EE450: High Voltage Engineering

Lecture 22, 23

Farhan Mahmood, PhD

Department of Electrical Engineering
UET, Lahore

January 25, 2017

Outline

Measurement of High Voltages

• Peak Voltage Measurement

• Chubb-Fortescue Method
• Peak Voltage Measurement Using Capacitive Voltage Divider
• Sphere Gaps
• Electrostatic Voltmeters
• Generating Voltmeter

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Peak Voltage Measurement

• The behavior of a dielectric is strongly dependent on the applied electric stress. The
intensity of electric stress depends upon the peak magnitude of the voltage of a time
varying waveform.
• In some situations, it is required to measure only the peak value of the applied
voltage at which the breakdown of an insulating material takes place.
• Therefore, the techniques developed for the measurement of peak voltages have
gained importance and classified as:
˗ Chubb-Fortescue method
˗ Peak voltage measurement using capacitive voltage divider
˗ Sphere gaps

Page 3
Chubb-Fortescue Method

• Chubb and Fortescue suggested a simple and

accurate method of measuring peak value of a.c
voltages.
• In this method, a high AC voltage V (t) applied to the
capacitor C generates the current ic (t) which is
proportional to the derivative of V (t).

• The basic circuit consists of a standard capacitor, two

diodes and a current integrating ammeter i.e. moving
coil or equivalent instrument only.

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Chubb-Fortescue Method

• The current ic (t) is divided into positive and negative

components by the back-to-back connected diodes.
• Neglecting the voltage drop across these diodes, the
current measured by the moving-coil instrument I is
im (t) = ic (t) in the conduction period of diode 1.
• In the negative half-cycle of the AC voltage, ic (t)
flows through the diode 2 in the parallel branch and
im = 0.
• Due to its working principle, the moving-coil
instrument I displays the arithmetic mean Im of the
AC current im (t).

Page 5
Chubb-Fortescue Method

• Thus, the ammeter reads the magnitude of charge per cycle, or the mean value of
the current.

where T is the period duration of the AC voltage and Vm is the peak value of the AC
voltage.
• The standard a.c voltages for testing should not contain any harmonics.
• Under normal conditions with a.c. testing, voltages and current waveforms are
sinusoidal and do not give rise to errors. However, pre-discharge currents within the
test circuits cause very short duration voltage drops which may introduce errors.

Page 6
Chubb-Fortescue Method

• Due to the presence of harmonics, the waveshapes of voltage and current is

distorted and may contain more than one maxima per half cycle.
• The shaded areas give the reverse current in any one of the half cycles and the
current within that period subtracts from the net current.
• Hence, the reading of the meter will be less and is not proportional to Vm as the
current flowing during the intervals (t1 – t2) etc. will not be included in the mean value.

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Chubb-Fortescue Method

• To eliminate this problem, filtering of a.c voltage is carried out by introducing a

damping resistor in between the capacitor and the diode circuit as shown in figure.

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Peak Voltage Measurement using Capacitive Voltage Divider

• Figure shows a voltage divider circuit with half-

wave rectifier in which
˗ Diode D is used for rectification
˗ Capacitor CS represents the measuring (or
storage) capacitance
• Capacitors C1 and C2 are so selected that a
low voltage V2 (t) appears across C2 with high • Under this condition,
voltage at the input.
• Neglecting the losses and diode drop, CS will
be charged to the positive peak value of the where Vm is the reading of voltmeter
voltage across the lower arm C2, that is, V2 (t).

Page 9
Peak Voltage Measurement using Capacitive Voltage Divider

• The limitation of this voltage divider is that the voltage across CS will remain almost
constant, in case there is a decrease in the input voltage.
• Thus, CS may be made to discharge relatively quickly by adding a discharge
resistance Rd.

Page 10
Peak Voltage Measurement using Capacitive Voltage Divider

• When the AC voltage V2 (t) decreases again, Cs is slightly discharged, and its
voltage Vm (t) decreases according to the time constant RdCS.
• In the next positive half-cycle, when V2 (t) > Vm (t), CS is recharged, and Vm (t)
increases again to the peak value.

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Peak Voltage Measurement using Capacitive Voltage Divider

• The resistances R2 and Rd as well as the capacitance Cs are chosen such that:
˗ Division ratio is affected as little as possible
˗ Small changes in V2 (t) and thus, in the high voltage V1 (t) can be detected.
• To display the applied high voltage, moving-coil instruments, electrostatic
voltmeters or electronic analog circuits, optionally with digital display, can be used.
• The difference in the display of meters indicating the mean or RMS value is
acceptable if the test voltage complies with the test standards.

