Current transformer

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A CT for operation on a 110 kV grid

A current transformer (CT) is an electric device that produces an alternating current (AC) in its
secondary which is proportional to the AC in its primary. Current transformers, together with
voltage transformers (VTs) or potential transformers (PTs), which are designed for measurement,
are known as instrument transformers.
When a current is too high to measure directly or the voltage of the circuit is too high, a current
transformer can be used to provide an isolated lower current in its secondary which is
proportional to the current in the primary circuit. The induced secondary current is then suitable
for measuring instruments or processing in electronic equipment. Current transformers also have
little effect on the primary circuit. Often, in electronic equipment, the isolation between the
primary and secondary circuit is the important characteristic.
Current transformers are used in electronic equipment and are widely used for metering
and protective relays in the electrical power industry.
Contents
[hide]

1Function

2Use

3Safety

4Accuracy
o

4.1Burden

4.2Knee-point core-saturation voltage

4.3Phase shift

5Special types

6Standards

7High voltage types

8See also

9References

10External links

Function[edit]

Basic operation of current transformer

SF6 110 kV current transformer TGFM series, Russia

Current transformers used inmetering equipment for three-phase400-ampere electricity supply

Like any transformer, a current transformer has a primary winding, a core and a secondary
winding, although some transformers, including current transformers, use an air core. In
principle, the only difference between a current transformer and a voltage transformer (normal
type) is that the former is fed with a 'constant' current while the latter is fed with a 'constant'
voltage, where 'constant' has the strict circuit theory meaning.
The alternating current in the primary produces an alternating magnetic field in the core, which
then induces an alternating current in the secondary. The primary circuit is largely unaffected by
the insertion of the CT. Accurate current transformers need close coupling between the primary
and secondary to ensure that the secondary current is proportional to the primary current over a
wide current range. The current in the secondary is the current in the primary (assuming a single
turn primary) divided by the number of turns of the secondary. In the illustration on the right, 'I' is
the current in the primary, 'B' is the magnetic field, 'N' is the number of turns on the secondary,
and 'A' is an AC ammeter.
The most basic current transformer comprises the secondary wound around the primary
conductor, but typically current transformers consist of a silicon steel ring core wound with many
turns of copper wire as shown in the right illustration. The conductor carrying the primary current
is then passed through the ring; the CT's primary therefore consists of a single 'turn'. The primary
'winding' may be a permanent part of the current transformer, with a heavy copper bar to carry
current through the core. Window-type current transformers (aka zero sequence current
transformers, or ZSCT) are also common, which can have circuit cables run through the middle
of an opening in the core to provide a single-turn primary winding. To assist accuracy, the primary
conductor should be central in aperture.
CTs are specified by their current ratio from primary to secondary. The rated secondary current is
normally standardized at 1 or 5 amperes. For example, a 4000:5 CT secondary winding will
supply an output current of 5 amperes when the primary winding current is 4000 amperes. This
ratio can also be used to find the impedance or voltage on one side of the transformer, given the
appropriate value at the other side. For the 4000:5 CT, the secondary impedance can be found
as ZS = NZP = 800ZP, and the secondary voltage can be found as VS = NVP = 800VP. In some
cases, the secondary impedance is referred to the primary side, and is found as ZS = N2ZP.
Referring the impedance is done simply by multiplying initial secondary impedance value by the
current ratio. The secondary winding of a CT can have taps to provide a range of ratios, five taps
being common.
Shapes and sizes can vary depending on the end user or switch gear manufacturer. Low-voltage
single ratio metering current transformers are either a ring type or plastic molded case.
Split-core current transformers either have a two-part core or a core with a removable section.
This allows the transformer to be placed around a conductor with the minimum disturbance. Splitcore current transformers are typically used in low current measuring instruments, often portable,
battery-operated, and hand-held (see illustration lower right).

Use[edit]

Many digitalclamp meters utilize a current transformer for measuringalternating current(AC).

Current transformers are used extensively for measuring current and monitoring the operation of
the power grid. Along with voltage leads, revenue-grade CTs drive the electrical utility's watt-hour
meter on virtually every building with three-phase service and single-phase services greater than
200 amperes.
High-voltage current transformers are mounted on porcelain or polymer insulators to isolate them
from ground. Some CT configurations slip around the bushing of a high-voltage transformer or
circuit breaker, which automatically centers the conductor inside the CT window.
Current transformers can be mounted on the low voltage or high voltage leads of a power
transformer; sometimes a section of a bus-bar can be removed to replace a current transformer.
Often, multiple CTs are installed as a "stack" for various uses. For example, protection devices
and revenue metering may use separate CTs to provide isolation between metering and
protection circuits, and allows current transformers with different characteristics (accuracy,
overload performance) to be used for the devices.
The burden (load) impedance, should not exceed the specified maximum value or the secondary
voltage may exceeding the limits for the current transformer. Also, the primary current rating of a
current transformer should not be exceeded or the core may enter its non linear region and
ultimatelysaturate. This would occur near the end of the first half of each half (positive and
negative) of the AC sine wave in the primary and would compromise the accuracy.

Safety[edit]
Current transformers are often used to monitor hazardously high currents or currents at
hazardously high voltages, so great care must be taken in the design and use of CTs in these
situations.
The secondary of a current transformer should not be disconnected from its burden while current
is in the primary, as the secondary will attempt to continue driving current into an effective
infinite impedance up to its insulation break-down voltage and thus compromise operator safety.
For certain current transformers this voltage may reach several kilo-volts and may even
cause arcing. Exceeding the secondary voltage may also degrade the accuracy of the
transformer or even destroy it. Energizing a current transformer with an open circuit secondary is
the complement of energizing a voltage transformer (normal type) with a short circuit secondary.
In the first case the secondary tries to produce an infinite voltage and in the second case the
secondary tries to produce an infinite current. Both scenarios can be dangerous and damage the
transformer.

