International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management 847

Volume-3, Issue-2, February-2020

Automatic Load Sharing of Transformer

Abstract: The transformer is a static device, which converts overloading condition occur for transformer one. Thus this will
power from one level to another level. The aim of the project is to result in efficient working of both transformers. Also when load
protect the transformer under overload condition by load sharing. is constant both transformers are switched on into the circuit
Due to overload on transformer, the efficiency drops and windings
get overheated and may get burnt. Thus, by sharing load on alternately. This will avoid continuous heating of only one
transformer, the transformer is protected. This will be done by transformer.
connecting another transformer in parallel through a micro- The Arduino compares the load on the first transformer with
controller. The microcontroller compares the load on the first a reference value. When the load exceeds the reference value,
transformer with a reference value. When the load exceeds the the second transformer will automatically be connected in
reference value, the second transformer will share the extra load. parallel with first transformer and share the extra load.
Therefore, the two transformer work efficiently and damage is
prevented. In this project three modules are used to control the Therefore, a number of transformers work efficiently under
load currents. The first module is a sensing unit, which is used to overload condition and the damage can be prevented.
sense the current of the load and the second module is a control In this work, the second transformers share the load of main
unit. The last module is micro-controller unit and it will read the transformer in the case of over load and over temperature
analogue signal and perform some calculation and finally gives conditions. A sensor circuit containing current sensor, Arduino,
control signal to a relay. A GSM modem is also used to inform the current transformer etc. is designed to take the data from main
control station about switching. The advantages of the project are
transformer protection, uninterrupted power supply, and short transformer and if it is found to be in overload condition,
circuit protection. When designing low-voltage power system to immediately the second transformer will be connected in the
the supply large load currents, paralleled lower-current modules parallel to the main transformer and the load is shared. The
are often preferred over a single, large power converter for several Arduino will analyze the load current and temperature of
reasons. transformer and displays the values on LCD.
These include the efficiency of designing and manufacturing Whenever loads are added to the secondary side of the
standard modular converters which can be combined in any
transformer, the current at the secondary side rise. As the load
number necessary to meet a given load requirement and the
enhanced reliability gained through redundancy. current exceeds the rated current rating of the transformer, the
temperature of the secondary winding rises, therefore the
Keywords: Transformer, Overload, GSM, Arduino. Arduino will send a trip signal to the relay, thereby turning on
the second transformers. Initially when we switched ON the
1. Introduction load that load will be shared by the first transformer. Once load
Transformer is the main component in the electric power has been increased on first transformer above its rated
transmission and distribution system. The problems of capacity then the stand by transformer (second) will share the
overloading, voltage variation and heating effects are very load automatically.
common. It requires high cost for repair and also more time. In this project three modules are used to control the load
This work is all about protecting the transformer under overload current. The first module is the sensing unit, which is used to
condition. When overload condition occurs its secondary sense the current of the load; the second module is control unit
winding get overheated and it may burn. So the transformer can in which relay plays the main role, and its function is to change
be protected by removing extra load and This can be done by the position with respect to the control signal and last module is
operating another transformer in parallel with main Arduino.
transformer. This arrangement offers proper maintenance facility for both
To accomplish this requirement there is one method of transformers. All these advantages will make this system very
manual approach. In this other transformer is connected efficient.
manually during heavy loading condition. But practically
manual approach is not efficient. So we are employing Arduino 2. Block diagram
to make the switching of transformer automatically. Arduino is A. Circuit Breaker
an automation-based microcontroller device which will
A circuit breaker is used to isolate the faulty point of the
automatically switch the transformer into circuit when
power system in case of abnormal conditions such as faults.
 International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management 848
Volume-3, Issue-2, February-2020
www.ijresm.com | ISSN (Online): 2581-5792

It is a protective device which energizes and de-energizes a of transformer to authorized person’s number in control room.
circuit and provides over-current protection. Circuit breakers It is a class of wireless modem devices that is designed for
operate on receiving a signal from relay. communication of a computer with the GSM and GPRS
network. It requires a SIM card to send the message.
F. Arduino
Arduino board designs use a variety of microprocessors and
controllers. The boards are equipped with sets of digital and
analog input/output (I/O) pins that may be interfaced to various
expansion boards ('shields') or breadboards (For prototyping)
and other circuits. The boards feature serial communications
interfaces, including Universal Serial Bus (USB) on some
models, which are also used for loading programs from
personal computers.

