634 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-15, NO.
6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1979
A Guide to the Application of Surge Arresters
for Transformer Protection
DENNIS A. ZALAR, MEMBER. IEEE
Abstract-With the increasing trend toward electrical power distribution
to industrials at primary voltages, it is important to provide proper surge
protection for primary stepdown transformers. To provide adequate
protective margins for this equipment, it is essential for the application
engineer to understand the operation of a surge arrester and how the
arrestor provides overvoltage protection. The operation of a surge
arrester, arrester protective characteristics, and the establishment of
parameters necessary to provide appropriate insulation coordination for
surge protection of transformers are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
E LECTRICAL distribution systems, by nature, involve two
forms of protection: overcurrent and overvoltage. Famili-
arity with overcurrent protection in industry is practically uni-
versal because of the carryover of knowledge from overcurrent
protection in the home. Overvoltage protection, on the other
hand, remains a relatively new subject to many engineers. Both
types of protection, however, are equally necessary for safe
system operation.
The importance of overvoltage protection for an industrial
power system cannot be overemphasized. Major equipment
failures, expensive repairs, personnel safety, and plant down-
time are certain consequences of inadequate protection from
voltage surges.
Surge arresters are designed to limit dangerous system over-
voltages, whether lightning- or system-produced, to safe values
when they occur on plant power systems. An arrester is a volt-
age-limiting device. Its functions are to discharge energy associ-
ated with a system overvoltage condition, limit (and interrupt)
the system fault current that follows the transient current
through the arrester, and return to an insulating state prepared
for the next overvoltage occurrence.
In performing its voltage-limiting function, certain protec-
tive characteristics of the arrester must be coordinated with
the prevailing insulation levels on the system being protected.
Insulation is a basic factor that must be considered in the ap-
plication of arresters on a system. Insulation coordination,
however, is only a small part of the overall subject of arrester
application. Several other factors must also be considered by
the application engineer when selecting surge protection. The
location of the arrester, the interconnection of ground leads,
the insulation level of the protected equipment, and the rating
Paper PID 78-65, approved by the Petroleum and Chemical Industry
Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation
at the 1978 Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Toronto,
ON, Canada, October 1-5. Manuscript released for publication July 24,
1979.
The author is with the Power Systems Division, McGraw-Edison
Company, Pittsburgh, PA 15230.
0093-9994/79/1 100-0634$00.75 © 1979 IEEE
of the surge arrester are important in protecting equipment
from harmful overvoltages. In order to help the engineer in
industry who is concerned about the surge protection of his
electrical system and equipment such as stepdown trans-
formers, it is important to understand the operation of a surge
arrester before exploring the factors affecting arrester applica-
tion.
SURGE ARRESTER OPERATION
As technical a subject as overvoltage protection is, the
basic operation of a surge arrester is simple. In its normal state,
an arrester must act as an insulator. When a high-voltage surge
occurs, the arrester must cease to be an insulator and must
turn into a short-to-ground in millionthis of a second.
In this discussion we will deal with the operation of the
most widely used type of surge arrester: the valve-type arrester.
Other types of arresters, such as expulsion arresters and metal-
oxide varistors (MOV), are either on the decline or too new for
a general discussion at this time.
The active elements of a valve-type arrester are the spark
gap and the valve block. These are housed in a porcelain shell
for atmospheric protection and external insulation (Fig. 1).
The gap assembly consists of a number of in-series air gaps
with sufficient dielectric strength to withstand the highest 60-
Hz crest voltage on the system (Fig. 2). During severe over-
voltage conditions, the gap must always break down at a volt-
age level somewhat below the insulation withstand-voltage
level of the equipment it is protecting; otherwise, equipment
damage and/or plant downtime will result. The gap, therefore,
serves as the switch which turns on the arrester. The voltage
level at which the arrester goes from the passive (insulating) to
the active (conductive) state is called the sparkover voltage.
The valve block controls what happens after the arrester has
been turned on. If only a gap is used, once a surge has been di-
verted to ground, a dead short exists between line and ground
and the 60-Hz system energy tries to flow to ground, causing a
fuse, recloser, or breaker to operate to interrupt the system
fault current.
The valve element does exactly as its name implies: it con-
ducts when surge current is flowing and it ceases to conduct
when 60-Hz line current begins to flow. The valve block is able
to do this because it is made of a nonilinear resistance material,
silicon-carbide. The valve block offers a very high resistatnce to
60-Hz current while displaying a very low resistance to surge
currents.
Because the valve element is basically a resistor, current
flow through it produces an associated voltage drop. This volt-
age, called the IR discharge voltage, must also be safely below
ZALAR: SURGE ARRESTORS AND TRANSFORMER PROTECTION 635

