High Voltage Engineering

Generation of High Voltage & Current

Module 2

ELECTRICAL AND
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Dwarakanath S K

SJB
I NS T I T U T E O F T EC H O LO G Y
MODULE 2
Generation of High Voltage & Current

HV AC –HV transformer; Need for cascade connection & working of transformer unit connected in
cascade. Series resonant circuit-Principle of operation & advantages. Tesla coil. HVDC voltage doubler
circuit, cock croft Walton type high voltage Dc set. Calculate of high voltage regulation, ripple &
optimum number of stages for minimum voltage drop.

1
SECTION 1

HV AC Generation
Content

1. Classification of Breakdown
Mechanism

HV Transformer 3. In addition to the nominal winding namely, i.e. low & high
voltage windings, a third winding know as meter winding is pro-
1. When test voltage requirement are less than about 300KV, a sin-
vided to measure the output voltage.
gle transformer can be used for the test purposes.
4. For higher voltage requirements, a single unit construction be-
2. The impedance of the transformer should be generally less
come difficult & costly due to insulation problems, transporta-
than 5% & must be capable of giving the short circuit current for
tion & erection of large transformer become difficult.
one minute or more depending on the design.

2
5. These drawbacks are overcome by series connection or cascad- 2. The second transformer is kept on insulators and maintained at
ing of the several identical units of transformers, where in the high a potential of V2, the output voltage of the first unit above the
voltage windings of all the units effectively come in series. ground.

3. The high voltage winding of the first unit is connected to the

tank of the second unit.

4. The low voltage winding of this unit is supplied from the excita-
tion

Winding of the first transformer, which is in series with the high

voltage winding of the first transformer at its high voltage end.

5. The rating of the excitation winding is almost identical to that of

the primary or the low voltage winding.

Fig. Cascade transformer connection (schematic) 6. The high voltage connection from the first transformer winding
and the excitation winding terminal are taken through a bushing
V1 — Input voltage to the second transformer.
V2 — Output voltage 7. In a similar manner, the third transformer is kept on insulators
aa' — L.V. primary winding above the ground at a potential of 2V2 and is supplied likewise
from the second transformer.
bb' — H.V. secondary winding

cc' — Excitation winding

bd — Meter winding (200 to 500 V)

1. Figure above shows the cascade transformer units in which the

first transformer is at

the ground potential along with its tank.

3
8. The number of stages in this type of arrangement are usually respective tank potentials and are meant for supplying the excita-
two to four, but very often, three stages are adopted to facilitate a tion for the second and the third stages at their tank potentials.
three-phase operation so that can be obtained between the lines.
12. Power supply to the isolating transformers is also fed from the
9. Supply to the units can be obtained from a motor-generator set same a.c. input. This scheme is expensive and requires more space.
or through an induction regulator for variation of the output volt-
The advantage of this scheme
age.
1) Sufficient natural cooling
10. The rating of the primary or the low voltage winding is usually
230 or 400 V for small units up to 100 kVA. 2) Transformers are light and compact.
For larger outputs the rating of the low voltage winding may be
3.3kV, 6.6 kV or 11 kV. Gallery 1.1 HVAC Generation Image from field

Fig. Cascade transformer unit with isolating transformers for exci-

tation

11. Above figure shows a second scheme for providing the excita-
tion to the second and the third stages is shown. Isolating trans-
formers Is1 Is2 & Is3 are 1:1 ratio transformers insulated to their

4
3) Transportation and assembly is easy. V is the rms value of the nominal output voltage of the trans-
former.
4) Construction is identical for isolating transformers and the high
voltage Cascade units. Where K (> 1.0) is a factor to account for any extra capacitance in
the test circuit like that of the measuring capacitance divider etc. K
5) Three phase connection in delta or star is possible for three
may have values of the order of 2 or more for very high voltages
units.
(>1 MHz).
6) Testing transformers of ratings up to 10 MVA in cascade connec-
Typical capacitance values for high capacitance test objects like
tion to give high
power transformers, cables etc. are as follows:
Voltages up to 2.25 MV are available for both indoor and outdoor
Power transformers (rating < IMVA) 1000 pF
applications.
Power transformers (rating > IMVA) 1000-10,000 pF
T1, T2, T3 — Cascade transformer units.
High Voltage power cables
Is1, Is2, Is3 — Isolation transformer units.
(With solid insulation) 250-300 pF/m
C1, C2, C3 — Capacitance voltage dividers for HV measurement
after 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages High Voltage power cables

V1, V2, V3 — for metering after 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages (With gas insulation) 50-80 pF/m

1. Primary (LVwinding) The charging currents for the test apparatus may range from 10
mA at 100 kV to a few mill amperes in the megavolt range.
2. HV winding
Disadvantages of cascade Transformer
3. Excitation winding.
1. Cascade transformers are very expensive apparatus and are diffi-
Testing of an H. V. apparatus or insulation always involves supply-
cult to repair.
ing of capacitive loads with very low power dissipation.
2. It is necessary to limit the high short-circuit currents by using
The nominal rating of the transformer in kV A will be P=KV2Wc
limiting reactors in the input stage.
If C is the capacitance of the test object,

5
Series Resonant Transformers 2. It may be seen that it is possible to have series resonance at
power frequency O), if
1. The equivalent circuit of a high voltage testing transformer con-
sists of the leakage (L1 +L2)= 1/Wc.

reactance of the windings, the winding resistances, the magnetiz- 3. With this condition, the current in the test object is very large
ing reactance, and and is limited only by the resistance of the circuit.

the shunt capacitance across the output terminal due to the bush- 4. The waveform of the voltage across the test object will be purely
ing of the high voltage sinusoidal. The magnitude of the voltage across the capacitance C
of the test object will be
terminal and also that of the test object.

