EE538

HIGH VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT

TOPICS OUTLINE

1. Introduction
2. Sphere Gap
3. Electrostatic Voltmeter
4. Generating Voltmeter
5. The Chubb-fortescue Method
6. Voltage Dividers
7. High Current Measurement
INTRODUCTION
 Problems in measurement of high voltages and
currents:
 The equipments have large stray capacitances and
hence large voltage gradients are set up. A person
handling these equipments must be protected
against these over voltages.
 large structures are required to control the
electrical fields. These structures may require to
control heat dissipation within the circuits.
 Electromagnetic fields for impulse voltages and
currents should be minimized
SPHERE GAP
 One of the standard methods for the measurement of
peak value of d.c., a.c. and impulse voltages.
 Two identical metallic spheres separated by certain
distance form a sphere gap where the gap length should
not exceed a sphere radius.
 the results obtained by the use of sphere gaps are
reliable to within ±3%.
 in places with low ultraviolet radiation, irradiation of the
gap should be used for voltages less than 50 kV or
where accurate results are to be obtained. (to reduce
statistical time-lag)
CONT…
 Specifications:
 The surfaces must be smooth and their curvatures as
uniform as possible.
 The curvature should be measured by a spherometer
over an area enclosed by a circle of radius 0.3 D about
the sparking point (D is the diameter of the sphere).
 For smaller size, the spheres are placed in horizontal
configuration and for large sizes in vertical
configuration with the lower sphere grounded.
 The space between spheres must be free from external
electric fields.
S
CONT…
 The distance of the sparking point from any conducting
surface except the shanks should be greater than 25 +
V/3 cms
 The spheres should be free from grease films, dust or
deposited moisture. Also, the gap should be free from
dust particles, fibers etc.
 Protective resistors are used to limit the discharge
current and to prevent high frequency oscillations
which may otherwise result in excessive pitting of the
spheres.
 For power frequency tests, a value of 1Ω/V should be used.
 For higher frequencies, the voltage drop would increase and it
is necessary to have a smaller value of the resistance.
 For impulse voltage the protective resistors are not required.
 CONT…
 For S>0.5 D, the results are less accurate
and are shown in red.

Peak value of disruptive discharge value (kV)

50% for impulse tests
Valid for: AC, DC (postive and negative), and negative impulse
D=12.5 cm D=25 cm D=50 cm D=75 cm D=100 cm D=150 cmD=200 cm
S=10 mm 31.7
S=50 mm 129 137 138 138 138 138
S=75 mm 167 195 202 203 203 203 203
S=100 mm 195 244 263 265 266 266 266
S=125 mm 214 282 320 327 330 330 330
S=150 mm 314 373 387 390 390 390
S=2000 mm 2490
CONT…
 Effect of pressure and temperature:
 The calibration tables values correspond to 760 torr (1 atm )and
20°C.
 And so a correction factor will have to be used to get the correct
value based on the true conditions.
 The breakdown voltage increases with pressure and decreases
with temperature. The relative air density correction factor for
small variation is given by:
293 𝐵
𝛿= ×
760 273 + 𝑇
 Where: B is the pressure in torr, T is the temperature in oC.

 Tables are used to get more accurate values of the correction

factor which is a slightly non-linear function of δ a result explained
by Paschen's law.
CONT…
 AC and DC measurment:
 The voltage is applied across a relatively large gap and the
spacing is then gradually decreased till the gap breaks
down. (so that the switching transient does not flash over
the sphere gap).
 Impulse measurment (50% of impulse tests) :
 Six applications of the impulse should be made at each step
and the interval between two applications is 5 seconds. The
value giving 50% probability to disruptive discharge is
preferably obtained by interpolation between at least two
gap or voltage settings, one resulting in two disruptive
discharges or less out of six applications and the other in
four disruptive discharges or more out of again six
applications.
EXAMPLE

 Sphere air gaps spark at:

