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Transient analysis of Cockcroft-Walton cascade rectifier

circuit after load short-circuit
a a b
HAIBO ZHANG , AKIO TAKAOKA & KATSUMI URA
a
Department of Electronic Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Osaka, 565,
Japan
b
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Osaka Sangyo University, Nakagaito
3-1-1, Daito, Osaka, 574, Japan
Version of record first published: 19 Apr 2007.

To cite this article: HAIBO ZHANG , AKIO TAKAOKA & KATSUMI URA (1995): Transient analysis of Cockcroft-Walton cascade
rectifier circuit after load short-circuit, International Journal of Electronics, 78:5, 995-1005

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 INT. J. ELECTRONICS, 1995, VOL. 78, NO. 5, 995-1005

Transient analysis of Cockcroft-Walton cascade rectifier circuit after

load short-circuit
HAlBO ZHANGtS, AKIO TAKAOKAt and KATSUMI URAS

On the basis of simulation results, analytical solutions of the transients in the main
and branch discharging routes in a Cockcroft-Walton cascade rectifier circuit, in
responce to a load short-circuit discharge, are derived. Using these analytical
expressions, transient currents, energy dissipation in the circuit elements and the
effects of circuit parameters on transients are investigated quantitatively for the
first time. Results show that the diodes at the uppermost and lowest ends suffer
stronger surges; inserting resistors and inductors into the circuit can weaken the
undesirable effects of a surge on circuit elements.
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1. Introduction
As D C high-voltage generating circuits, Cockcroft-Walton (CW) cascade rectifier
circuits (Cockcroft and Walton 1932, Heilpern 1955) are widely used in industry,
from high power and high stability types for particle accelerators or electron
microscopes (for review see Hara 1967, Takaoka et al. 1989), to compact types
(Tanaka and Yuzurihara 1988, Takamura 1989) used in satellite communications. In
all these cases, CW circuits are required to have high reliability. However, since high-
voltage discharges may cause undesirable surges and can have destructive effects on
circuit elements, understanding the transient behaviour of the circuit under the high-
voltage discharge condition is important for designing both the circuit and surge
protection. Although some simplified studies (Beausejour and Rizk 1981, Bellar er
al. 1992) on the dynamic performance of a CW circuit have been carried out,
transient performances due to high-voltage discharges remain inadequately exam-
ined. Therefore, until now, it has remained difficult to design and evaluate such
circuits with sufficient knowledge and data.
In high-voltage discharges of a CW circuit, one of the most destructive
discharges is that in the circuit load, such as occurs in a high-voltage accelerating
tube system (Hara 1967, Takaoka et 01. 1982). Here, load short-circuit (Zhang et al.
1994) is an extreme but practical model to describe the load discharge. This model
assumes that the load resistance of the circuit drops abruptly to a very small value.
Studying the surge route and the transient behaviour after the load short-circuit is
fundamental to the transient analysis of high-voltage discharges.
Theoretical methods are basic approaches to transient analysis of circuits under
the condition of a high-voltage discharge. Previously Zhang et (11. (1994) proposed a
numerical approach to CW circuits, enabling complicated transient analysis. By this
method, the main discharging routes due to the load short-circuit were known. In

Received 29 June 1994; accepted 27 October 1994.

tDepartment of Electronic Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada-oka 2-1, Suita,
Osaka, 565 Japan.
f Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Osaka sangyo University,
Nakagaito 3-1-1, Daito, Osaka, 574 Japan.
pjFax: + (8 1) 6 875 0506; e-mail: zhang@[Link].
002&7217/95 $10.00 0 1995 Taylor & Francis Ltd
 996 Haibo Zhang et a1

this paper, based on simulation results, simpler analytical expressions for transient
components are derived for these routes. Compared with circuit simulation, the
[Link] has the advantages of being able to understand the physical
nature of the circuit and of obtaining results rapidly. Using these expressions,
transient currents, energy dissipation in circuit elements and effects of circuit
parameters on transient characteristics are analysed quantitatively.

