Remote Radio Unit (RRU) DC Feed Protection: Document Technical Content Created by M J Maytum

Document technical content created by M J Maytum
1 Remote Radio Unit (RRU) DC Feed

2 protection
3
i
2014 Copyright of M J Maytum
For licence permissions contact mjmaytum@gmail.com

1 Abstract: Distributed Base Stations (DBS) split the traditional Radio Base Station
2 (RBS) antenna tower base equipment into two locations; a Base Band Unit
3 (BBU) at the tower base and a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) mounted on the top of
4 the tower. Normally the BBU and the RRU would be connected by a fibre optic
5 cable to carry the signals and a DC feed to power the RRU. Towers are likely to
6 be struck with lightning and so some form of protection is necessary to prevent
7 damage to the DC powering feed and connected equipment. Several example
8 protection methods and a worked example are given. Feed cable currents and
9 protection stress levels are calculated for negative and positive lightning flashes.
10 Clause 1 describes the DBS configuration with term definitions in clause 2.
11 Clause 3 shows three possible protection configurations and clause 4 determines
12 the circuit parameters. Clauses 5 through to 7 calculate DC feed cable currents
13 and the Surge Protective Device (SPD) energy for four variants of lightning
14 stroke. Clause 8 outlines two other forms of DC feed protection. Finally clause 9
15 summarises and comments on the results.
16 Keywords: DBS, RRU, RRH, BBU, SPD, DC powering feed, protection, lightning stroke, positive
17 lightning, negative lightning
18
ii

1 Contents
2 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 1
3 1.1 RRH Configuration ..................................................................................................................................... 1
4 1.2 History ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
5 2. Definitions and abbreviations............................................................................................................................ 2

6 2.1 Definitions ................................................................................................................................................... 2
7 2.2 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................................. 3
8 3. Protection configurations ................................................................................................................................... 3
9 4. Circuit component values .................................................................................................................................. 5

10 4.1 Resistances .................................................................................................................................................. 5
11 4.2 Inductances .................................................................................................................................................. 6
12 4.3 Equivalent experimental tower circuit ....................................................................................................... 6
13 5. Tower voltage during a negative lightning flash.............................................................................................. 7

14 5.1 First stroke ................................................................................................................................................... 8
15 5.2 Subsequent strokes....................................................................................................................................12
16 6. Tower voltage during a positive lightning stroke ..........................................................................................14

17 6.1 Positive stroke ...........................................................................................................................................14
18 7. Tower voltage during an extreme positive lightning stroke ..........................................................................16

19 7.1 Extreme positive stroke ............................................................................................................................17
20 8. Alternative protection arrangements ...............................................................................................................18

21 8.1 Gas Discharge Tube (GDT) reference bonding ......................................................................................18
22 8.2 Shielded DC feed ......................................................................................................................................19
23 9. Lightning stroke results and comments ..........................................................................................................19
24 Annex A (informative) Bibliography.................................................................................................................23

25
26
iii

1 Remote Radio Unit (RRU) DC Feed

2 protection
3 1. Introduction
4 1.1 RRH Configuration
5 Traditionally Radio Base Stations (RBS) had the bulk of the equipment at the base of the antenna tower or
6 mast. Distributed Base Stations (DBS) split the equipment into two sections; a Base Band Unit (BBU) at
7 the tower or mast base and a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) mounted at the top of the tower or mast. Normally
8 the BBU and the RRU would be connected by a fibre optic cable to carry the signals and a DC feed to
9 power the RRU, see Figure 1. The RRU is also called a Remote Radio Head (RRH). To harmonize with
10 [B3] the acronym RRU will be used in this document.
11 Where a tower exists, such as power distribution pylons, the RRU may be mounted at an intermediate level
12 rather than at the tower top.
1

Lightning Rod
Antennas
Remote Radio
Unit RRU
Tower or
Mast
Powering: Blue
Signal: Yellow
Base Band
Unit RBU
13
14 Figure 1 — Distributed Base Station
15 1.2 History
16 RRU DC feed protection has been under discussion in the ITU-T since the submission of [B1] in 2011. The
17 2012 presentation [B2] gave details the unexpected DC feed protection surge waveshape and the reasons
18 for it. In 2014 the ITU-T published a Recommendation [B3] giving a more comprehensive explanation of
19 the DC feed surge protection.
20 2. Definitions and abbreviations
21 2.1 Definitions
22 For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
23 Radio Base Station (RBS): Installation intended to provide access to the telecommunication system by
24 means of radio waves.
25 [B3]
26 Distributed Base Station (DBS): One kind of Radio Base Station, where the Remote Radio Unit (RRU)
27 and Base Band Unit (BBU) can be installed separated.
28 [B3]
2