3. Operation
In the proposed system, only one transformer is operating to
feed the loads. A standby transformer is connected in parallel
Fig. 1. Block diagram
through a circuit breaker and relay. The current transformer
continuously measures the load current and feeds it to the
B. Transformers Arduino. The reference value or the maximum load limit is
A transformer is an electrical device that transfers electrical entered by the user and priority level of the load is also set by
energy between two or more circuits through electromagnetic the user or concern authority. As the load demand increase
induction Transformers convert AC voltage from one level to during peak hours, a single transformer would not be able feed
another level with a little loss of power. A transformer operates all the load. During this condition, when the load demand
on the principals of “electromagnetic induction”, in the form of exceeds the reference value, the Arduino will give a control
mutual induction. signal to energize the relay coil. Thus the stand by transformer
The transformer used here is a step-down transformer so that will be connected in parallel and share the load equally. Since
it can be directly fed to the measuring devices by rectification. the transformers are of the same ratings. Thus all the loads are
fed efficiently providing un-interrupted power supply.
C. Relay
When the load increases to further to a value which is greater
Relays are components which allow low power circuit to than the capacity of the two transformers, priority based load
operate high current application circuits. It is an electrically shedding will be implemented. The loads which have the lowest
operated switch and is used where it is necessary to control a priority will be shut down by opening the respective circuit
circuit by a low-power signal with complete electrical isolation breaker.
between control and controlled circuits, or where several When the load decreases, and comes to normal working
circuits must be controlled by one signal. The relay used here is condition, first transformer will be shut down in order to avoid
of electromagnetic type. thermal loading. This is done because the first transformer
D. Current Transformer operates for a longer time interval than standby transformer and
The Current Transformer is a type of “instrument its body temperature rises. By providing alternative switching
transformer” that is designed to produce an alternating current the transformers can be cooled by natural methods. This will
in its secondary winding which is proportional to the current improve the efficiency of the system.
being measured in its primary. Current transformers reduce
high voltage currents to a much lower value and provide a 4. Advantages
convenient way of safely monitoring the actual 1) The load is shared by transformers is automatically.
electrical current flowing in an AC transmission line using a 2) No manual errors are taking place.
standard ammeter. The principle of operation of a current 3) It prevents the main transformer from damage due to the
transformer is same as that of an ordinary transformer. problems like overload and overheats.
4) Un-interrupted power supply to the consumers is supplied.
E. GSM Modem
A GSM modem is a specialized type of modem which 5. Conclusion
accepts a SIM card, and operates over a subscription to a mobile
The future scope of our project is particularly in Substation.
operator, just like a mobile phone. Here the purpose of GSM
In substations particularly during the peak hours there is a need
modem is to send the monitoring parameters values and faults
for the operation of additional transformer to supply the
 International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management 849
Volume-3, Issue-2, February-2020
www.ijresm.com | ISSN (Online): 2581-5792

additional load requirement. Our project automatically connects [2] S. R. Balan, P. Sivanesan, R. Ramprakash, B. Anantha Thakannan and K.
Mithin Subash, “GSM based Automatic Substation Load Shedding and
the transformer under critical loads. Thus there is no need to Sharing Using Programmable Switching Control”, Journal of Selected
operate both transformers under normal loads, particularly Areas in Microelectronics, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 59-61, 2014.
during off peak hours. Thus power is shared intelligently with [3] Ashish R. Ambalkar, Nitesh M. Bhoyar, Vivek V. Badarkhe and Vivek
B. Bathe, “Automatic load sharing of transformers”, International Journal
the transformers in parallel.
for scientific Research and Development, Volume 2, Issue 12, pp. 739-
741, 2015.
References [4] Akhil Krishnan V, Arun P. S, D. Yathishan, Jomice Thomas, D. K.
Narayanan, “Automatic Load Sharing of Transformers using
[1] Hassan Abniki, H. Afsharirad, A. Mohseni, F. Khoshkhati, Has-san
Microcontroller”, International Journal of Innovative Research in
Monsef, Pourya Sahmsi, “Effective On-line Parameters for Transformer
Science, Engineering and Technology.
Monitoring and Protection,” on Northern American Power Symposium
(NAPS), pp. 1-5, September 2010.