Design and implementation of smart impulse voltage calibrator

The calibration of digital recorders has special significance for the traceability of high voltage impulse measuring systems to the national or international references. Lightning impulse (LI) and switching impulse (SI) calibrators are the main important devices for this purpose. In a calibration of a digital recorder, the deviations of the peak value and time parameters according to the reference values are determined at different resolutions and each measuring range. The scale factor and the deviations of the time parameters of digital recorder result from a comparison of measured values with the corresponding reference values applied from the impulse calibrator. This paper summarizes the design, implementation and performance of a new design calculable impulse voltage calibrator. The constructed calibrator is used as a primary reference standard in National Metrology Institute of Turkey. The calibrator designed and implemented in this work is the primary reference for providing the lowest uncertainty in the traceability of lightning and switching pulses in the range between 50 V and 600 V between national high voltage laboratories affiliated to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM). The estimated uncertainties of the LI calibrator are 0.03% for the peak value, (U-P), 0.30% for the front time, (T-1), and 0.10% for the time to half value, (T-2). For the SI calibrator, they are 0.10% for the peak value, (U-P), 0.20% for the front time, (T-1), and 0.04% for the peak time value, (T-P).