29 Remote Radio Unit (RRU):

30 (Syn. Remote Radio Head (RRH))
31 The radio frequency module of Radio Base Station which can be installed separately. Optical fibre is
32 commonly used to connected radio frequency module and base band unit of Radio Base Station.
33 [B3]
34 Base Band Unit (BBU): The base band module of Radio Base Station which can be installed separately.
35 Optical fibre is commonly used to connected base band module and radio frequency module.
36 [B3]
37 surge reference equalizer: A surge protective device used for connecting equipment to external systems
38 whereby all conductors connected to the protected load are routed, physically and electrically, through a
39 single enclosure with a shared reference point between the input and output ports of each system.
40 [B4]
41 2.2 Abbreviations
42 BBU Base Band Unit
43 DBS Distributed Base Station
44 RBS Radio Base Station
45 RRU Remote Radio Unit
46 RRH Remote Radio Head
47 RTN Return
48 SPC Surge Protective Component
49 SPD Surge Protective Device
50 3. Protection configurations
51 Figure 2 shows the common arrangement where the floating DC feed has protection applied at the RRU
52 and the BBU. During lightning stroke events the protection, the red block in Figure 2, becomes a surge
53 reference equalizer, lightning event bonding the DC feed to the local tower structure via the black
54 connection line from the protection block to the tower.
3

Lightning Rod
Remote Radio
Protection Unit RRU
Tower or
Mast
Powering: Blue
Protection Signal: Yellow
Base Band
Unit RBU
55
56 Figure 2 — Protection (red block) applied to DC powering feed at tower base and top
57 Figure 3 through to Figure 5 shows some protection configurations for a -48 V DC feed, assuming the
58 lightning stroke current flows from tower top to bottom. The lightning stroke current, IS, divides between
59 the tower, IT, and DC feed, IR and IF. Because of the values of tower and DC feed impedances, most of the
60 stroke current will flow in the tower. In the Figures, the tower impedances are RT and LT and the DC feed
61 impedances are RR and LR for the return and RF and LF for the -48 V. The mutual inductance between the
62 tower and DC feed is represented by MTRF.
IF RF LF MTRF
-48 V
RRU RBU
IR RR
LR MTRF
RTN
SPD1 SPD2 SPD3 SPD4
MTRF
RT LT
IS IT
Stroke
Tower
63
64 Figure 3 — 2 SPD Protection of DC powering feed
65 In Figure 3, SPD1 and SPD2 at the tower top and SPD3 and SPD4 at the base reference equalize the DC
66 feed voltage to the local tower voltage during a lightning stroke.
4

IF RF LF MTRF
-48 V
RRU SPD2 SPD5 RBU

IR RR
LR MTRF
RTN
SPD1 SPD3 SPD4 SPD6
MTRF
RT LT
IS IT
Stroke
Tower
67
68 Figure 4 — 3 SPD Protection of DC powering feed
69 Figure 4 is similar to Figure 3, but has the addition of an extra SPD, SPD 2 and SPD5, across the DC feed
70 at the tower top and base to limit the differential feed surge voltage.
IF RF LF MTRF
-48 V
RRU SPD2 SPD4 RBU

