Application Guidelines Medium Voltage E01 1HC PDF
Application Guidelines Medium Voltage E01 1HC PDF
Application Guidelines Medium Voltage E01 1HC PDF
Overvoltage Protection
ABB
First published: November 1994
2nd revised edition: September 1995
3rd revised edition: May 1999
4th revised and expanded edition: February 2009
The latest state of standards in IEC and CENELEC is taken into consider-
ation. If considered necessary for improved understanding, other
standards and publication are also used. The quoted literature is listed,
thus offering the opportunity of thorough study.
We hope that you as a reader will be satisfied with our new edition
with its new appearance, and that you will find it useful for your purpose.
We welcome amendments and suggestions that help us to better meet
all possible customer needs.
CONCLUSIONS 82
11 ARRESTERS FOR DIFFERENT 62
FREQUENCIES
INDEX OF SYMBOLS AND 84
ABBREVIATIONS USED
12 MO ARRESTERS IN PARALLEL 63
CONNECTION LIST OF REFERENCES 86
12.1 Parallel connection to increase 63
the energy handling capability
12.2 Coordination of parallel connected MO arresters 64
12.3 MO arresters and arresters with gaps 65
in parallel
1 | INTRODUCTION
Overvoltages in electrical supply systems result depend on the highest operating voltage of the
from the effects of lightning incidents and system Us. That is why the overvoltages, such as
switching actions and cannot be avoided. They those that are decisive for the choice of the
endanger the electrical equipment because for continuous operating voltage of the arrester, are
economic reasons the insulation cannot be related to the operating voltage of the system Us.
designed to withstand all possible cases. An The voltages, which are important for the insu-
economical and safe on-line system calls for lation co-ordination and the protection of the
extensive protection of the electrical equipment insulation of electrical equipment, are derived
against unacceptable overvoltage stresses. This from the highest voltage of the electrical equip-
applies generally to high voltage systems as well ment Um.
as to medium and low voltage systems. In [1] the differences between the temporary
Overvoltage protection can be basically achiev- and the transient overvoltages are shown in
ed in two ways: detail. For the following considerations it is
n Avoiding lightning overvoltage at the point meaningful to distinguish between three types
of origin, such as through earthed shielding of overvoltages:
wires in front of the substation that intercept
lightning. Temporary overvoltages occur, for example,
n Limit overvoltage near the electrical equip- during load rejection or because of faults with
ment, for instance through surge arresters in earth connection. The duration of these over-
the vicinity of the electrical equipment. voltages, mostly with power frequency, can be
In high voltage systems both methods of protec- between 0.1 seconds and several hours. Gener-
tion are common. The shielding wire protection ally, they are not higher than √3 p.u. and are
in medium voltage systems is generally not very usually not dangerous for the system operation
effective. Due to the small distance between the and the insulation of the equipment. However,
shielding wires and the line wires, a direct light- they are decisive for the dimensioning of the
ning stroke on the shielding wire leads to an arresters.
immediate flashover to the line wires as well. In
addition, induced overvoltages in the line wires Switching overvoltages (slow front overvoltages)
cannot be avoided by shielding wires. occur during switching actions and consist
mostly of heavily damped oscillations with fre-
The most effective protection against overvolt- quencies up to several kHz and a magnitude up
ages in medium voltage systems is therefore to 3 p.u. In the case of inductive switching, the
the use of surge arresters in the vicinity of the switching overvoltages can reach up to 4 p.u.
electrical equipment.
Lightning overvoltages (fast front overvoltages)
The magnitude of the overvoltage is given in originate in atmospheric discharges. They reach
p.u. (per unit), usually related to the peak value their peak value within a few microseconds and
of the highest permanent phase-to-earth voltage subsequently decay very rapidly. The magni-
that occurs. [1] tude of these unipolar overvoltages can reach
It is defined as 1 p.u. = √2 ·Us / √3. values well above 10 p.u. in medium voltage
Until now the overvoltages used to be related systems.
to the highest voltages of the electrical equip-
ment Um. This is incorrect because the overvolt-
ages in the system, such as the overvoltages that
occur as a consequence of earth faults, do not
depend on the electrical equipment, but they
The so-called “conventional” surge arresters were that is not dangerous for the service. That
almost exclusively employed in medium voltage makes the development, the manufacture and
systems until the middle of the eighth decade of the quality control of the MO resistors a very
the last century. They consisted of a series con- important task to be fulfilled.
nection of SiC resistors with a low nonlinearity
and plate spark-gaps. A short circuit to the earth
emerges when the spark-gaps come into action 2.1 Arrester design
during the rising of the overvoltage. The SiC Generally, an MO surge arrester is made up of
resistors in series limit the follow current from two parts: the active part consisting of one or
the power supply and thereby enable the arc in more piled up MO resistors and an insulating
the gap to extinguish at the next current zero. housing, which guarantees both the insulation
In the final years of the last century, there were and the mechanical strength.
two fundamental improvements of surge ar- Fundamentally, there are three different possi-
resters used in medium voltage systems. On one bilities of construction [2]:
hand, the series connection of SiC resistors and n In a glass-fiber reinforced tube made of
plate spark-gaps were replaced with the metal synthetic material, which is covered with
oxide (MO) resistors of a very high nonlinearity an insulating material, the active part is
without series connection of plate spark-gaps, installed, similar to the insulators made of
while on the other hand, the housings of the porcelain. These so-called hollow insulators
surge arresters made of porcelain were replaced have the same disadvantages as the porce-
with housings made of polymer material (syn- lain insulators: they need a sealing and
thetic material). pressure relief system and they can have
A large number of conventional spark-gapped internal partial discharges.
arresters are still installed in medium voltage n The active part is wrapped with glass-fiber
systems. However, they are no longer pro- material and is soaked with resin, which
duced. turns the whole into a rigid body. The insu-
The disappearance of the spark-gaps, which lating polymeric housing is then slipped
were necessary for the SiC surge arresters, made over the resin block or shrunk on it. This
the design of the surge arresters much easier, construction has the disadvantage that it
especially for the medium voltage systems. forcibly breaks apart when the MO blocks
Some new designs were only possible due to are overloaded. Another disadvantage
the development of the MO resistors and the is the fact that there are different insulating
use of polymeric material for the housings. The materials, which also means that there
fundamental advantage is the fact that the surge are more boundary layers. Therefore, it is
arrester has now only one “active” element, necessary to take special measures for
which is the MO resistor or the so-called active sealing.
part, consisting of a column of MO resistors.
Certainly it goes without saying that the MO
resistors have to perform all the functions that
were earlier performed by different parts of the
SiC surge arresters. For instance, they have to be
non-ageing by applied continuous operating
voltage, they have to be able to absorb the
occurring energy during a discharge and after-
wards they have also to be able to reduce the
follow current (leakage current) to a small value
n The active part is held mechanically together the height of the MO resistors (or resistor stack)
with glass-fiber reinforced loops or bands. determines the voltage in continuous operation
The synthetic material (such as silicone) is and the volume of the blocks determines the
directly molded on to the MO resistors. energy handling capability. The diameter of
This direct molding has the advantage that the MO resistors correlates with the line dis-
no gas volume remains in the arrester. charge classes corresponding to IEC 60099-4,
Sealing problems and inner partial discharges as shown in Table 1. The current and energy
are thus out of the question. There are no values for the type tests arise directly from
interfaces among the polymeric materials in the line discharge classes and the nominal dis-
which humidity can penetrate. The danger of charge current.
an explosion or a shattering of the housing
is very small.
Table 1: Correlation of diameters of the MO resistors made by ABB with the line discharge class and the nominal discharge current,
and the directly related parameters according to IEC 60099-4. The figures in the last four rows are manufacturer-dependent values.
The specific energy W’ refers to the operation duty test of the corresponding arrester (bold printed), i.e. it refers to the energy of
two long duration current impulses. See also Table 2. The specific energy W’hc is the energy that occurs when a predetermined current
is injected in the arrester, e.g. a high current impulse of 4/10 µs wave shape. This data is for informational purposes only. See also
Chapter 3.2 energy absorption capability.
The time duration of the long duration current Metal oxide resistors have an extreme non-
impulse I ld for the different line discharge linear current voltage characteristic, which is
classes is given in IEC 60099-4. The height of described as
the current results from the calculated energy
that has to be injected. I = k × Uα
The contact areas of the MO resistors are metal-
ized up to the edge of the block with soft alu- α is variable between α ≤ 5 and α ≈ 50. An exact
minum, the surface of the housing is passivated value for α can only be provided for a very re-
with glass. In this way, the MO material of the stricted range of the current in the characteristic
MO resistors produced by ABB Switzerland Ltd curve.
is completely covered. Figure 2 shows a selec- The U-I characteristic of such an MO resistor is
tion of MO resistors. Figure 3 shows in an en- shown in figure 4. In is the nominal discharge
larged form the inner structure of the MO mate- current, Upl is the lightning impulse protection
rial. It is absolutely necessary to obtain a very level of the surge arrester. It is defined as the
homogeneous structure of the material in order maximum voltage between the terminals of the
to reach the high specific energy handling capa- surge arrester during the flow of In. Uc is the
bility of the MO resistor. maximum permissible continuous operating
The energy handling capability of a MO resistor voltage with the power frequency of the surge
and of a MO arrester respectively, depends arrester, and is given as an rms value; in
on the volume of the active part and on the IEEE/ANSI standards also called MCOV (Maxi-
design (heat transfer) and the electrical dimen- mum Continuous Operating Voltage).
sioning.
Figure 1: Manufacturing
process of MO resistors.
1 Mixing of the metal-oxide
powders
2 Spray drying of the powder
mixture
3 Pressing of the MO resistors
4 Sintering
5 Metallization of the contact areas
6 Coating of the surface 1 2 3 4 5/6 7 8
7 Final tests of the MO resistors
8 MO resistors ready to be installed
in the arrester
Figure 2: MO resistors
(choice), produced by
ABB Switzerland Ltd
α #5 I = k x U α with α ≈ 50 α#5
U
d
B
c
b
A
a
log I
2.3 Arrester housing made of silicone This means that the hydrophobicity is also
Silicone rubber (usually simply referred to as transmitted into the pollution layer on the sur-
“silicone”) is an excellent insulating material for face. All this provides excellent performance
high-voltage insulators. In high-voltage tech- properties for high voltage equipment insulated
nologies, silicone has been successfully used with silicone.
since about 40 years for long rod insulators and The hydrophobicity of the silicone can be dimin-
bushings, for example. The first MO arresters ished under the influence of a long period of
with the typical ABB direct molding were used humidity or electrical discharges on the surface;
in 1986. Millions of these arresters are since it is however completely restored in a short peri-
being used trouble free all over the world and od of time (from a couple of hours to a couple
under all climate conditions. of days). As much as we can say today this
The basic Si-O-Si-O matrix with the additional mechanism works for an unlimited duration.
CH3-groups (Methyl) is characteristic for sili-
cone. The filling materials and special additives
cause the arcs and creep resistance necessary
for use in high-voltage technology. The qualities
of silicone include very high elasticity and resis-
tance to tearing, high temperature stability, very
low combustibility (silicone is a self-extinguish-
ing material) and high dielectrical withstand
strength. Besides all these qualities the most re-
markable one is hydrophobicity: water simply
rolls off the silicone surface. The silicone insula-
tors are water-repellent even if they are polluted.
Table 2 and Table 3 contain the primary techni- In Table 2 there are four MO arresters with
cal data for the surge arresters produced by ABB I n = 10 kA and line discharge class 2 for use in
for use in medium voltage systems. medium voltage systems. The other electrical
It is to be noted here that this present applica- data differ (except the line discharge class) from
tion guidelines does not take into consideration one arrester to another and therefore the surge
regular revisions. Therefore it is possible that arresters are for different applications.
there might be differences between the techni-
cal data given in the tables and the data on the
data sheets. Decisive are always the data sheets.
POLIM-K: Is to be used for protecting overhead POLIM-C: The MO arresters of the type POLIM-C
lines, transformers in substations and as a line also have line discharge class 2. The application
arrester. It has a flexible housing concept for the lies in the lower voltage range for special appli-
arrester for optimal use in all the various pol- cations, such as the protection of cable sheath
luted locations. It is very suitable as a line ar- and the protection of motors.
rester due to its high short circuit resistance of With this ABB offers a wide range of MO ar-
40 kA. The POLIM-K is ideal for applications in resters for use in the technical demanding area
areas in which arresters of line discharge class 2 of class 2 arresters.
are to be used.
The function of a surge arrester with an active The resistor stack of the surge arrester behaves
part consisting of a series connection of MO re- in an almost pure capacitive manner with ap-
sistors is very simple. In the event of a voltage plied continuous operating voltage Uc. The stray
increase at the arrester’s terminals, the current capacitance of each resistor against the earth
rises according to the characteristic curve – Fig- causes an uneven voltage distribution along the
ure 8 – continually and without delay, which arrester axis under applied Uc. This unevenness
means that there is no actual spark over, but increases with the length of the resistor stack
that the arrester skips over to the conducting and can be approximately calculated according
condition. After the overvoltage subsides the to [4]. High voltage MO arresters therefore need
current becomes smaller according to the char- grading elements, such as grading rings, which
acteristic curve. A subsequent current, such as mostly compensate the unfavorable influence of
those that arise with spark-gaps and spark- the stray capacitance. The resistor stack with
gapped arresters, does not exist; it flows only medium voltage arresters is, however, so short
the so-called almost pure capacitive leakage that the uneven voltage distribution can be ne-
current i c of about 1 mA. glected. Therefore, medium voltage arresters do
not require any grading elements. The following
paragraph shows and briefly explains typical
current and voltage waveforms in different areas
of the characteristic curve.