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Peak Voltage Measurement using Capacitive Voltage Divider

• Sources of error:
˗ Shape of the voltage across CS is a source of ripples. Due to the ripple of Vm,
the mean or RMS value displayed by the measuring instrument M is always
slightly lower than the peak value and thus also frequency-dependent.
˗ During the charging phase of the rectifier, Cs is parallel to C2, which increases
the division ratio.
• In summary, it can be said that analog peak voltmeters for the frequency range
16.7–300 Hz have a long tradition but are increasingly being replaced by digital
instruments.

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Sphere Gaps

• Sphere gap is considered as one of the standard methods for

˗ Measurement of peak value of d.c., a.c. and impulse voltages (+ve and –ve)
˗ Calibration of the voltmeters and other voltage measuring devices
• The sphere gap can be used for measurement of impulse voltage of either polarity
provided:
˗ Wave-front and wave-tail times should be at least 1 μs and 5 μs respectively
˗ Gap length between the sphere should not exceed a sphere radius.

Page 14
Sphere Gaps

• Two identical metallic spheres separated by certain distance form a sphere gap.
• If an ac voltage is applied across the two spherical electrodes and the voltage is
uniformly increased till the breakdown occurs, the peak value of ac voltage is,

• The voltage at which the breakdown of the gap occurs is called breakdown voltage
and depends on the electric field Eb and the gap spacing d.

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Sphere Gaps

Sphere Gaps in
High Voltage
Laboratory

Page 16
Sphere Gaps

• The sphere diameter d ranges from 2 - 200 cm, the spacing S from 0.05 - 150 cm for
voltages up to the 2 MV range.
• Sphere gaps can be arranged in two configurations:
˗ Horizontal
˗ Vertical
• Horizontal arrangement is used for the measurement of low voltages with sphere
diameter, D < 50 cm whereas with large spheres, vertical arrangement is selected.
• One of the two spheres must be earthed. In vertical arrangement, the lower sphere
is earthed.
• In both arrangements, one of the spheres is static and the other is moveable so that
the spacing can be adjusted.

Page 17
Sphere Gaps

Page 18
Sphere Gaps

• It is important that the spheres should be so

placed that the space between spheres is free
from external electric fields and from bodies
which may affect the field between the
spheres.
• Minimum clearance around the spheres is
required within which no earthed objects are
allowed, denoted by B.
• The height of the sparking point on the sphere,
above the ground plane must be within the
given limits, denoted by A.

Page 19
Sphere Gaps

• It has been observed that the metal of which the spheres are made does not affect
the accuracy of measurements, so the spheres may be made of brass, bronze, steel,
copper, aluminium, or light alloys.
• There are various requirements regarding the arrangement of a standard sphere
gap:
˗ Surface of the sphere should be smooth, and curvatures should be as uniform as
possible
˗ Surface of the sphere should be cleaned, and free from dust, grease, moisture
and any other coating

Page 20
Sphere Gaps

• Continuous voltage measurement is not possible with sphere gaps, since the voltage
source is short circuited at the instant of measurement.
• A series resistance is connected between the source and the spheres to limit the
current that flows after the breakdown of the gap. The breakdown current may also
cause pitting on the surface of the spheres.
• The protective resistance should have a value of 1 Ω/V or 0.1 and 1 MΩ for AC
voltage measurements.
• 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.

Page 21
Sphere Gaps

Procedure
• For the measurement of a.c. or d.c. voltage, a reduced voltage is applied to begin
with so that the switching transient does not flash over the sphere gap and then the
voltage is increased gradually till the gap breaks down.
• Alternatively, the voltage is applied across a relatively large gap and the spacing is
then gradually decreased till the gap breaks down. Corresponding to this gap, the
value of peak voltage can be read out from the calibration tables.

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Sphere Gaps

• For the measurement of 50% impulse disruptive discharge voltages, the spacing
of the sphere gap or the charging voltage of the impulse generator is adjusted in
steps of 3% of the expected disruptive voltage.
• 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.
• Another method, simple though less accurate, is to adjust the settings such that four
to six disruptive discharges are obtained in a series of ten successive applications.