The factor Xc/R = 1/WcR is the Q factor of the circuit and gives
the magnitude of the voltage multiplication across the test object
under resonance conditions.

Fig. Transformer! Fig. Equivalent circuit 5. Therefore, the input voltage required for excitation is reduced by
a factor 1/2, and the output kVA required is also reduced by a fac-
T— Testing transformer
tor 1/Q.
L1, L2 — Leakage inductances of the
The secondary power factor of the circuit is unity.
L — Choke transformer
6. This principle is utilized in testing at very high voltages and on
C — Capacitance of HV terminal occasions requiring large current outputs such as cable testing, di-
electric loss measurements, partial discharge measurements, etc.
r1, r2 — Resistances of the windings and test object

R0 — Resistance due to core loss.

Lo— magnetizing inductance

6
The chief advantages of this principle are: A voltage regulator of either the auto-transformer type or the in-
duction regulator type is connected to the supply mains and the
(a) It gives an output of pure sine wave,
secondary winding of the exciter transformer is connected across
(b) Power requirements are less (5 to 10% of total kVA required), the H.V. reactor, L, and the capacitive load C.

(c) No high-power arcing and heavy current surges occur if the test 2. The inductance of the reactor L is varied by varying its air gap
object fails, as resonance ceases at the failure of the test object, and operating range is set in the ratio 10: 1.

(d) Cascading is also possible for very high voltages, 3. Capacitance ‘C’ comprises of the capacitance of the test object,
capacitance of the measuring voltage divider, capacitance of the
(e) Simple and compact test arrangement, and high voltage bushing etc.
(f) No repeated flashovers occur in case of partial failures of the 4. The Q-factor obtained in these circuits will be typically of the or-
test object and Insulation recovery. der of 50.
Disadvantages are the requirements of additional variable chokes Generation of High Frequency a.c. High Voltages
capable of Withstanding the full test voltage and the full current
rating. 1. High frequency high voltages are required for rectifier DC
power supplies.

2. Also, for testing electrical apparatus for switching surges, high

frequency high voltage damped oscillations are needed which
need high voltage high frequency transformers.

Advantages of high frequency transformers are:

(i) The absence of iron core in transformers and hence saving in

cost and size,

(ii) Pure sine wave output,

Fig. Parallel resonant AC test system (iii) Slow build-up of voltage over a few cycles and hence no dam-
age due to switching surges.
1. A simplified diagram of the series resonance test system is given
in Figure.

7
(iv) Uniform distribution of voltage across the winding coils due to 4. The primary voltage rating is 10 kV and the secondary may be
subdivision of coil stack into a number of units. rated to as high as 500 to 1000 kV. The primary is fed from a d.c. or
a.c. supply through the condenser C1.
The commonly used high frequency resonant transformer is the
Tesla coil, which is a doubly tuned resonant circuit shown in figure 5. A spark gap G connected across the primary is triggered at the
below desired voltage V\ which induces a high self-excitation in the sec-
ondary.

6. The primary and the secondary windings (L1 and 2) are wound
on an insulated former with no core (air-cored) and are immersed
in oil.

7. The windings are tuned to a frequency of 10 to 100 kHz by

means of the Condensers C1 and C2.

8. The primary coil is wound on an insulator fibre tube of about 1m

length to represent a cylindrical or helical winding & consists of a
few tens of turns(usually copper strip).
Fig. Equivalent circuit
9. The secondary winding is spaced quite away from the primary
winding on another concentric fibre tube with a few thousand
turns.

10. The whole assembly will be immersed in an oil tank under pres-
sure with separate bushings taken out for the primary & the secon-
dary windings, the primary winding is supplied through a high
voltage capacitor rectifier unit rated for 10KV to 50KV or more &
the power rating of the transformer may be 10KVA or more.

11. The output voltage V2 is a function of the parameters L1, L2,

Fig. Output waveform
C1, C2, and the mutual Inductance M. Usually, the winding resis-
tances will be small and contribute only for damping of the oscilla-
tions.

8
The analysis of the output waveform can be done in a simple man-
ner neglecting the winding resistances. Let the condenser C1 be
charged to a voltage when the spark gap is triggered.

Let a current i1, flow through the primary winding L1 and produce
a current i2 through L2 and C2.

Then,

The Laplace transform of the above equation A more simplified analysis for the Tesla coil may be presented by
considering that the energy stored in the primary circuit in the ca-
pacitance C1 is transferred to C2 via the magnetic coupling.

If W1 is the energy stored in C1 and W2 is the energy transferred

to C2 and if the efficiency of the transformer is , then

It can be shown that if the coefficient of coupling K is large the os-
Where I1 and I2 are the Laplace transformed values, of i1 and i2. cillation frequency is less, and for large values of the winding resis-
tances and AT, the waveform may become a unidirectional im-
The output voltage V2 across the condenser C2 is,
pulse.

