G3YNH Info - Current Transformers

2017611 G3YNHinfo:Currenttransformers.Part1.
TXtoAe Ch6Contents 6.1Part3 6.2Part2

6.2CurrentTransformers:Part1.

6.26.Dimensionlesstransferfunction.
6.21.Ampereturnsandtransresistance.
6.27.Outputimpedance.
6.22.Equivalentcircuit.
6.28.Turnsratio
6.23.Workingmodels.
6.29.Insertionimpedanceandinsertion
6.24.Secondaryreactance.
loss.
6.25.Couplingfactor
.

Introduction:
Fromatheoreticalpointofview,acurrenttransformerisjustaconventionaltransformer
butitholdsafewsurprisesforthecircuitdesignerbecause,foragiveninputcurrent,it
controlsitsowninputvoltageaccordingtothesecondaryload.Sincevoltageandcurrent
haveareciprocalrelationship,anyoneusedtothinkingintermsofvoltagemayfindthat
changestoacurrenttransformernetworksometimeshavetheoppositeofthedesired
effect.Hence,giventhattherearepeculiarities,wewillspendsometimelookingatthe
basicpropertiesofcurrenttransformersbeforeattemptingtoincorporatetheminto
bridges.
Fromapracticalstandpoint,itisusuallybesttodesignacurrenttransformersothat
thereisverytightcouplingbetweentheprimaryandsecondarywindingsandinRF
applications,thisimpliestheuseofaferriteorpowderedirontoroidalcore.Atwohole
(binocularor'pignose')coregiveseventightercoupling,butthetopologyprevents
singlelayerwindingofthesecondaryandisthereforeusuallyrejectedonthegrounds
thatitgivesrisetoadditionalparasiticcapacitance.Thecurrenttransformeriseffectively
animpedancestepupdevice,wheretheimpedanceterminatingthesecondaryappearsin
serieswiththesignalpathbutscaleddownaccordingtothesquareoftheturnsratio.It
followsthatifthesecondaryisnotterminated,thetransformerprimaryinductancewill
appearinserieswiththesignalpath(andthesecondaryvoltagewillbeshiftedinphase
withrespecttotheprimarycurrentbyapproximately90asaresult).Also,conversely,
thetransformermayeffectivelyberemovedfromcircuitbyshortingthesecondary,in
whichcasetheprimaryimpedancefallspracticallytozero.
Intoroidaltransformers,aoneturnwindingisobtainedbypassingawireonce
throughtheholeinthecore.TheprimaryofanRFcurrenttransformerisusuallyasingle
turn,madebypushingashortlengthofcoaxialcablethroughthehole.Theouterbraid
ofthecable(whengrounded)actsasaFaradayshield,preventingdirectcapacitive
couplingbetweentheprimaryandsecondarywindings.Theshieldmustonlybeearthed
atoneendtoavoidproducingashortedturn(earthingbothendsoftheFaradayshieldis
anotherwayofswitchingoffthetransformer).Toreducelosses,thecoaxialcableused
shouldpreferablyhavesilverplatedorplaincopperconductorsandPTFE(Teflon)
dielectric.Sincetheoutercoatingisalsointhetransformerfield,thisshouldbemade
fromPTFE,FEP,ETFEorsimilarnonpolarlowTanmaterial.IfPVCcoveredcableis
theonlytypeavailabletheoutersheathcanberemoved,andthebraidcanbeinsulated
bywrappingitwithplumber'sPTFEjointsealingtape.Polyethylenedielectricisnot
recommendedbecauseitwillmeltduringsolderinganditmayalsomeltinserviceifthe
transformercoregetshot.Faradayshieldingisoptional(andnotalwaysbeneficial)and
whenitisused,itisnotalwaysshownexplicitlyoncircuitdiagrams.

Faradayshieldedcurrenttransformer.
http://g3ynh.info/zdocs/bridges/Xformers/part_1.html 1/14

Notice,inthephotographbelow,thattheFaradayshieldisconnectedtothesecondary
networkgroundingpoint.Thereasonfordoingsoisthatthechassisonwhichthe
transformerismountedisalsothereturnpathfortheprimarycurrent.Thechassishas
someinductance,andsoavoltagethatincreaseswithfrequencydevelopsbetweenthe
primaryinputandoutputgroundconnections.SincethereisacapacitanceofseveralpF
betweentheFaradayshieldandthetransformersecondarywinding,andthereactanceof
thiscapacitancefallswithfrequencyadisturbanceofthetransformerfrequency
responsewilloccurunlesstheshieldismaintainedatthesecondarynetworkreference
potential[forexperimentalconfirmationseeAmplituderesponseofconventionaland
maximallyflatcurrenttransformers,byDWK].

Inthediagramabove,dotsareusedtoindicatethephasingofthewindings,i.e.,theends
ofthewindingsaremarkedinsuchawaythattheycanbeconsideredtostart(orpass
intothehole)together.Whenthisconventionisobserved,thearrowshownforthe
secondaryvoltageindicatesthepolarityinwhichitisinphasewiththeprimaryvoltage
(assumingidealtransformerbehaviour).TheprimaryvoltageViiis,ofcourse,the
voltagedropthatresultsfrominsertingthetransformerintothesignalpath.Thecurrent
inthesecondaryis180outofphasewiththecurrentintheprimary,i.e.(insofarasthe
conceptof'flow'canbeused),whencurrentflowsintooneendoftheprimary,current
flowsoutofthecorrespondingendofthesecondary.

