a maximum flux-density during the See also:cycle of 4000 C.G.S. units. When plates having a thickness t mils are made up into a transformer core, the total energy loss in the core due to hysteresis and eddy current loss when worked at a frequency is and a maximum flux-density during the cycle B is given by the empirical formulae T = •oo32nB1.55IO-l+(tnB)'I0-'' T' =o•88nBII.55Io 5+1.4(t1nBI)2io 10, where T stands for the loss per cubic centimetre, and TI for the same in watts per See also:pound of iron core, B for the maximum flux-density in lines per square centimetre, and BI for the same in lines per square inch, t for the thickness of the plates in thousandths of an inch (mils), and ti for the same in inches. The hysteresis loss varies as some power near to 1.6 of the maximum flux-density during the cycle as shown by See also:Steinmetz (see ELECTROMAGNETISM). Since the hysteresis loss varies as the 1.6th power of the maximum flux-density during the cycle (B max.), the advantages of a low flux-density are evident. An excessively low flux-density increases, however, the cost of the core and the copper by increasing the See also:size of the transformer. If the form factor (f) of the primary voltage curve is known, then the maximum value of the flux-density in the core can always be calculated from the See also:formula B=EI/4fnSNI, where E is the R.M.S. value of the primary voltage, NI the primary turns, S the section of the core, and is the frequency. The study of the processes taking place in the core and circuits of a transformer have been greatly facilitated in See also:recent years by Curve the improvements made in methods of observing and Tracing. recording the variation of periodic currents and electromotive forces. The See also:original method, due to See also:Joubert, was greatly improved and employed by See also:Ryan, See also:Bell, See also:Duncan and See also:Hutchinson, Fleming, See also:Hopkinson and See also:Rosa, Callendar and Lyle; but the most important improvement was the introduction and invention of the See also:oscillograph by See also:Blondel, subsequently improved by Duddell, and also of the ondograph of Hospitalier (see OSCILLOGRAPH). This See also:instrument enables us, as it were, to look inside a transformer, for which it, in fact, performs the same See also:function that a See also:steam See also:engine See also:indicator does for the steam See also:cylinder.' Delineating in this way the curves of primary and secondary current and primary and secondary electromotive forces, we get the following result: Whatever may be the form of the curve of primary terminal potential difference, or primary voltage, that of the secondary voltage or terminal potential difference is an almost exact copy, but displaced 18o° in phase. Hence the alternating current trans-former reproduces on its secondary terminals all the See also:variations of potential on the primary, but changed in scale. The curve of primary current when the transformer is an open secondary circuit is different in form and phase, lagging behind the primary voltage curve (fig. 6) ; but if the transformer is loaded up on its or ' For a useful See also:list of references to published papers on alternating current curve tracing, see a paper by W. D. B. Duddell, read before the See also:British Association, See also:Toronto, 1897; also Electrician (1897), xxxix. 636; also Handbook for the Electrical Laboratory and Testing Room (J. A. Fleming), i. 407.secondary side, then the primary current curve comes more into step with the primary voltage curve. The secondary current curve, if the secondary load is non-inductive, is in step with the secondary voltage curve (fig. 7). These transformer diagrams yield much See also:information as to the nature of the operations proceeding in the transformer. The form of the curve of primary current at no secondary load is a consequence of the hysteresis of the iron, combined with the fact that the form of the core flux-density curves of the transformer is always not far removed from a simple sine curve. If el is at any moment the electromotive force, iI the current 'on the primary circuit, and bI is the flux-density in the core, then we have the fundamental relation el=Rlii+SNI dbI/dt, where RI is the resistance of the primary, and NI the number of turns, and S is the See also:cross-section of the core. In all modern closed'circuit trans-formers the quantity RIi, is very small compared with the quantity SNdb/dt except at one instant during the phase, and in taking the integral of the above See also:equation, viz. in finding the value of feldt, the integral of the first term on the right-hand side may be neglected in comparison with the second. Hence we have approximately bI = (SNI)—;feldt. In other words, the value of the flux-density in the core is obtained by integrating the See also:area of the primary voltage curve. In so doing the integration must be started from the time point through which passes the ordinate bisecting the area of the primary voltage curve. When any curve is formed such that its ordinate y is the integral of the area of another curve, viz. y = fy'dx, the first curve is always smoother and more See also:regular in form than the second. Hence the process above described when applied to a complex periodic curve, which can by See also:Fourier's theorem be resolved into a series of simple periodic curves, results in a relative reduction of the magnitude of the higher