Spatial distribution of electric field measurement system: straight characterization of one or more original electric field sources in association with a new triaxial sensor

Abstract

Abstract Several original point charge like electric field sources and a new tri-axial capacitive based electric field sensor have been designed to be associated together to build a new instrument able to characterize the electrical properties of the environment. The paper presents two fundamental features of the target electric imaging instrument: the characterization of the constituent parts of the system and the validation of the low-level data processing functions. The original electric field sources are composed of several conductive spheres with conical support so that they can be assimilated to point charges. The various arrangements of the sources can generate monopolar or multipolar electric fields. The tri-axial sensor is is integrated in a 2D scanning setup and used to map simultaneously the three components of the electric field generated by original electric field sources composed of several conductive spheres. The measured electric field images are compared to images calculated with an analytical model using the method of image charges. The agreement between measured electric field images and model validates both the original design of the sources and the geometrical features of the sensor which opens the door to application such as the detection of non-conductive buried object and smart detection with autoconfiguration.