Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Potentialtrennung
English translation:
galvanic OR voltage isolation/ separation
Added to glossary by
David Moore (X)
Nov 30, 2008 15:31
15 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term
David Moore (X)
Potentialtrennung
German to English
Tech/Engineering
Electronics / Elect Eng
Traction unit equipment
I have looked at the glossaries, and I'm not totally convinced by what I see. The answers seem to be more or less divided between "insulation" and "isolation", where the latter answers seem to have a distinct bias towards German native speakers. I can find nothing convincing in the Net either. The precise context is this:
"These 4-quadrant controllers convert the input voltage of
2 AC 350 V 16.7 Hz or 2 AC 350 V 50 Hz without Potentialtrennung into the intermediate circuit voltage of 2 DC 650 V."
It is a traction module for a Hungarian traction unit - hence the unusual input voltage. But can any "sparks" out there give me the correct English term? Is it "insulation" or "isolation" please?
"These 4-quadrant controllers convert the input voltage of
2 AC 350 V 16.7 Hz or 2 AC 350 V 50 Hz without Potentialtrennung into the intermediate circuit voltage of 2 DC 650 V."
It is a traction module for a Hungarian traction unit - hence the unusual input voltage. But can any "sparks" out there give me the correct English term? Is it "insulation" or "isolation" please?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | galvanic isolation |
Ken Cox
|
| 3 | Potential separation |
Darko Ivanovski
|
References
| isolation |
Demi Ebrite
|
Proposed translations
+4
5 mins
Selected
galvanic isolation
is the term I would use -- without galvanic isolation, a current can flow from one part of the circuit to another one.
refs
(a) definitions:
# In transformer, galvanic isolation means that no electrical current can flow directly from one winding to the other as they have no direct ...
www.dilettantesdictionary.org/index.php
# Galvanic isolation is the principle of isolating functional sections of electric systems so that charge-carrying particles cannot move from one ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic isolation
more from the Wikipedia entry:
Galvanic isolation is the principle of isolating functional sections of electric systems so that charge-carrying particles cannot move from one section to another, i.e. there is no electric current flowing directly from one section to the next. Energy and/or information can still be exchanged between the sections by other means, however, such as by capacitance, induction, electromagnetic waves, optical, acoustic, or mechanical means.
Galvanic isolation is used in situations where two or more electric circuits must communicate, but their grounds may be at different potentials. It is an effective method of breaking ground loops by preventing unwanted current from travelling between two units sharing a ground conductor. Galvanic isolation is also used for safety considerations, preventing accidental current from reaching the ground (the building floor) through a person's body.
refs
(a) definitions:
# In transformer, galvanic isolation means that no electrical current can flow directly from one winding to the other as they have no direct ...
www.dilettantesdictionary.org/index.php
# Galvanic isolation is the principle of isolating functional sections of electric systems so that charge-carrying particles cannot move from one ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic isolation
more from the Wikipedia entry:
Galvanic isolation is the principle of isolating functional sections of electric systems so that charge-carrying particles cannot move from one section to another, i.e. there is no electric current flowing directly from one section to the next. Energy and/or information can still be exchanged between the sections by other means, however, such as by capacitance, induction, electromagnetic waves, optical, acoustic, or mechanical means.
Galvanic isolation is used in situations where two or more electric circuits must communicate, but their grounds may be at different potentials. It is an effective method of breaking ground loops by preventing unwanted current from travelling between two units sharing a ground conductor. Galvanic isolation is also used for safety considerations, preventing accidental current from reaching the ground (the building floor) through a person's body.
Note from asker:
| Sorry, Ken, I misclassified this question and closed it before your answer showed to me; could you please transfer you answer to the reposting? |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to all; even "potential" gets plenty of googles, though personally I'd avoid it because of the "possibility" definition - to which many googles refer."
2 hrs
Darko Ivanovski
North Macedonia
North Macedonia
Specializes in field
North Macedonia
Information Timeliness
Native in: Macedonian 
Works in: English to Macedonian, German to Macedonian, Macedonian to English
Potential separation
From what I saw on the Net, I think that this is the proper translation of the term
Reference comments
3 hrs
Reference:
isolation
From reference below, page 4:
"The key component in the realization of a medium
voltage multilevel converter is the DC/DC converter
with its medium frequency transformer. It is placed
between each step level and the common DC circuit of
the application. The main requirement for the DC/DC
converter is a *galvanic separation* with a high voltage
*isolation*. This is due to the high voltage difference
between the DC link and the catenary in a
transformer-less front-end application."
The publication listed is from Industrial Electronics Laboratory LEI, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Though there may be a distinct 'German' bent to this article, I believe that the principle is universal.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:nDpSSDdWFmEJ:leiwww.epfl...
[ref would not post to the reference field]
"The key component in the realization of a medium
voltage multilevel converter is the DC/DC converter
with its medium frequency transformer. It is placed
between each step level and the common DC circuit of
the application. The main requirement for the DC/DC
converter is a *galvanic separation* with a high voltage
*isolation*. This is due to the high voltage difference
between the DC link and the catenary in a
transformer-less front-end application."
The publication listed is from Industrial Electronics Laboratory LEI, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Though there may be a distinct 'German' bent to this article, I believe that the principle is universal.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:nDpSSDdWFmEJ:leiwww.epfl...
[ref would not post to the reference field]
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