Analysis of transients in the medium voltage supply circuit of a high-current laboratory

Abstract

Electric and magnetic field measurements performed in the high-current laboratory (HCL) revealed recurring disturbances in the form of damped oscillations. An analysis of the test procedures and a detailed investigation of the system configuration indicated that the likely cause of these disturbances was the asynchronous operation of contacts in a medium-voltage (MV) vacuum circuit breaker. This hypothesis was verified using both field and circuit simulations. The non-uniform test circuit of the HCL was represented as a cascaded equivalent model based on segmentation and distributed electrical parameters. The obtained simulation results confirmed the proposed hypothesis and highlighted the significant impact of the switching process on the generation of electromagnetic disturbances in the MV supply path.