Preferred primary and secondary current ratings [and therefore ratios], classes, burdens and accuracy limit factors are defined in BS3938 and other comparable national standards, together with other minimum performance requirements, physical construction requirements, etc.
It should be remembered when using a CT that where there are two or more devices to be operated by the secondary winding, they must be connected in series across the winding. This is exactly the opposite of the method used to connect two or more loads to be supplied by a voltage or power transformer where the devices are paralleled across the secondary winding.
With a CT, an increase in the burden will result in an increase in the CT secondary output voltage. This is automatic and necessary to maintain the current to the correct magnitude. Conversely, a reduction in the burden will result in a reduction in the CT secondary output voltage.
This rise in secondary voltage output with an increase in burden means that, theoretically, with infinite burden as is the case with the secondary load open circuit, an infinitely high voltage appears across the secondary terminals. For practical reasons this voltage is not infinitely high, but can be high enough to cause a breakdown in the insulation between primary and secondary windings or between either or both windings and the core.
For this reason, primary current should never be allowed to flow with no load or with a high resistance load connected across the secondary winding. When considering the application of a CT it should be remembered that the total burden imposed on the secondary winding is not only the sum of the burden(s) of the individual device(s) connected to the winding but that it also includes the burden imposed by the connecting cable and the resistance of the connections.
If, for example, the resistance of the connecting cable and the connections is 0.1 ohm and the secondary rating of the CT is 5A, the burden of the cable and connections (RI2) is 0.1 x 5 x 5 = 2.5VA. This must be added to the burden(s) of the connected device(s) when determining whether the CT has an adequately large burden rating to supply the required device(s) and the burden imposed by the connections.
Should the burden imposed on the CT secondary winding by the connected device(s) and the connections exceed the rated burden of the CT the CT may partly or fully saturate and therefore not have a secondary current adequately linear with the primary current.
The burden imposed by a given resistance in ohms [such as the resistance of a connecting cable] is proportional to the square of the rated secondary current. Therefore, where long runs of cable between CT and the connected device(s) are involved, the use of a 1A secondary CT and a 1A device rather than 5A will result in a 25-fold reduction in the burden of the connecting cables and connections.
All burden ratings and calculations are at rated secondary current. Because of the foregoing, when a relatively long [more than a very few metres] cable run is required to connect a CT to its burden [such as a remote ammeter] a calculation should be made to determine the cable burden. This is proportional to the “round trip” resistance, i.e. twice the resistance of the length of twin cable used. Cable tables provide information on the resistance values of different sizes of conductors at 20o C per unit length. The calculated resistance is then multiplied by the square of the CT secondary current rating [25 for 5A, 1 for 1A]. If the VA burden as calculated by this method and added to the rated burden(s) of the device(s) to be driven by the CT exceeds the CT burden rating, the cable size must be increased [to reduce the resistance and thus the burden] or a CT with a higher VA burden rating must be used, or a lower CT secondary current rating [with matching change in the current rating of the device(s) to be driven] should be substituted.
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