The influence of wave front duration of impulse voltage on creeping discharges along aerial insulated wire

In high‐voltage aerial distribution systems, creeping discharges progress along the cable surface from the free end of the binding wire when overvoltages caused by a lightning surge have invaded the central line of an insulated cable. Consequently, various accidents such as punch‐through breakdown, melting, or snapping of a cable, often occur at these systems. In our previous studies, it has been clarified that the lengths and aspects of creeping discharges under a 1.2/50 µ s impulse voltage condition can be markedly affected by changes in the electric field strength on the cable surface. However, lightning impulse surges which may invade the central line of a cable have various wave front durations. This will further complicate creeping discharge phenomena due to lightning. In this paper, we report the influence of the wave front duration on both the lengths and the aspects of the creeping discharges which progress on the cable on application of lightning impulse voltages. It has been shown that the behavior of negative creeping discharges reveals pronounced changes in response to the duration of the wave front of the applied voltage. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 147(2): 30–38, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10263     

Relationship between Creeping Discharge along Aerial Insulated Cable and Duration of Wave Front of Inductive Lightning Surge

We report the results obtained on the developing characteristics of creeping discharges along the insulated cable surface under inductive lightning surge voltages with various durations of wave front. The aerial insulated cables, usually, are supported by the post insulator and the binding wire at the reinforced concrete pole. When a lightning strikes near by the aerial insulated cables, the overvoltage due to the inductive lightning surge invades to the central line of the cable. The creeping discharge can develop along the cable surface from the free end of the binding wire just after a flashover of the post insulator at the cable supporting point. This creeping discharge may give rise to the accidents such as a melting or snapping of the cable. An important subject to prevent these accidents is to clarify the characteristics of creeping discharge along the cable surface and the developing mechanism of discharges. In this study, the impulse voltages with various durations of wave front are applied to the central line of the wire as the inductive lightning surge. The length and aspect of positive and negative creeping discharges developing along the cable surface are measured using a still camera with an image intensifier, and the developing mechanisms of creeping discharges are discussed on the basis of the models which are proposed taking into account the obtained results.     

Development of a positive creeping discharge along an aerial insulated wire

In high‐voltage aerial distribution systems, the insulated cables are supported by the binding wire with the post insulator at the utility pole. When a lightning strike occurs in the neighborhood of the insulated cable in an aerial power distribution system, inductive lightning surges invade the central line of the cable. Then, creeping discharges develop along the cable surface from the binding wire tip at the same time as flashover of the post insulator at a supporting point of the cable. If the cable insulator has weak points such as pinholes, a malfunction near the cable supporting point may occur, with melting of the wire due to punch‐through breakdown. To prevent such accidents, it is important to clarify the mechanism of the creeping discharge along the insulated cable caused by the lightning strike. The polarity of creeping discharges depends on the polarity of the inductive lightning surges, and the extension length and aspect of the discharge differ greatly depending on the discharge polarity. The development of these creeping discharges is attributed to complicated behavior of the positive and negative electric charges. In the present study, we examined in detail the development of a positive creeping discharge along a wire surface by using a high‐speed image converter camera. This paper describes the mechanism of development of a positive creeping discharge based on the experimental results. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(3): 20–29, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20997     

Positive Creeping Discharge along Aerial Insulated Wire Generated by Lightning Stroke

There are two causes, inductive lightning surge and direct lightning stroke, as the aerial insulated wire accidents accompanying lightning in a power distribution system. When the overvoltage due to the inductive lightning surge invades to the wire core, the creeping discharge can develop along the wire surface from the free end of the binding wire just after a flashover of the post insulator at the wire supporting point. This creeping discharge may give rise to the accidents such as a melting or snapping of the wire. The creeping discharge along the wire surface has the positive or negative polarity. Positive creeping discharge is restricted to the area where a positive lightning generates. Only a few examples have been reported on the positive creeping discharge, and its characteristic has many unsolved points. In the previous studies, we have observed the positive creeping discharges along the wire surface under the negative inductive lightning surge with the peak values in the range |V_m| ≤80 kV. In this study, the positive creeping discharges are examined newly in the range |V_m| > 80 kV. It is reported that the positive creeping discharges are greatly affected by the negative corona discharges generating from the wire surface in |V_m| ≥ 95 kV.     

