2017611 G3YNHinfo:Currenttransformers.Part2.

TXtoAe Ch6Contents

6.2CurrentTransformers:Part2.
10.Lowfrequencyperformance:
Theeffectivesecondaryparallelreactanceofacurrenttransformerinthelowfrequencyregionofitspassbandis
dominatedbytheinductanceofthesecondarywinding.Hence,forthepurposeofcalculatingthelowfrequency
response,themodelcanbesimplifiedasshownontheright.

Herethecapacitancehasbeenignored,andtheinductanceLishouldbetakentobeabout1or2%lessthanthe
measuredinductanceofthesecondarycoil.Therelationshipbetweenprimarycurrentandsecondaryvoltage
(neglectinglosses)givenearlierasequation(4.1)isnowreducedto:
Vi=I(Ri//jXLi)/N

TheobviousimplicationisthattherewillbesignificantphaseandamplitudeerrorsintheoutputunlessXLi>>
Ri.Infact,thelower3dBbandwidthlimitoccurswhenXLi=Ri,withanattendantphaseerrorof+45.
Phaseandmagnitudeerrorsinthecurrentsamplingnetworkofabridgewillcompromisetheaccuracyofthe
balancecondition.Wewillseeinlatersectionshowever,thatcompensationcanbeachievedbymodifyingthe
voltagesamplingnetworksothatitsoutputhasthesamefrequencyresponseasthatofthecurrentsampling
network.Suchcompensationhowever,doesnotcorrectforthelowfrequencyreductioninoutputvoltage,and
thishasimplicationswithregardtothesensitivityofbridges,andtheaccuracyofcurrentmeasuring
instruments.Itisthereforeprincipallythedesireforaflatamplituderesponsethatdictatestheminimumvalueof
inductancethatcanbetolerated,andwecanunderstandthisissuebyconsideringthesimpleRFammetercircuit
shownbelow:

Herethedetectorissensitiveonlytothemagnitudeoftheoutputvoltage,andthereadingonthemeter
(assumingascalecalibratedtoallowfordiodeforwardvoltagedrop)isgivenby:
Vmeas=(2)|Vi|
where:
|Vi|=|I||(jXLi//Ri)|/N
i.e.,
Vmeas=(2)|I||(jXLi//Ri)|/N
Themeasuredoutput(i.e.,thesensitivity)isthereforealwaysproportionaltothemagnitudeofthesecondary
loadimpedance,which(neglectinglossesandthedetectorinputresistance)consistsofthesecondarywinding
reactanceinparallelwiththeloadresistance.
Theeffectofplacinganinductanceinparallelwithanimpedance[discussedinImpedanceMatching,section

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57]istomovetheresultantimpedanceanticlockwisearoundacircleofconstantconductanceastheinductive
reactancedecreases.ThereactanceXLi=2fLi,ofcourse,decreasesasthefrequencydecreases,andtheconstant
conductanceGiisequalto1/Ri.WecanthereforevisualisetheprocessusingtheZplanediagrambelow:

WhereZi=(jXLi//Ri)
Anexpressionforthemagnitudeofanimpedanceinitsparallelformwasgivenin[ACTheory,Section18,
eqation18.2].Usingthepresentnotationitbecomes:
|Zi|=|RiXLi/(Ri+XLi)|
Athighfrequencies,XLibecomesverylargeanditscontributiontoZibecomescorrespondinglysmall.Inthis
capacitancefreemodeltherefore,themagnitudeofZicanbeconsideredtobeequaltoRiathighfrequencies,
i.e.,asXLi,|Zi|Ri.Consequently,sincethemeasuredvoltageforagiveninputcurrentisproportionalto
|Zi|,wecandefineadimensionlessamplituderesponsefunctionforthesystemas:
LF=|Zi|/Ri=|XLi|/(Ri+XLi)
(is"eta",thistimeunboldbecausethequantityitrepresentsisscalar).Thereasonforderivingthisexpression,
isthatwecanuseittoobtaintheminimumamountofinductancerequiredinordertokeepthedropinmeter
sensitivitywithinacceptablelimitsatthelowestfrequencyofoperation.Allweneedtodoisrearrangeituntil
wehaveXLiexpressedintermsofRiandLF,asfollows:
LF=XLi/(Ri+XLi)
LF(Ri+XLi)=XLi
XLiLFXLi=LFRi
XLi(1LF)=LFRi
XLi=RiLF/(1LF)
NowtakingthesquareroottoobtainXLi,wenotethatweonlywantthepositiveresult(i.e.,themagnitudeof
XLi),andso:
|XLi|=RiLF/(1LF)
butsinceXLiisaninductivereactance,weknowitwillbepositiveandsowecandispensewiththemagnitude
symbolinthisinstance(butnotingeneral)toobtain:
XLi=RiLF/(1LF)
TheresultsforsomepossibledesignvaluesforLFaretabulatedbelow:

Table10.1.Currenttransformer,lowfrequencydesensitisationandphaseerror.
RequiredLi
Lossin% LossindB LF XLi for
=100(1LF) =20Log(fLF) =|Zi|/Ri =RiLF/(1LF) =Arcan(Ri/Xi) fmin=1.6MHz,
Ri=50
1% 0.09dB 0.99 7.02Ri 8.1 34.9H
5% 0.45dB 0.95 3.04Ri 18.2 15.1H
10% 0.92dB 0.90 2.06Ri 25.8 10.2H
11% 1dB 0.891 1.97Ri 27 9.8H
29% 3dB 0.707 Ri 45 5.0H
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29% 3dB 0.707 Ri 45 5.0H

50% 6dB 0.5 0.58Ri 60 2.9H

ThefigureXLi7Rifor1%max.erroriscorroboratedbyref[TheARRLAntennaBook,19thedition,ARRL
publ,2000.
ISBN:0872598047.Bridgetypesp27.4].

