Design of a Rotary Transformer for Installations on Large Shafts

Rotary transformers are adopted to transfer energy from primary to secondary in situations in which the two sides are in relative rotation. These devices are cylindrical transformers with two cores and the corresponding winding separated by an air gap. Their employment became quite convenient with the availability of power electronics, allowing the operation of electrical systems at relatively high frequencies. In particular, this paper proposes the design of a light and efficient transformer which can be used in applications involving large shafts. Moreover, a sliced arrangement for the magnetic core is proposed together with the experimental validation of this solution on a reduced-size prototype.