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Measure DC current with current transformer

Electrical Engineering Asked by abomin3v3l on December 6, 2021

Is it possible to measure DC electrical currents with some type of split core current transformer?
Or it is only for varying currents?

EDIT

Considering a zero-flux CT, could someone show me the basic external circuit that goes with it?

I want to measure the current out of a solar panel going to the battery.

2 Answers

If you terminate your current transformer with a resistor to get a voltage signal out, a normal AC current transformer would saturate very quickly if you apply any DC current due to Vt=NAB where V is positive value (or negative, same effect) and as t goes on, B just keeps building until saturation. For AC, V keeps changing and nets out to zero.

In a zero flux current transformer, you use an amplifier to sense your output and drive a current in a secondary coil, wound in the opposite direction (or apply an inverse signal, take your pick) to cancel out the flux build up. This results in a new operating point where equilibrium is reached and the core won't saturate yet you can measure the current as a DC voltage which is proportional to your applied current in the secondary coil.

Here is an image borrowed from Hioki, a manifacturer of such modules: enter image description here

Answered by winny on December 6, 2021

It's not possible to measure a DC current with a transformer. In the case of AC the changing magnetic field associated with the current in the primary induces a current in the secondary winding which is what you can measure.

As mentioned in the comments above if you need to detect a DC current you can use a Hall effect device which does not require a changing magnetic field see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect for a bit more detail.

Answered by mhaselup on December 6, 2021

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