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Inrush current
- is the maximum current drawn by an electrical
circuit at the time it’s turned ON.
- It appears for the few cycles of input waveform.
- The value of the inrush current is much higher than
the steady-state current of the circuit and this high
current can damage the device or trigger the circuit
breaker.
- Appears in all the devices where magnetic core is
present like transformers, industrial motors etc.
- is also known as Input surge current or Switch-On
surge current.
Difference between an inrush, peak and
steady state current
Peak Current:
- It’s the maximum value of current attained by a
waveform either in positive or negative region.

Steady-State Current:
- It is defined as the current at each time interval remain
constant in a circuit.
- is achieved when di/dt = 0, which means the current
remain unchanged with respect to time.
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Inrush Current Characteristics:

- Occur instantaneously when device is turned on
- Appears for a short time of span
- Higher than the rated value of the circuit or device
Some examples where Inrush Current occurs:
 Incandescent Lamp
 Induction Motor Starting
 Transformer
 Turning ON SMPS [switching mode power supply]
based power supplies

 Inrush Current in Transformer

 is defined as the maximum instantaneous current drawn
by the transformer when the secondary side is unloaded
or in open circuit condition.
 This inrush current harms the magnetic property of the
core and cause an unwanted switching of transformer’s
circuit breaker.
 The magnitude of the inrush current is depends upon the
point of AC wave at which the transformer is starting.
 If transformer (at no load) turns on when the AC voltage
is at its peak then no inrush current will occur at the
starting, and if transformer (at no load) turns on when the
AC voltage is passing through zero then the value of
inrush current will be very high and it also exceeds the
saturation current, as you can see in the below image:
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- Inrush Transformer (magnetising) inrush currents are

caused by sudden step-changes in the transformer
magnetising voltage and can be divided into three
general types:
 Energisation inrush
- - occurs when a transformer is switched on from a de-
energised state
- Result from reapplication of system voltage to a tr-rs
w/c has been previously de-energized.
Recovery inrush
- caused by a fault recovery process
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- occurs when tr-r voltage is restored after

having been reduced by a nearby short
circuit on the s/m..
-  Sympathetic inrush
- - occurs when a transformer 2/ more tr-rs operated in
parallel.
- The abrupt voltage drop caused by energising the first
transformer can cause inrush currents (in the opposite
direction) in the already energised transformer.
- When energised, an initial magnetising inrush current
flows into the transformer. Typically, the inrush current
lasts in the order of 0.1s and has the following
magnitude:
- For transformers up to 2500kVA: 8x nominal current
- For transformers greater than 2500kVA: 10x nominal
current Transformer inrush currents are predominantly
due to saturation of the transformer core and can be
modelled as an RL switching transient with a saturable
inductance L.