The peak amplitude of the secondary voltage V2 can be expressed

as,

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Interactive 1.1 Review 1.1

Question 1 of 5
India’s largest thermal power station is located at

A. Kota.

B. Sarni.

C.  Chandrapur.

D. Neyveli.

Check Answer

10
SECTION 2

HVDC Generation

Generation Of High D.C. Voltages 2. For the generation of d.c. voltages of up to 100 kV, electronic
valve rectifiers are used and the output currents are about 100 mA.
1. High d.c. voltages is mainly required in research work in the ar-
eas of pure and applied physics. Sometimes, high direct voltages
are needed in insulation tests on cables and capacitors. Impulse
3. The rectifier valve require special construction for cathode and
generator charging units also require high d.c. voltages of about
filaments since a high electrostatic field of several kV/cm exists be-
100 to 200 kV.
tween the anode and the cathode in the non-conduction period.

11
Half and Full Wave Rectifier Circuits: voltage of the secondary of the high voltage transformer in the con-
ducting half cycle.

5. In the other half cycle, the capacitor is discharged into the load.
The value of the

Capacitor C is chosen such that the time constant CRL is at least 10

times that of the period of the a.c. supply.

6. The rectifier valve must have a peak inverse rating of at least 2

1. Rectifier circuits for producing high d.c. voltages from a.c.
Vmax- To limit the charging current, an additional resistance/? is
sources may be
provided in series with the secondary of the transformer.
(a) half wave, (b) full wave, or (c) voltage doubler type rectifiers.

7. A full wave rectifier circuit, In the positive half cycle, the rectifier
2. The rectifier may be an electron tube or a solid state device. A conducts and charges the capacitor C, while in the negative
Now-a-days single electron tubes are available for peak inverse half cycle the rectifier B conducts and charges the capacitor.
voltages up to 250 kV, and semiconductor or solid state diodes up
to 20 kV.

3. For higher voltages, several units are to be used in series. When

a number of units are used in series, transient voltage distribution
along each unit becomes non-uniform and special care should be
taken to make the distribution uniform.

(a) Half wave rectifier (b) Full wave rectifier

4. In the half wave rectifier the capacitor is charged to Vmax, the

maximum a.c.

12
8. The source transformer requires a centre tapped secondary with 15. Both full wave and half wave rectifiers produce d.c. voltages
a rating of 2V. less than the a.c. maximum voltage. Also, ripple or the voltage fluc-
tuation will be present, and this has to be kept within a reasonable
limit by means of filters.
9. For applications at high voltages of 50 kV and above, the rectifier
Ripple Voltage with Half Wave and Full Wave Rectifiers
valves used are of special construction.
1. When a full wave or a half wave rectifier is used along with the
smoothing condenser
10. Apart from the filament, the cathode and the anode, they con-
tain a protective shield or grid around the filament and the cath-
Gallery 1.2 HVDC Generation from Site
ode. The anode will be usually a circular plate.

11. Since the electrostatic field gradients are quite large, the heater
and the cathode experience large electrostatic forces during the
non conduction periods.

12. So that the mechanical forces between the anode and the cath-
ode are reflected on the grid structure only.

13. Semiconductor diodes are not true valves since they have finite
but very small conduction in the backward direction.

14. The more commonly preferred diodes for high voltage rectifi-
ers are silicon diodes with peak inverse voltage (P.I.V.) of 1 kV to 2
kV.

13
C, the maximum a.c. voltage on load. (a) Input sine wave

(b) Output with half wave rectifier and condenser filter

2. When loaded, a fluctuation in the output d.c. voltage 6V ap- (c) Output with full wave rectifier and condenser filter
pears, and is called a ripple.
(d) Vmax, Vmean and ripple voltage and 8 V with condenser

filter of a full wave rectifier.

3. The ripple voltage is larger for a half wave rectifier than that for
a full wave rectifier, since the discharge period in the case of half
wave rectifier is larger as shown in Fig. Voltage Doubler Circuits

1. Both full wave and half wave rectifier circuits produce a d.c. volt-
age less than the a.c. maximum voltage.

2. When higher d.c. voltages are needed, a voltage doubler or cas-

caded rectifier doubler circuits are used.

Fig. Simple Voltage Doubler

Fig. Input and output waveforms of half and full wave rectifiers

14
4. In voltage doubler circuit shown in Fig. 6.3a, the condenser C\ is
charged through rectifier R to a voltage of +Vmax with polarity as
shown in the figure during the negative half cycle.

5. As the voltage of the transformer rises to positive +Vmax during

the next half cycle, the potential of the other terminal of C\ rises to
a voltage of +2Vmax.

6. Thus, the condenser C2 in turn is charged through R2 to 2Vmax. Fig. Cascaded voltage doubler

7. The d.c.output voltage on load will be less than 2V018x, depend- T1, T2 - h.v. transformers
ing on the time constant C2RL and the forward charging time con-
R1,R2,R3,R4 – rectifiers
stants.
C1 C2 C3 – condensers

RL - Load resistance
8. The ripple voltage of these circuits will be about 2% for RL/ r <
10 and X/r < 0.25, where X and r are the reactance and resistance T- isolating transformer
of the input transformer.

