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DEVELOPMENT OF PORTABLE 1O STAGES MARX GENERATOR

AHMED SAEED .KH. ELJUGMANI

A project report submitted in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the
Degree of Master of Electrical Engineering

Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

JUNE 2015
 vi

ABSTRACT

High voltage equipments are often placed in open air and they are often exposed to
lightning strike as well as surge voltage. They are sustaining high surge voltage
during the lightning phenomena. To achieve better protection of all such power
equipments and quality power supply, these voltages should be simulated and test the
above said equipments in laboratories, Marx generator is the commonly used. This
generator produces lightning impulse voltages of 1.2/50 µs duration. This project
describes the development of a cost effective and easily portable compact 10 stages
Marx Generator capable of producing lightning impulses voltage up to 25kV. In
addition, three different experimental circuits of HV DC supplies have been made.
The highest output was 2.5 kV DC which was taken as the main supply for the
experimental and simulated Marx generator circuit. This generator can be used by
small scale industries and academic institutions to demonstrate impulse voltages and
also to perform testing on insulators of lower rating in laboratory. A total of 10
stages of both simulated, experimental Marx impulse generator circuit was designed
and the impulse waves were recorded. The simulated recorded impulse waveform
was compared with the standard impulse wave with front time of 1.2 μ seconds and
tail time of 50 μ seconds. Both of circuits, the efficiency of each stages was
calculated and the percentage of error in the front and tail time was also found out as
well as the effects of the circuit parameters on the impulse waveform characteristics
were also studied. The simulation was done with the help of Pspice Software
Simulation. In this work, the comparison in terms of magnitude of the experimental
and simulated 10 stages Marx generator circuit has been carried out as well as its
illustrative curve has been drawn. These results have confirmed the validity of the
proposed method and they were in close agreement.
 vii

ABSTRAK

Peralatan voltan tinggi sering diletakkan di udara terbuka dan peralatan tersebut
sering terdedah kepada serangan kilat dan voltan lonjakan. Peralatan voltan tinggi
mengekalkan voltan lonjakan tinggi dalam fenomena kilat. Untuk mencapai
perlindungan yang lebih baik bagi semua peralatan kuasa dan kualiti bekalan kuasa,
voltan, simulasi dan menguji perlu dibuat di atas peralatan yang dinyatakan di dalam
makmal, penjana Marx ini adalah biasa digunakan. Penjana ini menghasilkan tempoh
voltan impuls kilat pada 1.2 / 50 μs. Projek ini menggambarkan pembangunan kos
padat 10 peringkat berkesan dan mudah alih penjana Marx mampu menghasilkan
impuls kilat sehingga 25kV. Di samping itu, tiga litar uji kaji yang berbeza bekalan
HV DC telah dibuat. Keluaran tertinggi ialah 2.5 kV DC yang diambil sebagai
bekalan utama bagi eksperimen dan simulasi litar penjana Marx. Penjana ini boleh
digunakan oleh industri kecil dan institusi akademik untuk menunjukkan voltan
impuls dan juga untuk melakukan ujian ke atas penebat penarafan yang lebih rendah
di dalam makmal. Sebanyak sepuluh peringkat bagi kedua-duanya simulasi ini,
eksperimen impuls litar penajan Marx telah direka dan gelombang telah direkodkan.
Gelombang impuls merekodkan simulasi dan dibandingkan dengan gelombang
impuls standard dengan masa depan 1.2 μ saat dan masa ekor 50 μ saat. Bagi kedua-
dua litar, kecekapan setiap peringkat telah dikira dan peratusan kesilapan di depan
dan ekor masa itu juga mendapati serta kesan parameter litar kepada ciri-ciri
gelombang juga dikaji. Simulasi ini dijalankan dengan bantuan Pspice Perisian
Simulasi. Dalam kajian ini, perbandingan dari segi eksperimen magnitud dan
simulasi sepuluh peringkat litar penjana Marx telah dijalankan serta lengkung
ilustrasi telah disediakan. Keputusan ini telah mengesahkan tempohnya pada kaedah
yang dicadangkan dan telah menjadi perjanjian dekat.
 vii

