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MALAYSIA
BEF 20903
BEF 23903
ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENTS
1. Introduction
2. Types of Current Transformers
3. Equivalent Circuit of a current transformer
4. Current Transformer Ratios
5. Phasor Diagram of Current Transformer
6. Errors in current transformer
7. Phase angle error
8. Methods to minimize errors
9. Types of current transformer construction
10. Clamp meter
2
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing this module you will be able to:
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
High AC currents can be measured with shunts under special circumstances, but most
often such direct connections to AC lines are extremely dangerous to humans. One
way to get around the hazard is to use current transformers (CT) that isolate AC line
voltages and reduce input current by a specified ratio. A current transformer produces
a scaled down replica of the input quantity to the accuracy expected for the particular
measurement. The common laws for transformers are valid for current transformers.
1. The measuring instruments can be placed for away from the high voltage side
by connecting long wires to the current transformer. This ensures the safety of
instruments as well as the operator.
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Comparison Between Resistive Shunt And Current Transformer
Figure 1. Clamp-on CT
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2) Bar type CT
A bar type CT has a circular ring type core over which secondary winding is
wound, across which a direct reading ampere meter is connected. When a bar
conductor or a Bus bar whose current, is to be measured is inserted in to the
ring, the ampere meter reads the current (Figure 2).
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3.0 EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF A CURRENT TRANSFORMER
For quantitative analysis, a current transformer can be represented by the equivalent
circuit of Figure 3.
Ip Rp Xp Is Rs Xs Is
Np:Ns
Io
Ie Im
Vp Re Xm Ep Es ZL = RL + jX L Vs
Ideal
CT
where
Vp : Primary voltage
Ip : Primary current
Rp : Primary winding resistance
Xp : Primary winding reactance
Io : Exciting current
Ie : Core loss current
Re : Equivalent core loss resistance
Im : Magnetizing current
Xm : Magnetizing reactance
Ep : Primary winding induced voltage
p, s : Primary and Secondary windings
: Flux surrounding the windings
Is : Secondary winding current
Es : Secondary induced emf
Rs : Secondary winding resistance
Xs : Secondary winding reactance
RL : Rsistance of external burden
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XL : Reactance of external burden
KT : Turn ratio = Ns/Np
It can be seen from the equivalent circuit diagram shown in Figure 3 that the primary
current contains two components:
An exciting current, which magnetizes the core and supplies the eddy current
and hysteresis losses, etc.
A remaining primary current component, which is available for transformation
to secondary current in the inverse ratio of turns.
The secondary internal impedance, however, must be taken into account, but only the
winding resistance Rs. The leakage reactance is negligible where continuous ring
cores and uniformly distributed secondary windings are concerned. The exciting
impedance is represented by an inductive reactance in parallel with a resistance. Im
and Ie are the reactive and loss components of the exiting current. The resulting
simplified equivalent circuit is shown in Figure 4.
Ip Is Np:Ns Rs Is
Io
Ie Im
Vp Re Xm Ep Es ZL = RL + jX L Vs
Ideal
CT
8
Equivalent Circuit Of CT Referred To The Secondary Side
Figure 5 shows a simplified equivalent current transformer diagram converted to the
secondary side.
Ip Is
Io
Ie Im
Es Re Xe Vs ZL = RL + jX L
Ns
Kt
Np
where
Ns = No. of turns in secondary winding
Np = No. of turns in primary winding
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Ip
K act
Is
iii. Nominal ratio - This is the ratio of the rated primary winding current
(Ip(rated)) to the rated secondary winding current (Is(rated)) of the
transformer.
I p (rated ) Ns
K nom Kt
I s (rated ) Np
K act
R.C.F
K nom
Thus,
R.C.F
K act R.C.F K nom and K nom
K act
Note
If the exciting current Io could be neglected the transformer should reproduce the
primary current without errors and the following equation should apply to the primary
and secondary currents:
Ns
Ip I s Kt I s
Np
Worked Example 1
A bar-type current transformer which has 1 turn on its primary and 160 turns on its
secondary is to be used with a standard range of ammeters that have an internal
resistance of 0.2 . The ammeter is required to give a full-scale deflection when the
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Worked Example
Solution
Secondary current:
Np
800
1
I s I p 5A
Ns 160
Voltage across ammeter:
Worked Example 2
A current transformer has a rating of 50 VA, 400 A/5 A, 36 kV, 50 Hz. It is connected
into an a.c. line having a line-to-neutral voltage of 14.4 kV. The ammeters, relays and
connecting wires on the secondary side possess a total impedance (burden) of 1.2 .
If the transmission line current is 280 A, calculate:
1. The secondary current
2. The voltage across the secondary terminals
3. The voltage drop across the primary.
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Figure 7.
Solution
(a) The secondary current
Np Is 5 1
Ns I p 400 80
Ns 1
Is I p 280 3.5 A
Np 80
Exercise
A toroidal transformer has a ratio of 1000 A/5 A. The line conductor carries a current
of 600 A.
