Radiated interference from a high voltage impulse generator

High voltage switching operations radiate large electromagnetic fields. These cause interference to sensitive electronic equipment. For example, the environment of most concern are those of high voltage substations and high voltage research laboratories. This paper evaluates electric and magnetic field measurements obtained during the breakdown of an SF/sub 6/ gas gap when a 4/400 /spl mu/s pulse was applied from a high-voltage impulse generator. Building upon previous work concerning initial results in terms of the E-dot and H-dot measurements, this paper also includes the evaluation of the E and H field magnitudes to determine the extent of equipment interference within the vicinity of switching/pulse operations. In addition, these laboratory results were extrapolated to allow comparisons to be made with results from previous studies investigating switching operations within a substation environment. The implications regarding EMC immunity standards and the level of interference is discussed.