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Introduction
High Voltage!!

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Definition
The term high voltage characterizes electrical
circuits, in which the voltage used is the cause of
particular safety concerns and insulation
requirements.
High voltage is used in electrical power distribution,
in cathode ray tubes, to generate X-rays and particle
beams, to demonstrate arcing, for ignition, in
photomultiplier tubes, and high power amplifier
vacuum tubes.
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D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

To Be A World Class Maritime Academy

The International Electro-technical Commission and its

national counterparts (IEE, IEEE, VDE, etc.) define high
voltage circuits as those with more than 1000 V for
alternating current and at least 1500 V for direct current,
and distinguish it from low voltage (501000 V AC or 120
1500 V DC) and extra low voltage (<50 V AC or <120 V
DC) circuits.
In the United States 2005 National Electrical Code (NEC),
high voltage is any voltage over 600 V (article 490.2).
Laypersons may consider household mains circuits (100
250 V AC), which carry the highest and most dangerous
voltages they normally encounter, to be high voltage. In
digital electronics, a high voltage is the one that represents a
logic 1 (1.15 V).
OLADOKUN

D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

To Be A World Class Maritime Academy

Generation of High Voltages

The power systems engineers is interested in high
voltages primarily for power transmission, and
secondly for testing of his equipment used in power
transmission. In this chapter we are interested in
generating high voltages for testing of insulation.

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Thus generation has to be carried out in the

testing laboratory. In many testing laboratories, the
primary source of power is at low voltage (400 V
three phase or 230 V single phase, at 50 Hz). Thus we
need to be able to obtain the high voltage from this.

D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

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Since insulation is usually being tested, the

impedances involved are extremely high (order of M
ohm and the currents small (less than an ampere).
Therefore high voltage testing does not usually
require high power.
Thus special methods may be used which are not
applicable when generating high voltage in high
power applications.

OLADOKUN

D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

To Be A World Class Maritime Academy

Generation of High Direct Current

Generation of high high dc voltages is mainly required in research work in

the areas of pure and applied physics. Sometimes, high direct voltages are
needed in insulation test on cables and capacitors. Impulse generator
charging units also require high dc voltages of about 100-200kV.

Normally for the generation of dc voltages of up to 100kV, electronics

valve rectifiers are used and the output currents are about 100mA. The
rectifier valves require special construction for cathode and filaments since
a high electrostatic field of several kV/cm exists between the anode and
cathode in the non-conduction period.

The ac supply to the rectifier tubes maybe of power frequency or maybe of

audo frequency from an oscillator. The latter is used when a ripple of very
small magnitude is required without the use of costly filters to smoothen
the ripple.

OLADOKUN

D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

To Be A World Class Maritime Academy

Half and Full Wave Rectifier

Rectifier circuits for producing high dc voltages from ac sources

maybe

a.
b.

Half-Wave
Full-Wave

The rectifier can be an electron tube or a solid state devices.

Nowadays, single electron tubes are available for peak inverse
voltages up to 250kV and semiconductor or solid state diodes up
to 250kV.

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.

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D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

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RL

Vin

V out

Half Wave Rectifier

p
V

AVG

0
T

Mean Load Voltage or Average Value of half wave output

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+
to

t1

t2

RL

D2

Full wave Rectifier Circuit

Vp

figure 1.7 : Full-wave rectifier circuit

V AVG
to

t1

t2

Mean Load Voltage or Average Voltage Full-wave output

OLADOKUN

D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

May 2007 /

To Be A World Class Maritime Academy

Voltage Multiplier Circuits

Both full-wave as well as half-wave circuits
can produce a maximum direct voltage
corresponding to the peak value of the
alternating voltage.
When higher voltages are required voltage
multiplier circuits are used. The common
circuits are the voltage double circuit
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The voltage doubler circuit makes

use of the positive and the
negative half cycles to charge two
different capacitors. These are
then connected in series aiding to
obtain double the direct voltage
output. Figure shows a voltage
doubler circuit.

In this case, the transformer will

be of small rating that for the
same direct voltage rating with
only simple rectification. Further
for the same direct voltage output
the peak inverse voltage of the
diodes will be halved.

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Voltage doubler circuit

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Generation of High Alternating

Voltages
Single transformer test units are made for high
alternating voltages up to about 200 kV.
However, for high voltages to reduce the cost
(insulation cost increases rapidly with voltage) and
make transportation easier, a cascade arrangement
of several transformers is used.

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Cascade arrangement of
transformers

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a typical cascade arrangement of transformers used to

obtain up to 300 kV from three units each rated at 100
kV insulation. The low voltage winding is connected
to the primary of the first transformer, and this is
connected to the transformer tank which is earthed.
One end of the high voltage winding is also earthed
through the tank.
The high voltage end and a tapping near this end is
taken out at the top of the transformer through a
bushing, and forms the primary of the second
transformer.
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One end of this winding is connected to the tank of

the second transformer to maintain the tank at high
voltage.
The secondary of this transformer too has one end
connected to the tank and at the other end the next
cascaded transformer is fed.
This cascade arrangement can be continued further if
a still higher voltage is required.

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In the cascade arrangement shown, each transformer needs only to be

insulated for 100 kV, and hence the transformer can be relatively
small. If a 300 kV transformer had to be used instead, the size would
be massive. High voltage transformers for testing purposes are
designed purposely to have a poor regulation.
This is to ensure that when the secondary of the transformer is short
circuited (as will commonly happen in flash-over tests of insulation),
the current would not increase to too high a value and to reduce the
cost. In practice, an additional series resistance (commonly a water
resistance) is also used in such cases to limit the current and prevent
possible damage to the transformer.
What is shown in the cascade transformer arrangement is the basic
principle involved. The actual arrangement could be different for
practical reasons.
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D1MC Semester 1 / Energy Conservation Management ( ECM06) /

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OLADOKUN

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