A bespoke non-invasive current distribution sensor for use with a flat transmission line

A determination of the current distribution in a flat transmission line is needed in order to confirm the uniform acceleration of the flyer plate. To this end a novel mutual inductance based sensor has been developed and termed MIDOT. The sensor is calibrated using a stripline analogue comprised of an array of independent parallel filaments across the width of the transmission line with a known current flowing through each. This enables the positional sensitivity of the sensor to be established. A subsequent series of detailed experiments confirmed that the MIDOT sensor can also be used to identify accurately the currents flowing in the independent filaments under transient conditions. The sensor has been developed to a stage where its proof of principle has been convincingly demonstrated on a low voltage test bed and it has already been used to provide initial results when fielded on high current facilities.