IR RR
LR MTRF
RTN
SPD1 SPD3
MTRF
RT LT
IS IT
Stroke
Tower
71
72 Figure 5 — Single SPD for reference equalization
73 Figure 5 uses a single SPD for reference equalization, SPD1 and SPD3, and another SPD, SPD2 and SPD4,
74 across the DC feed at the tower top and base to limit the differential feed surge voltage.
75 4. Circuit component values
76 Reference [B1] measured a three leg, 5 cm square tube, folded 24 m tower in a laboratory environment
77 fitted with a 6 mm2 DC feed cable.
78 4.1 Resistances
79 The three mild steel tower legs had 2 mm walls, making the total cross-sectional area, A, 3 x (502-462) =
80 1152 mm2. The calculated tower resistance will be:
5

l 24
81 RT    1.5 10 7   3.1 m
A 1152  106
82 Where:
83 l = 24 m
84 A = 1152x10-6 m2
85 = 1.5x10-7 m (mild steel)
86 The actual measured tower resistance was 2.2 m equivalent to 6.6 m per leg.
87 Similarly the 6 mm2 DC feed cable resistance calculates to 68 m using = 0.17x10-7 m (copper).
88 4.2 Inductances
89 To enable short connection leads to the surge generator, the tower was bent back on itself to form a “U” or
90 hairpin shaped structure. Had the tower been straight, the equation for a straight conductor inductance,
91 L=0.2l(ln(2l/r)-0.75) µH, based on [B5] could have been used. This equation results in an inductance value
92 of 32 µH per tower leg or 11 µH with three in parallel. A tower inductance relationship is given in [B6],
93 which gives a rule of thumb of 0.84 µH for every metre of tower height, giving an inductance value of
94 20 µH for a 24 m tower.
95 The inductance of a hairpin shaped tower can be treated as rectangle with sides of length L and width d
96 formed by a conductor of radius r. The inductance equation [B9] for a rectangle is:
 d l2  d2   2 2  
97 L  0.4  2l  d   2 l 2  d 2  d ln    l ln l  l  d   d ln 2d   l ln 2l  H
 l l  d d   r   r 
   
98 This equation results in an inductance value of 17 µH per tower leg or 5.8 µH with three in parallel.
99 Using the equation for the 6 mm2 DC feed cable gives a value of 32 µH. Bending the tower round in a
100 hairpin to apply the surge generator reduces the tower and cable inductance.
101 The mutual inductance between the tower and cable is neglected as the recorded current waveforms did not
102 show any major mutual inductive effects.
103 4.3 Equivalent experimental tower circuit
104 Figure 6 shows the simplified circuit for [B1] using the values from previous clauses showing currents and
105 component voltages.
6

Stroke
IS
Top RRU
IT IC Cable
Tower
LT LC
VLT VLC
5.8 µH 32 µH
SPD1
+ VSPD
SPD2
RT RC
VRT VRC
2.2 m 68 m
Base RBU
Ground
106
107 Figure 6 — Folded 24 m tower simplified circuit
108 The tower path is lower in impedance than the cable path so most of the current flows in the tower path. As
109 most of the current is in the tower path the tower acts like a voltage generator to drive current through the
110 cable path. The voltage across the parallel arms must have the same value, giving:
111 VLT  VRT  VLC  VSPD  VRC
112 Rearranging in terms of V LC
113 VLC  VLT  VRT  VSPD  VRC
114 Integrating this equation with time will result in the voltseconds applied to the cable inductance, LC, which,
115 when divided by the cable inductance will give the cable current, IC. This approach is used to determine the
116 cable current in the following clauses.
117 5. Tower voltage during a negative lightning flash
118 The median stroke values from [B7] will be used to emulate a negative lightning flash. The parameter
119 values are:
120  First stroke: 30 kA, 5.5/75 and 5.2 C
7

121  Subsequent strokes: 12 kA, 1.1/32 and 1.4 C
122  Inter-stroke interval: 60 ms
123  Subsequent stroke number: 3 to 5
124 5.1 First stroke
125 Figure 7 shows the simulated first stroke tower current. The slow start to current rise is to model more
126 accurately the naturally occurring stroke initial current rise. A double exponential lightning equation gives
127 a rapid initial rate of rise and overestimates the inductive voltage levels. The alternative equation given in
128 [B8] was used to emulate the current waveform slow initial rise.
30000
25000
Tower Current — A
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
129 Time — µs
130 Figure 7 — First stroke tower waveform
8