1,5
4/10 μs
U/Upl
1/9 μs
8/20 μs
1,0
30/60 μs
AC
U ref
DC
Ur
0,5
Uc
i ref I sw In
0
10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105
I A
3.1 Currents and voltages Reference voltage Uref : Peak value of the power-
In [4] the following arrester related terms are frequency voltage divided by √2, which is
given: applied to the arrester to obtain the reference
current.
Continuous operating voltage Uc: Designated
permissible rms value of power-frequency volt- Reference current (iref): Peak value (the higher
age that may be applied continuously between peak value of the two polarities if the current
the arrester terminals. is asymmetrical) of the resistive component of
a power-frequency current used to determine
Continuous current (ic): Current flowing through the reference voltage of an arrester.
the arrester when energized at the continuous The reference current is chosen by the manufac-
operating voltage. The MO arrester behaves in turer in such a way that it lies above the knee
an almost purely capacitive manner in the re- point of the voltage-current characteristic and
gion of the continuous operating voltage. The has a dominant ohmic component. Therefore,
current is around 1 mA and almost 90° electri- the influences of the stray capacitance of the ar-
cally shifted compared to the voltage. The rester at the measurement of the reference volt-
power losses in this region can be neglected. age are not to be taken into account. The refer-
The continuous current is also known as leak- ence voltages, which are measured at single MO
age current. resistors, can be added to give the reference
voltage of the entire arrester.
Rated voltage Ur: Maximum permissible rms
value of power-frequency voltage between the Reference voltage (U1mA) and reference current
arrester terminals at which it is designed to with d.c. voltage: A reference current and the
operate correctly under temporary overvoltage reference voltage for d.c. voltage belonging to it
conditions as established in the operating duty are often also demanded instead of a given ref-
tests. erence current for a.c. voltage. It is now com-
Briefly: the rated voltage Ur is the voltage value, mon practice to specify the d.c. voltage, which
which is applied for t = 10 s in the operating is applied with a direct current of 1 mA to the
duty test in order to simulate a temporary over- terminals, no matter what the diameters of the
voltage in the system. The relationship between MO resistors are. Both types of information, the
the rated voltage Ur and the continuous operat- reference current and the reference voltage for
ing voltage Uc is generally Ur /Uc = 1.25. This is a.c. voltage and for d.c. voltage, are in principle
understood as a given fact, but it is not defined equal. Both of these types information describe
anywhere. Other ratios can be chosen. The a point on the voltage-current characteristic of
rated voltage has no other importance although an arrester, where the influences of the stray
it is often used when choosing an arrester. capacitance can be ignored. All the tests per-
formed according to IEC are always based on Lightning impulse protective level Upl: Maximum
the reference current and the reference voltage permissible peak voltage on the terminals of
for a.c. voltage. Reference current and reference an arrester subjected to the nominal discharge
voltage with d.c. voltage are additional infor- current. Corresponds to the guaranteed residual
mation, which can be received from the manu- voltage Ures at In.
facturer.
Switching impulse protective level Ups: Maximum
Residual voltage Ures: Peak value of voltage that permissible peak value on the terminals of an
appears between the arrester terminals during arrester subjected to switching impulses. The
the passage of a discharge current. higher switching impulse among those in the
The residual voltage of a MO resistor or MO ar- Table 1 is to be used.
rester is determined with surges having different
wave forms and current heights and it is given Lightning current impulse: Current impulse with
in tables or as a voltage-current characteristic on the wave shape 8/20 µs. The virtual front time
a curve. The measurements are generally per- is 8 µs and the time to half-value on the tail is
formed on MO resistors. As the measurement is 20 µs. The lightning current impulse reproduces
mostly performed in regions of the character- approximately the current impulse produced by
istic where the ohmic part of the current is a lightning stroke in a conductor after an insu-
dominant, the capacitive stray influences can be lator flashover. This current impulse travels as a
ignored. The residual voltages measured on transient wave along the line.
single MO resistors can be summed up as the
residual voltages of the whole arrester. Nominal discharge current of an arrester In: The
peak value of the lightning current impulse that
is used to classify an arrester. The nominal dis-
charge current combined with the line discharge
class of an arrester prescribe the test para-
Ur
Uc
i,u
i,u
ic i
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
t ms t ms
Figure 9: Continuous operating voltage Uc and leakage current ic Figure 10: Rated voltage U r and current i, which flows through the
of an MO arrester. The current has a sinusoidal waveform form MO arrester with this voltage. The current already begins to dis-
and is almost purely capacitive. The ohmic part of the current tort, an ohmic component in the area of the peak value can clearly
at du/dt = 0 at the peak value of the voltage is about 15 % to 20 % be seen. In this example, the rated voltage lies in the area of the
of the total current. knee point of the voltage-current characteristic of the MO arrester.
meters, see Table 1. Recommendations for the Switching current impulse (Isw): Peak value of
choice of the nominal discharge currents and discharge current with a virtual front time be-
the line discharge classes for different system tween 30 µs and 100 µs, and a virtual time to
voltages are to be found in IEC [4], [5]. half-value on the tail of roughly twice the virtual
front time. The switching current impulses are
High current impulse (Ihc): Peak value of dis- used to determine the voltage-current character-
charge current having a 4/10 µs impulse shape. istic, and in connection with the line discharge
The high current impulse should reproduce a class are also used to determine the energy
lightning stroke close to an arrester and it is which has to be absorbed by the surge arrester
used with medium voltage arresters of the line during the operating duty test. The current am-
discharge class 1 as a proof of thermal stability. plitudes lie between 125 A and 2 kA, and
It represents not only an energetic stress but roughly reproduce the load of an arrester pro-
also a dielectric one, taking into consideration duced by overvoltages, which were caused by
the high residual voltage that occurs with a high circuit breaker operation.
current impulse with a peak value of 100 kA.
However, it is necessary to strongly emphasize
that a high current impulse with an amplitude of
100 kA is not the same as a real lightning cur-
rent of the same amplitude. The real lightning
current of this amplitude measured during a
thunderstorm possibly lasts longer than several
100 µs. Such strong lightning currents and
impulse shapes are very rare and appear only
under special conditions, such as during winter
lightning in hilly coastal areas.
u [kV] i [kA]
18 12
U ref
15 10
i,u
12 8
i ref 9 6
6 4
3 2
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 10 20 30 40
t ms t µs
Figure 11: Reference current i ref and reference voltage U ref . Figure 12: Current and voltage of a nominal discharge current
The ohmic component of the current in the area of the peak value of I n = 10 kA (wave shape 8/20 µs) injected in a MO resistor.
of the voltage clearly dominates the total current. This means The residual voltage is U res = 15 kV.
that the current lies above the knee point and the capacitive stray
influences during the measurement can be disregarded.
Steep current impulse: Current impulse with a Long-duration current impulse (Ild): Also called
virtual front time of 1 µs and a virtual time to rectangular wave (Irw) or square wave. A long-
half-value on the tail not longer than 20 µs. The duration current impulse is a rectangular im-
steep current impulses are used to determine pulse that rises rapidly to its peak value and
the voltage-current characteristic. They have remains constant for a specified period of time
amplitudes up to 20 kA and roughly reproduce before it falls rapidly to zero. The length of the
steep current impulses like those which may current pulse duration is correlated to the line
appear with disconnector operation, re-striking, discharge class of an arrester. Rectangular im-
back flashes, and vacuum circuit breakers. pulses are used in laboratories during the type
All the current impulses described above (ex- tests with long-duration current impulses, and
cept the high current impulse) are used to de- during the operating duty test of MO arresters
termine the voltage-current characteristic of a having line discharge classes 2 to 5, in order to
MO arrester. It is to be considered that only inject the energy in the arrester. The current am-
the virtual front time and the amplitude of the plitudes are up to 2 kA and reproduce the load
current impulses are decisive for the residual of an arrester when a charged transmission line
voltage and not the virtual time to half-value on discharges into the arrester in case of an over-
the tail. That is the reason why the tolerance for voltage occurrence.
the virtual front times is very tight, and contrast- It is now regarded as a matter of course to use
ingly, the tolerances for the virtual times to half- a rectangular wave of 2 ms duration to compare
value on the tail are very broad. different MO arresters, although there is no
norm established for doing so. Specified is either
the amplitude of the rectangular wave for a spe-
cific MO arrester or the energy transferred into
the arrester during the flow of the rectangular
current.
20 100
12 480
16 80
9 360
12 60
6 240
8 40
4 20 3 120
0 0 0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 50 100 150 200
t µs t µs
Figure 13: High current impulse of the wave shape 4/10 µs and Figure 14: Switching impulse current Isw = 500 A with the wave
a peak value of I hc = 100 kA. The residual voltage is in this case shape 38/87 µs. The residual voltage is U res = 11.6 kV.
U res = 23 kV. An exact measurement is difficult here because
of the extreme steepness of the current and the relative high field
strength. That is why the measuring of the residual voltage of
high current impulses is not generally demanded according to IEC.
Line discharge class: The line discharge class W = Ures × (UL – Ures ) × 1/Z × T
is the only possible way to specify the energy
absorption capability of an arrester provided in U res = Residual voltage of the switching current impulse.
Here, U res is the lowest value of the residual voltage
IEC 60099-4. The line discharge classes 1 to 5
measured at the test sample with the lower value
are defined with growing demands. They differ of the switching current impulse given in Table 1.
from one another due to the test parameters of U L = Charging voltage of the current impulse generator used
the line discharge tests. The energy W is calcu- in test labs for producing the long-duration current
lated from the line discharge class in connection impulse Ild
Z= Surge impedance of the current impulse generator
with the residual voltage of the switching cur-
T= Duration of the long-duration current impulse
rent impulse. This calculated energy has to be
injected with each discharge in a MO resistor
during the test with a long-duration current im-
pulse I ld (line discharge test). Two correspond-
ing line discharges are loaded in the arrester
during the operating duty test as a proof of ther-
mal stability.
15 10 12 600
10 500
12 8
8 400
9 6
6 300
6 4
4 200
3 2 2 100
0 0 0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5 4,0 4,5
t µs t µs
Figure 15: Steep current impulse of the wave shape 1/9 µs. Figure 16: Long-duration current impulse I ld = 506 A with
The peak current amounts to 10 kA and the residual voltage is a virtual duration of the current of t 90 % = 2.15 ms. The residual
U res = 16.2 kV. This current wave has a very steep rise time, which voltage is U res = 11.1 kV.
makes it necessary to compensate the measuring circuit induced
voltage U i = L × di/dt when evaluating the residual voltage.
The parameter of the line discharge classes are 3.2 Energy absorption capability
derived from the stored energy of long transmis- The specified or required energy values that are
sion lines [5], [6], see Table 5. found in technical documentations sometimes
That is the reason why the line discharge classes lead to misunderstandings, especially when
have no direct importance in medium voltage more energy values are given. That is why it is
systems. They serve here only to distinguish the necessary to discuss here the energy absorption
energy handling capability of different arresters. capability of the MO resistors and arresters.
The energy absorption capability of MO resis-
In LD Us L ZL T tors respectively the MO surge arresters is espe-
kA kV km Ω ms cially important for the thermal stability of the
10 1 ≤ 245 300 450 2.0 arresters in the system. The energy absorption
10 2 ≤ 300 300 400 2.0 capability is tested with different current im-
10 3 ≤ 420 360 350 2.4 pulses during the type tests, such as the test
20 4 ≤ 525 420 325 2.8 with the long-duration current impulse for each
20 5 ≤ 765 480 300 3.2 MO resistor, the operating duty test and the
Table 5: Correlation between the line discharge class and the verification of the TOV-curve with complete
parameters of the transmission lines. The duration T of the long- arresters.
duration current impulse I ld is also given. This specification shows The energy absorption capability of the MO
how the duration must be adjusted for the operating duty test resistor is tested with a total of 18 long-duration
and the test with long-duration current impulse according to the
line discharge class in the laboratory.
current impulses during the line discharge test.
LD = Line discharge class This is a material test of the MO resistor. No
L = The approximate length of the transmission line power frequency voltage is applied to the test
ZL = The approximate surge impedance of the transmission line sample during this test. This means that there
is no testing of the thermal stability of the MO
Rated short circuit current Is: The rms value of resistors.
the highest symmetrical short circuit current, The shape of the current impulse with which
which can flow after an overload of the arrester the energy is injected into the arrester depends
through the arc short circuiting the MO resistors on the line discharge class during the operating
without violent shattering of the housing. The duty test. The energy is injected with a high
proof of the value specified by the manufacturer current impulse that has a wave shape 4/10 µs
is conducted in the short circuit test. to arresters of the line discharge class 1 (or ar-
The pressure relief class of an arrester, which in resters having no line discharge class).
the past was specified, as well as the pressure re-
lief test connected to it as found in IEC 60099-1,
is no longer applicable.