2. Analytical representation
Figure I illustrates a symmetrical CW circuit with N stages. During the load
short-circuit, the load resistance R , falls abruptly from its high steady-state value to
a very small value Rmi,. After this phenomenon breaks out, charge stored in
capacitors begins to dissipate and a transient occurs in the circuit. The main charge
flow routes constitute the main discharging routes where abnormally intense surges
appear. Our simulation results (Zhang et al. 1994) have shown that these routes are
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the loop adefa including the D C capacitor column, and the loops abcdefa and
ab'c'defa, including the AC capacitor column and the diodes at the lowest and

kzzz3J Reactor

Driving power s u p p l y
Transformer

Figure 1. Schematic o f a symmetrical CW circuit with N stages. Under -the condition

- of the
load short-circuit, the main discharging routes are the loops adefa, abcdefaxd
ab'c'defa, with transient currents i,; the branch discharging routes are loops hgch,
-
h'gc'h', etc., with currents i,.
 Transient analysis of Cockcroft- Walton circuits 997

uppermost ends shown in Fig. 1. Note that these loops do not include the reactor
coil and the transformer, so the driving power side is hardly influenced by the surge
due to the load short-circuit.
Since the diode that the transient currents pass through is at high forward-bias,
its current-voltage characteristic is nearly linear. Therefore, a linear differential
equation can be used to describe the transient behaviour.

2.1 . Circuit equation

Consider the above independent loops consisting of a series discharging RLC
circuit, where the capacitor voltages are assumed to be equal. The well known circuit
equation is
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where U , is the sum voltage drop across-

all capacitors in one of the main discharging
loops. For the main discharging loop adefa:

and for the main discharging loops abcdefa and ab'c'defa:

where C , , R, and LC represent not only the values included in a high-voltage

condenser but also those inserted. The number of stage is N, R, is the forward
dynamic resistance of a diode at high bias, and Rmi, is the minimum discharging
resistance of the load.
In solving (I), the initial conditions are determined as follows. Considering that
the steady-state current is much smaller than the transient current, in the main
discharging routes the steady-state voltage U, across all capacitors can be used as
the initial condition for U , , while the initial current is zero, that is,

Here, U o satisfies

U , = Ku, (4)

where K = N for the loop adefa, K = N - I for the loops abcdefa or ab'c'defa, and uo
is the voltage drop across a capacitor in the steady state.
 998 Huiho Zhang et al.

From the above conditions, the linear differential equation can readily be solved.
I n the following parts, the resulting expressions for the solutions will be given for
two possible cases.

2.2. Underdumped case (R < Z(L/C) I")

In this case, the transient component is oscillatory, but its magnitude decays
because of resistance damping.

2.2.1. hi the muit1 discharging routes. Assuming that the angular frequency of the
oscillation is w, we restrict our analysis to the first half-period of the oscillation, i.e.
O<t<n/w. The peak value of the transient current is reached in this interval. The
transient behaviour during other intervals, e.g. 2n/w<t<3n/w, etc., is neglected
because the transient component is-- relatively weak.
In the main discharging loops adefa, abcdefa and ab'c'defa, the voltage U,(t),
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transient current i,(t) (i.e. CdU,(t)/dt) and its peak value I, are given by:

;,(I)
u 0 exp (-61)
=Z sin wt (0 < t < nlw) (6)

I,=- u 0 exp (-6/I/w) sin fi

wL

To evaluate the effect of a surge with respect to energy, consider the energy Em
consumed by the resistance component R E . Em can be determined by

In equations (5)-(S),
 Transient analysis of Cockcroft- Walton circuits 999

2.2.2. In the branch discharging routes. During the second half-period of the
oscillation in the main discharging loops abcdefa and ab'c'defa, where t > n / o , the
current i,(t)
... in ( 6 ) becomes negative
- and the diodes are reverse-biased. In this
situation, the discharging process pauses and the capacitor charging process begins.
This may produce new current routes which include the capacitors in the-- AC column
and diodes in the intermediate stages of a CW circuit, suchas the loops hgch, h'gc'h',
etc., as indicated in Fig. I . These are called branch discharging routes.
In (I), letting

and using the initial conditions

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U,(n/w)= - u, exp (- n6/w)

for the transient analysis of the branch discharging loops, the current i,(t), peak
value I , and energy dissipation E, in the resistance component R E in the first
half-period are given by

u, exp ( - n6lw)
ib(t)= exp(-S,(t-n/o))sino,(t-nlo) (n/w<t<n/o+n/oI)(9)
~1 LC

uo
=exP ( - n h l o ) ---- exp (-6,~,/o,)
ooL,

where

ol = ( ~ ; - h : ) l / ~

R,=Rd or R,
and the meanings of other notations are as defined previously.
 1000 Iluibo Zhrrng et al.

