MEASUREMENT OF HIGH VOLTAGES AND CURRENTS
UNIT III
INTRODUCTION
In industrial testing and research laboratories, it is essential to measure the voltages and currents
accurately, ensuring perfect safety to the personnel and equipment
Person handling the equipment as well as the metering devices must be protected against overvoltages
and also against any induced voltages due to stray coupling.
Linear extrapolation of the devices beyond their ranges are not valid for high voltage meters and
measuring instruments, and they have to be calibrated for the full range.
Electromagnetic interference is a serious problem in impulse voltage and current measurements, and it
has to be avoided or minimized.
Therefore, even though the principles of measurements may be same, the devices and instruments for
measurement of high voltages and currents differ vastly from the low voltage and low current devices.
▪ Different devices used for high voltage measurements may be classified as
MEASUREMENT OF HIGH DIRECT CURRENT VOLTAGES
Series resistance micrometer
Resistance potential divider
Generating voltmeter
Sphere gaps and other gaps
SERIES RESISTANCE MICROMETER
High d.c. voltages are usually measured by connecting a very high resistance
(few hundreds of megaohms) in series with a microammeter.
Only the current I flowing through the large calibrated resistance R is
measured by the moving coil microammeter.
The voltage of the source is given by V=IR
The voltage drop in the meter is negligible, as the impedance of the meter is
only few ohms compared to few hundred mega-ohms of the series resistance R
A protective device like a paper gap, a neon glow tube, or a zener diode with a suitable series resistance is
connected across the meter as a protection against high voltages in case the series resistance R fails or flashes
over.
The ohmic value of the series resistance R is chosen such that a current of one to ten microamperes is
allowed for full-scale deflection.
The resistance is constructed from a large number of wire wound resistors in series. The voltage drop in each
resistor element is chosen to avoid surface flashovers and discharges
SERIES RESISTANCE MICROMETER
A Value of Iess than 5 kV/cm in air or less than 20 KV/cm in good oil is permissible.
The resistor chain is provided with corona free terminations.
The material for resistive elements is usually a carbon-alloy with temperature coefficient less than
10-4/C. Carbon and other metallic film resistors are also used.
The limitations in the series resistance design are:
✓ power dissipation and source loading,
✓ temperature effects and long time stability,
✓ voltage dependence of resistive elements, and
✓ sensitivity to mechanical stresses.
▪ Series resistance meters are built for 500 kV d.c. with an accuracy better than 0.2%.
RESISTANCE POTENTIAL DIVIDER
It uses electrostatic voltmeter or high impedance voltmeter.
Let,V2-Voltage across R2
R2
V2 = V1
(R1 + R 2 )
(R1 + R 2 )
High voltagemagnitude,V1 = V2
R2
Sudden voltage changes during transients due to:
Switching operation
Flashover of test objects
Damage due to stray capacitance across the elements & ground capacitance
Accuracy:
To avoid sudden changes in voltages, voltage controlling capacitors are connected across 0.05% accuracy up to 100 kV
the elements 0.1% accuracy up to 300 kV
At high voltage ends, corona free termination is used to avoid unnecessary discharges. 0.5% accuracy for 500 kV
GENERATING VOLTMETER
Generating voltmeter: A variable capacitor electrostatic voltage generator which generates
current proportional to voltage under measurement.
This arrangement provides loss free measurement of DC and AC voltages
It is driven by synch. motor, so doesn’t observe power from the voltage measuring source
The high voltage electrode and the grounded electrode in fact constitute a capacitance system.
The charge stored in a capacitor of capacitance C is given by q = CV
If the capacitance is a function of time as the area A varies with time and, therefore, the charge q(t) is
given as,
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION - GENERATING VOLTMETER
and,
dq(t ) dV (t ) dC(t )
i(t ) = = C (t ) + V (t )
dt dt dt
For [Link],
Hence
If the capacitance C varies sinusoidally between the limits C0 and (C0 + Cm) then
C = C0 + Cm sin ωt
and the current ‘i' is then given as, i(t) = im cos ω t , where im = VCmω
Here ω is the angular frequency of variation of the capacitance.
