2. H.V Measurement H.

V Testing & Measurement 1

I. Measurement of High Alternating Voltages
II. Measurement of High DC Voltages
III. Measurement of High Impulse Voltages
IV. CURRENT MEASUREMENTS

I. Measurement of High Alternating Voltages

1. Capacitive High-Voltage Dividers
2. Analog Measuring Instruments
a) Simple Analog Peak Voltmeter
b) Peak Voltmeter According to Chubb and Fortescue
3. Digital Measuring Instruments
4. Electrostatic Voltmeters
5. Instrument Transformers
6. Capacitive Voltage Transformers
7. Electronic Voltage Transformers
8. Standard Sphere Gap
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I. Measurement of High Alternating Voltages
1. Capacitive High-Voltage Dividers

➢ Capacitive high-voltage dividers generally consist of a number of series-connected capacitors

arranged one above the other. The high AC voltage is applied to the top electrode of the divider,
and a true-to-scale reduced voltage is available for measurement at the output terminal, i.e. at
the lowest capacitor. The output voltage, which is usually limited to not more than 2 kV, is then
evaluated by an analog or digital measuring device.

➢ The insulation of high-voltage capacitors usually consists of windings made of oil-impregnated

paper or gas-impregnated plastic film.

➢ The series connection of several capacitors in the voltage divider reduces the total capacitance.

➢ Voltage dividers for measurement purposes usually have only a relatively small total capacitance
of a few 100 pF. This is because their properties in terms of long-term stability, frequency
behavior, temperature dependence and voltage dependence are better than those of a voltage
divider with larger capacitance. In addition, a large capacitance puts higher load on the
generator.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 3
I. Measurement of High Alternating Voltages
2. Analog Measuring Instruments
a) Simple Analog Peak Voltmeter

• Figure shows the principle of a simple analog AC peak

voltmeter connected to the low-voltage capacitor
• To display the DC voltage um with ripple, moving-coil
instruments, electrostatic voltmeters or electronic analog
circuits are used.
• The simple basic circuit in Fig. can cause several
measurement errors. Due to the ripple, the mean or
RMS value displayed by the measuring instrument M
is always slightly lower than the peak value and thus also frequency-dependent
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 4
I. Measurement of High Alternating Voltages
2. Analog Measuring Instruments
b) Peak Voltmeter According to Chubb and Fortescue
• The principle of the analog peak volt meter developed by Chubb and Fortescue is
remarkably simple. The high AC voltage u(t) applied to the capacitor C generates the
current ic(t) which is proportional to the derivative of u(t).

• Due to its working principle, the moving-coil instrument M displays

the arithmetic mean Im of the AC current im(t). Under simplifying
assumptions, the following equation for the mean current can be
given:
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 5
II. Measurement of High DC Voltages
1. Measuring Circuit with Resistive Divider
2. Measuring System with Series Resistors
3. Rotary Voltmeter
4. Standard Rod-Rod Gap
• The upper resistor R1 has a high ohmic value, but should allow a current magnitude
of at least 0.5 mA at rated voltage. R1 is usually implemented as a series connection
of a plurality of individual resistors, which are often arranged in the form of a helix.

• The individual resistors R1 and R2 may be wire-wound

resistors, metal oxide film resistors, carbon film resistors
or composition resistors.
• The arithmetic mean value U of the high voltage in the
circuit of Fig. results formally:
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 6
II. Measurement of High DC Voltages
2. Measuring System with Series Resistors
• The series resistor R1 must be high-ohmic in order to limit its self-heating and not to
load the high-voltage source too much.
• However, a low measurement current increases the influence of leakage currents,
which flow to ground through the support of R1 and do not contribute to the display of
the measuring instrument M. The measurement current through R1 should therefore
not fall below 0.5 mA.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 7
III. Measurement of High Impulse Voltages

