FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRENT TRANSFORMERS

Keith L. Williams, P.E.

Grand Transformers, Inc.

ABSTRACT For a current transformer, VA rating and temperature rise

are usually of little concem. The flux density, determined by
The same natural laws control the operation of current the output current and load impedance, must be kept relatively
transformers that govem any other type of transformer. low to minimize ratio and phase errors. The use of high-
Because it is current-driven, however, the design parameters permeability core material also keeps losses low. The primary
which have the most significant effect on performance are most commonly is just a busbar or heavy conductor passed
different from those for a voltage-driven device. This requires through the core opening, comprising one turn; the current ratio
nearly a totally different approach in design. This paper will then determines the approximate secondary turns. Core
examine the factors affecting performance of current selection involves finding one whose cross-sectional area is
transformers with both rectified and unrectified loads. large enough to support the required voltage developed across
the load and secondary resistances at a low enough flux
density. In addition, the core opening remaining after the
secondary winding is in place must be large enough to pass the
GENERAL PRINCIPLES primary conductor(s) through.
Current transformers were originally used by electric utility BASIC THEORY
companies to measure large altemating currents with lower-
rated ammeters. The typical meter used had a 5-ampere full- The basic equation goveming the operation of a current
scale reading, and the ratings of current transformers were transformer is:
given as the ratio of the input current to this 5-amp rating; for
example, a rating of 10003 meant that an input current of 1000 Nsis = Npip
amperes would give a 5-ampere reading on the meter. The
meter connected to the secondary was called the burden of the
transformer. Current transformers are still used in this manner, In a perfect transformer, all the ampere-turns supplied by
but they have found uses in electronic circuits as well, in which the primary are transferred to the secondary, and the voltage
a resistor connected across the secondary converts the output appearing across the load resistor in Fig. 1 is isRL.
current to a voltage. In this paper we will refer to such a
resistor by the more familiar term load.
The design of a current transformer involves the same
formulas and principles as any other transformer. A designer
must go through essentially the same process: choice of core
size and material and selection of wire size and number of
turns, checking the trial design to find out if it meets the
desired criteria, and making adjustments if it does not.
For economic reasons, the transformer designer tries to
achieve the desired result with the smallest practical core and
wire sizes and minimum turns. However the phrase “minimum
practical size” has an entirely different meaning for a current-
driven device, than for a voltage-driven (power) transformer. Fig. 1 - Perfect Current Transformer and Load
Considerations of volt-ampere output and temperature rise are
the basis of core selection for a power transformer; turns are Unfortunately, nothing in this world is perfect, and in a
calculated to produce a high flux density, ratios to give the real transformer not all the ampere-tums produce current in the
required output(s) and wire sizes to fill the available space. load. Some provide magnetizing current to sustain the flux in