CONTENTS

TITLE i

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES xii

LIST OF FIGURES xiii

LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS xx

LIST OF APPENDICES xxi

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Problem Statement 3

1.3 Scope Of Project 4

1.4 Project Objectives 4

1.5 Organization of Thesis 5

 viii

CHAPTER 2 IMPULSE GENERATION FOR HV: REVIEW 6

2.1 Background 6

2.2 Single Stage Marx impulse Circuit 7

2.2.1 Standard 7

2.2.1.1 Circuit For Producing Impulse Wave 8

2.2.2 Improvement 9

2.3 Multi Stage Marx Impulse Circuit 10

2.3.1 Standard 10

2.3.1 Improvement 11

2.4 Standard Impulse waveform 12

2.5 Novel Application of Lab VIEW in High Voltage

Engineering 14

2.5.1 One Stage Marx Generator Circuit 15

2.6 Using PSpice in Teaching Impulse Voltage Testing of

Power Transformers to Senior Undergraduate
Students 18

2.7 Determining Ideal Impulse Generator setting From a

Generator Transformer Circuit Model 19

2.8 Design Of A Single Phase High Voltage GE DC

Power Supply At 15KV Output Using Voltage
Doubler Circuit. 20

2.8.1 Voltage Doubling Principle 20

2.9 High Voltage Measurements 24

2.9.1 Direct Measurement of High Voltages. 24

2.9.1.1 Electrostatic Voltmeters 24

 ix

2.9.1.2 Sphere Gaps 25

2.9.2 Transformer and potential divider

methods. 26

2.9.2.1 Transformer ratio method. 26

2.9.2.2 Resistive potential divider method. 27

2.9.2.3 Capacitive potential divider method. 27

2.9.3 High Voltage Schering Bridge 28

2.10 Voltage multiplier 29

2.11 Cockcroft-Walton Voltage Multiplier Circuit 30

2.12 High Voltage Related Definitions 31

CHAPTE3 IMPLEMENTATION OF SIMULATION AND
EXPERIMENT OF HV IMPULSE GENERATOR 33

3.1 Introduction 33

3.2 Project Methodology 34

3.3 Simulation Method 34

3.4 Tool of Software 37

3.4.1 OrCAD PSpice 37

3.5 Lightning Impulse Voltage Wave Shape Control 38

3.5.1 Various Parameters 38

3.5.2 One Stage Marx Generator 39

3.5.3 Multi Stage Marx Generator 43

3.6 Components of a Multistage Impulse Generator 48

3.6.1 Components of Marx Generator Stages 48

3.6.1.1 Charging Resistors 48

3.6.1.2 Ballasting Resistor 49

 x

3.6.1.3 Generator Capacitors 50

3.6.1.4 Spark Gaps 50

3.6.1.5 Voltage Divider 51

3.6.2 DC Source 52

3.6.2.1 Cockcroft-Walton Voltage Multiplier 53

3.6.2.1.1 Design of Circuit 57

3.6.2.2 Single Transistor Fly-back Transformer

Driver 57

3.6.2.2.1 Design of Circuit 60

3.6.2.3 Fluorescent Light (CFL) Fly-back

Transformer Driver 61
CHAPTE 4 DEVELOPMENT OF PORTABLE 10 STAGES MARX
GENERATOR 64

4.1 Introduction 64

4.2 Simulation Result of Marx Generator Circuit 64

4.2.1 One Stage Marx Generator Circuit 65

4.2.1.1 Correlation Between Front Resistor and

Peak Voltage 68

4.2.2 Multi Stage Marx Generator Circuit 70

4.3 Experimental Result of Marx Generator Circuit 79

4.3.1 Case I 80

4.3.2 Case II 88

4.3.3 Case III 92

4.4 Comparison of Simulated and experimental 10 Stages

Marx Generator Circuit 95
CHAPTER 5 GENERAL CONCLUSION AND FUTURE
RECOMMENDATION 100
 xi

5.1 Conclusion 100

5.2 Future Recommendation 101

REFERENCES 102

APPENDIX 105
 xii

LIST OF TABLES

2.1 Limiting Values Of C1/C2 For Different

Standard Wave 14

2.2 Circuit Design Specifications 21

4.1 Output Waveform Values And Error Ration Of

One Stage 68

4.2 Affect Of Front Resistor On Peak Voltage 68

4.3 Values Of Components Of Each Multi Stages

Marx Generator Circuit 70

4.4 Front Time, Tail Time And Error Calculation

Of Marx Generator Circuit 76

4.5 Positive And Negative Initial Stage Capacitor

Of 4 Stage Marx Circuit 76

4.6 Measurements Of Testing 10 Stages Practical

Marx Circuit 86

4.7 Comparison Of The Experimental And

Simulation Results 96
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Most of the high voltage equipments such as power transformers, surge arresters,
circuit breakers, isolators and high tension transmission line towers are placed in
transmission substations. As these equipments are very costly and important for
maintaining continuity of power supply, there safety should be the major priority
for an electrical engineer. These equipment must tolerate not only the rated
voltage which corresponds to the highest voltage of a particular system, but also
over voltages. Accordingly, it is mandatory to test high voltage (HV) apparatus
during its development stage. Protection of power system is an important aspect
for the continued service of the electrical power system [1-4]. Mostly the
protection of electrical power depends on the performance of insulation systems
under transient over voltage conditions arises due to lightning and switching
applications. Transient over voltages along with the abrupt changes in the state of
power systems, e.g. switching operations or faults are known as switching impulse
voltages and that due to lightning are known as lightning impulse voltages. It has
become generally identified that switching impulse voltages are usually the
prevalent factor affecting the design of insulation in HV power systems for rated
voltages of about 300 kV and above [5-6]. Hence attention is required for these
 2