 S= 75 mm, D= 50 cm, B= 750 torr, and T= 35°C.
 Determine the breakdown voltage

 Sol: From the table peak voltage is 202 kV

293 750
 The air density correction factor = ×
760 273+35
=0.9388
 Then correct value is 202*0.9388=189.6 kV
ELECTROSTATIC VOLTMETER
 Whenever a voltage is applied to a parallel
plate electrode arrangement, an electric field is
set up between the plates.
 The force can be calculated by first finding the
energy of the capacitance:
 Energy = W= ½ C V2 =½ (ε A/d) V2
 And the force is the derivative of stored electric
energy along the field direction, which is equal
to:
 F= =½ ε V2 A/d2
CONT…
 This force will appear as a force of attraction between
the plates. For alternating voltage the mean force can be
obtained by substituting Vrms in place of V.
 One of the plates will be allowed to move by not more
than a fraction of a millimetre to a few millimetres so
that the change in electric field can be negligible.
 Used for both dc and ac absolute measurement.
 Balancing of the moving electrode is done by one of the
following methods:
1. Suspension on one arm of a balance.
2. Spring suspension.
3. Pendulous suspension
4. Torsional suspension
CONT…
 The movement is very small must be amplified by
electrical or optical methods.
 The higher the force that can be obtained, the
greater is the precision of the meter. Higher force
can be obtained by increasing A or ε (by changing
the material) or decreasing d with the following
limitations:
 For A: increasing A means increasing the guard ring (to
maintain uniformity) and the electrode may become
unduly large
 For d: limited by the breakdown strength of the
dielectric medium
CONT…

 Advantages:
 Extremely low loading effect limited only to the
reactive power required to charge the capacitance
(a few PFs)
 Does not put any upper limit on the frequency of
supply to be measured. But there is a limit in the
range due to resonance. For low range voltmeters,
the upper frequency is generally limited to a few
MHz.
 Schematic diagram of electrostatic voltmeter
D
E

C
Metal dome E
Sensitive balance D
A
Suspended plate A G
Fixed plate B
Guard plate C B
Guard rings H
Capacitance divider G

 Light reflected from a mirror carried by the balance

beam serves to magnify its motion and to indicate to the
operator at a safe distance when a condition of
equilibrium is reached.
EXAMPLE

 1) Movable circular plate with 8 cm in diameter.

 The distance between the plates during a
measurement is 4 mm.
 Determine the potential difference when the force
of attraction is 0.2 gm wt

 Sol: A=(π/4 ) *82 = 16 π cm2

1
 d=4 mm ε= x10-9
36𝜋
 F=½ ε V2 A/d2 = 0.2 × 10–3 × 9.8  V=1.188 kV
EXAMPLE

 2) The movable plate is 10 cm in diameter.

 Appling 10 kV result in F= 5 × 10–3 N and 1 mm
change in d.
 Determine the change in capacitance.

 Sol: F=½ ε V2 A/d2

 A=25 π *10-4

  d= 26.35 mm. Since c= ε A/d  ∆ C is

1 1 1
x10-9 x 25 π x10-4 x( − ) =0.0959 pF
36𝜋 26.35 27.35
GENERATING VOLTMETER

 Used when loading measured voltage is not

permitted or when direct connection is to be
avoided.
 A generating voltmeter is a variable capacitor
electrostatic generator which generates current
proportional to the voltage to be measured.
 Used for both dc and ac measurements.

 Operated by a constant speed motor.

 Principle is illustrated next slide

 air

C= εA/d motor

plates of a capacitor

Since Q=CV  dC/dt  dq/dt =I

CONT…
 The high voltage source is connected to D3
 The disk that will rotate is D2

 When D2 rotates, the capacitance between D0

and D3 changes.

D3 D2 D1 Do
CONT…
 Since i=dq/dt and q=CV  i= VdC/dt+CdV/dt
  for DC i=VdC/dt
 If the capacitance varying is sinusoidal:
C=Co+Cm Sin ωt  i=Imax cos ω t
Where Imax=V Cm ω = k V
 If the capacitance varying is triangular:
dC/dt = ±2 Cm/ Tc  I= ±2 V Cm/ Tc
 For a constant speed of n rpm of synchronous
motor, time Tc is given by Tc = 60/n. Then:
 I= [n/30] Cm V
CONT…
 Generally the current is rectified and measured by
a moving coil meter.
 For AC, motor frequency (ω) must be equal or half
the frequency of the measured voltage.
 Thus a four-pole synchronous motor with 1500
rpm is suitable for 50 Hz.
 The meter scale is linear and can be extrapolated
 The sensitivity can be increased by increasing the
area of the pick up electrode and by using
amplifier circuits.
 Disadvantage of the meter is that they require
calibration and construction is quite cumbersome
EXAMPLE

 Measured voltage is between 15 kV to 250 kV.

 Used ammeter reads 2 μA to 35 μA (rms).

 Used synchronous motor has n=1500 rpm.

