Device for measuring an electric field in a conducting medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9970972-B2
Application number	US-201615045381-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 17, 2016
Priority date	Feb 17, 2015
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

A device for measuring an electric field in a conducting medium, including: an insulating enclosure; first, second, and third pairs of electrodes, the electrodes of a same pair being arranged on opposite external walls of the enclosure, and the electrodes of the first, second, and third pairs being centered on first, second, and third orthogonal axes; a first conductive coil; a first pair of switches enabling to alternately connect the first coil between the electrodes of the first, of the second, and of the third pair of electrodes; and a single magnetometer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device for measuring an electric field in a conducting medium, comprising:
an insulating enclosure;
first, second, and third pairs of electrodes, the electrodes of a same pair being arranged on opposite external walls of the enclosure, and the electrodes of the first, second, and third pairs being centered on first, second, and third orthogonal axes;
a first conductive coil;
a first pair of switches enabling to alternately connect the first coil between the electrodes of the first, of the second, and of the third pair of electrodes; and
a single magnetometer.

2. The device of claim 1 , further comprising:
second and third conductive coils; and
second and third pairs of switches respectively enabling to alternately connect the second coil between the electrodes of the first, of the second, and of the third pair of electrodes, and to alternately connect the third coil between the electrodes of the first, of the second, and of the third pair of electrodes,
wherein the magnetometer is capable of measuring a magnetic field induced by the flowing of currents in the first, second, and third coils.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the first, second, and third coils are series-connected respectively to first, second, and third ER variable resistors.

4. The device of claim 3 , comprising a control circuit capable of successively implementing the steps of:
controlling the switches so that the first, second, and third coils are not connected to the electrodes, and measuring the module and the direction of the ambient magnetic field; and
controlling the variable resistors so that the flowing of a current in the parallel association of a first branch comprising the first variable resistor and the first coil, of a second branch comprising the second variable resistor and the second coil, and of a third branch comprising the third variable resistor and the third coil, induces, at the level of the magnetometer, a magnetic field substantially parallel to the ambient magnetic field.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the control circuit is further capable of successively implementing the steps of:
controlling the switches so that the first, second, and third branches are connected in parallel between the electrodes of the first pair of electrodes and are not connected to the second and third pairs of electrodes, and then measuring the module of the magnetic field at the level of the magnetometer;
controlling the switches so that the first, second, and third branches are connected in parallel between the electrodes of the second pair of electrodes and are not connected to the first and third pairs of electrodes, and then measuring the module of the magnetic field at the level of the magnetometer; and
controlling the switches so that the first, second, and third branches are connected in parallel between the electrodes of the third pair of electrodes and are not connected to the first and second pairs of electrodes, and then measuring the module of the magnetic field at the level of the magnetometer.

6. The device of claim 2 , wherein the first, second, and third coils have non-parallel longitudinal axes, for example, substantially orthogonal.

7. The device of claim 2 , wherein the magnetometer is a scalar magnetometer.

8. The device of claim 1 , comprising a control circuit capable of successively implementing the steps of:
controlling the switches so that the first coil is not connected to the electrodes, and performing a vector measurement of the ambient magnetic field;
controlling the switches so that the first coil is connected between the electrodes of the first pair of electrodes and is not connected to the second and third pairs of electrodes, and then performing a vector measurement of the magnetic field at the level of the magnetometer;
controlling the switches so that the first coil is connected between the electrodes of the second pair of electrodes and is not connected to the first and third pairs of electrodes, and then performing a vector measurement of the magnetic field at the level of the magnetometer; and
controlling the switches so that the first coil is connected between the electrodes of the second pair of electrodes and is not connected to the first and second pairs of electrodes, and then performing a vector measurement of the magnetic field at the level of the magnetometer.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the magnetometer is a vector magnetometer.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the electrodes have substantially the same surface area, and wherein a same distance separates the two electrodes of each of the three pairs of electrodes.

Assignees

• Commissariat A Ienergie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives
• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Baicry Mathieu
• Bertrand François
• Le Prado Matthieu
• Leger Jean-Michel

Classifications

• G01R29/08 Primary

  Measuring electromagnetic field characteristics · CPC title

• G01R15/20

  using galvano-magnetic devices, e.g. Hall-effect devices {, i.e. measuring a magnetic field via the interaction between a current and a magnetic field, e.g. magneto resistive or Hall effect devices} · CPC title

• G01R29/0878 Primary

  Sensors; antennas; probes; detectors (wave guide measuring sections G01R1/24) · CPC title

• G01V3/088

  operating with electric fields (G01V3/082 takes precedence) · CPC title