The generation of high voltage steep-front impulses has always been a concern of researchers in the field of high voltage engineering and electromagnetic compatibility. Obtaining such voltage impulses was imposed by the necessity to simulate real stresses of insulation in electrical installations or electromagnetic disturbances having such characteristics (high altitude nuclear electromagnetic pulse, electrostatic discharges or certain switching operations). For the necessity of electromagnetic immunity tests of civil equipment, the amplitudes of these pulses are usually limited to a few kV, and the circuits that produce them are based on power electronics. However, for insulation tests, they are of the order of hundreds of kV. The paper presents three methods to obtain steep high voltage pulses required for testing high voltage insulations. Their advantages and disadvantages (limitations) are discussed for each of them.

Keywords: High voltage, Impulse generator, Steep-front impulse, Puncture test, Composite insulator steep-front test