 Determine the capacitance Cm

CONT…

 Sol:
 Imax=V Cm ω

= 2*10-6*21/2=15000 Cm*1500*2π/60
  Cm=1.2 pF

 Note: At 250 kV, the current indicated will be:

2*250/15= 33.3 μA
MEASURMENT OF PEAK VOLTAGE
 Opamp and other electronic circuits have
replaced the conventional passive circuits.
However, passive circuits (when designed
properly) provide simplicity and adequate
accuracy. Compared with sophisticated
electronic instruments, passive circuits are
cheap, reliable and have a high order of
electromagnetic compatibility. Example of such
circuits are :
 Chubb – Fortescue method
 Peak Voltmeters with Potential Dividers
THE CHUBB-FORTESCUE METHOD

 Measuring peak value of a.c. voltages.

 Vdc=Vm/pi

 |I|=V/Xc=(Vm/π)*(2 π fC)=Vm 2 f C

 Similar relation to generating voltmeter

 Since f, C and I can be measured accurately,

the method is quite accurate and it can be
used for calibration of other peak voltage
measuring devices
PEAK VOLTMETERS WITH POTENTIAL DIVIDERS

 If the resistors are ignored, the voltage across

Cs will be equal to the peak value of C2 .The
voltage across Cs must be measured with a
very high input impedance instrument such as
electrostatic voltmeters.
C1 The resistor Rd is to allow Cs voltage to
decrease when the measured
C2 R2 Cs Rd voltage decrease (RdCs ≈ 1 s).
However this will introduce error.
CONT…
 Errors due to Rd:
 Rd will discharge C2 and the mean potential of
V2(t) will gain a -ve d.c. component which can be
eliminated by adding R2
 Discharge error ed:
 Rd will also introduce error due to ripple. This error
depend on the frequency of the measured voltage. For
RdCs=1 s, the discharge error is 1% for 50 Hz and 0.33
for 150 Hz.
𝐶𝑠
 Recharge error er: 𝜀𝑟 = 2𝜀𝑑
𝐶1 + 𝐶2 + 𝐶𝑠
 The third error results from the fact that during diode
conduction the capacitors become parallel.
  Cs must be smaller than C2
CONT…
 Errors due to R2:
 ep=R2/Rd (-ve dc component)
 To keep the overall error to a low value, it is
desirable to have a high value of R2.
 R2 also change the attenuation factor resulting in
the error efd=-1/(2ωR2C2)2
 To eliminate the need of R2, the –ve dc polarity can
be countered by adding an equalising arm to the
circuit as shown
C1

Rd Cs C2 Cs Rd
 C1

EXAMPLE Rd Cs C2 Cs Rd

 The following peak reading voltmeter is required to

measure voltage upto 150 kV.
 The potential divider has a ratio of 1000 : 1
 The used micrometer (measures Rd current) can
read upto 10 μA.
 Find Rd and Cs if the time constant of the circuit is
9 s.
 What will be the actual reading considering
the discharge error at frequency of 50 Hz
CONT…

 Sol: The voltage across C2 is 150k/1000=150

 At this voltage the current must be 10 µA.

 R=150/10-5 =15MΩ

 RC=9s C=0.6µF

 Error at 50 Hz is 1%

 Actual reading is 9.9 µA

TEST SYSTEM SETUP
 A layout of a voltage testing circuit within a high voltage
testing area where:
 G is the voltage generator CL
L C
 T is a test object G T D M
 L is a lead wire
 The resistance of L is important to damp oscillation or to limit short-
circuit currents if of the test object fails.
 CL is the first stage of the measuring system and represent
the connecting lead.
 D is the voltage divider.
 M is the measuring device. (E.g. CRO)
 C is the delay cable (co-axial type).
 The length of the cable must be chosen carefully to avoid EM
interference.
 For impulse voltage measurement double shielded cables with two
insulated braided shields is used.
CONT…

 If the test object breakdown, very heavy

transient current flow and the potential of the
ground will increase to high values if proper
earthling is not provided.
 For this, large metal sheets of highly
conducting material such as copper or
aluminum are used.
 Main sources of errors

 Residual inductance

 Stray capacitance

 Leads impedance

 Testing classification:

 Destructive
 Breakdown strength

 Non- destructive
 R, partial discharge, loss factor, dielectric constant.
VOLTAGE DIVIDER