two types of over voltages. So in order to protect these equipments a prototype of

the same can be used to test against lightning strikes.
A Marx Impulse generator is used to generate lightning impulse voltage.
The magnitude and nature of test voltage varies with the rated voltage of
particular equipment. It was originally described by E. Marx in 1924 and is
primarily used because of its ability to repetitively provide high bursts of voltages
especially when the available voltage sources cannot provide the desired voltage
levels [1]. This generator consists of multiple capacitors that are first charged in
parallel through charging resistors by a high-voltage, direct-current source and
then connected in series and discharged through a test object by a concurrent
spark-over between the sphere gaps. The generated voltage from impulse
generator must satisfy the standard values of voltage defined by the International
Electro techno Commission in order to qualify as a standard impulse voltage that
can be used for testing purposes [7]. The standard methods of measurement of
high-voltage and the basic methods for application to all types of apparatus for
alternating voltages, direct voltages, switching impulse voltages and lightning
impulse voltages are laid down in the important national and international
standards. Although the wave shapes of impulse voltages occurring in the system
may vary extensively.
International Electro technical commission IEC60060 specifies that the
insulation of transmission line and other equipments should withstand standard
lightning impulse voltage of wave shape 1.2/50 μs and for higher voltages (220
kV and above) it should withstand standard switching impulse voltage of wave
shape 250/2500μs. The tolerances [3-4] that can be allowed for the impulse wave
are given by ±30% for time to front and ±20% for time to tail. [5-7].
In this work, an attempt has been made to develop a compact, inexpensive,
portable 10 stages Marx impulse generator circuit for demonstration of lightning
impulses in academic institutions. This 10 stages Marx generator circuit, was
simulated by using PSpice software and the same circuit was made practically. In
addition, three different sorts of HV DC supply were made to test the practical
circuit as well as to provide HV DC supply in laboratory. Finally, the simulated
and experimental results were compared in terms of their magnitudes.
 3

1.2 Project Objectives

Over voltages on power lines create a great danger for the equipment, continuity
of supply and more specifically the safety of personnel. Hence research in this
area specifically the study of Impulse waves, its generation, its nature and
characteristics is desired. As the power lines and equipments are exposed to the
atmosphere, hence lightning strike is a common phenomenon. The main
complication in high voltage engineering is the construction of proper high
voltage insulation with minimum dimension at low cost. The only way to protect
the power systems is to test the equipment’s insulation strength by subjecting
them to high impulse voltages and accordingly design the insulation of these
equipments. Therefore, prediction of impulse withstands voltage for power
equipments are very much essential which can only be achieved if we closely
monitor the generation and characteristics of impulse waves. This motivates the
need for practical high voltage impulse generation using Marx Impulse generator.
Marx generators are used to provide very high voltage pulses for the examining
the strength of insulation of electrical equipments such as large power
transformers, or insulators used for aiding power transmission lines. The main
objective of the thesis is:

i. To know characteristics of lightning voltage strikes.

ii. To develop 10 stages Marx Generator circuit using PSpice software to
generate a waveform impulse voltage.
iii. To develop a practical 10 stages circuit model of Marx generator and to
produce an impulse voltage.
iv. To provide three different kinds of high voltage DC supply in UTHM
laboratory.
v. The final goal is to compare the theoretical values of peak lightning voltage
obtained in simulation with those recorded in practical circuit.
 4

1.3 Scope Of Project

The reason in writing the scope of this project is to make sure the project could be
work regularly and not out of target. Thus, the research is more focus on :

i. Construct circuit of impulse generator using OrCAD PSpice version 9.1

software simulations.
ii. Collect the information about Marx impulse generator and how to design
it properly.
iii. The lightning voltage’s characteristics which can be a reference to design
lightning protection and detection.
iv. 10 stages of Marx generator circuit will be constructed and designed
using a prototype model on a reduced scale (1.2/50 μs ), and 2.5 kV DC as
input .
v. Collect the information about high voltage DC and construct three
different circuits to be provided in the laboratory.
vi. Network analyzer is used to measure experimental result and
measurements will be compared with simulated result.

