5/1/2017 CurrentTransformerOpenElectrical

CurrentTransformer
FromOpenElectrical

CurrentTransformersorCT'sareInstrumentTransformers
thatconvertagenerallyhighprimarycurrentIptoaktimes
lowersecondarycurrentIsthatcanbeconnectedtostandard
measuringorprotectiondevices.Theprimaryandsecondary
windingsaregalvanicallyseparatedandcanbeonadifferent
potentiallevel.Thetransformationratiokofacurrent
transformeristhenumberofsecondaryturnsNstothenumber
ofprimaryturnsNpandisequaltotheprimarycurrentIpover
thesecondarycurrentIs.

Ns Ip
k = =
Np Is

Np
Is = Ip .
Ns

Ip
Is =
k

Contents
1 Standardsforcurrenttransformers Figure1.ACurrentTransformerina150kVline
1.1 AccordingIEC
1.2 Otherstandardorganisations
2 FunctioningofaCurrentTransformer
3 GeneralpropertiesofaCurrentTransformer
3.1 ThePrimarycurrentIp
3.2 TheSecondarycurrentIs
3.3 DualorMultiRatioCT's
3.4 Ratiok
3.5 RCTTheinternalcopperresistance
3.6 Accuracy
3.7 Load,RatedloadandBurden
4 TheuseandspecificationofCurrentTransformers
4.1 ProtectionCT's
Figure2.Thesimplifiedequivalentdiagramofa
4.2 MeasurementCT's
CurrentTransformer

Standardsforcurrenttransformers
AccordingIEC
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AtthemomentTC38oftheIECisbusyconvertingalltheinstrumenttransformersfromthe60044familytothe
new61869familywithageneralpartandspecificparts.

IEC600441ConsolidatedEdition1.2(incl.am1+am2)(200302)TC/SC38InstrumenttransformersPart
1:Current

transformers

IEC600443Edition2.0(200212)TC/SC38InstrumenttransformersPart3:Combinedtransformers
IEC600446Edition1.0(199203)TC/SC38InstrumenttransformersPart6:Requirementsforprotective
current

transformersfortransientperformance

IEC600448Edition1.0(200207)TC/SC38InstrumenttransformersPart8:Electroniccurrent
transformers
IEC618691Edition1.0(200710)TC/SC38InstrumenttransformersPart1:Generalrequirements

Otherstandardorganisations
IEEEStdC57.131993:IEEEStandardrequirementsforInstrumenttransformers
CanadaCAN3C13M83:Instrumenttransformers
AustraliaAS1675CurrenttransformersMeasurementandprotection
BritishStandardBS3938SpecificationsforCurrentTransformers(WithdrawnandreplacedbyIEC600441)

FunctioningofaCurrentTransformer
Justlikeanormalvoltagetransformer,aCThasaprimary
winding,asecondarywindingandamagneticcore.Inthe
windowtypeandbushingtypeCT's,theprimarywindingis
reducedtoonewirepassingtroughtheroundorsquareshaped
core,accountingfor1turn.TheprimarycurrentIpwill
produceamagneticfieldwithinductionBroundthe
conductor.ThemagneticinductionBisamplifiedbythecore
materialwithveryhighmagneticpermeabilityandwill
produceaprimaryfluxthatwillmagnetisethecorewithcross
sectionAandinducesasecondaryvoltageVsinthesecondary
windingwithNturns.

Vs = 4.44 10 8f N AB

Atthesametime,aNtimessmallervoltage,opposedtothe Figure3.Thefunctioningprincipleofacurrent
primarycurrentwillbeinducedintheprimarywirecreatinga transformer
smallextraresistanceintheprimarycircuit.Theinduced
secondaryvoltagewilldrivethesecondarycurrentIsthatwill
flowforthemayorparttroughtheconnectedloadRbandforasmallpart(theerrorcurrent)Ietroughtheinternal
resistanceandinduction.Theinternalresistanceandinductionrepresentthepartofthecurrentthatisusedto
magnetisethecore(Inductivepart)andtoheatupthecorematerialasironlosses.Actuallythemagnetisingcurrent
istakenfromtheprimarysidebutthatwillonlymakethecalculationmodelmoredifficultanddoesnotformany

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additionalvalue.ThesecondarycurrentIswillalsoproduceasecondaryflux,oppositetotheprimaryflux.The
resultingfluxintheCTcoreisaverysmallmagnetisingfluxsothatthecoredoesnotsaturateatnormaloperation
currents.ThesecondarycurrentIswillbeNtimessmallerthantheprimarycurrentIp.

