Journal of ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, VOL 69 (2018), NO6, 426–430

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Demagnetization of instrument transformers before calibration

∗ ∗∗
Karel Draxler , Renata Styblı́ková

This paper describes the influence of magnetization of an instrument current transformer (ICT) core on ICT errors, and
presents a procedure for demagnetizing an ICT. The dependence of ICT errors on the magnetization of the ICT core for
different magnetic materials is given in the paper, together with a detailed procedure for ICT demagnetization. The results of
experiments are summarized, and conclusions are drawn on when ICT demagnetization is necessary, and on how to prevent
the destruction of an ICT due to its winding being punctured.
K e y w o r d s: instrument current transformer, AC current, ratio error, phase displacement, magnetization

1 Introduction is based on the phasor diagram in Fig. 1, which plots

the end parts of the phasors of primary magnetomotive
Most ICTs are placed in circuits to make electrical en- force with magnitude N1 I1 and secondary magnetomo-
ergy measurements. ICT parameters must therefore be tive force with magnitude N2 I2 where (N1 , N2 are the
verified before they are set into operation. ICT verifica- numbers of turns of the primary and secondary wind-
tion is usually performed using a comparative method. ings, while I1 , I2 are the primary and secondary cur-
The ICT under test is compared with a standard [1], [2]. rents). The errors are caused by the magnetomotive force
ICT errors may be due to magnetization of their core, in- N1 Im where (Im is the component of the primary current
duced by the presence of a DC component in the primary required to induce magnetic flux density B in the ICT
current, as described in [3], [4], or by the primary current core). According to the phasor diagram, the current ratio
suddenly being switched off. This particularly concerns error can be expressed as
ICTs whose errors must correspond to required values in
the range of 5% to 120%, or 1% to 120% of the rated pri- ∆Iε I0m sin(δ + Ψ)
εI = =
mary current IR . Magnetization of the core has a major I1 I1
impact on ICT errors, especially when the measuring cur- ∆Iϕ I0m cos(δ + Ψ)
ϕI ≈ tg ϕI = = (1)
rents are less than 10% of IR . Instrument voltage trans- I1 I1
formers (IVTs) operate in the range of 80% to 120% of the Bls
voltage nominal value UR and with induction in the core where: I0m = .
µ0 µa N 1
of between 0.6 T and 1 T. Their core is therefore demag-
netized during operation. Standard ICTs with accuracy of
0.05% or better operate mostly with induction of 0.3 T or
less (depending on the core material used), and they may
also become partially magnetized relatively easily when
the resistance of the secondary ICT winding is measured.
This paper describes the procedure for demagnetizing an
ICT. It focuses mainly on the demagnetization of stan-
dard ICTs before they are calibrated, with reference to
the compliance of the insulation levels of the individual
windings [5].

2 Errors of instrument current transformers

Fig. 1. ICT phasor diagram
A detailed derivation of the dependence of ICT er-
rors on the magnetic parameters of the core, its dimen-
sions and the number of turns of the primary and sec- The phase displacement (ϕI ) may be expressed as in
ondary ICT windings can be found in [6]. The derivation (1) for small enough angles only. Above, ls - is the mean

* Department of Measurement, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic,
[email protected],** Department of Electromagnetic Quantities, Laboratory of Fundamental Metrology in Prague, Czech Metrology
Institute, Brno, Czech Republic, [email protected]

DOI: 10.2478/jee-2018–0066, Print (till 2015) ISSN 1335-3632, On-line ISSN 1339-309X c 2018FEI STU
 Journal of ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 69 (2018), NO6 427

Fig. 2. Layout for measurements of (a) – apparent permeability, and (b) – the loss angle of a toroidal circuit

magnetic path in ICT core, µ0 = 4π × 10−7 H/mq is where S - is the cross section area of a (toroidal) core.
the magnetic constant, µa - is the apparent permeability Further, from phase displacement of measured voltages
pertaining to magnetic flux density B , δ - is the loss V1H and V1B one can directly determine the loss angle δ .
angle of the core, and Ψ - is phase displacement due the The dependence of the apparent permeability and the
ICT burden. loss angle in ferromagnetics in demagnetized and mag-
Magnetization of the ICT core is the state when a DC netized state are shown in Fig. 3 to Fig. 6. The mea-
magnetic flux is present in the toroidal ICT core at zero surements were made for Trafoker and for a newly-used
magnetic field intensity. nanocrystalline material.
A small alternating magnetic field value induced by a The results demonstrate that both materials show the
measured current I1 does not demagnetize the core, and effect of magnetizing on the decrease in apparent perme-
this results in a change in the apparent permeability µa ability µa , and on the increase in loss angle δ . This results
and in the loss angle of the ferromagnetic δ . According in an increase in ICT errors when measuring small cur-
to (1), this corresponds to the change in the ratio error rents (eg up to 20% of IN ), when the core material is not
εI and the phase displacement δI . demagnetized by the measured current. The influence of
magnetizing is evident especially in the Trafoker material,
3 Influence of magnetization on the and applies to a much less extent to the nanocrystalline
values of the apparent permeability material.
and the loss angle of ferromagnetics