The energy is injected with two long-duration The energy, which leads to the destruction of
current impulses to the arresters of the line dis- a MO resistor or an arrester, is higher than the
charge class 2 or higher. The injected energy energy that is applied to an arrester as proof of
with the line discharge class 2 or higher follows the thermal stability during an operating duty
the line discharge class and has to be calculated test. Depending on the type of arrester, the
corresponding to IEC 60099-4. The higher the destroying energy is generally much higher than
line discharge classes the higher the energy. the guaranteed energy for testing the thermal
Provided in Table 1 is the energy for the same stability.
high current impulse (100 kA 4/10 µs) for differ-
ent arresters. This energy decreases when the
diameter of the MO resistors increase. If the 3.3 Cool-down time
peak value is the same, the current density and The arresters in the system can work reliably
accordingly also the residual voltage become and safe if their energy absorption capability is
lower. As a result, this leads to a lower energy greater than the energy strain expected in the
and accordingly also to a lower increase in tem- system operation. In case of multiple surges,
perature of the active part of the arrester. This one after another, the injected energy is cumu-
tendency is favorable because the lower the lated in the arrester and therefore an interme-
occurred energy is in the arrester, the safer and diary cool-down time can be ignored. But if the
the more thermal stable the arrester is in the energy reaches the guaranteed value, which is
system. applied in the operating duty test, the arrester
The energies that are listed in our technical doc- has to have enough time to cool-down. The
umentations represent no limiting or destructive necessary cool-down time for the arrester de-
values, but the energies that occur during the pends on the construction, the ambient temper-
different type tests respectively the occurred en- ature and the applied voltage. The cool-down
ergies with different current impulses. time typically lies between 45 and 60 minutes
Therefore, a differentiation is to be made be- depending on the arrester type and the ambient
tween: conditions.
n The occurring energy of a specified current
3.4 Stability of a MO arrester If the power losses P stay under the critical
There are two situations to take into account: point, i.e. P < Q, it is possible to eliminate the
n The thermal stability of the MO arrester warmth faster than it is produced and the active
after adiabatic energy absorption (sometimes part cools down until it returns to the stable
known as short-time stability) working condition after the cool-down time.
n The long-time stability of the MO arrester This is the area of thermal stability.
in system operation. As long as the critical point is not exceeded, the
arrester can branch off the loaded energy as of-
ten as is necessary, which means that it can limit
3.4.1 Thermal stability the overvoltage just as often as it is required.
In Figure 17, P represents the power losses of It is possible to raise the critical point to such a
the MO resistors in an arrester when Uc is ap- level, that even if during the operation the high-
plied. It is evident that P exponentially increases est energies are likely to occur, this critical point
with the MO-temperature T, which also results cannot possibly be reached. This can be
in an increased heating of the active compo- achieved through suitably dimensioning of the
nent. The cooling-down of the MO resistors resistors and through design measures that en-
occur with the heat flow Q from the active part able the cooling-down of the blocks.
of the arrester to the exterior. P is greater than
Q at temperatures above the critical point. Here
the cooling is not sufficient to dissipate the heat 3.4.2 Long-term stability
produced by the power losses to the exterior. A MO arrester without spark-gaps in the system
The MO resistors would continue to heat up can operate absolutely reliably if the voltage-
and the arrester would be destroyed by over- current characteristics curve of the MO resistors
heating. This occurrence is called thermal run under applied continuous voltage do not
away or thermal instability. change. The continuous current ic should not
.
P,Q thermal runaway 1.1
W 1.0
P
thermal 0.9
stability
limit 0.8
.
T Q 0.7
P
Q stable 0.6
operating point
0.5
0.4
0 200 400 600 800 1000
T °C t h
Figure 17: Power losses P of the MO resistors and the heat flow Figure 18: Example of an accelerating ageing test (type test
Q from the active part of an arrester to the exterior, as a function over 1,000 h). The test sample is in an oven with the constant
of temperature T of the MO resistors at continuous operating temperature of 115 °C and is stressed with increased a.c. voltage
voltage U c. compared to U c. The power losses P are recorded and should
decrease constantly or remain constant. A considerable increase
over a minimum that was already reached indicates instability and
is inacceptable. Test duration of 1,000 h at 115 °C corresponds to
an operating time of 110 years in the system at an environmental
temperature of 40 °C.
3.6 Temporary overvoltages The following example should explain the use
Temporary (short-time) overvoltages U TOV are of TOV curves in Figure 19. An arrester with
power frequency overvoltages of limited dura- Uc = 24 kV is operated with Uc in a normally
tion. They appear during switching operations functioning, undisturbed system for a unlimited
or earth faults in the system and they can stay in period of time. At the time t = 0 the arrester is
medium voltage systems with insulated trans- stressed with an energy in relation to Uc of
former neutrals for several hours. Their height W’ = 5.5 kJ/kVUc. Immediately afterwards, the
depends on the system configuration and the temporary overvoltage U TOV = 28 kV appears.
treatment of the star point. The duration is given Therefore, it is T = U TOV /Uc = 28 kV / 24 kV = 1.17.
by the time which elapses until the registration For T= 1.17 results a time of t = 400 s according
and the switching off of the system failure. to curve b. That means that the arrester can
MO arresters are able to withstand an increased withstand an increased voltage for 400 s without
operating voltage for a certain period of time. becoming thermally instable. After 400 s the
The resistance T of the arrester against such tem- voltage must go back to Uc, so that the arrester
porary overvoltages is to be seen as an example will not become overloaded. If the arrester is not
in Figure 19. T = U TOV /Uc is the extent of the loaded with the energy W’ before the appear-
permissible height of U TOV. ance of the temporary overvoltage, it is the
curve a that counts and the arrester can with-
stand U TOV for 3,000 s. Therefore, the height and
the duration of the admissible temporary over-
voltage directly depend on the previous energy
load of the arrester.
1,40
1,35
1,30
a
1,25
1,20
b
1,15
1,10
1,05
1,00
1 10 100 1000 10000 t s
4 | SERVICE CONDITIONS
The service life of an arrester can be 30 years or n Voltage distortions or voltages with superim-
longer under normal operating conditions and if posed contents of high frequencies that are
it is correctly chosen according to the system caused by the system
voltages and to the expected electrical and me- The following paragraphs illustrate a few spe-
chanical loads. The normal service conditions cial cases. It is advisable to contact the manufac-
for an arrester are listed in [4]: turer should other abnormal conditions appear
n Ambient temperature –40 °C to +40 °C that are not mentioned here.
n Solar radiation 1.1 kW/m2
48 Hz or above 62 Hz
4.3 Mechanical stability Neither the function nor the properties of the
ABB arresters are operationally reliable even in insulation of MO arresters with silicon housing
areas of high earthquake activity. The arresters are affected by using environmentally safe
may partially take on the support function, or as cleaning agents. The easiest way to clean silicon
line arresters, they may have the function of surfaces is the use of a soft cloth and clear
suspension insulators. The manufacturer should water.
be informed about such operational situations.
The values listed in the Table 3 are not to be ex-
ceeded. The arrester types, which are to be ap- 4.6 Altitude adjustment of
plied on rolling stock, are delivered with a rein- arrester housing
forced base plate and are tested under vibration ABB arresters can be used without any housing
and shock conditions. adjustment up to a height of 1,800 m above sea
level. At higher altitudes, the air density may be
so low that the withstand voltage of the arrester
4.4 Elevated ambient temperature housing (external flashover) is no longer suffi-
ABB arresters (a.c. and d.c. voltage) are guaran- cient. In this case, the unaltered active part of
teed to function flawlessly up to 40 °C ambient the arrester (same protection level) has to be
temperature. This also includes maximum solar placed in an elongated housing with a longer
radiation of 1.1 kW/m2 for outdoor arresters. flashover distance. As a reference value, one
If there are heat sources in the vicinity of the may consider that for every 1,000 m above
arrester, the increased ambient temperature has 1,800 m above sea level the flashover distance
to be taken into account, and the value of Uc in- has to be increased by 12 %. For example, at an
creased if necessary. If the ambient temperature altitude of 3,300 m above sea level the flashover
exceeds 40 °C, Uc should be increased by 2 %, distance of the housing has to be 18 % longer
for every 5 °C of temperature elevation. This than that of a standard arrester.
correction is possible up to maximum of 80 °C It is necessary to observe here that the flashover
ambient temperature. distances of surge arresters for lower voltage
levels are initially relatively large, exceeding the
minimum requirements of the withstand volt-
4.5 Pollution and cleaning age. Thus, in each individual case it should be
Silicone is the best insulating material in case of checked whether the standard housing pos-
pollution. This is mainly because the material is sesses the sufficient withstanding voltage for the
water-repellent (hydrophobic). Silicone arrest- application in higher altitudes.
ers behave more favorably under conditions of
heavy pollution than porcelain housed arresters
or other polymeric insulation materials.
Decisive for the long-term behavior under
pollution of an insulation made of a polymeric
material is the dynamic behavior of the hydro-
phobicity, which is originally always very good.
Depending on the material, a loss of hydropho-
bicity can be permanent or temporary. Silicone
in contrast to other polymeric materials is able
to regain its hydrophobicity after losing it tem-
porarily.
5 | TESTS
The MO resistors have to withstand a voltage The operating duty test is performed on electri-
higher than Uc in an oven at a temperature of cal-thermal equivalent models of an arrester.
115 °C for a period of 1,000 h. To be recorded The operating duty test can also be performed
for this period is whether the power losses on complete arresters with the medium voltage
increase, and if so, by how much. The behavior arresters if the labs have the necessary equip-
of the power losses during the accelerating age- ment.
ing test can indicate the behavior of the power
losses of the MO resistors in the systems Verification of the power-frequency voltage-
throughout the entire service life. versus-time characteristic (TOV curve)
MO resistors manufactured by ABB Switzerland The last part of the relevant operating duty test
Ltd provide stable long-term behavior. That is to be repeated in order to experimentally
means that they do not show any change of the determine the TOV curve. An a.c. voltage U,
power losses, which would make it necessary to having a variable height and duration is applied
correct the applied test voltages of Uc* and Ur*. after the energy input and before the voltage Uc*
instead of the rated voltage Ur * . It is considered
Operating duty tests to be sufficient to verify three points on the TOV
The arresters have to withstand the combined curve experientially.
stresses during the service, as proved in the op-
erating duty test. These stresses should not lead Short-circuit tests
to any damage or thermal failures. Surge arresters are not allowed to explode in
The high current impulse operating duty test is case of overloading. This is to be proved with a
used for the 10 kA arresters of the line discharge short circuit test. The way the short circuit is ini-
class 1 (and for arresters without line discharge tiated in the arrester depends on its construc-
class). The thermal stress is thus applied tion. Directly molded medium voltage arresters
through a specified current impulse. are electrical pre-damaged, that is they are
The switching surge operation duty test with made low ohmic through applying an increased
long-duration current impulse is used for the voltage and afterwards they are connected to
10 kA arresters of the line discharge classes 2 the actual test so that the short circuit develops
and 3 and for the 20 kA arresters of the line itself inside the arrester. This is a form of an
discharge classes 4 and 5. The applied energy is overload, which looks very much alike the one
calculated according to the line discharge class taking place in the arrester under real condi-
for each arrester in turn. tions in service.
The arrester passed the test when thermal stabil- The admissible short circuit currents for arrest-
ity was achieved; the residual voltage measured ers are specified by the manufacturer.
before and after the test did not change by more
than 5 % and the examination of the test
samples did not reveal any evidence of punc-
ture, flashover, cracking or other significant
damage of the non-linear metal oxide resistors.
the directly molded arresters. under salt fog conditions. This test must be
performed on the highest electrical unit with
Test of the bending moment the minimum specific creepage distance.
This test demonstrates the ability of the arrester As a rule, the largest arrester is tested with the
to withstand the manufacture’s declared values medium voltage arresters.
for bending loads. As a rule, an arrester is not In case of severe environmental conditions, (in-
designed for torsional loading. If an arrester is tense solar radiation, heavy pollution, tempera-
subjected to torsional loads, a specific test may ture and humidity fluctuation, etc.) and upon
be necessary by agreement between the manu- agreement between the manufacturer and the
facturer and the user. user, a test of 5,000 h according to test series B
The manufacturer provides information about may be performed.
the admissible mechanical loads for the arrester. n Test series B consists of various stresses
in a cyclic manner:
Moisture ingress test – Solar radiation (UV stress)
This test demonstrates the ability of the arrester – Artificial rain
to resist ingress of moisture after being sub- – Dry heat
jected to specified mechanical stresses. – Damp heat (near saturation)
It is a tightness test for the complete arrester. It – High humidity at room temperature
consists of a thermo-mechanical precondition- – Salt fog
ing applied to the arrester; the arrester is A cycle lasts 24 hours; the total duration of the
stressed mechanically in different directions test is 5,000 h.
with different temperatures. Afterwards, the The tests are regarded as passed if no tracking
complete arrester is immersed in boiling water occurs, if erosions do not occur through the en-
for 42 hours. After this time, a verification test is tire thickness of the external coating up to the
performed and the measured values are com- next layer of material, if the sheds and core are
pared with the initial measurements. not punctured and if the electrical characteris-
tics did not fundamentally change.
The arresters with silicone housing have no
problem passing the 5,000 h cyclic test, because
of the dynamical hydrophobicity of the silicone
material.
