CURRENT TRANSFORMERS

Current Transformers –
What?
Current transformer is an instrument transformer.
As the name suggests it is used with measuring
and protective equipment, in order to monitor the
current and to use it to activate protection
schemes as in relays or to simply indicate &
record as in measuring instruments.
 Current Transformers – Why?
 When the current to be measured is too
large to be handled by standard meters or
relays.
 Acts as an isolation between primary and
secondary, so that instruments and relays can be
insulated for a lower voltage, instead of the much
higher system voltage.
 Actual short circuit currents cannot be handled by
instruments or relays.
 Reduction in the size of instruments/Relays
 Instruments can be standardised, enabling overall
reduction in cost, as well as operational flexibility.
SELECTION PARAMETERS
 TYPE
 NOMINAL & HIGHEST SYSTEM VOLTAGE
 RATED INSULATION LEVEL
 FREQUENCY, IF DIFFERENT FROM 50 Hz
 RATED TRANSFORMATION RATIO
 RATED OUTPUT & CORRESPONDING
ACCURACY CLASS FOR MEASURING &
PROTECTIVE CTs
 ACCURACY LIMIT FACTOR FOR PROTECTIVE
CTs
 SELECTION PARAMETERS
 INSTRUMENT SECURITY FACTOR (ISF) FOR
MEASURING CTs
 RATED KNEE-POINT VOLTAGE & LIMITATIONS
OF EXCITING CURRENT FOR CLASS PS CTs
 RATED CONTINUOUS & SHORT TIME
THERMAL CURRENT
 RATED DYNAMIC CURRENT
 LIMITING DIMENSIONS, IF ANY
 SERVICE CONDITIONS
SELECTION PARAMETERS
TYPES

1) BAR TYPE
2) WOUND TYPE
3) RING TYPE
OR
1) DRY TYPE
2) LIQUID IMMERSED
3) HERMETICALLY SEALED
 SELECTION PARAMETERS
TYPES

1) MEASURING
2) PROTECTIVE
3) DUAL PURPOSE
4) PROTECTIVE FOR SPECIAL PURPOSE
(CLASS PS)
 SELECTION PARAMETERS
NOMINAL & HIGHEST SYSTEM
VOLTAGE
• NOMINAL SYSTEM VOLTAGE : LINE-TO-LINE
VOLTAGE (RMS) BY WHICH SYSTEM IS
DESIGNATED
• HIGHEST SYSTEM VOLTAGE : HIGHEST LINE-TO-
LINE VOLTAGE (RMS) WHICH CAN BE
SUSTAINED UNDER NORMAL OPERATING
CONDITIONS AT ANY TIME & AT ANY POINT OF
THE INSTALLATION (EXCLUDES TEMPORARY
VOLTAGE VARIATIONS DUE TO FAULTS &
SUDDEN DISCONNECTION OF LARGE LOADS)
 SELECTION PARAMETERS
RATED INSULATION LEVEL
• IT IS THAT COMBINATION OF VOLTAGE VALUES (POWER
FREQUENCY & LIGHTNING IMPULSE) WHICH
CHARACTERISES THE INSULATION OF A C.T. WITH
REGARD TO ITS CAPABILITIY TO WITHSTAND DIELECTRIC
STRESSES
• RATED INSULATION LEVELS FOR NOMINAL SYSTEM
VOLTAGE UP TO O.60KV(RMS) :

NOMINAL HIGHEST POWER FREQ. LIGHTNING

SYSTEM SYSTEM WITHSTAND IMPULSE
VOLTAGE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE WITHSTAND
(kV rms) (kV rms) (kV rms) VOLTAGE (kV peak)

0.60 0.66 3
 SELECTION PARAMETERS
RATED INSULATION LEVEL
NOMINAL HIGHEST POWER FREQ. LIGHTNING
SYSTEM SYSTEM WITHSTAND IMPULSE
VOLTAGE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE WITHSTAND
(kV rms) (kV rms) (kV rms) VOLTAGE (kV peak)

