Measurement 43 (2010) 960965

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Measurement
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement

An innovative combined electronic instrument transformer applied

in high voltage lines
Chen Qing a,b,*, Li Hong-bin a, Huang Ben-xiong b
a
b

CEEE of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

EI of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 30 April 2009
Received in revised form 24 February 2010
Accepted 8 April 2010
Available online 14 April 2010
Keywords:
Rogowski Coil
Cylindrical capacitor
High voltage
Measurement

a b s t r a c t
For better performances, electronic instrument transformers are used to replace conventional electro-magnetic inductive current or potential transformers based on ferrous cores
and windings to measure heavy current and high voltage in power system. But unpredictable stability, high price and unsatisfactory life hold back their industrializations. Employing the simple but reliable insulation structure of conventional transformer and the
unconventional sensing methods of electronic transformers at the same time, an innovative combined electronic instrument transformer is presented in this paper. Performances
of the prototype are estimated through relative tests, and the novel design has low price,
high accuracy, satisfactory stability, very wide frequency response and long operation life,
and therefore is well adapted to any voltage level up to 750 kV.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Conventional current transformers (CTs) and potential
transformers (PTs) have been widely used in high voltage
electric power systems because of their well understood
technologies and high reliability. However, recent demands
for larger capacity or higher voltage level have led to an increase in size and price of CTs and PTs. It is most important
that transient non-sinusoidal primary high voltage or heavy
current will make the magnetic cores of traditional PTs or
CTs saturated, and the distorted secondary signals will bring
many difculties to relay protections in power system.
In order to get small size, light weight, low price, wide
bandwidth and satisfactory transient performance, electronic current transformers (ECTs) and electronic voltage
transformers (EVTs) have been researched and designed
to replace the traditional CTs and PTs [13]. Unconventional sensing methods bring simple insulation structures
and excellent dynamic performances to electronic instru-

* Corresponding author at: CEEE of Huazhong University of Science and

Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
E-mail address: wfr101@163.com (C. Qing).
0263-2241/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.measurement.2010.04.001

ment transformers, but the number of ECTs and EVTs is

still much less than that of traditional CTs and PTs so far.
Unpredictable stabilities and high prices hold back their
industrializations. For example, the price of 220 kV optical
voltage sensor produced by NXTPHASE is more than
100,000$, but a conventional 220 kV PT is priced no more
than 10,000$. Furthermore, the operation lives of existing
ECTs and EVTs are much shorter than those of conventional
CTs and PTs and cannot meet the requirements of power
systems. For example, hybrid optical current transformer
(HOCT), as the most popular ECT, consists of three parts:
high voltage system, optical transmission system and low
voltage system. The laser energy transmission system with
1 W rated power has high price over 1500$ and short continuous operation life less than 10,000 h, which restricts
the mass production and application of HOCT greatly.
This paper will present an innovative combined electronic transformer. The new design employs the simple
but reliable insulation structure of conventional instrument transformer and the unconventional sensing methods of ECTs and EVTs at the same time. Then, the high
voltage and heavy current in power line can be measured
correctly. Relative tests will be carried out to reveal the

C. Qing et al. / Measurement 43 (2010) 960965

merits of the novel combined electronic transformer: low

price, high accuracy, satisfactory stability, very wide frequency response, long operation life and so on.

961

2. Novel electronic transformer

the weakest part of the fully inverted current transformer.

The vast majority of unconventional inverted current
transformer accidents occur around the basin insulator.
Unconventional sensors applied in CEIT are so light that
the basin insulator is not necessary any more. Then, dielectric strength of CEIT is further enhanced.