6.21Ampereturnsandtransresistance:
Inordertoobtaindesignequationsforthecurrenttransformer,itissensibletobeginby
assumingthatthereactanceofthesecondarywindingisverylargeincomparisontothe
secondaryloadresistanceandcanthereforebeignored.Thisisasimplificationthat
appliesapproximatelywhenthetransformerisworkinginthemiddleofitsuseful
frequencyrange,forwhichreasonwewillsometimesrefertoitasthemidband
analysis.
Toobtainthemidbandinputoutputrelationship,oratleastareasonable
approximationtoit,westartbyassumingthatthebehaviourofasmalltoroidal
transformerwoundoncorematerialchosenaccordingtothemanufacturer'sinstructions
isideal.Theequationsdescribingthetransformercanthenbededucedonthebasisthat
theprimarymagnetomotiveforce(MMF)isequaltothesecondarymagnetomotive
forcethisquantitybeingsimplytheproductofthecurrentandthenumberofturns
(MMFisalsoknownas"ampereturns",whichareitsunits).WhendealingwithRF
currenttransformerswecannormallyuseasinglenumber'N'toexpressboththe
secondaryturnsandtheturnsratio,becausethenumberofprimaryturnsisusuallyone.
Thus,usingthedefinitionsgiveninthediagramabove,wemaywritetheampereturns
rule:
I=NIi
Thesecondarycurrentthusbeingdetermined,wemayobtainthesecondaryvoltage:
Vi=IiRi
andhence:
Vi=IRi/N
whichgivestherelationshipbetweentheprimarycurrentandthesecondaryvoltage
(neglectinglossesandparasiticreactances).Noticethatthisexpressiontellsusthatthe
outputvoltagegoesdownasthenumberofsecondaryturnsisincreased,whichisthe
oppositeofwhatwouldbeexpectedforavoltagetransformer.Asmentionedpreviously,
thispeculiarbehaviourresultsbecausethesecondaryloadcontrolstheinputimpedance
andhencetheinputvoltage.
ThequantityRi/Nisthetransferresistance,ortransresistanceofthecurrent
transformernetwork.Itisanalogoustothetransresistanceofanamplifierthatgivesan
outputinvoltsforaninputinampsi.e.,itisagainfigurewithdimensionsofOhms.By
analogywiththetransconductanceor'mutualconductance'GmofanFETorvalve,we
willgiveitthesymbolRm.Intheapproximationthatthetransformerisideal,itbecomes
thenominaltransresistance,i.e.
Rm(nom)=Ri/N
Itisausefulfiguretokeepinmindwhendesigningwithcurrenttransformers.E.g.A
currenttransformerwithaloadresistanceof50andaturnsratioof10,hasanominal
transresistanceof5VoltsperAmp.Acurrenttransformerwithaturnsratioof20anda
56loadhasRm(nom)=2.8V/A.

6.22.Detailedequivalentcircuit:
Practicalcurrenttransformersare,ofcourse,farfromideal,andtheissuesthatneedtobe
takenintoaccountwhenworkingwiththemcanbestbeunderstoodbyconsideringthe
equivalentcircuitshownbelow.Thiscircuitisobtainedbyreversingtheconventional
modelforavoltagetransformerandreferringallparametersexceptcorelosstothe
secondaryside.Corelossisbestassociatedwiththeprimarysidebecauseitstillexistsif
thesecondarywindingisremoved.

R=coreloss
Li=coupledsecondary
inductance
LL=leakageinductance
RW=windingresistance
R=dielectricloss
AL=inductancefactor Ci'="selfcapacitance"