3.3 3.6 10 40

6.6 7.2 20 60

11 12 28 75

22 24 50 125

33 36 70 170

66 72.5 140 325

110 123 230 550

132 145 275 650

220 245 460 1050

400 420 1050 1425

 SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED TRANSFORMATION RATIO

IP (RATED)
RATED TRANSFORMATION RATIO, KN = ---------------
IS (RATED)

IP (ACTUAL)
ACTUAL TRANSFORMATION RATIO = ------------------
IS (ACTUAL)
RATED PRIMARY & SECONDARY
CURRENT

STANDARD VALUES OF RATED PRIMARY

CURRENT : 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75 AND
THEIR DECIMAL MULTIPLES OR FRACTIONS

STANDARD VALUES OF RATED SECONDARY

CURRENT : 1A & 5A
RATED SECONDARY CURRENT –
1A or 5A?
Normally for Indoor or Switchboard mounted CTs, the
Secondary Current is chosen as 5A, as the burden
imposed by the leads will be very less because of short
lead lengths. Whereas, in case of outdoor CTs installed
in Switchyards, the lead lengths are normally higher, say
of the order of 100meters. The resistive burden of a
2.5 sq.mm lead for 100 meters will be around 0.8 Ohms,
which will correspond to a VA burden of 20VA (I2R), for a
CT Secondary current of 5A, thereby imposing additional
burden on the CT and increasing the cost and the size of
the CT.
RATED SECONDARY CURRENT –
1A or 5A?
If the CT Secondary current is 1A, this will be only 0.8VA,
thereby reducing the burden of the CT, thus reducing the
cost and the size of the CT.

But, it must also be noted that for the same ratio, accuracy
class and burden, the cost of an 1A CT will be higher,as
also the open circuit volts. This is because, for 1A, the
resistance of the CT Secondary has to be higher, so finer
gauge wire is used for the secondary winding. And, with a
finer wire and lesser secondary current, the number of
turns in the secondary is increased, to achieve the
Ampere-Turns balance. As the number of turns is
Increased, the open circuit volts also increases.
Current Transformer
– Types based on application
Based on application, current
transformers are broadly classified
as Measuring Current Transformers
and Protective Current transformers.
The basic difference is in their
functional requirements.
Current Transformer
– Types based on application
A measuring current transformer, for example, has to
remain accurate only over its measuring range, may be,
a few percentage more. If it maintains its accuracy for
currents many times its rated current, such as fault
currents, then the measuring instruments connected to
them, may have to be designed to withstand this high
current, for the duration of the co-coordinated fault
clearing time. This will make the instruments bulky as
also costly. So, a measuring CT may well have to
saturate pretty quickly.
Current Transformer
– Types based on application
On the other hand, the protective CT must maintain its
accuracy, even for currents much beyond its rating, for
then only the protective devices can sense the fault and
issue trip commands to isolate the faulty feeder. The
level up to which it has to maintain its accuracy will be
determined by many system parameters, such as the
fault current, fault duration, short-time withstand levels
of equipment downstream & upstream, etc.
Measuring Current Transformers
– Class of Accuracy
 ACCURACY CLASS IS THE
DESIGNATION ASSIGNED TO THE C.T.,
THE ERRORS OF WHICH REMAIN
WITHIN SPECIFIED LIMITS

 THE STANDARD ACCURACY CLASSES

FOR MEASURING C.T. ARE CLASS 0.1,
0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0 & 5.0
Measuring Current Transformers
– Class of Accuracy
 PERCENTAGE RATIO ERROR AT PER
ACCURACY -CENTAGE OF RATED CURRENT
CLASS
5 20 100 120

0.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.1

0.2 0.75 0.35 0.2 0.2
0.5 1.5 0.75 0.5 0.5
1.0 3.0 1.5 1.0 1.0
Measuring Current Transformers
– Class of Accuracy
 PERCENTAGE RATIO ERROR AT PER
ACCURACY -CENTAGE OF RATED CURRENT
CLASS
50 120

