Power Technology and Engineering Vol. 37, No.

1, 2003

ON THE USE OF THE ULTIMATE CURRENT TRANSFORMER RATIO

IN DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THE BEHAVIOR
OF DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTIONS OF TRANSFORMERS

A. M. Dmitrenko1

Translated from Élektricheskie Stantsii, No. 2, February 2003, pp. 41 – 44.

A reduced ultimate ratio is used as a generalized parameter for describing current transformers (CT). This pa-
rameter is used to formulate the requirements to CT under steady state and transient operating conditions. It is
shown that the performance of differential protections under transient conditions of short circuits in the pro-
tected zone can be considerably increased by increasing the values of the reduced ultimate ratio of CT. This
will also reduce the transient imbalance currents at low through currents that appear, for example, upon
startup of a powerful engine.
Keywords: current transformer, differential protection, ultimate ratio, and through current.

The ultimate ratio K10 is the greatest ratio (I1/I1rat.ct,
where I1rat.ct is the primary rated current of the current trans-
former) of the primary current at which the total error å at the
specified secondary load does not exceed 10% [1]. Accord-
ing to [2], a current transformer (CT) used in differential pro-
tection circuits of a transformer should have an error of at
most 10% at maximum short circuit (SC) current outside the
protected zone. With the use of the parameter K10 this re-
quirement can be formulated as
¢ ³ I sc.ex.max
K 10 *
, (1)
¢ ³ (I1rat.ctK10)/Irat.t,
K 10
where K 10 ¢ is the reduced ultimate ratio, I sc.ex.max *
= Isc.ex.max/Irat.t; Irat.t is the rated current of the protected trans-
former.
The rated current of the protected transformer (autotrans-
former) can be calculated by the formula
grid, w2 is the number of coils of the secondary winding, sc is
the cross sectional area of the core (m2), I2rat is the secondary
rated current of the CT, Zw2 is the resistance of the secondary
winding of the CT in the T-connected equivalent circuit, and
Zl is the resistance of the load.
For circular cores produced from cold-rolled steel of
grades 3411 – 3413 Bmax » 1.8 T.
It can be seen from Eq. (3) that the parameter K10 can be
treated as a generalized parameter of a CT with connected
¢ will be a generalized parameter in a specific differ-
load. K 10
ential protection circuit. Using this ratio we can approxi-
(2) mately determine (accurate to the period of commercial fre-
quency T) the time ts before saturation of the core of the CT
under transient operating conditions [3], i.e.,
1
t s = T a ln (4)
1- F

I rat.t =
mS rat.t
, ¢
(1 - B r* )K 10
where F= ; (5)
3U rat.tap 2 pT a* I sc
*
|cos a |
where m is the ratio of the power of the winding to the rated
power Srat.t of the transformer (autotransformer) and Urat.tap is B r* = Br/Bmax, Br is the residual induction of the core of the
the rated voltage of the tap at the zero position of the VR. CT, Ta is the time constant of damping of the aperiodic com-
The ultimate ratio K10 can be calculated by an approxi- ponent of the SC current, T a* = Ta/T, I sc*
= Isc/Irat.t, and á is
mate formula the voltage phase at the moment of the SC.
4.44 B max fw 2 s c It follows from expressions (4) and (5) that the increase
K 10 = , (3) ¢ leads to an increase in the parameter F and hence to
in K 10
I 2rat | Z w2 + Z l |
an increase in the time before saturation ts in the transient
where Bmax is the maximum value of induction in the CT mode.
core at the ultimate ratio K10, f is the voltage frequency in the Russian powermen chiefly use sensitive differential re-
lays that react in this or that way to distortions of the form of
1
Chuvashia State University, Cheboksary, Russia. the curve of the differential current and (or) the arm currents

65
1570-145X/03/3701-0065$25.00 © 2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation
66 A. M. Dmitrenko

