Accurate and reliable lightning current data are the basis of lightning protection design. To measure lightning current data at different measurement locations in a transmission system, the limitations of traditional lightning current sensors are analyzed, and optical current sensing technology is adopted, which has the advantages of no magnetic saturation and no bandwidth limitation. Compared with traditional application environments, the sensing technology is used in special environments in transmission systems. This paper analyzes the influence of environmental factors on sensors, and combines the extreme environmental requirements, such as temperature and insulation requirements, to study the sensor. Starting from the sensitivity, the sensing characteristics of the sensor are analyzed. The sensor is designed according to three aspects: sensing material selection, spatial measuring position, and sensing material size optimization, such that it can satisfy the different measurement requirements of towers, overhead ground wires, and transmission lines, respectively. The experiments indicate that the developed sensors can meet the measurement sensitivity requirements of different types of lightning strikes. The experimental results of sensors exhibit a reasonable amplitude measurement accuracy, linearity, and waveform measurement capability. These results provide important theoretical and experimental bases for the application of optical current sensing technology to the measurement of the lightning current of transmission systems.
Keywords: lightning current measurement; optical current sensing technology; transmission system.