The apparent permeability and the loss angle of ferro- 4 ICT errors caused by a magnetized core
magnetics was measured in the layout shown in Fig. 2.
The toroid is magnetized by current IS at a frequency Several sources can cause magnetization of the ICT
(f ) of 50 Hz from a supply transformer using a power core when it is used in a power network. The source may
amplifier. The amplifier is excited by the output voltage be magnetization due to a current pulse when there is a
of the SR830 lock-in generator. The serial resistor RS = lightning strike, or when the measured current is switched
0.1 Ω, so the sine-wave magnetic flux density B is ensured off at the moment of the maximum magnitude of the mag-
with the use of a higher number of magnetizing turns N1 . netic flux density. The ICT may also be magnetized if its
The lock-in amplifier measures in the mode of voltage transformation ratio is selected incorrectly, or if the sec-
measurements V1B or V1H and their phase displacement ondary circuit is suddenly disconnected, or if the current
related to the internal reference of the amplifier. The is suddenly switched off. In all these cases, the core re-
maximum value of the fundamental harmonic component mains magnetized to the value of the remanent magnetic
of the magnetic field intensity H1m can be expressed as flux density Br on the dynamic hysteresis loop. The Br
√ N1 V1H value depends on the magnitude of the measured current
H1m = 2 (2) and the shape of the dynamic hysteresis loop. If the mea-
Rs ls
sured current is small (eg 10% IN ), switching off need
where V1H is the RMS value of the fundamental harmonic not be reflected in ICT errors. An example of the mag-
component, measured by a lock-in amplifier in VS mode. netizing effect of an ICT with a Trafoker material core
By measuring the fundamental harmonic component of is shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. The ICT was magnetized
voltage V1B one can determine the apparent permeability to saturation by a DC current of 15 A into its secondary
B1m V1B RS lS winding for 10 seconds. Then the current was gradually
µa = H1m = √ (3)
µ0 4.44µ0 2V1H N1 N2 f S lowered to zero.
428 K. Draxler, R. Styblı́ková: DEMAGNETIZATION OF INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS BEFORE CALIBRATION

Fig. 3. Dependence of apparent permeability µa versus magnetic Fig. 4. Dependence of loss angle δ versus magnetic flux density
flux density B , material trafoker B , material trafoker

Fig. 5. Dependence of apparent permeability µa versus magnetic Fig. 6. Dependence of loss angle δ versus magnetic flux density
versus magnetic flux density B , nanocrystalline material B , nanocrystalline material

5 ICT demagnetization however, only indicative. Better precision of the satura-

tion indication can be achieved using the V2 voltmeter,
The procedure recommends demagnetization of each which is set to measure the arithmetic mean value of the
ICT before it is calibrated. For different types of trans- U2m voltage according to
formers, demagnetizing takes different lengths of time, U2m
because different current values are set. In standard veri- Bmax = (4)
4f SNB
fications, an ICT is demagnetized when its errors are sig-
nificantly different from the values specified by the manu- where NB - is the number of turns of the picking winding.
facturer, or if its errors with a constant measured current Saturation of the material is indicated when the mag-
are unstable. The demagnetization procedure is shown in nitude of current I1 increases and the mean value U2m
the layout in Fig. 9. Two ICT windings are used.when of voltage U2 does not change, or the changes are very
demagnetization is carried out. Generally, the secondary small. When current I1 is increased by 10% of its existing
winding NS (or the winding with the biggest number of value, voltage U2m increases by less than 1% of its actual
turns) is fed by demagnetization current IS . Other ICT value.
windings must be open, or must be loaded in such a way
that the current passing through these winding is less 5.2 Procedure for ICT core demagnetization
than 1 mA. Demagnetization is performed in 3 steps. The first step
is carried out with short-circuited resistors RS1 and RS2 ,
5.1 Setting maximum magnetic flux density Bmax in and current I1 is set to achieve saturation of the ICT core.
the ICT core This means that voltage U2m must be reached. Simulta-
neously, the effective value of current I1 is measured so
The maximum magnetic flux density Bmax in the core that the current loading of the winding NH and the effec-
is adjusted by increasing the magnetizing current I1 . tive value of the voltage U1 are not exceeded. The second
When Bmax is reached, it is indicated on primary wind- step is performed by setting the value of resistor RS1 in
ing NB with a smaller number of turns. Excessively high such a way that half the value of magnetic flux density
induced voltage is lowered using the divider formed by re- Bmax is reached. This corresponds to voltage U2m /2 at
sistors R1 and R2 , which is designed in such a way that the same voltage U1 of the source as in the previous step.
current I2 ≤ 1 mA. The saturation is reflected on an os- In the same way, resistor RS2 is set in such a way
cilloscope by a distortion of the harmonic course with a that the voltage of U1 corresponds to the mean volt-
significant increase in the peak value. This indication is, age U2 = U2m /10 . After RS1 and RS2 have been set
 Journal of ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 69 (2018), NO6 429

