Protection against over voltages

By.......
K.RAGHAVENDRA REDDY , M.Tech
Asst.Prof.(EEE Dept.),CRRCE
Causes of Over voltages
Causes of Over
voltages
Internal causes
Switching surges
Open circuited
line
Loaded line
Current
chopping
Insulation failure
Arcing ground
Resonance
External
causes(Lightning)
Direct stroke
Stroke A
Stroke B
Indirect stroke
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Internal causes
These occurs mainly due to oscillations set up the sudden changes in
the circuit conditions. In general insulation is suitably designed to
with stand such surges
Switching Surges:-
Open circuited line:-
when the unloaded line connected to a
voltage source, a voltage wave is set up
which travels along the line. on reaching the terminal point A ,it is
reflected back to supply end without change of sign
The voltage at supply end is 22E,which is temporary in nature
Due to the presence of line losses attenuation in the wave takes place
and in a very short time ,the line settle down to its normal supply
voltage
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A loaded line:-
Over voltages will also be produced during switching operations of a
loaded line.
If a loaded line is suddenly interrupted it will set up a voltage of 2Z
n
i
across the break.
Current chopping:-
This results in the production of high voltage transients across the
contacts of ABCB
This can be avoided by resistance switching.
Insulation failure:-
The earthing of line causes two equal voltages of E travel along XQ &
XP containing currents E/Z
n
& +E/Z
n


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Arcing ground:-
In early of transmission, neutral wire was omitted to gain two advantages
In case of LG fault, the line is not put of action
Zero sequence currents eliminated, resulting in the decrease of interference
with communication lines
Insulated neutrals give no.of problems with short lines and comparatively
low voltages
In case of long lines and operating at high voltages ,serious problem of
arcing ground sets in, which produces severe oscillations of 3-4 times
normal voltage
The transients produced due to arcing ground are cumulative and may
cause serious damage to the equipment in the power system by causing
breakdown of insulation
This problem can be prevented by earthing neutral
Resonance:-
Under resonance the impedance of circuit equal to resistance at UPF
It causes high voltages

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External causes: Lightning
An electric discharge between cloud and earth, between clouds (or)
between the charge centers of the same cloud is known as lightning
Lightning is a huge spark and takes place when clouds are charged to
such a high potential (+ve or ve)with respect to earth (or) to a
neighboring cloud, then dielectric strength of neighboring medium
(air)is destroyed
During the up rush of warm moist air from earth, the friction
between the air and tiny particles of water causes building up of
charges. when the drops of water are formed, the larger drops
become +ve charged ones and the smaller drops become ve charged
The charge on cloud may become so great that it may discharge to
another cloud (or) to earth. we call this discharge as lightning
The thunder which accompanies lightning is due to the fact that
lightning suddenly heats up the air, there by causing it to expand

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Mechanism of Lightning discharge
When a charged cloud passes over the earth, it induces equal and
opposite charge on the earth below
As the charge acquired by the cloud increases, the potential between
cloud and earth increases, and therefore gradient in the air increases
When the potential gradient is sufficient (5kv/cm-10kv/cm)to break
the surrounding air and the lightning stroke starts

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A streamer called leader streamer (or) pilot
streamer starts from the cloud towards the earth,
when the air near the cloud breakdown
The leader streamer will continue its journey
towards earth as long as the cloud feeds enough
charge to it to maintain gradient at the tip of leader
streamer above the strength of the air.
If this gradient is not maintained, the leader
streamer stops and the charge is dissipated without
the formation of a complete stroke

As the streamer continues its journey towards earth
until it makes contact with earth or some object on
the earth.
As the leader streamer moves towards earth ,it is
accompanied by points of luminescence which
travel in jumps giving rise to stepped leaders.
The distance travelled in one step
is 50m and have sufficient
luminosity to view phenomena
of discharge

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As the leader streamer reaches near the earth, a return
streamer shoots up from the earth to the cloud
It is similar to closing suddenly the switch between +ve and
ve terminals, a sudden spark occurs which is called as
lightning
To the normal eye lightning appears as a single flash but
made up of separate strokes
It has been found that 87% of all
lightning stokes result from
ve charged clouds and only
13% originate from +ve charged clouds
Lighting discharge may have currents in
the range of 10KA to 90KA

