Application, Selection and

Location of Surge arresters

Introduction
Now a days Surge arresters are being used as a primary
protection for all substation equipment in a power system
The SA duty requirements depends upon the surge
phenomena in a particular application
The protection afforded by the SA depends upon proper
selection of SA
Improperly selected and located arrester will cause
damage to equipment
Appropriate selection & location of SA is important for
reliable and safe operation
Guide lines for application, selection and location of
arresters are discussed

Making and breaking of capacitive and

inductive loads

Current chopping high ovs

Pre strike, restrike high ovs
Capacitor bank switching
Motor switching
Line cable junction
Cable transformer junction
Open circuit breaker

Transformer protection
Transformer is most critical part of network which requires
utmost attention
Main cause of transformer outages / failures are due to
lightning to or near by distribution lines
It acts as a high input impedance under surge
operating conditions
provides best point for surge wave reflections
Hence subjected to a higher level of OV stress than the
other equipment and cost is also very high
So the Necessity to protect T/F by using surge
arrester with providing sufficient margin w.r.t its BIL
Protection of T/F which is costliest is given utmost
importance

APPLICATION OF SA
Protection of transformer is the most common
application of SA.
improvements in design of SA technology resulted into
arresters with
better energy handling capability,
reduced protective levels & at the same time providing
improved thermal stability,
better short circuit performance etc.

Led to better reliability of SA in protecting equipment

thus reducing the failure rates
The improvements in design technology has opened
up new areas for SA applications

APPLICATION OF SA
Protection of substation (transmission, distribution,
industrial and generation)
Circuit breaker Transient recovery voltage (TRV)
control
Junction of over head lines and cables in over head
distribution systems
Protection of under ground cable connected systems
Protection of series capacitors
Protection of motors and dry-type transformers which
are extremely sensitive to surges,

APPLICATION OF SA
Protection of insulation of an open circuit breakers
surge arresters for AC and DC traction systems.
protection of rotating machinery, motors, and
generators
High voltage gas-insulated substations (GIS)
protection of thyristors in HVDC transmission
systems,
protection of electric arc furnaces in the glass and
metal industries.

APPLICATION OF SA
Different electrical network components associated
with each application results into
Different surge phenomena
different surge magnitude, steepness, duration,
associated energy
The over voltage stresses and the energy duty on
the surge arresters also vary depending on the
application.
Knowledge of type of expected over volatge wave
shapes, magnitude and duration for the above cases
is essential for the utility engineers.

Protection of substations
Surges can enter substation by
direct lightning
LI & SI surges travelling transmission lines & reaching substation

Direct lightning
- Shield wires or masts used to protect from direct lightning

Surges traveling through lines & reaching station

- very fast rising surge enter a nearby station if there is a backflash to the
conductor during a switching or lightning surge
- Fast rising surge have a high probability of flashing over insulation in the
substation w/o SAs

SA installed to limit surge ovs entering substation through lines

- Surge current magnitude entering substation depend on degree of
shielding protection provided
Maximum system
voltage kV

Discharge
current Amps

Maximum system
voltage kV

Discharge
current Amps

15
36.5
72.5
121
145

5000 *
5000 *
5000
5000
5000

242
362
550
800

10000
10000
15000
20000

Protection of cables

No SWs for distribution lines & lightning strikes direct phase

conductors

Cables connected to these lines exposed to lightning

different surge magnitude, steepness, duration, associated energy

Protection of capacitors

Shunt capacitor banks are exposed to incoming lightning surges

resulting from the line shielding failures or back flashover

Capacitor bank OV depends on the charge contained by the surge

SA required to protect capacitor bank

The capacitor bank energization, de-energization produces initial

surges of higher magnitude due to prestrike & restrike

Imposes heavy duty on arresters due to large energy stored in capacitor

banks

SA for this application requires high energy capability than is required

for other application in distribution class.