Ip
Is =
N

TheerrorcurrentIeexistsforthemajorpartofapurelyinductivepartthemagnetisingcurrent

ImthatcanbeseenonthemagnetisingcurveoftheCTandasmallresistivepartIgthatrepresenttheironlosses.
ThemagnetisingcurrentImisproportionaltothefieldstrengthH

l
I = H
N

ThecopperlossesarerepresentedintheseriesresistorRCT

GeneralpropertiesofaCurrentTransformer
ThePrimarycurrentIp

AccordingtoIEC600441,theprimarycurrentI_pisstandadiseofthedecadicseries11,251,522,534
567,5.WhenselectingaCTtheprimarycurrentoftheCTmustbeatleastthemaximumcurrentoftheline
inwhichtheCTwilloperate.WhenthecurrentisbiggerthantheratedprimarycurrentoftheCT,thewindings
willoverheat,agefasterandfinallytheinsulationwillfail.AccordingANSI,theprimarycurrentsarefixedvalues
forsingleRatioCT'sIp=10152540507510020030040060080012001500200030004000
50006000800012000A.

TheSecondarycurrentIs

AccordingIECthesecondarycurrentcanbe0.5,1,2or5A.AccordingANSIthesecondarycurrentisallways5A.

DualorMultiRatioCT's

DualratioCT'sexistinallstandardsbutonlyaccordingtheANSIstandard,theratio'sarestandardised.Notethe
formultiratioCT's,manyprimarycurrentsarementionnedandonlyonesecondarycurrentbutinrealitythereis
onlyoneprimaryconnectionand5secondaryterminalsthatallow10differentratings.

Ratiok

Asalreadymentionned,themostimportantpropertyofthecurrenttransformeristheratiokthatisboththeratio
ofsecundaryturnstoprimaryturnsandtheratioofprimarycurrenttosecondarycurrent.Notetheoftenthe
primaryisonlyoneturnandpracticallyit'sjusttheconductorpassingtroughthecore.Sinceasmallamountof
energyisnecessarytomagnetisingthecoreandtoproduceheatasironlossinthecore,thesecondaryoutput
AmpereturnsisabitlessthantheprimaryAmpereturns.Thedifferenceincurrentistheerrorcurrentor
magnetisingcurrent.IncaseofverycriticalCT's,ratioturncorrectionisappliedremovesomesecondaryturnsso
thattheratioisabithigherandtheoutputisthusabithigheratratedcurrent.Ofcoursethiscanonlybeapplied
whentheCTmeetsallaccuracyrequirementsafterratioturncorrection.

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RCTTheinternalcopperresistance

RCTisoftencalledthesecondaryDCresistanceat75C.It'svaluedependsonthelengthencrosssectionofthe
secondarywindingwirePouillet'slaw.SoRCTalsodependsonthecoredimensionsbiggercorecrosssection
impliesalongerwirelengthperturn.ThesmallerRCTthemorethecurrenttransformerapproachestheideal
currentsource.

Accuracy

TheaccuracyofaCTisgivenbyit's"class".Thedivisioninto
accuracyclassesdependsonthetypeofCTwemainly
distinguishmeasuringclassCT'sandProtectionclassCT's
whoaredefinedquitedifferently.Wewilldiscussaccuracyfor
bothtypesfurther.Ofcoursetheybothhaveaprimarycurrent
I_p,asecondarycurrentI_sandaratiok.Fromthese3
parameterswecandefinesomeimportantproperty'srelatedto
accuracy.

