Current transducers used in power line measurements

There are many solutions used for current measurements in power lines. The study shows a transducer consisting of a ferromagnetic core, a beam placed in an air-gap and a sensor for optical readout. The beam is made of silicon with a thin 50%Ni50%Fe film. The material of the core is permalloy. A distribution of magnetic field depends on current supplying the power line. The beam is deflected due to magnetic field in the air-gap. A deflection of the beam is measured by the optical fibre sensor. Its advantage is simple design, high precision of processing, non-electric transmission, low costs and ability of a non-contact measurement. Comsol Multiphysics 4.4 and Magnetic Fields Module (mef) were used for modeling. An influence of magnetic circuit's materials and dimensions of the ferromagnetic core and the air-gap were tested in order to determine the most sufficient distribution of magnetic field in the air-gap. The study shows results of the modeling of the transducer compared to practical results for a similar construction scaled down to lower current values.