Discharge characteristics to insulated material

Lightning strikes not only metallic objects such as transmission towers and lightning rods but also insulated material such as blades of wind turbines. The discharge characteristics of insulated material are, however, not clarified till now. In this paper, discharge characterisitics of insulated material have been investigated experimentally using a 12‐MV impulse generator. The effects of polarities of the applied voltages and surface conditions of the insulation material are also studied and it is found that pollution on the surface decreases the sparkover voltage drastically. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

特高压变压器雷电冲击伏秒特性研究

随着750 kV、1000 kV输电技术的发展,相应的电力变压器和并联电抗器的容量、尺寸和入口电容随之增大,试验回路尺寸亦相应扩大,这使雷电冲击试验电压的波前时间拉长,无法达到国内外标准的要求。根据500 kV、750 kV和1000 kV变压器和电抗器的实际雷电冲击试验波形,结合油纸复合绝缘结构的雷电伏秒特性,分析了不同波前时间对特高压变压器和电抗器绝缘水平的影响。目前变压器的设计计算和试验电压的选取一般按照标准波头进行,而充油设备的雷电冲击伏秒特性表明,雷电冲击试验电压波前时间的长短与绝缘强度有密切关系,波前时间延长可能会对某些纵绝缘的考核偏松,同时对主绝缘的考核偏严。因此,应在特高压变压器、电抗器的设计研制和试验中,考虑和重视雷电冲击波形波前时间延长所带来的影响。     

Dielectric characteristics of oil‐filled transformer in the presence of nonstandard lightning surge waveforms

To achieve a rational insulation design for transformers, it is important to evaluate dielectric strength against surges actually impinging on equipment on‐site. This paper deals with the breakdown voltage characteristics of an oil gap under nonstandard lightning surge waveforms combined with oscillatory voltages. It is found that the breakdown voltages of the oil gap under nonstandard impulse waveforms are higher than standard lightning impulse voltages. The results can be ascribed to V–t characteristics of the oil gap in short‐time impulse voltage ranges. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(3): 39–45, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10229     

Study concerning production of lightning overvoltages on low‐voltage power distribution lines

In order to study lightning problems of low‐voltage power distribution lines, lightning overvoltage waveforms were observed inside the homes of customers. The cause of lightning overvoltages was examined from observation of striking points by still cameras. Lightning overvoltages of 62 waveforms were recorded by observation over a period of about 3 1/2 years. Observed waveforms can be classified into three types of single polarity (positive or negative), both polarities (which change from positive to negative or negative to positive), and pulsive waveform. The causes of these lightning overvoltages which were estimated from striking points are shown as follows: (1) Induced lightning overvoltages on low‐voltage distribution lines. (2)   Electric potential rise due to discharge of surge arresters or current of overhead ground wire. (3)   Shift of lightning overvoltages from high‐voltage side of transformer to low‐voltage side, which is due to electromagnetic induction. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 130(4): 66–75, 2000     

A field study of lightning overvoltages in low‐voltage distribution lines

The number of home electric appliances, such as personal computers and telephones, has been rapidly increasing. Lightning damage to these home electric appliances has a great impact on a highly sophisticated information society. There are cases in which lightning overvoltages in low‐voltage distribution lines cause malfunctions in them, even though they are equipped with surge protective devices to protect against lightning overvoltages. Therefore, for lightning protection of low‐voltage equipment including home electric appliances, it is important to understand the phenomenon of lightning overvoltages in low‐voltage power distribution lines. However, many aspects of this problem are not entirely clear, in particular how they are generated. The Tokyo Electric Power Company carried out lightning observations on low‐voltage distribution lines. The observation results provide a statistical distribution of lightning overvoltages in low‐voltage distribution lines. A mechanism for generating lightning overvoltages in low‐voltage distribution lines is inferred from the observed waveforms and facilities data. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 183(2): 12–21, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21299     

Characteristics of lightning surges observed at 77 kV substations

In order to improve power supply reliability, it is necessary to prevent lightning faults in transmission lines and substation apparatus. However, faults are caused occasionally in lower-voltage power systems, particularly at the 77 kV level. The governing factor for insulation strength of substation apparatus is the lightning impulse voltage, and it is necessary to know the voltage level and distribution in a substation caused by lightning surges in order to investigate rational insulation coordination. For this purpose, the authors measured lightning surges at two 77 kV conventional substations from 1990 to 1993. In this paper, the characteristics of induced lightning surges and back flashover lightning surges are described. Comparisons of related surge voltages at two substations, the power line phases in grounding faults, and the equivalent capacitance of the substations are also discussed.     