10. It is used when larger output voltages are needed without

9. The rectifiers are rated to a peak inverse voltage of 2Vmax, and changing the input transformer voltage level.
the condensers C1 and C2 must also have the same rating. If the
load current is large, the ripple also is more.
11. The rectifiers R1 and R2 with transformer T1 and condensers
C1 and C2 produce an output voltage of 2V in the same way as de-
scribed above. This circuit is duplicated and

15
connected in series or cascade to obtain a further voltage doubling (3) a.c. output voltage waveform with condenser filter.
to 4V.
Voltage Multiplier Circuits

1. Cascaded voltage multiplier circuits for higher voltages are cum-

12. T is an isolating transformer to give an insulation for 2Kmax bersome and require
since the transformer T2 is at a potential of 2Vmax above the
too many supply and isolating transformers.
ground.
2. It is possible to generate very high d.c. voltages from single sup-
ply transformers by extending the simple voltage doubler circuits.
13. The voltage distribution along the rectifier string R1,R2,R3, &
3. Valve type pulse generators may be used instead of conventional
R4 is made uniform by having condensers C1 C2 C3 & C4 of equal
a.c. supply and the circuit becomes compact.
values. The arrangement may be extended to give 6V, 8V, and so
on. Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier circuit:

Fig. Waveforms of a.c. voltage and the d.c. output voltage on

no-load of the voltage doublet shown

(1) a.c input voltage waveform. Fig. Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier circuit

(2) a.c. output voltage waveform without Condenser filter.

16
D1 , D3, D5..........D2n-1= operate & conduct in +ve cycle 3. Voltage multiplier circuit using the Cockcroft-Walton principle is
shown in Fig.
D2, D4,D2n = in -ve cycle
4. The first stage, i.e. D1, D2, & C1 C2 and the transformer T are
1. Cockcroft Walton circuit preferred for voltage multiplier circuit
identical as in the voltage doubler.
because it is possible to generate very HV from single Phase trans-
former by extending the voltage double circuit. 5. For higher output voltage of 4.6,... 2n of the input voltage , the
circuit is repeated with
2. It is simple & compact when load current is less than 1mA.
cascade or series connection. Thus, the condenser C4 is charged to
4Vmax and C2n to 2n Vmax above the earth potential.

6. But the volt across any individual condenser or rectifier is only

2Vmax.

7. The rectifiers D1 , D3, D5..........D2n-1 operate and conduct dur-

ing the positive half cycles while the rectifiers D2, D4,D2n conduct
during the negative half cycles.

8. The voltage on C2 is the sum of the input a.c. voltage, Vac and
the voltage across condenser C1 is Vc1.

9. The mean voltage on C2 is less than the positive peak charging

voltage (V AC+ VC1).

10. The voltages across other condensers C2 to C2n can be derived

in the same manner, (i.e.) from the difference between voltage
!
across the previous condenser and the charging voltage.
Fig. Voltage waveforms across the first and the last capacitors of
the cascaded voltage multiplier circuit

17
 t2 =non conduction period of the rectifiers,

Sv = ripple voltage.

➢! Referring to voltage doubler circuit, when load current I, is

supplied from capacitor C2 to load RL during the non-conducting
period, the charge transferred per cycle from the capacitor C2 to
the load during the non-conduction period T2 is q and is related as
follows.

11. Finally the voltage after 2n stages will be Vac (n1 + n2 + ...),
where n1, n2,... are

factors when ripple and regulation are considered in the next recti-
fier.

Fig. Ripple voltage 8 V and the voltage drop A Vin a cascaded

voltage multiplier circuit

Ripple In Cascaded Voltage Multiplier Circuits:-

➢With load, the output voltage of the cascaded rectifiers is less ! ➢! At the same time a charge q is transferred from C1 to C2
than 2n Vn^x, where n is the number of stages. during each cycle equal to I1/fc2, thus the total voltage drop that
occurs will be I1/fc1 + 2I1/fc2
➢! The ripple and the voltage regulation of the rectifier circuit
may be estimated as follows.

Let f = supply frequency,

q = charge transferred in each cycle,

For the cascade circuit, on no load, the voltages between stages are
i1 = load current from the rectifier,
raised by 2Vmax giving an output voltage of 2nVmax for n stages.
t1 = conduction period of the rectifiers,

18
➢! Referring a cockcraft Walton circuit , to find expression for Voltage Drop on Load and Regulation
the total ripple voltage, let it be Assumed that all capacitances C1,
1. The changes of average voltage across the load from the no load
C2,..., C2n be equal to C.
theoretical value expressed as a percentage of no load voltage is
➢! Let q be the charge transferred from C2n to the load per cycle. called the regulation.

Then the ripple at the condenser C2n will be I1/fc 2. The changes in voltage (m) the voltage drop is caused due to the
ripple and the capacitors not getting charges to the full voltages
Simultaneously, C2n-2 transfers as charge q to the load and to
when they are supplying the load current I.
C2n-1. Hence, the ripple at the condenser C2n-n is 2I1/fc
.Similarly,C2n-4 transfers a charge q to the load, to C2n-3 and to 3. The voltage drop under load condition is found by assuming all
C2n-3 and C2n-2. the capacitors are of equal value C

Hence, the ripple at the condenser C2n-2 is 2I1/fC, Similarly, C2n-4 4. It is seen from the analysis of ripple the all the capacitor are not
transfers a charge q to the load, to C2n-3 and to C2n-2. changes to 2vmax. The capacitor c2n is changes to (2vmax – nI1/fc
) only instead of 2vmax because the change given through C2n-1 in
one cycle is equal to a voltage drop nI1/fc.

Therefore, the ripple at condenser C2n-4 is 3I1 /fC, 5. This is because in each stages the laws of charge equal to a volt-
ages drop of I1/fc to the load.
Proceeding in the same way, the ripple at C2 will be nI1/fC.
6. in similar manner the capacitor C2n-2 is charged to only since
Hence, for n stages the total ripple will be reduction in voltage.

