A New Switching Impulse Generator Based on Transformer Boosting and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Trigger Control

Ming Ren,Rixin Ye,Ricardo Albarracín,Chongxing Zhang,Ming Dong

doi:10.3390/en9080644

Ming Ren, Rixin Ye + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en9080644

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Abstract

To make the switching impulse (SI) generator more compact, portable and feasible in field tests, a new approach based on transformer boosting was developed. To address problems such as triggering synchronization and electromagnetic interference involved with the traditional spark gap, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module with drive circuit was employed as the impulse trigger. An optimization design for the component parameters of the primary winding side of the transformer was realized by numerical calculation and error correction. Experiment showed that the waveform parameters of SI and oscillating switching impulse (OSI) voltages generated by the new generator were consistent with the numerical calculation and the error correction. The generator was finally built on a removable high voltage transformer with small size. Thus the volume of the generator is significantly reduced. Experiments showed that the waveform parameters of SI and OSI voltages generated by the new generator were basically consistent with the numerical calculation and the error correction.

Highlights

On account of the frequent failures of high voltage power equipment [1,2,3], more attention has been increasingly focused on the impulse withstand voltage test in the field [4], which has become a more stringent and effective method of evaluating the insulation status of power equipment [5,6,7,8].The traditional impulse generator is built on a Marx circuit, which has been widely applied in high voltage testing and insulation assess for many years
The voltage waveforms were recorded by a digital oscilloscope (WaveSurfer 64Xs-B, LeCroy, New York, NY, USA) and a high voltage probe (P6015, Tektronix, Beaverton, OR, USA) which is in parallel connection with C3
A new compact and removable switching impulse (SI) generator based on transformer boosting was developed with insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) control

Summary

Introduction

On account of the frequent failures of high voltage power equipment [1,2,3], more attention has been increasingly focused on the impulse withstand voltage test in the field [4], which has become a more stringent and effective method of evaluating the insulation status of power equipment [5,6,7,8]. The traditional impulse generator is built on a Marx circuit, which has been widely applied in high voltage testing and insulation assess for many years. The Marx generator is labor intensive and time consuming in replacing the output waveform, and its multiple spark airgap switches are sometimes triggered out of synchrony, especially when the preset voltage is not very high. The entire equivalent circuit model was analytically analyzed to accurately control the generator output by adjusting only the circuit connected to the primary winding side, and on this basis, a parameter optimization method was proposed

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