Accuracy[edit]
The accuracy of a CT is affected by a number of factors including:

Burden

Burden class/saturation class

Rating factor

Load

External electromagnetic fields

Temperature

Physical configuration

The selected tap, for multi-ratio CTs

Phase change

Capacitive coupling between primary and secondary

Resistance of primary and secondary

Core magnetizing current

For the IEC standard, accuracy classes for various types of measurement are set out in IEC
61869-1, Classes 0.1, 0.2s, 0.2, 0.5, 0.5s, 1 and 3. The class designation is an approximate
measure of the CT's accuracy. The ratio (primary to secondary current) error of a Class 1 CT is
1% at rated current; the ratio error of a Class 0.5 CT is 0.5% or less. Errors in phase are also
important especially in power measuring circuits, and each class has an allowable maximum
phase error for a specified load impedance.
Current transformers used for protective relaying also have accuracy requirements at overload
currents in excess of the normal rating to ensure accurate performance of relays during system
faults. A CT with a rating of 2.5L400 specifies with an output from its secondary winding of 20
times its rated secondary current (usually 5 A 20 = 100 A) and 400 V (IZ drop) its output
accuracy will be within 2.5 percent.

Burden[edit]
The secondary load of a current transformer is termed the "burden" to distinguish it from the
primary load.
The burden in a CT metering circuit is the largely resistive impedance presented to its secondary
winding. Typical burden ratings for IEC CTs are 1.5 VA, 3 VA, 5 VA, 10 VA, 15 VA, 20 VA, 30 VA,
45 VA and 60 VA. ANSI/IEEE burden ratings are B-0.1, B-0.2, B-0.5, B-1.0, B-2.0 and B-4.0. This
means a CT with a burden rating of B-0.2 can tolerate an impedance of up to 0.2 on the
secondary circuit before its accuracy falls outside of its specification. These specification
diagrams show accuracy parallelograms on a grid incorporating magnitude and phase angle
error scales at the CT's rated burden. Items that contribute to the burden of a current
measurement circuit are switch-blocks, meters and intermediate conductors. The most common
cause of excess burden impedance is the conductor between the meter and the CT. When
substation meters are located far from the meter cabinets, the excessive length of cable creates
a large resistance. This problem can be reduced by using thicker cables and CTs with lower
secondary currents (1A), both of which will produce less voltage drop between the CT and its
metering devices.

Knee-point core-saturation voltage[edit]

The knee-point voltage of a current transformer is the magnitude of the secondary voltage
above which the output current ceases to linearly follow the input current within declared
accuracy. In testing, if a voltage is applied across the secondary terminals the magnetizing
current will increase in proportion to the applied voltage, until the knee point is reached. The
knee point is defined as the voltage at which a 10% increase in applied voltage increases the
magnetizing current by 50%. For voltages greater than the knee point, the magnetizing current
increases considerably even for small increments in voltage across the secondary terminals. The
knee-point voltage is less applicable for metering current transformers as their accuracy is
generally much higher, but constrained within a very small range of the current transformer
rating, typically 1.2 to 1.5 times rated current. However, the concept of knee point voltage is very
pertinent to protection current transformers, since they are necessarily exposed to fault currents
of 20 to 30 times rated current.[1]

Phase shift[edit]
Ideally, the primary and secondary currents of a current transformer should be in phase. In
practice, this is impossible, but, at normal power frequencies, phase shifts of a few tenths of a
degree are achievable, while simpler CTs may have phase shifts up to six degrees. [2] For current
measurement, phase shift is immaterial as ammeters only display the magnitude of the current.
However, in wattmeters, energy meters, and power factor meters, phase shift produces errors.
For power and energy measurement, the errors are considered to be negligible at unity power
factor but become more significant as the power factor approaches zero. At zero power factor, all
the measured power is due to the current transformer's phase error.[2] The introduction of
electronic power and energy meters has allowed current phase error to be calibrated out. [3]

Special types[edit]
Specially constructed wideband current transformers are also used (usually with an oscilloscope)
to measure waveforms of high frequency or pulsed currents within pulsed powersystems. One
type of specially constructed wideband transformer provides a voltage output that is proportional
to the measured current. Another type (called a Rogowski coil) requires an external integrator in
order to provide a voltage output that is proportional to the measured current. Unlike CTs used
for power circuitry, wideband CTs are rated in output volts per ampere of primary current.

Standards[edit]
Ultimately, depending on client requirements, there are two main standards to which current
transformers are designed. IEC 61869-1 (in the past IEC 60044-1) & IEEE C57.13 (ANSI),
although the Canadian and Australian standards are also recognised.

High voltage types[edit]

Current transformers are used for protection, measurement and control in high-voltage
electrical substations and the electrical grid. Current transformers may be installed inside
switchgear or in apparatus bushings, but very often free-standing outdoor current transformers
are used. In a switchyard, live tank current transformers have a substantial part of their enclosure
energized at the line voltage and must be mounted on insulators. Dead tank current transformers
isolate the measured circuit from the enclosure. Live tank CTs are useful because the primary
conductor is short, which gives better stability and a higher short-circuit current rating. The
primary of the winding can be evenly distributed around the magnetic core, which gives better
performance for overloads and transients. Since the major insulation of a live-tank current
transformer is not exposed to the heat of the primary conductors, insulation life and thermal
stability is improved.
A high-voltage current transformer may contain several cores, each with a secondary winding, for
different purposes (such as metering circuits, control, or protection). [4] A neutral current
transformer is used as earth fault protection to measure any fault current flowing through the
neutral line from the wye neutral point of a transformer.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

Rogowski coil

Transformer

Instrumentation

Transformer types