Current clamp

In electrical and electronic engineering, a current clamp or current probe is an electrical device with jaws which open to allow clamping around an electrical conductor. This allows measurement of the current in a conductor without the need to make physical contact with it, or to disconnect it for insertion through the probe. Current clamps are typically used to read the magnitude of alternating current (AC) and, with additional instrumentation, the phase and waveform can also be measured. Some clamps meters can measure currents of 1000 A and more. Hall effect and vane type clamps can also measure direct current (DC).

A common form of current clamp comprises a split ring made of ferrite or soft iron. A wire coil is wound round one or both halves, forming one winding of a current transformer. The conductor around which it is clamped forms the other winding. Like any transformer this type works only with AC or pulse waveforms, with some examples extending into the megahertz range.

When measuring current, the subject conductor forms the primary winding and the coil forms the secondary.

This type may also be used in reverse, to inject current into the conductor, for example in electromagnetic compatibility susceptibility testing to induce an interference current. Usually, the injection probe is specifically designed for this purpose. In this mode, the coil forms the primary and the test conductor the secondary.

In the iron vane type, the magnetic flux in the core directly affects a moving iron vane, allowing both AC and DC to be measured, and gives a true root mean square (RMS) value for non-sinusoidal AC waveforms. Due to its physical size it is generally limited to power transmission frequencies up to around 100 Hz.

The vane is usually fixed directly to the display mechanism of an analogue (moving pointer) clamp meter.

The Hall effect type is more sensitive and is able to measure both DC and AC, in some examples up to the kilohertz (thousands of hertz) range. This type was often used with oscilloscopes, and with high-end computerized digital multimeters, however, they are becoming common place for more general use.

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