1.4 Problem Statement

Each of the projects has their own problem to be discussing before starting the
project. By stating the problem statement it easy to know the purpose of doing this
project and what are the problem to be solved. Below are the problem statements
for this project.

i. Lack of portable impulse generator mainly for research and education

purpose.
ii. There are applications where they are needed for low magnitudes of
impulse voltage( less than 5 kV).
iii. To provide an alternative for studying the generator impulse voltage in
such a way that modification can be made easily.
 5

iv. To provide portable HV supplies in the laboratory for education purpose.

v. To provide hands-on experience to the students in developing HV related
stuff, for example; HV resistive divider.

1.5 Organization of Thesis.

This project report consists of five chapters, chapter one is introduction, chapter
two is impulse generation for HV review, chapter three is implementation of
simulation and experiment of HV impulse Generator, chapter four is development
of portable 10 stages Marx generator and chapter five is conclusion and future
recommendation.
Chapter one will be explain about the high voltage definition, history and
standard. This chapter also states the problem for the project, objective and scope
of the project report.
Chapter two will discuss about the theory of impulse voltage, there are five
parts in this chapter to be discuss. First part about the theory of impulse voltage,
second part types of impulse testing, third part impulse voltage circuit, fourth and
five are about equipment and component that are use in this project.
Chapter three is the methodologies for the whole processes of project. In
project methodology will explain the whole project procedure from starting
finding and research the topic until choose the best circuit. For simulation method
will explain the step of simulation project circuit. Lastly experiment methods are
explaining the step in the experiment project.
In chapter four is discussing about the project result, this chapter consist of
simulation and experimental result. In simulation part will discuss the result of
output waveform and experiment part will discuss the output lightning voltage
from the Multimeter and oscilloscope by using resistive voltage divider.
Finally, the last chapter five is the conclusion of the whole project report and
suggestions.
 CHAPTER 2

IMPULSE GENERATION FOR HV: REVIEW

2.1 Background

High voltage technology was introduced at the beginning of the last century for
electrical power generation and transmission systems. Long before that efforts have
been made to study the lightening characteristics inside laboratory to carry out the
tests on power system equipment in order to protect them from hazardous of
lightning strike. A number of theories on lightening formation and generation have
been presented [5]. Since the exploration on lightening started, efforts have been
made to realise the lightening phenomenon inside laboratory so that the
characteristics of the lightening can be studied more accurately and tests on power
system equipment can be carried out. Many authors have presented their work about
the generation of lightening impulse inside laboratory [3-15]. Marx has been the
important guiding principle in generating lightening impulse voltage [8-13]. Almost
in every paper Marx theory has been used but some paper have modelled the same
principle differently for different application. Modified Marx generator has also been
studied extensively [13-14]. In almost all the papers discussed so far has employed
capacitive loading for getting the impulse responses. Marx circuit has been widely
used in the generation of high repetition voltage pulses, high power microwaves
where rise time ranges in the ns region. For accurate measurement of high voltage
 7

pulses through measuring instruments, measurement techniques and procedures have

also been proposed [4], [9].

2.2 Single Stage Marx impulse Circuit

2.2.1 Standard

The energy storage capacitor C1 is charged from the high voltage direct current
(HVDC) power supply. The output waveform is controlled by the interaction of the
front resistor R1 and the tail resistor R2 with the energy storage capacitor C1 and the
load C2. The sphere gap in the circuit is a voltage limiting or voltage sensitive switch.
Capacitor C1 charges from a dc source until the sphere gap breaks down. The time of
breaking down of sphere gap is very short.

Figurer 2.1: Single Stage Impulse Generator Circuit (Standard Marx circuit)

Charging voltage in large impulse generator can be of the order of mega volt
(MV). The wave shaping network in the impulse generator consists of R1, R2 and C1.
Resistor R1 basically damps the circuit and regulates the front time while R2 is the
discharging resistor through which C1 will discharge. C2 is the load which represents
the capacitance of the load itself and capacitance of other elements parallel with the
 8

load. Capacitor C1 discharges into the circuit comprising of R1, R2 and C2, when
break down of the sphere gap takes place [5].
Usually the impulse generator incorporates a load capacitance which is
adequately large that the output waveform shape does not change considerably with
changes in sample capacitance. The resistors R1, R2 and the capacitance C2 form the
wave shaping network. R1 will primarily damp the circuit and control the front time
T1. R2 will discharge the capacitors and therefore essentially control the wave tail.
The capacitance C2 represents the full load, i.e. the object under test as well as all
other capacitive elements which are in parallel to the test object [1], [2].
Fast impulse or slower impulses can be generated if switching modifications
are applied in the impulse generating circuits. One probable way of generating longer
pulse is to add an inductance in series with R1 [5], [7]. The difference in circuit
arrangement will have different efficiency for the impulse generator. The dc voltage
can be generated by the use of rectifier circuits. The rectifier used in the simulation is
full wave rectifier circuit. The smoothness of dc value is not much of concern as it
has to only charge the capacitor to peak. A sphere gap is a switch and the voltage
across the sphere gap builds up as a voltage building up across capacitor takes place.
Normally the sphere gaps are allowed to fire naturally or for smooth operation it can
be fired through control methods.

