Abstract — Presently, the design and installation of insulator strings for 69 kV and 115 kV
subtransmission lines in Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) are based on American National
Standards Institute (ANSI). The applications of this standard may not be appropriate for insulation
coordination evaluation in MEA because of the different number of thunderstorm days. As a result, the
failure on insulator strings of subtransmission system in MEA was often found. This paper analyzes the
existing performance of insulator strings described in term of the total flash over rate (TFOR) for 69 kV
and 115 Kv subtransmission lines in a service area of MEA. The results show that the difference in
TFORs of the lines is significant for different thunderstorm days and probability peak current curves.
Keywords: Subtransmission lines, Insulator strings, Back flashover rate (BFOR), Shielding failure
flashover(SFFOR).
I. INTRODUCTION
Induced overvoltage on a transmission line can be caused by direct lightning strikes to overhead ground
wire (OHGW) or due to lightning strikes to nearby the line [1], [2]. A direct lightning strike to an OHGW can
cause back flashover on the insulators if the voltage difference between the phase conductor and the OHGW
exceeds the critical flashover (CFO) of the insulators. In the real practice of the 69 kV and 115 kV
subtransmission lines in MEA’s distribution system, back flashover can cause insulator failure and lead to power
interruption. The back flashover rate (BFOR) depends on the footing resistance, span, line configuration, tower
surge impedance, lightning current, CFO, and lightning current probability [3]. This paper analyzes the lightning
performance of subtransmission lines in MEA’s distribution system. A case study is performed by varying the
number of insulators of 69-and 115 kV subtransmission lines. The total flash over rate (TFOR) is calculated by a
TFlash program. It is expected that the obtained results could provide a good indicator for the design of
subtransmission lines in MEA.
B. Insulator Model
The installation of a porcelain insulator type 52-3 (Figure 2) in the MEA network complies with Thai
Industrial Standard: TIS.354-1985. A string of 4 and 7 insulator units are installed associated with phase
conductor of 69 kV and 115 kV subtransmission lines respectively.
where R’0 is represented by grounding resistance, Z’g is represented by surge impedance of ground wire, Zw is
surge impedance, is tower damping factor, and t is lightning wave travel time. Overvoltage occurred at the
insulators on the top of the tower is proportional to surge impedance and lightning current.
di 2
VM = I. R + L + Vs (6)
dt 3
where I is lightning peak current (kA), R is tower footing resistance, L is tower inductance, di/dt is lightning
current steepness (kA), VS is system voltage (kV).
A back flashover occurs when a lightning strikes an OHGW or pole of a transmission line, resulting in
the voltage across the insulators exceeding CFO. BFOR is a product of the number of lightning strikes to the
OHGW and a probability of stroke critical current [7], [9], [10]. The critical current is defined as lightning stroke
current when injected into the conductor causing flashover.
BFOR = 0,6.NL.P(If) (5)
di
1,5(CFO / k ) − L
If = dt
R
0,71
CFO = n.s 0,4 +
t 0, 75
- n is sum dish, s is spacing, t is time flashover
- R is resistance tower, CFO (Critical flashover) and k is factor kopling ground wire and conductor phase
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