/ ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY / CAUSES OF OVER VOLTAGES AND ITS oFFECT ON POWER SYSTEMS Examination of over voltages on the power system includes a study of their magnitudes, shapes, durations, and frequency of occurrence. The study should be performed at all points along the transmission network to which the surges may travel es of Overvoltage +The voltage stresses on transmission network insulation are found to have a / variety of Origins. + In normal operation AC (or DC) voltages do not stress the insulation severely + Over voltage stressing a power system can be classified into two main types: External overvoltage: generated by atmospheric disturbances of these disturbances, lightning is the most common and the most severe. Internal over voltages: generated by changes in the operating conditions of the network. Lightning Over voltages Lightning is produced in an attempt by nature to maintain dynamic balance between the positively charged ionosphere and the negatively charged earth. Over fair-weather areas there is a downward transfer of positive charges through the global air-earth current. This is then counteracted by thunderstorms, during which positive charges are transferred upward in the form of lightning. During thunderstorms, positive and negative charges are separated by the movements of air currents forming ice crystals in the upper layer of a cloud and rain in the lower part. The cloud becomes negatively charged and has a larger layer of positive charge at its top. As the separation of charge proceeds in the cloud, the potential difference between the centers of charges _ increases and the vertical electric field along the cloud also increases. The total potential difference between the two main charge centers may vary from 100 to 1000 MV. Only a part of the total charge-several hundred coulombs is released to earth by lightning; the rest is consumed in inter cloud discharges. The height of the thundercloud dipole above earth may reachS km in tropical regions. Established by a stepped discharge E8701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING ——ROHINI COLLEGE OF EN |EERING AND TECHNOLG called a leader stroke. The leader is initiated by a breakdown between polarized wat droplets at the cloud base caused by the high electric field, or a discharge between the negative charge mass in the lower cloud and the positive charge pocket below it. (Figure 1.2) As the downward leader approaches the earth, an upward leader begins to proceed from earth before the former reaches earth. The upward leader joins the downward one at a point teferred to as the striking point. This is the start of the return stroke, which progresses upward like a travelling wave on a transmission line Figure: 1.2.1 Developmental Stages Of A Lighting Flash And The Corresponding Current Surge (Source: “High Voltage Engineering” by C.L. Wadhwa, page: 56] LIGHTNING PHENOMENON At the earthling point a heavy impulse current reaching the order of tens of kilo amperes occurs, which is responsible for the known damage of lightning, The velocity of progression of the return stoke is very high and may reach half the speed of light. he corresponding current EE8701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERINGROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ' ~ 7 wey 0 20) | uettese » | Figure 1.2.2 Developmental Lighting over voltage [Source: “High Voltage Engineering” by C.L. Wadhwa, page: 59] EFFECT OF LIGHTNING The impedance of the lightning channel itself is much larger than 1/2Zo (it is believed to range from 100to 3000 ©). Lightning voltage surge will have the same shape characteristics. In practice the shapes and magnitudes of lightning surge waves get modified by their Reflections at points of discontinuity as they travel along transmission lines. Lightning strokes represent true danger to life, structures, power systems, and Communication networks. Lightning is always a major source of damage to power systems where equipment Insulation may break discharge down, under the resulting overvoltage and the subsequent high- Energy Lightning has been a source of wonder to mankind for thousands of years. Scotland points out that any real scientific search for the first time was made into the phenomenon of EE8701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING_ ROINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND THQ, ling by Franklin in18th century. Before going into the various theories explaining Fig g, it is desirable to re, formation in a thunder cloud and the mechanism of lightning, it is desirable to TeVig, ‘of the accepted facts concerning the thunder Raindrops clongate and become unstable under an clectric field, the limiting diamete, being0.3 cm ina field of 100 kV/cm. A free falling raindrop attains a constant velocity with sec. for drops of the size Tespect to the air depending upon its s 0.25 ize. This velocity is 800 cm: em dia. and is zero for spray. This means that in case the air currents are moving upwards with a velocity greater than 800 cm/sec, no rain drop can fall. Falling raindrops greater than 0.5 cm in dia become unstable and break up into smaller drops. When a drop is broken up by air currents, the water particles become positively charged