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High Voltages Solid State

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Solid State Switching Principle

• 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 laboratory
• High voltage can be obtained locally from power generating plant through
the use of solid state
• 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). From which high
voltage can be obtained
• On board ship the same technology can be used to use high voltage
• Laboratory test are aimed to design the required high voltage
• Since insulation is usually being tested, the impedances involved are
extremely high (order of M ohm and the currents small (less than an
ampere).
• 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.

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Solid State Switching Principle

• In the field of electrical eng. & applied physics, high voltages are required for
several applications As:
-a power supply (eg. hv dc) for the equipments such as electron microscope and
x-ray machine.
-Required for testing power apparatus – insulation testing.
-High impulse voltages are required for testing purposes to simulate over
voltages due to lightning and switching.
• 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.
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Half and Full Wave Rectifier

• Rectifier circuits for producing high dc voltages from ac sources
maybe
b. Half-Wave
c. Full-Wave

o 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.

o 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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RL
Vin V out

Half Wave Rectifier

V
p
V
AVG
0

Mean Load Voltage or Average Value of half wave output

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D1

to t1 t2
RL

D2

Full wave Rectifier Circuit

figure 1.7 : Full-wave rectifier circuit

Vp
V AVG

to t1 t2

Mean Load Voltage or Average Voltage Full-wave output

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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
• Used for higher voltages.
• Generate very high dc voltage from single supply
transformer by extending the simple voltage doubler
circuit.

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Types of high voltages;

• High d.c. voltages
• High a.c. voltages of power frequency
• High a.c. voltages of high frequency
• High transient or impulse voltages of very short
• duration - lightning overvoltages
• Transient voltages of longer duration – switching
• surges

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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. Voltage doubler circuit

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High Alternating Voltages

• Required in laboratories and a.c. tests as well as for the
• circuit of high d.c. and impulse voltage.
• Test transformer are generally used.
• 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.
• For higher voltage requirement, series connection or cascading of
the several identical units of transformer is applied.

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Cascade arrangement of
transformers

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1600 kV, 9.6 MVA Cascaded Power Transformer

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Cascade arrangement of transformers

• 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.
• 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.

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Cascade arrangement of transformers

• This cascade arrangement can be continued further if a still
higher voltage is required.
• 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.
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Cascade arrangement of transformers

• What is shown in the cascade transformer arrangement is the basic principle

involved. The actual arrangement could be different for practical reasons.
• 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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High D.C. Voltages

• Generation of high d.c. voltages is mainly

required in research work in the areas of pure
and applied physics.
• Needed in insulation test.
• Use rectifier circuit (diode) to convert a.c. to
d.c.
• voltage. – vacuum rectifiers, semiconductor
diodes
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Impulse High Voltage

• Impulse voltages (IVs) are required in hv tests to simulate the
stresses due to external and internal overvoltages, and also for
fundamental investigations of the breakdown mechanisms.
• Usually generated by discharging hv capacitors through
switching gaps onto a network of resistors and capacitors.
• In hv technology, a single, unipolar voltage is termed an
impulse voltage.
• Rectangular and wedge-shaped IVs are normally used for basic
experiments while for testing purposes, double exponential IVs
are used.
• Standard test of impulse voltages can be represented as double
exponential wave, and its mathematical equation is defined as
follows;
V = Vo [exp(-αt) – exp(-βt)]
Where α and β are constants of microsecond values.
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