Contactless measurement of lightning current using self-integrating B-dot probe

Lightning is a form of pulse power in nature. It is a serious threat to the safe operation of power grid. However, in high voltage power systems, it is almost impossible to directly measure the lightning currents accurately and safely. This paper presents a contactless lightning current sensor for transmission tower based on B-dot probe. This sensor consists of a multi-turn loop, a self-integrating resistance and a shielding. In the laboratory, the typical lightning current (8/20 μs) was simulated by a high impulse current generator. The experiment results show that: the sensor can accurately reproduce the waveform and amplitude of the current generated by the high impulse current generator, based on a specific measuring distance under reasonable design. And this sensor has the advantages of safety, strong anti-interference ability, and good linearity and accuracy.