2.2.1.1 Circuits For Producing Impulse Wave

Impulse waves can be produced in a laboratory with a combination of a series R-L-C

circuit with over damped conditions or by the combination of two R-C circuits.
Various equivalent circuit models that produce impulse waves are shown in Figure
2.2(a) to 2.2(d). Out of these circuits, the ones shown in Figure 2.2(b) and (c) are
commonly used for experimental purpose. Circuit is shown in Figure 2.2(a) has some
limitations as the front time and tail time over a wide range cannot be varied.
Commercial generators implement circuits is shown in Figure 2.2(b) to 2.2(d) [l-4].
 9

+ +
v V0(t) v V0(t)
- -

(a) (b)

+ +
v V0(t) v- V0(t)
-

(c) (d)

Figure 2.2: Circuits for Producing Impulse Waves [4]

A capacitor (C1 or C) which is previously charged to a constant DC voltage is

discharged suddenly into a wave shaping network (LR, R1, R2, C2 or other
combination) by sparking gap G. The output voltage Vo (t) gives rise to the desired
double exponential impulse wave shape. The impulse generator is designed based on
Marx circuit. Figure 2.2(c) is a basic single stage Marx generator circuit.

2.2.2 Improvement

The Improved Impulse Marx generator works same as the standard Impulse Marx
generator i.e. the energy storage capacitor, C1, is charged from the high voltage direct
current (HVDC) power supply. The output waveform is controlled by the interaction
of the front resistor R1 and the tail resistor R2 with the energy storage capacitor C1
 10

and the load C2. The only difference is that the switch here acts as a potential divider
that divides the tail resistor. The advantage of this method is that this circuit design
helps in proper shaping of the impulse wave as the standard wave i.e. It helps in
reducing the errors in rise time and tail time. The rise in peak voltage is not that
considerable [6].

2.3 Multi Stage Marx Impulse Circuit

2.3.1 Standard

Due to the difficulties faced in very high voltage switching of the spark gap, increase
in circuit element size, requirement of high direct current voltage to charge capacitor
and difficulties in corona discharge suppression from the structures during charging
period the extension of the single stage to multistage impulse generator is made[5-7].
A multistage generator is developed by cascading smaller single stage
generator to generate high magnitude of output voltage. The primary requirement is
to charge capacitors through the rectifier circuit and when all the capacitor reaches to
the fully charged state then spark gaps are allowed to break down causing the
capacitors to add in series. As a result the nominal output voltage is equal to the input
voltage multiplied by the number of stages in the impulse generator circuit. At first, n
capacitors are charged in parallel to a voltage (V) by a high voltage DC power supply
through the resistors. The spark gaps used as switches have the voltage V across
them, but the gaps have a breakdown voltage greater than V, so they all behave as
open circuits while the capacitors charge. The last gap isolates the output of the
generator from the load; without that gap, the load would prevent the capacitors from
charging [1-3]. To create the output pulse, the first spark gap is caused to break down
(triggered); the breakdown effectively shorts the gap, placing the first two capacitors
in series, applying a voltage of about 2V across the second spark gap. Consequently,
the second gap breaks down to add the third capacitor to the stack, and the process
continues to sequentially break down all of the gaps. The last gap connects the output
of the series stack of capacitors to the load. Ideally, the output voltage will be nV, the
number of capacitors times the charging voltage, but in practice the value is less.
 11

2.3.2 Improvement.

The Improved Impulse Marx generator works same as the standard Impulse Marx
generator i.e. the energy storage capacitor, C1, is charged from the high voltage direct
current (HVDC) power supply. The output waveform is controlled by the interaction
of the front resistor R1 and the tail resistor R2 with the energy storage capacitor C1
and the load C2. The only difference is that the switch here acts as a potential divider
that divides the tail resistor. The advantage of this method is that this circuit design
helps in proper shaping of the impulse wave as the standard wave i.e. it helps in
reducing the errors in rise time and tail time. The rise in peak voltage is not that
considerable [6].
In multistage Marx generator circuit resistive voltage divider are used in
order to minimize the level of voltage to a measureable value across each capacitor
[5],[6]. It consists of two impedances which are connected in series and a tapping is
introduced in between these resistors in order to connect the sphere gap. Usually
charging resistance is chosen to limit the charging current to about 50 to 100mA,
while the generator capacitance is chosen such that the product of charging resistance
and generator capacitance is about to 10s to 1 minute [4]. The discharge time
constant will be too small (microseconds), compared to the charging time constant
which will be few seconds. For designing the circuit of Marx Impulse Generator
various equations were used. The standard impulse wave was calculated using:

[ ] (2.1)

Where, and are constants of microsecond values. V0 is the applied DC

voltage. The efficiency of each stage was given by

Efficiency = (2.2)

Where, V is the peak output voltage; V0 is the applied DC voltage. It can also
be given by

Efficiency = ( ) ( ) (2.3)
( ) ( )
 12

Where, C1,C2 are charging and discharging capacitors, R1, R2 Are front and
tail resistors and n is the number of stage [5,6].
In practice all the capacitors are not charged to the same value due to the
presence of series resistance in the circuit. In theory any desired output voltage can
be obtained simply by increasing the number of stages. But, in practice the effect of
series resistance between the source and distant capacitor limits the voltage
obtainable. Therefore, we can go for an optimum number of stages for the generation
of high impulse voltages through impulse generator circuit.

2.4 Standard Impulse Waveform

The induced overvoltage in power system are characterized by their shapes,

magnitudes, time periods and frequency of occurrence. Two types of overvoltage
normally prevail in power system which takes the system to unstable stage. The
unstable condition arises when the peak amplitude of the nominal operating voltage
exceeds. The induced Transient over voltages caused by lightning and switching
surges causes steep build up voltages on transmission line and other equipment.
Experimental records show that these waves have a rising time of 0.5 μsec to 10 μsec
and decay 50 % of the peak value of the order of 30μsec to 200 μsec. The wave
shapes are arbitrary and unidirectional. The standard wave rise time and fall time for
a lightening impulse wave is 1.2 μsec and 50 μsec respectively [5], [6], [13].
The kind of wave shape related with the lightening impulse voltage is given
by the equation (1) where and are constants in the range of microseconds and V0
is the charging voltage.

[ ] (2.4)

This equation explains that lightning is a doubly exponential curve which

rises quickly to the peak and falls relatively slow to zero values. Impulse voltages are
defined in terms of their time periods i.e. rise time, fall time and also the peak
voltage.
 13

Figure 2.3: Standard Impulse Wave

The rise time is defined as the time taken for the impulse to rise from 10% of
peak value to 90% of peak value and the tail time is defined as the time taken for the
impulse to drop to 50% of the peak value. Now as shown in Figure 2.3 the rise time
is given by t1 and fall time by t4.

2.5 Novel Application of LabVIEW in High Voltage Engineering

This project has been done by Deepak Kumar Singh. It was focused on developing a
LabVIEW simulation circuit that would generate an impulse voltage wave, and to
develop a practical circuit that could produce an impulse voltage by using One stage
impulse generator (1.2/50 μsec, 5 V DC input). So generation and simulation of an
impulse wave has been carried out by the help of LabVIEW Multisim Software
Package.
 14

A practical Marx circuit has been made and its comparison has been drawn
with standard impulse voltage. Data acquisition of the practical impulse voltage
generation circuit has been performed.
Generally, for a given one stage Marx generator circuit (Figure 2.1) the
limiting values of generator capacitance C1 and load capacitance C2 varies as
depicted in Table 2.1.

TABLE 2.1: LIMITING VALUES OF C1/C2 FOR DIFFERENT STANDARD WAVE

For a lighting impulse voltage wave of 1.2/50 μs, the peak impulse voltage
appearing across the test object is higher if the ratios of C1/C2 is forty or close to this
value. Referring to Figure 2.1 the desired impulse voltage wave shape of time 1.2/50
μs is obtained by controlling the value of R1and R2. The following approximate
analysis is used to calculate the wave front time T1 and the wave tail time and T2.
The resistance R2 is very large. Hence, time taken for charging is approximately
three times the time constant of the circuit and is given by the formula given below
[1].

T1= 3R1Ce (2.5)

Here, Ce is given by the following equation: , R1Ce is the

charging time constant in micro-second. For discharging or tail time, the time for
50% discharge is approximately given below.