Page 23
Sphere Gaps

• If these conditions are satisfied and the specifications regarding the shape,
mounting, clearances of the spheres are met, the spheres will spark at a peak
voltage which will be close to the nominal value shown in standard calibration
tables.
• These calibration values relate to standard temperature and pressure (STP)
conditions:
˗ Temperature of 20 ºC
˗ Pressure of 760 mm Hg

Page 24
Sphere Gaps

Page 25
Sphere Gaps

Page 26
Sphere Gaps

• It should be noted:
˗ For a.c. and impulse voltages, the tables are considered to be accurate within
±3% for gap lengths up to 0.5 S.
˗ If the gap length is greater than 0.5 S, the results are less accurate and are
shown in brackets.
˗ The tables are not valid for gap lengths less than 0.05 S and impulse voltages
less than 10 kV.

Page 27
Sphere Gaps

• There are some practical difficulties when very high or low voltages are measured
with the help of sphere gap.
• For the measurement of high voltages, the gap distance d should be increased.
Consequently, the uniform field between the spheres becomes distorted, and
accuracy falls.
• For maintaining the uniformity of the electric field, the radius of the electrode has to
be increased.
• The limits of accuracy are dependant on the ratio of the spacing S to the sphere
diameter d, as follows.
˗ d < 0.5 S, accuracy = ±3%
˗ 0.75 S > d > 0.5 S, accuracy = ±5%

Page 28
Sphere Gaps

• For the measurement of voltages less than 50 kV, or places where the availability of
ultraviolet radiation is low, irradiation of the gap by radioactive or other ionizing
media should be used.
• The irradiation of the sphere gap will increase the availability of initiating electrons in
the gap, thus reducing the statistical time lag.
• The development of spark process consists of two components:
˗ Statistical time-lag caused by the need of an electron to appear in the gap
during the application of the voltage.
˗ Formative time-lag which is the time required for the breakdown to develop
once initiated.
˗ Typically, the total time lag is of the order of few micro-seconds.

Page 29
Sphere Gaps

Factors Affecting the Breakdown Voltage of Sphere Gap

• Various factors that affect the breakdown voltage of sphere gap are:
˗ Atmospheric conditions
˗ Dust particles
˗ Polarity and rise-time of voltage waveforms

Page 30
Sphere Gaps

Atmospheric Conditions
• The value of disruptive voltages as given in calibration tables correspond to 760 mm
Hg pressure and 20 ºC.
• The breakdown voltage of a sphere gap increases with increase in pressure and
decreases with increase in temperature.
• The relative air density δ is given by,

where b is the atmospheric pressure (mm of Hg)

t is the atmospheric temperature (ºC) during measurement.

Page 31
Sphere Gaps

• The disruptive voltage V is given by,

where V0 is the disruptive voltage as given in the calibration tables under STP
conditions.
Kd is a correction factor and is a slightly non-linear function of δ a result
explained by Paschen's law.

Page 32
Sphere Gaps

• Kuffel has studied the effect of the humidity on the

breakdown voltage.
• It has been observed that the breakdown voltage
increases with humidity especially for larger
spheres.
• It can be seen that
˗ The breakdown voltage increases with the
partial pressure of water vapour.
˗ The a.c. breakdown voltage is slightly less
than d.c. voltage.

Page 33
Sphere Gaps

• It has also been observed that

˗ The humidity effect increases with the size of spheres and is largest for uniform
field electrodes.
˗ The voltage change for a given humidity change increase with gap length.
• The increase in breakdown voltage with increase in partial pressure of water vapour
and this increase in voltage with increase in gap length is due to the relative values
of ionisation and attachment coefficients in air.
• The water particles readily attach free electrons, forming negative ions. These ions
therefore slow down and are unable to ionise neutral molecules under field
conditions in which electrons will readily ionise.

Page 34
Sphere Gaps

Dust Particles
• When a dust particle is floating between the gap, this results into erratic breakdown
in homogeneous or slightly inhomogenous electrode configurations.
• When the dust particle comes in contact with one electrode under the application of
d.c. voltage, it gets charged to the polarity of the electrode and gets attracted by the
opposite electrode due to the field forces and the breakdown is triggered shortly
before arrival.
• In summary, flying insects, dust particles and other particles in the air, e.g. small
floating plant particles, can cause early disruptive discharges and thus incorrect
measurement values.

