EPCOS Product Brief 2012

PSpice Model for Surge Arresters

Analog Behavioral Model for Circuit Simulation

Voltage surges in telecom or

power systems caused by
lightning or line faults can affect
sensitive electronic circuitry.
Manufacturers of telecom equipment such as subscriber terminal
boxes, DSL modems and power
equipment or switched power
supplies and UPS batteries are
legally obliged to take overvoltage protection measures. Gas
discharge tubes (GDTs) are
typically used to shunt surge
currents to ground and limit
overvoltages to a harmless level.
Their key advantages are their
high surge current handling capability combined with a very low
capacitance and high insulation
resistance. EPCOS is the only
manufacturer of surge arresters
to offer simulation assistance
and support for gas filled dis-

charge tubes. Any arrester from

the EPCOS product range can
be entered into a PSpice model
upon request. This allows users
to fit the GDT into their designs
at an early stage of development.
Any effects occurring during
normal operation as well as the
behavior of the whole circuit
under surge simulation can then
be tested prior to building a
A
prototype. This
offers significant
advantages such as cost savings
and a reduced development
time
E_UAS
for new designs.
IN+ OUT+
IN-

E_UAG
Rmeas

OUT-

EVALUE

Applications

zz
Analog circuit simulation
Cgap
zz
System design and verification
zz
Functional verification
EPCOS M50-C90XSMD
zz
Surge simulation Parameters:
R iso

UAG = 90
Riso = 1 G
Cgap = 1 p
Iarc = 800 m
Uarc = 15
Uglow = 60

IN+

OUT+

IN-

OUT-

EVALUE

RShunt

S_Volt
+
+
S_ST

Rflux2
L3

S_Arc

E_Arc

+
+
S_ST

OUT+

IN+

OUT-

IN-

S_Glow

E_Glow

+
+
S_ST
D1

EVALUE

OUT+

IN+

OUT-

IN-

EVALUE
D2
B

www.epcos.com

PSpice Model for Surge Arresters

Simulation of gas discharge tubes

The model features the given values from the data

sheet, including:

EPCOS provides network listings for specified arresters

upon request. They are set up with ORCAD PSpice
16.3 and can be implemented in almost any Spice simulation program running basic libraries (such as ABM,
ANALOG, BREAKOUT and SPECIAL). The very fast
switching processes of arresters make the model highly
CPU-intensive. When using fast transients (>0.1kV/s),
the recommended step size for the simulation is 100 ns.
Higher values may lead to deviating simulation results.
The present design does not consider environmental
factors such as heat dissipation and is purely ideal (excluding any variance). It is up to the user to determine
the service life of the simulated arrester.

zz
DC spark-over voltage
zz
Impulse spark-over voltage
zz
Gap capacitance
zz
Insulation resistance
zz
Arc voltage
zz
Glow voltage
zz
Arc transition current
zz
Extinguishing current

Circuit diagram of the simulation

This diagram shows a basic
version of the arrester subcircuit
in the PSpice model. The design
can be fitted into a library file and
used just like any other component in the editor.

A
E_UAG
E_UAS
IN+

OUT+

IN-

OUT-

Rmeas

EVALUE

IN+

OUT+

IN-

OUT-

EVALUE

RShunt

S_Volt
+
+
S_ST

Rflux2
L3

Cgap

R iso

EPCOS M50-C90XSMD
Parameters:
UAG = 90
Riso = 1 G
Cgap = 1 p
Iarc = 800 m
Uarc = 15
Uglow = 60

S_Arc

E_Arc

+
+
S_ST

OUT+

IN+

OUT-

IN-

S_Glow

E_Glow

+
+
S_ST
D1

EVALUE

OUT+

IN+

OUT-

IN-

EVALUE
D2
B

Surge simulation
The diagram shows the simulation result of an EPCOS arrester with
90V DC breakdown voltage. The arrester is placed line-to-ground with
a simulated 80 V AC source. At the 4 ms mark, a surge (8/20 s,
1 kV peak) is applied to the line (green graph at top). It can be seen
that the arrester limits the overvoltage to ~180 V (the simulated
impulse breakdown voltage). It then enters its arc mode (~20 V) and
the surge current is shorted to ground (red graph at bottom). As soon
as the follow current drops below a certain level, the arrester extinguishes and its internal resistance immediately returns to its initial very
high value (9 ms mark).

Important information: Some parts of this publication contain statements about the suitability of our products for certain areas of application. These statements are based on
our knowledge of typical requirements that are often placed on our products. We expressly point out that these statements cannot be regarded as binding statements about the
suitability of our products for a particular customer application. It is incumbent on the customer to check and decide whether a product is suitable for use in a particular application.
This publication is only a brief product survey which may be changed from time to time. Our products are described in detail in our data sheets. The Important notes
(www.epcos.com/ImportantNotes) and the product-specific Cautions and warnings must be observed. All relevant information is available through our sales offices.

EPCOS AG A Member of TDK-EPC Corporation

Edition 04/2012 Ordering No. EPC:48009-7600 Printed in Germany PB 04122.