To decrease eddy currents in the core which result in heating / extra losses. The thinner the laminations, the more effective this is.
Cold-Rolled Grain Oriented silicon steel. Used in transformer core laminations. whatisCRNO? in transformers
The laminations reduce a core loss called Eddy Currents, which are set up in the core by the ever changing AC current.
The laminations on the core of a transformer are actually insulated from each other. This means that there is no circuit for current to flow, but since the laminations are stacked in an alternating orientation, there is magnetic coupling. If the core were one piece, or the laminations where allowed to touch each other electrically, there would be current flow, i.e. eddy current flow, because the core would represent a one turn secondary that is shorted. This means low voltage, but high current capacity. This means power loss, and degradation of Q and efficiency in the transformer.
A magnetic core made of iron laminations, forming a closed loop, and two or more coils of copper wire wound to intersect the core.
Transformer cores are made up of insulated laminations to cut down on eddy currents induced in the core, which is an unwanted power-loss.
If the transformer had a solid core it would build up eddy currents within the core possibly making the core itself rise in voltage. The laminations break up these eddy current circuits and prevent this.
Soft iron has a greater permeability than steel. BTW, the only reason for laminations is to reduce eddy currents in the core. It has no effect on permeability or inductance.
The alternating magnetic fields cause attraction/repulsion vibrations within the windings and core laminations which manifest themselves as sound.
A core in the electrical trade usually refers to the iron laminations that coils of wire are wrapped around. The core directs the magnetic field, that the coils of wire produce when energized, into a working force. This could be the iron core of a relay or a transformer core that is the centre and principle reason that a transformer can operate.
In general, the lower the frequency of operation, the more weight must be added to the core laminations to avoid magnetic field saturation. This increases the size and weight of the transformer as the frequency decreases.
Various energy losses occur in transformers:Copper losses, the resistance to the current flow in the windings which heats the conductors.Iron losses, which are of two kinds:eddy current losses which flow in the laminations of the core caused by the magnetization and re-magnetisation of the core, which also causes heatingof the core. Eddy current losses can be greatly reduced by not making the out of a solid piece of iron. That is why transformer cores are generally made of lots of separate thin "laminations" which are insulated from one another by being bonded together using an epoxy resin adhesive.hysteresis losses which are again caused by the magnetizing and de-magnetising of the core. These are reduced by making the laminations of silicon steels, which have lower hysteresis losses than plain iron.Together all these losses lead to a total efficiency of about 97 to 98%, which will alter depending upon the load current that the transformer is supplying.
Transformer cores are chosen to limit eddy currents, which cause heating and losses in the core. Very thin laminations minimize this overhead cost of running a transformer by reducing losses associated with eddy currents.