Dynalyzer – High Voltage Unit
OPERATION MANUAL
24
Figure 14:
Current Waveform Analysis by Integration
Filament Current Measurements using Oscilloscope
Connection of an oscilloscope to the filament output terminals will allow viewing of the amplitude
and waveform of the filament current. With an oscilloscope one may observe the sequencing of the
filament boost circuit, the operation of the current stabilization circuit, if any, and the type of
waveform present.
Many x-ray generators use saturable reactors, or other non-linear control means to control the
current in the x-ray tube filament. This results in distortion of the input sine wave into a waveform
approximating a square wave. If this occurs, the rms current would be equal to ½ the peak current,
assuming a 100% conduction angle. If the wave form is sinusoidal, the rms current is 0.353 x the
peak-to-peak current viewed on an oscilloscope. Figure 15 is a graph of the rms and average
values of a square wave as a function of conduction angle. The scale factor of the current
waveform is 0.1 volt per ampere.
At
Im
3
I AV =
I
T
n=o
n
Im
= MEAN VALUE OF CURRENT IN nth DIVISION
n
Im
n=n max