输电线路多脉冲雷电响应探讨

架空输电线路在电力系统中作为用户与发电厂的连接枢纽,线路可靠防雷与安全运行尤为重要。分析由输电线路上测得的雷电数据,证实了多脉冲雷电的存在,统计并分析雷电波前时间、波尾时间、极性及幅值参数。电磁暂态仿真软件ATP-EMTP对多脉冲雷电、架空输电线路、杆塔、绝缘子串、避雷器建立仿真模型。仿真分别计算在线路是否安装避雷器时,在单脉冲和多脉冲下发生直击和反击时的响应情况。比较两种不同脉冲雷电下线路过电压的差别。仿真分析表明:避雷器能有效的限制雷电过电压的幅值,并且在多脉冲雷电冲击时,输电线路会出现更高的雷电过电压,且持续时间更长的现象,使其防雷形势更加严峻。     

Application of step‐response test for evaluation of uncertainty of standard measuring system for lightning‐impulse high voltage

In evaluating the uncertainty of the standard measuring system for lightning‐impulse high voltages, which is composed of a standard voltage divider, a digital recorder, and calibrators, step‐response tests of the standard voltage divider may be useful. In this paper, a convolution algorithm is employed to calculate the output impulse voltage waveforms from measured step‐response waveforms. The uncertainties of peak‐value measurement due to the influence of the nominal epoch, uncertainty of the peak‐value measurement due to dispersion of the AC scale factor, and uncertainty of the virtual front‐time measurement due to long‐term stability are evaluated. Furthermore, the error of the virtual front time of the output waveforms is discussed. The front part of the step‐response waveform, t≤ T₃₀%, does not influence the error of the virtual front time. Therefore, for the standard voltage divider, the step‐response parameters, that is, the experimental response time, partial response time, settling time, and overshoot, have almost nothing to do with the error of the virtual front time. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(2): 24–32, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21279     

The influence of surface charge on lightning impulse breakdown ofspacers in SF6

We have investigated the influence of surface charges on the discharge development across particle contaminated spacer surfaces under SF₆ for lightning impulse (LI) voltages (1.2/50 μs). Surface charges may be generated by dc, ac or lightning impulse stress. The discharge characteristic shows a strong reduction of the insulation strength if the applied voltage and the surface charge have opposite polarities. The investigations were performed with a needle protrusion attached to the bottom electrode to give severe field distortion. The bottom electrode was biased positively. The influence on the discharge process is observed by measuring the surface charge distribution and predischarge currents. The results reveal changes in streamer onset voltage, streamer to leader transition, and leader development     

Experimental and analytical studies on lightning surge characteristics of a buried bare wire

Lightning surge analysis is very important from the viewpoint of insulation design of transmission lines and substations. Lightning surge analysis has many parameters, which include lightning surge characteristics of transmission towers, back flashover phenomena at an arcing horn, characteristics of footing resistance, effects of corona wave deformation, characteristics of electromagnetic fields caused by lightning, and other parameters. This paper describes experimental and analytical studies on lightning surge characteristics of a buried bare wire. The measurement of the lightning surge characteristics of the buried bare wire is carried out under various experimental conditions. The experimental parameters controlled in these experiments include earth resistance, length of the buried bare wire, and waveform of the injected current. The measured results are compared with analytical results based on the theoretical study by Sunde. A comparison of the measured results with the analytical results shows good agreement. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 164(3): 35– 41, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20532     