131 Figure 8 shows the tower inductive (VLT) and resistive (VRT) voltage components as a result of the first
132 stroke current.
40000
35000
Inductive Voltage
30000 Resistive Voltage
Component Voltage — V
25000
20000
15000
10000 time µ vs i
5000
-5000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
133 Time — µs
134 Figure 8 — First stroke tower voltages
135 The stroke current rate of rise develops a substantial tower inductive voltage (40 kV red line) and this
136 determines the voltage applied to the cable and the consequent current in the cable. The tower resistive
137 voltage developed in this case is negligible (green line). Until the combined voltage thresholds (V SPD) of the
138 two SPDs, SPD1 and SPD2, is exceeded, substantive current cannot flow in the cable. If, for example the
139 combine threshold voltage was 200 V only the portion of the tower voltage exceeding 200 V will build up a
140 current in the cable.
141 Figure 9 shows the portion of the inductive voltage that exceeds 200 V in red and that below 200 V in
142 black. The fill represents the volt-seconds (172 mVs) applied to the cable inductance, LC.
40000
35000 < 200 V

> 200 V
30000
25000
Inductive Voltage — V
20000
15000
10000
5000
-5000
0 10 20 30 40 50
143 Time — µs
144 Figure 9 — First stroke waveform above 200 V
145 Figure 10 integrates the red portion (>200 V) volt-seconds of Figure 9 and shows the cumulative millivolt-
146 seconds applied to the cable inductance LC. As the volt-seconds divided by the cable inductance is the value
147 of current, the cumulative waveshape is also the cable current rise waveshape. The total volt-seconds
9

148 applied is 172 mVs and that would give a peak inductive current of 172m/32µ = 5380 A. The inductive
149 cable energy stored is 0.5*32µ*5380 2 = 460 J.
200
180
160
Cumulative mVs 140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
150 Time — µs
151 Figure 10 — Cumulative millivolt-seconds applied to the cable inductance LC
152 Figure 11 shows the simplified circuit elements just after the cable current peak.
Stroke
IS
30000 A 5380 A
Top RRU
IT IC Cable
Tower
LT LC
VLT VLC
5.8 µH 32 µH
SPD1
+ VSPD
SPD2
RT RC
VRT VRC
2.2 m 68 m
Base RBU
Ground
153
154 Figure 11 — Simplified circuit elements for cable current decay
155 After the cable current has peaked, the cable stored inductive energy discharges. The voltage polarity
156 across the cable inductance (V LC) and tower (VLT) reverses after the current peak as the stroke di/dt
10

157 becomes negative. The voltage across the cable inductance will essentially be the combined SPD clamping
158 voltages of SPD1 and SPD2 (200 V) and the tower voltage. The previous voltage equation becomes
159  VLC  VLT  VRT  VSPD  VRC
160 The modified equation shows that the combined SPD voltage now adds to the tower voltage instead of
161 subtracting from it, so reducing the time for the cable inductive energy to discharge.
-500
Tower + SPD voltage after current peak — V
-1000
-1500
-2000
-2500
25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200
162 Time — µs
163 Figure 12 — Tower voltage after current peak
164 The tower voltage plus the voltages of the SPD1 and SPD2 is applied to the cable inductance. Figure 12
165 shows the combined tower and SPD voltage after the stroke current peak. By integrating the total voltage
166 with time, the time at which the volt-second product reaches 172 mVs can be found. The 172 mVs value is
167 reached at 168 µs. At 168 µs the induced current in the cable will be zero.
168 Figure 13 shows the tower and cable currents. The cable current drops to zero at 168 µs or 151 µs after the
169 current peak.
170 The SPD energy deposited can be found from integrating the cable current and multiplying by the SPD
171 voltage (200 V). The total SPD energy deposited was found to be 68 J comprised of 5 J in the current rise
172 and 63 J in the current decay. The total energy deposited in each SPD is 34 J. This is less than 10 % of the
173 energy (460 J) that was stored in the cable inductance.
11

30000 6000
25000 5000
First stroke tower current — A

First stroke tower current
Cable current
Cable Current — A
20000 4000
15000 3000
10000 2000
5000 1000
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Time — µs
174
175 Figure 13 — First stroke tower and cable currents
176 In summary, the significant first stroke parameters were:
177  Peak tower current 30 kA (stroke current 35 A)
178  Peak cable current 5.38 kA
179  Cable volt-second integral during current rise 172 mVs
180  Cable stored energy 460 J
181  Cable current time from peak to zero 161 µs
182  SPD energy 68 J (about 34 J each SPD)
183 5.2 Subsequent strokes
184 Subsequent strokes are typically lower in amplitude, faster rate of current rise and shorter decay times, but
185 they occur in multiples of 3 to 5. Figure 14 shows the simulated subsequent stroke tower current.
12

