The Impact of the Voltage Generation Method on Acoustic Noise Emissions Caused by a Welding Transformer

This paper deals with the acoustic noise emissions caused by a welding transformer (WT) operating as part of a middle-frequency direct current resistance spot welding system (RSWS). The WT consists of an iron core, one primary winding, and two secondary windings. The primary winding is supplied by the voltage from the input converter while the full-wave diode output rectifier is connected to the two secondary windings in order to generate a direct welding current. In the case study, the alternating current primary voltage is generated in two different ways, by applying a pulse width modulation and two hysteresis controllers. The aim of this paper is to analyze how the voltage generation method influences the acoustic noise emissions caused by the WT. The analysis is based on the values of the supply current, the welding current, and the iron core flux density measured on a 160 kW industrial WT operating as a part of laboratory RSWS where the supply voltage is generated in two different ways. The results presented in the paper show that proper voltage generation method can substantially reduce the acoustic noise emissions caused by a WT.