Fig. 7. Ratio error εI of an ICT with a trafoker core (ratio Fig. 8. Phase displacement δI of an ICT with a trafoker core (ratio
I1N /I2N =4, real burden Z = 15 VA) as a function of the applied I1N /I2N = 4, real burden Z=15 VA) as a function of the applied
primary current I1 (measured in demagnetized state from 120% I1N primary current I1 (measured in demagnetized state from 120% of
to zero and by magnetization up to remanence Br from zero up to I1N to zero and by magnetization up to remanence Br from zero
120% of I1N ) up to 120% of I1N )

Fig. 9. Layout for ICT demagnetization

to the required values, demagnetization is gradually re- here, and to demagnetize their cores in three steps be-
peated in the steps described above. The same setting of fore they are used or calibrated.
the controllable voltage source U1 enables a very slow • When demagnetizing, it is necessary to measure the
and smooth decrease in the second and third step to the voltage on the open winding with the largest number
zero point of current I1 . Thus careful demagnetization is of turns in order to prevent it breaking down, and to
achieved. prevent destruction of the transformer. For unloaded
secondary windings, the peak output voltage must not
exceed 4 kV.
6 Conclusion

• It is clear from the results that ICT magnetization References

always causes errors if the measured current lies in the
area of (2 to 20)% of its nominal value, as the measured [1] L. Trigo, G. Aristoy, A. Santos and D. Slomovitz, On Site
current does not demagnetize the ICT core. Calibration of Current Transformers, Proc. of I2MTC 2014,
pp.1245-1246.
• ICTs of accuracy class 0.2 or of accuracy class 0.5
[2] P. Mlejnek, P. Kaspar and K. Draxler, Measurement of Ratio
mostly have cores made from a silicon steel, and they Error and Phase Displacement of Current Transformers, EMSA
are designed in such a way that when 120% of rated ’06 - 6th European Magnetic Sensors and Actuators Conference.
current In is reached, the ICT is demagnetized, and Bilbao, University of the Basque Country, 2006, pp.39.
not magnetization appears when it is being calibrated. [3] K. Draxler and R. Styblikova, Effect of Magnetization on In-
strument Transformers Errors, Journal of Electrical Engineer-
• ICTs of accuracy class 0.1 and better (laboratory and
ing, 2010, 61(7/s), pp.50-53, ISSN 1335-3632.
standard ICTs) usually have cores made from a high-
[4] K. Draxler, M. Ulvr and R. Styblikova, Measuring of Remanent
quality soft magnetic material, and is not safe to de- Factor on Current Transformers, Magnetic Measurements 2012,
magnetize them by applying a measured current. It is Bratislava, Slovak University of Technology, 2012, pp.35, ISBN
therefore recommended to use the procedure described 978-80-227-3770-8.
430 K. Draxler, R. Styblı́ková: DEMAGNETIZATION OF INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS BEFORE CALIBRATION

[5] J. Bauer, P. Ripka, K. Draxler and R. Styblikova, Demagne- Engineering of the CTU in Prague. His research interests are in
tization of Current Transformers Using PWM Burden, IEEE implementation of magnetic elements in measuring techniques
Transactions on Magnetics, 2015, 51(1), ISSN 0018-9464.
and metrology and aviation instrumentation. He collaborates
[6] K. Draxler and R. Styblikova, Use of Instrument Current
with the Czech Metrology Institute in the area of high current
Transformers in Wider Frequency Range, IMEKO - XV World
Congress, Osaka 1999, Vol.VI - TC-8, TC-11, pp.113-117, ISBN and voltage measurement.
4-907764-05-7. Renata Styblı́ková (Dipl-Eng, PhD) was born in the
Received 13 February 2018 Czech Republic in 1957. She received her masters degree in
measurement techniques from the Czech Technical University
in Prague in 1981 and completed her PhD studies in 2007. She
Karel Draxler (Assoc Prof, Dipl-Eng, CSc) was born in
the Czech Republic in 1940. He received his master degree has been working at the Czech Metrology Institute since 1981,
in radio engineering from the Czech Technical University in and she is now head of the Department of Electromagnetic
Prague in 1963 and completed his doctoral studies in 1974. Quantities of the Laboratory of Fundamental Metrology in
He defended his inaugural dissertation in 1998. He is working Prague. Her research interest is metrology in the area of high
at the department of measurement of the Faculty of Electrical currents and voltages.