13000
12000
Subsequent stroke tower current — A

11000
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time — µs
186
187 Figure 14 — Subsequent stroke tower current
188 Figure 15 shows the tower inductive and resistive voltage components as a result of the subsequent stroke
189 current.
90000
80000
Tower component voltages — V
Inductive voltage
70000
Resistive voltage
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0 10 20 30 40 50
190 Time — µs
191 Figure 15 — Subsequent stroke tower voltages
192 The fast rate of current rise causes a peak tower voltage of over 80 kV. The treatment of these values
193 followed the same procedure as the first stroke clause. Significant parameters were:
194  Peak tower current 12 kA (stroke current 14 kA)
13

200 Figure 16 shows the tower and cable currents. If there were 5 subsequent strokes the total energy deposited
201 in a single SPD (SPD 1 or SPD2) would be 5*7 + 34 = 69 J.
12000 2400
2200
Subsequent stroke tower current — A
10000 Subsequent stroke tower current 2000

Cable current
1800
Cable current — A
8000 1600
1400
6000 1200
1000
4000 800
600
2000 400
200
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time — µs
202
203 Figure 16 — Tower and cable currents
204 6. Tower voltage during a positive lightning stroke
205 The median stroke values from [B7] will be used to emulate a positive lightning stroke. The parameter
206 values are:
207  35 kA, 22/230 and 16 C
208 6.1 Positive stroke
209 Figure 17 shows the simulated positive stroke tower current. The slow start to current rise is to model more
210 accurately the naturally occurring stroke initial current rise.
14

40000
Positive stroke tower current — A

35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Time — µs
211
212 Figure 17 — Positive stroke tower current
213 Figure 15 shows the tower inductive and resistive voltage components as a result of the subsequent stroke
214 current.
12000
11000
Inductive voltage
10000
Resistive voltage
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
-1000
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
215 Time — µs
216 Figure 18 — Positive stroke tower voltages
217 The rate of current rise causes a peak tower voltage of 12 kV. The treatment of these values follows the
218 same procedure as the first stroke clause. Significant parameters were:
15

225 Figure 16 shows the tower and cable currents. This figure shows that, with the 35 kA stroke current, when
226 the stroke current time to half value is 250 µs or longer the cable current decay waveshape tends to a linear
227 ramp. This was noticed on the oscilloscope shots of [B1] where the surge generator used had a time to half
228 value of 400 µs to 440 µs.
40000 8000
35000 7000
Positive stroke tower current
Positive stroke tower current — A
Cable current
30000 6000
Cable current — A
25000 5000
20000 4000
15000 3000
10000 2000
5000 1000
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Time — µs
229
230 Figure 19 — Positive stroke tower and cable currents
231 7. Tower voltage during an extreme positive lightning stroke
232 The recommended extreme (1 % population) stroke values from [B11] were used to emulate an extreme
233 positive lightning stroke. The positive stroke parameter values given are:
234  350 kA peak current, 11 µs time to current peak, 40 µs time to half value and 500 kA/µs di/dt
235 maximum
236 For reference the extreme negative stroke parameter values given are:
237  160 kA peak current, 6 µs time to current peak, 80 µs time to half value and 500 kA/µs di/dt
238 maximum
239 Both waveforms have a 500 kA/µs maximum rate of rise and will generate the same value of peak
240 inductive voltage.
16

241 7.1 Extreme positive stroke
242 Figure 20 shows the simulated extreme positive stroke tower current. This simulation only achieves a
243 maximum di/dt of 100 kA/µs and not the recommended 500 kA/µs.
400000
Extreme positive stroke tower current — A
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time — µs
244
245 Figure 20 — Extreme positive stroke tower current
246 Figure 21 shows the tower inductive and resistive voltage components as a result of the extreme positive
247 stroke current.
700000
600000
Inductive voltage
500000 Resistive voltage
400000
300000
200000
100000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
248 Time — µs
249 Figure 21 — Extreme positive stroke tower voltages
250 The rate of current rise (105 kA/µs) causes a peak tower voltage of 620 kV. The treatment of these values
251 follows the same procedure as the first stroke clause. Significant parameters were:

17

254  Cable volt-second integral during current rise 1.79 Vs
255  Cable stored energy 50 kJ
258 Figure 22 shows the tower and cable currents. The tower inductive voltage dominates making the cable
259 current waveshape similar to the stroke current waveshape.
400000 80000
350000 70000
Tower current
300000 Cable current 60000
Tower current — A
Cable current — A
250000 50000
200000 40000
150000 30000
100000 20000
50000 10000
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
260 Time — µs
261 Figure 22 — Extreme positive stroke tower and cable currents
262 8. Alternative protection arrangements
263 8.1 Gas Discharge Tube (GDT) reference bonding
264 Clause B.5 “Series connected GDTs for DC power applications” in [B10] shows how a series combination
265 of GDTs can develop a combined arc voltage higher than the protected DC supply voltage. This series
266 arrangement avoids the possibility of the GDTs continuing to conduct after a lightning surge.
267 The previous Figure 5 circuit can be used with single GDTs for SPD1 and SPD3.
18

IF RF LF MTRF
-48 V
RRU SPD2 SPD4 RBU

IR RR
LR MTRF
RTN
SPD1 SPD3
MTRF
RT LT
IS IT
Stroke
Tower
268
269 Figure 23 — Single GDT for reference equalization
270 When the tower stroke voltage causes the sparkover of the GDTs, the return, RTN, cable is bonded to the
271 tower top and base. As a result a portion of the stroke current will flow in the cable RTN for the stroke
272 duration. SPDs SPD2 and SPD4 should be clamping type voltage limiters to avoid shorting the DC supply.
273 The feed (-48 V) cable current will be similar to that of the clause 4.3 circuit.
274 8.2 Shielded DC feed
275 The Appendix I, Isolated protection solution: example of [B3] shows how a cable shield and a power feed
276 isolation barrier in the RRU could be used to remove the need of SPD elements. The withstand voltage of
277 the isolation barrier needs careful consideration to comprehend the maximum stroke voltages. In this
278 document peak values of 80 kV have been calculated just for nominal conditions on the 24 m tower.
279 9. Lightning stroke results and comments
280 Table 1 —Lightning stroke values and results
Stroke Peak Cable Stroke Cable Vs Tower Cable Total

(clause #) tower peak waveshape current integral energy energy SPD
current current time to 0 peak J J energy
kA kA µs mVs J
Negative 30 5.4 5.5/75 160 170 2610 460 68
first (5.1) (100 %) (18 %) (100 %) (18 %) (2.6 %)
Negative 12 2.2 1.1/32 70 69 418 75 13
subsequent (100 %) (18 %) (100 %) (18 %) (3.1 %)
(5.2)
Positive 35 6.1 22/230 340 200 3550 600 210
(6.1) (100 %) (17 %) (100 %) (17 %) (5.9 %)
Extreme 350 56 4.5/40 110 1800 355000 50000 460
positive (100 %) (16 %) (100 %) (14 %) (0.13 %)
(7.1)
Percentage values shown are relative the tower current peak or tower energy
19

281 Table 1 results were obtained by the following procedure:
282 1) Estimate the inductive and resistive components of the tower and DC feed cable.
283 2) Define the lightning stroke waveform applied to the model.
284 3) Assume most of the stroke current flows in the tower
285 4) Calculate the tower voltage from the stroke current and the tower inductance and resistance.
286 (in this example the resistive voltage was negligible)
287 5) Subtract the nominal SPD voltage from the result of 4).
288 6) Integrate the result of 5) with time to give a cumulative Vs waveform.
289 7) Divide the result of 6) by the cable inductance to give the SPD current versus time waveform.
290 8) Multiply the result of 7) by the nominal SPD voltage to give the SPD power versus time waveform.
291 9) Integrate the result of 8) for the cable current duration time to give the SPD cumulative energy.
292 Only a nominal value of SPD clamping voltage was used. A further refinement of this procedure would be
293 to incorporate a model for the SPD clamping voltage versus current.
294 The lightning parameters used for analysis of the first three table data rows were median stroke values from
295 [B7]. The forth extreme positive stroke row used recommendations from [B11], which represents the more
296 stressful values occurring in the field. For a given amplitude of stroke current, the energy deposited into the
297 SPD increases with increasing time to half value of the stroke. Longer times, over about 250 µs, to half
298 value cause the SPD current decay waveshape to approach a linear ramp.
299 The transition from a truncated stroke waveshape to a linear ramp warrants further investigation. The
300 following (simplistic) approach provides some indication of the transition region. The actual tower current,
301 iT, can be approximated to:
LC
302 iT  iS  
LC  LT 