Theequivalentcircuitimpliesthatthetransformerleakageinductance(i.e.,the
inductancethatmanagestoescapefrominclusioninthecouplingbetweenwindings)
willappearinserieswiththeoutputsoaffectingthemagnitudeandphaseofthevoltage
acrossthesecondaryloadresistor(notshown).Ourbestcourseofactionistotryto
minimiseit,whichwehavedonetosomeextentbychoosingtouseatoroidalmagnetic
corebutitisalsoimportanttokeeptheprimarywindingclosetothecore(i.e.,thehole
inthecoreshouldbeassmallaspossible),andtokeepthemagneticcircuitpathlength
short(theoutercorediametershouldalsobesmall).Oneconsequenceofleakage
inductanceisthattheinductanceobtainedbymeasuringthesecondarywinding
(Lsec=Li+LL)isalwaysslightlygreaterthantheinductanceobtainedbyleastsquares
fittingtothetransformerfrequencyresponsedata(thelatterbeingagoodapproximation
toLi).Thedifferenceforasmalltoroidalcoreisusuallyintheregionof1or2%,being
worstforlowpermeabilitycores.
Thewindingresistanceisalsoinserieswiththeoutput,whichwouldnotbeserious
exceptthatitisnottheDCresistanceofthewirethatmatters,buttheRFresistance,and
thisvarieswithfrequency.Thesensiblerecourseistherefore,onceagain,tominimiseit
whichmeansthattinnedwireisforbidden,andthecoilshouldbewoundwithenamelled
copperorsilverplatedwire.Thewirediametershouldalsobereasonablylargeexcept
thatthisisinconflictwiththeneedtokeepthetransformerdimensionssmallandavoid
overlappingtheturns.Somepeopleliketostretchwiretoremovethekinksbeforeusing
ittowindcoils.Thispracticeshouldbeavoidedbecauseitworkhardensthecopperand
increasesitsresistivity.Wirecanbedekinkedwithoutworkhardeningbystrokingit
withasoftclothorpapertowel.
Iftheleakagereactanceandwindingresistancearekeptsmallinrelationtothe
secondaryloadresistance,thenthesecondaryinductance,theselfcapacitance,andthe
corelosses,areeffectivelyinparallelwiththesecondaryload.Thismeansthatmostof
thetransformernonidealitiescanbelumpedintoasingleimpedanceinparallelwiththe
secondarywinding,asimplificationthatpermitsstraightforwardandeffectivecircuit
optimisation.Notehowever,thatthelumpedcomponentmodelbreaksdowncompletely
atabouttwicethesecondarynetworkselfresonancefrequency(thefirstseriesresonance
oftheparallelnetwork).Selfresonanceisassociatedwiththelengthofthesecondary
windingwirewhichmeansthat,inordertoachieveawidebandwidth,thenumberof
turnsshouldbekeptlow.Acompromiseisnecessaryherebecausethenumberofturns
alsodictatesthesecondaryinductanceand,asweshallsee,insufficientinductancegives
risetoapoorlowfrequencyresponse.
Onecomponentofthemodelthatisnotstrictlyamenabletothelumpedparameter
approachisthe'selfcapacitance'.Theselfcapacitanceislargelyafiction,itspurpose
beingtosimulateaphaselaginthetransformeroutputvoltagethatoccursathigh
frequencies.OnecauseoftheHFphaseerroristhatittakesafinitetimeforan
electromagneticwavetopropagatealongthewindingwire,i.e.,thecoilisatransmission
line.Thistransmissionlineisalsodispersive,i.e.,thepropagationvelocityvarieswith
frequencybutremainsreasonablyconstantprovidedthatthewirelengthisconsiderably
lessthanonehalfwavelengthatthemaximumfrequencyofoperation.Hencethereisan
inherentinaccuracyinthestandardmodel,butingeneralwewillbeabletocopewith
anynoticeablediscrepancybyconsideringtheHFphaseshiftasaseparatephenomenon.
Oneconsequence,forexample,isthattheHFamplituderesponseofatransformerdoes
notnecessarilyfalloffasrapidlyasthe'selfcapacitance'wouldleadustobelieve.This
meansthatfrequencyresponsecalculationsforphaseinsensitivecircuitssuchasRF
ammetersandmagnitudebridgescanbecomemoreaccuratewhentheselfcapacitanceis
ignored[seeAmplituderesp.ofconventionalandmaxflatItransformers].
Notethatthe'selfcapacitance'isdesignatedCi'.Thereasonfortheprimeisthatthere
willbesomegenuineparasiticcapacitanceacrossthetransformersecondarynetwork
duetothecapacitanceacrosstheendsofthecoilandbetweentheleadwiresanddueto
thecapacitanceoftheloadresistorandanydetectorthatmightbeconnected.Italso
transpiresthatanyparasiticeffectthatcausesaphaseshiftinthetransformeroutputwill
manifestitselfasacontributiontotheapparentselfcapacitance(sucheffectscanalso
canceltheactualselfcapacitanceandmaketheapparentselfcapacitancenegative).
Hencethecapacitancerequiredfordesignpurposesis:
Ci=Ci'+trueparallelcapacitance+apparentcapacitancenotduetothetransformer
itself.
Finally,thecoreloss,beingmodelledasaresistance,appearstohavenoconsequence
exceptforasmallreductioninourexpectationsforoutputvoltagebutunfortunately,
thislossalsovarieswithfrequencyandsowillaffectthefrequencyresponse.Itis
thereforeimportanttokeepthecorelossdown,whichimpliesthatweshouldtryto
choosecorematerialsoflowinitialpermeability.Wedonotwantthecorepermeability
tobetoolowhowever,sincethiswillmakeitdifficulttoobtainsufficientsecondary
inductance,anditwillallowsomeofthemagneticfieldtoescapefromthecoreandgive
risetoleakageinductance.Thereisalso,incidentally,aparallelresistivecomponentdue
todielectricloss(shownreferredtothesecondary)whichiswhyitwasstatedearlier
thatplasticisedPVCinsulationshouldbeavoided,andthatthedielectricandcoatingof
theprimarycoaxialcablestubshouldbemadefrommaterialthathasalowTan.
TheauthorisawareofpublishedarticlesonthesubjectofSWRbridgedesignthat
saythatthecurrenttransformersecondarycanbewoundwithhookupwire(i.e.,PVC
insulated,tinplatedwire).Hopefully,fromtheforegoingdiscussion,itcanbeseethat
thisisbadadvice.PTFEcoatedsilverplatedwirecanbeused,butenamelled(soft)
copperisbetterbecausethecoatingisthin,givingthegreaterconductordiameterfora
givenoverallwirediameter.