harmonics compared with the funda- See also:mental term, and hence a wiping out of the See also:minor irregularities of the curve. In actual practice the curve of electromotive force of alternators can be quite sufficiently reproduced by employing three terms of the expansion, viz. the first three See also:odd harmonics, and the resulting flux-density curve is always very nearly a simple sine curve. We have then the following rules for predetermining the form of the current curve of the transformer at no load, assuming that the hysteresis curve of the iron is given, set out in terms of flux-density and See also:ampere-turns per centimetre, and also the form of the curve of primary electromotive force. Let the time See also:base See also:line be divided up into equal small elements. Through any selected point draw a line perpendicular to the base line. Bisect the area enclosed by the curve representing the See also:half See also:wave of primary electromotive force and the base line by another perpendicular. Integrate the area enclosed between the electromotive force curve and these two perpendicular lines and the base. Lastly, set up a length on the last perpendicular equal to the value of this area divided by the product of the cross-section of the core and the number of primary turns. The resulting value will be the core flux-density b at the phase instant corresponding. Look out on the hysteresis See also:loop the same flux-density value, and corresponding to it will be found two values of the magnetizing force in ampere-turns per centimetre, one the value for increasing flux-density and one for decreasing. An inspection .of the position of the point of time selected on the time line will at once show which of these to select. See also:Divide that value of the ampere-turns per centimetre by the product of the values of the primary turns and the mean length of the magnetic circuit of the core of the transformer, and the result gives the value of the primary current of the transformer. This can be set up to scale on the perpendicular through the time instant selected. Hence, given the form of the primary electromotive force curve and that of the hysteresis loop of the iron, we can draw the curves representing the changes of flux-density in the core and that of the corresponding primary current, and thus predict the rootmean-square value of the magnetizing current of the transformer. It is therefore possible, when given the primary electromotive force curve and the hysteresis curve of the iron, to predetermine the curves depicting all the other variables of the transformer, provided that the magnetic leakage is negligible. The elementary theory of the closed iron circuit transformer may be stated as follows: Let NI, N2 be the turns on the primary and secondary circuits, RI and R2 the resistances, S the Elementary section of the core, and bI and b2 the co-instantaneous Theory. values of the flux-density just inside the primary and secondary windings. Then, if iI and i2 and el and e2 are the primary el, Primary voltage curve; iI, Primary current curve; e2, Secondary voltage curve. Curves 7.–Transformer load. el, Primary voltage curve; Primary current curve; e2, Secondary voltage curve; i2, Secondary current curve. Curves–at full eiii =e2i2 + (Riii2 +R2i 2) +Sat (Niii — N2i2) 1 %is equation merely expresses the fact that the power put into tl e transformer at any instant is equal to the power given out on tl e secondary side together with the power dissipated by the cc pper losses and the constant iron core loss. The efficiency of a transformer at any load is the ratio of the re an value, during the period, of the product to that of the product e2i2. The efficiency of an alternating current transformer is a function of the form of the primary electromotive force curve. Eeperiment has shown' that if a transformer is tested for efficiency o. i various alternators having electromotive force curves of different fi rms, the efficiency values found at the same secondary load are r. of identical, those being highest which belong to the alternator crith the most peaked curve of electromotive force, that is, the curve having the largest form factor. This is a consequence of the tact that the hysteresis loss in the iron depends upon the manner in which the magnetization (or what here comes to the same thing, the flux-density in the core) is allowed to change. If the primary electromotive force curve has the form of a high See also:peak, or runs up suddenly to a large maximum value, the flux-density curve will be more square-shouldered than when the voltage curve has a See also:lower form factor. The hysteresis loss in the iron is less when the magnetization changes its sign somewhat suddenly than when it does so more gradually. In other words, a diminution in the form factor of the core flux-density curve implies a diminished hysteresis loss. The variation in core loss in transformers when tested on various forms of commercial alternator may amount to as much as 10%. Hence, in recording the results of efficiency tests of alternating current transformers, it is always necessary to specify the form of the curve of primary electromotive force. The power factor of the transformer or ratio of the true power absorption at no load, to the product of the R.M.S. values of the primary current and voltage, and also the secondary drop of the transformer, vary with the form factor of the primary voltage curve, being also both