Effects of Heat Sinks in Metal Oxide Surge Arresters on ZnO Element Power
Dissipation and Temperature Distribution
Zhong Zheng, Member, IEEE, Susumu Nishiwaki, Fellow, IEEE, Steven Boggs, Fellow, IEEE,
and Takato Fukano, Member, IEE Japan
Abstract -- The cooling effect of heat sinks placed
between the ZnO elements of a surge arrester is evalu-
ated in the context of the IEC Type Test for thermal
stability using transient nonlinear finite element analysis
with coupled thermal and electric fields to simulate the
entire operating duty type test sequence in IEC60099-4.
Index Terms – heat sink, thermal stability, metal
oxide surge arrester, finite element analysis
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to explore through
computation the effects of heat sinks between ZnO
elements of a surge arrester on power dissipation in
and thermal stability of the ZnO elements. Such heat
sinks have been used for many years in ZnO
arresters; however, a quantitative exploration of their
effect hast not been published. This problem is
nearly impossible to explore through measurement, as
the power dissipation as a function of axial and radial
position within the ZnO element is of primary
interest. Thus such phenomena must be explored
through computation, using software for axisym-
metric 2-D transient nonlinear finite element analysis
with coupled thermal and electric fields. As part of a
program to develop software capable of simulating
the entire type test sequence of IEC60099-4, we have
undertaken a study of heat sink related issues. This
work is a joint effort of a surge arrester manufacturer
and specialists in numerical analysis, so that the
parameters used in the computations reflect accurate-
ly data measured for production arrester elements.
Thermal stability under surge conditions limits the
rating of station class surge arresters and is often
defined in terms of the IEC60099-4 operating duty
type test described in Figure 1 and Table 1, which
consists of applying two surges one minute apart
followed by the rated voltage of the surge arrester for
10 s and then the maximum continuous operating
voltage for 30 minutes, to condition the arrester to an
elevated temperature and see if it remains thermally
stable during application of rated voltage followed by
maximum continuous operating voltage.
In this paper, thermal stability of 312 kV rating surge
arrester, normally applied to 362 kV systems, is
discussed. The analysis is carried out on a design
which employs 53 high gradient ZnO elements. The
values given in parentheses in Table 1 are for this
3
surge arrester. The energy absorption of 250 J/cm
resulting from application of each impulse was deter-
0s 60s
Test Voltage (not to scale)
60.1s 70.1s 1870s
Test Time (not to scale)
Figure 1. IEC type test process for stability of ZnO arresters
(not to scale). A short impulse of defined volumetric power
3 o
dissipation (250 J/cm ) is applied when the system is at 60 C,
then the system is allowed to relax for 1 minute after which a
second identical impulse is applied. The system then relaxes
for 100 ms after which rated voltage (120% of maximum
continuous operating voltage) is applied for 10 s, followed by
maximum continuous operating voltage for 30 minutes.
Table 1. IEC Standard for ZnO Arrester Type Test
Time Action
Long duration current impulse (250
0 J/cm3) applied to arrester at
equilibrium temperature of 60 oC
0 ~ 60 s 60 s relaxation (no voltage)
Long duration current impulse (250
60 s
J/cm3)
60 s ~ 60.1 s 0.1 s relaxation (no voltage)
60.1 s ~ 70.1 s 10 s rated voltage (312 kV)
30 minutes maximum continuous
70.1 s ~ 1870 s
operating voltage (252 kV)
mined based on line discharge class 4, which normal-
ly applies for 362 kV systems.
The ZnO element conductivity as a function of elec-
tric field and temperature for this study is shown in
Figure 2. These data are based on measurements of
production ZnO arrester elements. Inevitably such
measurements contain some experimental error, and
engineering judgment has been used to “smooth” the
data to create a well-behaved plot. At high electric
field (current), the conductivity is essentially inde-
o
pendent of temperature to about 500 C. At low field,
conduction is ohmic but a very strong function of
temperature. During the 10 s IEC rated voltage
phase, the peaks of the AC voltage typically extend
slightly into nonlinear conduction, while at maximum
continuous operating voltage, the entire AC wave-
form is in the low field, ohmic region. In both AC
phases of the type test, the conductivity and power
dissipation increase rapidly with temperature. As can
be seen from Figure 2, the low field conductivity and
power dissipation increase by roughly an order of
o 1e+2
magnitude for every 100 C increase in temperature.