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the core, and some supply the inevitable core losses. Since
both these components reduce the current available to the load,
they produce a ratio error, in that the ratio of input and load
currents is different from the turns ratio. In addition, the
magnetizing ampere-turns shift the phase of the resistive load
current, resulting in a phase error. Fig. 2 shows the equivalent
circuit of a “real” current transformer incorporating the loss
components.
Fig. 2 - “Real” Current Transformer and Load
L, is the equivalent inductance representing the
magnetizing current, and R, is the equivalent resistance to the
core loss current. R, is the DC resistance of the secondary
winding.
Besides the loss components mentioned above, there are
distributed capacitances in the windings, but they are small and
can usually be neglected at frequencies below several tens of
kilohertz. Examining the circuit in Fig. 2, it can be seen that
the total current from the secondary is the vector sum of the
magnetizing current, core loss current, and load current.
Assuming a resistive load, the total secondary current is is then
given by the expression:
The load current can then be expressed by
iL= /= - i,. (3)
The ratio error is then given by
and the phase error by
P.E. = tar-’(&&). (5)
‘r + ‘c
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Notice that none of the preceding equations involve the
secondary resistance. Its only effect is to increase the amount
of voltage developed by the secondary necessary to drive the
load. In so doing, it increases the flux density in the core and
increases the core loss and magnetizing currents. Flux density
is calculated using the familiar transformer equation:
%” 108
B, =
4.44 NsAcf
where e, = i,(Rs + RJ. It is also interesting that, in order
to increase the voltage output of the secondary keeping the
same load resistance, it is necessary to decrease the number of
secondary turns. There is a limit to how far one may go in this
direction, since decreasing tums increases volts per turn,
resulting in an increase in flux density, in turn increasing core
loss and magnetizing current. In such a condition, the designer
eventually reaches a point at which further decreases in tums
result only in increases in losses, with no gains in output
current. This is an indication that the cross-sectional area of
the core is too small for the output required, and the designer
should select a larger core. In general, the flux density should
be kept below about 5 kilogauss (0.5 Tesla) to keep losses to
an acceptable minimum.
Since the load resistance is the primary factor determining
the output voltage, a current transformer should never be
operated open-circuit. In such a case, all the input current then
goes to supply magnetizing current and core loss. The flux
density under these circumstances is driven very high, probably
to saturation, resulting in a high secondary voltage, which may
present a shock hazard or cause damage to the secondary
winding insulation.
RECTIFIED LOADS
So far we have only considered simple resistive loads,
which provide an alternating voltage approximatelyproportional
to the input current. Frequently there is a requirement for a
current transformer to provide a direct voltage in proportion to
the input, using a circuit similar to that in Fig. 3, with or
without a filter capacitor.
Fig. 3 - Current Transformer with Rectified Load
 To analyze this circuit, the author used a method described
in Reference 4. Examining the circuit of Fig. 3, the following
differential equation describing circuit operation was set up:
% +
I,sinot= - c-de,
RL dt
Laplace transforms were then applied to convert the
differential equation to an algebraic equation, which was solved
for the voltage across the filter capacitor and load. When io =
I , sin a t , where o = 2nf (f is the frequency of the current in
Hz), and I, is the peak instantaneous value of the load current,
the equation for this voltage is found to be:
where Q = OCR, and 0 = tan-’ Q. This expression was
then integrated between the boundary values o t = 0 and o t =
7c and reduced to lowest terms. All the expressions involving
C and 0 cancelled out at this stage, and the direct voltage was
found to be:
This somewhat surprising result shows that the average
rectified voltage across the load resistor is independent of the
value of the filter capacitor. Its only effect is to reduce the
peak-to-peak ripple voltage.
Note that, in addition to the secondary resistance, rectifier
voltage drops must also be taken into account in determining
the flux density at which the core operates.
The ripple voltage has its maximum (and minimum) when
the derivative of equation (8) with respect to o t is equal to
zero. This condition is satisfied when:
Since cos ( u t - 0 ) = cos ( 0 - o t ) , equation (10) yields two
different equations, corresponding to the peak and valley of the
ripple. These equations are:
sin(v -e)
v = e + tan- [-(1 -e-“’Q, 1 (12)
2 C O S ~.-‘IQ
p and v are the angles at which valley and peak voltages,
respectively, occur. Unfortunately, both equations (11) and
(12) are transcendental, and cannot be solved explicitly for
these angles. It is necessary to use a successive approximation
process, in which a trial value is inserted in the right side of the
appropriate equation, and the result used for the next
approximation. Repeating this process a number of times will
determine p and v to as accurate values as desired. Experience
has shown that good starting values are p=0.7 and v=2.4
(7)
radians. Finally, substituting the values of p and v for o t in
equation (8) will yield values for the instantaneous minimum
and maximum ripple voltages, respectively.
Fig. 4 shows a family of ripple curves for values of Q
ranging from 0 (no capacitor) to 100. It can be qualitatively
seen that the average voltage is the same for all values. These
curves were computer-generated, but have been verified in
actual practice. These curves represent the voltage across RLin
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4 - Ripple Curves
SUMMARY
Core characteristics play a much more important role in the
operation of a current-driven transformer than for its voltage-
driven counterpart, especially when the device must operate
over a range of input currents. The designer must properly
account for these effects, and minimize them where possible,
to produce a unit which will perform satisfactorily.
REFERENCES
1. F. C. Connelly, “Transformers - Their Principles and
Design for Light Electrical Engineers. ” London: Sir Isaac
Pitman & Sons Ltd., pp. 351-363.
2. Reuben Lee, “Electronic Tramformers and Circuits,”
3rd edition. New York John Wiley & Sons, pp. 389-390.
3. C. W. T. McLyman, “Transformer and Inductor Design
Handbook” New York Marcel Dekker, Inc., pp. 314-323.
4. K. Williams, “Mathematical Theory of RectiJer Circuits
with Capacitor-Input Filters. ” Powerconversion International,
October 1982, pp. 42-45.
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