And the average = Sv total/2 = I1/4fc (n) (n+1) At this stage is further equal to nI1/fc at the capacitor C2n-1 and
(n-1)I1/fc at capacitor C2n-2
The major contribution to the ripple is from the lowest or ground
end capacitors C1 C2 C3 C4 etc ripple can be reduced of the capaci- 7. Thus if the voltage drops at each of the capacitor C2n, C2n-2 etc,
tances are increased proportionately, i.e.C1and C2 are made equal to C2 are designed as the total voltage drop will be
to nC, and C3 C4 are made equal to (n - I) C and so on, That the to-
tal ripple will be equal to nI1/fc.

Note:-capacitors here means (n/2) stages only same two capacitors

form each stages or a double units.

19
 ➢! In electrostatic machines charged bodies are moved in an elec-
tric field against an electrostatic field in order that mechanical en-
ergy is converted into electrical energy.

➢! Thus, if an insulated belt with a charge density S moves in an

electric field E(x)" between two electrodes with separation S then.

Here also, it is seen that most of the voltage drop is due to the low-
est stage condensers

C1,C2, etc. Hence, it is advantageous to increase their values pro-

portional to the number of the stage from the top.
Thus, in an electrostatic machine, the mechanical power required
to move the belt at

a velocity v, i.e. P = F.v is converted into the electrical power, P= V.

/, assuming that there are no losses in the system. The Van de
Graaff generator is one such electrostatic machine which generates
very high voltages, with small output current.
Where I = load current
Van dc Graff Generators:-
Electrostatic Machines:-

Basic Principle:-➢! In electromagnetic machines, current carry-

ing conductors are moved in a magnetic field, so that the mechani-
cal energy is converted into electrical energy.

20
 5. The steady potential will be attained by the high voltage elec-
trode when the leakage currents and the load current are equal to
the charging current.

6. The shape of the high voltage electrode is so made with re-

entrant edges as to avoid high surface field gradients, corona and
other local discharges. The shape of the electrode is nearly spheri-
cal.

7. The charging of the belt is done by the lower spray points which
are sharp needles and connected to a d.c source of about 10 to 100
kV, so that the corona is maintained between the moving belt and
the needles.
1. In the above figure the generator is usually enclosed in an
earthed metallic cylindrical vessel and is operated under pressure 8. The charge from the corona points is collected by the collecting
or in vacuum. needles from the belt and is transferred on to the high voltage elec-
trode as the belt enters into the high voltage electrode.
2. Charge is sprayed on to an insulating moving belt from corona
points at a potential of 10 to 100 kV above earth and is removed 9. The belt returns with the charge dropped, and fresh charge is
and collected from the belt connected to the inside of an insulated sprayed on to it as it passes through the lower corona point.
metal electrode through which the belt moves. 10. The charging current for unit surface area of the belt is given by
3. The belt is driven by an electric motor at speed of 1000 to 2000 I= bvd,
metres per minute. Where; b is the breadth of the belt in metres,
4. The potential of the high voltage electrode above the earth at any V is the velocity of the belt in m/sec,
instant is V = QJC9 where Q is the charge stored and C is the ca-
pacitance of the high voltage electrode to The potential of the high S is the surface charge density in coulombs/m2.
voltage electrode rises at a rate,

21
11. It is found that 6 is £ 1.4 x IQT 5 C/m2 to have a safe electric AC1
field intensity normal to the surface. With b =3 m and v = 3 m/sec,
With the capacitor charged with a d.c. voltage C dv/dt = 0 and the
the charging current will be approximately 125 mA.
power output will be P=V^2 dv/dt
12. The generator is normally worked in a high pressure gaseous
A schematic diagram of a synchronous electrostatic generator with
medium, the pressure ranging from 5 to 15 atm.
interleaved
13. The gas maybe nitrogen, air, air-freon (CCl 2F2 mixture, or sul-
stator and rotor plates is shown in Fig.
phur hexafluoride (SF6).

14. Van de Graaff generators are useful for very high voltage and
low current applications.

15. The output voltage is easily controlled by controlling the co-

rona source voltage and the rate of charging.

16. The voltage can be stabilized to 0.01 %. These are extremely

flexible and precise machines for voltage control.

Electrostatic Generators

1.Van de Graaff generators are essentially high voltage but low

power devices, and their power rating seldom exceeds few tens of
kilowatt. The rotor is insulated from the ground, and is maintained at a po-
tential of + V. The rotor to stator capacitance varies from CQ to
2. An electrostatic generator consists of a stator with interleaved ro- Cm, and the stator is connected to a common point between two
tor vanes forming a variable capacitor and operates in vacuum. rectifiers across the d.c. output which is -E volts.
3.The current through a variable capacitor is given by I= C dv/dt + When the capacitance of the rotor is maximum (C^1), the rectifier
Vdc/dt where C is a capacitor charged to a potential V. B does not conduct and the stator is at ground potential.
The power input into the circuit at any instant is P =VI=CV dv/ The potential E is applied across the rectifier A and V is applied
dt+v^2dc/dt If dc/dt is negative, mechanical energy is converted across Cm. As the rotor rotates, the capacitance C decreases and
into electrical energy. the voltage across C increases.

22
Thus, the stator becomes more negative with respect to ground.
When the stator reaches the line potential -E the rectifier A con-
ducts, and further movement of the rotor causes the current to
flow from the generator. Rectifier B will now have E across it and
the charge left in the generator will be

where C5 is the stator capacitance to earth,

Cr is the capacitance of rectifier B to earth, and

CQ is the minimum capacitance value of C (stator to rotor capaci-

tance).