tivity (S/m)
Thus applying rated voltage or maximum continuous 1e+1

operating voltage to elements at elevated temperature 1e+0

has the potential to cause thermal runaway, as the 1e-1

uc
power dissipation in the elements may exceed the 1e-2

Electrical Cond
1e-3
heat loss from the surface of the elements. The ZnO
1e-4
thermal diffusivity used in these computation is also
1e-5 8
nonlinear and is shown in Figure 3.

m)
1e-6 7
6

/m
Qualitative Description of Physical Phenomena 1e-7 5

(kV
1e-8 4

ld
3

Fie
One method for improving thermal stability is to 300 2
250
200

tric
1
place heat sinks between the ZnO elements. This has 150

ec
100
Temp 50

El
three beneficial effects, viz., (i) in the short term, eratu
re (C
)
such heat sinks absorb heat from the ZnO elements to Figure 2. Typical electrical conductivity of ZnO as a function
lower their temperature and reduce power dissipation, of temperature and electric field. Under low field conditions,
(ii) in the longer term, the elements conduct heat the conductivity is a very strong function of temperature,
from the large ZnO–heat sink interfaces to the heat while under high field conditions, the conductivity is almost
independent of temperature.
sink–gas interface, thereby increasing heat transfer
from the elements to the surrounding gas, and (iii)
since the greatest reduction in ZnO temperature
occurs near the heat sink surface, this decreases the
ZnO conductivity in that region compared to the
middle of the ZnO element, which results in the
maximum power dissipation occurring near the ZnO–
heat sink interface where heat can be removed from
the ZnO element most efficiently. These thermal
phenomena occur because ZnO has a thermal conduc-
tivity of about 20 W/m-K while common heat sink
materials such as Al, have thermal conductivities in
the range of 250 W/m-K. ZnO and Al have similar
6
volumetric heat capacities, in the range of 2.5x10
3
J/m -K. The convective heat transfer coefficient
2
(HTC, W/m -K), determined by the solid-gas inter-
face conditions, is quite similar for both ZnO and the Figure 3. Thermal diffusivity of ZnO employed in the present
computations.
heat sink, so that thermal transfer to the insulating
gas depends primarily on the temperature difference Based on the above thermal conductivity and heat
between the solid and the gas. Since the heat sink capacity, the thermal diffusivity of ZnO near room
6 2
has a much greater thermal conductivity, it can temperature is about 8x10 m /s but decreases sub-
transfer heat from the center of the ZnO element to stantially with increasing temperature (Figure 2).
the gas much more efficiently than can the ZnO Thus heat diffuses 22 mm in ZnO in about 1 minute.
within the element. The thermal diffusivity of Al is about an order of
In our discussion below, we will consider ZnO ele- magnitude greater, so that the heat sinks come to
ments which are 22 mm thick and about 85 mm in thermal equilibrium within a few seconds for any
diameter. The heat sinks are of variable thickness reasonable thickness.
and of the same diameter as the ZnO elements. To consider the IEC Type Test of Figure 1 in greater
Unless otherwise stated, the heat sinks are placed detail, the first impulse causes adiabatic heating of
between adjacent pairs of ZnO elements, so that each the ZnO elements. During the one-minute relaxation
ZnO element is adjacent to only one heat sink, with before the next pulse, the ZnO elements and Al heat
the other side being another ZnO element. sinks come close to thermal equilibrium. Since we