2.1. Insulation

2.2. Rogowski Coil

SF6 gas insulated fully inverted current transformers

have been vastly used in high voltage power lines for over
four decades [4]. As shown in Fig. 1, the conventional current sensor consisting of magnetic core and secondary
windings is placed in the cylindrical shield at the ground
level and insulated from the high voltage by compressed
SF6 gas [4]. The mature insulation construction of traditional fully inverted current transformer is employed by
the combined electronic instrument transformer (CEIT)
presented in this paper.
Rogowski Coil is always selected to replace the ferrous
core current sensor because of its excellent dynamic performances [5], so a Rogowski Coil is used to measure current in
this novel electronic transformer. Fully inverted SF6 CT provides not only the insulation construction but also a useful
electronic voltage measurement solution. Inserting a metal
ring close to the inner face of cylindrical shield (9 in Fig. 1), a
high voltage co-axial capacitor will be obtained, and the
conductor and the inserted ring are just the two electrodes
of the co-axial capacitor. The induced current is proportional to the variation ratio of primary voltage.
The basin insulator is connected directly with primary
high voltage and ground level, and is always seemed as

Papers [57] explained the operating theory of Rogowski Coil and described the typical designs and applications.
The voltage of Rogowski Coil, seemed as an inductor, is
proportional to the variation ratio of the current owing
through the window of coil (Eq. (1), M is the mutual inductance). Rogowski Coil has no magnetic material and is
seemed as the ideal substitute of conventional current sensor with magnetic core and secondary windings for its light
weight, wide measurement range, excellent dynamic performances and low price.

eM

dI
dt

Rogowski Coils have not been used in current measurement with high accuracy since it was introduced in 1912,
because the traditional handmade ones are lack of accuracy and stability and cannot be easily mass-produced. Researches on how to improve the performances of Rogowski
Coils have been reported in Refs. [69]. Ref. [9] presented
two new Rogowski Coil structures based on printed circuit
board (PCB). Through theoretical analyses, Planar Rogowski Coil (PRC) and Combined Rogowski Coil (CRC) were
proved to have ideal symmetrically distributed windings.
Relative tests suggested that PRC can meet the measuring
accuracy and temperature stability demands of 0.2S Class
ECTs.
The current sensor consists of two pairs of PCBs and a
connecting board. PCB1 and PCB2, shown in Fig. 2, are connected in series to form a pair of PCBs which is only sensitive to the current owing through the window. The top
side and the bottom side of either PCB are imprinted to
form a coil around the center of the board. The conductive
imprints on the upper and lower sides of the PCB are interconnected by conductive-plated through holes.
Approximately 1000 turns of windings with 10 milinches wire width are attached on each PCB that is 3 mm
in thickness. According to the insulation structure of SF6
insulated inverted current transformer, the toroid Rogowski Coil has a radial thickness of 25 mm and an average
diameter of 340 mm. As shown in Fig. 3, the PRC with
360 nH mutual inductance and 110 X resistance is implemented to detect the current change with time.
As shown in Fig. 5, the PRC is placed in the shielding
body at the ground level.
2.3. Cylindrical capacitors

Fig. 1. Scenograph of fully inverted SF6 CT.

Refs. [10,11] gave an application of unconventional

voltage sensor based on cylindrical capacitors in gas insulated substation (GIS). The voltage measurement is based
on a patented solution: the measurement of the current
owing through a very stable high voltage capacitor [10].

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C. Qing et al. / Measurement 43 (2010) 960965

PCB1

PCB2

connecting
pole

through
hole

(a)
connecting
board
Pair 2
+

Pair 1

(b)
Fig. 2. (a) A pair of PCBs and (b) connecting board.

A similar sensing method can be carried out in CEIT. Inserting a middle electrode close to the cylindrical shield, two
high voltage cylindrical capacitors, Chv and Clv, are obtained
without any additional expense. As shown in Fig. 4, the induced current iC is proportional to the variation ratio of primary voltage.

iC C

dU P
dt

As shown in Fig. 5, the conductor with an 80 mm diameter is located at the center of the sensor. A 3 mm thick and
25 mm long cylinder with average diameter of 295 mm
mounted co-axially with the inner face of shielding body
at the ground-level side, two cylindrical capacitors are
achieved. The formula on Chv and Clv is given respectively
by:

C hv

2pe0 el
lnDM1 =DC

Primary Conductor
High Voltage
Electrode

Up

Chv

Middle
Electrode

Ground-level
Electrode

Clv

ic

Fig. 4. Basic simplied circuit for voltage sensor.

and

C lv

Fig. 3. (a) Top view of PRC and (b) bottom view of PRC.