6.23.Workingmodels:
ManyRFcurrenttransformercircuitsinuseandintheliteraturearebasedonthe
suppositionthatthesimpleidealtransformermodelisadequate.Thismaybetrueifthe
transformeristobeusedtomakeanRFammetertobeoperatedoveralimitedfrequency
range,butitisapoorassumptionifthetransformeristobeusedinabridgeintendedto
workoverseveraloctaves.Ifthetransformerissuitablyconstructedhowever,itis
possibletosimplifythegeneralmodelbyassumingthatallofthenonidealitiescanbe
representedasanetworkinparallelwiththesecondarywinding.Inthatcase,the
workingparametersarenolongerstrictlyidentifiableassecondaryinductance,self
capacitanceandlossresistancebecausetheywillhaveabsorbedothernonidealitiesinto
theirapparentvalues.ThesecondaryinductanceLi,forexample,maybeadjustedto
accountforthefactthatthepermeabilityofthecorematerial,andhencetheALvalue,
mayvaryslightlywithfrequency.Thedifferencewillnotbegreatenoughhowever,to
warrantaddingaprimeorrecurrentuseoftheword'apparent'whendiscussingit.
Thepointinrepresentingallofthenonidealitiesasanimpedanceinparallelformis
thatthetransformerinputoutput(transfer)relationshipcanbeinverted.Theimpedance
isthenconvertedintoanadmittancethatisreadilyseparableintorealandimaginary
parts.Therealpartisthereciprocalmidbandtransferfunction,andtheimaginarypart
containsalloftheinformationrelatingtothefrequencyresponse.Thissimplifiedquasi
empiricalmodeliscapableofdescribingthecurrenttransformeramplitudeandphase
performancetobetterthan0.1%and0.1overfiveormoreoctaves[A6.4].
Thegreatestnonidealityofthetransformerisduetothefinitesecondaryinductance.
Hencethisinductancecanneverbeneglectedindesigncalculations.Capacitanceand
resistancecanhoweverbeneglectedincertaincircumstances.Itwasmentionedearlier
thatselfcapacitancecanoftenbeignoredwhendesigningcircuitsthatdiscardphase
information.Itisalsopossibletodevisepassivecompensationnetworksthatcausea
currenttransformertobehaveasthoughitssecondaryreactanceispurelyinductive(toa
goodapproximation)overawiderangeoffrequencies[A6.4].Wemayalsonote,thatif
theauxiliarycircuitisprovidedwithsomegainorsensitivityadjustment,theremaybe
littlepointinincludingaresistiveelementtoaccountforthefactthatthetransformer
midbandoutputvoltagewillbeslightlylowerthanthatofanidealtransformer.Hence,
thecomplexityofthemodelcanbeadjustedaccordingtocircumstance.

6.24.Secondaryreactance.
Inpractice,mostofthenonidealityofacurrenttransformercanbeaccountedforby
presumingtheexistenceofareactanceXiconnectedinparallelwiththesecondary
winding.Thisreactanceissuchthatthephaseoftheoutputvoltageleadsthephaseofthe
inputcurrentatlowfrequenciesandlagsathighfrequencies,i.e.,itisinductiveatlow
frequenciesandcapacitiveathighfrequencies.Hence,inthelumpedcomponentmodel
shownbelow,itisrepresentedasaninductorinparallelwithacapacitor.When
designingwidebandwidthmeasuringinstruments,particularlybridges,itisnecessaryto
quantifytheseadditionalcomponentssothatsomekindofcompensationcanbeapplied.
Itiseasytopredictthelow
frequencyresponsebecauseagood
estimateforLicanbehadsimplyby
measuringtheinductanceofthe
secondarywinding(Lsec).Asmentioned
previously,theeffectivevalueofLiwill
beabout1%lessthanLsec.Licanalso
beestimatedtowithinabout20%by
usingthepublishedALvalueforthe
magneticcore,i.e.,
Lsec=ALN
Thecapacitanceisamoreproblematichowever.Itismadeupfromseveralcomponents:
onebeingthestraycapacitanceduetotheconnectingleadsandthecapacitanceofthe
secondaryloadresistorRianotherbeingthesemifictitious'selfcapacitance'that
representsthepropagationdelay.Itwasmentionedbeforethatthereisasubtledifference
betweenthephaselagduetoalumpedcapacitanceandthephaselagduetoatimedelay,
andtheformerwillonlyserveasanapproximationforthelatterifthedelayissmall.To
thesebasiccontributors,wemustalsoaddthefactthatmismatchoftheprimary
transmissionline,capacitivecurrentsinducedintheFaradayshield,andtheinductance
ofthesecondaryloadresistor,allmakecontributionstotheapparentor'effective'
secondarycapacitance.Henceitcanbedifficulttoplaceavalueontheeffective
capacitance,leadingtoextremelyinconsistentresultswhentraditionalapproachesto
currenttransformerbridgedesignarefollowed.
Wewilllookintothesubjectoftransformerphaseresponseinconsiderabledetail
later,butbeforewecandothatwemustincorporateXiintothemathematicalmodel.The
ampereturnsrulecanstillbeapplied,i.e.(usingthedefinitionsfromthediagramabove),
I=NIiasbefore,butnowIihasbecomeafictionbecauseXitakesabiteoutofitbeforeit
reachesthetransformerterminals.Wecanstillobtainanexpressionforthesecondary
voltagehowever,bypresumingIitoexistandbydefiningthesecondaryloadas:
Zi=Ri//jXi
(wherethesymbol//shouldbereadas:"inparallelwith",anda//b=ab/(a+b).Hence:
Vi=IiZi
andsinceIi=I/N
Vi=IZi/N 4.1a
or
Vi=I(Ri//jXi)/N 4.1b
or
Vi=I(Ri//jXLi//jXCi)/N 4.1c
NotethatwhenXLi+XCi=0,thenXLi//XCi.,leavingonlyRiasthesecondaryload.The
secondaryvoltageonlyfallsexactlyintophasewiththeprimarycurrentatthesecondary
network'pseudoresonance'frequency,andthereisaphaseerroreverywhereelse.This
errorcanbekeptsmallbymakingRismallinrelationto|Xi|inthefrequencyrangeof
interest,i.e.,Riischosentodampthepseudoresonancetosuchanextentthatanearly
flatphaseandfrequencyresponseisobtained.Wecannotdamptheresonance
completelyhowever,becausethatwouldrequireRi=0andhencenooutput,andsoitis
usualpracticetoadoptalowbutfinitevalueforRianddealwiththeresidualerrorsin
otherways.

