Metrological characterisation of current transformers calibration unit for accurate measurement

Abstract

The manuscript presents a method for the metrological characterisation of the commercial AC comparators used to calibrate current transformers. The theoretical basis for simulating the difference between two almost identical currents has been outlined, as well as the mathematical models for both a ratio error and a phase displacement has been derived. The measurement setup, consisting of conventional measuring instruments, has been described with a detailed presentation of its parameters. The sources of uncertainty have been distinguished and analysed with determining the current phase shift which led to a significant increase of relative measurement uncertainty. The simulation of measurement results was yielded in two ways: physically using a method presented and virtually using a Monte Carlo method. The second method confirmed that evaluating the measurement uncertainty through derived sensitivity coefficients is correct enough. The simulation results in the range from 1 to 1200 parts per million for both ratio error and phase displacement motivated the use of a comparator characterised through the proposed method for accurate measurement, especially for very low errors.