303 Where:
304 iS = Peak stroke current

305 LT = Tower inductance
306 LC = Cable inductance
307 In Figure 24 the tower current is approximated to a triangular waveform. The waveform rises in time TF to
308 a peak of current of iTMAX and then linearly decays to 50 % of iTMAX, in time TDT, measured from the current
309 peak. The cable current reaches zero in time 2 TDT.
20

iTMAX
Tower Current
0.5iTMAX
iT actual
TDT iT linear approximation

0
0 TF 2TDT
vTMAX
-vSPD
Voltage
-vSPD
iCMAX
Cable Current
2TDC
0
0 TF
310
311 Figure 24 — Simple analysis of cable current decay time to zero
312 In the time to peak current, the tower current rate of rise generates an inductive voltage, VTMAX, of
313 LT*iTMAX/TF. The voltage applied to the cable inductance, LC, will be reduced by the SPD clamping voltage
314 VSPD. The peak cable current, iCMAX, will be:
315 iCMAX  TF LT iTMAX / TF  VSPD  / LC
316 Simplifying to
317 iCMAX  LT iTMAX / LC  TFVSPD / LC
318 Generally the TFV SPD /LC factor will be small making
21

319 iCMAX  LT iTMAX / LC
320 During the tower current decay time the cable inductive voltage, v CD, will be
321 vCD  LT iTMAX / 2TDT   VSPD 
322 or
323 vCD  LT iTMAX  2TDTVSPD  / 2TDT
324 The time, 2TDC, for the cable current to decay to zero is given by
325 2TDC  LC iCMAX / vCD
326 Simplifying
327 2TDC  2TDT LT iTMAX / LT iTMAX  2TDTVSPD 
328 2TDC  2TDT / 1  2TDTVSPD / LT iTMAX 
329 The equation above indicates that the cable current decay linearizes when the 2TDTVSPD/(LTiTMAX) factor
330 becomes significant compared to unity. Inserting the example values gives 400TDT/(5.8iCMAX) =
331 69TDT/iTMAX, where TDT is in microseconds. In clause 6.1 with iTMAX = 35 kA and TDT =200 µs a linear
332 ramp is noticeable. The factor for this condition is 69*200/35000 = 0.39, making 2TDC = 2*200/1.39 = 290
333 µs. The actual calculated value using exponential decays was 340 µs.
334 The above shows the transition from a cable current truncated exponential decay waveshape to a linear
335 decay ramp is determined by the 2TDTVSPD/(LTiTMAX) factor becoming significant compared to unity. For a
336 given setup VSPD and LT will be fixed and the variables are TDT and iTMAX. In the example given, a
337 linearized ramp occurred with a factor of TDT/iTMAX = 200 µs/35 kA = 5.7 nAs.
338 Further the approximate SPD energy, ESPD can be calculated with
339 ESPD  VSPD iTMAX TDC LT / LC
340 Using previous values ESPD = 200*35000*100 µs*5.8/32 = 20*35*5.8/32 = 126 J. The actual calculated
341 value using exponential decays was 210 J. Thus the simplistic linear approach can be used to establish
342 orders of magnitude but not to any level of accuracy.
343 The analyzed tower was 24 m and folded. Higher towers will result in proportionally larger values of stress
344 as the inductances will be proportional to the tower height.
22