6.25.Empiricalefficiencyfactor.
Equations(4.1ac)abovegenerallygiveagooddescriptionoftheoverallshapeofthe
transformerfrequencyresponsecurve,butarealittleoptimisticregardingtheabsolute
outputvoltageobtained.Thereasonisthatthetransformerisnot100%efficient.In
practice,theactualoutputvoltagemagnitudecanbeexpectedtobesomewherebetween
96and99%ofthatpredictedbythe'idealtransformerwithparallelreactance'model
[seeCurrenttransformerefficiencyfactor].
Thefirstquestionweshouldaskaboutthisdiscrepancyis"doesitmatter?",andthe
answerisgenerally"no".Thepointisthatnoneofthetransformerparameterscanbe
predictedwithabsolutecertaintybecausetherearealwaysengineeringtolerancesto
consider.Thismeansthatitisalwaysadvisabletodesigncircuitsinsuchawaythatthey
canbeadjustedduringcalibration.IfwedesignanRFammetertohave(say)a20%
adjustmentinthemeterseriesresistor,orabridgetohavea20%adjustmentinthe
ratioofthevoltagesamplingnetwork,thenamodeldiscrepancyofabout3%willgoun
noticedandtheinstrumentwillstillachieveitsdesignperformancetargets.Hencethere
isusuallynopointinovercomplicatingthemathematicsofthedesignprocess.
Intheeventthattransformerefficiencyiscriticalhowever,theshortfallcanbe
accountedforbyinvokinganempiricalcouplingfactor(ksay)andusingittomodify
thepredictionsofequations(4.1).Onewayinwhichwemightelecttousethisapproach
istorewriteequation(4.1c)as:
Vi=Ik(Ri//jXLi//jXCi)/N
wherekhasavalueofabout0.97.Thiswilldothetrick,butitisunsatisfactoryintwo
ways.Firstly,kisnotdirectlyidentifiableasanelectricalcomponent,andthiswillbea
nuisanceincircuitsimulations.Secondly,whenkismultipliedintotheimpedance
bracket,itwillaffecttheresistance,theinductanceandthecapacitance.AlthoughLiand
Ciareaffectedbythesimplificationsusedtoobtainaworkingmodel,theystillremain
closelyassociatedwithtruephysicalparameters.Theycanalsobemeasuredinamanner
thatisunaffectedbythechoiceofRi(i.e,theyhavediscreteidentities).Henceitismore
sensibletoapplykinsuchawaythatitonlyaffectstheapparentloadresistance,i.e.:
Vi=I(kRi//jXLi//jXCi)/N 5.1
Oneconsequenceofallowingktooperateonlyontheloadresistanceisthatitcanbe
translatedintoasingleelectricalcomponent.Todothat,wenotethattheeffectiveload
resistance(Riksay)isgivenbytheexpression:
Rik=kRi
andthatwecanachievethesameresultbyplacingaresistanceinparallelwithRi,i.e.:
Rik=Ri//Rk
Hence:
kRi=Ri//Rk=RiRk/(Ri+Rk)
i.e.:
k=Rk/(Ri+Rk)
whichrearranges:
k(Ri+Rk)=Rk
kRi+kRk=Rk
kRi=RkkRk=Rk(1k)
Rk=kRi/(1k) 5.2
Take,forexample,acurrenttransformerthathasasecondaryloadresistanceof50and
atransferefficiencyof97%.Then:
Rk=0.97Ri/0.03=1617
Theoutputvoltageofthetransformeris,ofcourse,givenby:
Vi=I(Ri//Rk//jXLi//jXCi)/N 5.3
or,ifthereisanadditionalload,suchastheinputresistanceofadetector:
Vi=I(Ri//Rk//RLoad//jXLi//jXCi)/N

TheonlythingthatmightappeartobeunsatisfactoryaboutthedefinitionofRk,asgiven
inequation(5.2),isthatthevalueofthislumpedlossresistanceseemstodependonRi
andRiisanexternalloadresistance,notpartofthetransformer.Ittranspireshowever,
thatfortransformerswithlowwindingresistance,theefficiencykincreasesastheload
resistanceisreduced[seeCurrenttransformerefficiencyfactor].ThismeansthatRkis
approximatelyconstant,i.e.,itislargelyindependentofRiandthereforeatrue
parameterofthetransformer.Thisisreasonableofcourse,becauseRkismainly
representativeofthecorelossandthedielectriclossreferredtothesecondarynetwork.
Incidentally,whenalaboratorybridgeisusedtomeasurethesecondaryinductanceof
thetransformer,thelossbalanceadjustmentexpressedasaparallelresistanceprovidesa
first(butsomewhatoptimistic)estimateofRk.
Nownoticethatabetterfigureforthetransresistance(withoutthe'nominal')isgiven
by:
Rm=Rik/N
Rm(themidbandtransresistance)istypicallyabout2%smallerthanRm(nom).Also,we
cannowdefineacomplexinputoutputrelationship,thetransferimpedanceor
transimpedance:
Zm=(Rik//jXLi//jXCi)/N[VoltsperAmp]
BycomputingthetransimpedancefromfixedvaluesofRik,LiandCi(thelastofwhich
canbepositiveornegative),andpresumingthatleakageinductance,windingresistance
andpropagationdelayaresensiblyminimiseditispossibletomodeltheunloaded
outputvoltagetoanaccuracyofsomewhatbetterthan0.1%,over4or5octaves,using
onlyfourparameters.