2
have two ZnO elements for every heat sink and the
volumetric heat capacity of the two materials is
similar, heat sinks of the same size as the ZnO
elements absorb roughly one third of the heat
dissipated during the surge, and in the process, the
temperature rise in the ZnO elements is reduced by
about one third relative to the temperature immedi-
ately after the impulse.
The second impulse causes a second, similar temper-
ature rise; however, heat in the ZnO can diffuse only
about 1 mm in the 0.1 s before the rated voltage is
applied. Thus at the time the rated voltage is applied,
the temperature in the elements is substantially
nonuniform with a large temperature gradient in the
ZnO layer adjacent to the heat sinks. During the
rated voltage phase, the power dissipation is sub-
stantial and somewhat nonuniform as a result of the
axial temperature gradient in the ZnO elements.
During the 10 s rated voltage phase, the elements do
not come to thermal equilibrium internally or with
the Al heat sinks as a result of the short time
compared to the diffusion time across the ZnO ele-
ments and the nonuniform power dissipation within
the elements.
The power dissipation is reduced substantially during
the maximum continuous operating voltage phase,
and the elements come close to equilibrium, both
axially and radially, with some temperature gradient
near the interface with the heat sink as a result of its
large thermal conductivity. However, a minute into
the maximum continuous operating voltage phase, the
axial and radial temperature variation in the ZnO is
only a few degrees unless thermal runaway is
imminent.
Basically, thermal stability is determined by whether
the temperature in the ZnO elements increases or
decreases with time after they come to near thermal
equilibrium, soon after the maximum continuous
operating voltage is applied. If the elements are in a
confined gas space, as in a tank-type arrester, the
temperature of the gas surrounding the elements can
increase over time, which can reduce heat transfer
from the elements to the gas. This can lead to “late”
thermal runaway, a situation where the ZnO elements
start to cool slightly during the maximum continuous
operating voltage phase, after which the ZnO element
temperature starts to increase as a result of the
increasing gas temperature. Obviously, this occurs
only at the boundary between stable and unstable
operation.
3
NUMERICAL MODELING
The ZnO arrester geometry used in our simulations
includes the ZnO elements, heat sinks, and gas. The
ZnO elements and heat sinks are cooled through
convection from the stack surface based on a fixed
2
convective heat transfer coefficient HTC (W/m -K). In
other simulations, we have included both radiation and
the ambient temperature of gas within an enclosure
explicitly.
The entire IEC type test is simulated using transient
nonlinear finite element analysis with coupled ther-
mal and electric fields [1,2]. In the computation, we
apply AC voltage to the ZnO stack and calculate the
electric field distribution therein as a function of
time, use the field distribution and known temper-
ature to calculate the electrical conductivity, compute
the average power dissipation over an AC cycle from
the conductivity and electric field, and then use
transient nonlinear thermal finite element analysis to
compute a new temperature distribution from the
position-dependent power dissipation and the known
(nonlinear) thermal properties. Computation of IEC
Type Test with heat sinks is particularly difficult as it
is truly an axisymmetric 2-D computation. Without
the heat sinks, the problem is really 1-D, as no axial
temperature gradient should exist, and this allows
simplifications to be made which reduce the com-
putation time. However with heat sinks, the full 2-D
computation must be undertaken, which means
computing the power dissipation during an AC cycle,
including the nonlinear conductivity of the ZnO
which becomes significant during the 10 s rated
voltage phase.
AC Rated Voltage Phase
During the 10 s AC rated voltage phase, the ZnO
elements are at substantially elevated temperature
o
(around 200 C at the end of the second impulse) and
are subjected to a large electric field which pushes
the ZnO slightly into nonlinear conduction at the
peak of the AC voltage, as seen in Figure 4. The
increase in power density with temperature is
exponential under these conditions, as seen from
Figure 5.
During the rated voltage phase, radial heat transfer is
much less than axial transfer to the heat sinks, as
immediately after the second impulse and 0.1 s
relaxation (without applied voltage), the ZnO is much
hotter than the heat sinks. The simulation results
indicate that the radial temperature variation is negli-
gible, so we focus on the axial temperature variation
(Figure 6) and corresponding variation in axial power
dissipation (Figure 7). Figure 8 shows a comparison (Figure 7), we see that the heat sinks are very effect-
of the volume averaged power density and temper- tive in reducing ZnO temperature and power density.
ature vs. time with and without heat sinks. The effect
of the heat sinks in lowering the power dissipation is
180
dramatic.
170
Cumulative Heat (scaled to the maximum)

160

Temperature (C)
1.0 1.0
Power Density (scaled to the maximum)