3.0 3.0 3.0

5.0 5.0 5.0

Measuring Current Transformers –
Class of Accuracy – Special Classes
As can be seen from the above tables, even for
the accuracy class of 0.1 & 0.2, the declared
accuracy is guaranteed only between 100% &
120% rating. And, with some increased error,
the CT performance can be guaranteed from
5% loading. Below this load, the error is not
guaranteed. It can be anything.
Normally these classes of accuracy are used for
Tariff Metering by the Utility Company.
Measuring Current Transformers –
Class of Accuracy – Special Classes
In large industrial projects, the project would
be commissioned in steps only. In such a case,
initially the loading will be very low. If the
tariff metering CT errors are haphazard, it may
not be acceptable either to the supplier (in case
of negative error) or to the consumer (in the
case of positive error). And the magnitude can
be quite large, say, with a sanctioned demand
of 10MVA, even 1% error means 100kVA.
Measuring Current Transformers –
Class of Accuracy – Special Classes
To cater to such situations, IS 2705, in its
revised edition, had introduced two new
accuracy classes, 0.2S & 0.5S for tariff
metering purposes.
Limits of Error for Special Application Metering CTs
% Current (Ratio) Error at % Rated Currents
Accuracy Class 1% 5% 20% 100% 120%
0.2S 0.75 0.35 0.2 0.2 0.2
0.5S 1.5 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5
Measuring Current Transformers –
Class of Accuracy – Special Classes
As can be seen from above, these special CTs
guarantee the declared accuracy, even with
20% loading. And some definite error can be
defined even with a load as low as 1%. Thus
they are suitable for industries where loads are
commissioned in steps or stages.
Measuring Current Transformers
– Class of Accuracy
RATIO ERROR
(KN.IS - IP) x 100
RATIO ERROR (IN %) =
IP

WHERE, IP = ACTUAL PRIMARY CURRENT

IS = ACTUAL SECONDARY CURRENT
WHEN IP IS FLOWING
Measuring Current Transformers
– Class of Accuracy
SELECTION OF ACCURACY CLASS
APPLICATION CLASS
1) PRECISION TESTING/TESTING LAB/
AS A SUB-STANDARD 0.1
2) LABORATORIES/TESTING OF
INDUSTRIAL C.Ts 0.2
3) PRECISION INDUSTRIAL METERING 0.5
4) COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL
METERING 1.0
5) INDICATING & GRAPHIC
WATTMETERS & AMMETERS 1.0 OR 3.0
6) ROUGH MEASUREMENT/WHERE RATIO
IS OF LESS IMPORTANCE 3.0 OR 5.0
 Measuring CTs - INSTRUMENT
SECURITY FACTOR (ISF)
IT IS THE RATIO OF THE RATED INSTRUMENT
LIMIT PRIMARY CURRENT TO THE RATED
PRIMARY CURRENT. SIGNIFIES THE MULTIPLE
OF RATED PRIMARY CURRENT AFTER WHICH
THE CT WILL SATURATE.
TYPICAL ISF VALUES ARE 2, 5 & 10. SELECTION
DEPENDS UPON THE SHORT TIME WITHSTAND
RATING OF THE INSTRUMENTS CONNECETD.
THE SAFETY OF INSTRUMENT SUPPLIED BY CT
IS GREATEST WHEN ISF IS SMALL
 Protection Current Transformers
As already discussed briefly, contrary to the
measurement CTs, the protective CTs will have to
remain accurate even for currents that are many
multiples of the rated current, for, during fault
conditions, theses CTs will have to replicate the
primary current to the protection relays so that the
relays perform their intended functions accurately.
Based on this requirement, protection CTs are
classified on two counts (viz.) composite error
percentage & the accuracy limiting factor.
 ACCURACY CLASSES FOR
PROTECTIVE C.T.

 PERCENTAGE  PERCENTAGE
ACCURACY RATIO ERROR AT COMPOSITE
CLASS RATED PRIMARY ERROR AT RATED
CURRENT PRIMARY CURRENT

5P 1.0 5.0
10P 3.0 10.0
15P 5.0 15.0
 Protection Current Transformers
As can be seen from above, the r.m.s. ratio error of
a 5P CT is the same as that of a Class 1.0
Measurement CT. But, since the protective system
has to respond to instantaneous changes too, what
is of more importance is the Composite Error or
the error for any given instantaneous value of
current. For a 5P CT this is +/- 5%.