Thedatainthetabletellusthatifwewantacurrentreadingatthelowestfrequencyofoperation(fmin)tobe
within1%ofahighendreadingofthesamecurrent,thenXLimustbeatleast7timeslargerthanRiatthe
lowestfrequency.Ifwewantagreementwithin5%,thenXLimustbeatleast3timeslargerthanRi,andsoon.
ThemorestringentdesignrequirementsatthetopofthetableareappropriatefordirectreadingRFammeters,
wherescaleaccuracyisimportantbutforthedesignofRFbridges,whereweareofteninapositiontoturnup
thegeneratorlevelifthebridgesensitivitystartstofall,areductioninsensitivityof3dB,oreven6dB,maybe
perfectlyacceptable.
Alsoshowninthetablearethephaseerrorsassociatedwiththevariousdesigncriteria.Noticethatevenwhen
theamplitudeiscontrolledtowithin1%,thephaseerrorattheminimumfrequencyis8.Underhill&Lewis
[43]recommendthatthemaximumacceptableerrorforanimpedancematchingsystemshouldbe7(1.2:1
SWR),andsoalargesecondaryinductance,notwithstandingthepropagationdelayissue,isnotawayof
avoidingtheneedforphasecompensationwhendesigningbridges.Wemight,ofcourse,decidetousealow
valueofloadresistanceandalargeinductancebutthatimpliesalowoutputvoltage(i.e.,insensitivity),which
isfinewhenmonitoringatransmitterproducingkilowatts,butnotsogoodwhentryingtotuneanantennausing
afewwatts.
ForthoseinterestedindesigningaccurateRFammeters,notethatusingalargesecondaryinductanceis
neithertheonly,nornecessarilythebest,wayofobtainingaflatfrequencyresponse.Bytheinclusionofa
capacitor,thesecondaryloadingnetworkcanbemodifiedtoproduceanoutputthatisflatwithin1%overthe
1.6to30MHzrange(orgreater)usinganinductanceofaround10H.Thisconfiguration,whichdoesnot
appeartohavebeenreportedelsewhere,isreferredtointhesedocumentsastheMaximallyFlatCurrent
Transformer[seearticleofthatname].

Ref:
[43]"AutomaticTuningofAntennae".MJUnderhill[G3LHZ]andPALewis.
SERTJournal,Vol8,Sept1974,p183184.
Givescriteriaforachieving1.2:1SWR,i.e.,45R56,17.5G22.5mS,7+7.

11.LFphaseerrordemonstration.
Asimpletechniquefordemonstratingcurrenttransformerlowfrequencyphaseerrorisillustratedbelow.Ituses
amethodthatworkswellatlowfrequencies(1.63MHz)butcangivemisleadingresultsathigherfrequencies
unlessitcanbeshownthattheoscilloscopeYamplifiershaveidenticalpropagationdelayandthatthedelay
doesnotvarywiththesettingsofthegaincontrols.Inthiscaseawaveformwiththesamephaseastheprimary
currentisobtainedbymeasuringthevoltageacrossa50loadresistorthatterminatesthegenerator.Whenthis
iscomparedwiththevoltageappearingacrossa50resistorterminatingthesecondarywinding,aphase
differenceisseenontheoscilloscopescreen.ByadjustingtheYamplifiergainandshiftcontrols,both
waveformscanbemadetohaveexactlythesameheightandbeequallydisplacedaboutthecentralhorizontal
scaleonthegraticule.Thephasedifferencebetweenthetwowavesisthen:

Horizontalseparationbetweenwaveforms
= 360
Horizontallengthofonecycle

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Intheexampleabove,thecurrenttransformerprimaryisastubofURM108(PTFESilver,50)cable,andthe
secondaryis61turnsof36swgwire(0.225mmdiameterincludinginsulation)onanAmidonT502(red)core.
ThepublishedAL(inductancefactor)forthiscoreis4.9nH/turns,givinganominalsecondaryinductance
(ALN)of18.2H(about20%),butthemeasuredinductanceat1.5915MHz(107radians/sec)was
19.90.5H.Thephasedifferencemeasurementwasmadeat1.6MHz,atwhichfrequencythereactanceofthe
coil(2fL)is+2005.ThesituationshownontheoscilloscopescreenisthereforeXLi=4Ri.
Theexpectedphaseangleis:
Arctan(50/2005)=14.040.34
Usingthehorizontalshift,timebase,andtriggerlevelcontrols,theoscilloscopedisplaywasmanipulatedsothat
onecycleofthewaveformwas10cmlong.Thedistancebetweenthezerocrossingsofthetwowaveswasthen
foundtobe0.40.05cm.Themeasuredphasedifferenceistherefore:
3600.4/10=14.401.8
Whichagreeswiththecalculatedvalue.
Onapracticalpoint,noticethatoscilloscopeprobeswerenotused,andthatthesignalsweretakenalong50
cablesofequallengthandidenticaldielectric(forequaltimedelay)andterminatedatBNCTpiecesonthe
oscilloscopefrontpanel.Theproblemwithprobesisthattherewillbecapacitivecouplingbetweenthem,and
thisgivesrisetophaseerrors.Thelargetransmitterterminatorisshownhangingdownfromthefrontpanelbut
alengthofcableaftertheTpiece,sothattheloadcanbeplacedmoreconveniently,isofnoelectrical
consequence.ThegeneratorwasaKenwoodTS430Sradiotransceiverwithplug10removedfromtheRF
moduletogive1.6to30MHztransmittercoverage.Theoutputlevelduringthemeasurementwasabout16Vpp
(5.7VRMS,0.64Win50).Noattenuatorwasusedbetweenthemaintransmitterlineandtheoscilloscope
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becauseitisimportantthatbothsamplingpointshavethesameinputimpedance(sothatbothcablesareequally
mismatched).Fortheinstrumentshown,bothYamplifierinputsare1M//20pF,whichistypical.