Voltage (scaled to the maximum)

Voltage
150
0.5 0.5 140
0s
130 2s
0.0 0.0 5s
120
Power Density 8s
Cumulative Heat 110 10 s
-0.5 -0.5

0 5 10 15 20
-1.0 -1.0 Axial Distance from Heat Sink Surface (mm)
0 5 10 15 20 Figure 6. The on-axis axial temperature gradient within a
Time (ms) ZnO element as the function of the distance from the heat
Figure 4. Power density in a ZnO element at uniform sink, at various times during the 10 s rated voltage phase. The
2
0
temperature of 200 C during the rated voltage phase. The HTC at the ZnO and Al surface is 10 W/m -K, and the heat
solid line is applied voltage. The dashed line is the power sink thickness is the same as that of ZnO element, 22 mm.
density. The dotted line is the cumulative power dissipation One heat sink is placed between every pair of ZnO elements,
over one cycle. Most of the power dissipation occurs near the which results in twice as many ZnO elements as heat sinks.
peak voltage as a result of nonlinear conduction in the ZnO.

Figure 7. On-axis power density within a ZnO element aver-

aged over an AC cycle as the function of the distance from the
Figure 5. Power density averaged over an AC cycle in a ZnO heat sink surface for various times during the 10 s rated
element as a function of the temperature during at the rated voltage phase. Conditions are the same as for Figure 6.
voltage and maximum continuous operating voltage (MCOV).
The temperature in the ZnO element is assumed uniform. Figure 7 shows the axial distribution of the cycle
Figure 6 shows the on-axis axial temperature distri- averaged power density with heat sinks at various
bution in ZnO elements as a function of the distance times during the 10 s rated voltage phase. The
from the heat sink surface at various times during the increase in power density near the heat sinks is a
2
over voltage phase, with a HTC of 10 W/m -K, and result of the lower temperature in this region (Figure
with the heat sink thickness the same as that of ZnO 6) combined with the uniform axial current density
element (22 mm). This case does not result in required by charge conservation. Given the very
o
thermal runaway. The maximum temperature at the large on-axis temperature variation of about 70 C at
center of the ZnO increases less than 1 C as a func- 0 s in Figure 6, the 10% variation in average power
tion of time during the rated voltage phase and even- density is modest (Figure 7). During the 10 s rated
tually decreases. Through comparison with the on- voltage phase, the voltage peaks of the AC cycle push
axis power dissipation for the same conditions the ZnO element into nonlinear conduction which, on

