Comparison of Magnetic Field Sensors for Current Distribution Reconstruction through Barycenter Filament Model

Abstract

In this paper we compare different magnetic field sensor technologies that can potentially be used to characterize current distribution in massive conductors. The approach is based on the application of the current barycenter method, introduced by the authors in a previous work, to obtain information about the current distribution in massive conductors fed by pulsed current through the use of an array of search loops placed around the conductor. After briefly recalling the method, this paper analyzes the possible use of different magnetic field sensor technologies (search loops, vector and scalar magnetometers) to compare their performance in the use of the current barycenter reconstruction method. The introduced model error as a function of sensor type, conductor cross-sectional shape, and mutual position between sensors and conductor are analyzed and discussed throughout the paper.