PRODUCTION AND CONTROL OF

HIGH VOLTAGE – REGULATION OF

CURRENT
TRANSFORMER

DR
RAGHAVENDER
M.S.
DNB RESIDENT
Electric power to the consumer is usually supplied
at 120 -240 volts, but much higher voltage is
needed to give the electrons in an X-ray tube
enough energy to generate X-rays.

Such high voltages are produced by the

Transformer, also referred to as an X-ray generator.

It serves as a major component of an X-ray

machine.

Principle :-
A transformer is an electromagnetic device which
changes an Alternating current from low voltage to
The transformer transfers electrical energy from
one circuit to another without the use of moving
parts or any electrical contact between the two
circuits, employing the principle of Electromagnetic
induction.

The Simplest types of transformer – the Air core

transformer – consists of two highly insulated coils
of wire lying side by side.

One of these, the primary coil, is supplied with an

alternating current. The other or secondary coil
develops AC by mutual inductance.
Click to edit Master text styles
Second level
● Third level

● Fourth level

● Fifth level
 How does a Transformer
function??
An AC in the Primary coil sets up, in around it, a
magnetic field that varies rapidly in direction and
strength, just as does the AC itself.

This changing magnetic flux cuts / links with the

secondary coil, inducing in it an alternate emf by
the process of Electromagnetic induction.

But the resulting AC in the Secondary coil sets up

an induced emf in the Primary coil (opp in direction
to the Primary current).

Since emf is induced in each coil by the changing

magnetic flux in the other, this process is called
The emf induced in any coil is directly proportional
to the number of turns in the coil that cuts, is cut
by, or links with, a given magnetic flux.
Primary coil Secondary coil induced emf
No of turns No of turns

1 1 Equal

1 2 emf doubled

2 1 emf halved
 Transformer
Law :-
The emf induced in the secondary coil is to the emf
in the primary coil, as the number of turns in the
secondary coil is to the number of turns in the
primary coil.

Vs / Vp = Ns / Np
Vs – Voltage in the Secondary coil.
Vp – Volatage in the Primary coil.
Ns – No of turns in the Secondary coil.
Np – No of turns in the Primary coil.
If a Transformer has more turns in the Secondary
coil than in Primary coil, puts out a higher voltage
than is supplied to it, then it is called Step up
Transformer.

If the Secondary coil has fewer turns than the

primary coil, the output voltage will be less than
the Input voltage, then it is called Step down
Transformer.
Is / Ip = Vp / Vs
Is – Current in Amperes in the Secondary coil.
Ip – current in Amperes in the Primary coil.
Vp – Voltage in the Primary coil.
Vs – Voltage in the Secondary coil.
Is / Ip = Vp / Vs
Thus, a Step up Transformer increases the Voltage,
but decreases the amperage in an inverse ratio.

The power output of an X-ray transformer is rated

in KVA
( kilovolt-amperes or Kilowatts).

In roentgen diagnostic equipment the Step up

transformer takes
120-240 volts and multiplies the voltage to
30,000 – 150,000 volts, there by providing the high
voltage necessary to drive the electrons through
an X-ray tube with sufficient speed.
 TYPES OF
TRANSFORMER
1) Air Core Transformer.

2) Open Core Transformer.

3) Closed Core Transformer.

4) Shell- type Transformer.

1) Air Core Simply consists of two insulated coils lying
transformer side by side.

An iron core inserted into a coil of

2) Open Core wire carrying an electric current
causes a marked intensification of the
transformer magnetic flux within the coil because
of the magnetization of the core.

Therefore, a transformer becomes

more efficient if each insulated coil
has an Iron core. This is known as
Open core transformer.

Although more efficient than an Air

core transformer, the open core type
is still subject to an appreciable waste
 3) Closed core Transformer :-
Here the heavily insulated coils, often called
Windings, are wound around a square / circular iron
ring or core.

With this type of transformer, the closed core

provides a continuous path for the magnetic flux,
so that only a small fraction of the magnetic
energy is lost by leakage.

An AC in the Primary winding set up an alternating

magnetic flux in the iron core.

Because this same flux links with both the primary

and secondary windings, it induces the same
The Core is Laminated, that is, it is made of layers
of metal plates.
Silicon steel is often used in laminated cores
because its high electrical resistance further
reduces eddy current power loss.

Lamination of the core hinders the formation of

eddy currents and there by increases the efficency
of the transformer, in other words, there is less
power wasted.

