Optical Inline-Sagnac Current Sensor, Part II: Performance and Applications

The performance and applications of the optical inline-Sagnac current sensor/transducer in utility high voltage alternating current measurements (metering and protection) and high voltage direct current measurements (control, metering, and protection) are presented. New measurements of commercially available sensors are presented for a 216 kA_peak transient current, scale factor linearity for alternating currents from 5 mA_rms to 32 kA_rms and for direct currents from 100 mA to 27 kA, and temperature performance of ±0.11% over the temperature range of −60 °C to +65 °C. New properties of polarizer temperature-wavelength effects on the scale factor of the sensor are presented. Power quality measurements are discussed over the frequency range of 16.66 Hz to 5 kHz. A discussion of the limitations of optical noise on low current measurements is given. The experimental and calculated sensor response functions are compared. The limitations for low current measurements due to the IEC 61869 standard digital output are presented.