23
SECTION 3

GENERATION OF IMPULSE
VOLTAGES
Content

1. Generation of Impulse Voltage.

2. Generation of Impulse Current.

GENERATION OF IMPULSE VOLTAGES 2.Experimental investigations showed that these waves have a
rise time of 0.5 to. 10 Ji s and decay time to 50% of the peak value
Standard Impulse Waveshapes
of the order of 30 to 200 \i s.
1.Transient overvoltages due to lightning and switching surges
3.The lightning overvoltage wave can be represented as double
cause steep build-up of
exponential waves defined by the equation
voltage on transmission lines and other electrical apparatus.
V= Vb[exp(-o0-exp(-p0]

24
where a and P are constants of microsecond values. 8.The line joining these points is extended to cut the time axis at
0\. 0\ is taken as the virtual origin. 1.25 times the interval between
The above equation represents a unidirectional wave.
times t\ and ti corresponding to points C and D (projections on the
4. The general waveshape is given in Fig.Impulse waves are speci- time axis)
fied by defining their rise or front time, fall or tail time to 50% peak
9. The point E is located on the wave tail corresponding to 50% of
value, and the value of the peak voltage. Thus 1.2/50 |is, 1000 kV
the peak value, and its projection on the time axis is t4.(0/4 is de-
5. When impulse waveshapes are recorded, the initial portion of fined as the fall or tail time.)
the wave will not be clearly defined or sometimes will be missing.
10. If the point C is not clear or missing from the waveshape re-
Moreover, due to disturbances it may contain superimposed oscilla-
cord, the point corresponding to 30% peak value F is taken and its
tions in the rising portion. Hence, the front and tail times have to
projection t'\ is located on time axis.
be defined.
10.The wavefront time in that case will be defined as 1.67 (01t3 -
0I^t1`),

11.The tolerances that can be allowed in the front and tail times are
respectively ± 30% and ± 20%.

12.Indian standard specifications define 1.2/50 micro sec wave to

be the standard impulse. The tolerance allowed in the peak value
is ± 3%.

Analysis of Impulse Generator Circuit of Series R-L-C Type

6.Referring to the waveshape in Fig. the peak value A is fixed and

referred to as 100% value.

7.The points corresponding to 10% and 90% of the peak values are
located in the front portion (points C and D).

25
 The wave front and the wave tail times are controlled by changing
the values of R and L simultaneously with a given generator capaci-
tance C;

Choosing a suitable value for L. P or the wave front time is deter-

mined and a or the wave tail time is controlled by the value of R in
the circuit

26
 The advantage of this circuit is its simplicity. But the waveshape Multistage Impulse Generators—Marx Circuit
control is not flexible and independent.
1.In single stage ckt the generator capacitance C\ is to be first
Disadvantage is that the basic circuit is altered when a test object charged and then discharged into the wave shaping circuits.
which will be mainly capacitive in nature, is connected across the
2. A single capacitor Ci may be used for voltages up to 200 kV. Be-
output. Hence, the waveshape gets changed with the change of test
yond this voltage, a single capacitor and its charging unit may be
object
too costly, and the size becomes very large.
t1=3R1C1C2/C1+C2 ; t2=0.7(R1+R2)(C1+C2)
3.The cost and size of the impulse generator increases at a rate of
this formulae for the t1&t2 hold good for fig (b)&(C) the square or cube of the voltage rating.

for (d) R is taken as 2R1 4.Hence, for producing very high voltages, a bank of capacitors are
charged in parallel and then discharged in series.
Gallery 1.3 Generation of Impulse voltage & current
5. The arrangement for charging the capacitors in parallel and then

connecting them in series for discharging was originally proposed

by Marx.

Schematic diagram of Marx circuit arrangement for multistage

impulse generator

C — Capacitance of the generator

Rs — Charging resistors

27
G — Spark gap

R1, R2 — Wave shaping resistors

T — Test object

6.Usually the charging resistance^ is chosen to limit the charging

current to about 50 to 100 mA, and the generator capacitance C is
chosen such that the product CR5 is about 10 s to 1 min.

7.The gap spacing is chosen such that the breakdown voltage of

the gap G is greater than the charging voltage V.

8.Thus, all the capacitances are charged to the voltage V in about 1

minute. Multistage impulse generator incorporating the series and wave
tail resistances within the generator
9. When the impulse generator is to be discharged, the gaps G are
made to spark over simultaneously by some external means. Thus, 1.In the modified Marx circuit is shown, wherein the resistances R\
all the capacitors C get connected in scries and discharge into the and /?2 are incorporated inside the unit.
load capacitance or the test object.
2.RI is divided into n parts equal toR\/n and put in series with the
10. The discharge time constant CR\/n (for nstages) will be very gap G.
very small (microseconds), compared to the charging time constant
3.R2 is also divided into n parts and arranged across each capacitor
CR5 which will be few seconds. Hence, no discharge takes place
unit after the gap G.
through the charging resistors Rs. In the Marx circuit is of Fig.
6.17a the impulse wave shaping circuit is connected externally to 4.This arrangement saves space, and also the cost is reduced. But,
the capacitor unit. in case the waveshape is to be varied widely, the variation becomes
difficult.

5.The additional advantages gained by distributing R\ and /?2 in-

side the unit are that the control resistors are smaller in size and
the efficiency (Vo/nV) is high.

