JORGE MONROY, MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

High Voltage Surge Arresters

Insulation withstand and altitude
Fundamentals of insulation coordination

4 Possible voltages without arresters

Magnitude of (over-)voltage / p.u.

LIWV
Withstand voltage of equipment
3
SIWV
LIPL Um
SIPL
2

COV

1
Voltages limited by arresters

0
Fast-front overvoltages Slow-front overvoltages TOV Us Us x Ö2
(μs) (ms) (s) (Continuously) 1 p.u =
Ö3
Time duration of (over-)voltage

April 6, 2019 Slide 2

Standardized insulation withstand and clearances (IEC 60071)
Range 1: Above 1 kV to 245 kV included
Range 2: Above 245 kV

1.2/50 µs wave shape can be of interest at all voltage

levels. Switching surges is used instead of power-
frequency withstand for Us >245 kV, because the
250/2500 µs wave shape results in the lowest
withstand capability of an insulator in Range 2 system
voltages.

April 6, 2019 Slide 3

Standardized insulation withstand and clearances (IEC 60071)

April 6, 2019 Slide 4

Surge arrester specifics

Arresters are self protecting and have less risk for flashover than other
equipment, provided they are dimensioned correctly
– external insulation of arresters need not fulfil a certain standardized insulation
class
– insulation requirements based on the arrester’s protection levels with a
reasonable safety margin added

Unnecessarily long arresters give less effective protection against steeper

surges and undue mechanical stress

Clearance to other equipment generally according to IEC 60071 guidelines

– arrester characteristics also may permit reduced clearance distances in
specific cases

April 6, 2019 Slide 5

Standardized withstand & clearances
NOT applicable to surge arresters
as permitted by IEC 60071-1

5.5 Selection of the rated insulation level

“For surge arresters the required withstand

voltages of the insulating housing are based on
the protective levels Upl and Ups with suitable
safety factors applied as per the apparatus
standard IEC 60099-4. In general, therefore, the
withstand voltages shall not be selected from
the lists of 5.6 and 5.7”

April 6, 2019 Slide 6

Standardized withstand & clearances
NOT applicable to surge arresters
as permitted by IEC 60099-5 (Clause 5.2.2.2)

Often users are not aware of this special situation for

surge arresters and would require the standard values
of IEC 60071-1:2010 (Tables 2 and 3). This leads to
unnecessarily tall arrester housings, which is not only a
problem of geometrical dimensions but also results in
an adverse axial voltage distribution and possibly in a
more critical performance under polluted conditions.
There may be special situations, such as extreme
environmental conditions, that require higher impulse
withstand ratings, but in general only the requirements
of IEC 60099-4 should be applied.

April 6, 2019 Slide 7

Surge arrester withstand & clearances
As per IEC 60099-4, up to 1000masl for < 800kV
The correction factor (Ka) is
based on the dependence of the
atmospheric pressure at the LIWV (dry) > 1.3 x Upl
altitude.
obtained from 1.15 x e(1000/8150)
which reflects a 15% co-ordination factor to take into account discharge currents
higher than nominal and the statistical nature of the withstand voltage of the
insulation, and a 13% margin to account for variation in air pressure from sea level
up to normal service altitudes not exceeding 1 000 m and discharge currents higher
than nominal.
where
H is the altitude above sea level SIWV (wet) > ~1.25 x Ups
(in metres) and the value of m is
obtained from 1.1 x e(1000/8150)
Lightning m = 1,0 which reflects a 10% co-ordination factor to take into account discharge currents
higher than normal and the statistical nature of the withstand voltage of the
Switching insulation, and a 13% margin to account for variation in air pressure from sea level
< 800kV m = 1,0 up to normal service altitudes not exceeding 1 000 m
> 800 kV m according to
fig 9 IEC 60071-2 PFWV (wet) > 1.06 x Ups (as peak value), 1 minute withstand
The factor of 1,06 takes into account a safety margin of 1,1 for higher switching
impulse currents, an altitude correction factor of 1,13 for 1000 m installation
altitude, and a test conversion factor of 0,6×√2 according to Table 2 of IEC 60071-2.

April 6, 2019 Slide 8

Surge arrester withstand & clearances
Example

April 6, 2019 Slide 11

Surge arrester withstand & clearances
Example

April 6, 2019 Slide 12

Insulation withstand and clearances 1HSM 9543 16-01en Edition 1, 2012-06
Recommendations available

April 6, 2019 Slide 14

Altitude correction
– Statistical risk of an external flashover less than or equal to 10-3 (0.1 % per year) is
considered acceptable by IEC 60071-2
• Resultant factor between the arrester protective levels and the LIWV and SIWV of the
arrester housing

– Normal installed altitude above sea level

• IEC < 1000 m
• IEEE < 1800 m (in process of changing to 1000 m)

– For higher altitudes, special consideration needs to be given on a case-by-case basis.

– Altitude correction methods considering
• arrester protection level
• insulation withstand level required for altitude difference over 1000 masl
• creepage distance

April 6, 2019 Slide 15

Air pressure
– The normal value of air pressure at mean sea level is 101.3 kPa.
An altitude correction
factor (Ka) based on the • Depending on meteorological conditions, air pressure at
dependence of the sea-level may vary from approximately 91% to 107% of this value
atmospheric pressure on
the altitude, can be • In areas above sea-level air pressure is lower than at sea level and
calculated from in areas below sea-level higher than at sea level.

Altitude H Air pressure Relative air pressure Calculated Ka

above sea level (kPa) at altitude = e(H/8150)
where H is the altitude
(m)
above sea level (in
metres) and with the 0 101.3 1 1
coordination factor, m,
conservatively taken to 1000 89.9 1.13 1.13
equal 1.0 for Us < 800 kV.
2000 79.5 1.27 1.28

3000 70.1 1.45 1.44

4000 61.6 1.64 1.63

5000 54.0 1.88 1.85

April 6, 2019 Slide 17

Altitude correction
Preferred method

LIWV (dry) > Upl x 1.15 x e(H/8150)

SIWV (wet) > Ups x 1.1 x e(H/8150)

PFWV (wet) > Ups x 1.1 x e(H/8150) x 0.6 x √2 (as peak value)

April 6, 2019 Slide 18

Altitude correction
Non-supported methods
Based on altitude difference over 1000m Based on creepage distance

– Standardized insulation withstand x Ka – Pollution withstand already catered for up to the design altitude;
only the altitude above 1000 m needs to be corrected. Experience
– Presumes equipment is directly designed suggest m = 0.5 should be used for AC applications when
for use at 1000 masl correcting creepage distance.

– Less conservative, but may be – Method arguably warranted for hydrophilic surfaces, eg. porcelain,
suitable/necessary in some cases if they can become at risk of flashover due to dry-band related
discharge activity taking place. Such an issue is less of a concern
for hydrophobic transfer materials, eg. silicone, and the need to
correct creepage distance on these insulators is doubtful.

– Intent should be to first determine the necessary creepage

distance according to pollution conditions at the actual altitude
and then correct only that value for altitude.

April 6, 2019 Slide 20