EE8701 – High Voltage Engineering Department of EEE 2020-2021

UNIT I
OVER VOLTAGES IN ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS
PART – B (C401.1)
1. What are the causes for switching and power frequency over voltages? How are
they controlled in power system? (May 2011, 2012, 2013,2014, Nov 2015,May 2016,
May 2017, 2018, 2019, Nov 2019)
The causes of switching surge over are,
 Interruption of low inductive currents (current chopping) by high speed circuit
breakers. This occurs when the transformers or reactors are switched off.
 Interruption of small capacitive currents, such as switching off of unloaded
lines etc.
 Ferro-resonance condition ( This may occur when poles of a circuit breaker do
not close simultaneously)
 Energization of long EHV or UHV lines.
 single pole closing of circuit breaker
 interruption of fault current when the L-G or L-L fault is cleared
 resistance switching used in circuit breakers
 switching lines terminated by transformers
 series capacitor compensated lines
 sparking of the surge diverter located at the receiving end of the line to limit
the lightning over voltages.

The different situations under which power frequency over voltages happens are,
 sudden loss of loads,
 disconnection of inductive loads or connection of capacitive loads,
 Ferranti effect, unsymmetrical faults, and
 saturation in transformers.

The over voltages due to switching and power frequency may be controlled by
 Energization of transmission lines in one or more steps by inserting resistances
and withdrawing them afterwards,
 phase controlled closing of circuit breakers,
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 drainage of trapped charges before reclosing,
 use of shunt reactors, and
 limiting switching surges by suitable surge diverters

2. Explain with suitable figure the principles and functioning of (i) Expulsion Gap (ii)
Protector Tube. (May 2017)
(i) Expulsion Gap
Expulsion gap is a device which consists of a spark gap together with an arc
quenching device which extinguishes the current arc when the gaps breakover due to
overvoltages. A typical such arrangement is shown in Fig. This essentially consists of
a rod gap in air in series with a second gap enclosed within a fibre tube. In the event of
an overvoltage, both the spark gaps breakdown simultaneously. The current due to the
overvoltage is limited only by the tower footing resistance and the surge impedance of
the ground wires. The internal arc in the fibre tube due to lightning current vapourizes
a small portion of the fibre material. The gas thus produced, being a mixture of water
vapour and the decomposed fibre product, drivev away the arc products and ionized
air. When the follow-on power frequency current passes through zero value, the arc is
extinguished and the path becomes open circuited. Meanwhile the insulation recovers
its dielectric strength, and the normal conditions are established. The lightning and
follow-up power frequency currents together can last for 2 to 3 half cycles only.
Therefore, generally no disturbance in the network is produced. For 132 or 220 kV
lines, the maximum current rating may be about 7,500 A.

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(ii) Protector Tube
A protector tube is similar to the expulsion gap in, construction and principle. It
also consists of a rod or spark gap in air formed by the line conductor and its high
voltage terminal. It is mounted underneath the line conductor on a tower. The
arrangement is shown in Fig. The hollow gap in the expulsion tube is replaced by a
nonlinear element which offers very high impedance at low currents but has low
impedance for high or lightning currents. When an overvoltage occurs and the spark
gap breaks down, the current is limited both by its own resistance and the tower
footing resistance. The overvoltage on the line is reduced to the voltage drop across
the protector tube. After the surge current is diverted and discharged to the ground, the
follow-on normal power frequency current will be limited by its high resistance. After
the current zero of power frequency, the spark gap recovers the insulation strength
quickly. Usually, the flashover voltage of the protector tube is less than that of the line
insulation, and hence it can discharge the lightning overvoltage effectively.