in-creased by increasing the form factor. Hence there is a slight advantage in working alternating current transformers off an alternator giving a rather peaked or high maximum value electromotive force curve. This, however is disadvantageous in other ways, as it puts a greater See also:strain upon the insulation of the trans-former and cables. At one time a controversy arose as to the relative merits of closed and open magnetic circuit transformers. It was, however, shown by tests made by Fleming and by See also:Ayrton on See also:Swinburne's " See also:Hedgehog " transformers, having a straight core of iron wires bristling out at each end, that for equal secondary outputs, as regards efficiency, open as compared with closed magnetic circuit transformers had no advantage, whilst, owing to the smaller power factor and consequent large R.M.S. value of the magnetizing current, the former type had many disadvantages (see Fleming, " Experimental Researches on Alternate Current Transformers," Journ. Inst. Elec. Eng., 1892). The discussion of the theory of the transformer is not quite so simple when magnetic leakage is taken into See also:account. In all cases Magnetk a certain proportion of the magnetic flux linked with Leakage. the -primary circuit is not linked with the secondary .m1-cult, and the difference is called the magnetic leakage. This magnetic leakage constitutes a wasted flux which is non-
effective in producing secondary electromotive force. It increases
with the secondary current, and can be delineated by a curve on
the transformer See also:diagram in the following manner. The curves of
primary and secondary electromotive force, or terminal potential
difference and current, are determined experimentally, and then
two curves are plotted on the same diagram which represent the
variation of (ei—Riii)/Ni and (e2+R2i2)/N2; these will represent
the time differentials of the total magnetic fluxes Sbi and Sb2 linked
respectively with the primary and secondary circuits. . The above
curves are then progressively integrated, starting from the time
i See Dr G. Roessler, Electrician (1895), See also:xxxvi. 150; Beeton, See also: 580.point through which passes the ordinate bisecting the area of each half wave, and the resulting curves plotted to See also:express by their ordinates Sbi and Sb2. A curve is then plotted whose ordinates are the differences Sb,—Sb2, and this is the curve of magnetic leakage. The existence of magnetic leakage can be proved experimentally by a method due to Mordey, by placing a pair of thermometers, one of See also:mercury and the other of See also:alcohol, in the centre of the core See also:aperture. If there is a magnetic leakage, the mercury bulb is heated not only by radiant heat, but by eddy currents set up in the mercury, and its rise is therefore greater than that of the alcohol thermometer. The leakage is also determined by observing the secondary voltage drop between full load and no load, and de-ducting from it the part due to copper resistance; the See also:remainder is the drop due to leakage., Thus if V2 is the secondary voltage on open circuit, and V2' that when a current A2 is taken out of the transformer, the leakage drop v is given by the equation v = (V2 —V2') — l R2A2 +R1A2 (N2/Nl)2}. The term in the large See also:bracket expresses the drop in secondary voltage due to the copper resistance of the primary and secondary circuits. In See also:drawing up a See also:specification for an alternating current trans-former, it is necessary to specify that the maximum secondary drop between full and no load to be allowed shall not exceed a certain value, say 2 % of the no-load secondary voltage; also that the iron core loss as a percentage of the full secondary output shall not exceed a value, say, of i %, after six months' normal work. In the See also:design of large transformers one of the See also:chief points for See also:attention is the arrangement for dissipating the heat gene-rated in their See also:mass by the copper and iron losses. For every watt expended in the core and circuit, Uesig a Transfonrmer . See also:surface of 3 to 4 sq. in. must be allowed, so that the heat may be dissipated. In large transformers it is usual to employ some means of producing a current of air through the core to ventilate it. In these, called air-blast transformers, apertures are left in the core by means of which the cooling air can reach the interior portions. This air is driven through the core by a fan actuated by an alternating current motor, which does not, however, take up power to a greater extent than about 4 or 10-% of the full output of the transformer, and well repays the outlay. In some cases transformers are oil-insulated, that is to say, included in a cast-iron See also:box which is filled in with a heavy insulating oil. For this purpose an oil must be selected See also:free from See also:mineral acids and water: it should be heated to a high temperature before use, and tested for See also:dielectric strength by observing the voltage required to create a spark between metal balls immersed Material. Dielectric Material. Dielectric strength in strength in kilowatts per kilowatts per centimetre. centimetre. See also:Glass 285 Lubricating oil . . 83 Ebonite . 538 See also:Linseed oil 67 Indiarubber 492 Cotton-See also:seed oil. 57 See also:Mica 2000 Air film •02 cm. 27 Micanite . . . . 4000 thick . . 48
See also:American See also:linen paper 540 Air film I.6 cm.