What is Composite Error?

 COMPOSITE ERROR

100 1 T
COMPOSITE ERROR = I
P T 0 (KN.is - ip)2 dt

WHERE, IP = RMS VALUE OF PRIMARY CURRENT

iS = INSTANTANEOUS VALUE OF SEC. CURRENT
iP = INSTANTANEOUS VALUE OF PRIMARY
CURRENT
T = DURATION OF ONE CYCLE
 RATED ACCURACY LIMIT FACTOR
As seen earlier, protection CTs will have to
maintain their accuracy limits, for currents much
beyond their rated currents. But, it is not sufficient
to just vaguely say that for many times the rated
currents, the CT shall not saturate. One has to be
very specific in declaring the level of rated current
up to which the CT accuracy should be maintained.
This is specified by a factor called “Accuracy
Limiting Factor (ALF). This will tell the multiple
of primary rated current of the CT at least up to
which the CT will maintain its accuracy.
 SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED ACCURACY LIMIT FACTOR
IT IS THE RATIO OF THE RATED ACCURACY
LIMIT PRIMARY CURRENT TO THE RATED
PRIMARY CURRENT
THE RATED ACCURACY LIMIT PRIMARY
CURRENT IS THE HIGHEST PRIMARY CURRENT
UP TO WHICH THE C.T. WILL COMPLY WITH
THE SPECIFIED LIMITS OF COMPOSITE ERROR
THE STANDARD ACCURACY LIMIT FACTORS
FOR PROTECTIVE C.Ts ARE : 5, 10, 15, 20 & 30
 SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED OUTPUT/BURDEN
IT IS THE VALUE OF THE BURDEN ON WHICH
THE ACCURACY REQUIREMENTS OF THE
INDIAN STANDARD ARE BASED
BURDEN IS THE IMPEDANCE OF THE
SECONDARY CIRCUIT IN OHMS AND POWER
FACTOR. USUALLY EXPRESSED AS THE
APPARENT POWER IN VA AT A SPECIFIED P.F. &
AT THE RATED SECONDARY CURRENT
THE STANDARD VALUES OF RATED OUTPUT/
BURDEN : 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10, 15 & 30VA
 Burden on CTs

LOAD ON THE SECONDARY SIDE OF

CT EXPRESSED IN VA

- MAJOR INFLUENCE ON THE

PERFORMANCE OF THE PROTECTION
SCHEME

- SUM TOTAL OF THE INTERNAL

IMPEDANCE, IMPEDANCE OF
CONNECTED RELAYS AND
THE CONNECTING LEADS
-
 Burdens on CT
ALL ERRORS ARE AT A SPECIFIED BURDEN
WITHIN THE SPECIFIED BURDEN RATING,
LOWER THE BURDEN - HIGHER THE
ACCURACY.

- LOADING THE CT BEYOND THE RATED

BURDEN, WILL RESULT IN SATURATION
OF THE CT AND HENCE HIGHER ERRORS.

- SIZE AND COST OF CT ARE DIRECTLY

PROPORTIONAL TO BURDEN RATING

-
 DETERMINATION OF RATED
OUTPUT/BURDEN
Sn as close as possible to,
but not less than:
SL + SM (OR SP)
WHERE,
Sn = RATED VA BURDEN OF THE C.T.
SL = VA BURDEN DUE TO CONNECTING WIRES
(POWER LOSSES IN WIRES) = IS2 RL
SM OR SP = VA BURDEN (POWER CONSUMPTION)
OF MEASURING INSTRUMENT OR
PROTECTIVE INSTRUMENT RESPECTIVELY
 BURDEN DUE TO CONNECTING
WIRES