12.Transformercoreselection.
Havingexaminedthebasicdesignconsiderationsforcurrenttransformers,wenowturnourattentiontothe
problemofchoosingtransformercoresfrommanufacturer'sdata.Hereitwillbeassumedthatweareprimarily
interestedindesigningcurrenttransformersforbridges,andamaximumlowfrequencydesensitisationof3dBis
acceptableinwhichcasetheminimumsecondaryreactancemustbenolessthantheloadresistance.Ifthe
minimumfrequencyofoperationis(say)1.8MHz,andweintendtofollowthenormalpracticeofterminating
thetransformerwitharesistorofabout50,thentheminimumsecondaryinductanceLi=XLi/2f=4.42H.With
thisfigureinmind,wemaytrawlthecatalogueslookingforcoresthatwillfitreasonablytightlyoverastubof
coaxialcable,andwhichhaveAL(inductance/turns)valuesthatpermitustoobtainatransformerratio
appropriateforourpurpose.
AmidonsuppliesMicrometalsandFairritecoresinsmallquantities(seealso:linkspageforothersources).
Hence,althoughsuitablecoresareavailablefromvariousmanufacturers,theuseofAmidonproductsis
convenientforprivateexperimenters.UsingtheAmidoncatalogue[38],andsupplementarydatafromthe
MicrometalsandFairritewebsites,ittranspiresthatthechoiceofcoreisremarkablylimitedoncethefrequency
rangeandtheholediameterhavebeenspecified.

Ref:[38]AmidonAssociatesInc.(Technicaldatabook)Jan2000.
Technicaldataforironpowderandferritecores,includingALvalues,frequencyranges,wirepackingtables,Q
curves,etc.Maximumfluxdensitycalculationsandrecommendations:p135.Informationisalsoavailable
onlinefrom:www.amidoncorp.com.

Thepointisthatweneedthecoretobeatightfitonthecableinordertominimiseleakageinductanceand
magneticpathlengthandsoonceacablediameterhasbeenchosen,thecoreholediameteristhenextsizeup
thatallowsroomforthesecondarywinding.Thechoiceofcorematerialisthenthatwhichgivessufficient
secondaryinductancewiththerequirednumberofturns.Therelevantinformationissummarisedbelow:

Table16.3.50PTFECoaxialCabledata.
Overall
MaxVRMS Capacitance/m Velocity
Type dia. Jacket* Dielectric
/KV C0/pF/m** factor
/mm
URM72 4.5 FEP PTFE 1.4 94 0.72
URM102 9.7 FEP PTFE 3.5 96 0.70
URM107 9.0 FEP PTFE 3.5 96 0.70
URM108 4.5 FEP PTFE 1.4 94 0.72
URM109 2.45 FEP PTFE 0.7 93 0.72
URM110 1.8 FEP PTFE 0.35 92 0.72
RG142 4.95 PTFE/FEP PTFE 1.4 95.8 0.695
RG303 4.32 PTFE PTFE 1.4 95.8 0.695
RG316 2.49 PTFE/FEP PTFE 0.9 95.1 0.695
RG393 9.91 PTFE PTFE 5.0 96.5 0.695
RG400 4.95 PTFE PTFE 1.9 96.5 0.695

Sources:
UniradioMetricseriesdatafrom:BICCCableselectorE15.PTFECoaxialCables.July1979.
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AmericanRadioGuideseriesdatatakenfrom:TheARRLAntennaBook,19thedition,ARRLpubl,2000.
ISBN:0872598047.Coaxialcabledatap2419.
*Coatingmaterialsvary/optionsexistcheckmanufacturer'sdata.NEVERusePVCinRFapplicationsor
wherehightemperaturesmayoccur.
FEP=FluorinatedEthylenePolypropylene.r'=2.1(nonpolar).
**Capacitanceperunitlengthmayvarydependingonmanufacturer.Inductanceperunitlength:L0=50C0.

Table16.4.ToroidalCoreDimensions:
Turn
Outsidedia. Holedia. Thickness Meanpath Corearea
Core length*
D/mm d/mm h/mm le/cm Ae/mm
/mm
T25 6.35 3.05 2.44 1.5 4.2
T30 7.80 3.83 3.25 1.83 6.5
T37 9.53 5.21 3.25 2.32 7.0
T44 11.18 5.82 4.04 2.67 10.7
T50 12.70 7.62 4.83 3.20 12.1 18.7
T68 17.53 9.40 4.83 4.24 19.6 21.8
T80 20.19 12.57 6.35 5.15 24.2
FT23 5.84 3.05 1.52 1.34 2.1
FT37 9.53 4.75 3.18 2.15 7.6
FT50 12.70 7.14 4.78 3.02 13.3 19.1
FT50A 12.70 7.92 6.35 3.68 15.2 21.5
FT50B 12.70 7.92 12.7 3.18 30.3 34.2
FT82 20.96 13.11 6.35 5.26 24.6
*Wirelengthrequiredfor1turnestimatedasDd+2h+4mm