2pe0 el
lnDG =DM2

where e0 is the permittivity in vacuum which equals

8.85  1012 F/m, e is the relative permittivity of compressed SF6 gas, and l is the length of the middle electrode.
DC, DM1, DM2 and DG respectively represent the diameters of
the conductor, the inner diameter of the middle electrode,
the outer diameter of the middle electrode and the inner
diameter of the cylindrical shield.

Arranging e = 1.006, it is calculated from the dimensions

of the cylindrical capacitors that Chv = 1.1 pF and
Clv = 59.8 pF.
The factors affecting the stability of cylindrical capacitor
should be paid more attention. In Ref. [10], Dupraz projected ve guidelines to estimate the performances of high
voltage cylindrical capacitor Chv: temperature stability,
very fast transient removal, bandwidth, inuence of gas
density and inuence of mechanical tolerances. According

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C. Qing et al. / Measurement 43 (2010) 960965

Fig. 5. Sensors arranged in CET.

A 220 kV inverted electronic instrument transformer

was manufactured, as shown in Fig. 7. The pressure of
SF6 in CEIT is controlled close to 0.3 MPa at 25 C. According to IEC60044-7 and IEC60044-8, type tests, routine tests
and special tests are specied to estimate the isolation
capacity, measuring accuracy and electric magnetic compatibility of the designed transformer [12,13]. Among the

(a)

Ratio error
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15

(b)

VU : U = 4V : 220kV
VU
Curent-voltage
Integrator

Constant-gain
Amplifier

Fig. 6. Electronic circuit for signal processing.

Ratio error (%)

VI
Constant-gain
Amplifier

6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6

Up ( k V )

11 22 44 88 132 176 220 264

Ratio error

VI : I = 4V : 2000A

Integrator

Phase error

Phase error ( )

Both output signals from Rogowski Coil and cylindrical

capacitor are fed into an electronic circuit consisting of two
separate channels as shown in Fig. 6. The voltage induced
in Rogowski Coil by the time-varying magnetic eld is integrated and amplied using two instrumentation ampliers. The output voltage is proportional to and in phase
with the current I. As for the voltage channel, the induced
current is straightly fed through the integrator to give a
voltage which is proportional to and in phase with the
measured voltage Up.
Both the integrators are located at the ground voltage
level, so the electric power for ICs will be supplied directly
from the station. Then, the expensive laser energy transmission system is not necessary any more. On the other
hand, the low cost CEIT has similar structure with traditional instrument transformers, and is predicted to have
satisfactory operation life.

3. Tests

Phase error

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
-2

-0.05
-0.1

-4

I(kA)

-0.15

0.02

0.2

0.8

Phase error ( )

2.4. Integrators

Fig. 7. A 220 kV CEIT.

Ratio error (%)

to the analysis of Duprazs, the voltage sensor based on

compressed SF6 gas insulated cylindrical capacitor is predicted to have good temperature stability and long-term
operation stability.

-6

1.6

2.4

Fig. 8. (a) Error of voltage channel and (b) error of current channel.

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C. Qing et al. / Measurement 43 (2010) 960965

multitudinous tests, the results of accuracy tests lie on the

performances of the designed sensors.
3.1. Tests for basic accuracy
The accuracy tests are carried out in Wuhan High Voltage Research Institute that is authorized as the verication
center of electronic transformers in China. A 0.01 Class
conventional current transformer and a 0.01 Class inductive potential transformer have been used as the reference
transformers. The secondary current or voltage signals
from the reference transformers are converted to low voltage signals with rated values of 4 V before being transmitted to the accuracy measuring system.
Fig. 8 shows the error characteristics of current measuring unit and voltage measuring unit. The ratio error and
phase error of current channel is small and within the
0.2S Class limit, and the voltage sensor can meet the accuracy requirements of 0.2 Class EVT.
3.2. Tests for temperature stability

(a)

Temperature (C)

During the tests, the prototype is placed in a special

room where the temperature can be changed discretion60
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60

arily. First, the temperature is kept at common conditions,

20 C, for 1 h. Then, the temperature is increased until
50 C, and held at 50 C for 2 h. And then, the temperature
is decreased until 40 C, and held at 40 C for 2 h. Two
temperature circles are operated to achieve the temperature stability of current channel and voltage channel indifferently. The accuracy measuring system continuously
registers the ratio errors and phase errors, shown in Fig. 9.

