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But the first LAW we learn in electrical engineering is Ohm's Law V=I x R
Electricity flow anywhere MUST adhere to this Law.
We also know that in an ideal CT, both the Ampere-Turns balance and the Volt/Turn balance must be
maintained primary to secondary i.e.:
Ap x Tp = As x Ts
Vp/Tp = Vs/Ts
Two identical CTs with the identical current flowing through their primary windings is a great use
case which brings us back to the absolute fundamental principle of electricity as Ohm's Law.
Click to enlarge
Since the primary current is rated 500 A, and the P class CT is generally designed that it wont
saturate (or rather will maintain accuracy) until at least 20 x rated current, both CTs will produce
rated secondary current of 1 A.
No escaping that.
The left-hand CT will push its 1 A output through the 1 ohm burden.
Therefore it will have the voltage generated BY THE BURDEN at its terminals that can be physically
measured as Vs1 = I x R = 1V.
No escaping that.
The right-hand CT will push its 1 A output through the 5 ohm burden.
The voltage at its terminals is also develop BY THE BURDEN as Vs2 = 1 x 5 = 5V
No escaping that.
There is nothing magical or any other Law for either CT that could obviate Ohms Law applying in
these conditions.
The outcome is that one CT has a voltage transformation of Vp/1 V whilst the other identical CT has
a voltage transformation ratio of Vp/5 V
Vp/Ns1 is not equal to Vp/Ns2 even though the CT is physically identical and the primary current is
identical.
Still cant get away from that!
The Volts/Turn Law appears to have been broken!
(Click to enlarge)
We can see then that there is a difference between the voltage measured across the CT terminals
and the internal voltage developed by the ideal CT simply because of the CT winding resistance and
the output current of the CT.
The next thing is then to understand what is the Knee Point Voltage which is described here: What is
Kneepoint Voltage?
Note CTs should never be left open circuit when current could flow in the primary (on purpose or by
mistake) as very large voltages could occur with potential explosion.
(Note the old Australian Standard AS 1675 used to specify its P class CT as the CT terminal voltage
i.e. a 10P150 F20 meant the CT will perform correctly up to 20 times rated current with 10% accuracy
and will be able to generate Vs = 150V at its terminals at 20 x rated current i.e. the max burden is
7.5 ohms. Personally I prefer this than the new standards aligned to IEC)
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