and the air negatively charged. When ice crystal strikes with air currents, the ice crystal is negatively charged and the air positively charged Wilson's Theory of Charge Separation Wilson's theory is based on the assumption that a large number of ions are present in the atmosphere. Many of these ions attach themselves to small dust particles and water particles. It also assumes that an electric field exists in the earth‘s atmosphere during fair weather which is directed downwards towards the earth (Figure.1.4 (a)). The intensity of the field is approximately | volt/cm at the surface of the earth and decreases gradually with height so that at 9,500 m it is only about 0.02 V/em. A relatively large raindrop (0.1 cm radius) falling in this field becomes polarized, the upper side acquires a negative. EER701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERINGROHINL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY Figure:1.2.3 (a) Capture of negative ions by large falling drop (b) Charge separation ina thunder cloud according to Wilson’s theory. [Source: “High Voltage Engineering” by C.L. Wadhwa, page: 61] Wilson’s Theory of Charge Separation Wilson's theory is based on the assumption that a large number of ions are present in the atmosphere. Many of these ions attach themselves to small dust particles and water particles It also assumes that an electric field exists in the earth's atmosphere during fair weather which is directed downwards towards the earth (Figure. 1.4 (a)). The intensity of the field is approximately | volt/cm at the surface of the earth and decreases gradually with height so that at 9,500 mit is only about 0.02 V/cm. A relatively large raindrop (0.1 cm radius) falling in this field becomes polarized, the upper side acquires a negative charge and the lower side a positive charge. Subsequently, the lower part of the drop attracts —ve charges from the atmosphere which are available in abundance in the atmosphere leaving a preponderance of positive charges in the air. ‘The upwards motion of air currents tends to carry up the top of the cloud, the +ve air and smaller drops that the wind can blow against gravity. Meanwhile the falling heavier E8701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING—_— ROHINE COLLIGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHN, ¢ cle It is to be <* 8 which are nepatively charged settle on the base of the cloud, It 1s F NOted 4 vs ve action of capturing -ve charg : e. Thus in the orig, 48 possible. No such selective action occurs at the upper surface, Thu © OF gin ¢ mixe oducing essentials . both the positive and negative charges which were mixed up, producing essentialy, A neutral space charge, are now separated. Thus according to Wilson's theory since larger negatively charged drops settle on the base of the cloud and smaller positively charged drops settle on the upper positions of the cloud, the lower base of the cloud is negatively charged and the upper region is positively charged (Figure. 1.4 (b)). Simpson's and Scarse Theory Simpson’s theory is based on the temperature variations in the various regions of the cloud. When water droplets are broken due to air currents, water droplets acquire positive charges whereas the air is negatively charged. Also when ice crystals strike with air, the air is positively charged and the crystals negatively charged. The theory is explained with the help of Figure. cloud according to Simpson's theory Let the cloud move in the direction from left to right as shown by the arrow. The air currents are also shown in the diagram. If the velocity of the air currents is about 10 m/sec in the base of the cloud, these air currents when collide with the water panicles in the base of the cloud, the water drops are broken and carried upwards unless they combine together and fall down in a pocket as shown by a pocket of positive charges (right bottom region in Fig. 7.23). With the collision of water particles we know the air is negatively charged and the water particles positively charged. These negative charges 1n the air are immediately absorbed by the cloud particles which are carried away upwards with the air currents, The air currents go still higher in the cloud where the moisture freezes into ice crystals. ‘The air currents when collide with ice crystals the air is positively charged and it goes in the upper region of cloud whereas the negatively charged ice crystals drift gently down in HENTOU HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING. 3 from the atmosphere by the lower surface gotROWINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY “eg % the lower region of the cloud. This is how the charge is separated in a thundercloud, Once e, % the charge separation is complete, the conditions are now set fora lightning stroke May cf 4 Mechanism of Lightning Stroke Lightning phenomenon is the discharge of the cloud to the ground. The cloud and the ground form two plates of a gigantic capacitor and the dielectric medium is air. Since the lower part of the cloud is negatively charged, the earth is positively charged by induction. Lightning dischai ge will require the puncture of the air between the cloud and the earth. For breakdown of air at STP condition the electric field required