Characterization of current transformers in the presence of harmonic distortion

The CTs performance under distorted conditions are usually characterized by means of the frequency response test. In this paper a new way to characterize CTs, closer to real operative conditions, is proposed. The harmonic phase angle and ratio errors are measured when the CTs are excited with a nonsinusoidal current composed of a fundamental and one harmonic, with adjustable phase shift. The errors measured using the new approach were found larger than the ones obtained with the frequency response. This suggests that frequency response is not a reliable method to evaluate the CT performance under distorted conditions. ©2008 IEEE.