High Voltage Engineering

Lecture 8
Generation of High Alternating and Impulse Voltages
 Contents
❖ Generation of High Alternating Voltages
❑ Cascade Transformers,
❑ Resonant Transformers,
❑ Generation of High Frequency a.c. High Voltages.

❖ Generation of Impulse Voltages

❑ Multistage Impulse Generators - Marx Circuit,
❑ Generation of Switching Surges.

❖ Generation of Impulse Currents

❖ Tripping and Control of Impulse Generators

Generation of High Alternating Voltages
❑ Cascade Transformers,

❑ Resonant Transformers,

❑ Generation of High Frequency a.c. High Voltages.

Cascade Transformer
 Cascade Transformer

With insulation support

V1 - Input voltage,
V2 - Output voltage,
aa'- LV primary,
bb'-HV secondary,
cc'- Excitation winding,
bd - Meter winding (200 to 500 V),
g: Insulation support.

High Voltage Engineering, Second Semester, Academic year 2021/2022

❑ The rating of the low voltage winding is usually 220 or 400 V for small units up to
100 kVA. For larger outputs, the rating of the low voltage winding may be 3.3 kV,
6.6 kV or 11 kV.
❑ The tank of stage-I transformer is earthed. The tanks of stage-II and stage-III
transformers have potentials of V and 2V, respectively above earth.
❑ The tanks of stage-II and stage-III transformers must be insulated from the earth
with suitable solid insulation.
❑Transformer rated with 1 MVA and 1MV are nowadays available with charging
currents lying in the range of few milliamperes for short time rating for duration of
10-15 minutes.
Three-stage cascade transformer 3 x 600 kV, 2 A,
outdoor type with AC voltage divider 1500 kV
Resonant Transformers

Transformer Equivalent circuit

The magnitude of the voltage across the capacitance
C of the test object will be:

where R is the total series resistance of the circuit.

Resonant Transformers
Resonant Transformers

You will find

16 volt at primary (10 kV at transformer secondary)

is enough to generate 500 kV at load !!
Advantages of resonance transformer:
❑ it gives an output of pure sine wave.
❑ power requirements are less (5 to 10% of total kVA required).
❑ no high-power arcing and heavy current surges occur if the test object fails, as
resonance ceases at the failure of the test object.
❑ cascading is also possible for very high voltages.
❑ simple and compact test arrangement.

The disadvantages
The disadvantages are the requirements of additional variable chokes capable of
withstanding the full test voltage and the full current rating.
Generation of High Frequency a.c. High Voltages

❑ High-frequency high voltages are required for:

❖ rectifier dc power supplies,
❖ testing electrical apparatus for switching surges.

❑ The commonly used high-frequency resonant transformer is the Tesla coil

(a doubly tuned resonant circuit).
Tesla coil equivalent circuit and its output waveform
A more simplified analysis for the Tesla coil :

❑ considering that the energy stored in the primary circuit in the capacitance C1 is transferred
to C2 .

❑ If W1 is the energy stored in C1 and W2 is the energy transferred to C2 and if the efficiency
of the transformer is η, then

if the coefficient of coupling between the windings L1 and L2 is large the oscillation
frequency is less, and for large values of the winding resistances and coefficient of
coupling, the waveform may become a unidirectional impulse.
Tesla coil
Tesla coil

However, it is important to handle Tesla coils with care and follow appropriate safety
precautions to avoid any potential hazards.
Tesla coil

However, it is important to handle Tesla coils with care and follow appropriate safety
precautions to avoid any potential hazards.
Generation of Impulse Voltages
❑ Standard Impulse Waveshapes,

❑ Circuits for Producing Impulse Waves,

❑ Multistage Impulse Generators - Marx Circuit,

❑ Generation of Switching Surges.

 Standard Impulse Waveshapes
The lightning overvoltage wave can as double
exponential waves defined by the equation:

Specify impulse wave

1.2/50 μs, 1000 kV
an impulse voltage wave with a front time of 1.2 μs, the fall time of 50 μs, and a peak
value of 1000 kV
The front time = 1.25 (t2 – t1)
± 30%

The fall time = O1t4

± 20%

The peak value = A ± 3%

Standard lightning impulse according to Indian standard: 1.2/50 µs

Theoretical Representation of Impulse Waves

Values of α and  for different waveforms (Double exponential type) (t in µs)

Circuits for Producing Impulse Waves
Analysis of Impulse Generator Circuit

C1: the generator capacitance.

C2: the load capacitance.
Waveshape Control

R1 & R2 are in , Ce is in µF, t1 & t2 are in µs.

The desired waveshape is obtained by controlling R1 and R2.

Vomax
Effect of Circuit Inductances and Series Resistance on the Impulse Generator Circuit

Series inductances in impulse generator circuit Effect of series inductance on wave-front time. V0 is the
percentage of charging voltage V, to which C1 is charged
Multistage Impulse Generators—Marx Circuit

❑ Impulse wave-shaping circuit is connected externally to the capacitor unit.

❑ CRs is about 10 s to 1 min.
❑ The gap spacing is chosen such that the breakdown voltage of the gap G is greater than
the charging voltage V
Multistage Impulse Generators – Modified Marx Circuit
❖ R1 is divided into n parts equal to R1 /n and put in
series with the gap G.
❖ R2 is also divided into n parts and arranged across
each capacitor unit after the gap G.

Multistage impulse generator incorporating the series and wave tail resistances within the generator
Components of a Multistage Impulse Generator
❑ D.c. Charging set (+, -).
❑ Charging Resistors (10:100 kΩ).
❑ Generator Capacitor and Spark Gaps.
❑ Wave-shaping Resistors.
❑ Triggering System.
❑ Voltage Dividers.
Generator capacitances with sphere
gaps, VD and motorized polarity
charging
High Voltage Engineering, Second Semester, Academic year 2021/2022
 Generation of Switching Surges
The circuits used for producing switching surges can be grouped to:
1- impulse generator circuit modified to give longer duration waveshapes,

2- power transformers or testing transformers excited by d.c. voltages

giving oscillatory waves and these include Tesla coils.
Standard switching impulse voltage (Indian and the IEC Standards):
time-to-front/time-to-half value:

250/2500 μs wave

(250 ± 50) /(2500 ±500) μs

Generation of Impulse Currents
The different impulse currents can be classified to:
1.Exponential current impulses(ECI)

2.Rectangular current impulses (RCI)

Generation of High Impulse Currents

For producing large values of

impulse currents, a number of
capacitors are charged in parallel
and discharged in parallel into the
circuit.

High Voltage Engineering, Second Semester, Academic year 2021/2022

Thank you