Frequent On & Off of capacitor banks produce severe OV on Power

system

Utility engineers shall realize the importance of use of SA for capacitor

bank protection

Application of SA
Protection of Series capacitor :
Series capacitor used to improve system stability in long AC Tr. Lines
During line faults, the capacitor exposed to severe OV
SA used to limit OV and carry fault currents to ground
Protection of Switches
it should be recognized that there is some risk of lightning damage
when the recloser is open for any reason
In lightning exposed areas the switchgear connected to line through
cable need SA protection
SA needs to be provided at cable line junction and at Switchgear if
required based on cable length.

Transformer ungrounded neutral

The isolated neutral of T/F are subjected to surge voltages as a result of
surge at the line terminals propagating through the windings
Requires SA protection
Neutrals are subjected to TOV caused due to L-G fault
Isolated neutrals are subjected to OVS due to reflection (at the neutral)
of surge coming from line
Neutral points stresses due to asymmetrical faults during switching
operations

Application of SA
Protection of Unloaded transformer windings
Some cases multi winding transformer terminals brought out to external
bushings without lined connected.
This forms an open point for traveling waves and surge voltage doubles
at the open point.
Requires SA to protect
Protection of GIS
GIS being compact, the equipment size is small
high electrical stress placed on relatively small geometries.
GIS is more sensitive to overvoltages than an air-insulated station (AIS).
Volt time characteristics of SF6 are much flatter than air for fast front
surges
SF6 flashes over for any In coming surge with fast rate of rise before any
air gap present
disconnectors in GIS produce fast front switching surges. effecting the
equipment like T/F etc
highly nonlinear characteristics, makes the surge arresters ideally suited
for the purpose of protecting the GIS stations.

Protection of Motor against switching transients

Vacuum CB used to switch motors can produce OVs due to current
chopping, restrike during opening
The front times of such surges can be short (steep fronts) and can
damage the damage motor turn insulation. Requires SA to protect
Protection against overvoltages developed during current chopping:
Current limiting fuses and vacuum breakers, have the ability to reduce the
current to zero value ahead of the inherent normal current zero.
The operation of such switches produce dangerous OVs
Surge arresters are applied to reduce the dangerous over voltages during
current chopping.
Protection of open CB
The 1st stroke may lead to single phase L-G fault causing the relays to
operate and to open the line breakers
If a rapid following stroke hits the line, the lightning surge may reach the
breaker in open position before the breaker has fully recovered its
dielectric strength across the contacts.

A restrike or possible Breaker damage may occur

Station SA can not protect the breaker, an additional arrester on the line
side of the circuit breaker will protect the open circuit breaker and also
improve the overall overvoltage protection of the station.

Overvoltage at line breaker without

special breaker protection

Overvoltage at line
breaker protected by
ZnO arrester.

Overvoltage distribution at the

breaker with only one arrester
located at the transformer 50 m
behind the breaker. As a comparison
the dashed curve indicates the
overvoltage distribution when an
additional arrester is installed at 5m
in front of the breaker.

Protection of Transmission lines

Protection of transmission lines against lightning/switching surges to
increase the reliability and security of the transmission system is a new
area for surge arrester applications.

This application recently is gaining popularity slowly due to the

introduction of polymer-housed arrester designs
The line arresters are used to reduce possibility of flashover of line
insulators from back flashovers .
Line arresters used for line sections with high ground resistance

Transmission line closing reclosing transients

The pre insertion resistors are being replaced with SA to reduce
reclosing transients

Arresters integrated into disconnectors and earthing switches

SA integrated into disconnector is a latest application installation of

arretsre to protect open CB at a later stage is not possible due to space
requirements.

Use of arresters as post insulators

In the very rare event of an arrester failure the arrester housing may break
and completely lose its mechanical integrity. If arresters are designed to have
good mechanical strength equal to that of the station post insulators, the
used of arrester as post insulator is a favorable application for economical as
well as technical reasons
Drastic cost reductions may be achieved when using arresters as post
insulators. Saving space is another economical point.

SA used as a post
SA integrated into
insulator
disconnector

Protection of Transmission lines

Protection of transmission lines against lightning/switching surges to
increase the reliability and security of the transmission system is a new
area for surge arrester applications.