345 Annex A
346
347 (informative)
348
349 Bibliography
350 These bibliographical references provide background information, but do not need to be consulted to
351 understand this document.
352 [B1] Mr Politis Zafiris, Lightning current through MOV based SPDs in RRH applications, Raycap SA
353 [B2] Mick Maytum, Towering Powering protection problem on Remote Radio Head (RRH) cellular
354 systems, PEG 2012 Conference
355 [B3] ITU-T Recommendation K.97 (02/2014): Lightning protection of distributed base stations
356 [B4] IEEE Std 1100-1999 - IEEE Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding Electronic
357 Equipment
358 [B5] IEEE Std 518-1982 - IEEE Guide for the Installation of Electrical Equipment to Minimize Electrical
359 Noise Inputs to Controllers from External Sources
360 [B6] E. A. Williams, G. A. Jones, D. H. Layer, T. G. Osenkowsky, National Association of Broadcasters

361 Engineering Handbook, Focal Press
362 [B7] CIGRÉ (Council on Large Electric Systems) Technical Bulletin (TB) 549 (2013), Lightning
363 Parameters for Engineering Applications
364 [B8] F. Heidler, Z. Flisowski, W. Zischank, C. Mazzetti, Parameters of lightning current given in IEC
365 62305 – Background, Experience and Outlook, 29th International Conference on Lightning Protection,
366 23rd – 26th June 2008 – Uppsala, Sweden
367 [B9] Rectangular loop inductance,

368 http://www.cvel.clemson.edu/emc/calculators/Inductance_Calculator/rectgl.html, Clemson University,
369 retrieved 2014-10-28
370 [B10] IEEE PC62.42.1 - Draft Guide for the Application of Surge-Protective Components in Surge
371 Protective Devices and Equipment Ports - Gas Discharge Tubes (GDTs)
372 [B11] W. R. Gamerota, J. O. Elisme, M. A. Uman and V. A. Rakov, Current Waveforms for Lightning
373 Simulation, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Vol. 54, No. 4, August 2012, pp 880-888
23

Remote Radio Unit (RRU) DC Feed Protection: Document Technical Content Created by M J Maytum

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1 Remote Radio Unit (RRU) DC Feed

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5 2. Definitions and abbreviations............................................................................................................................ 2

8 3. Protection configurations ................................................................................................................................... 3

9 4. Circuit component values .................................................................................................................................. 5

13 5. Tower voltage during a negative lightning flash.............................................................................................. 7

16 6. Tower voltage during a positive lightning stroke ..........................................................................................14

18 7. Tower voltage during an extreme positive lightning stroke ..........................................................................16

20 8. Alternative protection arrangements ...............................................................................................................18

23 9. Lightning stroke results and comments ..........................................................................................................19

24 Annex A (informative) Bibliography.................................................................................................................23

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1 Remote Radio Unit (RRU) DC Feed

4 1.1 RRH Configuration

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14 Figure 1 — Distributed Base Station

20 2. Definitions and abbreviations

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29 Remote Radio Unit (RRU):

42 BBU Base Band Unit

43 DBS Distributed Base Station

44 RBS Radio Base Station

45 RRU Remote Radio Unit

46 RRH Remote Radio Head

48 SPC Surge Protective Component

49 SPD Surge Protective Device

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SPD1 SPD2 SPD3 SPD4

64 Figure 3 — 2 SPD Protection of DC powering feed

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RRU SPD2 SPD5 RBU

SPD1 SPD3 SPD4 SPD6

68 Figure 4 — 3 SPD Protection of DC powering feed

RRU SPD2 SPD4 RBU

72 Figure 5 — Single SPD for reference equalization

75 4. Circuit component values

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103 4.3 Equivalent experimental tower circuit

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107 Figure 6 — Folded 24 m tower simplified circuit

111 VLT  VRT  VLC  VSPD  VRC

112 Rearranging in terms of V LC

113 VLC  VLT  VRT  VSPD  VRC

117 5. Tower voltage during a negative lightning flash

120  First stroke: 30 kA, 5.5/75 and 5.2 C

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121  Subsequent strokes: 12 kA, 1.1/32 and 1.4 C

122  Inter-stroke interval: 60 ms

123  Subsequent stroke number: 3 to 5

124 5.1 First stroke

130 Figure 7 — First stroke tower waveform

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134 Figure 8 — First stroke tower voltages

35000 < 200 V

144 Figure 9 — First stroke waveform above 200 V

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Cumulative mVs 140

151 Figure 10 — Cumulative millivolt-seconds applied to the cable inductance LC

154 Figure 11 — Simplified circuit elements for cable current decay

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159  VLC  VLT  VRT  VSPD  VRC