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Identifying inductive component windings

N

Norm Dresner

Jan 1, 1970
0
This isn't just another how do I identify transformer windings -- I've been
doing that for years. This addresses another problem:

I have several identical massive inductive components (8.4 pounds) that was
salvaged from an UPS which has quite a few windings. It's known that
a) the UPS worked as a switching supply charging a battery and using
that voltage to synthesize a pseudo AC-main output.
b) one of the windings -- one of the three largest diameter wires -- was
connected directly to the battery's + terminal.
c) there were no other inductive components in the circuit
d) we have no working UPS of this model to test

Therefore it's quite logical (at least it seems that way to me) to conclude
that
a) the battery's + terminal was being used as a "ground" and that the
circuit generated "negative" voltages. I can see no other reason why a
transformer lead which appears from inductance measurements to be the CT of
a winding to connect directly to a battery. Is this a reasonable
assumption?
b) some of the windings are being used as inductors instead of
transformers. I think that as long as the frequencies involved are
sufficiently removed from the AC main's 60 Hz that this could work. Is this
a reasonable assumption?

Assuming conclusion b is correct, what's a reasonable strategy for
discriminating transformer windings from inductor windings?


TIA
Norm
 
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