LINE-LEAD TERMINAL
MOUNTING BRACKET
(not shown)
POLYETHYLENE 2
TERMINAL COVER
(not shown)
RESISTANCE-GRADED GAP

WET-PROCESS
PORCELAIN HOUSING -

CERAMIC VALVE BLOCK

IDENTIFICATION
INFORMATION
(not shown)
COMPRESSION SPRING _

SPUN-COPPER CAP-
AND-GASKET SEAL
PRESSURE-SENSITIVE
DIAPHRAGM I

RESISTANCE-SHUNTED
ISOLATOR
Fig. I. Cutaway of a Type E7 surge arrester.

the insulation withstand-voltage level of the equipment the
surge arrester is protecting.
Sparkover and discharge voltage, as we will see later, are the
two protective characteristics of an arrester which are used in
calculating margins of protection when studying insulation
coordination. These protective characteristics are published by
arrester manufacturers (Table I) as maximum values in order
to calculate the most conservative margin of protection for the
equipment to be protected.
ARRESTER CLASSIFICATION
There are three classifications of surge arresters used for
primary distribution system overvoltage protection.
I)Distribution: These arresters are the most widely used
for equipment protection. They are also the lowest in cost.
Standard distribution arresters are used for protecting oil-
insulated transformers. For dry-insulated transformers or ro-
tating machinery, a special, low-sparkover distribution arrester
is recommended.
2) Intermediate: These units cost approximately five to
seven times as much as equivalent distribution units. For this
premium, the arrester offers lower maximum sparkover and
discharge voltage characteristics that afford a greater margin of
protection plus the capability of discharging larger surge levels.
Intermediate arresters have a pressure-relief system to safely
vent internal pressure if the unit fails before the procelain shell
has a chance to rupture.
3) Station: These arresters typically offer the best protec-
tive characteristics and the highest thermal capability, but they
cost about twice as much as equivalent intermediate units.
Like intermediate arresters, station arresters have a pressure-
relief system to safely vent internal pressure if the unit fails
before the procelain shell has a chance to rupture.
BASIC INSULATION LEVEL
Basic impulse insulation level (BIL) is the voltage level that
equipment insulation is capable of withstanding without sus-
taining damage. The voltage withstand of insulation is a func-
tion of time. In other words, a time-voltage plot of the insula-
tion withstand level shows that, for oil-insulated transformers,
the insulation can withstand higher voltage waves of short
duration. For dry-type transformers, the insulation strength
does not increase as the duration of the applied impulse volt-
age decreases. Fig. 3 is a comparison of the withstand charac-
teristics of the two insulation systems.
Industry standards, in order to establish volt-time impulse
-636 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-1 5, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1979

MAIN ARC GAPS TABLE I

PROTECTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF TYPE E7 ARRESTERS
Maximum Discharge
Maximum Voltage for 8 x 20
Voltage Minimum Sparkover Level Mcurrsent Wicavge
Rating 60 Hz SO' (kv cret) Cuffent Wave
(kv rms) (kv crest/A/2) es (kv crest)
Front-of- 1.2 x 50 1.5 5.0 10.0 20.0
Wave2 Wave ka ka ka ka
3 5.5 14 12 8 10 11.5 12.5
6 10 27 23 16 20 22.5 25
9 15 39 34 24 29 33 37
10 18 43 38 26 32 36 41
12 20 51 44 32 39 44 50
15 25 62 53 40 49 55 62
18 30 73 62 48 59 66 74
(3)21 35 83 71 56 68 76 86

1 60-Hz sparkover of arresters is responsive to crest voltage only.