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Direct stroke
In direct stroke, the lightning discharge (i.e. current path) is
directly from the cloud to overhead line
From the line ,the current path may be over the insulators
down the pole to ground
The direct strokes can be of two types (i)Stroke A (ii)Stroke B

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In Stroke A ,the lightning discharge is
from cloud to overhead line. The cloud
will induce a charge of opposite sign on
overhead line. when potential between
cloud and the line exceeds the
breakdown value of air ,the lightning
discharge occurs between the cloud
and the line

In stroke B,let there are P,Q & R.The charge on Q is
bound by the cloud R.If the cloud P shifts too near to
the cloud Q,then the lightning discharge will occur
between them and charges on both these clouds
disappears quickly. As a result charge on cloud R
suddenly becomes free and then it discharges rapidly to
the earth, ignoring tall objects
Direct strokes on the power system are very rare

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Stroke A will always occurs on tall
objects and hence protection can be
provided against it, But Stoke B
completely ignores the height of the
object and can even strike the
ground. So it is not possible to
provide protection against Stroke B

Indirect stroke
These result from electro statically induced charges on the
conductors due to the presence of charged clouds
A +ve charged cloud above the line and induces a ve charge on the
over head line by electrostatic induction. This ve charge is confined
to the portion right under the cloud only and the portions of the line
away from it will be +ve charged as in fig. This induced +ve charge
leakes slowly to the earth via insulators


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When the cloud discharges to earth
(or) to another cloud ,the ve charge
on the overhead line is isolated as it
cant flow quickly to earth over the
insulators. The result is that ve
charge rushes along the line in both
the directions in form of travelling
waves. Majority of surges in a
transmission line are caused by
Indirect Lightning Strokes

Lightning surge
A sudden rise in voltage for a very short duration on power system
Surges or transients are of temporary nature and exist for a very shorter
duration(few hundred s) ,but cause over voltages on power system






1/50s surge means, it reaches Max. value in 1s
and decays to half of its peak value in 50 s
This may cause damage to line insulators, nearby transformers, generators
and other electrical equipments connected to it
Klydonograph is used for the measurement of surge voltage on transmission
line caused by lightings of either polarity

) (
bt at
e e E surge

=
Advantage of corona
Any over voltage surge appearing on a transmission
line due to internal or external disturbances
propagates in the form of travelling waves towards
the ends of the line.
The lightning surge is rapidly attenuated ,partly due
to the corona as it travels along the line.
Corona can be a natural safety valve to some extent
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Need for protection
The internal causes produce voltages to twice the normal
value where as the external causes like lightning increase
the system voltage to several times the operating voltage.
It is neither possible nor economical to design the
insulation of a transmission system to withstand voltages
several times greater than the normal operating voltages.
It is practicable is to design the insulation of the system to
withstand voltages of twice the normal value for a
reasonable length of time and to provide the protective
devices
the protective devices are adjusted to breakdown before
the insulation of the system fails or otherwise prevent a
dangerous voltage form breaking the insulation

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Protection against Lightning
Protection against
Lightning
Protection against
Direct strokes
Power station &
substation
Earthing screen
Vertical masts
Over head
transmission lines
Ground wires
Protection against
Indirect strokes
(or)
Travelling waves
Lightning arresters
(or)
Surge diverter
Surge absorber (or) surge modifier used to reduce the steepness of
travelling wave
Lightning arresters (or) surge diverters protect the station apparatus
against both direct strokes and the strokes that come into the apparatus
as travelling waves.
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power station/sub-station Protection
The power station and sub station can be protected
against direct lightning strokes by providing earthing
screen.
It consists of a network of copper conductors mounted
all over the electrical equipment in the substation or
power station.
The shield is properly connected to earth on at least
two points through low impedance.
On the occurrence of direct stroke on the station,
screen provides a low resistance path by which
lightning surges are connected to ground.
This method does not provide protection against the
traveling waves which may reach the equipment in the
station
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Vertical masts or rods




