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Complete overview of lightning arresters (part 2)

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Top Continued f rom article Complete overview of lightning arresters (part 1)

What is a surge arrester?

Surge arresters are devices that help prevent damage to apparatus due to high voltages. T he arrester provides a low-impedance path to ground f or the current f rom a lightning strike or transient voltage and then restores to a normal operating conditions. A surge arrester may be compared to a relief valve on a boiler or hot water heater . It will release high pressure until a normal operating condition is reached. When the pressure is returned to normal, the saf ety valve is ready f or the next operation. When a high voltage (greater than the normal line voltage) exists on the line, the arrester immediately f urnishes a path to ground and thus limits and drains of f the excess voltage. T he arrester must provide this relief and then prevent any f urther f low of current to ground. T he arrester has two f unctions; it must provide a point in the circuit at which an over-voltage pulse can pass to ground and second, to prevent any f ollow-up current f rom f lowing to ground. Top

Causes of over voltages

Internal causes

External causes

Int ernal causes Swit ching surge

T he overvoltages produced on the power system due to switching are known as switching surge.

Insulat ion f ailure

T he most common case of insulation f ailure in a power system is the grounding of conductors (i.e. insulation f ailure between line and earth) which may cause overvoltage in the system.

Arcing ground
T he phenomenon of intermittent arc taking place in line to ground f ault of a 3phase system with consequent production of transients is known as arcing ground.

Resonance
It occurs in an electrical system when inductive reactance of the circuit becomes equal to capacitive reactance. under resonance , the impedance of the circuit is equal to resistance of the circuit and the p.f is unity. Top

Types of lightning strokes

1. Direct stroke 2. Indirect stroke

(1) Direct st roke

In direct stroke, the lightning discharge is directly f rom the cloud to the subject equipment. From the line, the current path may be over the insulator down the pole to the ground.

(2) Indirect st roke

Indirect stroke results f rom the electro statically induced charges on the conductors due to the presence of charge clouds. Top

Harmf ul ef f ects of lightning

T he traveling waves produced due to lightning will shatter the insulators. If the traveling waves hit the windings of a transf ormer or generator it may cause considerable damage.

Prot ect ion against light ning

Different types of protective devices are: 1. Earthing screen

2. Overhead ground wires 3. Lightning arresters

(1) The Eart hing screen

T he power station & sub-station can be protected against direct lightning strokes by providing earthing screens. On occurrence of direct stroke on the station ,screen provides a low resistance path by which lightning surges are conducted to ground. Limitations: It does not provide protection against the traveling waves which may reach the equipments in the station.

(2) Overhead ground wires

It is the most ef f ective way of providing protection to transmission lines against direct lightning strokes. It provides damping ef f ect on any disturbance traveling along the lines as it acts as a short-circuited secondary. Limitations: It requires additional cost. T here is a possibility of its breaking and f alling across the line conductors, thereby causing a shortcircuit f ault.

(3) Light ning Arrest ers

It is a protective device which conducts the high voltage surge on the power system to ground. T he earthing screen and ground wires f ail to provide protection against traveling waves. T he lightning arrester provides protection against surges. Top

AC Power Surge Arrester

Type 1 Surge Prot ect ors
Type 1 surge protectors are designed to be installed where a direct lightning strike risk is high, especially when the building is equipped with external lightning protection system (LPS or lightning rod). In this situation IEC 61643-11 standards require the Class I test to be applied to surge protectors : this test is characterized by the injection of 10/350 s impulse current in order to simulate the direct lightning strike consequence. T heref ore these Type 1 surge protectors must be especially powerf ul to conduct this high energy impulse current.

Type 2 surge prot ect ors

Type 2 surge protectors are designed to be installed at the beginning of the installation, in the main switchboard, or close to sensitive terminals, on installations without LPS (lightning rods). T hese protectors are tested f ollowing the Class II test f rom IEC61643-11 based on 8/20 s impulse current injection.