Resistance-graded arresters with nonlinear gap-grading resisters will
draw harmonic-laden grading currents. Most circuits used to test arresters
will not produce a pure-sine wave voltage when carrying nonsinusoidal
current. Only peak-indicating instruments should be used for testing.
These crest values of a pure-sine wave can be designated as rms values
Fie. 2. Partial cutaway of 3-kV gap structure. preionization. and main arc by dividing by /I.
gaps.
2 On a wave rising 100 kV/,s/ 12 kV of arrester rating.

v overvoltage protection of transformers.
\ ~~~~~~OIL
INSULATION
BIL
DRY INSUlATION
MICROSECONDS
Fig. 3. Insulation characteristics.
insulation levels of equipment, requires that practically all
equipment be given an impulse test. Since impulse tests of
equipment such as transformers could destroy the integrity
of the insulation, the industry has adopted a standard voltage
withstand test for transformers to avoid sacrificing large num-
bers of units in order to establish a volt-time withstand level.
Transformers are subjected to impulse voltage tests (at
rated BIL) and a chopped-wave test (15 percent above BIL).
A steep-front-of-wave test (65 percent above BIL) is also per-
formed on some units. These test waves differ only in the time
they take to achieve the desired crest values. A curve plotted
through these three points defines the minimum insulation
withstand curve for insulation coordination (Fig. 4). The true
withstand level for the transformer lies above the plotted curve.
As will be seen later, the insulation withstand curve for a
transformer is an important part in calculating margins of pro-
tection.
SURGE ARRESTER APPLICATION
With an understanding of how an arrester performs its func-
tions and a knowledge of equipment insulation, we can now
move into the application area and consider the several fac-
tors which comprise surge arrester application as it relates to
Arrester Rating
The voltage rating of an arrester is defined as the highest
60-Hz voltage at which the arrester is designed to operate and
reseal effectively after a surge has passed. Because of system
grounding and connections, this voltage is typically higher
than the phase-to-ground voltage of the system because system
conditions can exist where the normal voltage on the system
t will increase temporarily. These conditions normally exist dur-
ing fault conditions.
Consider a grounded-wye, 12 470-V line-to-line power sys-
tem rated 7200 V line-to-ground. For this system, the maxi-
mum 60-Hz ground voltage that can occur, based on an equa-
tion developed from various system parameters, is 9 kV. Thus
a 9-kV surge arrester is recommended for use on this system.
While selection of an arrester voltage rating for a particular
distribution power system is usually based on past experience,
it is also possible to calculate the rating using such parameters
as grounding, system connection, and system voltage rating.
Table II shows the voltage ratings of arresters used on typical
power distribution systems.
Also, the voltage impressed across an arrester during a surge
discharge is directly proportional to the arrester voltage rating;
that is, a 10 000-A surge produces a higher discharge voltage
if it flows through a I 0-kV arrester than it does flowing through
a 9-kV arrester. Therefore, it is desirable, from the standpoint
of equipment protection, to select the lowest voltage rating for
the application.
Arrester Location
Surge arresters should always be located as close as possible
to the terminals of the equipment to be protected. In the case
ZALAR: SURGE ARRESTORS AND TRANSFORMER PROTECTION 637

TABLE II
RECOMMENDED ARRESTER APPLICATIONS
System Voltage (kv) Recommended Arrester Rating (kv)
Four- Three- elta and
Wire Wye, Wire Wye, DetUnd
Nominal Maximum Multi- Solidly
Grounded Grounded grounded
un-
Neutral Neutral Wye
2.4 2.54 3
4.16Y/2.4 4.4Y/2.54 3
4.16 4.4 6 6 BIL
4.8 5.08 6 6
6.9 7.26 6 9
8.32Y/4.8 8.8Y/5.08 6
12.OY/6.93 12.7Y/7.33 9
12.4Y/7.2 13.2Y/7.62 9
13.2Y/7.62 13.97Y/8.07 10
13.8Y/7.97 14.5Y/8.4 10
13.8 14.5 12 15
20.8Y/ 12.0 22Y/ 12.7 15
22.9Y/ 13.2 24.2Y/ 14.0 18
23 24.3 21 24
MICROSECONDS
24.9Y/ 14.4 26.4Y/ 15.2 18 Fig. 4. Minimum insulation withstand curve.
Common System Voltages Used Outside the United States
and Canada
3.3 3.7 3 N