Modified Marx circuit

28
6.Impulse generators are nominally rated by the total voltage (4) Wave-shaping Resistors and Capacitors
(nominal), the number of stages, and the gross energy stored.
Resistors will be non-inductive wound type and should be capable
7. The nominal output voltage is the number of stages multiplied of discharging impulse currents of 1000 A or more. Each resistor
by the charging voltage. The nominal energy stored is given by will be designed for a maximum voltage of SO to 100 kV. The resis-
tances are bifilar wound or non-inductive thin flat insulating
1/2CV^2 where C1 = CIn (the discharge capacitance) and V is the
sheets. In some cases, they are wound on thin cylindrical formers
nominal maximum voltage (n times charging voltage).
and are completely enclosed. The load capacitor may be of com-
Components of a Multistage Impulse Generator pressed gas or oil filled with a capacitance of 1 to 10 nF.

A multistage impulse generator requires several components pans (5) Triggering System
for flexibility and for the production of the required waveshape.
This consists of trigger spark gaps to cause spark breakdown of the
(1) DC. Charging Set gaps (see Sec. 6.5).

The charging unit should be capable of giving a variable d.c. volt- (6) Voltage Dividers
age of either polarity to charge the generator capacitors to the re-
Voltage dividers of either damped capacitor or resistor type and an
quired value.
oscilloscope with recording arrangement are provided for measure-
(2) Charging Resistors ment of the voltages across the test object.

These will be non-inductive high value resistors of about 10 to 100 (7) Gas insulated impulse g/r’s Impulse generator rated for 4MV
kilo-ohms. Each resistor will be designed to have a maximum volt- or above will be very tall
age between 50 and 100 kV.
& require large space As such they are usually located in open
(3) Generator Capacitors and Spark Gaps space & are housed in an insulated enclosure. The height of a
4.8mv unit may be around 30m .To make the unit compact such as
These are arranged vertically one over the other with all the spark N2or SF6 May be used as the insulation.
gaps aligned. The capacitors are designed for several charging and
discharging operations. On dead short circuit, the capacitors will
be capable of giving 10 kA of current. The spark gaps will be usu-
ally spheres or hemispheres of 10 to 25 cm diameter. Sometimes
spherical ended cylinders with a central support may also be used.

29
PROBLEMS

30
2 This method is difficult and does not assure consistent and con-
trolled tripping.

6.A simple method of controlled tripping consists of making the

first gap a three electrode gap and firing it from a controlled
source. Figure gives the schematic arrangement of a three electrode
gap.

7. The first stage of the impulse generator is fitted with a three elec-
trode gap, and the central electrode is maintained at a potential in
between that of the top and the bottom electrodes with the resis-
tors R\ and RL.

8. The tripping is initiated by applying a pulse to the thyratron G

by closing the switch S.

9.The capacitor C produces an exponentially decaying pulse of

positive polarity. The pulse goes and initiates the oscillograph time
base.
Tripping of an impulse generator with a three electrode gap
10.The thyratron conducts on receiving the pulse from the switch S
1.In large impulse generators, the spark gaps are generally sphere and produces a negative pulse through the capacitance C1 at the
gaps or gaps formed by hemispherical electrodes. central electrode of the 3electrode gap.
2.The gaps are arranged such that sparking of one gap results in 11.Hence, the voltage between the central electrode and the top
automatic sparking of other gaps as overvoltage is impressed on electrode of the three electrode gap goes above its sparking poten-
the other. tial and thus the gap conducts.
3.In order to have consistency in sparking, irradiation from an
ultra-violet lamp is provided from the bottom to all the gaps.

4.To trip the generator at a predetermined time, the spark gaps

may be mounted on a movable frame, and the gap distance is re-
duced by moving the movable electrodes closer.

31
 5.Tripping of the impulse generator is effected by a trip pulse
which produces a spark between the trigger electrode and the
earthed sphere.

6.Due to space charge effects and distortion of the field in the main
gap, sparkover of the main gap occurs.

7.The trigatron gap is polarity sensitive and a proper polarity pulse

should be applied for correct operation.

Trigatron Gap

1.The three electrode gap requires larger space and an elaborate

construction.

2.Now-a-days a trigatron gap shown in Fig. 6,24 is used, and this

requires much smaller voltage for operation compared to the three Trigatron gap & tripping circuit
electrode gap.

3.A trigatron gap consists of a high voltage spherical electrode of

suitable size, an earthed main electrode of spherical shape, and a
trigger electrode through the main electrode.

4. The trigger electrode is a metal rod with an annular clearance of

about 1 mm fitted into the main electrode through a bushing. The
trigatron is connected to a pulse circuit as shown in

Fig. .

32
Generation of Switching Surges

1.Now-a-days in extra high voltage transmission lines and power

systems, switching surge is an important factor that affects the de-
sign of insulation.

2. All transmission lines rated for 220 kV and above, incorporate

switching surge sparkover voltage for their insulation levels.