Generally the current is rectified and measured by a moving coil meter
Generating voltmeters can be used for a.c. voltage measurement also provided the angular frequency ω is the
same or equal to half that of the voltage being measured.
Above fig. shows the variations of C as a function of time together with a.c. voltage, the frequency of which is
twice the frequency of C (t).
GENERATING VOLTMETER
Instantaneous value of current i(t) = Cm fvV(t)
where fv = 1/Tv the frequency of voltage.
Since fv = 2fc and fc =1/( 60/n) we obtain,
I(t) = (n/30) CmV(t)
Fig. shows a schematic diagram of a generating voltmeter which employs
rotating vanes for variation of capacitance
High voltage electrode is connected to a disc electrode D3 which is kept at a
fixed distance on the axis of the other low voltage electrodes D2, D1, and D0.
▪ The rotor D0 is driven at a suitable constant speed by a synchronous motor.
▪ Rotor vanes of D0 cause periodic change in capacitance between the insulated disc D2 and the high voltage electrode
D3.
▪ Number and shape of vanes are so designed that a suitable variation of capacitance (sinusodial or linear) is achieved.
▪ The a.c. current is rectified and is measured using moving coil meters. If the current is small an amplifier may be used
before the current is measured.
GENERATING VOLTMETER
Generating voltmeters are linear scale instruments and applicable over a wide range of voltages.
The sensitivity can be increased by increasing the area of the pick up electrode and by using amplifier
circuits
Advantages:
i. Scale is linear and can be extrapolated
ii. Source loading is practically zero
iii. No direct connection to the high voltage electrode
iv. Very convenient instrument for electrostatic devices
Limitations:
i. They require calibration
ii. Careful construction is needed and is a cumbersome instrument requiring an auxiliary drive
iii. Disturbance in position and mounting of the electrodes make the calibration invalid.
SPHERE GAPS
▪ Sphere Gaps are standard gaps used for the Measurement of High d.c., a.c. and
Impulse Voltages (Peak Values)
▪ A calibrated spherical spark gap will break down at a highly repeatable voltage,
when corrected for air pressure, humidity and temperature. A gap between
two spheres can provide a voltage measurement without any electronics or
voltage dividers, to an accuracy of about 3%.
▪ A sparkover voltage of 30 kV (peak) at 1 cm spacing in air at 200C and 760 torr
pressure occurs for a sphere gap or any uniform field gap
▪ Normally, only sphere gaps are used for voltage measurements. In certain cases
uniform field gaps and rod gaps are also used, but their accuracy is less.
▪ The spark gap breakdown, especially the sphere gap breakdown, is independent
of the voltage waveform and hence is highly suitable for all types of waveforms
from d.c. to impulse voltages of short rise times (rise time 0.5 s).
SPHERE GAP MEASUREMENTS
Sphere gaps can be arranged either
(i) vertically with lower sphere grounded, or
(ii) horizontally with both spheres connected to the source voltage or one sphere grounded.
SPHERE GAP MEASUREMENTS – CONSTRUCTION & ASSEMBLY
▪ Sphere gaps are made with two metal spheres of identical diameters D with their shanks,
operating gear, and insulator supports
▪ Spheres are generally made of copper, brass, or aluminium; the latter is used due to low cost
▪ The standard diameters for the spheres are 2,5,6.25,10,12.5,15,25,50,75,100,150, and 200
cm.
▪ The spacing is so designed and chosen such that flashover occurs near the sparking point P.
▪ The spheres are carefully designed and fabricated so that their surfaces are smooth and the
curvature is uniform.
▪ The radius of curvature measured with a spherometer at various points over an area
enclosed by a circle of 0.3 D around the sparking point should not differ by more than ±2%
of the nominal value.
