Optical Current Sensor: medium voltage monitoring, sensing

Optical Sensor Products

Airak's Patented Optical Current Sensor System

Airak has announced the availability of an award-winning fiber optic sensor system capable of measuring magnetic fields.

	Safe and Easy to Install -does not conduct electrical current - intrinsically isolated making it safe to personnel and interconnected equipment
	Smallness - the overhead hanger package is 11" x 7" x 6.25"
	Lightweight- overhead sensor weighs just 1.25 lbs, independent of whether it is measuring 3 Amperes or 1000 Amperes
	Immune to EMI/RFI - the all-optical configuration means that electrical noise is not picked up and transmitted to conditioning/control equipment
	Zero Risk of Explosive Failure - unit does not saturate or use any form of oil for cooling
	Intended for 54.5 KV Applications and Below - 130KV BIL testing criteria
	Automated Manufacturing - design supports the ability to be mass-produced, increasing reliability and decreasing costs
	Increased Dynamic Range and Bandwidth - allows one transducer to measure large changes in current
	Hot Stick Mountable - does not require outage or segmentation of the power line

(Click on picture to see a full-screen view)

	Monitoring Currents on Overhead Electrical Distribution Lines
	Monitor Currents in Underground Electrical Vaults
	Monitoring Currents on Rectangular Bus-bars within Switchgear
	Monitoring Magnetic Fields on Electrodes
	Enables Direct Monitoring at Voltages 15,000 and below with One Model of Current Sensor

(Click on a picture to see a full-screen view)

Both digital and analog output formats available:

Digital	Analog
TCP/IP (UDP) RS-232 RS-485	bipolar +/- 10V unipolar voltage 4-20 mA

	Sensor • Measurement range: ~60 mT to at least 150 mT (magnetic field strength) ~1 ampere to at least 4000 ampere RMS (current flow) • Weight (sensor only): 28 grams
	Electronics Module • Bipolar +/- 5V analog output standard • Standardized Footprint: IEEE 1101 3U x 220mm Card Size • Weight (stand alone module): 1.3 lbs.

*IEEE Certification 15Kv insulation class

*Independently qualified by a company in south west Virginia

Competitive Transducer Technology Comparison Matrix

Comparison of Three Types of Magnetic Field or Current Measurement Technologies

Technology	Bandwidth	Voltage Range	Dynamic Range	Accuracy	Intrinsically Isolated	Install on Energized Conductor	Size	Weight	Reliability	Price
Airak’s Optical Transducer	6 Hz - 3 KHz*	<80 KV	> 96 dB	High	Yes	Yes	Constant, Independent of Voltage or Current Range	Constant, Independent of Voltage or Current Range	Extremely High	Constant, Independent of Voltage or Current Range
Wire-wound	Few Hz – 100 KHz	<1.2 MV	< 60 dB	Medium	No	No	Increases Dramatically as Voltage Increases	Increases as Either Voltage or Current Increases	Decreases as Voltage Increases due to Oil Insulation	Increases Roughly as the Square of the Voltage over 1KV
Hall-effect	DC – 10 KHz *-or-* Few Hz – 250 KHz	< 2KV	< 80 dB	High	No	No	Increases as Voltage Increases	Increases as Voltage Increases	Decreases as Voltage Increases	Increases Linearly as Voltage Increases

*Bandwidth limited only by signal processing electronics; wider bandwidths available by request.