 Classification:
 Resistive
 Bestfor measuring DC voltage (MΩ), and lightning
impulse wave shape (k Ω).
 Capacitive
 Best for measuring AC voltages and switching impulses.
 Damped capacitive:
 Best for measuring switching and lightning impulses.
 Dividers with capacitors cannot be used for DC
measurements.
CONT…
 Inductors are normally not used as voltage
dividing elements as pure inductances of
proper magnitudes without stray capacitance
cannot be built.
 For voltages in the megavolt range, the height
of the divider becomes large (2.5 to 5 m/MV)
especially Z1 which endure most of the voltage.
 This result in inaccuracy due to stray capacitances
(especially with impulse voltage) unless special
precautions are taken.
RESISTANCE POTENTIAL DIVIDERS
 Advantages: simplicity of construction, less space
requirements, less weight and easy portability.
 The length depend on the maximum voltage and
the resistance R required which is bound up with
the stray capacitance C.
 When used for impulse measurement, the value RC
must not exceed the wave front time of measured
voltage.
 It is desirable to enclose the low voltage resistance
of the potential dividers in a metal screening box.
CONT…
V1

R1
R3 Z
V2

R2
CRO

 This applies for both resistive and capacitive dividers

 Recorded voltage is 𝑅2
𝑉1
𝑅1 + 𝑅2
 V1

R1
R3 Z
V2

R2
CRO

 The impedance seen by the impulse is the surge impedance

Zn=(L/C)½
 This means that the voltage across R2 will be:
𝑍𝑒𝑞
𝑉1
𝑅1 + 𝑍𝑒𝑞
Where Zeq=R2//(R3+Z). The voltage will be divided again between R3
and Z:
𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑍
𝑉1 ×
𝑅1 + 𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑅3 + 𝑍
 The voltage will be doubled when the impulse reaches the CRO
because all EM energy will be converted to energy stored in the
capacitance at the end of the line.
𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑍
𝑉1 × ×2
𝑅1 + 𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑅3 + 𝑍
 V1

R1
R3 Z
V2

R2
CRO

𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑍
𝑉1 × ×2
𝑅1 + 𝑍𝑒𝑞 𝑅3 + 𝑍
𝑅2
 Since Zeq≈ R2 and Z ≈ R3  Vout ≈ 𝑉1
𝑅1+𝑅2
 Since the voltage at the end of the line now is
greater  the wave will get reflected.
 When this reflected wave return to R2 it will get
absorbed completely as Z = R2 + R3. (This is
why R3 is there)
For V> 100 kV:
R1 is large  It is made of sections.
 Has to be considered as an equivalent
distributed network with its stray capacitances as
shown:
The output for a step input.

intersectional series
capacitances

terminal to ground
capacitances

μs
step response
 This type of divider produces:
 A non-linear voltage distribution
 Acts like an RC filter for applied voltages
 To reduce the distortion and get faster
response:
 Add guard rings.
 Adding capacitive field distribution.
CONT…
V1

R1
R3 Z
V2

Z4
R2
CRO

𝑅2
Recorded voltage is: 𝑉1
2(𝑅1+𝑅2)
 V1 V1

R1 R1
R3 Z R3 Z
V2 V2
R2 R2 Z4
CRO CRO

A B

 A: When the voltage wave reaches the CRO end of

the delay cable, it suffers reflections as the
impedance offered by the CRO is infinite.
 B: Adding R4=Z: the reflection coefficient becomes
zero and any unit step voltage appearing across
R2 is undistorted transmitted by the cable.
Note that R1>>R2, R3=Z-R2, and R4=Z
CAPACITANCE POTENTIAL DIVIDERS

 The capacitance dividers are usually made of

capacitor units mounted one above the other
and bolted together. It is this which makes the
small dividers portable. A form of capacitor
which has given excellent results is of mica and
tin foil plate. The low voltage arm should
contain one capacitor only; two or more
capacitors in parallel gives appreciable
inductance that would thus be introduced.
USING THE CIRCUIT FOR IMPULSE VOLTAGE
V1 V1

C1 C1
Z Z3 Z
Z3
V2 V2

Z4
C2 C2
CRO CRO

A B

 A: Since R = Z, the voltage input to the cable

will be half of VC2 which gets doubled after
reflection to VC2.  record V1C1/(C1+C2).
 B: Record 0.5 V1C1/(C1+C2).
 USING THE CIRCUIT FOR IMPULSE VOLTAGE

 The performance of the divider is improved by

inserting damping resistors.
 This divider acts for high frequencies as a resistive divider and for
V1 low frequencies as a capacitive divider. It can, therefore, be used
over a wide range of frequencies i.e. for impulse voltages of very
C1 different duration and also for alternating voltages.

R1
Z3 Z
V2
C2

R2