Table16.5.Maximumnumberofturnsinsinglelayerwinding:
Wiredia T25 T30 T37 T44 T50 T68 T80
AWG
/mm (3.05ID) (3.83ID) (5.21ID) (5.82ID) (7.62ID) (9.40ID) (12.6ID)
18 1.024 4 5 9 10 16 21 30
20 0.810 5 7 12 15 21 28 39
22 0.643 7 11 17 20 28 36 51
24 0.511 11 15 23 27 37 47 66
26 0.404 15 21 31 35 49 61 84
28 0.320 21 28 41 46 63 79 108
30 0.254 28 37 53 60 81 101 137
32 0.201 37 48 67 76 103 127 172
34 0.160 48 62 87 97 131 162 219
36 0.127 62 78 110 124 166 205 276
38 0.099 79 101 140 157 210 257 347
40 0.079 101 129 177 199 265 325 438
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Table16.6.CoreMaterials:
Tuned
Core
Initial TC* circuitfreq.
Broadband
Available
Type permeability. 2070C xformerfreq.
material i /ppm/C
range
range/MHz sizes.
/MHz
2(red) 10 95 230 Nodata**

Carbonyl 1(blue) 20 280 0.55 T25,30,37,

Nodata
Iron 15(red/wh) 25 190 0.12 44,50,68,80

3(grey) 35 370 0.050.5 Nodata**

67 40 1300 10180 2001000

NiZn FT23,37,50,
61 125 1500 0.210 10200
Ferrite 50A,50B,82
43 850 12500 0.011 150

*Temperaturecoefficientofinitialpermeability.Thesefiguresareapproximate(seemanufacturer'sgraphsformoreaccuratefiguresat
thetemperatureofinterest).
**Nodataincatalogue,butknowntobeusefulatleastoverthe1.830MHzrange(Broadbandtransformerrequirementsareless
stringentthanforhighQinductors).

Table16.7.Ironpowdercores,ALValues/nH/turns,20%
Type T25 T30 T37 T44 T50 T68 T80
1(i=20) 7.0 8.5 8.0 10.5 10.0 11.5 11.5
2(i=10) 3.4 4.3 4.0 5.2 4.9 5.7 5.5
3(i=35) 10.0 14.0 12.0 18.0 17.5 19.5 18.0
15(i=25) 8.5 9.3 9.0 16.0 13.5 18.0 17.0

Table16.8.Ferritecores,ALValues/nH/turns,25%
Type FT23 FT37 FT50 FT50A FT50B FT82
43(i=850) 188 420 523 570 1140 557
61(i=125) 24.8 55.3 69 75 150 73.3
67(i=40) 7.8 17.7 22 24 48 22.4

Letuspropose,atthispoint,thatithasbeendecidedthatthecurrenttransformerwillbefittedoveracoaxial
cableof5mmdiametersuchasRG303.ThisimmediatelylimitsthechoicetoT44,T50,T68,FT50,FT50A,
andFT50B.WemayhoweverexpecttheT44(5.8mmholediameter)tobeaverytightfitwhenwoundwith
wireofabout0.2mmdiameter,andtheT68(9.4mmholediameter)tobealoosefitunlesswoundwithwireof
about1mmdiameter(max.21turns).WewillthereforerejectthesmallercoresonthegroundsthattheirAL
valuesarenotsignificantlydifferentfromT50versionsandtrytoavoidusingthelargercoresunlessspecial
requirementsdictateotherwise.Turningourattentiontotheferrites,wemayalsoobservethatthehigh
permeabilitytype43materialhasahugetemperaturecoefficient(1.25%/Cwhichwillaffectlowfrequency
phaseaccuracy)andwillbetoolossyformediumtohighpowerapplications(seelossfactorvsfrequency
curvesinref[38]).
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[38]AmidonAssociatesInc.(Technicaldatabook)Jan2000.
Technicaldataforironpowderandferritecores,includingALvalues,frequencyranges,wirepackingtables,Q
curves,etc.Maximumfluxdensitycalculationsandrecommendations:p135.Informationisalsoavailable
onlinefrom:www.amidoncorp.com.

Thelowpermeabilitytype67materialalsohasnogreatadvantageoverpowderediron(itisslightlylesslossy
thaniron,butthebenefitismarginal).Wewillthereforeconsiderfiveprimarycandidatecores:T502,T503,
FT5061,FT50A61,andFT50B61,andtwosecondarycandidates:T682andT683.Wemaynowperform
calculationstofindthenumbersofturnsoneachofthesecoresthatwillgiveatleast4.42H(i.e.,X=50@
1.8MHz)butforthesakeofthosewhowishtodesignRFammeters,orwhowanttomaintainbridgesensitivity
atLF,wewillalsotabulateresultsforvariousmultiplesofthisinductance(butseealso:themaximallyflat
currenttransformer).WhentheALvalueisspecifiedinnH/turns,theinductanceofawindingonaparticular
coreisgivenby:
L/nH=ALN
andtherequirednumberofturnsforagiveninductanceis:
N=(L/AL),whereLisinnH,andALisinnH/turns.

Table16.9.Turnsrequiredfortargetinductance.(Approximatewirelengths,computedfromcoredimensions,
areshowninbracketsbelowthenumbersofturns).
X@1.8MHz
L
50 100 150 300 350 700
CoreAL/nH 4.42H 8.84H 13.26H 26.5H 30.9H 61.9H

T502 4.9 30.0 42.5 52.0 73.6 79.5 112.4

(55cm) (79cm) (96cm) (1.36m) (1.47m) (2.08m)
27.8 39.4 48.2 68.2 73.7 104.2
T682 5.7 (61cm) (87cm) (1.05m) (1.48m) (1.61m) (2.27m)

T503 17.5 15.6 22.5 27.5 38.9 42.1 59.5

(30cm) (43cm) (52cm) (72cm) (78cm) (1.11m)

T683 19.5 15.1 21.3 26.1 36.9 39.8 56.3

(33cm) (46cm) (57cm) (81cm) (87cm) (1.22m)

FT5061 68.8 8.1 11.4 14.0 19.8 21.3 30.2

(15cm) (22cm) (27cm) (38cm) (40cm) (57cm)