is 30 kV/cm peak. But in a cloud where the moisture content in the air is large and also because of the high altitude (lower pressure) it is seen that for breakdown of air the electric field required is only 10 kV/em. The mechanism of lightning discharge is best explained with the help of Fig. 1.6. After a gradient of approximately 10 kV/cm is set up in the cloud, the air surrounding gets ionized. At this a streamer (Fig. 1.6(a)) starts from the cloud towards the carth which cannot be detected with the naked eye; only a spot travelling is detected. The current in the streamer is of the order of 100 amperes and the speed of the streamer is0.16 m/u sec. This streamer is known as pilot streamer because this leads to the lightning phenomenon. Depending upon the state of ionization of the air surrounding the streamer, it is branched to several paths and this is known as stepped leader (Fig.1.6(b)). The leader steps are of the order of 50 m in length and are accomplished in about a microsecond. The charge is brought from the cloud through the already ionized path to these pauses. The air surrounding these pauses is again ionized and the leader in this way reaches the earth (Fig. 1.6(c)).Once the stepped leader has made contact with the earth it is believed that a power return stroke(Fig. 1.6(c)) moves very fast up towards the cloud through the already ionized path by the leader. This streamer is very intense where the current varies between 1000 amps and 200,000 amps and the speed is about 10% that of light. It is here where the ve charge of the cloud is being neutralized by the positive induced charge on the earth (Fig. EES701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERINGROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TEC yy, 1.6 (d)). is this instant which gives rise to lightning flash which we observe with our naked ey may be another cell of charges in the cloud near the neutralized charged cell, This © charged cell will try to neutralize through this ionized path. This streamers known as dan leader (Fig.1.6 (c)). The velocity of the dart leader is about 3% of the velocity of light. The effect of the dart leader is much more severe than that of the return stroke. The discharge Current in the return streamer is relatively very large but as it lasts only for a few microseconds the energy contained in the streamer is small and hence this streamer is known as cold lightning stroke whereas the dart leader is known as hot lightning stroke because even though the current in this leader is relatively smaller but it lasts for some milliseconds and therefore the energy contained in this leader is relatively larger. "ris found that each thunder cloud may contain as many as 40 charged cells and a heavy lightning stroke may occur. This is known as multiple stroke. 1.2.3 Line Design Based On Hghtning The severity of switching surges for voltage 400 kV and above is much more than that due to lightning voltages. All the same it is desired to protect the transmission lines against direct lightning strokes. The object of good line design is to reduce the number of ousges caused by lightning. To achieve this following actions are required. (I) The incidence of stroke on to power conductor should be minimized. (ii) The effect of those strokes which are incident on the system should be minimized. BES701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERINGROMINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY. Figure 1.2.4 Lightning mechanism (Source: “High Voltage Engineering” by C.L. Wadhwa, page: 66]~< ee ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY PROTECTION AGAINST OVER VOLTAGES Transients or surges on the power system may originate from switching and from other causes but the most important and dangerous surges are those caused by lightning. The lightning surges may cause serious damage to the expensive equipment in the power system (e.g. generators, transformers etc.) either by direct strokes on the equipment or by strokes on the transmission lines that reach the equip-ment as travelling waves. It is necessary to provide protection against both kinds of surges. The most commonly used devices for protection against lightning surges are (i) Earthing screen (ii) Overhead ground wires (iii) Lightning arresters or surge diverters Earthing screen provides protection to power stations and sub-stations against direct strokes whereas overhead ground wires protect the transmission lines against direct lightning strokes. How- ever, lightning arresters or surge diverters protect the station apparatus against both direct strokes and the strokes that come into the apparatus as travelling waves. We shall briefly discuss these methods of protection. ‘The Earthing Screen The power stations and sub-stations generally house expensive equipment. These stations can be protected against direct lightning strokes by providing earthing screen. It consists of a network of copper conductors (generally called shield or screen) mounted all over the electrical equipment in the sub-station or power station. The shield is properly connected to earth on atleast two points through a low impedance. On the occurrence of direct stroke on the station, screen provides a low resistance path by which lightning surges