6.26.Dimensionlesstransferfunction.
Althoughtheprincipalrelationshipisbetweentheprimarycurrentandthesecondary
voltage,theoutputofcurrenttransformerisalsorelatedtothevoltageacrosstheload
intowhichtheprimarycurrentisbeingdelivered.IfthevoltageacrossthatloadisV,and
theimpedanceisZ,thenitsrelationshiptotheprimarycurrentisgivenbyOhm'slaw:
I=V/Z
Substitutingthisintoequation(4.1a)gives:
Vi=VZi/(NZ)
(whereZi=Rik//jXi).Thisallowsustodefinea
dimensionlesstransferfunction:
i=Vi/V=Zi/(NZ)=Zm/Z 6.1
(whereisGreeklowercase"eta",commonly
usedtorepresentratios,inthiscaseboldbecause
itiscomplex).
Thebalancepointforabridgeisindependentofthevoltageorcurrentassociatedwith
theprimaryload.Hence,whendesigningbridges,theuseofdimensionlesstransfer
functionspreservesthisindependence.Thedesignprocessthenreducestothematterof
definingtransferfunctionsforthecurrentandvoltagesamplingnetworksandsetting
themtobeequalwhenZ=R0.Inthatcase,thetransferfunctionforthecurrentsampling
networkbecomes:
0=Vi/V=Zi/(NR0)

6.27.Outputimpedance.
Oneofthemainapplicationsofthecurrenttransformeristhatofdrivingadetector.Thus
therearemanysituationsinwhichtheinputimpedanceofadetectorformspartofthe
secondaryload.Notethatthisisnotthecasewhenthetransformerisincorporatedinto
animpedancebridgeandthebridgeisatbalancebecausetheoutputsofacurrent
samplingnetworkandavoltagesamplingnetworkareplacedinseriesoppositionand
bothnetworksareunloadedwhenthebalancepointisreached(nodetectorcurrentis
drawnbecausethetwovoltagescancel).ItisanissueinSWRbridgeshowever,because
SWRmeasurementinvolvestakingdetectorreadingsfrombridgesthatareoutof
balance,anditisanissueinmagnitudeandotherscalaradditionbridges,becausethe
samplingnetworkoutputsarerectifiedbeforesummation.Theeasiestwaytotakecare
ofthismatteristobeawareoftheoutputimpedancesofallofthesamplingnetworks
used,andsoaderivationfortheoutputimpedanceofacurrenttransformerwillbegiven
here.
Theoutputimpedanceofanetworkisdefinedastheimpedancethat,whenplacedin
serieswithahypotheticalperfectgenerator,accountsforthedropinoutputvoltagethat
occurswhenthenetworkisloaded.Shownbelowisarepresentationofacurrent
transformernetworkfeedingadetectorthathasaninputimpedanceZD.IftheloadZDis
removed,theoutputofthenetworkisVi,butwhentheloadisconnectedtheoutputsags
slightly(andmaybeshiftedinphase)toanewvoltageVi'.Thissituationismodelledon
therightasaperfectgeneratorwithanoutputViinserieswithanimpedanceZgi,the
latterbeingtheoutputimpedancewewishtodetermine.

Usingthedefinitionsgiveninthediagram:
Zgi=(ViVi')/ID
where:
ID=Vi'/ZD
Hence,combiningthesetwoequations:
Zgi=ZD(ViVi')/Vi'
=ZD[(Vi/Vi')1]......(7.1)
Fromequation(4.1a)givenearlier:
Vi=IZi/N
andbyconsideringZDaspartofthesecondaryload:
Vi'=I(Zi//ZD)/N
Hence
Vi/Vi'=[IZi/N]/[I(Zi//ZD)/N]
=[(1/Zi)+(1/ZD)]/(1/Zi)
Vi/Vi'=1+(Zi/ZD)
Substitutingthisinto(7.1)gives:
Zgi=ZD[1+(Zi/ZD)1]
i.e.:
Zgi=Zi
Theoutputimpedanceofacurrenttransformeristhesameastheimpedanceshuntingthe
secondarywinding.Observealso,thatifthetransformerisoperatinginthemiddleofits
passbandandthephaseerrorisnomorethatafewdegrees(|Xi|>>Ri),theoutput
impedanceasameasureofdetectordrivingcapabilityisessentiallythesameastheload
resistanceRi(neglectinglosses).
Theinputresistanceofasimplediodehalfwavedetectorwasdiscussedinsection69
andshowntobeapproximatelyhalfthedetectorloadresistance.Thus,forexample,a
detectorconnectedtoameterof10Kresistancewillhaveaninputresistanceofabout
5K.Ifthedetectorisconnectedtoacurrenttransformerhavingasecondaryloadof
(say)50,thentheeffectiveloadbecomes50//5000=49.505.Hence,ifthedetector
inputresistanceis100timesthesecondaryloadresistance,thedetectorwillcausethe
transformeroutputtodropbynomorethan1%.
Thederivationgivenaboveincidentally,containsahiddenapproximation.Thisisdue
totheassumptionthattheprimarycurrentIwillnotchangewhenthesecondaryloadis
changed.Infact,sincereducingthesecondaryloadimpedancewillcausetheinput
impedanceofthetransformertogodown,thecurrentIwillincreaseveryslightlywhen
thesecondaryisloaded.Hencetheoutputimpedanceofthenetworkisslightlylessthan
indicatedbythederivation.Ifhowever,westicktothepracticeofmakingthe
transformerinputimpedancelessthan1%oftheprimaryload,andmakethedetector
inputresistanceatleast10andpreferably100timesgreaterthanthesecondaryload
resistance,thenthedeviationwillbeatthe0.1to0.01%levelandcansafelybe
neglected.
Thereisalso,ofcourse,anapproximationinherentinneglectingthetransformer
losses.ThiscanbeovercomebyreplacingRiwithRik=Ri//Rk(lossesreducetheoutput
impedanceslightly)butitisrarelynecessarytoconsidersuchsubtletieswhen
determiningloaddrivingcapability.

