A vital issue to the performance of protection systems.

I would first recommend buying a copy of IEC 61869-2 which details all the parameters for
specifying CTs. (The previous specification was IEC 60044. In Australia the Standard used
to be AS 1675) The alternative is ANSI C57-13

In principle though, for non-differential protection you can generally choose a class P CT.
For this you need to know

1. the CT ratio, accuracy (generally 10% will do for protection),

2. maximum fault current, and
3. the burden (leads plus relays) on the CT.

You then need to calculate the required output VA upto the max fault current for the
maximum burden. This is essentially an Ohms Law calculation making sure the voltage
developed at the CT terminals at the maximum fault current is sufficient to push the max fault
current through the connected impedance. Note if old electromechanical relays, the worst
case biggest burden may in fact be an earth fault relay.

Although not specifically required for P class, you should also consider Excitation current as
the effective setting of the relay is:
Ieff = Isetting + n.Iexcitation where n is number of CTs
e.g. if for an earth fault setting with a 4-CT arrangement, Isetting = 5% and Iexcitation = 5%, the
effective setting is 25% so what you think is sensitive setting might not be !!

For differential protection you invariably need class PX.

The kneepoint requirement for this is way different to the terminal voltage requirement
associated with non-differential applications.
Calculating the Vkp, as the "internal" voltage rather than the terminal voltage, is to ensure
that one CT will force current through the other CT when it is saturated during an external
fault
i.e. also applying Ohms Law but as one CT connected to another CT and ignoring the
differential relay parallel connection a snot involved for through faults:
Vkpmin >= Ifmax x 2 x (Rct + Rloop)

Note that there is a direct relationship between the manufacturers Rct and their Vkp so you
may have to specify the formula to be satisfied rather than the actual values - i.e. if they use a
lower Rct, then they could have a lower Vkp.

In specifying PX class, it is not simply sufficient to ensure that Vkp exceeds the
minimum. The objective is to minimise dynamic performance at all current levels with
different excitation currents, hence the slope of the magnetising curve needs to be as close as
possible - these two CTs comply to the minimum Vkp require and have the same Excitation
current but may lead to some reduction in stability for through currents due to the different
slopes of {Vkp2 / Ie2 } > {Vkp1 / Ie1 }. For a given current flowing through both CTs
requiring a certain voltage, the different excitation currents mean there will be a different
outpout current and hence will be seen as a false differential
 (click to enlarge)

The other thing to note here is that PX specifies a WINDING Ratio, not a current ratio - the
difference is subtle but in a P class the turns are adjusted to achieve a certain current ratio
accuracy where as PX you want the CTs to be physically identical with exactly the same
number of turns.
Consider two P class CTs connected in Merz-Price circulating current connection for a High
Impedance Differential application.
Both CTs are 10P20 .... so at 20 x rated current they are within 10% accuracy
Hence for a 1 A rated current CT, at maximum fault current of 20 x rated one could be
producing 18 A and the other producing 22 A. This means there could be a false differential
current of as much as 4 A which can ONLY flow through the relay.
Or a 5 A rated current, at maximum fault current of 20 x rated, one is producing 90 A and the
other 110 A. This is a false differential of as much as 20 A flowing through the relay.

Refer this child page to this page : PX class is not specified as Burden, P class is

PX Class

PX is generally used in circulating current Merz-Price current differential schemes - in simple

terms two CTs - one incoming and one outgoing of the zone - and they are connected in
parallel.

As such during normal load conditions the current circulates around the two CTs - therefore
there is no relay burden connected to them for 'normal' load or through fault current so it is
pointless to specify a burden in the CT spec.

Furthermore, we design differential relays to have "no" current in the relay during normal
load or through fault, but when there is an internal fault the current is perhaps 20x rated
current flowing into the relay. Hence the accuracy of the CT differential current flowing into
the relay is essentially irrelevant as it is going to be perhaps 1000 x the pick up setting of the
relay (e.g. Ifmax = 20 A, Ipickup = 0.02 A)

We also know for HiZ diff, during internal fault the CTs will saturate HEAVILY so the r.m.s.
accuracy is totally irrelevant since the waveform looks much like this:
Blue line is expected unsaturated output,
Black line is saturated output due to excessive burden
(based on IEEE tool: http://www.pes-psrc.org/Reports/CT_SAT%2010-01-03.zip )

What we do need during load or external fault conditions is that CTs on each 'leg' of the
differential circuit must produce EXACTLY the same current otherwise the difference would
flow into the relay (or be calculated by the relay from independent inputs as representing a
differential current) and hence possibly cause a trip - this is precisely what we DON'T want
for through current conditions - we don't care if it is "inaccurate" as a ratio but they must both
be the same "inaccuracy".

Recognising that there will always be some inaccuracy of the CT output, the only way to
ensure the CTs that are being connected in parallel are all "identically inaccurate" over all
current magnitudes is to specify the physical construction of the CTs.
This applies to CTs for physically or "numerically" paralleled for all the CTs:

 in different bays for busbar protection; or

 for Restricted Earth Fault differential; or
 at each end of winding differential on rotating plant; or
 at each end of a line differential application.