SL = (IS)2(Rl x L)
OR
L
SL = (IS) 
2
A
WHERE, Rl = RESISTANCE PER UNIT LENGTH OF WIRE
L = LENGTH OF THE WIRE = 2(ONE WAY LENGTH)
 = RESISTIVITY OF THE MATERIAL OF THE WIRE
A = C/S AREA OF THE WIRE, &
IS = SECONDARY CURRENT OF C.T.
 BURDEN DUE TO CONNECTING
WIRES
L
SL = (IS)  2
A
RESISTIVITY OF ROUND WIRE OF COPPER = 0.017213 -mm2/m
= 1/58 -mm2/m

SL IN VA OF CONNECTING WIRES FOR IS=5A, &

WIRE
ONE WAY LENGTH OF:
C/S
AREA 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m

2.5 mm2 0.35 0.69 1.02 1.37 1.71 2.05 2.40 2.74
TYPICAL VA BURDEN OF METERING
INSTRUMENTS
(SOURCE: RISHABH METERS)

INSTRUMENT SM IN VA

1) MOVING IRON AMMETER  0.5

2) CURRENT PATH OF WATTMETER  4.3

3) CURRENT COIL OF PF METER  1.0

4) CURRENT COIL OF KWH METER  4.3

5) CURRENT COIL OF KVAR METER  4.3

 TYPICAL VA BURDEN OF
PROTECTIVE RELAYS

RELAY SP IN VA
1) ELECTROMECHANICAL
PHASE OVERCURRENT &
EARTH FAULT 3.0 VA

2) ELECTROMECHANICAL
EXTREMELY INVERSE IDMT OVER
CURRENT & E/F 3.5 VA
 VA BURDEN OF
PROTECTIVE RELAYS

IF RELAY IS SET TO OPERATE AT A DIFFERENT

CURRENT, THEN EFFECTIVE BURDEN OF THE RELAY :

IP 2
SP = Sr
Ir

Sr = VA BURDEN PUBLISHED BY MANUFACTURER

AT CURRENT Ir
SP = EFFECTIVE VA BURDEN AT CURRENT SETTING IP
 BURDEN of CTs – What if less burden is
connected or more burden is connected?
In earlier days, measuring instruments as well as protective relays
were of the analogue type with inductive coils in them for
measurement and/or protection..They imposed a huge burden on the
CT Secondary. Typically, Ammeters were having a burden of about
1.0VA, Current Coil of Energy meters about 2.0VA, Current Coils
of PF Meters about 2.5VA and that of Trivector meters about 3.0VA.
Similarly, protective relay current coils were having a burden of 3 to
3.5VA. Hence, when many of them were to be connected in series,
the total burden on the CT increased and typical CT Burdens were
of the order of 15VA to even 30VA. But, now, modern day
electronic measuring instruments and digital protective relays impose
a very minimum burden on the CT Secondary. Typically, the burden
of today's Electronic Trivector meter is less than 0.5VA and that of a
digital Overcurrent Relay is less than 0.25VA.
 BURDEN of CTs – What if less burden is
connected or more burden is connected?
But, unfortunately, most of the customers are not reducing the
CT burden while specifying the CTs. This poses operational
problems as detailed below:
The Accuracy Limit Voltage (ALV), for a given CT is constant
and is equal to IAL x Z.
Where, Z = ZCT + Z EXT
IAL= ALF x I Rated
ALF = Accuracy Limiting Factor
Hence, ALV = ALF x I Rated x (ZCT + Z EXT)
ALF = ALV/[I Rated x (ZCT + Z EXT)]
Here, ALV, I Rated and ZCT are constant for a given CT. Hence,
ALF will be inversely proportional to the external burden. This
means that the point of CT saturation will be shifted.
 BURDEN of CTs – What if less burden is
connected or more burden is connected?
Now, consider a 1A Secondary, 15VA, Class 5P10 CT. The ALF
is 10. The rated burden is 15VA. This ALF of 10 will be
maintained only if the connected burden is 15VA. If the
connected burden is less, this ALF will go up, meaning that even
for higher fault currents, the CT may not saturate thereby
damaging the equipment connected to it as well as the CT itself.