TheprimarycurrentvectorIp.
ThesecondarycurrentvectorIsthatishererepresented
ktimeslargertobeabletocomparethemandtohavean Figure4.ThecurrentvectorsIpandk.Isandthe
ideaoftheerrorcurrent.Incasetheerrorwouldbe0, errorcurrentvectorIc
bothvectorsI_pandk.I_swouldbeidentical.
Thetotalerrorvector(compositeerror)canbeseenas
thecompositionof:
anamplitudeerror(ratioerror),expressedin%
and
anangleerror,expressedinradiansorseconds.

NotethatforprotectionCT's,theangleerrorisdisregardedand
onlythetotalcompositeerrorisgivenin%.Whenexamining
theequivalentdiagram,onewouldeasilyconcludethatthe
errorcurrentcanonlybethemagnetisingcurrentoftheCT.
Indeed,normallythemagnetisingcurrentisverylowbutatthe
saturationpointofthecore,50%increaseinmagnetising
currentproducesonly10%extrasecondaryvoltagesoat
saturationtheerrorcurrentrisesquickly.Therefore,the
property'saccuracyandsaturationofthecoreareclosely Figure5.Thecurrenterrorofameasuringclass
linked.Hensetheerrorvectorisallwaysareducionin CThereclass0.5andclass1arerepresented
secondaryoutputcurrentnegativeerror.Positiveerrorisonly
possiblebyratioturncorrection.

Load,RatedloadandBurden

AVoltagetransformerisunloadedwhenthesecondaryterminalsareopenitbehaveslikeanormalvoltagesource.
Acurrenttransformerisjusttheoppositeandisunloadedwiththesecondaryterminalsshortcircuited.Stonger
even,whenthesecondaryterminalsofaCTareopen,thereisnosecondaryfluxtoopposetheprimaryfluxandthe
coregoestopositivesaturationonthepositivecurrentsineandtonegativesaturationonthenegativecurrentsine.
TheinducedsecondayvoltageisproportionaltoN . d/dt andfromVsatto+Vsatisahugevoltage.One
mightalsoconcludethatthecurrenttransformenisraisingthevoltageintryingtodrivethesecondarycurrent

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troughtheopenterminals.TheinsulationoftheCTisnotcalculatedforthissituationanditwilldistroytheCT
secondarywindingandmaycausefireattheterminals&highvoltageinjury.ThenominalloadofaCTistherated
resistiveburdenRBexpressedinVA.Thecorrectresistancecanbecalculatedwithbelowformula

2
P = R B . Is

P
RB =
2
Is

Example:A50VACTwithratedsecondarycurrentof5Aisdesignedforaconnectedloadof50VA/5=2Ohm.
Measuringtransformersaretestedatratedloadandat1/4oftheratedloadsothisCTshouldbeloadedwithin
theselimitstobesuretheaccuracyiswithinspecification.

TheuseandspecificationofCurrentTransformers
Currenttransformersareusedtomeasurehighcurrentshigherthan5A.Sothemostimportantparameterin
definingaCTisindeedtheRatiothatgivesustheMagnetudeofprimarycurrentandthesecondarycurrent.But
forthefollowingspecificationsofthecurrenttransformer,thepurposeoftheCTisneededsincemeasuringCT's
andProtectionCT'srequiredifferentspecifications.Indeed,therewillbetwomayorgroupsofCurrent
Transformers:

Protectioncurrenttransformers
Measurementcurrenttransformers

Regardingspecification,differentstandardshavedifferentwaysinspecifyingCT'sbutitallcomesdownto
specifyingcoreproperty's(saturationpointorkneepoint)andsecondarywireproperty's(RCT)althoughitmay
lookatotallydifferent.