2.3. Ouer(/attrped case (R> 2 ( L / C ) '")

In this case, oscillation does not occur. In the main discharging routes, the
transient component, its peak value and related energy dissipation in the resistance
component R e can be determined, respectively, by

Uo
i,(l)=- exp (-61) sinh wt (O<r<co)
wL

Uo
I,=-
WL
exp (-6B/w) sinh B
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where

Other notations are as defined for the underdamped case.

Finally. note that there are no branch discharging routes in the overdamped case,
i.c. transient currents passing the diodes a t intermediate stages can be considered to
be zero, because the capacitor charging process does not begin.

' " " " "-

" ' ~simulated 200- ' -
-simulated i ,,,(I)
-a
m
.. --- simulated i b (I)
----..
analytical i (I)
-
'T)
.Q
D
0
g 100- -
L

-
a
0
C
.-
a,
U)
C
e
0- ----
I . . . . . . . . . , . .
0 0.1
Time ( ms )

(4 (b)
Figure 2. Comparison between simulation results and analytical results of transient current
waveforms in response t o t h e a d short-circuit: (a) main discharging r o ~ a d e f a ;
(b) main discharging route abcdefa, i,(r), and the branch discharging route hgch, &(I).
 Transient analysis of Cockcroft- Walton circuits
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Figure 3. Calculated peak current I, agr-y loss Emin a diode versus stage number N in
the main discharging loop abcdefa, where R, = 8 R, C, = 0.03 pF, R, = 150R,
L , = 3 , 7 m H , u,=85 kV and R,,,= 100R.

2.4. Comparing simulation and analytical results

Consider a CW circuit where N = 3, R, = 8 R, C,= 0.03 pF, R, = 150 R ,
LC= 3.7 mH, u, = 85 kV and R,,, = l00R. In the load short-circuit model describing
the load discharge, the load resistance is assumed t o change linearly from R,
(30 MR) in steady state to R,,, (l00R) in lops. R,,, is then maintained at this value.
Transient current waveforms in response to this load short-circuit have been
computed, and the numerical simulation and analytical results are compared in Fig.

Figure 4. Calculated effects of the inductance L, on the transient behaviour. I,, 1, and Em,
-the peak currents and energy losses
- in a diode in the main discharging route
abcdefa and branch discharging route hgch, respectively, where N = 30, R, = 8 R,
C , =0,03 )IF, R,= 150n, u, =85 kV and R,,, = 100R; L,,, = R 2 C / 4 , is the critical value
between the overdamped (L,<L,,,) and underdamped ( L C >L,,,) cases.
 Haibo Zhang et al.

Resistance R ( R )
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Figure 5. Calculated effects of the resistance component R on the transient behaviour of

loop abcdefa, where N= 30, Rd=8 R, C,=0.03 pF, LC=3.7 mH and uo=85 kV. 1, and
Em are the peak current and energy losses in a diode. E , is the energy loss in all
resistance R except diodes and E, is the energy stored in all capacitors in the loop.

2. A good accordance is seen and validates our analytical solutions. Thus, this leads
us to reason the conclusion that although the main and branch discharging routes
have been treated independently in this paper, this method can give results of
acceptable engineering accuracy because these loops are loosely coupled.

3. Results and discussion

Now it is convenient to analyse the transient behaviour of different parameters of
the CW circuit after the load short-circuit by using (6)-(14). The basic parameters of

Capacitance C ,( F )
-
Figure 6. Calculated I,, Em as a function of capacitance C,,in the loop abcdefa, where
N=30, Rd=8R, RC=150R, LC=3,7mH,uo=85kV and Rmi,=IOOR. I , is the peak
current and Em the energy lost in a diode.
 Transient analysis of Cockcroft- Walton circuits 1003

the circuit to be calculated follow those for an ultra-high voltage electron micro-
scope (Takaoka et al. 1986).