Since the closed core is much more efficient than

the open core, it is the one most commonly used in
X-ray generating equipment.
 4) Shell type
transformer
Most advanced type
Used as a Commercial / Power transformer.
Here, too a laminated core is used, consisting of a
pile of sheets of silicon steel, each having two
rectangular holes.
The primary and secondary coils are both wound
around the central section of the core for maximum
efficiency.
These windings must be highly insulated from each
other by a Special coating.
In addition, the entire transformer is submerged in
a tank filled with a special type of oil for maximum
insulation and cooling.
 Transformer efficiency and
power
The efficiency of losses
a transformer is the ratio of the
power output to the power input :

% efficiency = Power output / Power input X 100 .

However, in practice the efficiency is more likely to

be about 95% or more; that is, there is up to about
5 % less power output than power input, the lost
energy appearing as heat.
 Various kinds of losses of electrical power in a
transformer and methods to minimize them in
a Transformer

1). Copper Losses :-

These include mainly the loss of electrical power

due to the resistance of the coils.

Such loss of power can be reduced by using copper

wire of adequate diameter.

In a Step up transformer the Primary winding

carries a large current, so its wire must be thicker
than the wire of the secondary coil which carries a
2) Eddy Current losses :-
The alternating magnetic flux set up in the
transformer core by the AC in the windings induces
electrical eddy currents ( swirling currents) in the
core itself by electromagnetic induction.

Eddy currents, in turn, produce heat in the core

because electrical power loss due to heat.

Eddy currents can be minimized by the use of

Laminated ( layered ) Silicon steel plates, highly
insulated from each other by a special coating.
3) Hysteresis Losses :-

Since the transformer operates on and puts out AC,

the tiny magnetic domains in the core are
repeatedly rearranging themselves as the core is
magnetizied first in one direction and then by the
AC in the windings.

This rearrangement of the domains produces heat

in the core, thereby wasting electrical power.

Such a loss of power, called Hysteresis loss, is

reduced by the laminated silicon steel core.
 Regulation of High
Voltage.
Properly designed X-ray equipment must provide
some means of regulating the input voltage to
permit the choice of a variety of Kilovoltages to be
applied to the X-ray tube.

This allows the technologist to obtain X-rays of

appropriate penetrating power for a particular
technique.

Without flexible voltage regulation, modern

radiographic procedures would be seriously
hampered.
 Autotransform
According to the description of the Step up
transformer,
er one should realize that there is a
fixed ratio of voltage output to voltage input.

Furthermore, the voltage input is fixed at 120-240

volts, depending upon the power supply and type
of equipment.

Without any further modification, we would have

only a single KV, a situation that would seriously
limit the range of radiography, since various KV’s
must be applied to the X-ray tube to obtain X-ray
beams with a variety of penetrating abilities.
Q) How can one modify the basic equipment so as
to obtain the required range of kilovoltages?
This is accomplished simply by varying the Voltage
input to the Transformer Primary.
Thus , if the ratio of the Step up transformer is
500:1 and the input to the Primary coil is 100 volts,
then the Transformer will put out 500X100 =
50,000 volts ( 50 kv)

Vs / Vp = Ns / Np
Vs/ 100 = 500/ 1 = 50,000 volts = 50 kv
To obtain the required variety of input voltages one
has to connect a device known as Autotransformer
between the source of AC and the primary side of
the Transformer.
 Construction of
Autotransformer
The autotransformer is made up of single coil of
insulated wire wound around a large iron core.

At regular intervals along the core, insulation has

been omitted and the bare points connected or
tapped off to metal buttons, as in the above
mentioned fig.

A movable contactor, C, varies the number of turns

included in the secondary circuit of the
autotransformer, thereby varying its output
voltage.

Thus, the autotransformer serves as KV selector.

Principle :-
The autotransformer is an Electromagnetic device
which operates on the principle of Self Induction.
A single coil / windings serves as both the primary
and secondary, the number of turns being
adjustable.
By turning the contractor to include more / fewer
turns on the secondary side of the autotransformer
, one can vary the ratio of the number of secondary
turns to the primary turns, thereby varying the
ratio of voltage output to voltage input.

AT Vs = No. of tapped turns

AT Vp No of Primary turns
Note that an autotransformer can be used only
where there is a relatively small difference
between its input and output voltage.

Furthermore , the position of the contractor should

not be changed while the exposure switch is closed
because sparking may occur between the metal
buttons, there by damaging them
Thank you..