transformer shunts are small rectangular leaves of the same material the
core is made from and they are positioned normally on each side of the
primary coil of the transformer. The shunts allow the magnetic field flux
produced by the primary coil ( of the trannie) to by-pass the secondary
coils a bit. In effect, the shunts are magnetic flux pressure relief valves
or by-pass valves :)
by adding more shunt leaves, you reduce the flux thru the secondary coils
thus producing less current produced by the secondary coils. If you remove
the shunts, the output of the trannie can increase the output current..
for example... a NST rated at 12KV 30mA with shunts can be modified by
removing some or all shunts to run at 12KV 50mA.. BUT this also increases
the input current ( power in = power out + losses) and the primary wiring
may not be rated for that current thus a hot primary.... also, with the
shunts removed, the transformer may saturate ( too much flux field in the
core ) resulting in poor performance and excessive current draw.
the final item of shunts are they are used to allow a trannie to be run in
a direct short situation without blowing things up... thats why NST's make
good Jacob ladders.
hoped this helped
Scot D
Tesla list wrote:
Original poster: "Paul B. Brodie" <pbbrodie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
What exactly are transformer shunts and how do they function?
Paul Brodie