The radius of base line is ky
Protective ratio=ky/y=k
In a substation masts or rods are erected at the corners or over
vertical columns, so that the buses and apparatus will fall with in the
cone of protection
A cone may be assumed to have a base radius equal to twice the
height of the mast
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Over head Transmission lines Protection
Transmission line is protected from direct strokes by running a
conductor known as ground wire over the towers or poles and
earthed at regular intervals, preferably at every pole or tower.
The wire can be run either above or below the line but running of
earth wire above the line is better as it provides more effective
shield.
The selection of ground wire should be based on mechanical
rather than electrical considerations.
These should have high strength and non-corrosive.
The degree of protection by ground wire depends on the shielding
angle




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It the angle subtended by the outermost
line conductors at the ground wire. The
lower this angle ,the greater the
protection(<30),for hill-side tower =45
Due to the proper location of ground wires
the lightning stroke will not reach the line
conductor

When direct lightning stroke occurs ,it will be taken up by
the ground wires. The heavy lightning current (10kA-50KA)
from ground wire flows to ground, thus protecting line
from harmful effects of lightning
The voltage of tower rises to V
t
= I R where R is tower
footing resistance. The tower footing resistance should be
low(10-20) to avoid flash over

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Requirements of Ground wire
The ground wires should be mechanically strong
This is met by use of galvanized steel wire or ACSR wire
There must be sufficient clearance between power line
conductors and ground wire for the given system voltage
This is met by suitable design of cross arm so that value of
protecting angle is low (<30) and by adjusting sag in such a way
to avoid midspan flash overs.
The footing resistance of the tower should be as low as possible
This is met by chemical treatment of soil, which is used for
improving grounds of sustations,Ground rods and
Counterpoises
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The ground wire also provides electrostatic screening by reducing the
voltage induced in the conductors by discharge of neighbouring
cloud.


As the ground wire is above the line conductor ,there will be increase
in c
y
which results in reduction of induced voltage
With a single ground wire the induced voltage is reduced to half of
that without ground wire
With two ground wires ,the reduction
is about one third and for three ground
wires, it is one fourth
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Electrostatic shielding by earth wire
V
C C
C
y x
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
= is ground and line the across Voltage
Merits & Demerits of Ground wires
Ground wire gives protection against direct lightning strokes on
transmission lines
There is damping effect of the ground wire on the disturbance
travelling along the line as it acts as a short circuited secondary
For external fields, it provides electrostatic shields to certain extent
which reduces the voltage induced in the line conductors due to
discharge of a neighbouring cloud
It requires additional cost
It may be possible that due to breaking of ground wire and falling on
the line conductors can cause a direct short-circuit fault.
Ground wires are used for protection against direct lightning strokes
for voltages ranging from 110kv to 500kv.


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Ground rods
It is used for lowering the footing resistance of the tower
Theses rods are put into the ground surrounding the tower
structure
The size of the ground rod has no effect in reducing the
ground resistance
The length of the rod plays major role
The long rods which are thin or many small rods may be
used


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Counterpoise
It is a galvanized steel wire which either run in parallel, radial or
combination of two, with respect to overhead line
The corners of the squares represent the location of tower legs. When the
lightning stroke appears on tower top, it discharges to ground through the
tower and then through counterpoises.
The leakage resistance of counterpoise should be less than the surge
impedance to avoid the raising of tower voltage rather than lowering due to
positive reflections of the surge
It is recommended to have more short counterpoises than a single
continuous counterpoise which can discharge the surge to ground more
quickly.
But while designing short ones its surge impedance should not be smaller
than leakage resistance to avoid raising of tower voltage

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Lightning Arresters
It consists of a spark gap in series with a non-linear resistor.
One end of the diverter is connected to the terminal of the
equipment to be protected and the other end is effectively
grounded.
The length of the gap is so set that normal voltage is not
enough to cause an arc but a dangerously high voltage will
break down the air insulation and form an arc.
The property of the non-linear resistance is that its
resistance increases as the voltage (or current) increases and
vice-versa.
Under normal operation, the lightning arrester is off the line
i.e. it conducts no current to earth or the gap is non-
conducting
On the occurrence of over voltage, the air insulation across
the gap breaks down and an arc is formed providing a low
resistance path for the surge to the ground.
After the surge is over, the resistor offers high resistance to
make the gap non-conducting.

