High Voltage Engineering

(EEE-491)
Course Teacher: Fahim Mahmud
Lecturer
Department of EEE, CUET
 Power system overview
• Typical power systems consist of generators, step-up and
down transformers, overhead or underground cables and
different types of loads (domestic, industrial and commercial)
• The voltage level of a transmission line is economically
determined the amount of power to be transferred and the
distance to be covered.
• The higher the voltage level, the lower the line losses.
• With greater voltage comes greater responsibility. Now we
need to take into account things such as flashover, arc due to
inadequate insulation.
 Why High Voltage

Fig 1: Major a.c. systems in chronological order of their installations

 Growth of HVDC

Fig 2: Growth of VSC (Voltage Source Converter) HVDC

 Salary?
Salary Range (Percentile)
25th Average 75th
Annual Salary $62,500 $84,224 $105,000
Monthly Salary $5,208 $7,019 $8,750
Weekly Salary $1,202 $1,620 $2,019
Hourly Salary $30 $40 $50

Table 1: Average High Voltage Engineer Salary Across the U.S.

 Generation of high voltage
• Direct voltage
• Alternating voltage
• Impulse voltage
 Direct Voltage
• A.C. to D.C. conversion (half and full wave rectifier)
• Cascade circuit/Voltage multiplier (Cockroft-Walton
voltage multiplier)
• Electrostatic generator (Van-de-Graff generator)
 Rectifier
• Simple circuit with only 2 passive components: diode
and capacitor
• However, to obtain high voltage, we will also need a
transformer (step-up).
• 2 types: half-wave and full-wave rectifier
 Half-wave rectifier
• Diode D conducts every half
cycle.
• C is the smoothing capacitor
(Why do we need it? What would
happen without it?)

Fig 3: Half-wave rectifier circuit with smoothing (reservoir) capacitor

Ripple, V 
1
Vmax  Vmin 
2
V
Ripple factor 
V
T
1
V (Arithmetic mean of V(t), the pulsating dc)   V (t )dt
T 0
• During a short amount of time (αT), charge Q is transferred
from source (the h.t. side of the transformer)
• Charge transferred to load during one time period can be found
by simply integrating the load current over this period as
follows:
• Here, I is the mean current and V(t) is the dc voltage with
ripple, iL is the load current

1 I
Q   iL (t )dt   V (t )dt  IT 
T
RL T
f
• The charge transferred can also be found by using the diode
current i(t) during αT time:
Q   i (t )dt
T
• However, αT << T. Hence, α << 1 and is approximately equal
to 0.
• Discharge period for capacitor is T(1- α)
• Charge stored by a capacitor = C×ΔV
• Here, ΔV = V(max) – V(min) = 2δV
• Therefore, Q = 2δV×C = IT
• δV = IT/2C = I/2fC ……..(a)
• From the above equation, it’s obvious that ripple in output can
be controlled by choosing f and C wisely. (Explain yourself)
 Full-wave rectifier
• Each diode conducts during
two half cycles of a full
cycle.
• Since effective time period
is T/2, ripple is half of that
of half-wave rectifier.
• Caution: Unequal V1(max)
and V2(max) would result
in an even higher ripple than
its half-wave counterpart. If
V2(max) < V1(min), the
capacitor will not be
charged by the lower h.t.
winding.
 Questions from half and full-wave rectifier
• Why does the diode in half-wave rectifier have to withstand 2 times the
peak voltage?
• For a 1:1 turns ratio transformer and a full-wave rectifier, what should be
the reverse breakdown voltage rating for the diodes assuming the sine wave
is symmetrical around the horizontal axis.
• From equation (a) on slide-14, explain the effects of frequency and
capacitance value on the ripple voltage.
• What can be done to reduce ripple?
• Compare the upsides and downsides of a half and full-wave rectifier.
• Draw the circuit diagrams for both of the rectifiers discussed.
• Draw the source voltage waveform on the secondary side of the
transformer and the capacitor voltage waveform on the same axis. Identify
the ripple voltage in the waveform.
• If you choose a diode with a reverse breakdown voltage rating of 0.8V for a
half-wave rectifier with 0.5V (p-p), what would happen?