FT50A61 75 7.7 10.1 13.3 18.8 20.3 28.7

(18cm) (22cm) (28cm) (41cm) (43cm) (63cm)
5.4 7.7 9.4 13.3 14.3 20.3
FT50B61 150 (21cm) (27cm) (34cm) (48cm) (51cm) (69cm)

Previouslyitwasmentionedthatforoperationupto30MHz,thewindinglengthshouldbekeptwellbelow
1.2m,andforoperationupto54MHz,thewindingshouldbeshorterthan67cm.Itshouldalsobesaidthat,
whiletransformerscanbeexpectedtogiveunacceptablephaseerrorsathighfrequenciesiftheselengthsare
exceededwecannotbesurethatthephaseperformancewillbeacceptableiftheyarenot.SomeformofHF
phasecompensationwillusuallybenecessary,andthefewertheturnsthebetteritwillbe.Weshouldalsonote,
thatalthoughitisnotalwaysstatedinthemanufacturer'sdata,thereisatoleranceassociatedwithcoreAL
valuesandsoturnsshouldbecalculatedforaninductanceofabout20%higherthantheminimumacceptable
value,andtheactualinductanceofthewindingshouldpreferablybemeasuredforthepurposeofcalculating
frequencycompensationnetworks.Theoriginofthe'10to40turns'ruleofthumbisthereforeapparentfromthe
datainthetableabove.Noticealso,thatinthecaseoftheFT50seriesbeads,increasingthebeadthickness
increasesthewirelengthfasterthanitincreasestheinductance,whichmeansthatthethicker(AandB)beads
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havenoadvantageoverthestandardFT50unlesspowertransmissionisimportant.Since,indesigningcurrent
monitoringtransformers,weareonlyinterestedinabstractingabout1Wattfromthegenerator,power
throughputisnotamajorconsideration(andcoresaturationisimpossibleinthisapplicationwithanyofthe
availablematerials).Weshouldrecallhowever,thatcorelossoccursintheabsenceofanysecondarywinding,
andasubstantialpartofthiswillappearasanadditionalresistivecomponentinparallelwiththeprimary
impedance.Consequently,thelowpermeabilitybeadsaretobepreferredwhenmonitoringtheoutputsofhigh
powertransmitters.Alsotheremaybesituationsinwhichwedesiretouseatransformeridenticaltothecurrent
transformerforvoltagesampling,inwhichcasethemorestringentfluxdensityconsiderationsforthevoltage
transformerwilldictatethedesignofthecurrenttransformer.
Itis,ofcourse,alwaysinstructivetoseewhatothershavedonebeforeembarkingonadesign,andsowewill
finishthissectionbyreviewingsomeactualtransformers.AcurrenttransformerdescribedintheARRLantenna
book[19thedition2000,ch.27,p10]usesanAmidonT503(12.7mmdiam.i=35)powderedironcorewith31
turnsof24AWGwireonthesecondaryandasecondaryloadof50.TheALvalueof17.5nH/turnforthiscore
predictsaninductanceof16.8Hforthesecondarywinding,andareactanceof+190at1.8MHz.Usingthe
lowfrequencyanalysisdevelopedinsection10,=190/(50+190)=0.967,correspondingtoadropinoutputof
3.3%or0.29dBat1.8MHz.Thetransformerisusablefrom1.854MHz,andisstatedtogiveanoutputthatis
flatwithin0.3dBfrom1.850MHzwiththegeneratorworkingintoa50load.Thistransformermaybeused
withsignalpowerlevelsupto1.5KWfrom3.5to30MHz,withreducedpowerhandlingat1.8MHz.Increasing
thecoresizetoT682(17.5mmdiam,i=10)andusing40turnsof2630AWGwireonthesecondarygives
1.5KWsignalhandlingat1.8MHz,butreducestheupperfrequencylimittoaround30MHz.TheALvalueofthe
T682coreis5.7nH/turn,correspondingtoaninductanceof9.12Hfor40Turns,andareactanceof+103at
1.8MHz.Thus
=103/(50+103)=0.9,givingadropinoutputof10%or0.92dBat1.8MHz.Clearly,bothofthese
transformersgivegoodperformanceinhighpowerapplications,buttheoutputvoltagesaresomewhatlowatthe
100Wlevel(1.414Aprimarycurrent),being2.28VRMSforthe31turnversionand1.76VRMSforthe40turn
versionwhichleadstotheneedforalineariseddetector[seediodedetectors]orafixedgainarrangementwith
anonlinearmeterscaleinsomeapplications.Inordertoincreasethevoltageoutputitisnecessarytoreducethe
numberofturnsanduseahigherpermeability(i.e.,ferrite)core,thusreducingthepowerhandlingcapability.A
testtransformer,consistingof10turnswoundonanFT5061core(12.7mmdiam.i=125)andloadedwith50,
gavearelativeamplituderesponsethatwasconsistentwiththeidealtransformerwithsecondaryinductance
modelfrom1.8toatleast30MHz,butissuitableonlyforpowerlevelsofaround100W(continuous)in50
systems.Thecalculatedoutputofthistransformerhoweveris7.07VRMSwhentheprimarycurrentis1.414A.
TheALvaluefortheFT5061coreis68nH/turn,givinganinductanceof6.8Hfor10turns,andareactanceof
+77at1.8MHz.Inthiscase=77/(50+77)=0.84,correspondingtoadropinoutputof16%or1.53dBat
1.8MHz.

