An investigation into the suitability of insulated core transformer technology for an ultra high voltage power supply

A growing area of interest is HVDC supplies. This paper represents an initial study into possible designs of HVDC transformers that could provide 2 A at 1 MV, with the added specification that any proposed technology should be scalable to 5 A at 5 MV. Insulated core transformers (ICTs) have been initially selected as a potentially suitable technology. Careful design of the ICT magnetic core is required to ensure that flux loss is limited so that higher voltages are achievable. Simulation studies have shown that the voltage produced in an ICT does not scale linearly, meaning that there is an effective limit to the voltage that they can produce. In addition to this, a technique is proposed to increase the available current output of an ICT. The full analysis is presented in this paper.