This test is performed on each arrester unit. In bility of MO resistors with current impulses
case of medium voltage arresters, the test is n A reduced accelerating ageing test on some
normally performed on each complete arrester. MO resistors from each production lot.
This test is performed at 1.05 × Uc. The mea-
sured value of the internal partial discharges is
not allowed to exceed 10 pC according to the
IEC. ABB Switzerland Ltd’s internal guidelines
require a value less than 5 pC, which means vir-
tually no partial discharges. During this test the
arrester can be screened off from the external
partial discharges.
Behavior in fire
Silicon is a self-extinguishing material. If silicon
catches fire as a result of a flame or an electric
arc and the cause of the fire is removed or
switched off, then the burning silicon extin-
guishes itself in about one minute. To be found
on the burnt patch is only non-toxic burnt sili-
con, which is in fact nothing else but fine quartz
sand. Smoke analyses show no toxic gases occur
as a result of fire.
The manner in which the star point is treated A system is considered effectively earthed if the
has a fundamental influence on the height of earth fault factor k does not have a value higher
the current, which occurs in cases of failure than 1.4 anywhere in the system. This is the
with the earth connection, on temporary over- case in systems that are described as solid or
voltages with power frequency and transient directly earthed. If the earth fault factor is higher
overvoltages. Single-phase-to-earth faults (earth than 1.4 at any point in the system, then this is
fault, earth short circuit) are the most frequent considered as being ineffectively earthed. In
failures in medium and high voltage systems. such systems, the star point is insulated (also
Low currents at the failure point tend to be con- described as open) or compensated. In the fol-
nected with high and long existing temporary lowing chapters, different star point treatments
overvoltages of the sound phases. This is the are briefly explained and the important charac-
case with systems having an insulated star point teristic values for the choice of the MO arresters
or earth fault compensation. The single-phase are specified.
earth fault is registered and quickly switched off
by the system protection in systems with low
ohmic star point earthing. See also [12].
6.1 Systems with insulated star point 6.2 Systems with earth fault compensation
As a rule, these are systems of small extension, These are mostly overhead line systems with
auxiliary power systems for power stations or system voltages between 10 kV and 110 kV.
station services. A capacitive earth failure cur- One or more transformer star points in these
rent ICe of about 5 A to 30 A flows in case of systems are earthed with high ohmic Peterson
failure. coils. An earth fault residual current I Rest of ap-
The earth fault factor is: proximately 5 A to 60 A flows in case of a fault.
The earth fault factor is:
k ≈ √3
k ≈ (1.0 … 1.1) × √3
In case of intermittent earth faults, the earth
fault factor can reach values up to k = 1.9. The The earth fault factor can reach a value of 1.9
duration of the failure may last up to several in unfavorable situations, such as in the case of
hours. intermittent earth faults. As in the systems with an
insulated star point, the duration of the failure
may last up to several hours.
6.3 Systems with low ohmic star point The fault current is in the range of 500 A to
earthing 2,000 A. The fault duration is in the range of a
A system with low ohmic star point earthing is few seconds maximum.
provided if the star point of one or more trans- A special case of the low ohmic star point earth-
formers are directly earthed or through current ing is the so-called direct or solid star point
limiting impedances. The system protection is earthing. This kind of star point earthing is prin-
set up so that even a single line-to-earth fault at cipally used for all the systems with system volt-
any place in the system causes an automatic ages of 220 kV and above, but it can also be
fault clearing. found in medium voltage systems.
These are typical cable systems in towns with The earth fault factor is:
system voltages between 10 kV and 110 kV. In
case of a failure, the earth short circuit current k = (0.75 …≤ 0.8) × √3, that is k ≤ 1.4
I k flows, which leads to an immediate auto-
matic clearing of the fault. As a rule, the dura- In medium voltage systems the short circuit cur-
tion of the failure is limited to Tk < 0.5 s. In un- rent can be as high as IK = 20 kA, and conse-
favorable situations, the duration of the failure quently the failure has to be cleared in less than
can last up to 3 s in medium voltage systems. 0.5 seconds.
The earth fault factor is:
k = (0.8 … 1.0) × √3
L3
RE
I k = 500… 2000A
U LL = U s
IK IK U=0 U = √3 × U LE
L3
RE
I K # 20kA
7.1 Determination of the continuous As a rule, in medium voltage systems the with-
operating voltage Uc stand voltage values of the insulation are rather
While choosing the continuous operating volt- high in relation to the system voltage; see Table
age Uc, it is necessary to ensure that under no 7. This means that the distance between the
circumstances can the arrester be overloaded lightning impulse withstand voltage LIWV and
due to the voltage with power frequency. In this the residual voltage Ures of a MO arrester is
way, the arrester meets the requirements of the always sufficient. On the other hand, the system
operating system. Therefore, the continuous op- conditions and the maximum system voltage Us
erating voltage Uc of the arrester is to be chosen are not always clearly known.
in such a way that the arrester cannot become That is why it always makes sense to set the
instable either through the continuous applied continuous operating voltage Uc of a MO arrest-
voltage coming from the system, or through er somewhat higher than the calculated minimal
temporary overvoltages that may occur. value that is required. This “safety margin” con-
In selecting the Uc of an arrester in a three- tributes to a secure and reliable operational sys-
phase system, the location of the arrester plays tem. A safety margin of 10 % or more is recom-
the deciding role: between conductor and earth, mended when choosing the Uc unless there are
between the transformer neutral and earth or explicit technical reasons for not doing so.
between two phases.
The maximum operating voltage at the arrester The thermal stability of the surge arrester in the
terminals can be calculated with the help of the system is always to be preferred over a fully opti-
maximum system voltage Us. mized protection level.
In medium voltage systems, special attention
must be paid to potential temporary overvolt- The examination of the residual voltage of the
ages U TOV. They occur during earth faults and chosen arrester and eventually the examination
they depend on the treatment of the star point of the resulting protection distance are neces-
of the transformers and the system manage- sary in any case.
ment.
Thus results generally the demand for the con-
tinuous operating voltage:
UTov
Uc ≥
T(t)
7.1.1 Systems with insulated neutral or 7.1.2 Systems with high ohmic insulated
with earth fault compensation neutral system and
The voltage increases at the “healthy” phases to automatic earth fault clearing
a maximum of Us under earth-fault conditions. The same voltages occur as described in section
This results in 7.1.1 in case of an earth fault. However, an
immediate automatic fault clearing enables a
Uc ≥ Us reduction of Uc by the factor T. Naturally, it is
decisive to know the level of the possible tem-
for the arrester between phase and earth. porary overvoltage as well as the maximum
time for the clearing of the earth fault. Making
The voltage at transformer neutral can reach a use of the TOV curve this results in
maximum of Us / √3. This results in
Us
Us Uc ≥
T
Uc ≥
√3
for the arrester between phase and earth,
for the arrester between transformer neutral and
earth. Us
In every system there exist inductances and ca- Uc ≥
T × √3
pacitances which produce oscillating circuits. If
their resonant frequency is close to that of the for the arrester between transformer neutral and
operating frequency, the voltage between the earth.
phase conductor and earth could basically be-
come higher than that of Us in single-pole earth
faults. The system management should avoid
the occurrence of such resonances. If this is not
possible, then the Uc should be correspondingly
increased.
In systems with earth fault compensation the
earth fault factor can reach a value of 1.9 in
unfavorable conditions. This is to be taken into
account by increasing the continuous voltage by
10 %.
7.1.3 Systems with low ohmic insulated star 7.1.4 Systems with low ohmic neutral
point, or with solidly earthed transformer earthing that
star point (k ≤ 1.4), respectively do not uniformly have k ≤ 1.4
In these types of systems there are so many For arresters in the vicinity of neutral earthed
transformers in low ohmic neutral earthing that transformers, Uc can be chosen according to
during an earth fault the phase voltage in the Section 7.1.3, because k ≤ 1.4 is applicable here.
complete system never exceeds 1.4 p.u. (earth Care is required if the arresters are located just
fault factor k ≤ 1.4). The result is therefore a few kilometers from the transformer. This can
U TOV ≤ 1.4 × Us / √3. It can be assumed that the be the case if, for instance, a cable is connected
clearing time of the earth fault is t = 3 s at the to an overhead line, and the cable bushing is
most. In Figure 19 the described TOV curve for protected with a surge arrester. In case of very
the arrester MWK lists T = 1.28 as a result, so dry soil or rocks (such as in desert regions or
that it may be written mountains) the earthing resistance is very high
and it is possible that at the point of the arrester
k × Us 1.4 × Us 1.1 × Us installation the phase to earth voltage comes
Uc ≥ = = very close to the system voltage Us. In this case
T × √3 1.28 × √3 √3
the procedure described in Section 7.1.2 should
for arresters between phase and earth. be followed:
This simple equation can be generally used as a
rule of thumb for systems with direct earthed Us
neutral. Uc ≥
T
The voltage of the neutral of the earthed trans-
formers reaches a maximum U TOV = 0.4 × Us. It may also be possible that the fault current in
This results in case of an earth fault is so small that no auto-
matic clearing occurs. In such cases, it is better
0.4 × Us to choose the Uc for the arrester similar to the
Uc ≥ = 0,32 × Us system voltage, which means:
1.28
A4 U c ^ 0,667 3 U s
7.1.5 Systems with low ohmic arresters A1 and A4 are connected parallel. Since
neutral earthing and k > 1.4 the arresters behave in a capacitive manner dur-
This refers to systems that are earthed with im- ing continuous operating voltage, all 4 arresters
pedance so that the fault current may be lim- now form an asymmetrical capacitive system.
ited, for example, to 2 kA. In case of an earth The result of this is that the voltage at the arrest-
fault, the voltage increases in the “healthy” ers A2 and A3 reaches the value 0.667 × Us.
phases up to Us. With pure ohmic neutral earth- Therefore, all 4 arresters are to be dimensioned
ing the voltage can also be 5 % higher than Us. for
Assuming that the automatic fault clearing
time is 10 s maximum, it is possible to choose Uc ≥ 0.667 × Us
T = 1.25. This results in:
The protection level of this arrangement, which
1.05 × Us has always two arresters in series, is therefore
Uc ≥ = 0.84 × Us similar to the one offered by the arrester with
T
Uc ≥ 1.334 × Us. The residual voltage of this ar-
rester combination is therefore also 33 % higher
7.1.6 Arresters between phases than that of the 6-arrester arrangement.
7.2 Selection of nominal discharge current the energy which must be applied with two
and line discharge class long-duration current impulses during the oper-
The nominal discharge current In is used to clas- ating duty test as a proof of thermal stability. In
sify the MO arrester. In IEC 60099-4 there are this case, the applied energy is specified accord-
five different values, each of them assigned to ing to a line discharge class.
different areas of the rated voltage Ur. However, The higher the line discharge class, the higher
the figure alone does not say anything about the the applied energy also is. That makes it clear
operation properties of an arrester. For example, that the MO arresters with In = 10 kA as well as
a 10 kA arrester can discharge without difficulty those with In = 20 kA can have very different
much higher lightning current impulses without operating properties. Therefore, the classifi-
getting any damages. The real meaning of this cation of a MO arrester is not only dependent
classification lies in the fact that depending on on the nominal discharge current In, but partic-
the class there are different demands and test ularly on the combination of In and the line dis-
conditions specified. charge class.
Primarily, there are the 5 kA and 10 kA arresters It is therefore enough to mention the nominal
that are used in medium voltage systems. The discharge current In and the line discharge class
high current impulses Ihc are assigned to the in order to specify a MO arrester. Other addi-
nominal discharge currents In as it can be seen tional requests, such as special energies or cur-
in Table 1. The line discharge class can also be rents, can only lead to over definition or even
found in the table. The operating duty test to be misunderstandings.
performed is now clearly prescribed together
with the nominal discharge current and the line
discharge class.
The energy used as a proof of thermal stability
is applied with a high current impulse of 65 kA,
respectively 100 kA, during the operating duty
test on 5 kA arresters and 10 kA arresters of line
discharge class 1. Therefore, it is a current that
is prescribed and injected and not an energy
that is specified.
The main difference between 10 kA and 20 kA
is the line discharge classes to which they are
assigned. The 10 kA arresters are assigned to
the classes 1 to 3 and the 20 kA arresters are
assigned to the classes 4 and 5. According to the
line discharge class, it is necessary to calculate
Table 6: Correlation of
the degree of pollution and Degree of pollution Shortest recommended Possible reduction of the creepage
creepage distance in mm/kV* distance with silicon insulation
the creepage distance.
* Corresponding to IEC 815, the I LIGHT 16 30 %
shortest nominal creepage distance II MEDIUM 20 20 %
for insulators between phase and
III STRONG 25 No reduction recommended
earth, related to the maximum voltage
for equipment (phase to phase). IV VERY STRONG 31 No reduction
7.3 Selection of arrester housing 507 [14] and IEC 815 [15], see Table 6. In fact,
As previously mentioned, silicone, or EPDM is this table can be used only for glass and porce-
almost exclusively used today as housing ma- lain insulators. It is, however, shown here,
terial for medium voltage arresters. Silicone is because the creepage distances are given or
increasingly gaining acceptance due to its excel- demanded in many specifications and there are
lent protection behavior especially in regard to currently no corresponding values for the poly-
pollution. mer insulations.
