94
1, January 1999
C37.110 Guide for the Application of Current T
Used for Protective Relaying Purpose
PSRC Working Group Members:
Chairman M.W. Conroy, Vice Chairman B.D. Nelson, B. Bozoki, J.
L.L. Dovrak, 1.0.Hasenwinkle, J.D. Huddleston , W.C. Kotheimer, J.R. Linders, M.J.
G.R. Moskos, G.C. Parr, R. Ryan, E.T. Sage, D.W. Smaha, K.A. Stephan, J.E. Step
J.T. Uchiyama, S.E. Zocholl
ABSTRACT
Relay engineers have had to rely on many sources to
compile information on ct application. Typically, they have
drawn on relay application and transformer textbooks,
manufacturer publications, and standards. Recognizing the
need for a comprehensive one source document, the Power
System Relaying Committee has produced the C37.110-
1996 Guide for the Application of Current Transformers
Used for Protective Relay Purposes.
Key Words: current transformer application, ct rating, ct
saturation
INTRODUCTION
The working group F7 of the Relay Input Sources
Subcommittee of the Power System Relaying Committee has
assembled a comprehensive guide on the application of
current transformers. In the past, relay engineers have had
to rely on diverse sources that included relay application
textbooks, transformer textbooks, transformer standards and
manufacturers' publications. The single source document is
the newly published C37.110 Guide for the Application of
Current Transformers Used for Protective Relaying
Purposes.
The body of the Guide is organized under the major sections
on current transformer characteristics and classification,
general application of current transformers, and the effects
of current transformer saturation on relays.
PE-260-PWRD-0-03-1998 A paper recommended and approved by
the IEEE Power System Relaying Committee of the IEEE Power
Engineering Society for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery Manuscript submitted December 19, 1997, made available
for printing March 9, 1998
0885-8977/99/$10.00 0 1998 IEEE
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 14, No.
This paper is a summary on
the Guide and presents m
section.
CT CHARACTERISTICS
The Guide discusses the equivalent circuit
explains the use of the excitation curve to
performance. These curves show th
excitation voltage ( V , to the excit
typical curve for a C400, 2000:5 ct is shown in Fi
The curve is developed from test dat
log coordinates. Definition 3.10 and
defme the knee-point of a ct with a
point of maximum permeability o
plotted on log-log paper with squ
tangent of the curve makes a 45" angle with the absciss
The knee point (A) is shown in Figure
thorough in contrasting the IEEE and IE
Definition 3.11 gives the IEC international standard
defmition of knee point defined as the point on the
excitation curve where a 10% increase in excitation voltage
causes a 50% change in excitation current. The IEC knee
point on the excitation curve of Figure 1 occurs at point B.
Section 4.4 is an important part of the Guide which explains
current transformer accuracy according to IEEE Std C57.13-
1993, clause 6.4.1. The ANSI accuracy class is determined
by a letter and a secondary terminal voltage rating that
describe the steady-state performance. The voltage rating is
the secondary terminal voltage that the ct will deliver, when
connected to a standard burden, at 20 times rated secondary
current without exceeding a 10 % ratio correction.
The dc component of an asymmetrical current greatly
increases the flux in the ct. When the dc offset is at a
maximum the flux can potentially reach 1+X/R times the
flux resulting from the sinusoidal component, where X and
R are the primary system resistance and reactance up to the
point of the fault. The difference between the non-offset and
the offset flux is shown in the waveforms of Figures 2 and 3
taken fiom the Guide. Section 4.5 of Guide presents the
criteria to avoid saturation in terms of secondary current Is,
the total secondary burden Zs, the primary X/R ratio, and the
ct saturation voltage Vx. The definition 3.2 1 defines the
 95

100

Secondary rms
excitation volts
vs
10

Secondary rms excitation amperes Is

Figure 1. Excitation Curve with IEEE and IEC Knee Points

I I I I
1
1
100

Sec Amperes Sec Amperes

Flux Odensity Flux Density

(tesla x 0 01) (tesla x 0 01)

-100

I I -loot
I
0 01
I
0 01
I I
0 06
I
008
I
01
o oa
I
0 oq
I I
0.06
I
0 .m 0.1
Time (Seconds)
Time (Seconds)

r I I I

Primary Current
200

I
0 02
I
OM
I
OM
I
0 08
I
01
7000 VJ 0 02 0 04 0 06 0 08 01

Time (Seconds) Time (Seconds)

Figure 2 Relation between ct current and flux Figure 3 Relation between ct current and flux with
without saturation saturation
96

saturation voltage Vx as the symmetrical voltage across the 300 I I 1 I I I

secondary winding for which the peak induction just exceeds
the saturation flux density. To avoid ac saturation:

v, > I, x z,
To avoid saturation with a dc decrement in the fault current:

These equations are usefid ct selection criteria to avoid

saturation when Vx is taken as the ANSI voltage rating.
Time (Seconds)
The important subject of remanence is covered in section
4.6. Figure 4 shows three waveforms taken from the Guide 300 I I I I I
showing the output of a ct with and without remanence.
These waveforms relate to a C800 1200:5 with a burden of
1.6 +j0.7 ohms. The waveforms show the ct behavior with
remanent flux of O%, 50%, and 75% respectively where the
fault current is 24000A and the time constant of the dc offset
is 0.05 seconds ( N R = 19). The output deteriorates earlier
in time with higher remanence.