3. Write short a note on (i) Rod gaps as protective devices (ii) Ground wires for
protection of overhead lines.(iii) Ground rods as protective devices. (Nov 2014, April
2018)
(i) Rod gaps as protective devices

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It is one of the simplest forms of the arrester. In such type of arrester, there is
an air gap between the ends of two rods. The one end of the arrester is connected to
the line and the second end of the rod is connected to the ground. The gap setting of
the arrester should be such that it should break before the damage. When the high
voltage occurs on the line, the gap sparks and the fault current passes to the earth.
Hence the equipment is protected from damage
The difficulty with the rod arrester is that once the spark having taken place it
may continue for some time even at low voltages. To avoid it a current limiting
reactor in series with the rod is used. The resistance limits the current to such an
extent that it is sufficient to maintain the arc. Another difficulty with the road gap is
that the rod gap is liable to be damaged due to the high temperature of the arc which
may cause the rod to melt.
(ii) Ground wires for protection of overhead lines
When a line is shielded, the lightning strikes either the tower or the ground
wire. The path for drainage of the charge and lightning current is (a) through the tower
frame to ground, (b) through the ground line in opposite directions from the point of
striking. Thus the ground wire reduces the instantaneous potential to which the tower
top rises considerably, as the current path is in three directions. The instantaneous
potential to which tower top can rise is,

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(iii) Ground rods as protective devices

The Instantaneous Potential to which tower top can rise is given by,

VT = I0ZT / (1+(ZT/ZS))
where, ZT, ZS surge impedances of tower and ground wire. If ZT (tower
footing resistance), is reduced , surge voltage developed is also reduced. It
can be done by ground rods and counterpoise wires at legs of the tower.
Ground rods are 15mm in dia and 2.5-3m long driven into the ground
50m long for hard soils. It is made by galvanized iron or copper bearing
steel. The design specifications depends on desired tower footing
resistance. If 10 rods of 4m long and spaced 5m apart, effective resistance
is reduced to 10%.

4. What are the mechanisms by which lightning strokes develop and induce over
voltages on overhead power lines? Give the mathematical models for lightning
discharges and explain them.(May 2013, Dec 2016,May 2016, Dec 2017, April 2018,
Apr 2019)
When the electric field intensity at some point in the charge concentrated cloud
exceeds the breakdown value of the moist ionized air ( ~ 10 kV/cm), an electric
streamer with plasma starts towards the ground with a velocity of about 1/10 times
that of the light, but may progress only about 50 m or so before it comes to a halt
emitting a bright flash of light The halt may be due to insufficient build-up of electric
charge at its head and not sufficient to maintain the necessary field gradient for further
progress of the streamer. But after a short interval, the streamer again starts out
repeating its performance. The total time required for such a stepped leader to reach
the ground may be 20 ms. The path may be quite lustruous, depending on the local
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conditions in air as well as the electric field gradients. Branches from the initial leader
may also be formed. Since the progress of this leader stroke is by a series of jumps, it
is referred as stepped leader. The picture of a typical leader stroke is shown in Fig.

The lightning stroke and the electrical discharges due to lightning are explained
based on the "streamer" or "kanel" theory for spark discharges in long gaps with non-
uniform electric fields. The lightning consists of few separate discharges starting from
a leader discharge and culminates in return strokes or main discharges. The velocity of
the leader stroke of the first discharge may be 1.5 x 107 cm/s, of the succeeding leader
strokes about 108 cm/s, and of the return strokes may be 1.5 x 109 to 1.5 x 1010 cm/s
(about 0.05 to 0.5 times the velocity of light).
After the leader touches the ground, the return stroke follows. As the leader
moves towards the ground, positive charge is directly accumulated under the head of
the stroke or canal. By the time the stroke reaches the ground or comes sufficiently
near the ground, the electrical field intensity on the ground side is sufficiently large to
build up the path. Hence, the positive charge returns to the cloud neutralizing the
negative charge, and hence a heavy current flows through the path. The velocity of the
return or main stroke ranges from 0.05 to 0,5 times the velocity of light, and currents
will be of the order of 1000 to 250,000 A. The return strokes vanish before they
reached the cloud, suggesting that the charge involved is that conferred to the stroke
itself. The duration of the main or return stroke is about 100 Ji s or more. The
diameters of the return strokes were estimated to be about 1 to 2 cm but the corona
envelop may be approximately 50 cm. The return strokes also may develop branches
but the charges in the branches are neutralized in succession so that their further
progress is arrested. A of return stroke is shown in Fig below,