The choice of the housing for MO arresters in It is possible, however, to specify the reductions
medium voltage systems is not critical. The of the creepage distances for synthetic mate-
flashover distance of the arrester housing and rials, which have a regenerative hydrophobicity
the creepage distance along the surface of the such as silicone, towards ceramic insulations
housing are to be taken in account. [16]. These reductions can also be found in
The minimum flashover distance is determined Table 6.
by the required withstand values of the test volt- The same creepage distances should be used as
ages which have to be applied in the relevant a basis for synthetic materials, which have a
withstand tests, the lightning voltage impulse permanent loss of hydrophobicity, such as
test and the a.c. withstand test with power fre- EPDM, as for ceramic insulators.
quency for 1 min.
The height of the test voltage to be applied is
related to the protection characteristic of the Notice: The creepage distance is often specified in rela-
MO arrester. The test voltage during the test tion to the continuous operating voltage Uc, because
with lightning voltage impulse must be 1.3 pollution problems and flash-overs are always con-
times the residual voltage of the arrester at In. nected to the actual a.c. voltage applied at the arrester.
The housings for 10 kA and 20 kA arresters with Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the volt-
a rated voltage Ur < 200 kV, i.e. all the medium age to which the creepage requirements are related.
voltage arresters, must withstand for one minute
an a.c. voltage test with a peak value of the test-
ing voltage 1.06 times of the protective level for As a rule, the mechanical loads are low with
the switching surges. medium voltage arresters. All ABB medium volt-
The resulting values for the arrester housings age arresters can be installed in regions where
are as a rule lower than the insulation values for earthquakes occur. Horizontal installation is
insulations of devices and installations. This is possible. If the arresters have to bear additional
proper because the voltage at the arrester is mechanical loads besides their own weight and
determined by the voltage-current-characteristic the normal wind and ice loads, which exceed
curve of the active part and the arrester the guarantee data, then the manufacturer
naturally protects its own housing against over- should be contacted.
voltages.
The real provable withstand values of the hous-
ing are generally higher than the demanded
minimum values corresponding to IEC, espe-
cially with arresters for the lower voltage levels.
The behavior of the external insulation under
pollution and applied operating a.c. voltage is
important and determines the creepage dis-
tance. The pollution classes and the respectively
specific creepage distances are specified in IEC
The higher its lightning impulse withstand volt- 8.1 Traveling waves
age (LIWV) lies above the residual voltage of Voltage and current impulses having a rise time
the arrester at nominal discharge current In, the shorter than the traveling time of an electromag-
better the equipment is protected against light- netic wave along the line, travel along the line
ning overvoltages. as traveling waves. This means that (disregard-
ing damping) the current and voltage impulse
travels along the line without changing its form.
Note: The acronym “BIL”, which is often used for “basic Therefore, it is in another place at a later time.
lightning impulse insulation level” is exclusively to be Current and voltage are connected to one an-
found in the US standards (IEEE/ANSI Standards). It is other because of the surge impedance of the
similar to the “lightning impulse withstand voltage” line. The surge impedance results from the in-
(LIWV) as used in the IEC definition. ductance and capacitance per unit length of the
line, disregarding the ohmic resistance per unit
length and the cunductance of the insulation.
Modern MO arresters with a residual voltage of
Ures ≤ 3.33 × Uc (VDE recommendation) at I n √L’
maintain a value of Upl ≤ 4 p.u., even in systems Z =
√C’
with high-ohmic earthed or insulated trans-
former neutrals. The Upl is the lightning impulse L’ = Inductance per unit length in H/km
C’ = Capacitance per unit length in F/km
protection level of the arrester [1].
Table 7 shows a summary of the typical values.
It should be noted that the specified residual Only the voltage impulses are important when
voltages Ures from the data sheets apply for the analyzing the overvoltages.
terminals of the arrester, which means they are When a voltage traveling wave on a line
valid only for the place where the arrester is in- reaches a point of discontinuity, i.e. a change in
stalled. The voltage at the devices that are to be the surge impedance, part of the voltage is “re-
protected is always higher than the voltage that flected” backward and a part is transmitted for-
is directly at the arrester terminals in view of the ward. This means that voltage decreases and
reflections of the overvoltages at the end of voltage increases appear on the connections of
lines. the overhead lines to the cable, and at the end
Therefore, the overvoltage protection no longer of the line. Especially at the end of the line,
exists if the arrester is placed too far from the such as at open connections or transformers,
device to be protected. The protective distance L there appear reflections, which lead to a dou-
is understood to be the maximum distance be- bling of the voltage. The height of the voltage
tween the arrester and the equipment, at which for each moment and for each place on the line
the latter is still sufficiently protected. is the sum of the respective present values of all
voltage waves. The principles of traveling wave reflected when the voltage wave arrives at the
phenomena are briefly explained in the follow- arrester and it is sent towards the transformer.
ing figures. The height and the steepness of the voltage be-
An overvoltage wave travels along the line and tween the arrester and the transformer decline.
is limited to Ures at the arrester. The wave, At the same time, as the arrester starts to limit,
which travels on, is reflected positively at the a negative voltage wave is sent from the arrester
transformer. A voltage with a double steepness in the opposite direction of the incoming over-
occurs at the transformer. This voltage travels voltage.
back towards the arrester. The arrester dis-
charges the lightning current towards the earth,
therefore it can be considered as a short circuit
at this point. Therefore, the voltage is negatively
Figure 27: Traveling waves on an overhead line F with the surge impedance ZL = 450 Ω. A transformer is connected at the end of the line.
In front of the transformer there is a MO arrester.
a) An overvoltage U v with the steepness b) If the transient wave U 1v reaches c) The voltage U 1r reached the arrester d) The voltage U 2v arrives at the
S travels along the line with the speed a transformer with Z T = ∞ on the and is negatively reflected there (U 2v) spot X T (transformer) again. Meanwhile,
v = 300 m/µs. spot X T, it is positively reflected. On the and travels again in the direction of the maximum possible voltage
An arrester with U res = 72 kV is installed spot X T a voltage U T with the double the transformer. The voltage is held at U T = 2 × U res = 144 kV was built up
on the spot XA. If the onward traveling steepness S is built up, which reaches U res = 72 kV on the spot XA (arrester) and at the transformer. The voltage U 2v, again
voltage reaches the value Uv = 72 kV, the about 72 kV at the moment described. on the spot X t (transformer) the voltage is positively reflected, should travel back in
MO arrester limits and holds the voltage The reflected voltage U 1r at the trans- still increasing. The voltage U r the direction of the arrester, at the same
constant at this value. Through the former travels backwards in the direction travels backwards against the x-direction time the voltage U T should be reduced
arrester flows the lightning current i, of the arrester. and reduces the incoming voltage U v. respectively. This means that the voltage
which means that the arrester performs The arrester on the spot XA is still con- U T, which appears at the transformer,
an approximate short circuit now. ducting and performs an approximate can be limited by the arrester at the
In this way, the voltage, which continues short circuit, which reflects negatively all earliest after two traveling times between
to travel onwards, is negatively reflected the incoming voltages. the transformer and the arrester.
(U r) on the spot XA. The voltage U 1v The voltage U res = 72 kV is held constant
moves on with the same steepness S on the spot XA (arrester).
along the line in the direction of the
line end.
precise values.
i (t) t
It is certainly to be assumed that the arrester
i /2 i/2 U (t)
and the equipment to be protected are connect- Z
F
ed to the same earthing system. To be observed
as a principal rule, the arrester should be in-
stalled as close as possible to the equipment to Figure 30: Creation of the lightning overvoltage during
be protected. The connections must be exe- a lightning stroke in an overhead line.
F: Overhead line
cuted on the high voltage side and the earth Z: Surge impedance of the overhead line
side short and straight. Especially the connec- t: Time
tion b should be executed as short as possible. i(t): Total lightning current in time function
di/dt: Maximum steepness of the lightning current
In this way it makes sense to lead the overhead
u(t): Lightning overvoltage in time function
line first to the arrester and from there directly S: Maximum steepness of the lightning overvoltage
to the bushing of the transformer, for example.
In 10 % of all cases of lightning, the maximum The statistics for faults and damages (e.g. [11])
current rise time di/dt is higher than show that in Central Europe about 8 lightning
32 kA/µs. When Z = 450 Ω, every tenth lightning strokes occur per year and 100 km in overhead
stroke will cause a maximum voltage steepness lines of medium voltage systems. However, it
S > 7,200 kV/µs. A steepness of this order is to has to be observed that in regions with unfavor-
be expected in the substation only if the light- able topographical conditions and especially re-
ning strikes nearby, for example, within 25 m of gions with high thunderstorm activity there may
the equipment to be protected. The probability occur up to 100 lightning strokes per year and
of this happening is very small. 100 km overhead lines.
Substantially smaller voltage rates of rise are to Assuming that 8 lightning strokes occur per year
be expected at the station when the lightning and 100 km in overhead lines in outdoor sub-
stroke occurs far from the station. Due to station equipment, it can be expected that the
corona damping, the front of the overvoltage steepness reaches
wave flattens out as it proceeds from the point
of the stroke to the station. If S0 is the steepness S = 1550 kV/µs
at the location of the stroke, the steepness along for overhead lines with wooden poles and
the length d of the line decreases to the value:
S = 800 kV/µs
1 for overhead lines with earthed cross arms
S=
1/S0 + K × d
To be considered here is that overhead lines
The constant K is dependent upon the geome- with wooden poles have a spark over voltage of
try of the overhead line, and it is estimated to 3,000 kV and that overhead lines with earthed
K = 5 × 10–6 µs/kVm for medium voltage over- cross arms have a spark over voltage of 660 kV.
head lines [9]. These values are valid for outdoor line insula-
Supposing that the location of the stroke is tors in a 24 kV medium voltage system which is
135 m distant from the station, a lightning stroke stressed with steep voltage impulses. The
causes an infinitely large voltage rate of rise S0 smaller values S for overhead lines with earthed
at the point of strike. According to the above cross arms are the result of lower spark over
formula a steepness at the substation of voltages, and thereupon lower steepness, of the
S <1,500 kV/µs occurs due to the corona damping. insulators compared to the spark over voltages
These two arbitrarily chosen examples specify along the wooden poles.
the order of the voltage rate of rise and should
show that large voltage rates of rise occur less
often than the small ones.
Of further significance is the fact that the stroke
current rise is concave [10]. That is why the
greatest steepness of the overvoltage occurs in
the range of the voltage maximum, as shown in
Figure 30. In voltage waves resulting from high
stroke current peak value, a flashover from the
line to earth takes place before the peak value
has been reached. The upper part of the voltage
wave is thereby cut off so that the maximum
steepness cannot be reached.
Extreme lightning strokes can reach peak values This is valid for systems with system voltage
up to 250 kA, with half-time values of 2,000 µs. from Us = 3.6 kV to Us = 36 kV and the assump-
A peak value of 20 kA with a probability of tion that the transformers have an isolated neu-
80 % is often used in standardization work, and tral or that they are operated with earth fault
for test and co-ordination purposes of surge compensation, which means that the continu-
arresters. ous voltage Uc of the arrester is chosen accord-
In case of a direct lightning stroke to the con- ing to Chapter 7.1.1
ductor of an overhead line, the charge flows in In systems which have transformers with di-
the form of two equal current waves in both di- rectly earthed neutrals the continuous voltage
rections, starting from the point of striking. The Uc can be chosen according to Chapter 7.1.3.
voltage waves are linked with the current waves In this case the protective distances are, using
via the surge impedance of the line. the same assumptions, as given in Table 8.
Us L in m, L in m,
in kV rms wooden pole earthed cross arms
3.6 2.3 4.4
7.2 3.3 6.3
12 3.5 6.7
17.5 3.8 7.3
24 5.0 9.6
36 6.3 12.2
For completeness it must be mentioned that all The parabolic increase of the lightning overvolt-
numerical examples in these guidelines are re- age has an opposite influence, due to the fact
lated to a specific ABB MO surge arrester. that a MO arrester without spark gaps limits the
Slightly different figures may occur for other overvoltage according to its voltage-current
surge arresters. characteristic much earlier and not when the
The calculated values are valid for the simplified residual voltage Ures arrives at In.
assumption of Figure 29. All the equipment, Therefore, the MO arrester limits the incoming
such as transformers, voltage transformers and overvoltage at a much lower stage as its peak
cables, have a self-capacitance towards the voltage, so that the maximum steepness of the
earth. The influence of this capacitance on the voltage rise does not affect.
function of the arrester should be taken into For a quick and simple estimation with suf-
account if detailed calculations must be per- ficient accuracy of the protective distance in
formed. The capacitance of the equipment practice calculated values above are to be used.
produces a voltage oscillation, which can lead
to a noticeable increase of the voltage at the
transformer. This would result in a decrease of
the protective distance.
T T T
C C C
1 2 3
1: Poor. The arrester and the transformer 2: Good. The arrester and the 3: Very good. The arrester is earthed
do not have the same earthing point. transformer have the same earthing directly at the transformer tank.
The incoming overvoltage reaches first point. The connections a and b are The connection b is almost zero. In this
the transformer bushing. The connection about the same length. way, the incoming overvoltage
b is too long. reaches first the arrester, which limits
the overvoltage without delay.
