5 kW, 5 kHz class-A inverter for DC accelerator in CAT, Indore (Paper No. CP 19)

The 5 kHz, 5kW inverter described here is meant for energizing a high voltage transformer feeding a 2-stage Cockcroft-Walton multipliers with 100 kVDC output. This output is to be used as the acceleration voltage in DC accelerator at CAT, Indore. The load is expected to draw few tens of mA current, which means that with the values of the capacitors readily available with voltage ratings of 50 kVDC and above, there will be considerable drop in multiplier output voltage and ripple voltage also will be quite high, if one goes in for line-frequency operation. The frequency of 5 kHz suggests a good compromise between low ripple and DC drop, and the availability of devices switching at high frequency and handling kilowatts of power. The class A type of inverter which has reasonably good load regulation and tolerance to reactive loads was deemed suitable for generating this 5 kHz AC voltage. The DC voltage needed for the inverter was obtained from a phase-controlled supply which was put in closed loop to achieve regulation with respect to line and load variation. The output could be varied with external setting of a reference voltage. (author). 3 figs