L paraffined . thick . . . .
in it at a distance of 1 millimetre apart. See also:Oils, however, are inferior in dielectric strength or spark-resisting power to solid dielectrics, such as micanite, ebonite, &c., as shown by the above table of dielectric strengths (see T. See also: Each core See also:leg is surrounded with a primary coil, and these are joined up either in See also:star or See also:delta fashion, and connected to the three or four line wires. The secondary circuits are then
connected in a similar fashion to three or s, s2 s four secondary lines. In the case of two-
phase transmission with two separate pairs FIG. 8.—Brush Three-of leads, single-phase transformers may be phase Transformer.
and secondary currents and potential differences at the same instant, these quantities are connected by the equations
er=R+SNidbi e2=SN2 dt2—R2i2. at,
Hence, if 61 = b2, and if See also:Rail is negligible in comparison with SNidb/dt, and i=o, that is, if the secondary circuit is open, then ei/e2=N1/N2, or the transformation ratio is simply the ratio of the windings. This, however, is not the case if br and b2 have not the same value; in other words, if there is magnetic leakage. If the magnetic leakage can be neglected, then the resultant magnetizing force, and therefore the iron core loss, is constant at all loads. Accordingly, the relation between the primary current (Si), the secondary current (i2), and the magnetizing current (i); or primary current at no load, is given by the equation Nlii—N2i2=Nit. Then, See also:writing b for the instantaneous value of the flux-density in the core, everywhere supposed to be the same, we arrive at the identity
nected with opposite ends of th
sulated rings on its See also:shaft See also:cone arma-Phase Transformers are arrangements of static or rotary trans- See also:ture winding (fig. to). If such a ring is placed in a bipole See also: This reaches its maximum value when the points of contact of the rings with the armature circuit pass the See also:axis of See also:commutation, or line at right angles to the direction of the magnetic field, for it has at this moment a value which is three can be represented by the sides of a triangle which is half double the steady value of the continuous current being poured an equilateral triangle. If then a two-phase alternator, D (fig. 9), into the armature. The maximum value of the electromotive provides two-phase cur- force creating this alternating current is nearly equal to the electro- rents, and if the two circuits See also:motive force on the continuous current side. Hence if A is the are connected, as shown, to maximum value of the continuous current put into the armature a pair of single-phase trans- I and V is the value of the brush potential difference on the See also:con- formers, Ti and T2, we can tinuous current side, then 2A is the maximum value of the out- obtain three-phase alter- coming alternating current and V is the maximum value of its nating currents from the ar- voltage. Hence 2AV/2 =AV is the maximum value of the out- rangement. The primaries coming alternating current of both transformers are C B the same. The secondary O circuit of one transformer, T2, has, say, too turns, and A a connexion is made to its See also:middle point 0, and this is connected to the secondary of the other transformer T which has 87 (=5o 43) turns. From the points A, B, C we can then tap off three-phase alternating cur- !-- - O rents. The advantages of the See also:Scott system are that G~ E 9 we can transform two-phase alternating currents into three-phase for transmis- See also:sion, and then by a similar arrangement retransform is effected, for instead of four transmission lines we have only three. The system adapts itself for the transmission of currents both for power in See also:driving three-phase See also:motors and for working incandescent lamps. A somewhat similar system has been designed by C. P. Steinmetz for producing three-phase currents from single-phase (see Electrician, xliii. 26). When a number of alternating electromotive forces are maintained in a closed circuit, the sum of all must be zero, and may be represented by the sides of a closed See also:polygon. The fundamental principle of Mr Steinmetz's invention consists in so choosing the number of these electromotive forces that the polygon must remain See also:stable. Thus, if three single-phase alternators are driven independently at constant See also:speed and excitation, and if they are joined in series, then three wires led away from the junction points will provide three-phase currents to a system from which lamps and motors may be worked. Reference must be made to the continuous current transformer. The See also:conversion of a continuous current supplied, say, at too volts, Continuous into one having an electromotive force of to volts, Current can of course be achieved by coupling together on the Trans- same bedplate a suitable electric motor and a See also:dynamo. formers. The combination is called a motor-dynamo set, and each machine preserves its own identity and peculiarity. The same result may, however, be accomplished by winding two separate armature circuits on one iron core, and furnishing each with its own commutator. The two circuits are interlaced or wound on together. An arrangement of this kind constitutes a rotatory or rotary transformer, or continuous current transformer. It has the advantage of greater