SCT-013 current sensor



  • Hi guys,
    Please, somebody has used a SCT-013 current sensor, were you able to get it to work?
    Can you help me kindly share your code micropython?
    I have problems reading the alternate voltage !
    Thanks a lot



  • @Stefano-Floriani That's better. The capacitor worked here as a means to suppress noise. You can also increase the value of R7 to 27k. Then the value should be at about 150.



  • @robert-hh

    I've remove C4 (470p) now is value[1] it's 50.99931,

    Bye



  • @Stefano-Floriani At the output of the 390k resistor (input of the Photocoupler) there should be the diodes voltage, which is about 1 Volt AC. Over the 390k resistor you should have 230V.

    At the 10k resistor a good voltage is 2 V peak-peak or ~0.7 V AC.



  • @robert-hh

    Please, How many volts should there be at the output of the 390k resistor?



  • @robert-hh
    15c210fe-0905-488a-9091-0fa7aaf62fac-image.png

    download.jpg

    I have assembled the diode D1 the right directiont?

    THanks a lot



  • @Stefano-Floriani You could try to use other optocouplers, like 4N37, which has a higher current transfer ration (CTR). But again, this circuitry is using a chip designed for digital mode in an analog mode. That makes finding the right values difficult.

    Edit: Other devices with higher CTR: CNY17-4



  • @Stefano-Floriani Looks like a Motorola device. Comparing the data sheets, they look similar. The device I used seems to have a higher CTR, but not by a factor of 40 different.
    Ar you sure that you assembled the diode D1 in the right direction? If not, the LED current will be way lower.

    P.S.: The PCB design is dangerous! There is not a sufficient distance between the high voltage and low voltage side! Traces from the HV side MUST NOT lead to the LV side. And in a safe design there would also be a cut in the PCB below the chip between the HV and LV side.





  • @Stefano-Floriani Obviously you are running without load. Then the phase is not stable. But the value for voltage is still too low to be of use. What type of optocoupler are you using? I used a 4N27 type.
    This kind of circuitry is hard to set up without any kind of measuring tool.



  • @robert-hh
    this is the result running your script:
    run()
    (0.07947586, 5.907588, -0.961557) 0.5722438
    (0.0303492, 5.957881, -1.419681) 0.1505412
    (0.05318971, 5.931093, 0.2570791) 0.9671368
    (0.08792933, 6.089819, -0.7879818) 0.7052775
    (0.07133265, 5.925827, -0.5397768) 0.8578235
    (0.1326455, 5.954846, -0.7830648) 0.7087548
    (0.1046322, 5.97505, -0.6961006) 0.7673484
    (0.09087696, 5.942791, -0.4167922) 0.9143923
    (0.02481544, 5.990963, 2.182606) -0.57435
    (0.08708447, 6.019161, 0.1956226) 0.9809269
    average: 0.07623314 SDev: 0.03126099
    I have used two resistor 390k ,10k at one watt .



  • @Stefano-Floriani I tested with the values in the schematics. But the optocouplers vary a lot between individual items and families. So the resistor values have to be determined for each and every item.
    Thats one of the reasons I suggested using a small transformer. The variation in the transfer ratio of small transformers at their nominal load is way lower, only like 10%.



  • @robert-hh

    I'm so sorry, I thought you did the tests with the resistances, I don't have the equipment or material to try.

    Thanks you



  • @Stefano-Floriani In that case the signal at P14 is way too small. For 230 V you should get a reading in the range of about 150 for a 9 bit ADC setting (see the chart and table in my previous post).
    You can either reduce the value of the 390k resistor R6, or increase the value of the 10k resistor R7. You may also try to remove C4, because that one also reduces sensitivity. When the setting is right, you should measure with an multimeter an AC voltage of about 0.7 V~.
    The transfer ratio of optocouplors vary a lot.



  • @robert-hh
    Dear Robert,
    The reading voltage with external voltmeter it's:
    At 230 v and U from value[1] it's from 4
    At 220 v and U from value[1] it's from 2

    How can I find the right formula?

    Thanks a lot



  • @Stefano-Floriani The values returned by acq.reading are the two values from P13 and P14 and the phase difference phi between the signals at P13 and P14. So if P13 is connected to the SCT013 sensor, and P14 to the voltage sensor, you will get the current I from value[0], and the voltage U from value[1]. The number in value[2] can then be used to calculate the effective power consumed by the load, which is

    Peff = U * I * cos(phi)

    with I derived from value[0], U derived from value[1] and phi being value[2], which already has the proper scaling. The number cos(phi) is called the power factor. It is 1 for pure resistive loads, and 0 for pure capacitive or inductive loads. Values close to 1 are common, values close to 0 are rare.



  • @robert-hh
    Hello,
    I built my electronic circuit, now how should i use the result of the value [2] to get the correct voltage?

    value = acq.reading("P13", "P14", 500)
    print(value[2])

    Thank a lot



  • @StefanoF

    Note. BE CAREFUL when testing to avoid an electric shock! I used an isolating variable output transformer for my tests to be safe.

    Watts: the only part of interest is R6. So you have:

    P = 230 * 230 / 390000 0.136 W

    So that is negligible. The critical property of R6 is voltage capability. You have to get a 350V RMS type. That's typically better for higher power resistors. So get a 0.5W or 1W type.

