Hipotronics, Inc.

P.O. Box 414, 1650 Route 22

Brewster, NY 10509-0414
Tel: (845) 279-3644
Fax: (845) 279-2467
www.hipotronics.com

EFFECTS OF STRAY CAPACITANCE ON HIGH VOLTAGE TESTING OF
VEHICLE-MOUNTED ELEVATING AND ROTATING AERIAL DEVICES IN
ACCORDANCE WITH ANSI/SIA A92.2-2009

Hipotronics Engineering Staff
Hipotronics Inc. 1650 Route 22 North
Brewster, NY 10509 USA
Abstract

The capacitive effects of a ground plane on an aerial bucket truck undergoing periodic testing can have a
significant impact on the measured test results. The capacitive coupling of a building can reduce the
leakage current through the boom resulting in a lower reading from the return point of the truck. Since the
coupling is not as prevalent outdoors, more current flows through the boom resulting in larger leakage
readings. The capacitive effects of a large ground plane (such as a building) are proven both
mathematically and with small scale tests.

I. Introduction

During periodic dielectric leakage testing on Class C Aerial Bucket Trucks an unusual phenomenon
occurred in which the leakage current measured was significantly higher in an outdoor testing environment
when compared to an indoor environment.

The tests conducted on the boom trucks are held to ANSI/SIA Standard A92.2-2009, which sets forth all
testing aspects for Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Aerial Devices. The test setup used is outlined
in the standard and is illustrated below in Figure 1.
























Figure 1. Dielectric Test Configuration for Category C Aerial Devices [1]


Bonding jumpers are connected across the elbow, across the lower arm (#4 on the above drawing) and from
the boom to the truck. High Voltage is then applied to the boom directly behind the bucket connection.
Current measurement is taken from the return, located on the rear bumper. In addition to the insulation of
the tires, the truck is also on insulated platforms both under the wheels and outriggers.


Trucks are passed under the following conditions:

Unit Rating 60 Hertz Voltage
Maximum Allowable
Current
Test Duration
46 KV & below 100 KV (rms) 1 milliAmpere (RMS) 3 minutes

Table I. Acceptance Requirements [1]


II. Theory

Due to the nature of high voltage AC testing and the inevitable appearance of stray capacitances, it is
important to understand the effects of the testing environment on the measured data. In this case, the
test circuit of an insulating boom consists of a resistance in parallel with many small capacitances due
to the high voltage lead, the effects of corona, and grounded planes in close proximity to the equipment
under voltage. To simplify this circuit a single parallel RC circuit is formed by combining all the small
capacitances into one equivalent capacitance shown below in Figure 2.


Figure 2. Model RC Circuit

For comparative analysis, the capacitor is expressed as an impedance or reactance which is displayed
in Equation 1.

C j
X
C

1
= (Eq. 1)

From there, the resistance R and reactance X
C
are combined as two parallel impedances and result in
the following lumped impedance. The final version of Equation 2 has been broken down into its real
and imaginary parts by using the complex conjugate.

2 2
2
2 2
2
C
C
C
C Conjugate Complex
C
C
X R
X R
j
X R
RX
Z
jX R
jRX
Z
+

+
=

= (Eq. 2)

Thinking in terms of real and imaginary components, the first element of the lumped impedance will
draw current solely due to the resistive component of the circuit, or the boom of the truck. The
imaginary element which contains the j term is an effect of the combined stray components of the RC
circuit which are present due to the high voltage field. Applying Ohms Law in Equation 3 yields a
final useable equation for finding the leakage current through the insulating portion of the truck.
2


2 2
2
2 2
2
C
C
C
C
X R
X R
j
X R
RX
V
I
+

+
= (Eq. 3)


Using Equation 3 and varying the magnitude of the capacitance value C from Equation 1, the
following two limits of current I can be stated:



<<

where
j
V
I
C 1
lim (Eq. 4)




>>

where
j
V
I
C 0
lim (Eq. 5)



In Equations 4 and 5, the real portion of Equation 3 (the section modeling the trucks boom) has been
replaced with the generic variable , and the imaginary portion (the section modeling the coupling stray
capacitances) with variable . To illustrate the behavior of this test circuit represented by a mathematical
equation we must look at both extremes of the capacitive element.