▪ The surface of the sphere should be free from dust, grease, or any other coating. The surface
should be maintained clean but need not be polished. If excessive pitting occurs due to
repeated sparkovers, they should be smoothened. The dimensions of the shanks used, the
grading ring used (if necessary) with spheres, the ground clearances, etc. should follow the
standard values.
▪ The high voltage conductor should be arranged such that it does not affect the field
configuration.
▪ Series resistance connected should be outside the shanks at a distance 2D away from the
high voltage sphere or the sparking point P
SPHERE GAP MEASUREMENTS – VERTICAL CONFIGURATION
In vertical configurations, it is generally arranged such that both spheres are
symmetrically at high voltage above the ground
The voltage to be measured is applied between the two spheres and the
distance or spacing S between them gives a measure of the sparkover voltage.
A series resistance is usually connected between the source and the sphere
gap to
i. limit the breakdown current, and
ii. to suppress unwanted oscillations in the source voltage when breakdown
occurs (in case of impulse voltages)
The value of the series resistance may vary from 100 to 1000 kilo ohms for a.c.
or d.c. voltages and not more than 500 in the case of impulse voltages.
SPHERE GAP MEASUREMENTS – VERTICAL CONFIGURATION
In the case of a.c. peak value and d.c. voltage measurements, the applied
voltage is uniformly increased until sparkover occurs in the gap. Generally, a
mean of about five breakdown values is taken when they agree to within
±3%.
In the case of impulse voltages, to obtain 50% flashover voltage, two voltage
limits, differing by not more than 2% are set such that on application of
lower limit value either 2 or 4 flashovers take place and on application of
upper limit value 8 or 6 flashovers take place respectively. The mean of
these two limits is taken as 50% flashover voltage. In any case, a preliminary
sparkover voltage measurement is to be made before actual measurements
are made.
The flashover voltage for various gap distances and standard diameters of
the spheres used are given in Tables The values of sparkover voltages are
specified in BS : 358, IEC Publication 52 of 1960 and IS : 1876 of 1962
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SPARKOVER VOLTAGE OF SPHERE GAPS
Various factors that affect the sparkover voltage of a sphere gap are:
(i) nearby earthed objects, (ii) atmospheric conditions and humidity, (iii) irradiation, and (iv) polarity and rise
time of voltage waveforms.
(I) Effect of nearby earthed objects:
The effect of nearby earthed objects was investigated by Kuffel by enclosing the earthed sphere inside an
earthed cylinder. It was observed that the sparkover voltage is [Link] reduction was observed to be
▪ The reduction was less than 2% for S/D 0.5 and B/D0.8. Even for S/D 1.0 and B/D 1.0 the reduction was
only 3%. Hence, if the specifications regarding the clearances are closely observed the error is within the tolerances
and accuracy [Link] reduction in voltage is within the accuracy limits, if S/D is kept less than 0.6.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SPARKOVER VOLTAGE OF SPHERE GAPS
(II) Effect of atmospheric conditions
The sparkover voltage of a spark gap depends on the air density which varies with the changes in both temperature
and pressure. If the sparkover voltage is V under test conditions of temperature T and pressure p torr and if the
sparkover voltage is V0 under standard conditions of temperature T=2O0C and pressure p = 760 torr, then
▪ The humidity effect increases with the size
of spheres and is maximum for uniform field
gaps, and
▪ The sparkover voltage increases with the
partial pressure of water vapour in air, and
for a given humidity condition,
▪ The change in sparkover voltage increases
with the gap length.
▪ As the change in sparkover voltage with
humidity is within 3%, no correction is
normally given for humidity
The relationship between d and k is given in Table
(iii) Effect of Irradiation
▪ Illumination of sphere gaps with ultra-violet or x-rays aids easy ionization in gaps.