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After the completion of the return stroke, a much smaller current of 100 to
1000 A may continue to flow which persists approximately 20 ms. Due to these
currents the initial breakdown points in the cloud are considerably reduced and
discharges concentrate towards this point Therefore, additional reservoirs of charge
become available due to penetration of a cloud mass known as preferred paths and
lead to repeated strokes. The leader strokes of the repeated strokes progress with much
less velocity (<< 1% of that of light) and do not branch. This stroke is called
continuous leader, and return stroke for this leader follows with much less current.
The interval between the repeated strokes may be from 0.6 ms to 500 ms with an
average of 30 ms. Multiple strokes may last for 1 s. The total duration of the lightning
may be more than 1 s. The current from the ground by the main return stroke may
have a peak value of 250,000 A.
During the charge formation process, the cloud may be considered to be a non-
conductor. Hence, various potentials may be assumed at different parts of the cloud. If
the charging process is continued, it is probable that the gradient at certain parts of the
charged region exceeds the breakdown strength of the air or moist air in the cloud.
Hence, local breakdown takes place within the cloud. This local discharge may finally
lead to a situation where in a large reservoir of charges involving a considerable mass
of cloud hangs over the ground, with the air between the cloud and the ground as a
dielectric. When a streamer discharge occurs to ground by first a leader stroke,
followed by main strokes with considerable currents flowing, the lightning stroke may
be thought to be a current source of value I0 with a source impedance Z0 discharging
to earth. If the stroke strikes an object of impedance Z, the voltage built across it may
be taken as

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The source impedance of the lightning channels are not known exactly, but it is
estimated to be about 1000 to 3000 ft. The objects of interest to electrical engineers,
namely, transmission line, etc. have surge impedances less than 500 Ω (overhead lines
300 to 500 Ω, ground wires 100 to 150 Ω, towers 10 to 50 Ω, etc.). Therefore, the
value Z / Z0 will usually be less than 0.1 and hence can be neglected. Hence, the
voltage rise of lines, etc. may be taken to be approximately V = I0Z, where I0 is the
lightning stroke current and Z the line surge impedance.
If a lightning stroke current as low as 10,000 A strikes a line of 400 Ω surge
impedance, it may cause an overvoltage of 4000 kV. This is a heavy overvoltage and
causes immediate flashover of the line conductor through its insulator strings. In case
a direct stroke occurs over the top of an unshielded transmission line, the current wave
tries to divide into two branches and travel on either side of the line.

5. Explain the different theories of charge formation in clouds. (Dec 2012, May 2017,
Dec 2017, Nov 2018)
The Lightning phenomenon is a peak discharge in which charge accumulated
in the cloud’s discharges into a neighbouring cloud or to the ground. There are many
theories are proposed to explain the charge formulation in the clouds. The probable
charge distribution model of a cloud is as shown below,

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i) Simpson’s theory
According to the simpson’s theory there are three essential regions in the cloud
to be considered for charge formulation. The cloud model according to this model is
given below,

