Use of Current Transducers in Conveyor Systems

In a production line that employs conveyors, expensive mechanical damage is often the result of the conveyor jamming but with the drive motor continuing to run. By installing a current transducer to detect an overload, the drive motor can be prevented from sustaining damages that can grind your system—and ultimately your production—to a complete halt.

What is a Rogowski Coil?

Solid and split-core current transformers and transducers work like a charm, but their rigidness may not work to the benefit of some circuits. Solid-core CTs are just as they appear—solid slabs that require shutting the power down to enable safe installation. Split-core CTs don’t require this step but can eat up a lot of space in the circuitry.

Fortunately, flexibility and versatility come in the form of a third type of CT: the Rogowski coil. Named after German physicist Walter Rogowski, the coil features the accuracy of a solid-core CT and the ease of installation of a split-core CT, yet works the same way as the two. Inside its colored tubes is a helical ring that responds to the conductor’s electromagnetic field.

The Hall Effect: Electricity and Magnetism

Current sensors appear nothing more than a square piece with a hole in the center. Yet this design allows them to take accurate current and voltage measurements for direct current (DC) systems. This is one of the most notable applications of the Hall Effect, a phenomenon that affects charged carriers like wires.

Monitoring the Alt Energy Revolution

With the negative effects of climate change—stronger storms, colder winters, hotter summers—becoming more and more visible, the utilization of renewable energy sources is becoming more and more commonplace. In Germany, for example, solar energy has become one of the top sources of electricity in the country.

Besides the greater emphasis on using renewable energy sources, there is also a movement toward the decentralization of power production. Given the scalability and portability of many potential alternative energy sources, this has become a reality in countries where a shift to alternative energy is being encouraged.