3.3. Tests for transient performance

The core saturation of traditional current transformers
is one of the key obstructions in the development of highly
reliable protective approaches and devices of power systems. The DC components of transient currents may lead
to deep saturation of iron core, which will make the secondary output signal of CT distorted and disproportional
to the primary current. Without any magnetic materials,
Rogowski Coils have no saturation problems and are always seemed as the most suitable high transient current
measurement method.
The response to transient heavy current was tested in
Dynamic Simulation Laboratory of College of Electric and
Electronic Engineering in Huazhong University of Science
and Technology. The short-circuit current of a generator
was used to provide the transient current with peak to
peak value of 10 kA. A shunt (0.000002 X), a CT (with rated
current 5 kA and accuracy 0.5 Class) and the designed CEIT
were connected in series (Fig. 10a). In order to transfer the
secondary current of CT into voltage signal, a 1 X resistor

Time (h)
Rogowski
coil

Ratio error

Phase error

0.1
0.05

-0.05

0.1

Ratio error ( % )

-3

-0.1

0.15

(c)

-0.15

Ratio error

Phase error

10kA: 5A

1 Ohm

10kA:5V

0
-2
-4

-0.1

CT

-0.05

Generator

10kA:20mV

(a)

Shunt

-8

Time ( h )

0.05

-0.15

CEIT

Phase error ( )

Ratio error ( % )

0.15

S
L
1
4
0
0

Phase error ( )

(b)

10kA:20V
Integrator

-6

Time ( h )

-8

(b)
Fig. 9. (a) Temperature variation with time, (b) error of voltage channel at
different time and (c) error of current channel at different time.

Fig. 10. (a) Circuit connection for transient performance tests and (b)
waveforms of three sensors.

C. Qing et al. / Measurement 43 (2010) 960965

was connected in the secondary circuit. Then, the transfer

ratio of three sensors are 10 kA:20 V, 10 kA:20 mV and
10 kA:5 V, respectively, and the output voltage waveforms
are all recorded by SL1400 ScopeCorder LITE, as shown in
Fig. 10b.
The shunt has excellent transient performances and
was used as the criterion, the output of which is seemed
absolutely proportional to the heavy transient current with
DC components. The recorded curves show that CEIT has
similar excellent dynamic performances to shunt, while
conventional CT has been saturated deeply by DC components and cannot reect the transient current.
It is difcult to generate the transient high voltage for
220 kV power lines, so the response to transient voltage
cannot be tested directly. Fortunately, the similar tasks
have been accomplished by Dupraz in 2003 [10]: a SF6 isolated co-axial capacitor was constructed to measure the
primary voltage correctly in a 500 kV gas insulated switchgear (GIS), and the bandwidth was proved to be much
wider than 5 kHz through relative tests. As shown in
Fig. 6, the voltage measurement system based on co-axial
capacitor has the similar structure to the current measurement system based on Rogowski Coil, and we have enough
reason to predict that the unconventional voltage sensing
method used in CEIT has the same transient performances
as the current one.
4. Conclusion
The new type of electronic instrument transformer described in this paper is based on simple but reliable insulation structure of conventional CTs and unconventional
sensing techniques of electronic transformers. It is capable
of measuring the current and voltage at the same time. The
combined electronic instrument transformer offers many
advantages over the existing CTs, PTs, ECTs and EVTs.
These may be summarized as:
(a) It can replace a CT and a PT by a single transducer
requiring only one high-voltage bushing, and hence
would be less expensive than the combined cost of
these two transformers.
(b) The transformer has a very simple co-axial geometry
and is therefore easy to manufacture. The design is
well adapted to any voltage level up to 750 kV.

965

(c) Disappearance of basin insulator will enhance the

dielectric strength greatly.
(d) Without high power laser apparatus, the operation
life of CEIT is much longer than the existing ECTs
or EVTs such as HOCT.
(e) It can meet all the requirements of 0.2S Class ECT
and 0.2 Class EVT.
(f) It is totally free from saturation effects under transient and fault conditions, and it has a very wide frequency response.
(g) It is suitable for direct connection to solid-state
relays and meters, without the need for additional
precision transducers.

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