▪ The effect of irradiation is pronounced for small gap spacings. A reduction of about 20% in sparkover
voltage was observed for spacings of 0.1 D to 0.3 D for a 1.3 cm sphere gap with d.c. voltages.
▪ The reduction in sparkover voltage is less than 5% for gap spacings more than 1 cm, and for gap
spacings of 2 cm or more it is about 1.5%.
▪ Hence, shielding irradiation is necessary for smaller sphere gaps of gap spacing less than 1 cm for
obtaining consistent values.
(Iv) Effect of polarity and waveform
▪ The sparkover voltages for positive and negative polarity impulses are different.
▪ Experimental investigation showed that for sphere gaps of 6.25 to 25 cm diameter, the difference
between positive and negative d.c. voltages is not more than 1%.
▪ For smaller sphere gaps (2 cm diameter and less) the difference was about 8% between negative
and positive impulses of 1/50 μs waveform.
▪ Similarly, the wave front and wave tail durations also influence the breakdown voltage. For wave
fronts of 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 for voltage measurement in such cases.
MEASUREMENT OF HIGH AC AND IMPULSE VOLTAGES
Measurement of high a.c. voltages employ conventional methods like series impedance voltmeters,
potential dividers, potential transformers, or electrostatic voltmeters. But their designs are different
from those of low voltage meters, as the insulation design and source loading are the important
criteria.
When only peak value measurement is needed, peak voltmeters and sphere gaps can be used.
Sphere gaps are used when peak values of the voltage are only needed and also for calibration
purposes.
SERIES IMPEDANCE VOLTMETERS
For power frequency a.c. measurements the series impedance may be a pure resistance or a reactance.
Since resistances involve power losses, often a capacitor is preferred as a series reactance.
For high resistances, the variation of resistance with temperature is a problem, and the residual
inductance of the resistance gives rise to an impedance different from its ohmic resistance. High
resistance units for high voltages have stray capacitances and hence a unit resistance will have an
equivalent circuit as shown in Fig
At any frequency of the a.c. voltage, the impedance of the resistance R is
▪ For extended and large dimensioned resistors, each
elemental resistor has to be approximated with this
equivalent circuit. The entire resistor unit then has to be
taken as a transmission line equivalent, for calculating the
effective resistance.
▪ Also, the ground or stray capacitance of each element
influences the current flowing in the unit, and the indication
of the meter results in an error.
▪ The equivalent circuit of a high voltage resistor neglecting
inductance and the circuit of compensated series resistor
using guard and tuning resistors is shown.
▪ Stray ground capacitance effects (refer Fig. 7.8b) can be
removed by shielding the resistor R by a second
surrounding spiral Rs which shunts the actual resistor but
does not contribute to the current through the
instrument. By tuning the resistors Ra, the shielding resistor
end potentials may be adjusted with respect to the actual
measuring resistor so that the resulting compensation
currents between the shield and the measuring resistors
provide a minimum phase angle.
SERIES CAPACITANCE VOLTMETER
To avoid the drawbacks of series resistor, a series capacitor is used instead
of a resistor for a.c. high voltage measurements.
The current IC through the meter is
where, C = capacitance of the series capacitor, = angular frequency, and
V = applied a.c. voltage.
▪ If the a.c. voltage contains harmonics, error due to changes in series
impedance [Link] rms value of the voltage V with harmonics is given by
✓ With a 10% fifth harmonic only, the current is 11.2% higher, and hence the
error is 11.2% in the voltage measurement This method is not
recommended when a.c. voltages are not pure sinusoidal waves but
contain considerable harmonics.
ELECTROSTATIC VOLTMETERS
PRINCIPLE
In electrostatic fields, the attractive force between ▪ When one of the electrodes is free to move, the
the electrodes of a parallel plate condenser is force on the plate can be measured by controlling
given by it by a spring or balancing it with a counterweight.
▪ For high voltage measurements, a small
displacement of one of the electrodes by a
fraction of a millimetre to a few millimetres is
usually sufficient for voltage measurements.