4
the one hand results in substantial current density and
power dissipation but, on the other, assures a
relatively uniform electric field as a result of the
strong field dependence of the conductivity so that
the power density, J E, is quite uniform in spite of the
large temperature variation.
The heat sinks also cause a substantial reduction in
the temperature after the second impulse, which
results much lower power dissipation during the rated
voltage phase, thereby improving thermal stability.
The power density with the same HTC but without
heat sinks is five times greater than the volume aver-
aged power dissipation with heat sinks (Figure 8).
Figure 8. On-axis temperature and power density in a ZnO
element as a function of time during the 10 s rated voltage
2
phase with and without heat sinks. The HTC is 10 W/m -K
for both cases, and the heat sink thickness is the same as that
of ZnO element, 22 mm. One heat sink is placed between
every pair of ZnO elements which results in twice as many
ZnO elements as heat sinks.
In Figure 8, the temperature and power density are
compared with and without heat sinks, which means
that the initial temperature during the rated voltage
phase is much greater without heat sinks than with. We
can also compare the power dissipation during the
rated voltage phase assuming that the initial temper-
ature is the same with and without heat sinks. In
Figure 9, we assume the initial temperature without
heat sinks is the same as the temperature at the center
of the ZnO element with heat sinks (i.e., the average
temperatures of the elements are about the same) and
calculate the volume averaged power dissipation as a
function of time during the rated voltage phase. The
power densities for the two cases are compared in
Figure 9. As a result of the large temperature gradient
and more rapid heat loss with the heat sinks, the power
density with heat sinks is drops rapidly to 90% of that
without heat sinks, decreasing to ~50% at later times.
5
Figure 9. On–axis power density during the 10 s rated voltage
phase with and without a heat sink of the same thickness as
the ZnO element (22 mm), assuming the same initial ZnO
temperature at the beginning of the rated voltage phase for
2
both cases. The HTC is 10 W/m -K and one heat sink is
placed between every pair of ZnO elements, resulting in twice
as many ZnO elements as heat sinks.
Full IEC Type Test
To evaluate the effect of heat sinks on ZnO arrester
stability over the full IEC type test, we carried out
simulations for a range of heat transfer coefficients
and heat sink thickness as listed in Table 2. In all
cases, we place one heat sink cylinder between every
pair of ZnO elements (twice as many ZnO elements
as heat sinks). As described above, thermal stability
can normally be evaluated early in the normal voltage
phase by whether the temperature at the center of the
element is increasing or decreasing. As a result, we
need compute for only about 200 s, after which
thermal stability can be determined with reasonable
certainty. A summary of computed data is shown in
Table 2, from which we can see that with increased
heat transfer coefficient, the system stability
increases substantially without heat sinks. With
natural or blocked convection, as is the situation for
most arresters, even a thin heat sink (with a thickness
0.1 times of the ZnO thickness) can provide a
substantial improvement in stability.
The temperature distribution at 200 s can be seen
from Figure 10 without heat sinks and Figure 11 with
one heat sink between every pair of ZnO elements.
Without heat sinks, heat flows only radially, and the
increased temperature relative to the case for even a
thin heat sink results in increased power dissipation,
especially on axis of the ZnO element from which
heat is most difficult to remove through radial heat
transfer. With the heat sink, axial heat flow is greater
than radial heat flow, so that not only the overall tem-
 o
Table 2. Computed Gas-ZnO Surface Temperature ( C) 200 s From the performance indicated in Table 2, we can see
into the IEC Type Test with various heat sink thickness (ZnO a dividing line exists between the stable and unstable
element thickness is 22 mm, one heat sink is placed between
every pair of ZnO elements) and HTC as defined in the Table. cases with various combination of HTC and heat sink
0 mm thickness means no heat sinks are employed. Numbers thickness, which would provide the guideline for the
marked with * are for thermally unstable cases. system design or the evaluation of the system stability
HTC (W/m2-K) tolerance.
Heat Sink 1 10 100
Thickness (mm)
0 *252 *234 150
2.2 *230 214 139
11 *177 160 N/A 220

22 138 N/A N/A

(K)
218

Temperature
216
perature is reduced but also much less power is
dissipated near the center of the element as a result of 214
the axial temperature variation. 20
212

)
The average surface and center temperatures during

m
15

(m
the tests for various heat sink thicknesses are plotted in 0

n
5 10

itio
10
Figures 12-15. Without a heat sink, the HTC must be

os
15
20 5

lP
2
increased to 100 W/m -K to maintain thermal stability 25

ia
Rad 30

Ax
(Figure 12). When a heat sink thickness of 2.2 mm is ial P 35 0
osit 40
2 ion
disposed between pairs of ZnO elements, a 10 W/m -K (mm
)
HTC will maintain thermal stability (Figure 13). With Figure 11. Temperature distribution within a ZnO element at
the increase of the thickness to 11 mm, the system is 200 s into the IEC type test with a heat sink of thickness 2.2
2 2
still marginally unstable under 1 W/m HTC, but when mm and a HTC of 10 W/m -K. One heat sink is placed
the heat sink is as thick as the ZnO element (22 mm), between every pair of ZnO elements (twice as many ZnO
2 elements as heat sinks). The heat flows axially towards the
1 W/m -K HTC maintains thermal stability (Fig. 14). heat sink and the system remains stable.