Acccording to simpson, the region below A, air currents travel above 800 cm/s,
and no rain drops fall through. In region A, air velocity is high enough tobreak the
falling raindrops causing a positive charge spray in the cloud and negative charge in
the air. The spray is lown upwards, but as the velocity of air decreases, the positively
charged water drops recombine with the larger drops and fall again. Thus region A,
eventually becomes predominantly positively charged, while region B above it,
becomes negatively charged by air currents. In the upper regions of the cloud, the
temparature is low and only ice crystals exist. The impact of air on these crystals
makes them negatively charged, thus the distributions of charge within the cloud.
ii) Mason’s theory
According to Mason, the ice splinters should carry only positive charge
upwards. The water being ionic in nature has concentration of H+ and OH- ions. The
ion density depends on the temperature. Thus in an ice slab with upper and lower
surfaces at temparature T1 and T2, (T1 < T2), there will be a higher concentration of
ions in the lower region. However, since H+ ions are much lighter, they diffuse much
faster all over the volume. Therefore, the lower portion which is warmer will have a
net negative charge density and hence the upper portion, i.e. cooler region will have a
net positive charge density. Hence, it must be appreciated that the outer shells of the
freezed water droplets coming into contact with hail stones will be relatively cooler
than their inner core (warmer water). And therefore acquires a net positive charge.

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When the shell splinters, the charge carried by them in the upward direction is
positive.
iii) Reynold’d theory
According to the reynold’s theory, which is based on experimental results, the
hail packets get negatively charged when impinged upon by warmer ice crystals.
When the temperature conditions are reversed, the charging polarity reverses.
However the extent of the charging and consequently the rate of charge generation
was found to disagree with the practical observations relating to thunder clouds. This
type of phenomenon also occurs in thunder clouds.

6. An underground cable of inductance 0.150 mH/km and of capacitance 0.2 µF/km is

connected to an overhead line having an inductance of 1.2 mH/km and capacitance of
0.006 µF/km. Calculate the transmitted and reflected voltage and current waves at the
junction, if a surge of 200 kV travels to the junction, (i)along the cable, and (ii)along
the overhead line. (May 2011).
Surge impedance of the cable = 27.4 ohms
Surge impedance of the line = 447.2 ohms
When surge travels along the cable
Coefficient of reflection = 0.885
The reflected wave = 176.91 kV
The transmitted wave = 377kV
The reflected current wave = 6.46 kA
The transmitted current wave = 0.84 kA
When surge travels along line
Coefficient of reflection =-0.885
Reflected wave = -177kV
Transmitted wave = 23kV
Transmitted current wave = 0.84 kA
Reflected current wave = 0.396 kA
7. A long transmission line is energized by a unit step voltage 1.0 V at the sending
end and is open circuited at the receiving end. Construct the Bewley lattice diagram
and obtain the value of the voltage at the receiving end after a long time. Take the

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attenuation factor α = 0.8. Discuss the step by step procedure for constructing
Bewley’s Lattice diagram with an example. (Nov 2015, May 2016, Apr 2019)

8. Draw the cross-sectional view of valve type lightning arrester and explain its
operation with V-I characteristics. (May 2014)
Such type of resistor is called nonlinear diverter. It essentially consists a
divided spark gap in series with a resistance element having the nonlinear
characteristic. The divided spark gap consists of some identical elements coupled in
series. Each of them consists two electrodes with the pre-ionization device. Between
each element, a grading resistor of high ohmic value is connected in parallel. During
the slow voltage variations, there is no sparks-over across the gap. But when the rapid
change in voltage occurs, the potential is no longer evenly graded across the series
gap. The influence of unbalancing capacitance between the sparks gaps and the
ground prevails over the grounded resistance. The impulse voltage is mainly
concentrated on the upper spark gap which in spark over cause the complete arrester
to spark over to.

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The figure shown below, illustrates the volt-ampere characteristics of a

nonlinear resistor of the required type, the dotted curve being the static characteristic,
and the closed curve the dynamic characteristic corresponding to the applications of a
voltage surge. If a horizontal line, tangential to the dynamic characteristic is drawn, its
intercept with the voltage axis gives the residual voltage.