1. Measuring Systems with High-Voltage Impulse Dividers

2. Resistive Impulse Voltage Divider
3. Capacitive Impulse Voltage Divider
4. Damped Capacitive Impulse Voltage Divider
5. Parallel-Mixed Resistive-Capacitive Voltage Divider
6. Standard Sphere Gaps
7. Capacitive Field Sensors
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 8
III. Measurement of High Impulse Voltages
1. Measuring Systems with High-Voltage Impulse Dividers
• Measuring systems with resistive, capacitive or resistive-capacitive voltage dividers
are used for impulse voltage measurements of up to several megavolts. In special
cases, voltage dividers with aqueous solutions are also used.
• The basic set-up of a high- voltage impulse test circuit consists of the impulse
voltage generator 1 with the load capacitor Cb, the test object 2, the measuring
system 3 with damping resistor Rd, the measuring instrument M and the high-voltage
leads.
• In order to avoid flashovers, the voltage divider
including the toroidal electrode, connecting
lead and damping resistor should have sufficient
clearance from walls and adjacent objects, at least
according to its height. Typical values for this are
3 m for 1 MV lightning impulse voltages and
5 m for 1 MV switching impulse voltages.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 9
III. Measurement of High Impulse Voltages
2. Resistive Impulse Voltage Divider
• Resistive impulse voltage dividers with a total resistance of 1– 20 kΩ are mainly used to
measure lightning impulse voltages up to 2 MV and steep-front impulse voltages up to
several 100 kV.
• These low-ohmic voltage dividers are less suitable for the measurement of switching
impulse voltages. This is partly due to the higher power consumption because of the
longer impulse duration.
• The damping resistor Rd at the beginning of the high-voltage lead, whose task is to
suppress or at least reduce traveling wave oscillations on the lead, is in the order of
100–400 Ω.
• Typical values for the resistor R2 in the low-voltage part are 0.5–10 Ω.
• For particularly “fast” voltage dividers with rated voltages of less than 500 kV, series-
connected low-ohmic individual resistors are also used. For example, carbon film
resistors have a good high-frequency behavior and high impulse withstand voltage.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 10

❑ Typical HV measurement setup includes:

1. Voltage source_ (Transformer)
2. Converter _Voltage divider (Instrument transformer)
3. Transmission system
• From converter to measuring instrument
• Including attenuators, matching impedance, terminators
4. Indicating or recording instrument
• Voltmeter, ammeter, oscilloscope, digital recorder
• Instrument typically includes internal attenuators which can be used as matching
impedance
5. Interference shielding (Earthing system)
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2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 12
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
Two highly unequal impedances connected in series
• Produces an output voltage that is a fraction of its input voltage.
• Voltage division refers to the partitioning of a voltage among the components of the
divider.
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❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
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❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
1. STRAY CAPACITANCE (Capacitive coupling of isolated
systems)
➢ Any two adjacent conductors can be considered a
capacitor
➢ High voltage divider has an open structure
• Stray capacitance from objects close to the divider
have an influence
• Ground, HV feeder, divider elements;
➢ Usually these influences can not be avoided
• Correct design and selection of divider
• Pressurized gas capacitors do not have this problem
(coaxial design)
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 15
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
1. STRAY CAPACITANCE (Capacitive coupling of isolated systems)
• Pressurized gas capacitors do not have this problem (coaxial design)

100 kV voltage divider of highest accuracy

(PTB).
a. View of the SF6-insulated voltage divider
in the pressure vessel with underframe.

b. View of the lower Cu electrodes for

potential control of the resistors.