13.Currenttransformerpropagationdelay.
Itisoftenstatedinthetechnicalliteraturethattheselfcapacitanceofasinglelayercoilarisesfromthe
capacitancebetweenadjacentturns.Thisideawasputforwardintheearlypartofthe20thCenturybutthe
experimental'evidence'infavourwasshowntobefraudulentbyR.G.Medhurst[ref.]in1947.Bizarrely,the
selfsametheoryresurfacedasnewresearchin1999,andgotthroughthepeerreviewprocessdespitecitingthe
paperthatrefutedit.Infact,thereisgoodreasonforsupposingthatacoilhasverylittleselfcapacitanceassuch,
becausethepropertiesofinductorsarisefromthepropagationofelectromagneticenergyalongthewindingwire.
TheDCconceptionofenergystoredinamagneticfieldisaspeciallimitingcaseofenergystoredinanEM
wave,whichisdetainedinthecoilduetothefinitetimeittakestomakeitsconvolutedjourneyalongthewire.
Theideaofcapacitancebetweentheturnsthenfallsdownbecausetheelectricvectorofthetravellingwaveis
perpendiculartothecoilaxis,i.e.,thereisverylittleEfieldcomponentparalleltotheaxisandsoverylittle
capacitanceintheconventionalsense.'Selfcapacitance'isinsteadaconvenientfiction,whichallowsustocling
totheconceptoflumpedinductanceandstillaccountforthefactthatthecoilhasaselfresonantfrequency
(well,manyinfact,butthelumpedcomponenttheorybecomesinaccurateasweapproachthelowestone).The
firstselfresonanceoccurswhenthewireusedtowindthecoilisoneelectricalhalfwavelengthlong,because
thisistheconditionthatallowsthewavetoarrivebackatitsstartingpointinphasewithitself.Theeffective
propagationvelocityatthisfrequencyisalsosurprisinglyclosetothespeedoflight,buttheissueiscomplicated
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becausethecoilisadispersivetransmissionline,i.e.,thevelocityfactorchangeswithfrequency.Hence,self
capacitancemeasurements,whichdependonresonatingthecoilagainstaknowncapacitanceandnotingthe
differencebetweentheactualf0andthef0predictedfromtheinductance,givedifferentanswersdependingon
themeasurementfrequency.Fortunately,providedthatwekeepwellawayfromtheopencircuitresonance
frequency(whichcanbecalculatedfairlyaccuratelyjustfromthelengthofthewire),thevelocityisreasonably
constant,whichmeansthattheapparentselfcapacitanceisreasonablyconstant(evenifitnolongerpredictsthe
selfresonancefrequency),andwecanjustaboutgetawaywiththeconceptsoflumpedinductanceand
capacitanceforthepurposesofcircuitdesign.
Inordertodeduceanexpressionforthepropagationdelaythatoccursinatransformersecondarywinding,
wecanstartbyconsideringtheeffectofamagneticdisturbancehalfwayalongthewire.Thisdisturbance
appliesequalandoppositeelectromagneticforcestotheconductorsleadingawayfromit,resultingintwo
equalandoppositewavesthatpropagatetowardsthetransformerterminals(seediagramright).

Thetwowavescombineattheterminalstoproduceafiniteoutputvoltagebecausetheycauseopposing
displacementsofthepotentialsattheterminals.
Nowconsiderwhathappenswhenthedistancestravelledbythetwowavesarenotequal(i.e.,whenthe
magneticdisturbanceoccursatanarbitrarypointinthecoil).Wecanworkoutwhathappensbyobservingthat
thetransformerisalinearsystem(neglectingcoresaturationeffects,whichonlyoccurunderextreme
conditions).Thismeansthatthereisnomixingbetweencomponentsatdifferentfrequencies,andwecan
analysethebehaviouratanarbitraryfrequencytodeduce(withinreason)whathappensatallfrequencies.Sowe
mayregardourtwowavesassinewavesofthesamefrequency,andthesumoftwosuchwavesisalways
anothersinewave.Ifthedistancetotheterminalinthe(arbitrarilydefined)upstreamdirectionislessthanthe
distanceinthedownstreamdirectionthentheupstreamwavearrivingattheterminalswillbeadvancedrelative
tothedownstreamantiwavebutthetwowaveswillcombinetoproduceanaveragephasethatisthesameasit
wouldhavebeenhadthedisturbanceoccurredattheexactmidpoint.Hence,regardlessofthepointof
disturbance,theoutputofthetransformerhasaphasedictatedbytheaveragedistancetotheterminals,andthis
isalwayshalfthelengthofthewindingwire(i.e., w/2).
Infact,transformerswouldnotworkiftheoutputphasewasnotsubstantiallythesameformagneticchanges
atallpointsonthewirebecauseachangeinmagnetisationofthecorecausesnearlysimultaneousmagnetic
disturbancesatallpointsinthecoil.Hencewecanconsidertheoutputtoarisefromaninfinitenumberof
magneticdisturbances,allofwhichproducetheireffectattheterminalsinphaseandthereforeaddtogether.If
thearrivalphaseswerenotallthesame,therewouldbeconsiderablecancellation,resultinginalossofoutput.
Asittranspires,wealreadyhaveanameforthislossofcouplingcausedbyimperfectlinkingbetweenthecore
andthewindingitiscalledleakageinductance.
Sotheoutputofthetransformerisretardedbyanamountequaltothetimeittakesforanelectromagnetic
wavetotravelhalfthelengthofthewindingwire.Infact,thisretardationoccursinbothprimaryandsecondary
windingsbutinacurrenttransformerwithasingleturnprimary,theadditionalprimarysidedelayisrelatively
small.Ifwecallthepropagationtimetp,andthevelocityv,notingthattheunitsofvelocityare[distance]/[time],
wehave:
v= w/(2tp)
Thevelocityofpropagationofanelectromagneticwaveis:
v=1/()
whereisthepermittivityandisthepermeabilityoftheenvironment.Wecanbreakthisrelationshipdown
furtherbynotingthatpermittivityistheproductofrelativeandfreespacepermittivities,andlikewisefor
permeability.Hence:
v=1/(0r0r)
But1/(00)isthevelocityoflight,c.Also,thequantity(rr)hasanamewiththatsomepeoplemaybe
familiar,itistherefractiveindex,n(and1/nisthevelocityfactor).Thuswehave:
c/n= w/(2tp)
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i.e.,
tp=n w/(2c)....(13.1)
Now,considerthetransformeroperatingatafrequencyf.Thetimepercycle(period,t)is1/f.Thetimedelayin
thetransformeristhenegativeofthepropagationtime,andsothedelayexpressedasafractionofonecycleis:
t/t=tp/t=ftp
Thereare2radiansinonecycle,andsothedelayexpressedasanangleinradiansis:
=2ftp....(13.2)
Thephaseshiftisnegative.Thetimedelaymanifestsitselfasacapacitiveeffect.Thiscapacitanceisfictitiousin
thesensethatitdoesnotexistforstaticelectricfieldsbutitisgenuineinthesensethatenergyputintothe
transformerdoesnotemergeimmediatelyandsoistemporarilystored.
PrecisemeasurementsofcurrenttransformerHFphaseerrorvs.frequencyaregivenin[Evaluationand
optimisationofRFcurrenttransformerbridges,section16a].Whentheeffectsoftransformersecondary
inductanceandferritepermeabilitydispersionareremovedfromthedata,vs.fisastraightlinegraph.This
isaspredictedbyequation(13.2)i.e.,theexperimentaldatasupporttheviewthat,whenothercontributionsare
controlled,theremainingphaseerrorisduetopropagationdelay.