ProtectionCT's

ProtectionCT's:

aremeanttoprotectanelektricalinstallationincaseof
overcurrentorshortcircuitandtheiroperatingcurrent
rangeisabovenominalcurrentInormorespecificfrom
IntoALFtimesIn.Itisimportantforthegood
functionningoftheprotectionrelaysthattheCT'sare
NOTsaturatedatALFtimesratedcurrent.WhereALF Figure6.TheratioofaprotectionCTasafunction
istheratiooftheexpectedmaximumfaultcurrentover ofthecurrent
theratedcurrent.Itisthusimportantthatthecore
materialhasahighsaturationinduction.
theiraccuracyisnotveryhighbutmostimportantisthattheaccuracyinfaultconditionsishighenough.
Thiscanonlybethecasewhenthecoreisnotsaturatedincaseofafaultcurrent.Thereforetheiraccuracyis
bestdescribedwithanAccuracyLimitandanAccuracyLimitFactor(ALF).E.g.a5P20CThasan
Accuracylimitof5%at20timesratedcurrent(AccuracyLimitFactor).TheaccuracyofthisCTatrated
currentis1%.
Theywillbeconnectedtooneormoreprotectionrelays
accordingtheapplication,theycanbedefinedinafewways:
ThestandardIECprotectionclassCT'sareofclass"P"thatonlytakestheACbehaviourintoaccount
inIEC600441

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ClassPXCT'saredefinedbythepositionofthekneepoint(saturationpointorkneepointvoltageand
magnetisingcurrent)andthesecondarywireresistanceRCT.
ClassPRCT'saredefinedlikethePXCT'sbuttheyhavealowremanencelessthan10%.Notethat
remanenceinCT'scanbe6080%thatmaycausequicksaturationincaseofafaultcurrentDCoffset
intheremanentdirection.AclassPXCTcan'thavethatproblem.
CT'sfortransientresponseclass"TP"aredefinedbytheirconnectedloadRB,timeconstantTSand
theirovercurrentfigureKSSC.TheselinearisedCT'shaveairgapsinthecoretoobtainextremehigh
saturationvoltageandcurrent.

Figure7.TheerrorlimitsofaprotectionCTperIEC600441

Ex.A5P10CTat10timesratedcurrenthasamaximumerrorof5%andonly1%atnominalcurrent.A10P15CT
at15timesratedcurrenthasamaximumerrorof10%and3%atnominalcurrent.

MeasurementCT's

Areaimedtomeasureaccuratelywithintheirnormal
operatingrangeof0toIn.Therefore,thecorematerial
musthaveahighpermeability(metal)sothatthe
magnetisingcurrentislow.
MeasurementCT'sareoftenbeingusedforbillingof
electricalpowerconsumptionandtheiraccuracyis
determinentforalotofmoney.
Fortheprotectionofthemeasuringinstrumentsincase
ofafaultcurrent,itisfavorablethatforcurrentsfar Figure8.TheratioofameasurementCTasa
aboveratedcurrentIn,thecoreissaturatedandthe functionofthecurrent
outputlowerssothatthefaultcurrenttroughthemeteris
onlyapartoftheexpectedcurrenttroughthemeter.This
isexpressedbytheInstrumentSecurityFactorSF.Ofcourse,thedilemmaisthattheCTmustbeaccurate
atIn(and1,2xIn)butatf.i.5timesratedcurrent(FS5)theCTmaybesaturatedforatleast10%.
TheaccuracyofameasurementCTisgivenbyit'saccuracyclassthatcorrespondstotheerror%atrated
currentandat1.2timesratedcurrentIn.ThestandardaccuracyclassesaccordingIECareclass0.2,0.5,1,3
en5.Forclasses3and5,noangleerrorisspecified.Theclasses0.2Sand0.5Shavetheiraccuracyshifted
towardthelowercurrents.Thismeansthattheyhave5measuringpointsinsteadof4(or2forclass3&5).

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Figure9.TheerrorformeasurmentCT'saccordingIEC600441

TheaccuracyoftheCTmustbewithintheselimitsatthegivencurrentsandwithratedloadandat1/4ofthe
ratedload.AmeasurementCTthatisnotloadedisthereforenotnecessaryaccurate!Ratioturncorrection
mayhavebeenappliedtogettheCTratingswitthinspecandthennotloadinggivesahighererror.

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Categories: Transformers Protection

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