The residual voltage is defined as the peak value of the voltage appearing
between the terminals of the surge diverter at the time of the discharge of a surge
current wave. It varies from about 3 kV to 6 kV depending on the rate of discharge of
current and whether the arrester is used in a substation or in a line and causes a
breakdown of the divided gaps thus, the whole breaker starts sparking and pass
current through the non-linear resistor.
When the gap flashes-over, the arrester cuts off the power flow current at
voltage close to its rating. The voltage that causes flashover depends on the rate of rise
of surge current; if the incoming voltage is very steep, the flashover may take place at

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about 4.5 times the arrester rating; however, if the wave is slow rising surge the
flashover may take place at about 3 times the arrester rating.

The Figure (a) and (b) shown below, illustrates the incoming surge along with
the voltage across the non-linear resistor and the V-I characteristic of the non-linear
resistor respectively. The ratio of maximum residual voltage e1 and the maximum
power voltage e2 is termed as protective ratio.

9. What are the requirements of a ground wire for protecting power conductors
against direct lightning stroke? Explain how they are achieved in practice. (May
2014)
Surges due to lightning are mostly injected into the power system through the
long transmission lines. Substation apparatus is always well protected against direct
lightning strokes. The commonly adopted and effective method of protecting
transmission lines against direct strokes is by the use of overhead ground wires. This
method of protection of transmission lines is known as shielding method which does
not allow an arc path to form between the line conductor and the ground.

Ground wire is a conductor run parallel to the main conductors of the line. It is
supported on the same towers, is placed higher than the main conductors and is
adequately grounded at every tower. For horizontal arrangement of conductors, there
are two ground wires to provide effective shielding to power conductors from direct

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lightning strokes whereas in vertical configuration of conductors there is only one
ground wire.

The ground wire is made up of galvanized steel or ACSR conductors. Modern

Extra High Voltage (EHV) transmission lines have ground wires of ACSR conductors
of the same size as the power conductors. In case of a direct lightning stroke, the
ground wire intercepts the stroke and by providing multiple paths for conducting the
stroke to the ground they reduce the induced voltage. It also helps to increase the
effective capacitance between the conductor and the ground which in turn reduces the
voltage induced on the conductors from nearby strokes.

The ratio of the induced voltage on a conductor of a line provided with ground
wire protection to the induced voltage which would exist on the conductor in the
absence of ground wire is known as protective ratio. Each ground wire has
a protective angle which is defined as the "Angle between the vertical line passing
through the ground wire and the line passing through the outermost power conductor
is called the protective angle." The protective angle is in the region of 20o to 45o. The
voltage to which a transmission line tower is raised when a lightning strikes the tower
is independent of the operating voltage of the system.

The basic requirements for the design of a line to safeguard it against direct
lightning strikes are-

1. The ground wire used should be mechanically strong and should be so located
that they provide sufficient shielding.
2. There should be sufficient clearance between the power conductors and the
tower structure.
3. There should be an adequate clearance between the line conductors and the
ground wires, particularly at the mid-span, so as to avoid flashover to the
power conductor up to the protective voltage level used for the line design.
4. The tower footing resistance should be as low as permissible.

The practical connection of ground wire is shown in figure below,

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10. Explain the characteristics of switching surges with typical waveforms. Explain
why a steep fronted surge waveform is more vulnerable to insulation? (May 2015)
The waveshapes of the switching surges waveforms are different from
lightning waveforms. The SS waveforms are different for different types for faults.
The different origins of switching surges are listed below,
i) De-energization of transmission lines, cables, shunt capacitors, banks
ii) Disconnection of unloaded transformer, reactors
iii) Energization or reclosing of lines and reactive loads
iv) Sudden switching off of loads
v) Short circuits and fault clearances.
vi) Resonance phenomenon like ferro-resonance, arcing grounds
The typical waveforms of different switching surges are shown in figure below,

Recovery voltage after fault clearing Fault initiation

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Over voltage at the line end after the fault clearing Energization of long TL