Inordertorepresentthetimedelayasaparasiticcapacitance,wenotethattheobservablephaseshiftcanbe
reproducedbyplacingacapacitanceCi'inparallelwiththesecondaryterminals.

Thephaseshiftdependsontheloadresistanceandisgivenby:
=Arctan(Ri/XCi')
i.e.:
Tan()=2fCi'Ri
Hence,using(13.2):
2fCi'Ri=Tan(2ftp)
Butforsmallangles,Tan(x)x(whenxisinradians).Hence,toareasonableapproximation:
Ci'Ri=tp
Usingequation(13.1)thengives:
Ci'=n w/(2Ric) (13.3)

So,wecanestimateCi'providedthatwecanputanumbertotherefractiveindexn(orthevelocityfactor1/n).
Thisisanintriguingproblem,becauseitforcesustoconsiderthemediuminwhichtheelectromagneticenergy
istravelling.Practicallynoneoftheenergywillbeinsidethewirebecauseaconductorcannotsupportan
electricfield(thisbeingthereasonfortheskineffect).Hencetheenergymustbedistributedaroundtheoutside
oftheconductor,andtosomeextentwithinthemagneticcorematerial.
Foratransformercore,wecanestimatetherefractiveindexas(ir),whereiistheinitialpermeability.
Thepermittivityofmagneticmaterialsissomewhathardertocomeby,butdatagivenbySnelling[48]suggest
thatitisinthe10to100rangeforNiZnferrites.Fortheexperimentsdescribedin[Eval&Opt.]type61ferrite,
whichhasi=125,wasused.Ifwetaker=20asafairapproximation,thisgivesn=50,oravelocityfactor
1/n=0.02.Thus,iftheenergypropagatingalongthewirewereconcentratedinthecore,wewouldexpectan
enormouspropagationdelay.

Ref:
[xx]"RFAutotransformersTransmissionLineDevicesmodelledusingSPICE",NicHamilton,G4TXG,
ElectronicsWorld,Nov.2002,p5256.Dec.2002p2026.
Part1:Limitationsoftheconventionaltransformermodel.Transmissionlinemodel.Part2:Corelosses.

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Windingresistance.
[48]SoftFerrites:PropertiesandApplications.ECSnelling.2nded.Butterworth.1988.ISBN040802760
6.
Permittivityofferrites:p127129.

Infact,thepropagationdelayismodest.Itisdifficulttoseparatethephaseshiftduetodelayfromother
sourcesofHFphaseerror,butfromtheauthor'sdataitappearsthattherefractiveindexisaround1.2(velocity
factor=0.83).Thissuggeststhattheenergyisprimarilyconcentratedinthewireinsulationandtheairaround
thewire.Italsoindicatesthatweshouldusewirewithverythin(andpreferablynonpolar)insulation.
Previously,theuseofplasticcoatedwirewascriticisedonthebasisthatitstuffsthecorewithinsulatorand
makeslessroomfortheconductor.Nowwecriticiseitonthebasisthatitincreasespropagationtime.Use
enamelledwire(orperhapsevenbarewire,ifyoucanbesurethatadjacentturnswon'ttouch).
Hence,forthepurposeofestimatingthesecondaryselfcapacitanceoftransformerswoundwithenamelled
wireontype61ferrite(andprobablyaccurateenoughforothercoretypesaswell),equation(13.3)becomes:
Ci'=1.2 w/(2Ric) (13.3a)
Combiningtheconstants,usingc=299729458m/s,resultsinthesimpleformula:
Ci'/pF=2( w/mm)/(Ri /) (13.3b)