Page 35
Sphere Gaps

Polarity and rise-time of voltage waveforms

• Breakdown voltages for positive and negative polarity impulse voltages are different.
• Wave-front and wave-tail duration also influence the breakdown voltage. For wave-
fronts less than 0.5 μs and wave-tails less than 5 μs, the breakdown voltages are not
consistent and hence, the use of sphere gap is not recommended.

Page 36
Electrostatic Voltmeter

• Electrostatic voltmeters are used for the measurement of dc and power frequency ac
voltages.
• Coulomb’s law defines the electrical field as a field of forces, and since electrical
fields may be produced by voltages, the measurement of voltages can be related to
a force measurement.
• When a voltage is applied to a parallel plate electrode arrangement, an electric field
is set up between the plates.
• The electric field will be:
˗ Uniform
˗ Normal to the plates
˗ Directed towards the negative plate

Page 37
Electrostatic Voltmeter

• Let A = area of the plates

E = electric field intensity between the plates
ε = permittivity of the medium between the plates
• The energy density of the electric field between the plates is given as,

• Consider a differential volume between the plates and parallel to the plates with area
A and thickness dx, the energy content in this differential volume Adx is,

Page 38
Electrostatic Voltmeter

Page 39
Electrostatic Voltmeter

• Now force F between the plates is defined as the derivative of stored electric energy
along the field direction i.e.,

• Now E = V/d where V is the voltage to be measured and d the distance of separation
between the plates.
• Therefore, the force F between the plates is,

• Since the two plates are oppositely charged, there is always force of attraction
between the plates.

Page 40
Electrostatic Voltmeter

• If the voltage is time dependant, the force developed is also time dependant, then
the mean value of force is used to measure the voltage, that is,

• Thus, it can be seen that the force of attraction F α Vrms2, so that the meter reads the
square value (or can be marked to read the rms value).
• This implies that the meter can be used both for a.c and d.c voltage measurement.

Page 41
Electrostatic Voltmeter

• A small metal plate is placed in the opening

of one of the parallel plate electrodes so
that it can be deflected by the applied
voltage.
• The plate is provided with a mirror, on which
a beam of light is directed and then
reflected to a scale.
• The deflection of the reflected light beam on
the scale increases with the square of the
voltage.

Page 42
Electrostatic Voltmeter

Electrostatic Voltmeter with Light Beam Indicator

Page 43
Electrostatic Voltmeter

Advantages:
• Voltages up to 1000 kV can be measured
• Active power losses are negligibly small
• Low loading effect
• Loading of the voltage source is limited to the reactive power needed to charge the
capacitance of the system
Disadvantage:
• For constant distance ‘s’, F α V2, the sensitivity of the system for low ranges of the
rated voltages of the instrument is small. This can be overcome by varying the gap
distance d in appropriate steps.

Page 44
Generating Voltmeter

• Generating principle is employed for the measurement of high voltages, when:

˗ Direct connection to the high voltage source is to be avoided
˗ Source loading is not permitted
• Generating voltmeter is a variable capacitor electrostatic voltage generator which
generates current proportional to the voltage to be measured.
• Generating voltmeter are used for the measurement of dc and power frequency ac
voltages.
• The device is driven by an external synchronous or constant speed motor and does
not absorb power or energy from the voltage measuring source.

Page 45
Generating Voltmeter

• Generating voltmeter is based on the principle that the capacitance of an electrode

arrangement located in an electric field is periodically changed so that the influenced
charge periodically changes between a minimum and a maximum value. The
oscillating charge causes a dielectric displacement current that generates a
measurable AC voltage across a resistor.

Page 46
Generating Voltmeter

• The charge stored in a capacitor of capacitance C is given by,

• If the capacitance varies with time when connected to the source voltage V, the
current through the capacitor will be,

• For dc voltages,

Page 47
Generating Voltmeter

• If the capacitance C varies sinusoidally between the limits C0 and (C0 + Cm), that is,

• Then the current i (t) is given by,

where im is the peak value of current,

ω is the angular frequency of variation of the capacitance.
• If ω is constant, the current measured is proportional to the voltage being measured.
• Generally, the current is rectified and measured by a moving coil meter.

Page 48
Generating Voltmeter

Page 49
Generating Voltmeter

• Advantages:
˗ Scale is linear and can be extrapolated.
˗ Source loading is practically zero as there is no direct connection to the high
voltage electrode.
• Disadvantages:
˗ Generating voltmeters require calibration.
˗ Construction is quite cumbersome.

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