cheapness and efficiency, because one field magnet serves for both armature windings, and there is only one armature core and one pair of See also:bearings; moreover, no shift or See also:lead of the brushes is required at various loads. The armature reactions of the two circuits annul each other. Machines of this description are self-starting, and can be constructed to take in primary current at high pressures, say loon to goo() volts, and yield another larger current of much lower voltage, say too or 150 volts, for use with electric lamps. They are used in connexion with public electric supply by continuous current in many places. Another important class of rotatory transformer is that also called a rotatory converter, by means of which continuous current is translated into alternating current of one-, two- or three-phase, or See also:vice versa. The See also:action of such an appliance may best be under-stood by considering the simple case of a Gramme ring armature A i Proceedings of the See also:National Electric See also:Light Association (Washing-ton, U.S.A., 1894) ; also Electrician (1894), xxxii. 64o. employed in each See also:branch, but with two-phase three-wire supply, two- ! (see DYNAMO) having, in addition to its commutator, a pair of inphase transformers must be supplied.See also:ing electromotive forces differing in phase are connected in series, electromotive forces differing 90° in phase, and having magnitudes i in the ratio of 1:43, are connected in series, the resulting electro- motive force will have a magnitude represented by 2, and the has been described by C. F. Scott.' It is known that if two alternat- power, and if we neglect the loss in the armature for the moment, the power given out is equal to the power put in. Hence, assuming a simple See also:harmonic law of variation, the effective value of the alternating current voltage is V/42, and that of the alternating current is 2A42. This conclusion follows at once from the fact that the mean value of the square of a sine function is half its maximum value, and hence the R.M.S. value is 1/42 times the maximum value. The outcoming alternating current has its zero value at the instant when the ends of the See also:diameter of the axis to which the rings are connected are in the direction of the, magnetic field of the transformer. Hence the power output on the alternating current side varies from a maximum value AV to zero. The rotatory transformer thus absorbs continuous current power and emits it in a periodic form; accordingly, there is a continual storage and emission of energy by the armature, and therefore its kinetic energy is periodically varying during the phase. The armature is also creating a back-electromotive force which acts at some instants against the voltage driving the current into the armature and at others is creating an electromotive force that assists the external impressed voltage in driving a current through the alternating current side. If we put on another pair of insulated rings and connect them to points of the insulated diameter at right angles to the points of connexion of the first pair of rings, we can draw off another alternating current, the phase of which differs 90° from that of the first. Similarly, if we provide three rings connected to points removed 120° apart on the armature circuit, we can tap off a three-phase alternating current. Returning to the case of the single-phase rotatory transformer, we may See also:notice that at the instant when the outcoming alternating current is zero the armature is wholly engaged in absorbing power and is acting entirely as a motor. When the alternating current is a maximum, the armature on the other hand is acting as a generator and adds current to the current put into it. The ratio between the potential difference of the brushes on the continuous current side and the root-mean-square or effective value of the voltage between any pair of rings on the alternating current side is called the transformation ratio of the converter. The following table, taken from a paper upon rotatory converters by S. P. See also:Thompson (Prot. Inst. Elec. Eng., See also:November 1898), gives the voltage ratio or conversion ratio in the case of various forms of rotatory transformers continuous to two-phase. See also:Angle Effective voltage on between alternating Number points of nexions Type Voltage' as percentage oringsf slip, con to of voltage on armatures. continuous current side. 2 18o° Single-phase 42 :1 70'71 3 120° Three-phase 242:43 61.23 4 90° Two-phase X12:1 70.71 4 90° Four-phase 2:1 50 6 6o° Three-phase 34 3:43 61'23 6 60° Six-phase 242:1 35'35 _se Neglecting the energy losses in the armature, and assuming that the continuous current side of the transformer is supplied with See also:loo amperes, the following table, also taken from a paper by S. P. Thompson, shows the effective value of the current on the alternating side put out into each line: Number Angle Type of current Effective cur- of slip between generated. rent put out rings. points of on each line in connexion amperes. to armature. 