Transformer basics training help

[TurbineGen]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but I have recently been tasked with training all of the employees in a power transformer manufacturing facility. I am supposed to teach a course on basic electronics and a course on power transformers. Basic electronics is easy. There are many courses available and presentations to pick from. Power transformers, not so much.

Does anyone know of (or have) any materials, presentations, videos, ect., for a power transformer basics course? I'm trying to not start from scratch but I'm running into a road block here. If anyone could help me, I would greatly appreciate it.

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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.

 

[MadMango]

Looking for something like this?

http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/Files/NEETS/Mod02 - AC and Transformers.pdf

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."


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[electricpete]

It sounds like a tough assignment to teach transformers to everyone at a transformer factory. The "everyone" part means you can't get too in-depth or too technical. The "transformer factory part" means you will surely bore many people if you are too superficial.

My gut feel fwiw is that you would be better spending a little more time on construction details and little less on theory (although still touch on theory) because you won't lose as many people in construction details as you would in theory.... (although you can certainly still touch on theory).

You may have already done it, but have you asked the company if they have a presentation in mind? They might have one or two right on their shelf. You could ask in the context of clarifying exactly what they want you to cover. If nothing else, maybe they can give you a brief outline of the topics they have in mind, to make sure you don't miss the mark on what they're looking for.

USBR has some good stuff, here is their basic transformer pdf:

http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/client_service/recent/studytransformers.pdf

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(2B)+(2B)' ?

 

[Zogzog]

Companies that do this type of training (As I did for 15 years) spend a lot of time and money developing these courses so finding a free one will be tough. There are some companies that have excellent courses like this, here are a couple.

http://avotraining.com/training-course-details.php?cn=144

http://www.shermco.com/shermcotrainingcatalog.pdf

 

[TurbineGen]

It doesn't need to be free. At this point they are willing to pay someone to come in. I am in over my head right now and I know it. I am an engineer, not a trainer. The course I am developing will be on theory. I have some models and such built and ready to go. It's just that there is so much material to cover. Despite this, I'd be happy to scrap the idea all together and pay someone.

I am in the central U.S. so if there is a good training group nearby, I will certainly give them a call.

@MadMango - That certainly helps!

Thank you all. I will be looking into the links you posted.

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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.

 

[electricpete]

Hmmm. That Navy link spends a lot of time on simple circuit analysis, as well as the hand-rule for determing direction of flux from current. Being a Navy text, current flows from negative to positive. Are you sure this is the swamp you want to drive into?

Did they tell you they want to focus on theory rather than construction? I know for myself that it is very easy for an electrical to put non-engineers without an electrical background to sleep by talking about electrical engineering and I can barely imagine sitting in a training class with our mechanics going through material like that...

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(2B)+(2B)' ?

 

[ScottyUK]

Not sure what size transformers you're looking at, but here's another course which might be of use:

http://sea.siemens.com/step/Flash/STEPTransformers/index.htm.

I suppose the big ones work in exactly the same way as the small ones.


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[TurbineGen]

They want me to teach theory in the first part of the course. Construction will be the second part. These are utility grade oil filled transformers. 10MVA is small to us.

The real problem for me is that I have never done anything like this before, so much of my training is going to be hands-on material. However I need some decent material to work with besides just models.

I am just fishing for material right now. I need to research other courses before making my own. If I can avoid making my own, it's all for the better. So if there is a school or some sort close by that can come in and teach basic electricity and transformers, I will happily let them do this work and get my back on the manufacturing floor where I belong. Right now it's looking like it's going to be my own course. Half of my problem is figuring out what is relevant and not taking certain information for granted.

Thanks again for the asistance.



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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.

 

[Zogzog]

You can expect to spend 20 hours per course hour developing a quality course from scratch, so a 40 hour course (Which this sounds like it should be at a minimum) will take 800 hours of your time, multiply that by whatever your time is worth and hiring a good training provider becomes the obvious solution. I gave you 2 links to excellent courses for transformers in your power range, they can come on site and train all of your people for a fraction of the cost of developing one in house.

 

[TurbineGen]

Well I have a good start now. The transformer theory is getting to be a monster, though... We'll see if the power's that be will let me bring in some professionals.

Now what I really need are a few basic electricity videos. I see no point in trying to re-invent the wheel here. I am certain there are hundreds of videos out there on electricity basics. Can anyone make a recommendation? I'm not necessarily looking for a free one. Videos are cheap these days.

Thanks again.

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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.