▪ As the force is proportional to the square of the
applied voltage, the measurement can be made for
a.c. or d.c. voltages.
ELECTROSTATIC VOLTMETERS
▪ Electrostatic voltmeters are made with parallel plate
configuration using guard rings to avoid corona and
field fringing at the edges.
▪ An absolute voltmeter is made by balancing the plate
with a counter weight and is calibrated in terms of a
small weight.
▪ Usually the electrostatic voltmeters have a small
capacitance (5 to 50 pF) and high insulation
resistance (R > 1013 ohm). Hence they are
considered as devices with high input impedance.
ELECTROSTATIC VOLTMETERS
▪ The upper frequency limit for a.c. applications is
determined from the following considerations:
(i) natural frequency of the moving system,
(ii) resonant frequency of the lead and stray
inductances with meter capacitance, and
(iii) the R-C behaviour of the retaining or control
spring (due to the frictional resistance and elastance).
▪ An upper frequency limit of about one MHz is
achieved in careful designs. The accuracy for a.c.
voltage measurements is better than ±0.25%, and for
d.c. voltage measurements it may be ±0.1% or less.
PEAK READING [Link]
❖ When the waveform is not sinusoidal, rms value ❖ When a capacitor is connected to a sinusoidal voltage
of the voltage multiplied by Vm is not correct. source, the charging current I0 = jCV where V is the
Hence a separate peak value instrument is rms of the voltage and is the angular frequency.
desirable in high voltage applications. This is ❖ If half wave rectifier is used, the d.c. meter reading is
necessary to obtain the maximum dielectric proportional to the peak value of the value Vm or
strength of insulating solids, etc.
Series Capacitor Peak Voltmeter ❖ Where I is the d.c. current read by the meter and C is
the capacitance of the capacitor.
❖ This method is known as the Chubb-Frotscue method
for peak voltage measurement.
❖ The diode D1 is used to rectify the a.c. current in one
half cycle while D2 by-passes in the other half cycle.
❖ This arrangement is suitable only for positive or
negative half cycles and hence is valid only when both
half cycles are symmetrical and equal.
PEAK READING [Link]
❖ The different sources that contribute to the error are
i. the effective value of the capacitance being
different from the measured value of C
ii. imperfect rectifiers which allow small reverse
currents
iii. non-sinusoidal voltage waveforms with more than
one peak or maxima per half cycle
iv. deviation of the frequency from that of the value
used for calibration
❖ As such, this method in its basic form is not suitable
for waveforms with more than one peak in each half
cycle
POTENTIAL DIVIDERS FOR IMPULSE VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS
❖ Potential or voltage dividers for high voltage impulse measurements, high
frequency ac measurements, or for fast rising transient voltage
measurements are usually either resistive or capacitive or mixed element
type
❖ The low voltage arm of the divider is usually connected to a fast recording
oscillograph or a peak reading instrument through a delay cable.
❖ Z1is usually a resistor or a series of resistors in case of a resistance
potential divider, or a single or a number of capacitors in case of a
capacitance divider. It can also be a combination of both resistors and
capacitors. Z2 will be a resistor or a capacitor or an R-C impedance
depending upon the type of the divider.
❖ Each element in the divider, in case of high voltage dividers, has a self
resistance or capacitance. In addition, the resistive elements have residual
inductances, a terminal stray capacitance to ground, and terminal to
terminal capacitances.
POTENTIAL DIVIDERS FOR IMPULSE VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS
❖ When a step or fast rising voltage is applied at the high voltage terminal, the
voltage developed across the element Z2 will not have the true waveform as that
of the applied [Link] cable can also introduce distortion in the waveshape.
❖ The following elements mainly constitute the different errors in the measurement: The effect to residual and lead
(i) residual inductance in the elements; inductances becomes pronounced
when fast rising impulses of less
(ii) stray capacitance occurring
than one microsecond are to be
✓ between the elements, measured. The residual inductances
✓ from sections and terminals of the elements to ground, and damp and slow down the fast rising
✓ rom the high voltage lead to the elements or sections; pulses.
