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Home / Technical Articles / How Power Transformer Produces Acoustical Noise?

Why does a transformer make noise?

This technical article explains the acoustic noise generating mechanism inside power transformers.

How Power Transformer Produces Acoustical Noise?
How Power Transformer Produces Acoustical Noise? (photo credit: justanswer.com)

Transformer noise has two sources: winding vibrations and core vibrations. The single most effective way to reduce windings noise is by having a good quality controlled winding process when assembling them. This article focusses on the cores of normally silent transformers, which make noise under adverse mains conditions.

Transformer cores can become noisy as well under specific secondary load conditions which can be translated (transformed) into the adverse mains conditions at the primary as discussed in this article.

There are three physical phenomena that produce noise in the magnetic core:

  1. The movement of the 90-degree Bloch walls inside the magnetic domains, frequently called Magnetoacoustic Emission (MAE) (see Figure 1)
  2. The rotation of the magnetic domains, that is responsible for the bulk magnetostriction (see Figure 2)
  3. The Lorentz Force Acoustic Signal (LFAS) causing mechanical forces between laminations of the core (see Figure 3)

MAE occurs in the steep section of the hysteresis loop; see Figure 4. Not much sound is emitted and the bulk magnetostriction is small. The rotation of the magnetic domains is dominant near saturation in the hysteresis loop.

The magnetostriction becomes “large” and the core laminations move considerably, thus generating acoustic noise (see Figure 4).

The rattling of laminations of the core (LFAS) depends largely on the construction of the core. The EI-type cores are more prone to make noise due to their many separated pieces of lamination which mostly are only sturdy clamped at the four corners. In toroidal cores the long role of core band is sturdy clamped everywhere due to the mechanical rolling tension and the pressure caused by the winding tension.

In general: magnetostriction, occurring near saturation of the core, is the main cause of the acoustical transformer noise, while LFAS largely depends on the construction of the core. Due to magnetostriction the core vibrates at the fundamental mains frequency and its harmonics and at core resonance frequencies.

In this regard it is important to notice that a noisy transformer means that:

a) The transformer is badly constructed, or
b) That the transformer is forced to operate in a magnetic region close to or at core saturation.

The main reason why the transformer is noisy may be a combination of the above given causes. Anyway, the device has become noisy and the amount of acoustical noise produced should be measured to determine whether or not the produced noise level is acceptable.

Possible domain structures
Figure 1 – Possible domain structures

Figure 1: Possible domain structures, showing large magnetostatic energy associated with isolated domain (a), and successively lower energies associated with (b), (c) and (d). The last represents the kind of domain structure actually observed. In (c) and (d) the 90 degrees Bloch Walls are clearly visible at the top and bottom.


Rotation of magnetic domains
Figure 2 – Rotation of magnetic domains, showing left random positioning and right the maximum orientation along the external magnetic field axis

Two adjacent pieces of core band with their internal Eddy Currents
Figure 3 – Two adjacent pieces of core band with their internal Eddy Currents. The Lorentz Forces are indicated, causing fibrational forces between the pieces of core band

MAE occurs in the steep section of the hysteresis loop
Figure 4 – MAE occurs in the steep section of the hysteresis loop. Rotation and LFAS are dominant near saturation in the hysteresis loop

Construction of power transformers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4eyG99jC1c&w=624&h=468

Cant see this video? Click here to watch it on Youtube.

Resource: Measuring acoustic noise emitted by power transformers – Menno van der Veen

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Edvard Csanyi

Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly specialized for design of LV/MV switchgears and LV high power busbar trunking (<6300A) in power substations, commercial buildings and industry facilities. Professional in AutoCAD programming.

7 Comments


  1. hanan
    Jun 22, 2018

    Very nice article


  2. Dimas Waluyo Jati
    Jan 16, 2017

    Nice article,any formula which can categorize noise level at transformer ?


  3. arvind
    Mar 01, 2016

    Any reference for measuring the allowable noise levels of the Dry Type Transformers ? (i. e. 2 MVA)


  4. anas nori
    Jun 22, 2015

    thanks a lot sir ; when open the internet this site is one of my three favorite pages .


  5. dane collins
    Jul 08, 2014

    I am getting the run around bt DTE energy and nt apartment complex on the noise generated by a transformer ground mounted 5 feet from my bedroom wall . The cyclic noise is insane and unrelenting from only two nights , I fly for an airline so I know of noises and cyclic tones.So far no remedy for my being deceived except move out in 6 days after paying 1K in moving expenses so far. Owned and operated by the Mckinley Corp.another rental conglomerate who strangles us for a place to live, never mind a safe and quite one to habitat , with little govt and township help that exists I will be out 2K for their greed and deceitfulness while hoping to leave this terrible country;s ,my 60 years citizenship country from the corporations that need to be controlled


  6. karthik
    Dec 13, 2013

    really good article…about noise in transformer…learned some thing new


  7. gowtham42
    Dec 23, 2012

    excellent article i learned something new today thanks for the article sir……

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