250

242 200
Temperature (C)
) (K

240
150
Temperature

Surface, 1 W/m2-K
238 Surface, 10 W/m2-K
100 Surface, 100 W/m2-K
236 Center, 1 W/m2-K
20 Center, 10 W/m2-K
234 15 50 Center, 100 W/m2-K
)
m

0
(m

5 10 0 50 100 150 200

10
n

15 Test Time (s)

itio

Rad 20 5
os

ial P 25
30 Figure 12. Average surface and center temperatures of a ZnO
lP

osit 35
ion 0
ia

(mm 40 element during the IEC test with no heat sinks as a function of
Ax

) HTC. The black lines are for surface temperature and the red
Figure 10. Temperature distribution within the ZnO element lines are for center temperature. The system is thermally
2
at 200 s into the IEC type test with no heat sinks and a HTC at unstable at an HTC of 1 and 10 W/m -K, but stable at 100
2 2
the ZnO surface of 10 W/m -K. The heat flows radially to- W/m -K.
ward the ZnO surface. The system is thermally unstable.

6
 this way we keep the total heat sink volume the same
although the number of heat sinks doubles in the
second case. We have computed the cases with a
200 2 2
HTC of 1 W/m -K and 10 W/m -K. As can be seen
from Figure 15, the system with a half heat sink
Temperature (K)

150
separating ZnO elements is far more stable than the
cases with one heat sink between every pair of ZnO
Surface, 1 W/m 2-K
elements (twice as many ZnO elements as heat sinks).
Surface, 10 W/m 2-K
100 Surface, 100 W/m2-K
This results from the much more rapid cooling of the
Center, 1 W/m2-K ZnO elements by the heat sinks during the over
Center, 10 W/m2-K voltage phase in the former case.
50 Center, 100 W/m2-K

0 50 100 150 200

Time (s)
Figure 13. Average surface and center temperatures of a ZnO
element during the IEC type test with heat sinks of 2.2 mm
thickness with one heat sink placed between every pair of ZnO
elements (twice as many ZnO elements as heat sinks). The
black lines are the surface temperature and the red lines are
the center temperature. The system is thermally unstable at
2 2
an HTC of 1 W/m -K, but stable at 10 and 100 W/m -K.

180

160
Temperature (K)

140
Figure 15. Average surface temperatures of a ZnO element
120 Surface, 11mm, 1 W/m 2-K 2 2
during the IEC type test for 1 W/m -K and 10 W/m -K HTC
Surface, 11 mm, 10 W/m 2-K with two different heat sink placements. The black lines are
2
100 Surface, 22 mm, 1 W/m 2-K for the cases with 1 W/m -K HTC and the red lines are for the
2
cases with 10 W/m -K HTC. The solid lines are for the cases
Center, 11 mm, 1 W/m 2-K
80 with one heat sink (22 mm thickness) between every pair of
Center, 11 mm, 10 W/m 2-K ZnO elements (twice as many ZnO elements as heat sinks) and
60 Center, 22 mm, 1 W/m 2-K the dotted lines are for the cases with half heat sink (11 mm
thickness) separating each pair of ZnO elements. The overall
0 50 100 150 200 heat sink volume is the same for both cases.
Time (s)
As noted above, power dissipation in the ZnO during
Figure 14. Average surface and center temperatures of ZnO the 10 s rated voltage phase and 30 minute MCOV is
element during the IEC type test with various HTC and heat a very strong function of temperature, Heat sinks
sink thickness. The system is thermally unstable for 11 mm
2
heat sink thickness and 1 W/m -K HTC, but stable for 11 mm “work” by lowering the temperature rapidly after the
2
thickness with 10 W/m -K HTC and 22 mm thickness with 1 impulses, which results in lower power dissipation
2
W/m -K HTC. One heat sink is placed between every pair of during the AC voltage phases. The effect of heat
ZnO elements, resulting in twice as many ZnO elements as sinks on power dissipation at the center of the ZnO
heat sinks. elements can be evaluated quantitatively by taking
Placement of Heat Sinks the average temperature at the center of the ZnO
element during the rated voltage phase (60 to 70 s) or
In all of the above analysis, one heat sink is place the MCOV phase (>70 s) from figures 12-15 and
between every pair of ZnO elements, resulting in using Figure 5 to compute the power dissipation. As
twice as many ZnO elements as heat sinks. Obvious- the power density during the rated voltage phase
ly a heat sink separating every pair of ZnO elements increases by roughly an order of magnitude for a 100
is preferable but involves more complexity. We have o
C increase in temperature, a modest reduction in
computed cases of a heat sink between every pair temperature from a heat sink has a large effect on
ZnO elements (as above) with heat sink thickness power dissipation and subsequent temperature rise.
equal to the ZnO element thickness as opposed to a
half thickness heat sink separating ZnO elements. In