in the transient mode (DZT-21 and DZT-23 relays produced case the information parameters used for time grading (or
by the Cheboksary Electric Equipment Plant, SPAD346C re- blocking) of the mentioned devices for differential protection
lay and RET316 terminal produced by the “ABB Avtomati- are usually not high, and the time grading can be performed
zatsiya” Company of Cheboksary, etc.). only by choosing appropriate parameters of the restraining
From the standpoint of high-speed operation of such dif- characteristic.
ferential protections under transient SC conditions in the pro- In a quasi-linear mode the time constant of the secondary
tected zone we should know whether the time ts exceeds the CT contour can be determined from the approximate relation
commercial frequency period under SC currents that are
lower than the setting current of the differential cutoff. In the ¢
bK 10
*
T 2calc = , (6)
case of ts ³ T there will be no delay in the transient SC mode 2 pI a0
* *
B max I sc
in the protected zone. At ts < Ta a certain delay is possible,
but it also decreases with increase in the parameter K 10 ¢ . For *
where T 2calc = T2calc/T, â is a parameter characterizing the
example, according to the data of [4] the delay time of relay differential magnetic permeability of the electrotechnical
*
DZT-21 in the transient SC mode in the zone at I sc = 10 and steel of the core of the CT, I a0 *
¢ m , and Ia0 is the
= Ia0/I sc
á = 0 decreases by about a factor of 3.5 when the parameter aperiodic component (the mean value for the period T) of the
¢ increases from 10 to 20.
K 10 magnetization current of the CT.
With allowance for the facts presented above it is expedi- *
Knowing T 2calc we find the relative value of the first har-
ent to stop the choice of the transformation ratio for CT with ¢ is as-
monics of the magnetization current I 0* (the current I cs
secondary rated current of 5 A, which are mounted on the
side of the highest (HV) and intermediate (IV) voltages, on sumed to be the base), i.e.,
the highest value of the transformation ratio (if the CT has
1
several ratios like, for example, the TVT-type current trans- I 0* = . (7)
formers incorporated into a line transformer). 1 + ( 2 pT 2calc
*
)2
Equations (3) and (2) can be used to show that at the
*
maximum transformation ratio of a CT the value of the pa- Expressions (6) and (7) show that the time constant T 2calc
rameter K 10 ¢ is the highest. This creates no obstacles from the increases with the growth in K 10 ¢ , and the current I 0* de-
standpoint of the possibilities of the DZT-21 relay, because creases. Consequently, the first harmonics of the imbalance
the AT-31 current autotransformer provides a wide range of current of the differential protection in the transient mode
current leveling. can be decreased by raising the parameter K 10¢ .
The RET316 terminal is rated for currents of 1, 2, and Let us consider the protection of a TRDNS-25000/10
5 A, which also (together with the digital leveling) provides house transformer of a thermal power plant. We have the fol-
successful functioning in the mentioned cases. The RET316 lowing parameters of the transformer and the CT: the range
terminal is used on any side of the protected transformer with of voltage regulation under load ±9%, the rated voltages
groups of CT connected by the “star with neutral conductor” 10.5/6.3 kV, the group of winding connection D/D-D-0-0,
pattern. As compared to the CT groups connected into a the transformers of the protection current are connected into
delta, which are traditionally used on the HV and IV sides, a “star with neutral conductor” on all sides and have transfor-
this reduces the design load of the CT by about a factor of 3 mation ratios of 2000/5 on the HV side and 1500/5 on the
in three-phase SC and correspondingly increases the value of LV side.
the parameter K 10 ¢ . The load includes an asynchronous 5000-kW engine.
At the same time, we should note that in the case of the We find the rated current of the transformer on the HV
use of CT with a secondary rated current of 1 A and a high side, i.e.,
I1rat.ct/Irat.t ratio there may arise problems with digital level-
ing of the currents. For such situations the “ABB Avtomati- 25,000
zatsiya” Company produces terminal RET316 with rated Irat.t = = 1376 A.
10.5 3
currents of 0.2 or 0.333 A on special order.
On the side of the lower voltage (LV) of the protected We take into account that the current Ist » 2675 A ap-
transformer the ratio I1rat.ct/Irat.t usually does not exceed 2 (in pears upon the startup of the asynchronous engine.
many cases it is close to 1). Current transformers rated for We find the ratio of the reduced startup current to the
24 kV and lower voltages are produced in the Russian Feder- rated current of the transformer on the HV side, i.e.,
ation only for a secondary rated current of 5 A. Such CT can
be saturated under transient operating conditions at low val- I ¢st 6.3 ´ 2675
ues of I sc *
, which is responsible for the appearance of rela- = = 116
. ,
I rat.t 10.5 ´ 1376
tively high imbalance currents (at a high value of K 10 ¢ on the
side of HV). According to [5], a quasi-linear transient mode which determines the ratio of the through current for the dif-
of CT operation is possible at external SC and I sc *
£ 2. In this ferential protection of the transformer.
On the Use of the Ultimate Current Transformer Ratio 67

