MULTI-STAGE IMPULSE

GENERATORS

INTRODUCTION
The single-stage impulse generator circuit is

inconvenient and impractical for generation of

very high voltages because of various reasons
like requirement of a very high dc voltage
source ,difficulties encountered in switching of
very high voltages,physical size of the circuit
elements etc.
To overcome these difficulties , in 1923 Marx

suggested a multistage impulse generator circuit.

A typical four-stage impulse

generator circuit

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
The dc voltage Vo charges the stage capacitors C1

through the high value charging resistors R1 as well as

through resistors R2,which are much smaller than the
resistors R1.
After a long time period, the points A,B.C,D will acquire
the potential of the dc source Vo,w.r.t the earth point G.
The points H,I,J,K will remain at earth potential .
The load capacitance Cb remains at earth potential

during charging of state capacitors.

 Let the charging voltage attain a value of say ,+Vo.

When G1 breaks down there will be a momentary
redistribution of charge potential on capacitor C1
connected across AH.
Its top plate falls to zero potential while its lower plate
suddenly changes to Vo.
Suddenly there appears a potential of 2Vo across the gap
G2 and this gap instantly breaks down. The process is
repeated .
For an n-stage impulse circuit the output impulse voltage
across Cb will be nVo. -is voltage efficiency
It is essential that Switching gaps are adjustable to
make breakdown almost simultaneously

ANALYSIS OF THE MULTISTAGE CIRCUIT

When all the gaps G1,G2,G3 and G4 have
broken down, the spark resistance in each
gap may be regarded as negligible
compared to the resistances R1 and R2.
A and G,B and H,C and I,D and J are at equal
potentials so that the links BH,CI and DJ
may all be omitted.
For an n-stage impulse circuit,
Cs = C1/n ; Re=nR2

COMPONENTS
1. DC Charging Set
2. Charging Resistors
3. Generator Capacitors and Spark Gaps
4. Wave shaping Resistors and Capacitors
5. Triggering System
6. Voltage Dividers
7. Gas insulated impulse generators

1.a dc (variable) supply for charging the

stage capacitors-for this use combination
of step up trmr and rectifier. Charging time
not less than 5-10 second. Charging
should be suitably controlled (thyristor
controlled)
2.Use non inductive wire wound resistors
.They should be placed such that they can
be easily exchanged & replaced
3.Paper impregnated capacitor of low
inductance and high capacity for fast
discharge..

RATING OF IMPULSE GENERATORS

Impulse generators are rated by

(1)The number of stages

(2) The nominal output voltage
(3) The energy stored in Cs.

Modified Marx impulse

generator

 A Marx Generator is a clever way of

charging a number of capacitors in
parallel, then discharging them in
series.
Here R1 and R2 are the wave shaping
resistors.

Marx Generator (250kV)

Need for Modification

Rating of the control resistors required
is high.
Hence cost is high.
Also the efficiency is low.

Modified Marx Circuit

Here the resistances R1 and R2 are incorporated in the unit.

R1 is divided in to n equal parts of R1/n and put in series
with the gap G.
R2 is divided in the n equal parts and arranged across each
capacitor after gap G.

Advantages & Limitations

This arrangement saves space.
Rating of the resistors(R1 & R2)
required is reduced.
Cost is reduced.
Efficiency is increased.
Wide variation of the wave shape is
not possible.

GENERATION OF
SWITCHING SURGES

 Switching surges are overvoltages in power systems that occur

due to sudden opening or closing of a circuit breaker or due to
arcing at a fault point in the system
Switching surges are short-duration transient voltages
Their magnitude is dependent on the system voltage
Switching surges are slow rising impulse having a wave-front
time of 0.1 to 10millisecond and a tail time of 1 to several
milliseconds
Standard switching impulse voltage is defined as
250/2500micro sec wave with the same tolerances for time to
front of (250 50) micro sec and
time to half value of
(2500 500) microseconds

 Several circuits have been adopted for producing

switching surges
.
They are grouped as
1.Impulse generator circuit modified to give longer
duration waveshapes
2. Power transformers or testing transformers excited
by dc voltages

1. USING MODIFIED IMPULSE

GENERATOR CIRCUIT
The general equation of output is
V=V0 [ (-t) - (-t) ]
The relationship showing the dependence of output on the
circuit parameters is
V0(t)= .
V
. (e-t - e-t)
R1C2(
=1/(R1C2) & = 1/(R2C1) are constants of microsecond
value.

R1
V0

D.C

C1

R2

C2

CX
t

The values of R1 and R2 for producing waveshapes of long duration,

such as
100/1000s or 400/4000s, will range from 1 to 5K-ohms and
5 to 20 K-ohms respectively

GENERATION OF
IMPULSE CURRENTS

 Standard wave shapes used in surge diverters

are have nominal wave front of
4/10microseconds and wave tail of 8/10
microseconds with 10% tolerence allowed.
Rectangular waveshapes of long duration are
also used for testing
Duration of a wave is defined as the total time
of the wave during which the current is atleast
10% of its peak value.
Rectangular waves have duration of the order
of 0.5 to 5ms.
Tolerance allowed on the peak value is +20%
and -0%

CIRCUIT FOR PRODUCING

IMPULSE CURRENT
WAVES

 Maximum value of impulse current is

normally independent of V and C for
given energy W=1/2CV2. and
effective inductance L.
A low value of inductance L is
needed to get high current
magnitudes for given charging
voltage V.

GENERATION OF HIGH
IMPULSE CURRENTS

 A number of capacitors are charged in parallel

and discharged in parallel into the circuit.
To minimize effective inductance , the capacitors
are subdivided into smaller units.
If there are n1 groups of capacitors,each
consisting of n2 units,
Lo=inductance of common discharge path
L1=inductance of each group
L2=inductance of each unit
The effective inductance L is given by

ESSENTIAL PARTS OF
IMPULSE CURRENT
GENERATOR
A dc charging unit giving variable voltage to
capacitor bank.
Capacitors each with low self inductance
capable of giving high short circuit currents.
An additional air cored inductor for high
current value.
Proper shunts and oscillograph for
measurement purposes,and
A triggering unit and spark gap for initiation
of current generation.