The physical construction of PX CTs is indicated by these four factors:

400 0.02 PX 100 0.5

P Class CT

On the other hand, P class CTs are all about connecting a relay to a single CT usually in a
Holmgren type connection.
In that situation we want to make sure the current is accurately represented on the secondary
up to the maximum multiple of rated current for a particular value of burden within a certain
accuracy.
Hence P class specifies things that relate to the connected load

2000/5 15 VA 5 P 20

Beware of obsolete Australian Standard AS1675 P class

Although it looks very similar specification terms, AS 1675 P class CTs are VERY different.
The hint as to whether a given P class reference is AS 1675 is usually that AS 1675 does not
mention the term VA after the ratio, and there is usually two terms after the P because the
Voltage has been inserted (not always as the ALF is sometimes optional or inferred i.e. 5P60
does not mean an ALF of 60 x rated).

The equivalent for the above 2000/5 15 VA 5P20 would be

2000/5 5 P 60 F20

AS 1675 : 1986 includes a converter in Appendix H :

click to enlarge

1111111111111111111111111111111111111

I reproduce below, excerpts from my training sessions on CTs:

"Normally protection CTs like 5P, 10P or 15P are used in almost all protection schemes.
But, for Unit Protection Schemes like Differential, REF, etc., these CTs are not
preferred. Why?

In unit protection schemes, it is very very important that the scheme operates only and
only for the internal faults and must remain stable for all external faults. That is, when
the unit protection scheme operates, one can be pretty sure that something is wrong
within the protected equipment.

Also, unit protection schemes are employed for very critical equipment in the network.
As such, whenever any unit protection scheme operates, all hell breaks loose. And one
cannot put back the equipment into service, without conducting an array of tests and
ensuring that the equipment is fit to be put back to service. But, this will take time and
effort. And until such time, the plant will be shut down.

So, it is all the more imperative that the unit protection scheme operates only for
genuine internal faults and NOT for any external faults.

Now, if we employ conventional protection class CTs like 5P or 10P for this application,
let us see what happens. Lets us assume that one has selected 5P10 Class CTs for a Unit
Protection Scheme. Let us say, the relay setting is 10%; this means that any differential
current of 10% will operate the relay. Now, a 5P10 CT means that the CT will maintain
its accuracy at least up to 10 times the rated current. This means that the CT will not
saturate at least up to 10 times the rated current.

This also means that the CT may saturate anywhere after 10 times its rated current.
This level will differ for different CTs. Among the same two 5P10 Class CTs, one may
saturate at 12 times and the other may saturate at 13.5 times. In such a condition,
during a through fault condition, there will be differential current and the relay will
operate for external faults too. Even when both CTs are identically manufactured, the
deterioration of its core properties over time may differ and yet they may behave
differently over time.

Also, even when the CTs may be supplying to unit protection scheme of the same
equipment, it is highly impossible that all the CTs of the scheme will be located at the
same place. The incoming side CTs or the outgoing side CTs may have to be located far
away from the relay location, thereby incurring extended lead lengths, thus imposing
additional burden on the CTs. This increased burden will also shift the saturation level,
as we have already seen.

Thus again, during a through fault condition, there will be differential current and the
relay will operate for external faults too.

There are many other similar factors contributing to the maloperation of unit
protection schemes, when conventional protection class CTs are employed. Thus, it has
called for a special class of CTs for such applications. That Special Class is called Class
PS. (PS is the abbreviation of the French Word "Protection Speciale")

Here, instead of generalising on the minimum saturation level of the CT, the users have
to exactly specify the saturation level of the CT. This is called the Knee Point Voltage
(VKP), as it appears as a human-knee in the CT Magnetisation Characteristics. This
specification will take into account the maximum through fault current, the actual lead
burden, the relay burden & the resistance of the CT secondary winding, as also a factor
of safety.

The minimum Knee Point Voltage for a given PS Class CT is calculated by:

VKP = K * I(f)s (RCT + RB),

where,

If(s) = Maximum thro fault current as reflected at the CT

secondary terminals ( = If(P) / CT Ratio)

RCT = CT Secondary Winding Resistance

RB = Connected Burden, includes the relay burden & the burden

of the connecting leads

K = Factor of Safety, normally taken as 2

VKP = Knee Point Voltage of the CT

As can be seen from the above formula, here the customer is specifying the level of
saturation, duly taking into account the maximum possible fault current in his network,
the actual burden connected to the CT, etc. If the factor of safety is taken as two, this
means that at least up to two times the maximum possible fault current the CTs will not
saturate. Which also means that at the maximum possible fault current, both the
incoming and outgoing side CT characteristics would exactly coincide. That is, their
secondary currents would match exactly and the scheme would not operate for any
external fault".