Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory

Facilities and certification

We are a fully equipped and certified laboratory for research and testing in high voltage.

Facilities and testing capabilities

The laboratory offers testing to International and British Standards, and staff have access to the full database of British Standards. You can find more details on our activities with these facilities on the commercial testing page.

Our state of the art facilities

These include:

  • 2 main high voltage halls
  • 15 discrete high-voltage test areas
  • Temperature and humidity-controlled room 5-50oC, 10-80%RH
  • Faraday room
  • Environmental / Salt-fog chamber
  • Materials Laboratory for electrical, thermal, mechanical and optical characterisation
  • Partial Discharge, Capacitance and Tan Delta measurements
  • Sample Preparation Room
  • Forensic Rooms (X-ray analysis, Raman microprobe and IR spectroscopy)
  • Specialist HV engineering workshop
  • Hardware in the loop (HIL) setup

High voltage power supply equipment

  • 1MV / 50kJ lightning and switching impulse generator
  • 300kV AC, pd free
  • 600kV DC

Medium voltage power supply equipment

  • 280kV lightning and switching impulse generator
  • 200kV AC, pd free
  • 140kV DC
  • Range of current transformers (to 3kA)

Vacuum systems

  • Bi-Turbo vacuum chamber (ultra-high throughput vacuum system)  
  • Vertical vacuum chamber (thermal testing capabilities)
  • Spherical vacuum chamber (multiple measurement ports)

Certification

The Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory (TDHVL) strives to be an internationally leading centre for research and testing in high voltage plant and phenomena.

TDHVL continually works to create an environment where accidents do not occur, where no one is exposed to health hazards and where personal security is not compromised. Furthermore, TDHVL endeavours to protect the environment by working to minimise the impact of its activities and prevent pollution.

Certificate of approval