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Types of Lightning Arresters
Types of Lightning
Arresters
Rod gap
Horn gap
Multi gap
Expulsion type
(protector tube)
Value type
Metal
oxide(Zno)
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Rod gap (or) Spark gap L.A
It is a very simple type of diverter and consists of two 1.5 cm rods,
which are bent at right angles with a gap in between
One rod is connected to the line circuit and the other rod is
connected to earth.
The distance between gap and insulator (i.e. distance P) must not be
less than one third of the gap length so that the arc may not reach
the insulator and damage it.
Generally, the gap length is so adjusted that breakdown should
occur at 80% of spark-voltage in order to avoid cascading of very
steep wave fronts across the insulators.
Under normal operating conditions, the gap remains non-
conducting. On the occurrence of a high voltage surge on the line,
the gap sparks over and the surge current is conducted to earth. In
this way excess charge on the line due to the surge is harmlessly
conducted to earth
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After the surge is over, the arc in the gap is maintained by the normal supply
voltage, leading to short-circuit on the system.
The rods may melt or get damaged due to excessive heat produced by the arc.
The climatic conditions (e.g. rain, humidity, temperature etc.) affect the
performance of rod gap arrester.
The polarity of the f the surge also affects the performance of this arrester.
Due to the above limitations, the rod gap arrester is only used as a back-up
protection in case of main arresters.

Horn gap L.A
It consists of a horn shaped metal rods A and B separated by a small air gap. The horns are
so constructed that distance between them gradually increases towards the top
The horns are mounted on porcelain insulators. One end of horn is connected to the line
through a resistance and choke coil L while the other end is effectively grounded.
The resistance R helps in limiting the follow current to a small value. The choke coil is so
designed that it offers small reactance at normal power frequency but a very high reactance
at transient frequency. Thus the choke does not allow the transients to enter the apparatus
to be protected.
The gap between the horns is so adjusted that normal supply voltage is not enough to cause
an arc across the gap
On the occurrence of an over voltage, spark-over takes place across the small gap G. The
heated air around the arc and the magnetic effect of the arc cause the arc to travel up the
gap. The arc moves progressively into positions 1, 2 and 3
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At some position of the arc (position 3), the distance may be too great for the voltage to
maintain the arc; consequently, the arc is extinguished. The excess charge on the line is thus
conducted through the arrester to the ground
Time of operation is large
The bridging of gap by external agency can render device useless
The setting of horn gap is likely to change due to corrosion
Multi gap L.A
It consists of a series of metallic (generally alloy of zinc) cylinders insulated from one another
and separated by small intervals of air gaps. The first cylinder (i.e. A) in the series is
connected to the line and the others to the ground through a series resistance.
The series resistance limits the power arc. By the inclusion of series resistance, the degree of
protection against traveling waves is reduced.
In order to overcome this difficulty, some of the gaps (B to C) are shunted by resistance.
Under normal conditions, the point B is at earth potential and the normal supply voltage is
unable to break down the series gaps. On the occurrence an over voltage, the breakdown of
series gaps A to B occurs.
The heavy current after breakdown will choose the straight through path to earth via the
shunted gaps B and C, instead of the alternative path through the shunt resistance.
Hence the surge is over, the arcs B to C go out and any power current following the surge is
limited by the two resistances (shunt resistance and series resistance) which are now in
series.
The current is too small to maintain the arcs in the gaps A to B and normal conditions are
restored. Such arresters can be employed where system voltage does not exceed 33kV.

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Expulsion type(or) protector tube L.A
It is used on system operating at voltages up to 33kV.
It essentially consists of a rod gap AA in series with a
second gap enclosed within the fiber tube.
The gap in the fiber tube is formed by two
electrodes. The upper electrode is connected to rod
gap and the lower electrode to the earth.
One expulsion arrester is placed under each line
conductor. Fig shows the installation of expulsion
arrester on an overhead line.