Type 3 surge prot ect ors

In case of very sensitive or remote equipment, secondary stage of surge protectors is required : these low energy SPDs could be Type 2 or Type 3. Type 3 SPDs are tested with a combination wavef orm (1,2/50 s 8/20 s) f ollowing Class III test. Advertisement

Types of Lightning Arrestors according to Class

1. St at ion Class
Station class arrestors are typically used in electrical power stations or substations and other high voltage structures and areas. T hese arrestors protect against both lightning and over-voltages, when the electrical device has more current in the system than it is designed to handle. T hese arrestors are designed to protect equipment above the 20 mVA range .

2. Int ermediat e Class

Like station class arrestors, intermediate class arrestors protect against surges f rom lightning and over-voltages, but are designed to be used in medium voltage equipment areas, such as electrical utility stations, substations, transf ormers or other substation equipment. T hese arrestors are designed f or use on equipment in the range of 1 to 20 mVA.

3. Dist ribut ion Class

Distribution class arrestors are most commonly f ound on transf ormers, both dry-type and liquidf illed. T hese arrestors are f ound on equipment rated at 1000 kVA or less. T hese arrestors are sometimes f ound on exposed lines that have direct connections to rotating machines.

4. Secondary Class
Secondary class lightning arrestors are designed to protect most homes and businesses f rom lightning strikes, and are required by most electrical codes, according to, Inc., an electrical power protection company. T hese arrestors cause high voltage overages to ground, though they do not short all the over voltage f rom a surge. Secondary class arrestors of f er the least amount of protection to electrical systems, and typically do not protect solid state technology, or anything that has a microprocessor. Top

Choosing the right AC Power Surge Arrester

AC power surge protectors is designed to cover all possible conf igurations in low voltage installations. T hey are available in many versions, which dif f er in: Type or test class (1 , 2 or 3) Operating voltage (Uc) AC network conf iguration (Single/3-Phase ) Discharge currents (Iim p , Im ax, In )

Protection level (Up ) Protection technology (varistors, gas tube-varistor, filter ) Features (redundancy, differential mode, plug-in, remote signaling). T he surge protection selection must be done f ollowing the local electrical code requirements (i.e. minimum rating f or In ) and specif ic conditions (i.e. high lightning density). Top

Working Principle of Lightning Arrester

T he earthing screen and ground wires can well protect the electrical system against direct lightning strokes but they f ail to provide protection against traveling waves, which may reach the terminal apparatus. T he lightning arresters or surge diverts provide protection against such surges. A lightning arrester or a surge diverted is a protective device, which conducts the high voltage surges on the power system to the ground. T he earthing screen and ground wires can well protect the electrical system against direct lightning strokes but they f ail to provide protection against traveling waves, which may reach the terminal apparatus. T he lightning arresters or surge diverters provide protection against such surges. A lightning arrester or a surge diverted is a protective device, which conducts the high voltage surges on the power system to the ground. Fig below shows the basic form of a surge diverter. It consists of a spark gap in series with a non-linear resistor. One end of the diverter is connected to the terminal of the equipment to be protected and the other end is ef f ectively grounded. T he length of the gap is so set that normal voltage is not enough to cause an arc but a dangerously high voltage will break down the air insulation and f orm an arc. T he property of the non-linear resistance is that its resistance increases as the voltage (or current) increases and vice-versa. T his is clear f rom the volt/amp characteristic of the resistor shown in Figure above. The action of the lightning arrester or surge diverter is as under: 1. Under normal operation, the lightning arrester is of f the line i.e. it conducts no current to earth or the gap is non-conducting 2. On the occurrence of over voltage, the air insulation across the gap breaks down and an arc is f ormed providing a low resistance path f or the surge to the ground. In this way, the excess charge on the line due to the surge is harmlessly conducted through the arrester to the ground instead of being sent back over the line. 3. It is worthwhile to mention the f unction of non-linear resistor in the operation of arrester. As the gap sparks over due to over voltage, the arc would be a short-circuit on the power system and may cause power-f ollow current in the arrester. Since the characteristic of the resistor is to of f er low resistance to high voltage (or current), it gives the ef f ect of short-circuit. Af ter the surge is over, the resistor of f ers high resistance to make the gap non-conducting.
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