are conducted to ground. In this way, station equipment is protected against damage. The limitation of this method is that it does not provide protection against the travelling waves which may reach the equipment in the station. Overhead Ground Wires The most effective method of providing protection to transmission lines against direct lightning strokes is by the use of overhead ground wires For simplicity, one ground E8701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING§ OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOG ROHINI COL one line conductor are shown. The ground wires are placed above, the line FS at such positions that practically all lightning strokes are intercepted by them \d Wires). The ground wires are grounded at each tower or pole through as low tance as possible. Due to their proper location, the *ground wires will take up all the lightning strokes instead of allowing them to line conductors. When the direct lightning stroke occurs on the transmission line, it will be taken up by the ground wires. The heavy lightning current (10 kA to 50 kA) from the ground wire flows to the ground, thus protecting the line from the harmful effects of lightning. [t may be mentioned here that the degree of protection provided by the ground wires depends upon the footing resistance of the tower. Suppose, for example, tower-footing resistance is R| ohms and that the lightning current from tower to ground Shield Wire or Earth Wire Phase Conductor = hoo Ano. Figure.1.5.1 Over Head Ground Wire (Source: “High Voliage Engineering” by CL. Wadhwa . Page ~ 113] Since V; (= 1) R}) is the approximate voltage between tower and line conductor, this is also the voltage that will appear across the string of insulators. If the value of V; is less than that required to cause insulator flashover, no trouble results. On the other hand, if is excessive, the insulator flashover may occur. Since the value of V; depends upon tower- footing resistance R |, the value of this resistance must be kept as low as possible to avoid insulator flashover. EES7OL HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING we"Cy ee Loy ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOC oY “Ue ding ntages 5 re Adve tbe, ’m |, — Itprovides considerable protection ainst direct lightning strokes on transmission fou lines. > — A grounding wire provides damping effect on any disturbance travelling along the line as it acts as a short-circuited secondary > It provides a certain amount of electrostatic shielding against external fields. Thus it reduces the voltages induced in the line conductors duc to the discharge of a neighbouring cloud Disadvantages > —— Itrequires additional cost > There is a possibility of its breaking and falling across the line conductors, thereby causing a short-circuit fault, (ii) Lightning Arresters The earthing screen and ground wires can well protect the electrical system against direct lightning strokes but they fail to provide protection against travelling waves which may reach the terminal apparatus. The lightning arresters or surge diverters provide protection against such surges. A lightning arrester or a surge diverter is a protective device which conducts the high voltage surges on the power system to the ground. Figure 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 effectively grounded. The length of the gap is so set that normal line voltage is not enough to cause an arc across the gap but a dangerously high voltage will break down the air insulation and form an arc. The property of the non-linear resistance is that its resistance decreases as the voltage (or current) increases and vice-versa. Action. The action of the lightning arrester or surge diverter is as under : > Under normal operation, the lightning arrester is off the line i.e. it conducts **no current to earth or the gap is non-conducting. > Onthe occurrence of overvoltage, the air insulation across the gap breaks down and EE8701 HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERINGv. ROWINI COLLE £. OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY anare is formed, providing a low resistance path for 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 It is worthwhile to mention the function of non-linear resistor in the operation of arrester. As the gap sparks over due to overvoltage, the are would be a short-circuit on the power system and may cause power-follow current in the arrester. Since the characteristic of the resistor is to offer high resistance to high voltage (or current), it prevents the effect of a short-circuit. After the surge is over, the resistor offers high resistance to make the gap non-conducting. Two things must be taken care of in the design of a lightning arrester. Firstly, when the surge is over, the arc in gap should cease. [f the arc does not go out, the current would continue to flow through the resistor and both resistor and gap may be destroyed. Secondly, [ R drop (where 7 is the surge current) across the arrester when carrying surge current should not exceed the breakdown strength of the insulation of the equipment to be protected. Line Spark: gap resistor Lightning alvester Figure.1.5.2 Lightning arrestor (Source: “High Voliage Engineering” by CL. Wadhwa. Page ~ 115]