In the transformer manufacturing industry, product upgrades are the norm - today we produce 35kV transformers, but tomorrow we may have to expand to 110kV or even 220kV. However, many transformer manufacturers often only focus on the current voltage level requirements when purchasing lightning impulse voltage generators, and overlook a key issue: if the product line is upgraded in three to five years, can this equipment still be used?

The answer is often more cruel than imagined. The voltage level is not sufficient, the energy capacity cannot keep up, and the functions cannot be expanded - the equipment is eliminated, which means that tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment will be wasted, and the procurement process will have to be redone.

The UHV series lightning impulse voltage generator of Wuhan UHV Power Technology Co., Ltd. is designed to solve this pain point. From modular architecture to scalable design, from phased upgrades to lifetime reuse, Wuhan UHV enables transformer manufacturers to grow alongside their business with every investment.

Modular design: Today's equipment can still grow taller tomorrow

Once the traditional impulse voltage generator is finalized, the voltage level and energy capacity are fixed. After product upgrades, old equipment can only be left idle or disposed of at a low price, resulting in serious investment waste.

The Wuhan UHV series lightning impulse voltage generator adopts a 4-stage tower modular design, supporting single-stage low-voltage testing and multi-stage parallel expansion. Taking the UHV-600kV/45kJ model as an example, the equipment has a nominal voltage of ± 600kV and an energy of 45kJ, but its bracket and DC charging unit have scalability and can be extended to the 1000kV level. The modular Marx generator circuit structure facilitates flexible combination and expansion according to test voltage requirements.

This means that if a company purchases a 600kV device today, in the future, as the transformer product line upgrades to higher voltage levels, there will be no need to replace the entire machine, only adding modules can improve testing capabilities. A set of equipment ranging from 600kV to 1000kV not only spans voltage levels, but also involves several years of product upgrade cycles for the enterprise.

Installment upgrade: lifetime reuse of the main control, only adding energy storage modules

The essence of modular design lies in "keeping the core unchanged and upgrading locally". The impulse voltage generator of Wuhan UHV adopts a modular energy storage expansion architecture, and the main control and measurement unit is reused for life. Only by stacking the energy storage units can the impulse energy be increased. The main control is universal, only adding energy storage modules, which is much lower than the cost of re purchasing the entire machine.

For transformer manufacturers, the cost advantage brought by this design concept is obvious. If the product is upgraded from 66kV to 110kV, there is no need to purchase a complete set of equipment again. Simply increase the number of stages or replace the capacitor unit with a larger capacity on the original basis, which can easily improve the output voltage or energy level.

In contrast, the cost of repurchasing the entire machine is several times or even tens of times higher than that of module upgrades. Modular design enables transformer manufacturers to achieve a leap in testing capabilities at extremely low incremental costs.

One set of equipment covering the entire product line

The impulse test of transformers not only requires full lightning waves, but also requires waveform cutting and operation waves. Transformers of different voltage levels have varying voltage and energy requirements for the impulse generator.

The UHV series equipment can output standard impulse waveforms such as lightning full wave, truncated wave, and operating wave, and one set of equipment can adapt to the impulse voltage test requirements of transformers of different voltage levels. The device adopts a modular Marx generator design, which can flexibly adjust the output voltage by adding or removing modules. It can meet the conventional testing requirements of low-voltage transformers and also adapt to the rigorous testing needs of ultra-high voltage transformers.

UHV-600kV/45kJ models can cover from 3.3kV distribution transformers to 66kV power transformers. After expanding to the 1000kV level, the impact test for transformers of 110kV and above is also effortless. A set of equipment covering a complete product line from low voltage to ultra-high voltage - this is the long-term value that modular design brings to transformer manufacturers.

For transformer manufacturers, purchasing a lightning impulse voltage generator is not only a device that can complete today's test, but also a testing platform that can continuously evolve with the upgrading of enterprise products. The Wuhan UHV series adopts a modular architecture to achieve "one-time procurement, phased upgrade", with scalable design to protect every initial investment, and national engineering verification to prove its long-term reliability - allowing transformer manufacturers to accompany their enterprises through five or ten years of development with every investment.