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On the occurrence of an over voltage on the
line, the series gap AA spanned and an arc is
stuck between the electrodes in the tube.
The heat of the arc vaporizes some of the fiber
of tube walls resulting in the production of
neutral gas.

In an extremely short time, the gas builds up high pressure
and is expelled through the lower electrode, which is hollow.
As the gas leaves the tube violently it carries away ionized air
around the arc. This de ionizing effect is generally so strong
that the arc goes out at a current zero and will not be re-
established
They are not very expensive.
They are improved form of rod gap arresters as they block the
flow of power frequency follow currents
They can be easily installed.
An expulsion type arrester can perform only limited number
of operations as during each operation some of the fiber
material is used up.
This type of arrester cannot be mounted on enclosed
equipment due to discharge of gases during operation.
Due to the poor volt/am characteristic of the arrester, it is not
suitable for protection of expensive equipment
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Value type L.A
Valve type arresters consists of two assemblies (i) series spark gaps
and (ii) non-linear resistor discs in series.
The non-linear elements are connected in series with the spark gaps.
Both the assemblies are accommodated in tight porcelain container.
The spark gap is a multiple assembly consisting of a number of
identical spark gaps in series. Each gap consists of two electrodes
with fixed gap spacing.
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The voltage distribution across the gap is line raised by means of
additional resistance elements called grading resistors across the gap.
The spacing of the series gaps is such that it will withstand the
normal circuit voltage.
However an over voltage will cause the gap to break down causing
the surge current to ground via the non-linear resistors.
The non-linear resistor discs are made of inorganic compound such as
thyrite or metrosil. These discs are connected in series.


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C NK
KI
I
K
I
K
I
KI
KI V
= =
=
= = = = =
=

o
o
o
o |
|
|
RI i.e.
NKI R discs thyrite N have L.A case In
I
V
R diverter of Resistance
-
1
They provide very effective protection against surges and operate
very rapidly


They fail to check the surges of very steep wave front from reaching
the terminal apparatus
Their performance is adversely affected by the entry of moisture into
enclosure. This need effective sealing all the time
Station type Valve L.A can be used for large station power equipment
in the circuits of 2.2kv to 400kv
Line type Valve L.A are used for sub-station power equipment for
voltages up to 66 kv
Distribution type Valve L.A are used for pole mounted power
distribution Transformer 2.2kv to 22kv
Secondary Valve L.A are used for low voltage apparatus 120 to 750 V

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1
condition frequency low under ge down volta Break
condition surge under ge down volta Break
ratio Impulse = =
A line of 500 KV having Surge impedance of 500O is
terminated through a Thyrite Surge Arrester. The
Diverter has a characteristic RI
0.72
=72000.Caluclate
surge current and Resistance of Diverter
Sol:
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O = =
= = =
498
72000
R diverter of Resistance
. 10
500
10 * 500
line of impedance surge
voltage surge
current surge
72 . 0
3
3
I
Amp
Metal Oxide L.A
This arrester has its element with non-linear resistance
characteristics.
The main constituent of arrester element being Zinc Oxide ,it
is economical as compared to thyrite arresters
The degree of non-linearity of this arrester element is much
more than that in the thyrite arrester.
No series gap is required.
Zno metal type is of simple construction, better surge
protection and more stable protective characteristics
It is important for the test personnel to be aware that when a
metal oxide arrester is disconnected from an energized line a
small amount of static charge can be retained by the arrester.
As a safety precaution, the tester should install a temporary
ground to discharge any stored energy.