Over voltage at line end after the energization

From the figures, it is clear that the over voltages are irregular (oscillatory or
unipolar) and can be of high frequency or power frequency with its harmonics. The
relative magnitudes of the over voltages may be about 2.4 p.u, in the case of
transformer energizing and 1.4 to 2.0 p.u in switching transmission lines.
For steep fronted waves, the voltages at different points in the sub-station can
exceed the protective level by amounts that depend on the distance from the diverter
location, the steepness of the wave front and other electrical parameters. Hence, it is
necessary to decide the number of locations at which surge diverters are to be located
and their ratings. It is necessary to keep this number to a minimum. Also, care must
be taken regarding switching over voltages generated due to current chopping which
may destroy the transformer or the equipment near the circuit breakers. The Basic
Impulse Level (BIL) is often determined as simply 1.25 to 1.30 times the protective
level offered by the surge diverters. Usually the next higher BIL value from the
standard values is chosen. This is quite sufficient for smaller stations and station
ratings up to 220 kV. For bigger stations and stations of importance the distance effect
is considered. A margin of 15 to 20 % is normally allowed over the protective level.
Distance effect if negligible for long fronted switching surges.

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11. Explain the different method employed for the lightning protection of overhead
lines?(Dec 2016, Dec 2017, Nov 2018)
There are three methods used to protect the overhead lines from the lightning. In
the first method the tower footing resistance is reduced by using some special
arrangements, so that during the lightning strike the impulse current will be evenly
distributed to the ground. The methods used for this purpose are, i) counterpoised
wires ii) ground rods. (Refer question no. 3)
In the second method ground or shield wire are used to prevent the transmission
lines form the lightning strike. (refer question no. 9)
In the third method protective devices like Expulsion gaps. Rod gaps and
Lightning arresters are used to prevent the damage due to lightning. (Refer question
no. 2 and 8)

12. Cloud discharge 15 coulombs with in 1.5 ms on to a transmission line during

lightning. Estimate the voltage produced at the point of the stroke on the transmission
line. (Assume surge impedance of line as 350 ohms) (Nov 2018)
The voltage produced at the point of the stroke on the transmission line = I0 * Z
I0 = Q / t = 15 / 1.5 x 10 ^ - 3 = 10,000 Amps
Voltage = 10,000 * 350 = 3.5 MV

13. (i) Consider an overhead transmission line is connected to a cable. Obtain the
expression of reflection and refractions of travelling waves at the junction.
Let the impedance of the transmission line is Zc and the cable impedance is Z.
ef,if are the forward voltage and current waves, er, ir are the reflected voltage and
current and et,it are the reflected voltage and current waves.

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The negative sign in equ(2) is because of the reason that er and ir are travelling in the
negative direction or backwards on the same line. Since the voltage and current waves are
continuous at the junction. Substitute the value of if, ir and it from equation (1,2,3) into
eqiation (5).

From equation (4) and (6),

The coefficients 2Z / Z +Zc and Z – Zc / Z +Zc are called refraction and reflection
coefficents respectively.
(ii) What is tower footing resistance? Discuss the two methods to reduce this
resistance. (Nov 2019)
Tower footing resistance (TFR) is the resistance offered by tower footing for
the dissipation of current. The effectiveness of ground wire depends to a large extent
on the tower footing resistance. The tower top potential depends on this resistance.
TFR will depend on (a) the type of electrode configuration employed (b) the soil
resistivity. The TFR values can be reduced by using ground rods and counter poised
wires.
14. A long transmission line is energized by a unit step voltage 1.0 V at the sending
end and terminated through a resistance R. Construct the Bewley lattice diagram and
obtain the value of the voltage at the receiving end after a long time. Take the
attenuation factor α = 0.4.(Nov 2019)
Let us consider the surge impedance of the transmission line is Z and the
termination resistance is R. The refraction coefficient for voltage wave form is 2*R /

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R + Z. The reflection coefficient for the voltage waveform is R – Z / R + Z. The value
of Z = 0. The voltage wave will become zero after long time.
Source Load

1
0.4

0.16

3
0.064

0.0256

5
0.01024

0.004096

7
0.00163

0.000655

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