Alternately, if the connected burden is more, ALF will reduce,

which implies that the CT will saturate much too early, thereby
affecting the operating times of the protection scheme itself. For
the above CT, say the ALV is designed as 250V. If the CT
resistance is 10 Ohms, then the ALF for various connected
burdens will be as under:
 BURDEN of CTs – What if less burden is
connected or more burden is connected?
Connected ALF = ALV/[I Rated x (ZCT + Z EXT)]
External Burden

5 Ohms (5VA) 16.67

10 Ohms (10VA) 12.5

15 Ohms (15VA) 10

25 Ohms (25VA) 7.14

30 Ohms (30VA) 6.25

40 Ohms (40VA) 5
 Class PS CTs
Normally protection CTs like 5P, 10P or 15P are
used in almost all protection schemes. But, for
Unit Protection Schemes like Differential, REF,
etc., these CTs are not preferred. Why?
In unit protection schemes, it is very very
important that the scheme operates only and only
for the internal faults and must remain stable for
all external faults. That is, when the unit
protection scheme operates, one can be pretty
sure that something is wrong within the protected
equipment.
 Class PS CTs
Also, unit protection schemes are employed for
very critical equipment in the network. As such,
whenever any unit protection scheme operates, all
hell breaks loose. And one cannot put back the
equipment into service, without conducting an
array of tests and ensuring that the equipment is fit
to be put back to service. But, this will take time
and effort. And until such time, the plant will be
shut down. So, it is all the more imperative that the
unit protection scheme operates only for genuine
internal faults and NOT for any external faults.
 Class PS CTs
Now, if we employ conventional protection class
CTs like 5P or 10P for this application, let us see
what happens. Lets us assume that one has
selected 5P10 Class CTs for a Unit Protection
Scheme. Let us say, the relay setting is 10%; this
means that any differential current of 10% will
operate the relay. Now, a 5P10 CT means that the
CT will maintain its accuracy at least up to 10
times the rated current. This means that the CT
will not saturate at least up to 10 times the rated
current.
 Class PS CTs
This also means that the CT may saturate
anywhere after 10 times its rated current. This
level will differ for different CTs. Among the
same two 5P10 Class CTs, one may saturate at 12
times and the other may saturate at 13.5 times. In
such a condition, during a through fault condition,
there will be differential current and the relay will
operate for external faults too. Even when both
CTs are identically manufactured, the deterioration
of its core properties over time may differ and yet
they may behave differently over time.
 Class PS CTs
Also, even when the CTs may be supplying to
unit protection scheme of the same equipment,
it is highly impossible that all the CTs of the
scheme will be located at the same place. The
incoming side CTs or the outgoing side CTs
may have to be located far away from the
relay location, thereby incurring extended lead
lengths, thus imposing additional burden on
the CTs. This increased burden will also shift
the saturation level, as we have already seen.
 Class PS CTs
Thus again, during a through fault condition,
there will be differential current and the relay will
operate for external faults too.
There are many other similar factors contributing
to the maloperation of unit protection schemes,
when conventional protection class CTs are
employed. Thus, it has called for a special class
of CTs for such applications. That Special Class
is called Class PS.
 Class PS CTs
Here, instead of generalising on the minimum
saturation level of the CT, the users have to
exactly specify the saturation level of the CT.
This is called the Knee Point Voltage (V KP), as it
appears as a human-knee in the CT Magnetisation
Characteristics. This specification will take into
account the maximum through fault current, the
actual lead burden, the relay burden & the
resistance of the CT secondary winding, as also a
factor of safety.
 Class PS CTs – VKP Formula
The minimum Knee Point Voltage for a given PS Class
CT is calculated by:
VKP = K * I(f)s (RCT + RB), Where,
If(s) = Maximum thro fault current as reflected at the CT
secondary terminals ( = If(P) /CT Ratio)
RCT = CT Secondary Winding Resistance
RB = Connected Burden, includes the relay burden &
the burden of the connecting leads
K = Factor of Safety, normally taken as 2
VKP = Knee Point Voltage of the CT
 Class PS CTs – VKP Formula
As can be seen from the above formula, here the
customer is specifying the level of saturation, duly taking
into account the maximum possible fault current in his
network, the actual burden connected to the CT, etc. If
the factor of safety is taken as two, this means that at
least up to two times the maximum possible fault current
the CTs will not saturate. Which also means that at the
maximum possible fault current, both the incoming and
outgoing side CT characteristics would exactly coincide.
That is, their secondary currents would match exactly
and the scheme would not operate for any external fault.
Point to note is that do not assume RCT; leave it to the CT
manufacturer.
SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED KNEE POINT VOLTAGE

