High voltage generation
Produced by
Jawadayn kadhim
Introduction
We shall not consider methods of high voltage
generation for power transmission or high
power applications ,but only methods to
generate high voltages for testing purposes and
low power supplies ,with which the efficiency of
generation is not of prime importance.
High voltage testing equipment are also used in
the field of development and research ,e.g future
investigations and optimizations of insulating
arrangements to be used for new lines and
equipment in future at high voltages. Also these
testing equipment are used for research and
training at universities and technical colleges .
The conventional forms of high voltages in
use can be divided into the fallowing
classes
1. Alternating voltages(AC)
2. Direct voltages(DC)
3. Impulse (or transient ) voltages
The main purposes for testing at high
:voltages could be summarized as
i. To confirm the reliability and efficiency of
various insulating arrangements
(transformer., cables ,circuit breakers, etc).
ii. To study and investigate the insulation
behavior under different operating
conditions(clean ,dry, wet, contaminated ,
etc.)
iii. To determine the safety margins in respect
with the normal working conditions.
1.Alternating voltages (AC)
As electric power transmission with high AC
voltages predominates in transmission and
distribution systems worldwide the most
common form of testing is related to high AC
voltages ,therefore in every high voltage
laboratory HVAC testing equipment are available
and in use. As after as the voltage level is
concerned these may range from 10KV up to
more than 3000KV rms.
For several reasons the rated voltage of the
testing equipment is chosen higher than the
maximum withstand test voltage.
Power frequency withstand test voltage Nominal system voltage KV rms
KV rms
29 11
76 33
150 66
300 132
675 400
740 525
1410 1100
In general all HVAC tests are made at the
working frequency of the test object(50 or 60
Hz)
Straight Generation(Single Transformer)
The power frequency single-phase transformer
is the most common form of HVAC testing
apparatus. Its designed for operation at the
same frequency as the normal working
frequency of the test object .this is simplest type
in which a single transformer is fed directly from
the main supply .
Voltages up to 1.5MV can be obtained using
single transformer .the limitations imposed
using this method are the cost of transformer
for higher voltages increase rapidly . Also we
have problems of transport and erection ,in
general this method is used for voltages up to
220KV and relatively low power loads ,
However ,at higher voltages a higher current is
usually required as the capacitance of the test
object is higher at higher voltages.
The main differences between a single-phase
testing transformer and a single-phase power
transformer are presented below:
• Short circuit current on the high voltage
winding must be large enough in order to
generate a visible failure in the tested
insulation (about 1 A for dry insulation and 3 A
for wet insulation), and to avoid the
appearance of significant over voltages due to
intermittent burning of the breakdown or
flashover electric arc of the tested insulation
• short-circuit voltage must be small enough in
order to ensure the necessary value of the
current, and to increase the voltage on the
tested equipment by reducing the internal
voltage drops
• the testing voltage must be pure sinusoidal,
only a maximum of 2-5% of harmonics being
allowed
The primary winding 2 is usually rated for
voltages ≤ 1KV ,but might often be split up in
two or more windings which could be switched
in series or parallel to increase the regulation
capacities.
Testing transformer for 1200 kV r.m.s. comprising three single
unit transformers according to Fig. 2.13, with metallic tanks and bushings
(High Voltage Laboratory, Technical University of Munich, Germany). (Note.
Suspended at ceiling and connected with transformer is a selenium-type
rectifier with a reverse voltage of 3.4MV
Cascaded transformers
For voltages higher than about 300 to 500 kV,
the cascading of transformers is a big
advantage ,in this method the difficulties of
using single transformer for generating very high
voltages may be overcome by using several
units(smaller units) in cascade.
Schematically the winding arrangement is shown
in fig . Below
(5,6)primary winding of transformer(2) is supplied
from the tapping(3,4) is equal to voltage (1,2).point
(10) is insulated from earth ,the earth , the voltage
between high voltage terminal(9) and earth(E)
equals the sum of the secondary voltages of the
transformers(9,10+7,8+3,E) ,the voltage (9,10) is
simply controlled by the primary voltage (1,2).
Cascaded testing transformers with insulating
shell
construction (courtesy IREQ, Canada
Cascaded testing transformers with metal
tanks and coolers. Total voltage 3000 kV, 4 A
(courtesy HIGH-VOLT Dresden, Germany)
Direct voltages Generation
Due to the increasing difficulties in using HVAC
in large power systems, and continuing
development of high voltage rectifying and
inverting , it has become an economic
proposition to use HVDC for the transmission of
electrical power.to fulfill this need , there is at
the present time a demand for HVDC testing
equipment to test the various components used
in ever expanding DC systems.
