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Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, VNR VJEIT, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, JNT University Hyderabad, Telangana, India
ABSTRACT
The Paper includes Introduction in which the history of the technology was described followed by Circuit
Description in which the basic Resonance principle was given followed by Design & Construction in which the desired
design aspects were discussed and shown the obtained values followed by Test Results in which the values were tabulated
and finally with Observed Conclusions.
Generation of High Voltages such as AC, DC and Impulse are required for the several applications in the fields of
electrical engineering and applied physics. High frequency high voltages are required for rectifier d.c power supplies and
also for testing of electrical apparatus for switching surges, sometimes high voltage damped oscillations are needed which
need high voltage high frequency transformers which is commonly used as high frequency resonant transformer is Tesla
Coil. This paper presents the design and construction of a TESLA COIL which can generate High voltage in the order of
250KV at a frequency of 250KHz. Tesla coil is an air core and doubly tuned Resonant Transformer which can generate
very high voltages in the form of lightning like discharges. It is also used for Wireless Electric Power Transmission for
certain distances depending upon the rating. The so designed Tesla Coil our laboratory is used for mainly testing the
insulation of various power system components.
KEYWORDS: Neon Sign Transformer, Capacitor Bank, Spark Gap, Primary Coil, Secondary Coil, Top Load
INTRODUCTION
Nikola Tesla who is a Serbian scientist invented Tesla coil, a resonant air core transformer around 1891 which is
used to produce high-voltage, low-current and high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla experimented with a
number of different configurations consisting of two, or sometimes three, coupled resonant electric circuits. He used these
coils to conduct innovative experiments in electrical lighting, phosphorescence, X-ray generation, high frequency
alternating current phenomena, electrotherapy, and the transmission of electrical energy wireless [1]. Wireless energy
transfer, which means, does not require direct electrical conductive contacts. Various systems works by transmitting
electromagnetic energy from an external power source through a medium by running a large AC current through an
external coil in order to generate a magnetic flux hence the changing magnetic flux induces a current in the internal coil.
After his inventions in the poly-phase Powering Systems, Nikola TESLA has focused himself more to experimenting with
high voltages, high currents and high frequencies. One of his goals was to transmit electrical energy without a power
network directly from a central plant to the different consumers. Tesla coil circuits were used commercially in spark gap
radio transmitters for wireless telegraphy until the 1920s and in medical equipment such as electrotherapy and violet ray
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devices. Today their main use is in entertainment and educational displays, although small coils are used as leak detectors
for high vacuum systems [2].
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Small Scale High Frequency, High AC Voltage Generation Using Tesla Coil
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Secondary Diameter
3 to 4 inches
4 to 6 inches
6 to 10 inches
Since the power consumption is less than 500W for the NST, the secondary diameter is chosen to be 4 inch.
Table 2: Secondary Coil Form Dimensions
Form Diameter
3 inches
4 inches
6 inches
8 inches and above
Aspect Ratio
6 to 1
5 to 1
4 to 1
3-5 to 1
Coil Length
18 inches
20 inches
24 inches
24 inches and above
For a 4inch, optimum aspect ratio is given as 5:1 and thus the coil length is decided to be 20 inches. The
inductance value of secondary coil is calculated using the formula given below.
E (output _ voltage)
I (rated _ current )
The so calculated value of capacitor is 4.6nF. More recent experiments suggest that a capacitor value of between
1.5 - 2.0 times the mains-resonant value performs best and is least likely to damage the transformer, and this would be
referred to as an LTR (Larger Than Resonant) capacitor value. Therefore a multiplication factor of 1.8 value is chosen for
optimized performance which results in final capacitor bank of 8.5nF withstand capacity more than 15KV.
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Small Scale High Frequency, High AC Voltage Generation Using Tesla Coil
.
Figure 7: Toroid Shaped Top Load
Theoretical Capacitance C2 = 17.674pF. Hence the below table shows the values of both Primary and Secondary
Coil inductance and capacitance values for the experiment.
Table 3: Primary & Secondary Coil Values
Parameters
Inductance
Capacitance
Primary Coil
41.4H
8.5nF
Secondary Coil
24.61mH
17.67pF
Spark Gap
Spark gap mainly acts as a high power switch which is responsible for initiating the discharge of tank capacitor
into primary winding of Tesla coil. The distance between the electrodes is set such that the air between the electrodes
breaks when the capacitor is fully charged. With one single large air gap the arc cannot be quenched properly, which
results in more power loss. This can be overcome by the construction of several small gaps connected in series to achieve
the same breakdown voltage with improved quenching ability and less power loss. To achieve this above aluminum rods of
diameter 1 inch and height of 2 inch are used in series as shown below in Figure 8.
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TEST RESULTS
A low power Tesla coil is designed with the desired output voltage of 250KV at a frequency of 250 KHz which is
fed from a 230V, 50Hz, 1- supply through an auto transformer. Wireless power transmission is obtained at a range of 2
Metres from the top load. The below Tables 4 & 5 shows the test results of Neon sign Transformer and Spark Gap
Testing results. The below Figure 9 also shows the field around the toroid, which transmits around 2m and above.
Table 4: Neon Sign Transformer Testing Results
Input Voltage (Volts)
40
80
100
120
160
180
200
230
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Small Scale High Frequency, High AC Voltage Generation Using Tesla Coil
CONCLUSIONS
Following conclusions were made after studying and developing the model of Tesla Coil.
Generated high voltage at high frequency, which can be used for Insulator Testing.
Used for the study of visual corona and ionization of gases under electrical stress.
Output power obtained by using Improved Spark gap is more when compared to static spark gap.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors are grateful to the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, VNR Vignana Jyothi
Institute of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad for the support on this project work.
REFERENCES
1.
M.S Naidu & V. Kamarajua. (2009). 4th ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, High
Voltage Engineering.
2.
Mathias Birle, Carsten Len and Stefan Bauer, Design and Application of a High-Frequency High-Voltge
Generator
XVII
International
Symposium
on
High
Voltage
Engineering,
Hannover,
Germany,
RichardBurnett, Masters Dissertation in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Newcastle, Retrieved
from http://www.richieburnett.co.uk/tesla.shtml.
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