    The value of the resistor is to be determined. Since the transfer ratio of the optocoupler varies, you have to select a proper value such that at 230 V the output at R7 is about 2Vpp. You need an oscilloscope to tell. If you just have a Multimeter, use 0.7V AC. Below is a modified script capturing data from P13 and P14 (current and voltage). It returns the raw values and the phase difference between the two signals. That phase difference may have an offset, since the voltage signal is only half of the sine wave.

    #
    import gc
    import math
    import array
    from utime import sleep_ms, sleep_us, ticks_us, ticks_diff
    from machine import ADC, Timer, idle, enable_irq, disable_irq, Pin, SPI
    
    #
    # acquire ADC values. The paramters of the constructor are:
    # 1. the mains frequency (number, typically 50 or 60)
    # 2. the sampling period (ms). The default is 2 ms.
    #
    class Acquire:
        def __init__(self, freq=50, *, sample_period=2):
            self.sample_period = sample_period
            self.omega = 2.0 * math.pi * freq / (1000 / sample_period)
            self.coeff = 2.0 * math.cos(self.omega)
            self.freq = freq
            self.adc = ADC(bits=9)
    
        def start(self, pin1, pin2, time=200):
            gc.collect() # avoids automatic gc during sampling
            self.pin_adc1 = self.adc.channel(pin=pin1, attn=ADC.ATTN_11DB)
            self.pin_adc2 = self.adc.channel(pin=pin2, attn=ADC.ATTN_11DB)
            self.samples = time // self.sample_period
    
            # Test code for creating the artificial signal for phase noise
            # self.pi_f = (2 * math.pi * self.freq) / 1000000  # angle step per us
            # self.start_us = ticks_us()
    
            self.count = 0
            self.busy = True
            self.q1_1 = 0.0
            self.q2_1 = 0.0
            self.q1_2 = 0.0
            self.q2_2 = 0.0
            self.alarm = Timer.Alarm(self.read_adc, 0, us=(self.sample_period * 1000 - 3), periodic=True)
    
        def stop(self):
            self.alarm.cancel()
    
        def read_adc(self, alarm):
            state = disable_irq()
            v1 = self.pin_adc1()
            v2 = self.pin_adc2()
            # Test code using an artificial Signal
            # v1 = math.sin(ticks_diff(ticks_us(), self.start_us) * self.pi_f)
            # v2 = math.sin(ticks_diff(ticks_us(), self.start_us) * self.pi_f)
            enable_irq(state)
    
            self.q0_1 = v1 + self.coeff * self.q1_1 - self.q2_1
            self.q2_1 = self.q1_1
            self.q1_1 = self.q0_1
    
            self.q0_2 = v2 + self.coeff * self.q1_2 - self.q2_2
            self.q2_2 = self.q1_2
            self.q1_2 = self.q0_2
    
            self.count += 1
            if self.count >= self.samples:
                self.alarm.cancel()
                self.busy = False
    
        def result(self):
            while self.busy == True:
                sleep_ms(self.sample_period)
    
            real = self.q1_1 - self.q2_1 * math.cos(self.omega)
            imag = self.q2_1 * math.sin(self.omega)
            amplitude_1 = 2 * math.sqrt(real * real + imag * imag) / self.count
            phase_1 = math.atan2(real, imag)
    
            real = self.q1_2 - self.q2_2 * math.cos(self.omega)
            imag = self.q2_2 * math.sin(self.omega)
            amplitude_2 = 2 * math.sqrt(real * real + imag * imag) / self.count
            phase_2 = math.atan2(real, imag)
            #
            diff = 40e-6 * 2 * self.freq * math.pi # phase diff caused by 40µs sampling delay
            phase = phase_1 - phase_2 - diff # 
            if phase > math.pi:
                phase -= 2 * math.pi
            elif phase < -math.pi:
                phase += 2 * math.pi
            return amplitude_1, amplitude_2, phase
    
        def reading(self, pin1, pin2, time):
            self.start(pin1, pin2, time)
            return self.result()
    #
    
    def run(period = 500, n=10):
        acq = Acquire(50.0, sample_period=1) # 50 Hz
        l=[]
        for _ in range(n):
            value = acq.reading("P13", "P14", period)
            l.append(value[0])
            print (value, math.cos(value[2]))
        avg = sum(l)/n
        sqsum  = 0
        for _ in l:
            sqsum += (_ - avg) * (_ - avg)
        print ("average: ", avg, "SDev:", math.sqrt(sqsum/n))
    


  • @robert-hh

    Hi Robert,
    thanks for you support,

    I try this way , please, the componets how many watts and tolerances?

    Thanks advance



  • @StefanoF So I made a few tests in the 230V range. Changed circuit with R=390k and a capacitor for less noise:
    optocoupler.png
    The transfer function is as below:
    optocoupler_transfer.png
    Not too bad, almost linear in the upper range. What stays is the huge temperature dependency.
    Because the green and red line are almost identical, here the table:

    Volt    Average Sdev   dAvg/dVolt
    100     23,56   0,55	
    125     40,18   0,33    0,6648
    150     60,11   0,6     0,7972
    175     82,32   0,83    0,8884
    200     106     0,778   0,9472
    210     115,5   0,68    0,95
    220     126,1   0,832   1,06
    230     135,3   0,88    0,92
    240     145,73  0,73    1,043
    250     157     0,549   1,127
    260     167,88  0,638   1,088
    270     179,28  0,883   1,14
    

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