33.

11 Auto-transformers The great advantage of the autoconnection, as distinct from the usual doublewinding arrangement, is that the transformer 33/22 Power transformers physical size and losses are much smaller, provided that the primary to secondary turns ratio is not large. The amount of apparent reduction is termed the autofraction n . .V1 _(V2.=V1 where V1 is the higher and V2 is the lower voltage. Thus, the equivalent frame rating of an auto is equal to n times the load or throughput rating. For a 2/1 ratio this means that the auto-transformer is half the size of a double-wound transformer for the same duty. A requirement for tappings can have a marked effect on the apparent economy of using an auto-transformer. Unfortunately this economy is not obtained without certain liabilities, so that care is required in specifying auto-transformers unless the conditions are known and appreciated. The calculated reactance of an auto-transformer on a frame kilovoltampere base has to be multiplied by n to obtain the reactance on a throughput base, e.g. a 2/1 ratio auto-transformer with a frame reactance of 4% would present an impedance of 4/2 .(2% to through faults. Given a high fault MVA infeed on the system, this could lead to short-circuit currents of more than the maximum permitted value of 25 times the normal one. System operating conditions must be clearly specified and, if necessary, additional impedance introduced to limit fault currents. It is the joint responsibility of purchaser and manufacturer to ensure that the transformer will not be subjected to excessive stresses. The common electrical connection between the primary and secondary sides is a potential source of danger. The position of the earth connection with a three-phase star connected auto-transformer is important and it is normally preferable to connect the supply neutral (assumed earthed) to the auto-neutral, and not to have the auto-neutral floating. The use of the auto-arrangement on transformers interconnecting different voltage levels (e.g. 400/275 kV) of a transmission system enables significant cost savings to be achieved. Small units are most useful as voltage regulating devices: they lend themselves readily to the provision of tappings, and as the loads generally have constant impedance

characteristics, a small unit can control a large load. Consider a 10kW, 400V heating load, taking 25A in an equivalent resistance of 16 . It is required to control the heat in five steps by adjustment of the secondary load voltage Es, using an auto-transformer. The secondary current for each tap is Is .(Es/16, and the corresponding primary current is Ip .(Is(Es/400). The winding currents are Ip, in the part corresponding to (400_Es, and (Is_Ip) in the remainder. The winding could be graded to carry the maximum current in each portion, and it should be noticed that the 100 V tapping currents are less than those already determined for any portion of the winding. It is an axiom that, for constant impedance autotransformers, any tappings below half the supply voltage do not influence the transformer size. The equivalent kVA is the sum of the part winding kVA values, divided by 2, and for the example this is 1.65 kVA.