Remanent Flux =
GENERAL APPLICATION OF CURRENT TRANSFORMERS

The guide discusses the fundamental ct phenomena that may Time (Seconds)
affect relay performance such as saturation, proximity effect,
ct location, and suitability of polarizing sources. The ct 300 1 I I I I I
saturation problems and their solutions are discussed in this
section. The examples of ct related problems include the aoo
review of overcurrent relays, transformer and generator
differential, bus differential, and distance relays. 100
I
Amperes
The generator differential application is an appropriate
0
example of the information found in the guide. In this
application it is impractical to size the cts to avoid saturation
-100
because of high X k ratio and fault current. The rule is to
select the largest practical rating and match the terminal and I I I I
I
I
loo.
neutral side cts. The pitfall is that the highest accuracy class o oa 0 04 0 06 0 08 01
Time (Seconds)
is the C800 and that any ct with excitation voltage exceeding
800V is classified C800 no matter how high the voltage. For Figure 4 Seconday waveforms with inc
example, a 6000:5 ct may have an excitation voltage of 1500 remanent flux
V at 10 amps of exciting current and be classified ‘2800. A
second 6000:5 ct of a different manufacture may have 978 V The guide considers the application of a generator
at 10 A of excitation and also be classified C800. Therefore differential relay for a 111 MVA generator. The machine
the generator cts must have the same excitation curve with has an X / R ratio of 52 and can contribute 58800 A to an
matching knee point voltage and the same excitation voltage external bus fault, All the cts are classified 6000.5 C800 A
at 10 A excitation current in order to avoid differential error 6000:5 rating is selected as the first standard full winding
occurring during an offset through fault condition. rating above the rated load current of 5572 A. The ct and I
lead resistance for the generator terminal cts
to be 2.6 C2 and 2.3 C2 for the neutral cts
impedance in the restraint windings. Consequently, the
maximum ct symmetrical voltage due to the maximum fault
current is :
I
 97

I I I I I I

(3) 6000:s c800 (3) 6000:5 C800

knee point 552 V kneepoint 500 V

-50 - Differential current -

-100 - -
I I I I
I 0 01 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.05

Figure 7 Secondary current in the neutral and ’

Figure 5 Generator Differential Application
v=-58800 (2.6) = 12W
1200
However, the ct would have to support a symmetrical
current of (I+ XR)times this value or 127 x (1+52) = 673 1
V to avoid saturating during a fully offset maximum fault.
However, the largest ANSI rating is C800. For this reason
all the cts must be of the same manufacture with knee point
voltages matched as closely as possible so as to experience
the same degree of saturation during the offset.
terminal side cts with differential current for
corrected burden.
relay’s through fault security. However, the mismatch can
be eliminated by increasing the series impedance on the
neutral side to equal the 2.6 R of the terminal side burden
times the ratio of the knee point voltages (552/500), or 2.87
R. AS shown on Figure 7, the corrected burden forces
saturation to occur at the same time in both cts and
eliminates the pulse of difference current for the through
fault condition.

How closely should the knee point voltages be matched? CONCLUSIONS

The Guide considers the application shown in the schematic
of Figure 5 with a set of terminal side cts having a 500 V
knee point voltage and a set of neutral side cts having a 552
V knee point voltage. Figure 6 shows the response of these
cts for a 58800 A fault with maximum offset due to an X/R
ratio of 52. In this case, the ct at the generator terminal
saturates slightly before the generator neutral cts. The slight
mismatch of the knee point and burden resistance cause a
100 A pulse of current in the operating coil. Although there
is a large restraint current, the pulse casts doubt as to the
1. Formerly, information on the application of current
transformers had to be compiled from diverse sources
including relay and transformer textbooks, standards, and
manufacturer publications. All aspects of ct application are
now available in the new C37.110-1996 “IEEE Guide for
the Application of Current Transformers Used for Protective
Relay Purposes”.
2. In addition to the explanation of ct characteristics,
performance, and application, the Guide includes annexes
on IEC current transformer standards and C rating standard
burdens. It also has a substantial bibliography of more than
35 entries.

-100
W
I I I I
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0 os
Seconds

Figure 6 Secondary current in the neutral and

terminal side cts with differential current