AlthoughtheforegoingpermitsustoestimateHFphaseerror,itisimportanttobeawarethatthereisasubtle
differencebetweenparasiticcapacitanceandtimedelay.Alumpedcapacitanceinparallelwiththesecondary
windingprovidesareasonablebasisforsimulatingthebehaviourofthetransformerbutitisneverthelessan
approximation,anditisobviouslyafictionbecauseitdependsonRi.Thepointisthatasecondaryparallel
capacitancemovestheloadimpedanceclockwisearoundacircleofconstantconductanceasthefrequency
increases,whereasatimedelaymovestheoutputphasearoundacirclecentredonthegraphorigin(0,0).In
otherwords,apuretimedelayaffectsonlytheoutputphase,withoutaffectingthemagnitude,whereasaparallel
capacitanceaffectsboth.
Itwilltranspirethatthesimplerelationshipbetweendelayandselfcapacitancederivedaboveissufficientfor
thepurposeofbuildingaccuratebridges.Againsttheriskofbeingaccusedoflackofscientificrigourhowever,
itmustbesaidthatatransformerwindingisatransmissionline,andapuretimedelaywithnoattendant
impedancetransformationonlyoccurswhenthelineismatched.Wecanalwaysestimatethephaseshiftfroma
knowledgeofthelinelengthandthevelocityfactor,buttoquantifytheimpedancetransformationitis
necessarytoknowthecharacteristicresistance.
Intheapproximationthatthelineislossless,thecharacteristic(surge)resistanceis:
Rsurge=(L/C)
WhereListheinductanceperunitlengthandCisthecapacitanceperunitlength.Itistemptingtothinkthatthe
inductanceofthelinewillbethesameastheinductanceofthetransformerwinding,butthisisnotthecase.
Thinkingbacktotheideaofawaveandanantiwavecreatedbyamagneticdisturbancenotethattheupstream
lineandthedownstreamlineareinastateofclosemagneticcoupling,viathecore,andthatthemutual
inductanceisnegative.Thismeansthattheinductanceofthelineoverallislargelycancelled,justasitiswhen
thetwoconductorsofanordinarytransmissionlinearebroughtintoproximity.Indeed,itisthisabilitytocancel
itsowninductancewhenenergyisabstractedfromthesecondarythatallowsatransformertowork.Inanideal
transformer,thecancellationisperfect,andsowemaydeducethatthedistributedinductanceofthetransmission
lineistheleakageinductanceofthewinding.

Author'snote:
Becameembroiledindifficulttheoryatthispoint.

>>>writinginprogress.

>>>>>??Speculative[no,notanymore].
Theleakageinductanceofawindingonsmalltoroidaltransformerisusuallyabout1%ofthetotal(it
dependsonthepermeabilityofthecore).Henceforawindingwithaninductanceof10H,weexpectthe
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leakageinductancetobeoftheorderof100nH.Ifwewishtodeterminethesurgeresistance,ofcourse,wealso
needtodeterminethedistributedcapacitanceandthisisanotherperplexingproblem.Thecapacitancewill
certainlybegreaterthanthe8.85pF/moffreespace,anditwilldependontheproximityofotherobjects(such
astheFaradayshield).Thebestwecansay(viaasomewhatrecursiveargument)isthatitwillbeoftheorderof
the'selfcapacitance'Ci'.Inoneoftheauthor'sexperimentalcurrenttransformers,withasecondaryinductance
of9Handaleakageinductanceofabout90nH,itwasestimatedthatCi'wasabout9pF.Hence,forthis
transformer,afairguessfor(L/C)isthatitisoftheorderof100.Thisastonishingresultsuggeststhatthe
empiricallyderivedwisdomthatsmallRFtransformersgivenearlyidealperformancewhenterminatedin50
(orthereabouts)isinfluencedbytheunderlyingtransmissionlinebehaviour.Itmeansthattheimpedance
transformationoccurringwithinthewinding,seenasadeviationfromideality,issmallornegligible.Thelineis
verynearlymatchedwhentheloadisafewtensofOhmsandtheHFphaseshift,havingminimalassociated
changeinoutputmagnitude,lookslikeanalmostpuretimedelay.

>>>>>
Isthistrue?Themeasurementsof[Eval&Opt.sec.16a]suggestthatitis.Sheathhelix(slowwave)theory,on
theotherhandsuggeststhatthetimedelayshould,inprinciple,varywithfrequency.Furtherinvestigationis
required,butitappearsthatthesuperpositionoftheaxialslowwaveandthesuperluminalhelicalwaveresults
inawavethatdoeshaveaphasevelocityclosetoc.

>>>
Gapcapacitance,leadwirecapacitanceandpitchangleeffectincoilsoflowN.

14.Effectivesecondarycapacitance:
Althoughpropagationdelaymakesasubstantialcontributiontotheeffectivesecondarycapacitancerequiredfor
modellingpurposesitisbynomeansthewholeofthestory.Therearevariousothereffects,someofwhich
increasetheapparentcapacitance,andsomeofwhichreduceitandcanmakeitnegativeoverall.Failureto
recogniseandquantifytheseinfluencesgivesrisetoinconsistenciesofperformance

>>>>>
Thetopicsforthenextfewsectionsaretobebasedontheexperimentalworkdescribedin[Eval&Opt.].

14a.Faradayshieldprotrusioncapacitance.

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>>>writinginprogress

Throughlinemismatch.
Secondaryloadreactance.
PerturbationseriesforCi.

15.HFNeutralisation:

circuitsthatfakeatransformerwithnoselfcapacitance.

Loadportcompensationcapacitor.
Herzog'scompensation.

Quadraturecurrentinjection.NeugebauerandPerrault
ParasiticCapacitanceCancellationinFilterInductors.TCNeugebauerandDJPerreault.35thAnnual
IEEEPowerElectronicsSpecialistsCongerence,2004.Theparasiticcapacitanceofapowersupplyfilter
inductorcanbecancelledbyuseofanauxiliarywindingandacapacitor.

Quadraturevoltageaddition
Phaseshiftcompensation.
Delayingthevoltagesample.

DWKnight2008.
DavidKnightassertstherighttoberecognisedastheauthorofthiswork.

TXtoAe Ch6Contents

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