In Equation 4, as the capacitive term of X
C
goes to 1, or the farad range, the real portion of the denominator
goes to zero X
C
times faster than the imaginary portion because of the squared reactance term. In this
extreme case there is a purely imaginary term to divide Equation 3 forcing the angle between the voltage
and current phasers to 90. In this instance, current will flow back through the capacitor and subtract from
the leakage current flowing through the boom resulting in a lower measured current due to the highly
capacitive lumped impedance.

Equation 5 eliminates the capacitive element because the real portion () of the denominator goes to
infinity X
C
times faster than the imaginary term because of the squared reactance of Equation 3. By
removing the j term, the phase shift is also removed and in this case the angle between the current and
voltage vectors is zero. Now the voltage is divided by a real number, and the majority of the current
measured will be that which is due to the high resistance of the insulating material of the boom since there
is no reverse current.

By minimizing the effects of the surrounding environment (ie. grounded walls/floor), and by using
appropriate high voltage connections to reduce corona, a close-to-pure look at the leakage current of the
boom can become possible. While it is nearly impossible to replicate either of the extreme cases in
Equations 4 or 5, the real world displays some combination of each. Testing indoors in a grounded
building will lead to a higher coupling environment and promote growth of the term increasing the phase
angle of the circuit and lowering the measured current at the high voltage source. Whereas reducing corona
at the high voltage connections and distancing the test circuit from any grounded planes plays to a stronger
. Although each boom truck circuit will be slightly different, it is important to be mindful of the scenario
in which data is recorded. Minor adjustments in the test setup and conductors used can change the value of
the current measured on the order of tens of micro amps due to the magnitude of the R and C components.

III. Results

Analysis done on similar test objects, discussed above, concludes that the results of leakage current
measurements are heavily dependent upon the physical testing environment and the material composition
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of objects in close proximity to the test circuit. Investigations were also conducted on the method and
orientation of routing cable connections.

Extensive testing was performed on various types of cylindrical electrical insulators. Intentions were to
simulate the test object, setup, and environment in order to obtain the most comparable results. Data points
were taken from 20KV 100KV, in 20KV steps, thus providing a substantial pool of data for analysis.
Figure 3, below, shows a plot of normalized lumped impedance versus applied test voltage taken in both
indoor and outdoor environments. This data was extrapolated from measurements of leakage currents
measured at the return of the AC source. The trend of the lines individually is not particularly as important
as the displacement between them. The findings prove that performing test procedures in an indoor
environment give rise to error in leakage current readings as a result of increased capacitive coupling. In
this case, the effects of stray capacitance cause the coupling of charge to points elsewhere in the
environment, thus reducing the real component of the return current to the AC source. Viewing the graph,
a 7.5% average decrease in impedance is measured when testing outdoors versus indoors.
Normalized Z vs V
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
1.05
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Voltage (kV)
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

I
m
p
e
d
a
n
c
e
Surface Indoor
Surface Outdoor


Figure 3. Plotted trends of Normalized Impedance vs. Applied Test Voltage

A second set of data showed that there can be cabling discrepancies. Data collected shows that the leakage
current level measured by the AC supply is dependent upon the location of the high voltage supply return
cable. Several orientations of cable routing were attempted in order to reduce effects of stray capacitance,
the most effect of which was the suspension of the return wire from the grounded steel-reinforced-concrete
flooring in the indoor environment. Measurements taken conclude that suspending the return cable, in air,
reduces capacitive coupling of the return signal to the ground plane. This allows for a more accurate
reading at the current meter of the AC source. Figure 4 displays plots of the experimental data. Two
qualities of these line plots are of interest; the overall impedance measurements are reduce by
approximately 10% and the average displacement between the indoor and outdoor readings is reduced by
approximately 40%.
4

Normalized Z vs V
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
1.05
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Voltage (kV)
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

I
m
p
e
d
a
n
c
e
Suspended Indoor
Suspended Outdoor


Figure 4. Effects of rerouting metering cables on impedance measurements

It was observed that, with orientations favoring a reduced value of stray capacitance, the testing would
produce higher leakage current readings at the AC source.

IV. Conclusion

Our findings suggest that high voltage testing of bucket trucks require a higher degree of attention to both
the routing of cable connections and determining appropriate test environments. The results above clearly
show that testing aerial lift devices indoors versus outdoors can lead to variances in leakage current. This is
because indoor testing allows for a higher coupling environment thus reducing leakage current measured at
the high voltage source.


References

[1] ANSI Subcommittee A92.2, American National Standard Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating
Aerial Devices, ANSI/SIA A92.2-2009.





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