( )( ) (2.6)
 15

With approximate formulae, the wave front and wave tail can be estimated to
within ±20% for the standard impulse waves. Equation (2.5) can be written as:

( )
(2.7)

Equation (2.6) can be written as:

(2.8)
( )

2.5.1 One Stage Marx Generator Circuit

A practical circuit model of one stage Marx Generator circuit is built as shown in
Figure 2.4. The circuit consists of transformer, discharging capacitor C2 is 1 μF,
discharging resistor R2 is 6.3 Ω, charging capacitor C1 is 10 μF, damping resistor
R1is 0.5 Ω and switch. Combinations of four 1 Ω resistors are connected in parallel
and three 2.1 Ω resistor connected in series to obtain the resultant 0.5 Ω (damping
resistor) and 6.3Ω (discharging resistor). Rectifier circuit and wave shaping circuits
are indicated by the rectangular portion of the circuit. A 230 V supply is given to the
transformer which step downs to 12 V. Then rectifier circuit rectifies 12 V AC
(RMS) to 16 V DC which is then supplied to Marx generator circuit. In this circuit
sphere gap is replaced by six pin switch which is having two NO contact and two NC
contact. Out of these one set of NO and NC contacts are used for simultaneous
switching of the circuit.
 16

Figure 2.4: Practical One Stage Marx Generator Circuit [21]

In one stage Marx impulse voltage generator circuit, all the components are
placed in the Multisim project board as shown in Figure. 4.1. The capacitor C1 is
charged to 5V DC. To generate a 1.2/50 μs impulse voltage wave, the required
parameters are calculated from equation (1) to equation (4). Front time and tail time
of the impulse wave are, T1 is 1.2 μs and T2 is 50 μs. Hence, maximum value of
C1/C2 is 40 (From Table 2.1). Assuming the charging capacitor C1 to be 10 μF and
discharging capacitor C2 as 1 μF, such that the ratio of C1/C2 will be within the given
ratio which is 40. Substituting the value of charging capacitor C1, discharging
capacitor C2, front time T1 and tail time T2 in equation (3) and (4) respectively, the
value of damping resistor and discharging resistor are found to be R1 is 0.44Ω ≈
0.5Ω and R2 is 6.04 Ω ≈ 6.2 Ω By simulating the circuit with these parameters the
result obtained is as follows.
Output peak impulse voltage is found to be 3.44V. Efficiency of the circuit is
(3.44 / 5)× 100 is equal to 68.8%. Rise time is found to be 1.25 × (40.86 – 40.0944)
or 0.957μs. Tail time is found to be (91.2678 - 40.0944) i.e., 51.1734μs. In designing
the circuit using LabVIEW Multisim software, the sphere gap for triggering the
lightning was replaced by the use of a switch, as shown in Figure 4.1. The circuit was
simulated in LabVIEW Multisim using end time value 0.02 second and maximum
time step input 2e009 second. Impulse waveform can be seen on oscilloscope output
 17

as well as the grapher output. The grapher output waveform can be auto scaled and
all the parameters of impulse wave can be calculated from the grapher output tab.
Rate of simulation can be changed by changing the value of maximum time step
input. The simulated circuit and its waveform are shown in Figure 2.5 and Figure
2.6[21].

Figure 2.5: Simulation Circuit for One Stage Marx Generator [21]

Figure 2.6: Graph Output Showing a One Stage Marx Circuit [21]
 18

So, generation and simulation of one impulse wave has been carried out by
the help of LabVIEW Multisim Software Package. A practical Marx circuit has been
made and its comparison has been drawn with standard impulse voltage. However,
only one stage impulse generator has been used in this project and at the low
voltage(5 kV DC). As shown on the graph above, there’s a big difference between
the peak value of simulation and practical circuit.

2.6 Using PSpice in Teaching Impulse Voltage Testing of Power

Transformers to Senior Undergraduate Students.

Behrooz Vahidi and Jamal Beiza is the writer of this research. This paper describes
an efficient method of teaching impulse voltage testing of power transformer to
undergraduate students of power system groups in electrical engineering
departments, as a part of a high-voltage course for senior undergraduate students.
The paper shows how to simulate the power transformer and impulse generator to
teach students the basis of impulse voltage testing of power transformers and to
practice analyzing the test results. In the first part of the paper, the effect of wave
shaping of the voltage waveform is simulated to teach the behavior of the impulse
generator and in the second part, impulse voltage testing of a transformer is
simulated [10].
In this research, the circuit that has been used by the author looks
complicated and they used six stage impulse generator. The circuit is more suitable
to construct the circuit of impulse generator using hardware. Thus, in this present
project the simple circuit is chosen to being simulated using PSpice software
simulation.
 19

2.7 Determining Ideal Impulse Generator setting From a Generator

Transformer Circuit Model.

This research has been done by Robert M. Del Vecchi, Rajendra Ahuja and Robert
Dean Frenette. The researchers were more focused on determining ideal impulse
generator using transformer circuit model. In this research, the authors were referred
a standard voltage waveform to be applied to the various transformer terminals
undergoing an impulse test. Although these waveforms differ in peak value or basic
impulse level (BIL), they have similar time characteristics. From the Figure below,
the important parameters are the rise time to reach the peak value tp and the fall time
to fall to 50% of the peak value tf [11].