6.6 7.3 6 0

10.0 11.5 9 12 A

11.0 12.0 10 12 TRANSFORMER

15.0 17.5 12 18 o TANK
20.0 23.0 18 24
22.0 24.0 18 24 GROUND AND
IMPEDANCE
ca
(a) (b)
of transformer protection, mounting the arresters directly on Fi 5. (a) Arrester protection without interconnection. (b) Arrester protection
the transformer is the best form of insurance. with solid interconnection.
Any appreciable distance between the surge arrester and the
equipment it protects increases the exposure for a direct light-
ning stroke. Also, because of the extra travel distance between is connected to the line (Point A) and the secondary connec-
the equipment and its arrester, surge waves could rise above tion is connected to Point C through ground, 140 kV (100 +
the equipment damage point before the arrester sparks over. 40) will appear across the transformer windings and insulation
In addition, the arrester connecting leads should be kept as damage will occur.
short as possible because of their voltage contribution to dis- In Fig. 5(b), where the arrester ground is interconencted
charge voltage. During current flow to ground through an ar- with the transformer ground at Point B, the 100-kV portion of
rester, the interconnecting leads provide a voltage contribution the voltage is not produced and the transformer insulation is
because of current passing through an impedance. Depending protected.
on surge magnitude, rate of rise, and type of conductor, a
typical value of voltage contribution to discharge voltage by Insulation Coordination
interconnecting leads is 1.6 kV/ft.
Calculating the margin of protection is the major part of an
insulation coordination study. Insulation coordination is the
Interconnection of Grounds process of comparing the impulse strength of insulation with
It is essential that the arrester ground terminal be intercon- the voltage that can occur across the arrester for the severity
nected with the transformer tank and secondary neutral to of surge discharges for which protection is desired.
provide reliable surge protection for the transformer (Fig. 5(a) For transformer protection, this means a comparison of the
and (b)). volt-time insulation withstand curve with the impulse sparkover
Consider a transformer (Fig. 5(a)) with an insulation with- and discharge voltage curve of the arrester (Fig. 6). As long as
stand of 95 kV. A surge wave of 10 000 A that sparks over the a minimum 20-percent margin exists, adequate surge protec-
arrester will produce a voltage across the arrester (Point A to tion is assured.
Point B) of 40 kV. In addition, as this current flows through Two important margins are considered for transformer surge
the ground connection (Point B to Point C), it will create a protection.
voltage drop of 100 kV if the resistance drop of the ground 1) The arrester sparkover voltage is compared with the
connection is 10 Q. Because the transformer primary winding chopped-wave withstand voltage of the transformer (Fig. 6,
638 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-15, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1979

connected to a 14.4/24.9-kV grounded-wye utility power sys-

1.65 BIL- STEEP-FRONT WAVE tem. The transformer has a BIL of 125 kV and the arresters
will take five feet of conductor to connect to the line. The ar-
resters are mounted on the tank and the grounds are inter-
connected.
1.15 BIL- CHOPPED WAVE 1) Using Table II, the 18-kV arrester is recommended for
BIL - MP1 7, BIL this system.
ARRESTER MP2 \% SWITCHING SURGE
2) Using Table I, the protective characteristics of the 1 8-kV
.83 BIL- SPARKOVER 15% MIN arrester are
/ ~~~~~~MARGIN
ARRESTER DISCHARGE \ ARRESTER SWITCHING-
FOWSO= 73 kV
VOLTAGE 's SURGE SPARKOVER
DV(,okA)= 66 kV-
.1 1 10 100 1000 3) The margins of protection are
MICROSECONDS
CWW - FOWSO
Fig. 6. Margins of protection. MP1 X 100 percent
Cww