This application recently is gaining popularity slowly due to the

introduction of polymer-housed arrester designs
The line arresters are used to reduce possibility of flashover of line
insulators from back flashovers .
Line arresters used for line sections with high ground resistance

Transmission line closing reclosing transients

The pre insertion resistors are being replaced with Sa to reduce reclosing
transients

Arresters integrated into disconnectors and earthing switches

SA integrated into disconnector is a latest application installation of

arretsre to protect open CB at a later stage is not possible dur to space
requirements.

Temporary over voltages

- earth faults,
- sudden changes of load,
- resonance and ferro resonance.

Vmax ( Line line) * 2

1 pu
3

No immediate failure of insulation Gradual

degradation of insulation.

Control of over voltages

Preinsertion resistor to limit CB switching transients
Shunt reactors to limit OV due to ferranti effect of unloaded
long line energization
Proper shielding of lines to reduce direct strokes
low tower footing resistances to reduce the incidence of
back-flashovers.
Nothing much can be done to control the incidence of
indirectly induced over voltages due to lightning.

Insulation provided upto some extent, not

economical to provide full protection
Once all these steps have been taken, The use of
surge arresters provides protection to the power
equipment against harmful over voltages.
Now a days use of gapless ZnO SAs is very
common

How SA protects Transformer ?

Limits OV by passing surge current into ground
Acts as an insulator under normal conditions
Offers very low resistance temporarily for surge currents
allowing current to pass to earth and hence limiting the
voltage at the transformers terminals
spontaneously recovers its insulation charateristic
once the voltage has reached its normal value again.
Arrester used must have protection level less than BIL of
equipment (protection level of 45kV is sufficient for
protecting T/F with a BIL of 75kV providing 75%
protective margin)
Does not protect the equipment from PF OVs / TOV

Selection of SA

Ur1= 0.8 * Vsys = 0.8 * 420=

336kV

Ur2=Uto
v

earth factor 0.8 for solidly

earthed
1.0 for isolated neutral
or unearthed systems

Line discharge class and energy requirement

Select SA of higher rated
voltage than is required for
arrester location with high
soil resistivity
Select SA with higher
nominal discharge current
than is required for arrester
location with high lightning
activity

Station class: 10 kA & 20 kA

Distribution class: 5 kA
Secondary class: 1.5 kA

Protection
level
Ur (kV rms) 360 Ur 756 In = 20kA
3 Ur 360
In = 10kA
Ur 132 In=5kA,
Ur 36 In=2.5kA

Nominal discharge current

-In determines the SA class

Proper selection
of SA protection
level is important
Select SA of higher
rated voltage than is
required for arrester
location with high soil
resistivity
Select SA with higher
nominal discharge
current than is
required for arrester
location with high
lightning activity

SA with Low protective level

gives more protective margin
but draws more leakage
current so stressed more at pf
voltage

SA with high protective level

has least protective margin
and , draws less leakage
current so stressed less at pf
voltage

Selection of an Arrester
Thus, an arrester has to be judiciously chosen after
taking into account the COV, TOV conditions of its
installation. Further selection is based on the required
protective margins and estimated energy through the
arrester.
Final selection may be a compromise between
protective level, TOV capability and energy capability
of the arrester. Optimization depends on how well the
system parameters are known and calculation of
actual arrester stresses.

Installation and Location of surge arrester

For the best protection, the surge arresters should be installed at

the terminals of the equipment to be protected.
Economically and practically this is not always possible and the
arresters are often installed some distance from the equipment
being protected.

The line and ground connections shall be made as short as possible.

Grounding. The surge arrester ground terminals shall be interconnected

with the grounded parts of the protected equipment.
It is very important to ensure that ground path from the SA to the
protected equipment has sufficiently low impedance to limit the voltage
to ground to a safe value.
The resistance to earth of the grounding electrode alone should not
exceed 1 ohm.

If an arrester is separated from protected equipment by leads of

significant length, reflection at the transformer causing doubling
of the voltage occurs making the SA protection less effective.

These points must be taken into account when applying surge

protection.

Effect of lead length

 Example:
current wave: 1 kA/ s;
earth down-cable inductance: 1H/m;
hence UL = 1 kV/m.
If this voltage is not to be

 Safety Precautions for Distribution Transformers.