2 18o° Single-phase 141.4 3 120° Three-phase 94'3 4 9o° Two-phase 70.7 6 6o° Six-phase 47.2 It is obvious that the same results of conversion can be obtained by coupling together two separate machines on the same shaft; thus we might obtain a single-phase alternating current from a continuous current by coupling together mechanically a continuous current motor and a single-phase alternator. Such a combination is generally called a motor-dynamo. In this case there are two field magnets and two separate armatures, and the hysteresis eddy current and copper losses are all in duplicate. If, however, the same armature winding is made to serve both purposes, the resulting machine is called a rotatory or rotary converter. In the former combination the brushes of the continuous current part require to be set with the usual lead or lag according as that part is generator or motor, but in the latter the armature reactions nearly annul each other, and lead or lag is no longer necessary. Rectifiers are devices for transforming an alternating (generally single-phase) current into a continuous but pulsatory Rectifiers. current. They may shortly be described as appli- ances for separating out each alternate current flux in an alternating current. An immense number of more or less imperfect methods of doing this have been proposed, and here we shall describe two which may be called respectively the See also:mechanical and the electrolytic methods. Of the first class a good example is the Ferranti rectifier (fig. II). This consists of a synchronous alternating current motor which is started up and driven in step with the alternator supplying the current. The motor drives a commutator of insulated segments, each alternate segment being connected to two insulated rings, against which See also:press a pair of brushes. Another pair of brushes, so adjusted as to be in contact simultaneously with a pair of adjacent commutator segments, are in connexion with the alternator supplying the current to be commutated. The insulated rings are in connexion with the external circuit. It will easily be seen that when the commutator revolves at proper speed the currents delivered from the insulated rings are unidirectional. The Ferranti rectifier is much employed for rectifying alternating current for arc lighting purposes. With this object it is associated with a constant current transformer which converts alternating current supplied at constant potential to one supplied at constant current. This is achieved by taking advantage of the repulsive force existing between the primary and secondary circuits of a transformer. These are wound separately, and so balanced that any increase in the current presses them away from each other and so reduces the secondary current to normal value. Such an appliance is useful for rectifying currents up to ro or 15 amperes. The electrolytic rectifier is based upon the fact that if plates of See also:aluminium and See also:carbon are placed in an electrolyte, say a See also:solution of See also:alum or dilute acids which yield See also:oxygen on See also:electrolysis, it is found that a current can be sent through the liquid from the carbon to the aluminium, but that great See also:counter-electromotive force is created to a current in the opposite direction. Gratz and Pollak (Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift, 1897, 25, p. 359), taking advantage of this fact, have constructed a rectifying arrangement by arranging two series of carbon aluminium (CAl) cells with alum or hydro-potassic phosphate solution as electrolyte. In one set the See also:order of the plates is (CAl), (CAl), &c., and in the other series (A1C), (AIC), counting from the same end. These series being connected in parallel, it follows that if an alternating current is sent through the parallel series all the currents in one direction pass through one See also:battery and all those in the opposite direction through the other. Thus the constituents of the alternating current are separated out. By using very large cells so as to reduce the See also:internal resistance, an efficiency of 95 % is said to be obtained. There are many points in the operation of the electrolytic rectifier which have as yet been imperfectly explained. The action of the aluminium electrolytic rectifier, consisting as it does Theory of of an aluminium See also:plate and a lead or carbon plate Etectroiflettic placed in an aqueous electrolyte, is to oppose a Rry great obstruction to a current passing out of the aluminium plate, but little or no obstruction to the current passing into the aluminium plate, especially if the aluminium has been subjected to a previous treatment called formation. This unilateral conductivity is dependent on a certain voltage or potential difference between the plates not being exceeded, but within these limits a plate of carbon and aluminium placed in a solution, say of hydro-sodic phosphate, acts as an electrical See also:valve, allowing current to pass in one direction but not in another. An examination of the aluminium plate after it has been so used shows that its See also:appearance has changed and that its surface is covered by a thin film, the thickness of which varies with the electrolyte and the time of formation. After a certain period of use this film is seen as a See also:grey, dull coating traversed by dark lines. It is impossible that the unilateral conductivity can be due to a true electrolytic polarization, because we know of no polarization of this latter kind which exceeds three volts, and the film can be made to resist the flow of a current under an electromotive force of 140 to 200 volts. The resistance of this film has been measured and found to be very high, so high as to be practically an insulation. Light was thrown upon the subject by F. Kohlrausch's See also:discovery of the polarization capacity of metallic electrodes, and this discovery was applied to develop the theory of the aluminium See also:cell by Streintz (1888), Scott (1899) and others. This theory was expounded by K. See also:Norden (Electrician, xlviii. 