(a) Calculate the voltage across the secondary winding if the ammeter has an
impedance of 0.15 .
(b) Calculate the voltage drop the transformer produces on the line conductor.
(c) If the primary is looped four times through the toroidal opening, calculate the new
current ratio.
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Figure 8.
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PHASOR DIAGRAM OF CURRENT TRANSFORMER
The vector diagram for the circuit shown in Figure 4 is shown in Figure 9 Here flux
has been taken as reference. EMF Es and Ep lags behind the flux by 90o. The
magnitude of the phasors Es and Ep are proportional to secondary and primary turns.
The excitation current Io is made up of two components, namely, Im and Ie. The
secondary current Io lags behind the secondary induced emf Es by an angle s. The
secondary current is now transferred to the primary side by reversing Is and multiplied
by the turns ratio KT. The total current flows through the primary Ip is then vector sum
of KT Is and Io.
-Ep Ip
Is-Secondary Current
KTIs Es - Secondary induced emf
Ip - primary Current
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ERRORS IN CURRENT TRANSFORMER
Current transformers suffer from two errors:
Ns
I s' I s I o KT I s I o
Np
Io
Is = KTIs Ip
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Hence, the percentage current error in the primary current is
I p (measured ) I p (actual)
% 100 %
I p (actual)
KT I s I p
100 %
Ip
KN KA
100 %
KA
According to the definition above, the current error is positive if the secondary
current is too high, and vice versa.
Current error is an error that arises when the current value of the actual transformation
ratio is not equal to rated transformation ratio.
I s ' I p KN Is I p
Current error % 100% 100%
Ip Ip
Worked Example 3
In case of a 2000/5A class 1 5VA current transformer
2000
KN 400 K T
5
Ip = 2000 A
16
Is = 4.9 A
KT I s I p 400 5 2000
Current error 100% 2%
Ip 2000
Worked Example 4
An application requires a 20:5 CT ratio, but only a 50:5 CT is available. Given that
the number of primary turns (Np) is 3, determine the number of secondary turns that
need to be added so that a 20:5 actual ratio will be obtained.
Solution
50
Given: Nameplate transformation ratio, K N 10
5
20
We require KA 4
5
10 N sa
Therefore, 4
3
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2. Phase Angle Error
For a ideal current transformer the angle between the primary and reversed
secondary current vector is zero. But for an actual current transformer there is
always a difference in phase between two due to the fact that primary current
has to supply the component of the exiting current. The angle between the
secondary current phasor reversed (Is) and the primary current (Ip) (see Figure
8) is termed as Phase Angle Error; that is,
I s' I p
The phase angle error is usually expressed in minutes, and if the reversed
current phasor leads the primary current phasor then the phase angle error is
defined as positive; otherwise it is taken as negative.
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Worked Example 5
The exciting current of a transformer (of ratio 1000A:5A) with a burden of 1 is 1 A
at a p.f. = 0.4. Calculate actual transformation ratio and ratio error.
Solution
Given : Exciting current, Io = 1 A, p.f = 0.4
Turns ratio, KT = NS/NP =1000/5 = 200
Burden, ZL = 1 (resistive)
1000A:5A Is
ES ZL = 1
Ip Is 1000A:5A Is
Io
Ie Im
Ep Es ZL = 1
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Power factor of exciting current (Io),
Therefore,
and
90 o 90 o 66.42 o 23.58 o
Ie Io
Im = 80 A
Figure 14. Phasor diagram showing phase relationships between Io, Ie, and Im.
Turns ratio
1000 A
KN 200
5A
Current flowing in secondary, Is = 5 A, p.f. = 1. Therefore, reflected secondary
current is
1000 A
I s' K N I s 5 A 1000 A
5A
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Ip
Is
Io
Figure 15. Phasor diagram showing phase relationships between Ip, Io, and Is.
Ip I '
s I o sin I
2
o cos
2
1000.4 A
Ip 1000 .4
KA 200 .8
Is 5
Ratio error,
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Worked Example 6
A CT has a single turn primary and 400 secondary turns. The magnetizing curent is 90
A while core loss current is 40 A. Secondary circuit phase angle is 28o. Calculate the
actual primary current and ratio error when secondary current carries 5 A current.
Solution
The information given is only sufficient to be applied to the simplified equivalent
circuit of a current transformer shown in Figure x.
Ip Is Np:Ns Is
Io
Ie Im
Vp Re Xm Ep Es ZL Vs
Ideal
CT
N s 400
KT 400 K N
Np 1
Ns
I s' I s 400 5 2000 A
Np
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Ip
Is
= 28o
Io
Figure 15. Phasor diagram showing phase relationships between Ip, Io, and Is.
Y- component of primary-referred secondary current,
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I p I p ( x) 2 I p ( y ) 2 1029 2 1806 2 2079 A Ans.
I p (measured ) I p (actual)
%
I p (actual)
I s' I p
Ip
2000 2079
100 % 3.8%
2079
Therefore,
% 3.8% Ans.