9 | SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS
It is sometime insufficient to install only one ar- directly attached to the cable sheath. Longer
rester in the substation, considering the limited cables require arrester protection at both ends.
protective distance of the arresters and the spa- For short cable sections a protection on one
tial distance between the equipments in the sub- side can be sufficient. This is possible because
station. If the various equipment is installed too the protective range of an arrester at one end
far from one another, it is necessary to consider of the cable can still offer sufficient protection
where to find a place for an additional arrester. at the other end. A cable that connects an
Some typical cases are described in the follow- overhead line with the substation is often only
ing paragraphs. endangered by lightning on the side of the
overhead line.
Therefore the arrester has to be installed at the
9.1 Overvoltage protection of cable sections junction between the overhead line and the
The essential difference between the electrical cable. It is not necessary to protect the other
data of the overhead lines and cables is the end of the cable as long as the length of the
surge impedance of their conductors to earth. cable LK does not exceed the values given in
For overhead lines in medium voltage distribu- Table 9. At first glance, it is clear that LK is un-
tion systems it lies between 300 Ω and 450 Ω and limited in 3.6 kV systems. The reason is that the
for cables ranges between 30 Ω and 60 Ω. At first LIWV is relatively high at this system level. Even
this difference causes a marked decrease of the the reflected overvoltage at the end of the cable
lightning overvoltage as soon as the traveling lies under the LIWV, so that the insulation is not
wave reaches the cable entrance. The reduced in danger. This, however, is not valid for the
voltage wave travels through the cable and is equipment inside the substation. The equip-
again positively reflected at the end, so that the ment can be endangered by additional voltage
voltage increases there. Subsequently, the wave reflections, so that arresters should be planned
returns to the cable entrance and is again re- if necessary.
flected, and so on. In this way, the overvoltage Cables in between overhead lines are naturally
is built up gradually in the cable. The steepness endangered by lightning strokes on both sides.
of the overvoltage is in fact lower, but the max- With the cables protected at one end only it is
imum value lies near that of the lightning over- necessary to consider that the overvoltage may
voltage on the line. come from the unprotected end. In this case,
Disruptive breakdowns in cable insulations lead the protection offered by the arrester is strongly
to grave damages and require expensive repairs. diminished at the unprotected end. Therefore,
Flashovers along the cable bushings can damage the admissible length of cables between to
them and lead to the same consequences as the overhead lines should be short, if the arrester
insulation breakdowns. protection on one side is to be sufficient. This
It is well known that repeated overvoltage length is especially short with cables in systems
stresses negatively influence the ageing behavior with wooden pole lines, as it is to be seen in
of the cable insulation, which means that the Table 9. The specified values are valid for cable
service life of the cable is shortened. Cables sections with constant surge impedance. Other-
should therefore be treated like station equip- wise, the voltage reflections produce a shorten-
ment and protected against lightning overvolt- ing of L K . This is the case, for instance, with
age with arresters. cable branches or if two parallel cables are con-
The arresters are to be placed directly next to nected with a single one.
the cable bushings here as well. The junction
lines should be as short as possible. It should be
noted that the earth connection of the arrester is
9.2 Cable sheath protection between the sheath and the earth can occur,
The cable sheath of a single-conductor cable in which damage the external insulation of the
high voltage systems is earthed on one side sheath.
only for thermal reasons. This procedure is in- That is why it is necessary to protect the cable
creasingly used in medium voltage cables to sheath against overvoltages on the unearthed
avoid additional losses in the cable sheath [17]. side with an arrester [18]. The voltage induced
If the cable sheath stays open at one side the along the cable sheath in case of a short circuit
sheath can take up to 50 % of an incoming over- is decisive for the continuous operating voltage
voltage on the inner conductor at the non- Uc. The induced voltage is dependent on the
earthed side. The sheath insulation is not able way the cable is installed and can at most
to cope with this overvoltage stress. Flashovers amount to 0.3 kV per kA short circuit current
and km cable length [19]. The continuous volt- 9.3 Transformers at the end of a cable
age to be chosen for the arrester which protect According to the directions in Figure 33, a cable
the cable sheath results from: of at least 100 m in length is connected on one
end to a lightning endangered overhead line.
Ui At the other end, a bus bar consisting of the
Uc ≥ × IK × LK in kV, with sections a and b connect the cable end with a
T
transformer. The arrester A1 takes over the
I K: Maximum 50 Hz short circuit current per phase in kA overvoltage protection on the line side. Both
L K: Length of the unearthed cable section in km
the cable end and the transformer must be
U i: Induced voltage occurring along the cable sheath in kV
T: Resistance of the arrester against temporary overvoltages protected with an additional arrester when the
according to TOV curve. connecting distance between the two is very
long. The following example indicates under
With U i = 0.3 kV and T = 1.28 for a maximum what circumstances the arrester A2 offers suffi-
fault clearing time of t = 3 s of the short circuit cient overvoltage protection in addition to the
current, the result is: arrester A1.
Uc ≥ 0.24 × IK × LK in kV
The resistive coupling of the overvoltage in endangered, but the bushings on the low volt-
a substation is also to be taken into account. age side and the connected lines can be de-
Depending on the execution of the earthing at stroyed or can spark over.
the medium and the low voltage side, overvolt- Let us consider the possible resistive transmis-
ages can be transmitted from one side to the sion of the overvoltage. The lightning current of
other over the earthing system. In Figure 34 the I = 10 kA peak value flows according to Figure
possible voltage transmissions are depicted in 34 through the arrester and over the earthing
a strongly simplified manner. resistance RE to the earth. If we take a typical
The height of the possible transmitted impulse earthing resistance of RE = 10 Ω, a temporary
voltage can be roughly estimated with a simple potential increasing of the transformer housing
observation. of 100 kV occurs. This potential difference is
In a system having a system voltage of Us = 24 kV also to be found on the low voltage side be-
and an insulated neutral, the MO arrester with tween the conductor and the earthing system.
a continuous operating voltage of Uc = 24 kV is This very simplified examination does not pro-
directly connected at the medium voltage bushing vide an absolute statement about the height of
of the transformer. This arrester has a typical the overvoltages that are transmitted resistively,
lightning impulse protection level of Upl = 78.4 kV. but explains the problem very well.
Therefore, the insulation of the transformer with Therefore, overvoltages on the low voltage side
a lightning impulse withstanding voltage of are to be considered in any case.
LIWV = 125 kV is very well protected on the
medium voltage side. Though according to [7]
up to 40 % of the voltage that occurs at the
bushings is transmitted capacitive to the low
voltage side. Thus, a voltage of 31.36 kV can the-
oretically occur on the low voltage side. The in-
sulation in the transformer is not likely to be
9.5 Arresters in metal enclosed With the help of an example the Uc of an arrester
medium voltage substations for the generator protection should be deter-
It is often necessary to install arresters in a metal mined.
enclosed medium voltage substation. If a cable With Us = 24 kV, load rejection factor δL = 1.4
connects the substation with a lightning endan- and t = 10 s results for the type POLIM-H…N:
gered line, an arrester with a nominal current
of I n = 10 kA should be installed at the cable 1.4 × 24 kV
Uc ≥ = 25.6 kV
bushing. 1.31
The conditions are different if the arresters must
limit switching overvoltages instead of lightning In this way, the type POLIM-H 26 N can be cho-
overvoltages. The former could occur during sen for this case.
switching if the inductive current is interrupted Generators have a large capacity between con-
before it reaches its natural zero crossing. In ductor and earth. As a large capacity can lead
addition, vacuum switches can produce high to a shortening of the protection distance, it is
and very steep switching overvoltages. With this especially important to place the arrester close
kind of switching overvoltages the current load to the generator terminals.
of the arrester is low, so that an arrester with a
high current impulse of I hc = 65 kA is sufficient.
9.7 Protection of motors
High voltage motors can be over-stressed by
9.6 Generator connected to multiple restrikes resulting from switching offs
a lightning endangered MV line during the run-up. This is correct when the cut-
If a loaded generator is suddenly disconnected off current is less than 600 A. In order to protect
from the system (load rejection), its terminal these motors, it is necessary to install surge
voltage increases until the voltage regulator arresters directly at the engine terminals or alter-
readjusts the generator voltage after a few sec- natively at the circuit breaker. The dimensioning
onds. The relationship between this temporary of Uc is to be carried out according to the recom-
overvoltage and the normal operating voltage is mendations in Section 7.
called the load rejection factor δL. This factor It is necessary to use an arrester with a residual
can reach a value of up to 1.5. In the worst case, voltage Upl as low as possible because of the in-
the arrester could be charged with a temporary sulation of the motors, which is generally
overvoltage of UTOV = δL × Us, which must be sensitive to overvoltages, especially if it is aged.
taken into account when choosing Uc: That is why arresters should be chosen with an
especially favorable Upl/Uc ratio. Under certain
δ L × Us circumstances it is possible to use the lowest al-
Uc ≥ lowable arrester limit of Uc. However, in no case
T
is Uc allowed to be lower than Us /√3. Typical ar-
The duration t of U TOV determines T and lies in resters used for the protection of engines are
a range from 3 to 10 seconds. The high opera- MWK, or MWD for indoor applications.
tional safety requirements for generators make
it advisable to use arresters with low residual
voltage Ures and high energy handling capabil-
ity W’. That is why the arresters of the type
POLIM-H…N are recommended for generator
protection.
9.8 Arresters parallel to a capacitor bank If the neutral of the capacitor battery is insu-
Normally, no overvoltage occurs when a capac- lated, the arrester cannot discharge the charged
itor battery is switched off. The circuit breaker capacitor between conductor and earth. This
interrupts the current in the natural zero cross- means that the arrester does not get charged.
ing and the voltage in the capacitors to earth However, it is to be noted that after a re-strike
reaches a maximum of 1.5 p.u. As a result of of the breaker, the neutral of the battery in-
the network voltage varying at the power fre- creases to 2 p.u. A voltage flashover of the
quency, a voltage across the open circuit neutral to earth results in the arrester having to
breaker of 2.5 p.u. is caused. A high frequency discharge the capacitor. Therefore, the arresters
transient effect takes place between the capa- parallel to a battery with an insulated neutral
citor voltage and the operating voltage if the have to, in terms of energy handling capability,
breaker re-strikes. During this process the capac- be adjusted to their reactive power.
itor is charged with a higher voltage [21]. This If the capacitor battery remains disconnected
overvoltage at the capacitor between the conduc- from the system after a shut-down, the arresters
tor and the earth reaches a maximum of 3 p.u.. discharge the voltage to zero, not merely to
If the capacitors are connected in a star, then √2 × Uc. Below √2 × Uc the discharge current
they are discharged by the arrester parallel to through the arrester is very small, so that the
battery between conductor and earth. During remaining discharge takes a long time. During
the discharge up to the voltage of √2 × Uc in this time the arrester can cool down. Therefore,
terms of power, the arresters are loaded with: it was justified by the above calculation of Wc to
take into account only the energy absorbed by
SK the arrester up to the discharge √2 × Uc.
Wc = × [3-(Uc /Us)2 ] If the reactive power of the parallel capacitor
ω
battery for a certain arrester type exceeds the
SK: 3-phase reactive power of the capacitor battery limiting values from Table 11, an arrester with
Wc: The discharge energy taken up by the arrester
higher energy handling capability has to be se-
lected. For systems that are not operated with a
Assuming that the arrester has to carry out this standard voltage, the limiting values for S K are
process three times without any cool down to be found in the column with the lower stan-
phase, it follows with Uc ≥ Us: dard voltage. If the reactive power is very large,
arresters connected parallel are to be chosen. In
Wc 6 × SK this case, the manufacturer has to be informed
≥ in order to take the necessary measures to guar-
Uc ω × Us
antee a sufficient current distribution between
The energy consumption capability W of the the parallel arresters. The manufacturer should
arrester with Uc has to be thus adjusted to the also be consulted when arresters with Uc < Us
reactive power of the battery. The maximum are to be used.
admissible reactive power values of the parallel
capacitor battery for different arrester types can
be found in Table 11.
NGLA EGLA
phase wire
insulator with arcing horn insulator with arcing horn
RE
tower tower
R E, M
R E, M
In principle, in d.c. voltage systems there also The d.c. voltage systems are broadly used for
appear overvoltages produced by lightning or traction systems. The nominal voltages in the
switching activities, which may endanger the public d.c. traction systems lie between Un =
equipment and the insulation. In this case, it is 750 V and Un = 3,000 V. It is necessary to ob-
also necessary to use an arrester as a protection serve both the high electrical requirements for
against overvoltages. The MO surge arresters MO arresters in the traction systems as well as
without spark gaps are particularly suitable, the mechanical and safety relevant require-
because they do not conduct any follow current ments. ABB Switzerland Ltd has been certifi-
after the limiting of the overvoltage, except a cated according to International Rail Industry
leakage current of a few ΔA, and therefore it is Standard (IRIS) since November 2007. The
not necessary to extinguish any d.c. current arc. MO arresters produced by ABB Switzerland Ltd
It is to be observed that only MO resistors with also fulfill all requirements of the VDV
long-term stability in case of d.c. voltage stress recommendation 525 [23].
are to be used for MO arresters in d.c. voltage A separate application guideline for MO arrest-
systems (see Chapter 3.4.2). It goes without say- ers used in traction systems was written, taking
ing that all the type tests using continuous volt- into consideration the importance of an optimal
age should be performed with d.c. voltage. overvoltage protection and the special condi-
The typical d.c. voltage stresses are to be found tions in traction systems [24].
in the high voltage d.c. transmission (HVDC). Additional d.c. voltage applications are to be
Comments concerning the choice and the usage found in converter stations, drives and in pho-
are to be found in [22]. There is currently no IEC tovoltaic systems. It is absolutely necessary to
or CENELEC standard for testing MO arresters get into contact with the manufacturer if MO
used in HVDC installations. That is why it is al- arresters are to be used in such installations.
ways necessary to get into contact with the
manufacturer if MO arresters are to be used in
HVDC installations.