6.28.Choosingtheturnsratio:
Theprincipalinputoutputrelationshipforacurrenttransformerwasgivenearlieras:
Vi=IZi/N
Ifwejustwanttoknowthesensitivityofthedevice,wecanignorethephase
informationinthisexpressionbytakingthemagnitudesofbothsides:
|Vi|=|I||Zi|/N
Wecanalsoarguethat,ifthesecondaryloadresistanceRiislowenoughtoswampthe
transformerreactance,thenphaseerrorswillbesmalland|Zi|willbeapproximately
equaltoRi.Hencethemidbandsensitivityofacurrenttransformer(neglectinglosses)is
givenbytheexpression:
|Vi|=|I|Ri/N
or,usingscalarnotation:
Vi=IRi/N
ThistellsusthattheturnsratioNisdictatedbytherequiredoutputvoltage,the
secondaryloadresistance,andthecurrenttobemeasured.
Ifasamplingnetworkistodriveasimplepassiveindicatingdevicesuchasahalf
waverectifiergooddetectorlinearitycanbeobtainedwithanoutputvoltageofabout
7VRMS,whichgives10Vafterrectification.Outputvoltagesgreaterthanthatgive
improvedlinearityofcourse,butwhenusingsignaldiodes,itisadvisabletoallowa
largesafetymarginwithregardtoreversebreakdown.Lowervoltagesareacceptable
whentheactualmeterreadingisunimportant,i.e.,fornullindicatorsbutifthe
maximumvoltageafterrectificationismuchbelow1V,thelinearitywillbepoorand,
duetothediodeforwardthreshold,nullswillbecomebroadanddifficulttolocate.
Hence,forourpurposes,areasonabledesignwindowforcurrenttransformeroutputis1
to10Vafterrectification,i.e.,|Vi|betweenabout0.7and7VRMS.Iftheindicating
deviceisa(readilyavailable)100Ameter,thenpaddingitsresistanceto100Kgivesa
sensitivityof10VDCforfullscaledeflection(FSD)withadetectorinputresistanceof
50Kandpaddingitto10Kgives1VforFSDandaninputresistanceof5K.
Itiscommonpracticetoloadthesecondaryofacurrenttransformerwitharesistance
ofabout50.Thischoiceusuallypermitsatransformerbandwidthof5octavesormore,
givessensibleturnsratiosforusefuloutputvoltages,andenablesdetectorsof5Kinput
resistancetobeconnectedwithonlyabout1%dropinoutput.Thereisalsothe
advantagethata50loadresistorcanbereplacedbyanarbitrarylengthofcoaxialcable
withaterminatingresistoratthefarend,apossibilitythatfacilitatestestingandallows
thedetectortobeplacedsomedistancefromthetransformer.
Thetablebelowshowsthenumberofturnsrequiredinordertoobtainagivenoutput
voltageforagivenprimarycurrentwhenthetransformersecondaryisloadedwith50.
Theleftmostcolumnshowsthegeneratoroutputpowerrequiredtoproducethecurrent
whenthegeneratorisworkingintoa50load.Thecandidateoutputvoltages
correspondto10V,3.16V(i.e.,10V),and1Vafterrectification(neglectingdiode
forwardvoltagedrop).Theactualnumberofturnsusedmust,ofcourse,beaninteger
(i.e.,awholenumber),andsoforapracticaltransformerthenumbermustberoundedup
ordown.

Table616#1.Relationshipbetweencurrenttransformeroutputvoltageandno.ofturns.
Generatoroutput Primarycurrent Turnsfor7.07V Turnsfor2.24V Turnsfor0.71V
power(=P) |I|=(P/50) N=50|I|/7.07 N=50|I|/2.24 N=50|I|/0.71
1500W 5.48A 38.7 122.5 387.3
1200W 4.90A 34.6 109.5 346.4
1000W 4.47A 31.6 100.0 316.2
800W 4.00A 28.3 89.4 282.8
500W 3.16A 22.4 70.7 223.6
400W 2.83A 20.0 63.2 200.0
200W 2.00A 14.1 44.7 141.4
100W 1.41A 10.0 31.6 100.0
50W 1.00A 7.1 22.4 70.7
10W 0.45A 3.2 10.0 31.6

Fromthetableitwouldappearthattherequiredturnsratiovariesbetweenabout3and
400foratypicalrangeofsensitivityrequirementsanda50secondaryload,thelarge
numbersbeingassociatedwithinstrumentsoflowsensitivityandviceversa.Inpractice
however,alargenumberofturnsimpliesanexcessivelengthofwindingwireanda
smallwirediameter.TheresultwillbealargephaselagathighfrequenciesandhighRF
resistance,thelattercausingdeviationfromthe'idealtransformerwithparallel
impedance'model.Henceitisbettertoobtainlowsensitivity(i.e.,lowtransresistance)
byusingalownumberofturnsandavalueofsecondaryloadresistancesomewhatless
than50.
Acommonlyacceptedpracticeindeterminingthemaximumnumberifturnsisto
limitthewirelengthtolessthan0.1atthehighestfrequencyofoperation(beingthe
electricalwavelength).Thisruleofthumbissomewhatarbitraryinrelationtothe
physicsofwhatisgoingoninsidethetransformer,andwindingsapproachingthatlength
willcertainlynotgivegoodphaseperformancefromthepointofviewofthebridge
designerbutitperhapsrepresentsalimitofawfulnessbeyondwhichcompensation
ceasestobefeasibleandsomayinformourinitialconsiderations.
Thewirelengthforagivennumberofturnscanbecomputedfromcoredimensions,
and(assumingavelocityfactorv/cofabout0.83)the0.1rulesuggeststhatitshouldbe
nolongerthanabout1.2mforatransformerdesignedfor30MHz(about66turnsona"
coreassumingalengthperturnofabout18mm),and67cmfor54MHz(about37turns
ona"core).
Althoughputtingtoomanyturnsonthetransformersecondaryisabadidea,thereis
alsoalimittotheminimumnumberofturnsthatcanbeusedbecauseinsufficient
secondaryinductancewillleadtoapoorlowfrequencyresponse.Iftherequired
sensitivitycannotbereconciledwiththeneedtoobtainareasonableamountof
inductance,increasingthesecondaryloadresistancewillnothelpbecauseitwillnarrow
thetransformerbandwidth.Itishoweverpossibletoincreasethenumberofturnsinthe
primarybyusingthincoaxialcableandpassingittwoormoretimesthroughthecore
(seeCurrenttransformerefficiencyfactor,fig.6).
Wewilllookintothesecondaryinductanceandwindinglengthissuesindetail
shortly,butfornowitwillbeusefultorememberthatsmallcurrenttransformers
intendedforHFradioapplications(upto30MHz)tendtohavesecondaryturnsnumbers
inthe10to40range.