It is desirable to reduce these errors, for better performance. For achieving minimum
error in current transformer, one can follow the following,
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The grain-oriented materials are preferred as their grains are oriented
in the direction so as to provide unidirection to the magnetic field,
usually rectangular (Figure 160a) or a ring type (Figure 16b) shape is
made. In ring shape, the joints may be eliminated and due to
orientation of the grains, flux is always along the grains and so the
reluctance as minimum.
Figure 16. Current transformer cores. (a) rectangular core; (b) ring core.
2. Keeping the rated burden to the nearer value of the actual burden.
3. Ensuring minimum length of flux path and increasing cross sectional
area of the core, minimizing joint of the core.
4. Lowering the secondary internal impedance.
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accidentally opened, the primary current Ip continues to flow unchanged because the
impedance of the primary is negligible compared to that of the electrical load. The
line current thus becomes the exciting current of the transformer because there is no
further bucking effect due to the secondary ampere-turns. Because the line current
may be 100 to 200 times greater than the normal exciting current, the flux in the core
reaches peaks much higher than normal. The flux is so large that the core is totally
saturated for the greater part of every cycle. Referring to Figure 17, as the primary
current rises and falls during the first half cycle, flux in the core also rises and falls,
but remains at a fixed saturation level sat for most of the time.
ip
sat
e
d
N
dt
3000 V
secondary
voltage
Figure 17. Primary current, flux, and secondary voltage when a CT is open-circuited.
The same thing happens during the second half-cycle. During these saturation
intervals, the induced voltage across the secondary winding is negligible because the
flux changes very little. However, during the unsaturated intervals, the flux changes at
an extremely hig rate, inducing voltage peaks of several thousand volts across the
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open-circuited secondary. This is a dangerous situation because an unsuspecting
operator could easily receive a bad shock. The voltage is particularly high in current
transformers having ratings above 50 VA.
Thus, for reasons of safety, if a meter or relay in the secondary circuit of a CT has to
be disconnected, we must first short-circuit the secondary winding and then remove
the component. Short-circuiting a current transformer does no harm because the
primary current remains unchanged and the secondary current can be greater than that
determined by the turns ratio. The short-circuit across the secondary may be removed
after the secondary circuit is again closed.
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Worked Example
Current is to be measured in a single-phase line which supplies a 240-V, 20 kW load
with a 0.8 power factor. Select an appropriate ammeter and current transformer.
Direct reading ammeters are available with full-scale reading ranging from 2 to 20 A.
Figure 19
Solution
P 20,000
I
V pf 240 0.8
Therefore,
I 104 A
28
N L
Step 3 Select Current Transformer
Current
Because the current is transformer
greater than 20 A, a current
transformer is required. A
transformer is chosen which
can accommodate a
somewhat higher current, a
150:5 current transformer is
therefore selected. The
ammeter is a 5-A meter with
its scale calibrated from 0 to AC ammeter
150 A. Single-phase
power line
Figure 20.
Step 4: Draw the connection diagram.
The ammeter is connected to the line, through the current
transformer, as in the figure.
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3. Window-type Current Transformer
A window-type current transformer is one that has a secondary winding
insulated from- and permanently assembled on the core, but has no primary
winding as an integral part of the structure. Primary insulation is provided in
the window, through which one turn of the line conductor can be passed to
provide the primary winding.
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Window Type CT Wound Type CT
Figure 21: Type of current transformers
Outdoor CTs
Current Transformer could either be:
1. Indoor current transformer: One that, because of its construction, must be
protected from the weather.
2. Outdoor current transformer: One of weather-resistant construction, suitable
for service without additional protection from the weather.
Figure 22
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Outdoor CTs
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CLAMP METER
A clamp meter is an electrical tester that combines a basic digital multimeter with a
current sensor. A common form of current sensor comprises a split ring made of
ferrite or soft iron and hinged at one one to form a pair of jaws that can be opened to
clamp around the conductor whose current is to be measured. A wire coil is wound
round one or both halves, forming one winding of a current transformer. The
conductor around which it is clamped forms the other winding. This allows properties
of the electric current in the conductor to be measured, without having to make
physical contact with it, or to disconnect it for insertion through the probe.
Some current clamps incorporate a rectifier circuit whose output is a DC voltage that
is proportional to the average current being measured. Such clamps facilitate the use
of strip chart recorders for obtaining real time trends of current loads. To obtain a
TRUE RMS output, a DC-to-RMS converter is attached to output of the dc current
clamp.
(a)
33
Clampon current probes or current clamps enable you to
measure currents without breaking the electric circuit.
(b)
(a)
34
measure currents without breaking the electric circuit.
Resistive
shunt V
(b)
Vo 0 .5
Ro 2 .5
I s 0.200
Figure 26
35
Current Clamp incorporating a rectifier and filter circuit
Figure 27. Current clamp incorporating a rectifier and filter circuit to convert the ac
current signal into a voltage signal.
36
Figure 29. Block diagram of a digital AC current clamp meter.
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38
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