Pulse current injection platform with consecutive early-time and intermediate-time high-altitude electromagnetic pulse conducted currents for immunity test of electrical equipment.

This article focuses on the development of a pulse current injection (PCI) platform designed to test the immunity of electrical equipment against high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) disturbances, specifically the consecutive early-time (E1) and intermediate-time (E2) conducted currents. The platform integrates separate pulse generators for E1 and E2 currents and an E1&E2 coupler featuring a fast-closing high-current trigger switch with wire–plate electrodes in SF6 gas to ensure accurate waveform delivery according to MIL-STD-188-125 standards. Experimental tests on 10-kV epoxy insulators demonstrated that flashover occurs under E1 and consecutive E1&E2 currents but not under E2 alone, with only the consecutive E1&E2 current causing a measurable increase in dielectric loss tangent, indicating potential risks to insulation performance. This platform enables comprehensive evaluation of electrical equipment responses to combined HEMP conducted disturbances, addressing a gap in prior research that mostly considered E1 effects in isolation.