1.15 (125)-73
MP1). (Remember, the chopped-wave insulation is 15 percent X 100 percent
more than the BIL.)
1.15 (125)
2) The discharge voltage of the arrester is compared with 70.75
the transformer BIL (Fig. 6, MP2). X 100 percent
Discharge voltage for a 10 000-A surge is normally used- for 143.75
these calculations. If a more conservative margin of protection MP1 = 49.2 percent
is required or a higher surge current level is typical of the ap-
lication area, a 20 000-A surge discharge voltage level is used. BIL-(DV1okA+ IX) 125 -(66 + 511.6])
The following formulas define these two margins of protection BIL 125
calculation:
51
X 100 percent = - X 100 percent
CWW - FOWSO 125
MP1 = X 100 percent
CWW
MP2 = 40.8 percent.
BIL - (DVl o kA+ IX) X The only change in calculating margins of protection for
BIL dry-type insulated transformers is that the BIL level for the
chopped-wave withstand is used. Sometimes, in these situa-
where tions, the standard arrester sparkover reduces the margin of
protection below the 20-percent minimum defined by stand-
CWW chopped-wave withstand, ards. In these applications, using a special low-sparkover ar-
FOWSO front-of-wave sparkover, rester improves the protective levels to those minimums re-
IX voltage contribution of connecting leads, commended.
BIL basic insulation level,
CONCLUSION
MP margin of protection,
DV1OkA discharge voltage created by a 10-kA surge. Surge protection of equipment, especially transformers,
on industrial power systems is not an impossible task if the
Normally, for power systems up through 15 kV, insulation engineer responsible for surge protection recognizes the ap-
coordination has not been a problem because the protective plication factors involved: 1) voltage rating, 2) location, 3)
margin between standard BIL transformers and the protective interconnection of leads, and 4) insulation coordination.
characteristics of modern arresters is substantially in excess of For the special protection required for dry-type insulated
20 percent. However, insulation coordination becomes a pri- transformers, the arresters suggested in Table II for various
mary consideration for higher voltage systems, particularly distribution systems should give good results in most applica-
when reduced BIL's are used. tions. If a special problem appears, the knowledge of arrester
To illustrate the process of insulation coordination, assume application, arrester operation, and equipment insulation will
primary surge protection is required for a three-phase, oil-in- help the engineer in discussing the problem with either the
sulated transformer at a glass manufacturing facility which is arrester or the transformer manufacturer [1] .
ZALAR: SURGE ARRESTORS AND TRANSFORMER PROTECTION
REFERENCES
[11 E. P. Smith. "Lightning arrester application for mine power systems."
in Conf. Rec. 1976 IEEE Ind. Appl. Soc. Annu, Meeting. pp. 469-471.
121 ANSI Standard C62.1-1975.
[31 H. P. Stoelting, "Overvoltage protection of oil-insulated and dry-type
electric power equipment," IEEE 1969 Study Group, Cincinnati
Section.
141 IEEE Working Group of Surge Protective Devices Committee H"Voltage
rating investigation for application of lightning arresters on distribution
systems." IEEE Transactions on Power App. Svst.. vol. PAS-91, 1972.
pp. 1067-1974.
[51 H. 0. Stoelting, "Analysis of lightning arrester application," The Line.
Sept./Oct./Nov. 1961.
[61 C. F. Clinkenbeard. "Lightning arrester application fundamentals," The
Line, First Quarter. 1970.
171 McGraw-Edison Company, Distribution System Protection Manual.
Bulletin 71022, 1971.
639
Dennis A. Zalar (S'70-M'71) was born on
December 30, 1949 in Pennsylvania. He received the
B.S. degree in electrical engineering from West
Virgina University, Morgantown, in 1971 and the
M.S. degree in management from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in 1979 as an
Alfred P. Sloan Fellow.
He started with McGraw-Edison Company Power
Systems Division in January 1972 as a Sales Engineer
in Hartford, CT. In July of 1975 he was promoted to
Assistant Marketing Manager of McGraw's Supply
Products Group. In June 1979. after completing the Sloan Fellows Program at
M.I.T., he moved into the Division Planning and Business Development Group
as Business Development Coordinator. He is currently Product Marketing
Manager of McGraw Edison's Protective Devices Group.
Mr. Zalar is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and the Society ofSloan
Fellows.