HVDC is also used for testing high capacitive
loads such as cables . If these loads were to be
tested using AC, a tremendous reactive power
would be need to be supplied and the testing
equipment would be extremely cumbersome. By
using DC, however these highly capacitive loads
may be tested using only a relative small
equipment, since after the initial charging
current has been supplied to the load , only a
very small leakage current, possibly of the order
of few milliamperes.
Basic circuits for the generation of high voltage D.C
1. Transformer –Rectifier Half( wave rectifier):
The simplest method for obtaining HVDC is by using the half –
wave rectifier
With this simple arrangement, the capacitor is
eventually charged to the peak value of the
voltage at the secondary side of the transformer
(V0). The rectifier will have to withstand a
maximum peak inverse voltage of (2V ).the circuit
0
is not very suitable for high continues loads, as
the ripple content will be quite high when the
load resistance is not very high compared with
source impedance.
2.Full wave-rectifier(The bridge circuit)
This arrangement offers reduced ripple and
higher efficiency. The peak inverse voltage
across any rectifier under no-load conditions is
V (worse case). with normal load, the peak
0
voltage across any rectifier is typically 0.8V .
0
Compared( the bridge rectifier )with the circuit of the
half-wave rectifier we have merely to double the
rectifier elements (4 rectifiers with peak voltage of V of
0
instead of one with peak voltage of 2V ).both circuits
0
have an output voltage not exceeding the peak voltage
of the transformer secondary.in both circuits, the
transformer is considered as the most expensive
component and since the cost of the transformer
increases considerably when the output voltage is
increased ,it proves very useful to use the double circuit.
3.The Cockcroft-Walton voltage Doubled
circuit
With this arrangement it is possible to obtain a
DC voltage of approximately peak to peak value
of input AC voltage. When the point (a) is
positive with respect to point (b), the rectifier
(D2) will conduct , and the capacitor (C1) will be
charged up to the peak value of (V ) in the next
0
half –cycle point (a) will be negative with respect
to point (b)
. In this case the transformer secondary voltage
(V ) adds on to the voltage appearing on (C1) and
0
the polarity of the combination is such as to
cause rectifier (D1) to conduct and the capacitor
(C2) will charge up to the total voltage which is
equal to V +V =2V
0 0 0
4.The Cockcroft-Walton Multiplier circuit
This is the development of the basic doubled
circuit as even with the doubled circuit the
production of 1000KV DC voltage with a current of
only few milliamps entails uneconomical input
transformer design. A circuit which overcome
these difficulties is The Cockcroft-Walton
Multiplier circuit shown below:
By this we mean a transformer of very high step
up ratio, with a secondary winding which from
electrical considerations may only need to be of
small cross sectional area wire . from purely
mechanical considerations it become necessary
to increase of the wire to ensure that the
transformer winding can be made sufficiently
rigid
In this circuit no one component has to withstand
the full DC output voltage and the capacitors help
to ensure that the voltage distribution along the
rectifier chain is fairly linear.in addition an
economical transformer can be used since it
needs to be for a reasonable voltage at a higher
current. With this arrangement DC voltages of up
to 2000KV could be produced.
The sequence of charging the multiplier is
as fallows:
When the rectifier (D1) conducts ,(C1) charges up
to a voltage of (V ),and as we had the doubled
0
circuit ,the voltage of point (1) with respect to
the earthed point (3) oscillates between (0) and
(2V ) and we have (C2) charged to (2V )through
0 0
rectifier (D2).point(4) then attains a steady
voltage of (2V ) and the voltage applied to
0
(C3)through the rectifier(D3) varies between
(2V )and (0).
0
Since(C3) is charged up to (2V ) , the voltage of
0
point(5) therefore oscillates between (2V ) and
0
(4V ) and (C4) is charged to (4V ) through the
0 0
rectifier (D4).the voltage of point (6) with respect
to earth reaches the value of (4V ). In a similar
0
way with the addition of each new stage the
voltage is increased by (2V ) resulting in a
0
maximum total output voltage for the shown
circuit of (8V ).
0
It should be noticed that each rectifier and
capacitor has to withstand only twice the output
voltage of the secondary side of the supply
transformer independently of the number of
stages used.
A Cockroft–Walton d.c. generator for voltages up to
900 kV/10 mA with fast polarity reversal at ETH Zurich (courtesy HIGH
VOLT, Dresden, Germany)