1
Xc =
ω×C
Xc = Capacitive impedance
ω = 2 × π × f = angular frequency
C = Capacity of the MO arrester
Frequency f in Hz 60 50 16.7
Power losses Pv in W 1.32 1.2 0.6
Continuous current ic in mA, rms 0.44 0.36 0.12
The arresters are considered generally as single α ≈ 30 in the region of switching current
devices, i.e. they fulfill their task in the place in impulses on the voltage-current-characteristic,
which they are installed according to their spec- a difference of 5 % in the residual voltage would
ified data, independent of other nearby devices. lead to a current sharing ratio of 1:4 between
That is why it is possible in principle to install the surge arresters.
different kinds of arresters close to one another Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to perform
on a phase wire in the system. However, it is nec- a current sharing measurement on all MO arrest-
essary to take into consideration that according ers that are to be intended to work in parallel.
to different ways of functioning some arresters The manufacturer has to be informed when the
may become useless while others may become order is made if the user intends to connect MO
overstressed, such as in cases when arresters arresters in parallel. It is also to be noted that
with spark-gaps and without spark-gaps are in- the arresters are to be installed close to one an-
stalled in parallel, or when MO arresters with other and are to be connected together with
different voltage-current-characteristics are used short connections of low inductance. If this is
in parallel. Deliberate parallel connections of not taken into consideration, then there may ap-
MO arresters are made if the energy absorption pear separation effects, which lead to an un-
should be increased, the residual voltage should even current sharing and consequently to an
become a little lower or if the energy absorption overstress of one of the arresters.
and the residual voltage should be deliberately The parallel connection of MO arresters has,
dimensioned in a different way. besides the sharing of the current over more
arresters, the positive effect of a better, i.e. a
lower protection level. This is because the cur-
12.1 Parallel connection to increase rent density per arrester becomes lower in view
the energy handling capability of current sharing and consequently a lower
Two or more MO arresters can be connected in residual voltage occurs. If, for instance, two
parallel in order to increase the energy handling arresters having a total current of 10 kA with a
capability if during an application the energy wave shape of 8/20 µs are installed in parallel,
occurring cannot be handled by a single MO a residual voltage occurs at the parallel connec-
arrester. The requirement for an equal current tion, which corresponds to a current of 5 kA
sharing and consequently an even energy with 8/20 µs for a single arrester.
sharing between the arresters is the fact that the It is to be strongly emphasized that it is always
arresters have to have almost identical voltage- better to use a MO arrester with a larger MO
current-characteristics. In view of the extreme resistor diameter than to connect more MO
non-linearity of the MO resistors, small differ- arresters in parallel with smaller MO resistor
ences in the residual voltage in the area of diameters.
switching current impulses bring big differences
in current. With a nonlinearity coefficient of
of the same type, such as MWK with the line 12.3 MO arresters and
discharge class 2; the arrester in the station has arresters with gaps in parallel
a continuous operating voltage Uc of about 10 % There is no technical reason why MO arresters
higher than the arrester outside on the pole. should be intentionally connected in parallel
The same result is reached if two MO arresters with SiC arresters with spark gaps. If older SiC
with the same continuous operating voltage Uc, arresters with spark gaps were installed in a sys-
but of different types are installed, such as a tem and MO arresters are additionally installed
MWK of line discharge class 2 on the pole and in the course of the development of a station or
a POLIM-D of the line discharge class 1 in the for other reasons, the arresters work indepen-
station in front of the transformer. dently from one another. However, it is recom-
Taking into consideration the smaller cross- mended to install in a substation only arresters
section of the MO resistors of the POLIM-D of one type or at least with the same operational
compared to MWK, its residual voltage charac- principle. In case of a parallel connection of SiC
teristic lies automatically higher than the one of arresters with spark gaps and MO arresters,
the MWK. In English speaking countries, the there is no current sharing between the two ar-
arrester on the pole is described as a “riser pole” resters. The MO arrester discharges the current
arrester. This is not a type description for an and limits the voltage before the SiC arrester
arrester, but specifies the installation place, will be activated. Therefore, the MO arrester
which is the place where the cable is rised up protects the SiC arrester and takes over the
on the pole and where it is connected with the entire energy, the SiC arrester is ineffective.
overhead line.
The coordination of the insulation is the match- An arrester has to fulfill two fundamental tasks:
ing between the dielectrical withstand of the n It has to limit the occurring overvoltage
electrical equipment taking into consideration to a value that is not critical for the electrical
the ambient conditions and the possible over- equipment and
voltages in a system. n It has to guarantee a safe and reliable service
T × Uc 2
Uc U TOV
1 U L-E
Comment: Ferromagnetic resonances are the exception. 13.1 Nominal discharge current In
The ferromagnetic resonances can become so high and and line discharge class
exist so long that they may not be taken into consider- As previously mentioned, the lightning current
ation by the dimensioning of the continuous voltage if the parameters are taken from lightning statistics
arrester should still be able to fulfill its protection func- and the line discharge classes result from the
tion in a meaningful way. If ferromagnetic resonances energy that is stored in the loaded transmission
appear, then this generally means that the arrester is lines. As explained above, the line discharge
overloaded. The system user should take the necessary classes have no direct significance in medium
measures to avoid ferromagnetic resonances. voltage systems; however, they are used to
specify the energy handling capability that is re-
quired for an arrester. Therefore, it is necessary
The MO arrester can fulfill its function of pro- to know the possible energy stores in a system,
tection properly if the lightning impulse protec- such as cables, capacitors or capacitors banks
tion level Upl lies clearly below the lightning and inductivities. If the possible stored energy
impulse withstanding voltage (LIWV) of the can be calculated, the value can be assigned to
electrical equipment to be protected, the safety a line discharge class.
factor Ks is also to be taken into consideration.
The point is to set the voltage-current character-
istic of the arrester in a way that both require-
ments are met.
P%
values of over 100 kA are very rare. The speci- n with expensive rotating machines
fied lightning currents and the high current It also bears mentioning that particularly with
impulses are derived from these lightning cur- negative cloud-earth lightning 3 to 4 single dis-
rent statistics. Assuming that a lightning current charges per lightning typically occur, each 30 to
diverts in case of a direct stroke and that half 50 ms apart from one another. Research shows
travels along the line in one direction as a travel- that these stresses are not critical for the MO
ing wave, one gets the well-known nominal dis- arrester, but in case of inadequate coating of the
charge current of In = 10 kA. The wave shape of MO resistors or incompletely molded arresters,
approximately 8/20 µs results for the lightning some surface problems can appear, such as flash-
current if a flashover occurred at one of the in- overs along the active part [25]. These so-called
sulators. multi-pulses have no influence over the choice
The nominal discharge current can be chosen of the nominal discharge current or the line dis-
according to the thunderstorm activity in a region charge class. An optional operating duty test
or the expected threat of lightning to a substation. with multi-pulses is described in the Australian
In this way, the requirements for the defined standard [26].
arresters can be clearly specified together with
the line discharge class (see also Chapter 7.2.).
MO arresters with In = 10 kA and line discharge
class 1 or 2 are used in standard applications in
medium voltage systems.
Higher nominal discharge currents (In = 20 kA)
and higher line discharge classes (3 to 5) are
chosen only in special cases in medium voltage
systems, such as:
n in regions with extreme thunderstorm
cables
discharge class Uc ≥ Us
Typical values are assumed for the defining of
an arrester if there are none or only a few spec- With 10 % safety margin for Uc results
ifications given. Uc = 1.1 × Us = 13.2 kV.
Thus it results an arrester with Uc = 14 kV.
This results in
With Ks = 1.2:
75 kV/1.2 = 62.5 kV as the maximum
admissible voltage at the electrical equipment.
Because In = 10 kA and line discharge
class 1 a MO arrester of the type POLIM-D
with Upl/Uc = 3.5 is chosen.
This results in
Upl = 49 kV
The requirement Upl ≤ LIWV/Ks is clearly ful-
filled in this way. The demand for a short circuit
current of Is = 20 kA is also met by the type
POLIM-D.
20 mm creepage distance per kV system voltage 13.3.2 System with direct star point earthing
is recommended with a pre-determined degree Supplied information
of pollution “medium”. n Overvoltage protection in a cable system
Thus, a minimum creepage distance of n System voltage Us = 24 kV
Us × 20 mm/kV = 12 kV × 20 mm/kV = 240 mm n Directly earthed star point
results.
The creepage distance can be reduced with Without other specifications it is assumed
20 % with a MO arrester having silicon housing, n Um = 24 kV
which results in a necessary minimum creepage n LIWV = 125 kV
distance of 192 mm. n Duration of the earth fault ≤ 3 s,
According to the POLIM-D datasheet, this re- i.e. immediately switching off
sults in a POLIM-D 14-05 arrester. n Nominal discharge voltage In = 10 kA
The arrester housing has a creepage distance of n Line discharge class 2, provides a favorable,
460 mm and is absolutely sufficient. i.e. a low protection level for a cable
with high energy handling capability.
The minimum necessary withstand value of the n Short circuit current of the system Is = 20 kA
empty arrester housing is calculated according n Degree of pollution I (low)
to IEC:
Lightning impulse voltage 1.2/50 µs: This results in
1.3 × Upl = 1.3 × 49 kV = 63.7 kV The choice of the continuous operating
a.c. voltage test 1 min, wet: voltage according to Chapter 7.1.3:
1.06 × Ups = U test, sw = 41.1 kV, sw.
This results in a withstand value of 1,1 × Us
41.1 kV / √2 = 29 kV, rms, 1 min, wet. Uc ≥
√3
The proved withstand values according to
the datasheet are: With 10 % additional safety margin for Uc,
Lightning impulse voltage 1.2/50 µs: 140 kV this results in: Uc = 15.2 kV × 1.1 = 16.8 kV.
a.c. voltage test: Which results in arrester with Uc = 17 kV.
38 kV, rms, 1 min wet.
Therefore, the housing of POLIM-D 14-05 has Control of the protection level
significant higher withstand values as the mini- This must be
mum requirements according to IEC. Upl ≤ LIWV/Ks.
With LIWV = 125 kV and Ks = 1.2 this results in
Upl ≤ 125 kV / 1.2 = 104.2 kV.
A lower protection level is especially important
for the protection of cables (slowing down
of insulation ageing, etc.). That is why a MO
arrester of the type MWK with Uc = 17 kV with
Upl/Uc = 3.07 is chosen.
According to the datasheet, Upl = 52.2 kV results
for the MWK 17.
Therefore, the MWK 17 has an outstanding low
protection level, which is especially important
for the protection of cables.
The MWK meets the demands for a short circuit
current of 20 kA.
Lightning discharge voltage 1.2/50 µs: 200 kV processes, which demand good voltage
a.c. voltage test: stability
54 kV, rms, 1 min wet. n Costs due to interruptions in the energy
The housing should be lengthened with 12 % The aim of overvoltage protection is to guaran-
per 1,000 m above an installation height of tee an uninterrupted supply of electrical energy
1,800 m, which means that a corresponding with good voltage stability to the greatest degree
higher withstand voltage must be proved. Thus, possible.
at 3,600 m it must be corrected by 22 %. In [27] and [28] is reported that according to ex-
For the minimum required withstand voltage, tensive studies, breakdowns of medium voltage
this results in: transformers in critical regions could be dras-
Lightning discharge voltage 1.2/50 µs: tically reduced with an optimized use of surge
95.3 kV. An increase of 22 % results in arresters.
116.3 kV. Therefore, the costs for a set of surge arresters
a.c. voltage tests 1 min., wet: are not the most important consideration, but
42.2 kV rms. An increase of 22 % results in the costs that may arise on a long-term basis if
51.5 kV rms. adequate overvoltage protection is not used.
Both calculated values according to the height
correction lie below the proved withstand
values. Therefore, it is not necessary to extend
the housing.
The POLIM-K is tested with a short circuit
current of 40 kA and easily meets the demands
for a short circuit current of 20 kA.
The POLIM-K 22-04 is the right arrester from all
points of view for this application.
or other damage,
n the connections, including disconnectors,
if any.
15 | DISCONNECTORS
The disconnectors are used for automatically If high voltage fuses are installed in the same
disconnecting a surge arrester that has been current path as the disconnectors, the response
overstressed. The disconnectors are generally characteristics of both protection devices have
placed on the earth side directly under the to be matched to one another. The disconnec-
arrester. In such cases, the arrester is installed tor has to respond in time before the fuse or at
on an insulating bracket; see also the example the same time with it. This concept prevents the
in Figure 32. The earth connection must be flex- switching on of the current when a new fuse is
ible and it is necessary to have sufficient dis- installed as long as a short circuit still exists.
tance beneath the arrester, so that the dis-
connected earth connection can hang freely and
the applied operating voltage that occurs at the
foot of the arrester does not lead to spark-over.