3.A switching surge is a short duration transient voltage produced

in the system due to a sudden opening or closing of a switch or cir-
cuit breaker or due to an arcing at a fault in the system. 4.The wave-
form is not unique. The transient voltage may be an oscillatory
Figure above shows the impulse generator circuits modified to
wave or a damped oscillatory wave of frequency ranging from few
give switching surges. The arrangement is the same as that of an
hundred hertz to few kilo hertz.
impulse generator. The values of R 1and R2 for producing wave-
5. It may also be considered as a slow rising impulse having a shapes of long duration, such as 100/1000 ps or 400/4000 US, will
wave front time of 0.1 to 10 ms, and a tail time of one to several ms. range from 1 to 5 kilo-ohms and 5 to 20 kilo-ohms respectively.
Thus,switching surges contain larger energy than the lightning im- Thus, R\ is about 20 to 30% of The efficiency of the generator gets
pulse voltages.Several circuits have been adopted for producing considerably reduced to about 50% or even less. Moreover, the val-
switching surges. They are ues of the charging resistors R\ are to be increased to very high val-
ues as these will come in parallel with #2in *e discharge circuit
grouped as (i) impulse generator circuit modified to give longer du-
ration waveshapes, (ii) power transformers or testing transformers The circuit given in Fig. below produces unidirectional damped os-
excited by d.c. voltages giving oscillatory waves and these include cillations. With the use of an inductor L, the value of R\ is consid-
Tesla coils. (i)Standard switching impulse voltage is defined, both erably reduced, and the efficiency of the generator increases. The
by the Indian Standards and the IEC, as 250/2500 micro sec wave, damped oscillations may have a frequency of 1 to 10 kHz depend-
with the same tolerances for time-to-front and time-to-tail as those ing on the circuit parameters. Usually, the maximum value of the
for the lightning impulse voltage wave i.e. time-to-front of (250 switching surge obtained is 250 to 300 kV with an impulse genera-
tor having a nominal rating of 1000 kV and 25 kW sec Switching
± 50) us and time-to-half value of (2500 ± 500) us.
surges of very high peaks and long duration can be obtained by us-
ing the circuit shown in Fig. 6.19. An impulse generator condenser

33
C1charged to a low voltage d.c. (20 to 25 kV) is discharged into the
low voltage winding of a power or testing transformer. The high
voltage winding is connected in parallel to a load capacitance C^ a
potential divider R^ a sphere gap S, and the test object. Through
an autotransformer action, switching surge of proper waveshape
can be generated across

the test object. The efficiency obtained by this method is high but
the transformer should be capable of withstanding very high volt-
ages.

34
SECTION 4

GENERATION OF IMPULSE CURRENTS

GENERATION OF IMPULSE CURRENTS tion in testing work as well as in basic research on non-linear resis-
tors, electric arc studies, and studies relating to electric plasmas in
1.Lightening discharges involve both high voltage impulses and
high current discharges.
high current impulses on transmission lines.
Definition of Impulse Current Waveforms
2. Protective gear like surge diverters have to discharge the light-
ning currents without damage. 3.Therefore, generation of impulse The waveshapes used in testing surge diverters are 4/10 and 8/20
current waveforms of high magnitude («100 kA peak) find applica- n s, the figures

35
respectively representing the nominal wave front and wave tail
times.

The tolerances allowed on these times are ± 10% only. Apart from
the standard impulse current waves, rectangular waves of long du-
ration are also used for testing.The waveshape should be nomi-
nally rectangular in shape. The rectangular waves generally have
durations of the order of 0.5 to 5 ms, with rise and fall times of the
waves being less than ±10% of their total duration.

The tolerance allowed on the peak value is +20% and -0% (the
peak value may be more than the specified value but notless).

The duration of the wave is defined as the total time of the wave
during which the current is at least 10% of its peak value.

Circuit for Producing Impulse Current Waves

.
For producing impulse currents of large value, a bank of capacitors
connected in parallel are charged to a specified value and are dis-
charged through a series R-L circuit as shown in Fig

36
1.C represents a bank of capacitors connected in parallel which are
charged from a d.c. source to a voltage up to 200 kV.

2.R represents the dynamic resistance of the test object and the re-
sistance of the circuit and the shunt

3. L is an air cored high current inductor, usually a spiral tube of a

few turns. For producing large values of impulse currents, a number of capaci-
tors are charged in parallel and discharged in parallel into the cir-
If the capacitor is charged to a voltage V and discharged when the cuit The arrangement of capacitors is shown in Fig.
spark gap is triggered, the current im will be given by the equation
In order to minimize the effective inductance, the capacitors are
subdivided into smaller units.

If there are n\ groups of capacitors, each consisting of n2 units and

if L0 is the inductance of the common discharge path, L1is that of
each group and L2is that of each unit, then the effective inductance
L is given by L = L0 + L1/n1 + L2/n1n2 Also, the arrangement of
capacitors into a horse-shoe shaped layout minimizes the effective
load inductance.

Generation of Rectangular Current Pulses

1.Generation of rectangular current pulses of high magnitudes

(few hundred amperes and duration up to S ms) can be done by
discharging a pulse network or cable previously charged.

2. The basic circuit for producing rectangular pulses is given in Fig.

3.The length of a cable cr an equivalent pulse forming network is

charged to a specified d.o. voltage. When the spark gap is short-
circuited, the cable or pulse network discharges through the test ob-
ject

37
38
Interactive 1.2 Review 1.2

Question 1 of 5
Which of the following rotor is used in thermal power
plants?

A. cylindrical rotor

B. salient pole rotor

C. either of these

D. squirrel cage rotor

Check Answer

39
Cascade

Cascading is nothing but connection of two circuit elements in a series fashion.

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Chapter 1 - HVAC Generation

Generator

n electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power into electrical
power for use in an external circuit.

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Chapter 1 - HVDC Generation

Impedance

Electrical impedance is the measure of the opposition that a circuit presents to a current
when a voltage is applied. ... Impedance extends the concept of resistance to AC circuits, and
possesses both magnitude and phase, unlike resistance, which has only magnitude.

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Transformers

A transformer is an electrical device that transfers electrical energy between two or more cir-
cuits through electromagnetic induction. ... Transformers are used to increase or decrease the
alternating voltages in electric power applications.

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Chapter 1 - HVAC Generation