IT IS THE MINIMUM KNEE-POINT VOLTAGE (VK)

SPECIFIED ON WHICH THE PERFORMANCE OF
THE C.T. IS BASED

THE KNEE-POINT VOLTAGE IS THAT SINUSOIDAL

VOLTAGE OF RATED FREQUENCY APPLIED
TO THE SECONDARY TERMINALS OF THE C.T.,
ALL OTHER WINDINGS BEING OPEN CIRCUITED,
WHICH WHEN INCREASED BY 10%, CAUSES
THE EXCITING CURRENT TO INCREASE BY 50%
 CT Magnetisation curve
Kp
10%Vk
Vk
SECONDARY EXCITATION

50 % I k
VOLTAGE Volts

I ek
SECONDARY EXCITATION CURRENT mA
Class PS CT Selection – Case Study
System Data: 132/33kV, 50MVA Transformer, 5% Z
HT Amps. = 218.7; LT Amps. = 874.8A;
HT CT Ratio = 250/1A; LT CT Ratio = 1000/1A;

Max.fault Current @ 33kV Side = 874.8/0.05

= 17, 496A
Knee Point Voltage of 33kV Side CT Shall be
VKP = 2 x (17, 496/1000) (RCT + 2 RL)
= 35 (RCT + 2 RL)
Class PS CT Selection – Case Study
As per a leading manufacturer of CTs, the secondary
winding resistance of a 1000/1A CT is 6.08 Ohms.
Consider about 100m of 2.5 sq.mm Copper Cable as
the connecting lead between the CT and the Relay. The
1 way lead resistance will be [(0.017213 x 100)/2.5] =
0.69 Ohms;
Now, VKP = 35 (6.08 + 1.38 + 0.33) = 272.65V
So, the knee point voltage of the 33kV Side CT shall
be greater than about 275V.
Similar calculations shall be made for the 132kV Side
CT too.
 SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED CONTINUOUS THERMAL
CURRENT
IT IS THAT VALUE OF CURRENT WHICH CAN
BE PERMITTED TO FLOW CONTINUOUSLY IN
THE PRIMARY WINDING, THE SECONDARY
WINDINGS BEING CONNECTED TO THE RATED
BURDENS, WITHOUT THE TEMPERATURE RISE
EXCEEDING THE SPECIFIED LIMITS

UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, THE RATED

CONTINUOUS THERMAL CURRENT SHALL BE
THE RATED PRIMARY CURRENT
 SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED SHORT TIME THERMAL
CURRENT, Ith

IT IS THE RMS VALUE OF PRIMARY CURRENT

WHICH THE C.T. WILL WITHSTAND FOR A
RATED TIME (USUALLY TAKEN AS 1 SEC),
WITH THEIR SECONDARY
WINDING SHORT CIRCUITED, WITHOUT
SUFFERING HARMFUL EFFECTS
 SELECTION PARAMETER
RATED DYNAMIC CURRENT, Idyn

IT IS THE PEAK VALUE OF THE

PRIMARY CURRENT WHICH THE C.T.
WILL WITHSTAND WITHOUT BEING DAMAGED
ELECTRICALLY OR MECHANICALLY BY THE
RESULTING ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCES,
THE SECONDARY
WINDING BEING SHORT CIRCUITED.
Idyn SHALL NORMALLY BE 2.5 TIMES OF Ith,
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
 INDIAN STANDARDS

IS 2705: Specifications for Current Transformers

Part 1: General Requirements

Part 2: Measuring CTs
Part 3: Protection CTs
Part 4: CTs for Special Purpose Applications

IS 4201: Application Guide for CTs

IS 6949: Specifications for Summation CTs