107). According to this view, the See also:deposit covering the aluminium electrode forms the dielectric of a See also:condenser. One plate of the condenser is formed by the aluminium plate and the other, by an opposite layer of electrically-charged ions in the electrolyte. The dielectric film on the aluminium having been formed, the electromotive force of the circuit then charges the resulting condenser to the value of its own voltage, but immediately the impressed electromotive force is removed this condenser discharges itself. This con-denser theory receives support from the behaviour of the aluminium cell when placed in the circuit of an alternating current dynamo, for it is found that in these circumstances the current through the cell is in advance in phase of the difference of potential. The question then arises, What is the nature of this insulating film? The first discoverer of the phenomenon (See also:Buff) considered it to consist of silicon. Later See also:Professor Beetz disproved this by experiment, and, with many others, assumed that a sub-See also:oxide of aluminium was formed; but this has never been demonstrated in a satisfactory manner. By forming a sufficient quantity of the film Dr K. Norden was able to obtain sufficient of the material to make a chemical See also:analysis, and this revealed the fact that it consists of normal aluminium hydroxide, Al2(OH)6. According to the facts above stated, one wave of the alternating current produces the insulating film by converting the surface of the aluminium into hydroxide, practically, therefore, blocking its own path very quickly by the creation of this film. If, then, the electromotive force reverses its direction the current immediately flows. According to Dr -Norden, the rapid removal of the insulating film is due to the action of the electrolyte corroding or dissolving the weak points in the coating and thus breaking down its insulating power. The insulating film is therefore a conductor in one direction, but when the current is reversed and flows out of the aluminium plate the insulating film is renewed and is continually being repaired and kept in order. Thus different electrolytes yield aluminium valves having very different efficiencies. Rectifying cells have been made by Pollak which will See also:bear a voltage of over 140 volts, and which are said to have an efficiency of 75%. The plates, however, must be removed when not in use, otherwise the film of hydroxide is destroyed by the electrolyte. One great practical difficulty in connexion with the aluminium rectifier is the tendency to heat in working. The See also:historical development of the discovery of this unilateral conductivity of an electrolytic cell with an aluminium electrode is as follows. The effect was first noticed by Buff in 1857, but was not applied technically until 1874, when Ducretet employed it in telegraphy. Beret in 1877 and Streintz in 1887 discussed the theory of the cell and sought for an explanation. In 1891 Hutin and Leblanc, in their study of alternating current, showed its uses in rectifying an alternating current. Pollak and Gratz laboured to give it a practically useful form. Pollak took out See also:patents in 1895, and made a communication to the See also:Academy of Sciences in See also:Paris in See also:June 1897; and Gratz presented a memoir at a See also:meeting of the See also:German Association of Electrochemists in See also:Munich in 1897. M. See also:Blondin has summarized all the work so far done on the aluminium rectifier in two articles in L'Eclairage electrique (1898), xiv. 293, and See also:xxviii. 117 (1901). The choice of an electrolyte is of great importance. Buff, Ducretet and Gratz employed dilute sulphuric See also:acid, and the greatest difference of potential which could then be applied to the cell without breaking down its insulation in one direction was 20 volts. Pollak in 1896 found that when aqueous solutions of alkaline salts were used, and when the aluminium was subjected to a preliminary formation, the back electromotive force or what is equivalent to it could be raised to 140 or 200 volts. Pollak found that the best results were given by the use of phosphate of See also:potassium or See also:sodium. It appears, therefore, that the ions of K or Na effect the breaking down of the film of aluminium hydroxide more quickly than the See also:ion of See also:hydrogen. The practical form of aluminium rectifier, according to Pollak, consists of plates of thick aluminium and lead placed in a large deep glass See also:vessel filled with a solution of potassium hydrogen phosphate. In 1899 See also:Albert Nodon of Paris began experimenting with an electric rectifier which is now on a commercial footing. It is known as the Nodon electric valve, and it is claimed that it will give an efficiency of 75 to 8o% when used to transform single or polyphase currents into continuous currents. In the form used for transforming single- phase currents the valve is made up of 4 cells, each consisting of an iron cylinder with an insulating plug at the bottom through which is passed a