Observation of lightning effect on power distribution lines by still cameras

In order to clarify the cause of lightning outages of a distribution line, simultaneous observation of lightning discharge channels and types of damage on distribution lines were carried out with still cameras from July 1993 through July 1995. High-voltage lines located in the observation area did not suffer from induced voltages due to indirect lightning strikes, even if such lightning strikes were nearby. One instance of a direct lightning strike on a distribution line was observed. The striking point was the span center of the overhead ground wire, and only a transformer fuse was blown on the high-voltage line. Damage to surge arresters was observed in the case of a lightning strike on a building located near a distribution line. The cause is thought to have been lightning current which flowed into the nearby distribution line through the damaged arresters. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn 119(1): 17–23, 1997     

Insulation characteristics of SF6 gas for nonstandard impulse voltage polarity reversal pulse waveforms

Evaluation of insulation strength for lightning surge that actually enters into substations is important in estimating insulation reliability of gas‐insulated equipment. The standard lightning impulse voltage (1.2/50 µs) is used for factory tests. However, the actual lightning surge waveforms in substations are complex and are usually superimposed with various oscillations. Insulation characteristics of SF₆ gas as a function of such complex voltages have not been sufficiently clarified. This paper deals with gap breakdown characteristics in SF₆ gas under submicrosecond pulses. Breakdown voltages are lower under a polarity reversal condition than under a monopolarity condition. The cause of this difference is discussed while observing discharge propagation using an image converter camera. The electrode size effect is also discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(4): 18–25, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10246     

Lightning protection of overhead power distribution lines

There are two major protective methods against lightning outages on overhead distribution lines. One is by use of surge arresters and the other is by an overhead ground wire. Surge arresters have rather constant effect regardless of the type of lightning outage causes. On the other hand, the effect of an overhead ground wire is quite different against the two major causes: direct lightning hit and induced overvoltages. This paper shows how to design lightning protection for overhead power distribution lines taking these characteristics into account. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

High‐current lightning discharges in winter

Lightning electric‐field waveforms related to power line faults in winter have been identified. Most of those waveforms appear to be associated with upward lightning discharges with absolute peak currents of over 100 kA. They are quite different from common return‐stroke waveforms, and the lightning discharges which produce these characteristic waveforms are called GC (Ground to Cloud) flashes. These high‐current lightning discharges are distributed around the coastline in different ways depending on their polarities. The spatial distributions of high‐current lightning discharges around Japan are also investigated. It is revealed that the region of Honshu Island along the coastline of the Sea of Japan belongs to the area in which the density of high‐current lightning flashes is the highest in Japan through the year. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(1): 8–15, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20874     

Evaluation of Breakdown Characteristics of Oil-immersed Transformers under Non-standard Lightning Impulse Waveforms - Method for Converting Non-standard Lightning Impulse Waveforms into Standard Lightning Impulse Waveforms

To lower the insulation specifications (specifically, the lightning impulse withstand voltage) of oil-immersed transformers and thus reduce equipment cost while maintaining high insulation reliability, it is required to identify the insulation characteristics under non-standard lightning impulse waveforms that are associated with actual surge waveforms in the field and quantitatively compare them with the characteristics under the standard lightning impulse waveform. In the previous research, field overvoltages in the lightning surge time region were analyzed, and four typical non-standard lightning impulse waveforms were defined. These four waveforms were used to measure the breakdown voltages and the partial discharge inception voltages on three models of the winding insulation elements of oil-immersed transformers. The average breakdown voltages were evaluated in terms of the overvoltage duration. This paper describes a method for converting of non-standard lightning impulse waveforms into standard lightning impulse waveforms with equivalent stress for the insulation. The constructed algorithm was applied to four examples representing two types of non-standard lightning waveforms. Due to the conversion into standard lightning impulse waveforms, the crest values were reduced by 14% to 26%. This seems to be a potential for reduction of lightning impulse insulation specifications of oil-immersed transformers.     

1200kV冲击电压发生器雷电冲击全波调节方法

通过对1200 kV冲击电压发生器输出的标准雷电冲击全波波形进行理论分析计算,提出一种全新的波形调节方法,即根据两次预施加冲击电压得出试品电容,再根据试品电容计算出需要使用的装置级数、波头电阻和波尾电阻。该方法大大提高了试验效率,操作简单,实用价值高,对今后开展高压设备雷电冲击试验具有很强的指导意义。