3.1. Effect of stage number

Figure 3 shows the effect of the stage number N on the peak current I , and
energy loss Em in a diode, in the main discharging loop abcdefa. The results indicate
that I , and Em eventually tend to a constant with increasing N. This is simply
because the resistance R , the inductance L and the total voltage U, across the
capacitors increase simultaneously with N, as shown in (3) and (4). In addition, for
the small discharge resistance R,,,, I, and Em change slowly with N.

3.2. Effect of inductance

Figure 4 shows the effect of the inductance LCin series with a capacitor on the
peak current and energy lost in a diode in the main discharging loop abcdefa and the
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branch discharging loop hgch. Evidently, the surge in the main discharging loop is
stronger than that in the branch discharging loop; the surge effect in the overdamped
case is greater than the underdamped case. The former can be explained by
comparing (7) with (lo), where the peak current I, in the branch discharging loop
has an additional decaying term exp(-ns/w). The latter can be understood by
comparing equations (7) and (1 3), where sin < 1, but sinh @> 1.
Now consider the effect of the inductance L, in Fig. 4. In the overdamped case,
i.e. LC< L C , ,only
, the peak current decreases with increasing LC,while other currents
and energy loss do not change. In the underdamped case where LC>L,,,, the effect
of LC can be considered from two aspects. First, in the main discharging loop,
increasing LC reduces the peak transient current, as can be clearly seen in (7), and
energy loss in the initial period through the decreasing term (1 -exp(-2n6Iw)) in
(8) because

Second, increasing LC leads to increasing peak transient current and energy loss in
the branch discharging loop and, moreover, causes these quantities to approach
those in the main discharging loop. In short, an inductor can disperse the surge
effect in the underdamped case.

3.3. Effect of resistance

Figure 5 shows the effect of the resistance in the circuit on the peak current and
energy loss in the main discharging loop abcdefa. As a general trend, increasing the
resistance R defined in (3), e.g. increasing R , or Rmi,, decreases the peak current I ,
and energy loss Em in a diode, due to greater damping and more energy loss E, in
the resistance components except diodes. This can be seen in (7), (8), (13) and (14).
For a higher R , E, tends to the energy E, stored in all capacitors in the same loop.
In addition, lowering both the inductance and resistance causes greater energy
dissipation in diodes, which is undesirable. Therefore, inserting resistors into the
circuit or load can weaken the surge effect. In the latter case, however, the resistor
should have stronger surge-proof properties because the transient current passing
through it is greater than that inside the circuit.
 1004 Haibo Zhang et al.

3.4. E f e c t of capacitance
Figure 6 shows the effect of the capacitance in the circuit on the peak current and
energy loss in a diode, in the main discharging loop abcdefa. Higher capacitance
values may lead to a lower natural frequency o, and a more slowly decaying
exponential term exp(-6Dlw) in (7) and (13), and more energy stored in a capacitor
for fixed voltages, which is expressed in terms of C U ; / 2 in (8) and (14). Therefore, it
is easy to understand that the peak current and energy loss in a diode increase with
the capacitance.
So far, all analyses in this paper have been based on a linear rapid discharging
model. If the speed of change of the load resistance is slowed down in the linear
discharging model, o r a logarithmic model is adopted, the energy loss in the load
appears to increase. This effect may reduce the peak current and the energy loss in
circuit elements. Therefore, in view of surge protection, the linear rapid model is
suitable because it considers the maximum surge.
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4. Conclusion
A simple analytical method has been presented to analyse transient behaviour in
response to the load short-circuit in CW circuits. Circuit simulation has validated
the method, which is applicable to practical circuit design and evaluation regarding
high-voltage discharge in a load.
Using this method, the analytical solutions of transient performance in the main
and branch discharging routes have been obtained. They have yielded a sound
physical interpretation for the transients caused by the load short-circuit. Moreover,
by applying the expressions obtained, transient currents, energy dissipation in circuit
elements and effects of circuit parameters on transients have been investigated
quantitatively for the first time in this paper.
From the results, some possible surge protection methods can be suggested. For
example, the diodes at the lowest and uppermost ends are located in the main
discharge routes and therefore should have strong surge-proof properties, in
addition to the conventional surge suppression of using a parallel shunt capacitor.
Furthermore, the effect of a surge can be weakened by inserting adequate resistors or
inductors into the circuit, making the circuit operate in an underdamped condition
during the load short-circuit.

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