Optimal design of dual air-gap closed-loop TMR current sensor based on minimum magnetic field uniformity coefficient

Advanced sensor technology provides accurate information for transparent monitoring and real-time control of the power grid. Tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) elements with high sensitivity and linearity provide a new technical means for current measurement in medium-voltage DC power distribution systems. This paper proposes a dual air-gap closed-loop TMR current sensor and its optimal design method based on the magnetic field’s minimum uniformity coefficient. The dual air-gap structure reduces the measurement error caused by the eccentricity of the wire, and the theory and modelling of the minimum magnetic field uniformity coefficient optimise the key parameters, such as the inner radius of the magnetic core, the distance of the air-gap and the area size of the section side. Finally, a sensor prototype with a rated measurement current of ± 50 A was developed. The experiment results show that the relative error of the proposed TMR current sensor is less than 0.2% under the rated current. The conclusion can be drawn that the proposed sensor with the optimised design effectively improves the measurement accuracy.