Can't tell if I made a chaotic circuit or if I broke the sim

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a novel approach to converting a sine wave to a square wave using transformers in a voltage multiplier circuit. The user tested this design in an online simulator, observing unexpected chaotic oscillations in the output waveform. Key observations include a periodic sine wave followed by rapid oscillations when measuring voltage differences at specific points. The conversation highlights the importance of transformer core saturation and its role in controlling power within the circuit.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of voltage multiplier circuits
  • Familiarity with transformer operation and magnetic saturation
  • Knowledge of sine wave and square wave characteristics
  • Experience with circuit simulation tools
NEXT STEPS
  • Research transformer core saturation effects on circuit behavior
  • Explore voltage multiplier circuit design principles
  • Learn about the Royer oscillator and its applications
  • Experiment with online circuit simulators for waveform analysis
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Electronics enthusiasts, circuit designers, and students interested in waveform conversion techniques and transformer behavior in voltage multiplier circuits.

ibuildstuff
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So, I was playing around with a couple of voltage multiplier circuits a few months ago, and while optimizing one design, I came up with a pretty neat (not to brag) way of converting a sine wave to a square wave by using transformers in a completely different way than normally. A little while ago, I got bored and decided to test it in some free online simulator I found. Surprisingly, it seemed to work perfectly. Even more surprisingly, after playing around with it for a while, I was able to observe some pretty surprising effects.

Here's the circuit diagram, as best as I can remember it. It's pretty simple, but if you probe the voltage difference between points 1 and 2, you'll see a very odd periodic pattern: a sine wave for half of the period, followed by rapid, chaotic oscillations for the other half, if I remember correctly. Measure 3 and 4 to see the square wave:

20150324_220536.jpg


If you're using a simulator, you may have to wire it like this (I don't remember why. Something about the direction the current is traveling or something):

20150324_220546.jpg


So, is this truly chaotic behavior? Also, I'm sure everyone will agree with me when I say inductors are weird, but I still can't figure out why this circuit would behave so erratically. Any ideas?
 

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