c. Arrangement of the resistors in a 5-stage

helix (control electrodes dismantled)
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 16
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
2. HIGH RESITANCE DIVIDER (MΩ)
• Optimal: DC average value
• Also: LI peak value, time parameters, overshoot
(small R better for measuring LI)
• Problem: Overheating of HV resistor (main problem for ALL
resistive dividers)
• Limit P = U2 / large R (large R = better for slower pulses, DC)
• Typical design: 100 A to 1 mA [1GΩ , 100 kV = 10…100 W]
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 17
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
2. HIGH RESITANCE DIVIDER (MΩ)
➢ Stray Capacitance
• Stray capacitance to ground (or HV objects)
• In a 2 GΩ divider for measurement of 200 kV a stray capacitance of 10 pF forms a
low pass filter
• Filter attenuates fluctuations and restricts measurement speed (τ =RC)
➢ Meter Loading
• The resistances of a high voltage DC divider are usually so large, that the meter
input resistance (typically 1M  or 10M , sometimes 10 G  ) has an influence
(changes divider ratio)
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 18
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
3. LOW RESITANCE DIVIDER (kΩ)
• Optimal: Lightning Impulses (LI) – faster (shorter) impulses
• Problem: Stray Capacitance of high voltage resistor
• High voltage resistance typically 1 kΩ to 20 kΩ
• The resistors absorb the energy of the impulse
• Needs time to cool down between impulses
• Energy = P . T
• LI: 1.2/50 pulse duration ≈ 100 – 200 µs
• SI: 250/2500 pulse duration ≈ 5 – 10 ms
• tSI >> tLI : SI has too much energy = overheating
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 19
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
4. FIELD GRADING
• In order to avoid low pass filtering effect, the field
along the high voltage resistor must be matched
with the resistance distribution
• Using a shield or guard ring placed over a resistive
divider to enforce a uniform field
• An alternative is to make nonlinear resistance
distribution according to the field
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 20
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
5. MEASUREMENT CABLE
• If the measurement cable is not matched with the instruments (Z1 ≠ Z2), the signal
will be reflected many times before it settles.
• Speed of light c = 30 cm/ns
• Velocity of signal in cable v = 77% (~ 23 cm/ns)
• 20 m cable ∆t ≈ 87 ns
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 21
❑VOLTAGE DIVIDER
6. RECORDING INSTRUMENTS
➢ Resolution
• The resolution (8bits) of standard oscilloscopes is the minimum that can be
accepted for impulse measurements.
• Often higher resolution (10 or 12 bits) is needed to detect changes when the test
results are analyzed.
➢ Bandwidth
• Bandwidth has to be >25 MHz
• Settling of the step response is critical.
➢ Input voltage level
• The signal in the cable for high voltage laboratory measurements is hundreds of
volts. Signal to noise ratio is not high enough for lower signal levels.
• Good input attenuators are needed.
➢ Software
• Special software is needed for evaluation of impulse parameters.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 22
❑CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
➢ Small DC: measured using multimeter (volt-ohm-millammeter)
➢ Large currents: measured using a shunt
• A resistor of accurately known resistance (shunt) is placed in series with the load
so that nearly all of the current to be measured will flow through it.
• The voltage drop across the shunt is proportional to the current flowing through it
• Since its resistance is known, a voltmeter connected across the shunt can be
scaled to directly read the current value.
• AC :measured using a current transformer, shunt, or Rogowski coil
• Surge current: typically measured using a shunt (Rogowski coil also applicable)
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 23
❑CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
➢ CURRENT SHUNTS:
• Inductance of resistor has a significant role on measurements
• Inductance is minimized by ensuring that the magnetic fields of the conducting
paths cancel each other out

➢ Shunt designs can be:

• Coaxial (a)
• Radial (b)

• or otherwise symmetrical structure. e.g. loop (c)

➢ Structures are designed to improve cooling, compensate magnetic field
and minimize inductance.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 24
❑CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
➢ ROGOWSKI COIL:
• To measure a current, the primary conductor is placed centrally through the Rogowski coil
so that the number of primary turns is N1 = 1.
• The mutual inductance of the measuring coil with N2 turns is M = µ0N2A/lm , where A
denotes the cross section of the ironless coil carrier (µr = 1) and lm is the mean field line
length in the toroidal coil.
• In general, the current in transmission lines is not purely sinusoidal,
Therefore, the induced output voltage ui must be determined by
integrating the primary current i1. Integration is done with passive
or electronic circuits or by applying numerical algorithms.
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 25
❑CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
➢ ROGOWSKI COIL:
• Air-core, symmetrical toroid shaped coil
• Used as current transformer to measure current of a conductor passed through
the coil
• Dynamic properties depend on mechanical structure and winding design
• To minimize stray inductance, coil is wound tightly, symmetrically and
perpendicular relative to the tube
• Secondary voltage u2 is proportional to measured current
• Integrating circuit needed to define ratio:
• Add small resistor R to secondary coil
• Add large resistor R and capacitor C as integrator
Generation of High Voltages 26
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 27
❑CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
➢ ROGOWSKI COIL:
▪ Example: A Rogowski coil is required to measure impulse current of 8 kA having rate of change of
current of 1010 A/sec. The voltmeter is connected across the integrating circuit which reads Vo(t)=8 volts for
full scale deflection. The input to the integrating circuit is from the Rogowski Coil. Determine the
mutual inductance of coil M, R and C of the integrating circuit.
▪ Solution:

Time taken for the current wave to reach to maximum value

This is for 1/4th of a cycle. Therefore for one cycle, the time is
2. H.V Measurement H.V Testing & Measurement 28
❑CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
➢ ROGOWSKI COIL:
▪ Example: A Rogowski coil is required to measure impulse current of 8 kA having rate of change of
current of 1010 A/sec. The voltmeter is connected across the integrating circuit which reads Vo(t)=8 volts for
full scale deflection. The input to the integrating circuit is from the Rogowski Coil. Determine the
mutual inductance of coil M, R and C of the integrating circuit.
▪ Solution:
For proper integration
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END
H.V Measurement