We assume that K 10¢ of the CT on the LV side has a lower
limiting value determined by inequality (1). In some cases
(more powerful CT, greater ratio I1rat.ct/Irat.t, etc.) the parame-
¢ on the HV side is considerably higher. In this case
ter K 10
and for the startup mode of the engine the CT is virtually not
saturated on the HV side. Then the imbalance current is de-
termined by the magnetization current of the CT on the LV
side. A theoretical analysis and a study of actual oscillograms
of differential protection currents in the process of the engine
startup show that the current I 0* may attain 0.4. With allow-
ance for this fact the coefficient Ktr that allows for the tran-
sient mode in the calculation of the imbalance current should
be assumed to be equal to 4.0.
It is known from [5] that the braking factor of the
DZT-21 relay can be calculated by the expression
*
I d.i
k b ³ K cutoff I im.calc
* *
I thr -
K l.t - I t* - I t.i
*
* ( R w2 + R l ) 2 + X w2
where I d.i is the relative initial differential pickup current
and Kl.t is the coefficient describing the lowering of the brak-
ing current in the transient mode.
Under the considered operating conditions we may chose
*
I thr = I t* = 1.6, Kl.t = 0.95, DU reg
*
= 0.09, and Df lev
*
= 0.05.
Since the value of Ktr is known quite exactly, we may as-
sume that Kcutoff = 1.15. The settings of the DZT-21 relay are
*
chosen as follows: I d.i *
= 0.3 and I t.i = 0.6.
Using the known formula for calculating the imbalance
current
the protection under coil short circuits in the transformer
windings, which appear under load.
It can be seen from Eq. (9) that the braking can be de-
creased by reducing Ktr. This can be provided by raising the
parameter K 10 ¢ . In the considered transient mode at
¢ £ 25 we may choose Ktr = 2.5 and Kl.t = 1.0, which
20 £ K 10
will provide time grading at a braking factor v of at most 0.5.
The requisite values of K10 can be chosen from the
curves of ultimate ratios presented in [6] and other publica-
tions.
For CT of advanced design only the rated ultimate ratios
K10rat are often presented for the rated load power Sl.rat [1].
The rated load power has cos öl.rat = 0.8. Therefore, we use
Eq. (3) to obtain the following expression for the active load
of the CT:
, (8) K 10rat ( R w2 + 0.8 Z l.rat ) 2 + ( X w2 + 0.6 Z l.rat ) 2
K 10 = , (10)
2
where Zl.rat = Sl.rat/I 2rat
2
.
It is rather difficult to calculate the dissipative reactance
of the secondary winding Xw2 of the CT with appropriate ac-
curacy. At the same time, the analysis made in [1] shows that
for virtually every modern CT design used in circuits of dif-
ferential protection the condition Xw2 < 0.5Rw2 is obeyed.
Taking this into account we may assume that Xw2 » 0 and
calculate K10 by an approximate formula

*
I im.i = Ktrå* + DU reg
*
+ Df lev
*
2
K 10rat R w2 + 16
. R w2 Z l.rat + Z l.rat
2
K 10 » . (11)
and assuming that å* = 0.1, we find from Eq. (8) that R w2 + R l

. ( 4.0 ´ 01
115 . + 0.09 + 0.05) ´ 116
. - 0.3
kb ³ = 0.84. The error in the calculation by formula (11) does not ex-
0.95 ´ 116
. - 0.6 ceed 10%, and the calculated values are lower than the actual
With a certain margin we may assume that kb = 0.9, ones.
*
which is indeed used in practice. If we take I d.i = 0.4, we will The suggested method for calculating ultimate ratios has
constraints connected with the fact that the current trans-
obtain kb ³ 0.64. With a certain margin we choose kb = 0.7.
This variant of setting is used in practice. formers rated for primary currents ³6000 A function in the
The braking factor v of the RET316 terminal can be cal- transient mode at quite high intensities of the magnetic field
culated by the formula in the core (even at I sc *
£ 2). This refers to CT of the
TShV-15, TSh-20 and other types operating on the generator
K cutoff ( K tr e * + DU reg
*
+ Df lev
*)
voltage. Equations (3) and (11) are not suitable for such cur-
v³ , (9)
K l.t rent transformers because they may yield too high errors. A
more detailed consideration of this problem is outside the
where Kcutoff = 1.1 – 1.15, Df lev
*
= 0.02, and å* = 0.1. framework of the present work.
For the braking mode employed in the RET316 terminal
we have Kl.t » 0.9 for the considered operating conditions. CONCLUSIONS
At Kcutoff = 1.15 we find from Eq. (9) that
. ( 4.0 ´ 01
115 . + 0.09 + 0.2 ) The use of an ultimate ratio K ¢10 enhanced with respect
v³ = 0.65. to the boundary values determined by expression (1) makes
0.9
it possible to raise the quality of operation of modern differ-
The RET316 terminal has settings for a braking factor v ential protections of transformers rated for a current of up to
not exceeding 0.5, which provides enhanced sensitivity of 6000 A.
68
REFERENCES
1. V. V. Afanas’ev, N. M. Adon’ev, V. M. Kibel, et al., Current
Transformers [in Russian], Énergoatomizdat, Leningrad (1989).
2. Rules for Designing Electric Power Plants [in Russian], Énergo-
atomizdat, Moscow (1985).
3. A. M. Dmitrenko, “Time grading of the differential protection of
a transformer from transient imbalance currents under external
short circuits,” Élektrichestvo, No. 12 (1991).
A. M. Dmitrenko
4. A. M. Dmitrenko and M. G. Lint, “Effect of transient processes
on the performance of differential protection DZT-21,” Élektr.
Stantsii, No. 6 (1982).
5. A. M. Dmitrenko, “Allowance for transient processes in the
choice of parameters of pulse-time differential protections of
transformers (autotransformers),” Élektrichestvo, No. 1 (1995).
6. E. P. Korolev and E. M. Liberzon, Calculation of Permissible
Loads in Current Circuits of Relay Protection [in Russian], Éner-
giya, Moscow (1980).