A common parameterization for this waveform is given by

V  A(e t  e  t ) (2.9)

where;
V=output impulse voltage , and A = constant (can be determined
from tp, tf and the 100 BIL level).

Figure 2.7: Standard full-Wave Impulse Waveform [11].

 20

Transformer has been used in this research to generate the impulse of

lightning generator. In this research, the authors more focused on the circuit design.
Compare to the present project, the circuit with the specific value is constructed,
simulated and analyzed.

2.8 Design Of A Single Phase High Voltage GE DC Power Supply At 15KV

Output Using Voltage Doubler Circuit.

This paper describes the design and implementations of a single phase high
voltage DC power supply at 15 kV output. This explain the detail description of the
simulation, design, development and implementation of the hardware work to build a
high voltage DC power supply in the laboratory and its simulation works done by
using PSpice software. The designed DC power supply it can be used in industrial
applications. Simulation and experimental results are presented in terms of
performance and implementation.

2.8.1 Voltage Doubling Principle

In this paper, the main concept of this work is to study the voltage doubler circuit
based on simulation and hardware implementation and finally based on Cockcroft-
Walton (C-W) voltage multiplier circuits to fabricate a DC power supply in the
laboratory at the output range of 15 kV. The conventional technique is used because
the designed multiplier circuit is intended to be applied either for impulse generator
charging units or for laser excitation[17]. The main components of the DC power
supply are rectifier diodes and capacitors. The simplest unregulated power supply
consists of three parts namely, the transformer unit, the rectifiers unit and the
capacitors unit. The design specifications of the voltage doubler circuit are in Table
2.2.
 21

Table 2.2: Circuit Design Specifications [22]

Input voltage 220 volt

Output voltage 15 kV
Single phase transformer 1:1
DC Capacitor voltage level 850 volt
Capacitance value 1 µf
Rect. Diodes max. voltage level 4000 v
Forward current 0.25 A

Figure 2.8 shows the schematic for a half-wave voltage doubler. In fact, the
doubler shown is made up of two half-wave voltage rectifiers. Here C1 and D1 make
up one half-wave rectifier and C2 and D2 make up the other rectifier.

Figure 2.8: Connection Diagram of the Half-wave Voltage Doubler Circuit [22]

The input voltage of the voltage doubler circuit for the simulation has been
set to 220 volt and the output obtained is 440 volt. It shows the voltage doubler
circuit functioning as expected in Figure 2.9.

Figure 2.9: Simulation Result Voltage Doubler Circuit [22]

 22

Figure 2.10 shows the simulation output voltage and Figure 2.11 show the
output current of the designed high voltage DC power supply for the proposed 15 kV
circuit.

Figure 2.10: Simulation Result 15 kV DC Power Supply [22]

Figure 2.11: Simulation Output Current of DC Power Supply [22]

The simulation results are corroborated by implementing and testing the

circuits in the laboratory. The input voltage was set at 220 volt and the output
obtained is 471 volt. So according to the simulation circuit, it should be 440 volt but
it has given a higher value than its simulation result as shown in Figure 2.12.
 23

Figure 2.12: Experimental Output Voltage of Doubler Circuit [22]

Figure 2.13 shows that the output of the designed DC power supply is 15 kV
and it is tested and installed as well as Figure 14 shows the hardware implementation
for DC power supply in the laboratory.

Figure 2.13: Output Voltage of the DC Power Supply [22]

Figure 2.14: Constructed DC Power Supply in Lab [22]

 24

A PSpice based design for high voltage DC power supply at 15 kV output has
been proposed and developed. The system hardware has been implemented and
tested in the laboratory. The simulation and experimental results has been observed
to be in agreement. The designed DC power supply can be used for multiple
purposes such as impulse generator charging units, laser excitation or test on cables
in industrial application [22].

2.9 High Voltage Measurements

High voltages can be measured in a variety of ways. Direct measurement of high

voltages is possible up to about 200 kV, and several forms of voltmeters have been
devised which can be connected directly across the test circuit. High Voltages are
also measured by stepping down the voltage by using transformers and potential
dividers. The sparkover of sphere gaps and other gaps are also used, especially in the
calibration of meters in high voltage measurements. Transient voltages may be
recorded through potential dividers and oscilloscopes. Lightning surges may be
recorded using the Klydonograph[16].

2.9.1 Direct Measurement of High Voltages

2.9.1.1 Electrostatic Voltmeters

One of the direct methods of measuring HV is by means of electro-static voltmeters.

For voltages above 10 kV, generally the attracted disc type of electrostatic voltmeter
is used. When two parallel conducting plates (cross section area A and spacing x)are
charged q and have a potential difference V, then the energy stored in the is given by

Energy stored W = C V2 so that changes d W = V2 d C = F d x (2.10)

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