(iii) the impedance errors due to
The layout of the test objects,
✓ connecting leads between the divider and the test objects, and the impulse generator, and the
✓ ground return leads and extraneous current in ground leads; and ground leads also require special
attention to minimize recording
(iv) parasitic oscillations due to lead and cable inductances and capacitance of high errors.
voltage terminal to ground.
POTENTIAL DIVIDERS FOR IMPULSE VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS
❖ A simple resistance potential divider consists of two
resistances R1 and R2 in series (R1>> R2)
❖ The attenuation factor of the divider or the voltage ratio
is given by
❖ The cable will generally have a surge impedance Z0 and
this will come in parallel with the oscilloscope input
impedance (Rm, Cm) .
Rm will generally be greater than one mega ohm and Cm may be 10 to 50 pico
farads.
❖ For high frequency and impulse voltages (since they also
contain high frequency fundamental and harmonics), the
ratio in the frequency domain will be given by
POTENTIAL DIVIDERS FOR IMPULSE VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS
❖ To avoid the frequency dependence of the voltage ratio a,
the divider is compensated by adding an additional
capacitance C1 across R1.
❖ The value of C1, to make the divider independent of the
frequency, may be obtained from the relation,
❖ meaning that the time constant of both the arms should
be the same.
❖ This compensation is used for the construction of high
voltage dividers and probes used with oscilloscopes.
Usually, probes are made with adjustable values of Cm so
that the value of Cm can include any stray capacitance
including that of a cable, etc
• The antenna picks up the signal generated due to discharge of the sphere-gap within the impulse
generator and fires the time-base of CRO, as soon as the impulse generator is triggered.
• The impulse signal arrives at the vertical plates after passing through a delay cable, which introduces a
delay of about 0.1 – 0.5 us depending upon the insulating medium and length of the delay cable.
• This ensures that the complete impulse signal is recorded by the CRO.
MEASUREMENT OF HIGH CURRENTS
❖ In power systems, it is often necessary to measure high currents, arising due to short circuits.
❖ For conducting temperature rise and heat run tests on power equipment like conductors, cables,
circuit breakers, etc., measurement of high currents are required.
❖ During lightning discharges and switching transients also, large magnitudes of impulse and switching
surge currents occur, which require special measuring techniques at high potential levels.
❖ High magnitude direct currents are measured using a resistive shunt of low Ohmic value.
❖ High current resistors are usually oil immersed and are made as three or four terminal resistances.
HALL EFFECT FOR DC MEASUREMENTS
❖ If an electric current flows through metal plate located in a magnetic
field perpendicular to it, Lorentz forces will deflect the electrons in
the metal structure in a direction normal to the direction of both the
current and the magnetic field.
❖ The charge displacement generates an emf in the normal direction,
called the “Hall voltage”.
❖ The Hall voltage is proportional to the current I, the magnetic flux
density B ,and the reciprocal of the plate thickness d, the
proportionality constant R is called the ‘ Hall coefficient’.
❖ For metals, the Hall coefficient is very small, and hence semi-
conductor materials are used for which the Hall coefficient is high.
HALL GENERATOR
❖ In large current measurements, the current carrying conductor is
surrounded by an iron cored magnetic circuit so that the magnetic field
intensity H is produced in a small air gap in the core.
❖ The Hall elements is placed in the air gap ( of thickness d) , and a small
constant dc current is passed through the element. The schematic
arrangement is shown in fig
❖ The voltage developed across the Hall element in the normal direction
is proportional to the dc current I.
❖ Hall coefficient R depends on the temperature and the high magnetic
field strengths, and suitable compensation has to be proved when used
for measurements of very high currents.
❖ Hall generators can be used for measurement of unidirectional ac and
impulse currents also with proper design of R.
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