cylinder formed of an alloy of See also:zinc and aluminium. This cylinder is concentric with the iron See also:tube and provided with a terminal at the lower end. The cell is filled with a saturated solution of ammonium phosphate, and a non-conducting shielding tube can be slid over the aluminium electrode to alter the exposed area. The valve is shown in section in fig. 12, and the 4 cells are arranged in a See also:Wheatstone's See also:Bridge fashion, as shown in fig. 13. A and A' are the terminals to which the alternating current is supplied, C and Ct the terminals from which the continuous current is See also:drawn off. The electrolytic actions which take place in the cells are as follows: When the alternating current passes in the See also:positive direction from the zinc-aluminium cylinder to the iron cylinder there is formed instantly on the former a film of aluminium hydroxide; this film, presenting an enormous resistance, opposes the passage of the current. On the other hand, if the current passes in the opposite direction the film is reduced instantly and the current now flows. When used with polyphase currents the valve comprises as many times two cells as there are wires in the See also:distribution. The cells must stand a pressure varying from 5o to 140 volts, and for higher pressures two or more valves in series are employed. The aluminium-iron electrolytic rectifier is not suitable for the rectification of very high frequency currents, because the chemical actions on which it depends involve a time See also:element. vacuum or It was, however, discovered by J. A. Fleming that an vapour oscillation valve could be constructed for rectifying Rectifiers. electrical oscillations, as follows (see Proc. See also:Roy. See also:Soc. Lond., 1905, 74, p. 476) : In a glass bulb similar to that of an incandescent See also:lamp a carbon filament is fixed. Around the carbon filament, but not touching it, is placed a cylinder of See also:nickel connected to an external terminal by means of See also:platinum wire sealed through the glass. If the carbon filament is made incandescent by an insulated battery (and for this purpose it is convenient to have the filament adjusted to be fully incandescent at a pressure • of about 12 volts), then the space between the incandescent filament and the embracing cylinder possesses a unilateral conductivity such that negative See also:electricity can pass from the incandescent filament to the cylinder but not in the opposite direction. Hence if the negative terminal of the filament and the terminal attached to the cylinder are connected to an oscillation transformer (see INDUCTION COIL) which supplies a high frequency alternating oscillatory current, the flow of electricity in one direction is cut out and the oscillatory current is therefore converted into a continuous current. Such valves have been employed by Fleming in connexion with wireless telegraphy. Wehnelt discovered that if a platinum wire was covered with oxide of See also:barium or any of the oxides of rare See also:earth metals, it possessed in the same manner, when used in a valve of the above type, an even greater power than incandescent carbon. The explanation of this action is to be sought for in the fact that incandescent carbon in a vacuum or incandescent earthy oxides copiously emit negative electrons.
A rectifier dependent upon the See also:peculiar qualities of mercury vapour has been devised by See also: 510.) A i1 A' (From the Electrical Times, by permission.) (From the Electrical Times, by permission.) Nodon Valve. the cells. Nodon Valve. Cooper-Hewitt Rectifier. A mechanical polyphase rectifier or rotary devised by Bragstad and La Cour is described in Der Kaskadenumformer, by E. See also:Arnold and J. L. La Cour, See also:Stuttgart, 1904. It consists of a three-phase induction motor coupled See also:direct to a continuous current dynamo, the armatures of the two machines being electrically connected so that the three-phase current created in the rotor of the induction motor enters the continuous current armature and creates around it a rotary field. The connexions are such that the rotating field turns in a direction opposite to that in which the armature is turning, so that the field is stationary in space. From the continuous current armature can therefore be drawn off a continuous current and the device acts as a transformer of three-phase alternating current to a continuous current. The ordinary induction coil (q.v.) may be regarded as the trans-former for converting continuous current at low voltage into high voltage intermittent continuous current, but the difficulties of interrupting the primary current render it impossible to transform in this way more than a small amount of power. Where, however, high voltages are required, high potential transformers are used which are now built for the purpose of wireless telegraphy and the transformation of power to give secondary voltages up to 20,000, 30,000 or 6o,00o volts. Transformers have even been built to give secondary voltages of half a million volts capable of giving a 14 in. spark in air. These machines, however, must be regarded as more See also:physical laboratory See also:instruments than appliances for technical work. For description of one such extra high potential trans-former see H. B. See also: Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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