7
 CONCLUSION
In the present contribution, we have quantified the
role of heat sinks in reducing power dissipation and
improving heat transfer from ZnO elements. Heat
sinks cause a very rapid reduction in ZnO
temperature after any sudden power dissipation in the
ZnO and thereby lower subsequent power dissipation
at normal operating voltage. Heat sinks also improve
heat transfer from the ZnO to the surrounding gas as
a result of their large radial thermal conductivity
relative to the ZnO. Finally, heat sinks cause an axial
temperature gradient in the ZnO element which
reduces power dissipation near the center of the ZnO
element by reducing the current density on axis of the
element. Thus heat sinks have a beneficial effect on
arrester stability. We have also demonstrated that
during the 10 s rated voltage phase of the IEC type
test, the power dissipation as a function of axial
position does not vary greatly in spite of a large
temperature variation along the axis of the ZnO
element.
Perhaps most importantly, we have demonstrated the
ability to simulate the full IEC Type Test Sequence
for a ZnO arrester using transient nonlinear finite
element analysis with coupled thermal and electric
fields, which opens the door to much more detailed
design of ZnO arresters based on electrothermal
modeling. This has required substantial improve-
ments in computational efficiency. Using the ap-
proaches outlined in [1], the computation time has
been reduced by a factor of 100 to 1000 for highly
nonlinear electric field problems relative to the
programs used in [3-5].
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electrical engineers, New York, NY, USA: Cambridge
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“Increased Energy Absorption in ZnO Arrester Elements
through Control of Electrode Edge Margin”. IEEE Trans.
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Zhong Zheng is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of
Toronto, Canada. His research centers on the development
and application of programs for transient nonlinear finite
element analysis with coupled fields. Zhong obtained his
Master’s degree in the Department of Electrical
Engineering of Tsinghua University in China in 2000 with
a thesis on partial discharge detection. His Bachelors
Degree is from the Department of Electrical Engineering in
the Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electrical
Engineering in 1997 with the thesis on the electromagnetic
field calculations.
Susumu Nishiwaki (SM’00–F’02) received the B.S.
degree in electrical engineering from Yokohama National
University, Yokohama, Japan, in 1969, and the Doctor of
Engineering degree from Nagoya University, Nagoya,
Japan, in 1982. Presently, he is with TM T&D Corporation,
Kawasaki, Japan, a company formed when the T&D
operations of Toshiba, Kawasaki, Japan, and Mitsubishi,
Amagasaki, Japan, were combined in October 2002. In
1969, he joined the Toshiba Corporation where he was
engaged in research and development of gas-insulated
switchgear and surge arresters. Dr. Nishiwaki is a member
of IEE of Japan.
Takato Fukano received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in
electrical engineering from Miyazaki University, Miyazaki,
Japan, in 1993 and 1995, respectively. Currently, he is with
TMT&D Corporation, Kawasaki, Japan, a company formed
when the T&D operations of Toshiba, Japan, and
Mitsubishi, Japan, were combined in October 2002. In
1995, he joined the Toshiba Corporation where he was
engaged in development of surge arresters. He is a member
of IEE of Japan.
Steven Boggs (F’92) received the B.A. degree from Reed
College, Portland, OR, in 1968, and the Ph.D. and MBA
degrees from the University of Toronto, ON, Canada, in
1972 and 1987, respectively. Currently, he is Director of
the Electrical Insulation Research Center and Research
Professor of Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, and
Physics at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, as well as
an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at the
University of Toronto, ON, Canada. He spent 12 years with
the Research Division of Ontario Hydro, Toronto, Canada,
working in the areas of soil thermal properties, partial
discharge measurement, high field-induced degradation of
solid dielectrics, and SF6 insulated systems. From 1987 to
1993, he was Director of Research and Engineering at
Underground Systems, Inc. Dr. Boggs was elected a Fellow
of the IEEE for contributions to the field of SF6 insulated
systems.