Figure 40 shows an arrester that was over-
stressed and consequently disconnected.
The purpose of disconnectors is to prevent
overstressed arresters from leading to a perma-
nent short circuit resulting in the switching off
of the system. It is thus possible to continue to
supply consumers with electrical energy. This
is surely an advantage in inaccessible areas or
if the overstressed arrester cannot be quickly
replaced. The disadvantage is that there is no
overvoltage protection as long as the arrester
is disconnected. That is why it is important to
replace the arresters that are out of order and
were disconnected from the system as quickly
as possible.
16 | INDICATORS
17 | MONITORING OF MO ARRESTERS
An MO surge arrester behaves like an insulator, In medium voltage systems, on the other hand,
except in the event of very short discharges. the use of such monitoring devices is limited
The leakage current flowing under applied con- to a few special cases. On the one hand, this is
tinuous operating voltage is very low. As it was due to the price of the monitoring devices,
depicted in Chapter 3.4.2 it is indispensable that which can be more expensive than the MO ar-
the voltage-current characteristic does not rester itself for the medium voltage system. On
change under the continuous applied voltage. the other hand, the significance of the measured
Any rise of the leakage current is particularly data tends to be low.
inacceptable and in conjunction with this the The number of discharges of an arrester does
rise of the power losses and the temperature of not provide any details concerning the condi-
the active part. tion or the function ability of the arrester. If the
Different methods of diagnosis and indicators guaranteed energy and current values are not
were discussed and developed [5] for the condi- exceeded, no changes appear at the arrester
tion monitoring of MO surge arresters. The dis- that can be measured. If the guaranteed values
connectors and the indicators mentioned above are clearly exceeded, this leads to the destruc-
indicate the total destruction of an arrester. tion of the arrester. As a rule of thumb, there is
Surge counters can be installed if there is interest no intermediate stage. The disadvantage of
in monitoring the occurrances of the discharges monitoring devices that analyze the harmonics
of an arrester in the system. These surge counters of the leakage current, for example, or which
count all discharges above the threshold value filter and evaluate the 3rd harmonic, is, that the
of the surge counter. Modern surge counters measured values from the system are difficult to
can classify the discharge currents according the interpret in the practice.
reached peak values as well as the moment of The measurement of the entire current is not
the discharge. important, because the leakage current at the
A mA-meter can be installed if the continuously continuous operating voltage is mainly capa-
flowing leakage current of an MO arrester is to citive, which means that possible changes occur
be monitored. Newer devices offer both possi- in the very small ohmic component and there-
bilities in a single device, partially with inter- fore can hardly be registered. The leakage cur-
faces, which enables the reading out of stored rent in the range of the continuous operating
data. voltage is dependent on the temperature; there-
The arrester has to be installed insulated if surge fore, a correction must be made due to the
counters or mA-meters are used. actual temperature to correctly evaluate the
In systems with a system voltage of 72.5 kV measurement results.
and higher, surge counters and mA-meters are The power losses give valuable information
frequently used for monitoring the arresters. concerning the condition of the arrester. But the
measurement of the power losses of the arrester
in the system is not possible due to practical
reasons, because it would be necessary to install
a voltage divider near each arrester. Moreover,
the power losses in the range of the continuous
operating voltage are low and are strongly
dependent on the temperature. It would be far
too expensive to make exact and temperature
compensated measurements.
The measurement of the temperature of the active The surge counters that are frequently used for
part of the arrester is very complicated and it is MO arresters in high voltage systems, do not
not used with medium voltage arresters. More- provide much information about the condition
over, it would be necessary to register very of the arrester itself, as previously discussed.
small temperature changes. This means that the However, they do provide valuable information
environmental temperature and the temperature about the activities in the system. Thus, they are
changes due to the normal discharges have to intended more for the monitoring of the sub-
be taken into consideration, i.e. they need to be station or the line and less for the arrester.
compensated. Therefore, an arrester with surge counters can
Some users employ thermo vision cameras to provide important data that can be used for
examine the electrical equipment or parts of the analyses of occurrences in the system.
installation for increased temperature. This is a As a rule, monitoring devices for arresters in
possible way to regularly control even the MO medium voltage systems are not recommended,
arresters as a part of a general control of the in view of the above explanations. An exception
installation. The application is limited to high to this are the disconnectors that should be used
voltage arresters that have a surface large if the supply of electrical power without inter-
enough to be aimed at precisely. ruption is more important than the immediate
If monitoring devices are used, for example, for replacement of an arrester that is out of order.
measuring the continuous current that flows
through an arrester it is important to watch
the current tendency. The momentary values
cannot provide enough information about the
condition of an arrester. For this it is necessary
to make the first measurement directly after the
arrester installation and to record the conditions
during the measurement (voltage, ambient tem-
perature, pollution of the arrester housing, etc.)
Experience in recent decades has shown that
modern MO arresters are very reliable. This is
also shown by the low rate of arrester failures in
the system. To achieve a reliable system opera-
tion without failures, it is enough to use high-
quality and accurate dimensioned MO arresters
in medium voltage systems. Additionally in-
stalled monitoring devices are not necessary in
most of the situations.
The reliability of modern MO arresters is very As a rule, the MO arrester builds a permanent
high. The probability of the breaking down of earth or short circuit in case of an overstress. An
high voltage arresters is almost zero. With overloaded arrester resulting from a type test in
medium voltage arresters it lies approximately at a test lab is shown in Figure 41.
0.1 % throughout the world; however, there are If an arrester breaks down in the system, it is
considerable differences regionally. possible to determine the cause of the failure
The sealing system was the weak point in some from the failure mode. However, the information
older products with porcelain housings. Humid- received from overstressed arresters is rather
ity was able to enter the housing after years of vague, because it is generally not possible to
operation due to corrosion of the metal parts or differentiate between the cause of the failure
due to deterioration of the sealing rings, which and the secondary effects due to the arc.
eventually led to the breaking down of the If an overload case is to be examined, the follow-
arrester. ing information should be available:
For modern MO arresters direct-sealed with sili- n All the lightning strikes that occurred close
con, there are only a few reasons for an over- to the arrester before the breakdown and
stress. These include: extreme lightning strokes if possible also the height of the lightning
in the line directly at the arrester or unexpected current
high temporary overvoltages because of earth n All the circuit breaker operations before
failures, ferromagnetic resonances or a short cir- the breaking down of the affected line
cuit between two systems with different system n The existing voltage at the arrester
affected system
n A line diagram of the line or the installation
the breakdown.
CONCLUSIONS
Modern MO arresters with direct silicon moulding The actual state of our product portfolio and
are to be found in a large number of varieties, also the variety of typical applications for MO
covering every necessity. In recent decades they arresters are described in these application
have proved to be very reliable as protection guidelines. The latest specification revisions are
elements in the system. They protect electrical taken into account.
equipment that is much more expensive than It is not possible within this brochure to list and
the arresters themselves and thereby guarantee to describe all occurrences, just as it is not pos-
high reliability and a good energy supply. They sible to cover and to deepen all aspects of the
act as insurance against breakdowns in regard basic principles and of special applications. We
to high overvoltages. Integrated solutions are will be happy to provide additional information
being used and corresponding installations, de- if further questions arise. Special new applica-
vices and concepts are being developed for sys- tions tend to require close cooperation between
tems that become more complicated. the manufacturer and the user to find a suitable
At the same time, the available space decreases. solution. If there are any problems connected to
This means that a single device has to perform overvoltage protection, we are ready to discuss
several functions. For example, an arrester possible solutions.
could perform, in addition to the function of
overvoltage protection, the function of a support
insulator as well. Therefore, it is necessary to
continue developing and optimizing the MO
arrester and all the other electrical equipment.
At the same time, it is necessary to revise the
standards and the application guidelines, be-
cause the requirements and the possible tests
are also changing.
In the international committees of standardiza-
tion, IEC and CENELEC, the existing standards
are being contiuously revised and adapted to
meet the latest developments. New standards
are drawn up for new application cases, such as
for renewable energy (e.g. photovoltaic and
wind power).
Questions about lightning and overvoltage pro-
tection are dealt with in different working
groups in Cigré and CIRED, and additional tech-
nical brochures and application guidelines are
drawn up. New discoveries and methods bring
about progress. In the Cigré “Surge Arresters”
working group, there is an ongoing research
program on the topic of “Energy Handling
Capability of MO Resistors”. The results of this
study will bring a better and clearer definition of
the term “energy handling capability” and will
influence the tests and the decisive standards
for these tests.
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co-ordination – Part 1: Definitions, principles and rules Arresters for Cable Sheath Preventing Power Losses in
M.V. Systems. CIRED 2001, Amsterdam, 18.–21. Juni 2001.
[2] Richter, B.: Konstruktion, Einsatz und Prüfung von
Mittelspannungs-Überspannungsableitern mit Silikonisola- [18] R. Rudolph, A. Mayer: Überspannungsschutz
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Seite 204–208.
[3] Greuter, F., Perkins, R., Rossinelli, M., Schmückle, F.:
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(1989) 26, S. 1898–1906.
[4] IEC 60099-4, Edition 2.1, 2006-07: Surge arresters –
Part 4: Metal-oxide surge arresters without gaps for a.c. [20] M. Darveniza, D.R. Mercer: Lightning protection of
systems pole mounted transformers. IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery, Vol. 4, No. 2, April 1989, Page 1087–1093.
[5] IEC 60099-5, Edition 1.1, 2000-03: Surge arresters –
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und deren Berücksichtigung bei der Planung. Brown Boveri
[6] IEEE Std C62.11-2005: IEEE Standard for Metal-Oxide Technik, 73 (1983) 5, S. 270–278.
Surge Arresters for AC Power Circuits (> 1 kV)
[22] Cigré TB 34: Guidelines for the Application of Metal
[7] IEC 60071-2, Edition 3 1996-12: Insulation Oxide Arresters Without Gaps for HVDC Converter
co-ordination – Part 2: Application guide Stations. Working Group 33/14.05, Edited by A. Ekström.
[8] Protection of Medium Voltage and Low Voltage [23] VDV Recommendation 525, 01/06: Protection of
Systems Against Lightning, Part 2: Lightning protection of DC Traction Power Supply Systems in case of a Lightning
Medium Voltage Systems. Cigré-CIRED Working Group Strike. Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV).
C4.402, Draft November 2007
[24] Application Guidelines Overvoltage Protection:
[9] Balzer, G., Weck, K.H.: Isolationskoordination von Dimensioning, testing and application of metal oxide surge
gasisolierten Schaltanlagen. ETG-Fachbericht 32 (1990), arresters in railway facilities. Second edition 2007,
S. 71–89 ABB Switzerland Ltd, Dept. PTHA Surge Arresters,
[10] Eriksson, A.J. et al.: Guide to procedures for Wettingen/Switzerland.
estimating the lightning performance of transmission lines. [25] M. Darveniza, L.R. Tumma, B. Richter, D.A. Roby;
Report of WG 01of Cigré Study Committee 33, Oct. 1991 Multipulse Lightning Currents and Metal-Oxide Arresters.
[11] VDEW Störungs- und Schadensstatistik 1990. IEEE/PES Summer Meeting, 96 SM 398-8 PWRD, 1996.
Verlags- und Wirtschaftsgesellschaft der Elektrizitäts- [26] Australian Standard AS 1307.2-1996; Surge arresters
werke m.b.H. Part 2: Metal-oxide surge arresters without gaps for
[12] D. Oeding, B.R. Oswald; Elektrische Kraftwerke und AC systems.
Netze, 6. Auflage, Springer Verlag. [27] I. Alexandri, E. Fournarakis; Lightning Protection of
[13] Cigré TB 287, February 2006: Protection of MV and PPC’s Distribution Systems. Med Power ’98 Conference,
LV systems against lightning Part 1: Common Topics. Nov. 16-18, 1998, Lefkosia (Nikosia), Cyprus.
[14] IEC 507, second edition 1991-04: Artificial [28] V. Efthymiou; Surge Protection of Distribution Lines.
pollution tests on high-voltage insulators to be used on Med Power ’98 Conference, Nov. 16-18, 1998, Lefkosia
a.c. systems. (Nikosia), Cyprus.
[15] IEC 815, first edition 1988: Guide for the selection of [29] W. Schmidt, J. Meppelink, B. Richter, K. Feser,
insulators in respect of polluted conditions. L. Kehl, D. Qiu; Behaviour of MO-Surge-Arrester Blocks
to Fast Transients. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery,
[16] W. Petrusch: Einflüsse der Umgebungsbedingungen Vol. 4, No.1, January 1989.
auf die Freiluftisolation. AKEI-Seminar Isolations-
koordination-Überspannungen, Überspannungsschutz
und Isolationsbemessung in Drehstromnetzen.
22. bis 23. November 2004 in Deidesheim.
www.kommunikate.ch
1HC0075561 E01 AA
aBB
ABB Switzerland Ltd
High Voltage Products
Surge Arresters
Jurastrasse 45
CH-5430 Wettingen / Switzerland