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Ratings of L.A
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Installation of Arrester
The arrester should be connected to ground to a low resistance for effective
discharge of the surge current.
The arrester should be mounted close to the equipment to be protected &
connected with shortest possible lead on both the line & ground side to reduce the
inductive effects of the leads while discharging large surge current
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Lightning Arrester vs. Lightning conductor
It is a device for limiting surge
voltage near an equipment by
discharging or by passing
surge current
It is located very close to the
equipment to be protected
Used for protection of
Transformers, Transmission
lines etc.
It consist of different parts
Prevents damage against
indirect lightning strokes i.e.
travelling waves
Lightning conductor or
lightning rod is a shielding
device used for protection of
buildings
It is located at a point above
the structure to be protected
with a ground connection so
that lighting gets diverted
into the ground
Used for buildings, storage
tanks for petroleum products
It is a single rod made up of
good conducting material
Prevents damage against
direct lightning strokes
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Surge Absorber (or) Surge Modifier
The travelling waves set up on the transmission
lines by the surges may reach the terminal
apparatus and cause damage
The amount of damage caused not only depends
upon the amplitude of surge but also upon the
steepness of its wave front

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The surge absorber absorbs the surge energy
A condenser connected between line and earth acts as a surge absorber
to protect transformer winding. The reactance X
c
low at high f and high
at low f
Since surges are of high frequency; X
c
is low, so capacitor acts as short
circuit and passes them directly to earth .For power frequency X
c
is high,
so no current flows through ground

The choke offers high reactance to surge
frequency so surge forced to flow through
resistance R,and made to dissipate

The steeper the wave front of surge, the more damage caused to
equipment. So in order to reduce the steepness of wave front of surge, we
use surge absorber or surge modifier

Ferranti Surge Absorber






Ferranti surge absorber consist of an air cooled inductor connected in
series with the line
The inductor is surrounded by but insulated from an earthed metallic
sheet called dissipator
This is equivalent to a transformer with short circuited secondary
Inductor form primary where as dissipator forms short circuited
secondary
The energy of surge is used up in the form of heat generated in the
dissipator due to transformer action
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Complete protection of power Transformer
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Surge Arrester vs. Surge Modifier
It provides the protection
against travelling waves
reaching the station
equipment
In this surge is diverted to
the ground
In essential parts are spark
gap and non-linear resistor
It should be connected
close and across the
incoming terminals of the
equipment to be
protected

It reduces the steepness of
the waves reaching the
station equipment
In this the energy of the
surge is absorbed i.e.
dissipated as corona loss
The essentials parts are
choke or capacitors
It should be connected close
and either across or in
series at the incoming
terminals of the equipment
to be protected

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Insulation Coordination
It is correlation of insulation of electrical equipment and lines with
the characteristics of protective devices such that the insulation of
the whole power system is protected from over voltages
Suitable value of insulation level for different components is chosen
keeping in the view overall power system protection
The insulation strength of various equipment like transformers, circuit
breakers etc. should be higher than that of lightning arresters and
other surge protective devices
Proper insulation coordination ensures
that voltage-time curves of equipment B
will lie above those of protecting devices A
such as LA

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The common insulation level for all the insulation in the station is called
Basic Impulse Insulation Level (BIL)
According to Indian standards BIL is expressed in impulse crest voltage with
a standard wave not longer than 1.2/50 sec
Apparatus insulation by suitable tests should be BIL
A lightning arrester is required to protect a 5MVA 66kv/11kv transformer. The transformer is
connected to a 66kv system and the voltage fluctuations are of the order of 10%.The neutral
of the transformer and that of the network are directly and solidly grounded. Choose a
suitable arrester rating from the table





Take the following into consideration:
B.I.L for 66kv :350kv Dynamic over-voltage:1.3 time system operating voltage
Power frequency breakdown voltage of arrester: 1.5 times rating of arrester in kv
Allow 5% margin for lower limit of arrester rating calculation. Check the margin available on
the arrester chosen with reference to BIL

Sol: Voltage rating of arrester=1.1*66*0.8*1.05 (5% margin in calculations)
=60.98kv
choose the arrester rating=60 kv
The discharge voltage of 60 kv arrester from table=220kv
protective margin=BIL-220kv=350-220=130kv
Power frequency breakdown voltage of arrester=1.5 *60=90kv
Dynamic over-voltage=1.3*66/3=50kv
Power frequency breakdown voltage is > Dynamic over voltage that 60 kv arrester rating is chosen



9/20/2012
SIR C R REDDY COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING,ELURU
46
Summary
9/20/2012
SIR C R REDDY COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING,ELURU
47