6.29.Insertionimpedanceandinsertionloss:
Thereisalittlemoretothedesignprocessthatjustconsideringtheoutputvoltageand
frequencyresponsebecausethetransformerhasaninputimpedanceandthereforecauses
avoltagedropinthetransmissionlineintowhichitisinserted.Thetransformeralso
abstractsacertainamountofenergy,andweneedtoconsiderwhathappenstothe
resultingheat.
Inordertocalculatetheinsertionlossduetoacurrenttransformer,andhencethe
powerratingofthesecondaryload,considerthecircuitinthemannershownbelow:

Usingthedefinitionsinthediagram,theinputimpedanceor'insertionimpedance'ofthe
primaryisZii=Vii/I.NownotethatVii=Vi/NandI=NIi.Hence:
Zii=(Vi/N)/(NIi)
i.e.,
Zii=Zi/N
Asisthecaseforanidealtransformerhavingaclosedmagneticcircuit,andasistrueto
agoodapproximationforpracticaltransformerstheinputimpedanceisthesecondary
loadimpedancedividedbythesquareoftheturnsratio.
Ifthecurrenttransformerisusedaspartofamonitoringdeviceinapower
transmissionsystem,thenwecanworkouttheoperatinginsertionlossonthebasisthat
theprimaryloadimpedancewillbeadjustedtobeapureresistanceR0(i.e.,the
transmittercannotbeturneduptofullpoweruntilthisadjustmenthasbeencarriedout).
WemayalsoobservethatmaximumenergywillbeabsorbedwhenthereactanceXiis
largeinrelationtothesecondaryloadresistanceRi(i.e.,inthemiddleofthepassband)
inwhichcasetheinsertionimpedanceofthetransformerwillbepredominantly
resistive.Hencewecandeducetheworstcaseinsertionlossonthebasisofanominal
midband'insertionresistance'Rii,where:
Rii=Ri/N
Theratioofprimaryloadvoltagetogeneratorvoltageforthesystemdepictedabove
isV/V',thisbeingdictatedbythepotentialdividernetworkformedbyRiiinserieswith
R0,i.e.,
V/V'=V/(Vii+V)=IRii/I(Rii+R0)
Theprimarycurrentiseliminatedgiving:
V/V'=Rii/(Rii+R0)
HencethemidbandinsertionlossindBis:
Insertionloss/dB=20Log[Rii/(Rii+R0)]

Theworstcasepowerdissipatedinthesecondaryloadresistance(i.e.,assumingno
lossesinthetransformer)isequalto|I|Rii,i.e.,
Pi=|I|Ri/N
Notethatifthesecondarywindingissplitortappedandthetwosectionsareterminated
individually,thepowerinthetotalsecondaryloadresistanceisdividedbetweenthetwo
loadresistors.

Example1:Foracurrenttransformerwith40turnsonthesecondary,anda50
secondaryload,thenominalmidbandinsertionresistance,(Ri/N),is0.03125.This
correspondstoaninsertionlossof0.005dB,i.e.,20Log[50/(50.03125)],whenthe
generator(transmitter)isworkingintoa50load.Ifthegeneratorisdelivering1.5KW,
theprimarycurrent,(P/R),is5.48A.Thesecondarycurrentis5.48/40=137mA,andthe
secondaryvoltageis0.13750=6.85VRMS.Thepowerdissipatedinthesecondaryload
resistoris0.1376.85=0.94W.Thesecondaryloadcanthereforebeconstructedby
placingtwononinductive100resistorsofatleast0.5Wpowerratinginparallel.

Example2:Foracurrenttransformerwith10turnsonthesecondaryanda50
secondaryload,thenominalinsertionresistanceis50/10=0.5.Thiscorrespondstoa
maximum(midband)insertionlossof20Log(50/50.5)=0.09dBwhenthegeneratoris
workingintoa50load.Ifthegeneratorisdelivering100W,theprimarycurrentis
1.414A,andthesecondarycurrentis141.4mA.Thesecondaryvoltageis
0.141450=7.07VRMS,andthepowerdissipatedinthesecondaryloadresistoris1W.

1950svintageRFammeter:UsedtomeasuretheantennacurrentofanHFmaritime
broadcasttransmitter.Thetransformerprimaryisasilverplatedbrassrodwithasilver
platedFaradayshield.Themagneticcoreisanuncoatedironpowdertoroid.The
secondaryloadresistorisconnecteddirectlyacrossthecoilterminals.AGermanium
detectordiodeanda1nFsmoothingcapacitorareincludedinthebox.

DWKnight2008.
DavidKnightassertstherighttoberecognisedastheauthorofthiswork.

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