Distribution transformers must be protected from violent
explosions. When a distribution transformer is removed
from service as a result of an automatic operation of the
transformer protective devices, the transformer should be
tested to be sure it does not have an internal fault before it
is reenergized by a lineman.
Lineman have closed a fused cutout on a distribution
transformer, which had an internal fault, and have been
injured by the explosion and oil fire that resulted.
Logical approach to selecting appropriate copper links in an
event of shortfall in HRC fuses.
Reducing lightning arrester leads length for effective lightning
and surge protection system.
Use effective methods to reduce high ground resistance
values.

Substation transformer protection

Lightning surges enter a substation either by a direct stroke to the
equipment or through transmission lines that are connected to it.
Overhead ground wires or masts are generally employed to shield
against direct strokes.
The surge arresters are installed to limit the magnitude of surge
voltages traveling over the transmission lines and entering the
substation equipment.
In addition to shielding the substation, it is to be ensured that each
entering exposed overhead line is shielded and protected with a set of
surge arresters.
Arresters at the line entrance of a substation effectively protect circuit
breakers and instrument transformers in addition to the transformers
from the effects of surges through over head lines entering substation
Additional arresters needed to protect the transformer if separation
distance between the arresters and the transformer is more.
Separation distance shall be minimized to avoid wave reflections.
If transformer is connected by a cable to the line, SA may be
connected at the cable line junction.

Optimum lead length calculation

Experience has shown that a safety factor of 1.2 is

sufficient between the transformer BIL and the maximum
voltage Ua which may appear at the T/F.

If L=a+b is taken as a
separation distance. The
maximum distance may
be calculated as:

Equipment Protection using ZnO Surge

Arresters
Lightning Arresters are used for protection of various equipments
in the power transmission and distribution system from lightning
and switching over voltages.
Lightning Arresters are normally connected in parallel with the
equipment to be protected to divert the surge.
Advantages of Metal Oxide lightning arresters over the gapped
type are many Well defined protective level
High energy capability
No follow up current
Very reliable, have a long life
Better Co-ordination among arresters

Impulse current generator at CPRI

maximum safety clearance

Due to Wave reflection and propagation surge arresters only limit overvoltages
at their terminals.
The clipped wave retains the dv/dt of its rising front and could develop, by
reflection, at the opening point, a voltage twice that of limitation voltage.
As equipment withstand voltage is generally lower than twice the residual
voltage of the arrester, there is a maximum clearance not to be exceeded
between the arrester and the substation equipment.

Example:
lightning wave: 300 kV/ ms;
MV substation: impulse withstand of 125 kV;
surge arrester: residual voltage: 75 kV.
The maximum stress at the open point will be generated by reflection of the wave peak
limited by the arrester. This stress will have twice the value of this peak. In order to keep
to the limit of 125 kV of the equipment, the arrester must therefore act at the latest when
the incident wave in its position equals: 125/2 =62.5 (instant T0 in figure 32).
As its conduction level (if approximated to the protection level) is 75 kV,
intervention is only possible by the superimposition of the reflected wave on the incident
wave.
The reflected wave must have reached a value of 75 - 62.5 = 12.5 kV.
The difference between the incident value (62.5 kV) and the reflected value
(12.5 kV), i.e. 50 kV, corresponds to the wave front distributed on the return
journey between the arrester and the open point. The return distance is thus
no more than 50 m, i.e. a maximum protection clearance of 25 m.

If the following protective ratios are met or exceeded,

satisfactory insulation coordination will be achieved according
to the minimum recommendations given in ANSI C62.22.
assuming negligible arrester lead length and separation
distance between the arrester and the transformer.

Switching Surge Withstand / Switching Surge Protective Level

>= 1.15
Full Wave Withstand (BIL) / Impulse Protective Level >= 1.20
Chopped Wave Withstand / Front-of-Wave Protective Level >=
1.25

Thank You

Flashovers of overhead lines due to lightning

induced voltages leading to flashovers due to strokes very close to line

- Rarely exceed 300kV
Limited to distribution and sub-transmission lines