PE448

High Voltage Engineering

Lecture1: Introduction

Dr. Shahid Alam

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering
Sciences and Technology
About Dr. Shahid Alam

Education

o PhD: High Voltage Engineering Dec. 2011 to Nov. 2016

Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

o Licentiate: High Voltage Engineering Dec. 2011 to Sep. 2014

Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

o M.Sc. Electrical Power Engineering 2009-2011

Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

o B.Sc. Electrical Engineering 2004-2008

UET Peshawar

1
About Dr. Shahid Alam

Teaching experience

o Assistant professor at GIKI since January 2017

o Teaching assistant during PhD at Chalmers 2011-2016
Normally the doctoral students teach courses in Master
programmes
Subjects: High voltage technology, High voltage
Engineering, Applied computational electromagnetics
o Instructor Nov 2008-April 2009
Peshawar institute of technology, Peshawar.
Subjects: Digital logic design (DLD) and Power Electronics

2
Contact Information

My Contact Details
Office: G-06 FEE block, GIK Institute
Office Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 09:00 am – 4:00 pm
Extension: 2506
Email: s.alam@giki.edu.pk

3
Course Description
o This course will introduce students to basic understandings
within the area of experimental high voltage engineering.

o The course emphasis on important properties of dielectrics,

generation and measurement of high voltages, electric field
calculations, Townsend’s breakdown mechanism and
Paschen’s law, gas discharge physics, electric breakdown in
liquids and solids, diagnostic techniques and insulation testing
and coordination.

o Analysis of electric field distribution in insulation systems

and suggestions for improvement of the design is one of the
central learning objectives.

4
Course contents
o Introduction to the subject and important properties of
dielectrics and their measurements
o Generation of high voltages (AC, DC and impulse),
Measurements of high voltages
o Electric field calculations, Mechanisms of electric
breakdown in gases, liquids and solids
o Various types of diagnostic measurements, HV insulation
testing and insulation coordination
o Analysis of electric field distribution in insulation systems
and suggestions for improvement of the design

5
Books

 Text Book:
o High Voltage Engineering Fundamentals by E. Kuffel,
W. S. Zaengl and J. Kuffel, 2nd Edition, Newnes, Oxford,
UK, 2000.

 Reference Books:
o High Voltage Engineering by A.A. Al-Arainy, M.I. Qureshi and N.
H. Malik, Academic publishing and press, King Saud University,
Saudi Arabia, 2005.
o High Voltage Measurement, Testing and Design by T. J. Gallagher &
A. J. Pearmain.

6
Administrative Matters

o Pre-Requisite: Power Distribution and Utilization

(EE315)
o PE448 is a 3+1 Credit Hours Course
o Course materials including lecture slides,
assignments, solution manual, etc. will be uploaded
on MS teams
o Must bring your calculators to help work out
numerical problems in the class

7
Administrative Matters

o An approved leave will not be counted towards the attendance

o In any case (including leave/absent), there will be no makeup
quiz
o Assignments need to be uploaded on MS Teams and no late
submission will be considered for grading
o For further assistance you can visit the PE448 Teaching
Assistant ..................
o According to the Institute Attendance Policy, 80% attendance
is mandatory to sit in the final exam
o For queries, kindly follow the office hours in order to avoid
any inconvenience

8
Course assessment

o The following tools will be used for the final grading

of the course PE448

o Quizzes 20%
o Assignments/CEP 10%
o Midterm Exam 25%
o Final Exam 45%

9
Mapping of CLOs & PLOs
CLOs Course Learning Outcomes PLOs Blooms Taxonomy
Be able to understand various terms related to Cognitive Level 2
CLO-1 PLO-1
experimental high voltage engineering (Comprehension)
Be able to explain mechanisms/physics of electric Cognitive Level 2
CLO-2 PLO-1
breakdown in gases, liquids and solid dielectrics (Comprehension)
Be able to recognize the impact of various types of
insulation system and physical Cognitive Level 2
CLO-3 PLO-7
phenomena/parameters associated with high (Comprehension)
voltage on the environment
Be able to compute electric field distribution and Cognitive Level 3
CLO-4 breakdown voltage in the different given PLO-2
(Applying)
scenarios/electrode arrangements

Be able to analyze electric field distribution in Cognitive Level 5

CLO-5 insulation systems and suggest improvement of the PLO-3
(Evaluating)
design

10
OBE Based Grading Policy

Assessment Tools CLO-1 CLO-2 CLO-3 CLO-4 CLO-5

Quizzes 20% 30% ------- 40% -------
Assignments ------- ------- 30% ------- 70%
Midterm
35% 35% ------- 20% -------
Examination
Final
45% 35% 70% 40% 30%
Examination

o For achieving CLO, student must attain at least 50 % marks for

each CLO.

11
 What is high voltage?
• It is a relative term:
– There is no universally accepted definition for HV
– Voltage as low as 5 V is referred as HV
– Some standards do specify various minimum voltages, above
which values are considered as HV
– These definitions are generally based on safety considerations or
the voltage where arcing will occur
– HV starts at the point where designers have to consider additional
technical issues (e.g. size and quality of insulation system) when
manufacturing power system components

12
Classification of high voltages

13
High Voltage Transmission
The transmission of electrical power over long distances is
accomplished using HV transmission lines, which are the backbone
of all modern power systems

Advantages
o Reduction of electrical losses
o Improvement of voltage regulation
o Increase in transmission efficiency
o Reduction in conductor material
o Increase in transmission capacity

Disadvantages
o The major drawback is related with the greater installation cost
o Introduces insulation problems at HV levels

14
High Voltage Transmission
o Considering all the factors involved (related to the designing and
manufacturing of power system components, safety, impact on
environment, etc.), the transmission line voltage is decided to
achieve the best economy.
o Cable Research Handbook gives the following empirical formula
to determine the optimum voltage level in kV.

V = 5.5 (km/1.6) + (𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑉𝐴/150)

Both power to be transmitted and distance of transmission have
been taken into account in the above formula
o The voltages normally adopted for transmission are given below:
Length (km) 15-30 30-60 60-100 100-200 200-300 300-400
Transmission
11 33 66 132 220 400
line Voltage(kV)

15
Historical development of HV levels

16
Historical development of HVDC

17