High Voltage Measurement Systems — Voltage Dividers
The measuring system that decides whether your test is valid
The source sets the voltage. The divider decides what you are allowed to say about it. An approved measuring system, meaning divider, lead, terminating impedance and recorder calibrated as a chain, is what turns an applied voltage into a number a customer witness or an accreditation body will accept.
Atlas Energy supplies resistive, capacitive and damped capacitive dividers covering 5 kV to 1,200 kV AC, ±5 kV to ±1,200 kV DC and impulse to 2,400 kV peak. Division ratios run from 10:1 to 100,000:1 and the frequency range extends to 100 MHz. Resistive construction is available from 250 kΩ to 1 GΩ. The type follows the measurement: resistive where DC and response time govern, capacitive where the loading on an AC source has to stay low, damped capacitive where an impulse front must be reproduced without oscillation.
Why it matters
The divider, not the source, sets the accuracy of a high voltage test — a poor divider invalidates an otherwise correct test.
Step response determines whether impulse front time and overshoot are measured or invented.
Traceable calibration against a reference system is what makes the test report defensible in a witness test or an audit.
Frequency response to 100 MHz and ratios to 100,000:1 let one measuring system serve AC, DC and impulse duty in the same bay.
Damped capacitive construction keeps an impulse front clean enough to evaluate against IEC 61083.
Ratings
AC range: 5 kV to 1,200 kV
DC range: ±5 kV to ±1,200 kV
Impulse range: Up to 2,400 kV peak
Division ratios: 10:1 to 100,000:1
Frequency range: Up to 100 MHz
Resistive construction: 250 kΩ to 1 GΩ
Types: Resistive, capacitive and damped capacitive
Extended range
Capacitive dividers and coupling capacitors: 1,000 pF at 30 / 50 / 60 / 100 / 150 kV, with customizable ratio
Combined divider and coupling capacitor: 300 kV / 1,000 pF
Weakly damped capacitive impulse dividers: 400 kV / 300 pF and 1,000 kV / 300 pF
Standards
IEEE Std 4
IEC 60060-1
IEC 60060-2
IEC 61083-1/-2
Applications
AC, DC and impulse voltage measurement in HV laboratories
Reference and approved measuring systems
Calibration by comparison
Connection to digital recorders and protection relays
Questions engineers ask
Which divider type should I use for impulse measurement?A damped capacitive divider is the usual choice for lightning and switching impulse. The damping resistance suppresses the oscillation a purely capacitive divider shows on a fast front, while the capacitance keeps the load on the generator low. Weakly damped versions are available at 400 kV / 300 pF and 1,000 kV / 300 pF.
Can the divider be used as a reference measuring system?Yes. The dividers are supplied for use as reference and approved measuring systems under IEC 60060-2, including calibration by comparison against a reference. Ratios from 10:1 to 100,000:1 and a frequency range to 100 MHz let one system serve AC, DC and impulse duty, and outputs connect to digital recorders and protection relays.
Technical documentation
Download HVEX High-Voltage Measurement Dividers datasheet (English, PDF)
