MedPower 2008, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2008, paper No. 78, pp.
1-5
Software Development for Direct Lightning Stroke Shielding of Substations
P. N. Mikropoulos*, Th. E. Tsovilis, P. Chatzidimitriou and P. Vasilaras
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, High Voltage Laboratory, Thessaloniki, 54124, GREECE
*Tel/Fax: +30 23109958600, E-mail: pnm@eng.auth.gr
ABSTRACT: A user-friendly Windows application software
has been developed for shielding design of high voltage substa-
tions against direct lightning strokes; shielding design can be
achieved in a few minutes on the basis of a 3-dimensional analy-
sis. With the aid of the software, an installed shielding system can
be validated and/or a new system can be designed according to
IEEE Standard 998:1996. The performance of different shielding
design methods can be easily evaluated for various operating
system voltages and equipment dimensions. The developed soft-
ware has been applied to the shielding design of typical substa-
tions of the Hellenic Transmission System, 150 kV and 400 kV
substations and a comparison of the design methods has been
made. The application software is a useful tool for electrical engi-
neers and can also be used for educational purposes in high volt-
age engineering courses.
Keywords: Direct stroke shielding, lightning, substations.
I. INTRODUCTION
The design of the shielding system of a substation
against direct strokes can be achieved by implementing
geometrical methods and electrogeometric models. The
geometrical methods, namely fixed angle and Wagner’s
method [1], have historically been employed in shielding
design providing acceptable protection and they are still
widely used [2]. These empirical methods assume that the
protection offered by an air terminal is related to geometri-
cal factors such as the heights of air terminal and protected
equipment and their separation distance. On the other hand
electrogeometric models¸ based on more physical ground,
take into account that lighting attractiveness is related to
lighting peak current [3]-[11]. Thus, for a given shielding
geometry, some of the less intense strokes may not be in-
tercepted by the air terminal and strike to the protected
equipment. An effective shielding design is achieved by
limiting shielding failures to those lightning strokes with
peak current less than the maximum current, which would
not cause flashover of substation equipment insulation.
An effective shielding design of a substation requires the
positioning of the air terminals offering protection on the
basis of a 3-dimensional analysis. This is a formidable task,
thus software has been developed, which allows shielding
design to be achieved in a few minutes. With the aid of a
user-friendly graphics interface, an installed shielding sys-
tem can be validated and/or a new system can be designed.
Air terminals, namely masts or shield wires, can be easily
placed at appropriate positions with respect to the protected
equipment provided that the minimum air clearances ac-
cording to [12] are met. The software incorporates the
design methods adopted by IEEE standard [13] that is the
fixed angle method, the Wagner’s method [1] and the re-
vised electrogeometric model introduced by Mousa et al.
[10], [14]. Hence, the performance of the different shield-
ing design methods can be easily evaluated for various op-
erating system voltages and equipment dimensions.
The developed software has been applied to the shielding
design of typical substations of the Hellenic Transmission
System, 150 kV and 400 kV substations, and the design
methods are compared with respect to the required number
and height of air terminals and their positioning.
II. SHIELDING DESIGN METHODS INCORPORATED
IN THE DEVELOPED SOFTWARE
The developed software incorporates three design meth-
ods for shielding of substations against direct lightning
strokes, which are adopted by the IEEE Standard [13].
A. Fixed angle
Shielding angle defines a protection volume provided by
an air terminal with reference to the protected equipment
height (Fig. 1). The fixed angle approach is used as a con-
venient approximation of the boundaries of the protection
zone of an air terminal within which the equipment can be
protected against lightning direct stroke.
The fixed angles α and β shown in Fig. 1, are commonly
o
used in shielding of substations as equal to 45 . In case of
overlapping between the protection zones of the air termi-
nals (Fig. 1) and at relatively low substation system volt-
o
ages a value of 60 can be used for α [13]. This method is
very simple in its application; however, it requires an ex-
tensive effort where an effective 3-dimensional shielding
design is concerned [15].
Fig. 1: Schematic diagram of the application of the fixed angle method for
two masts; in case of overlapping between the protection zones of the air
terminals α > β.
The developed software uses a fixed angle of 45o, which
is a conservative approach in shielding design in case of
overlapping between the protection zones of air terminals.
B. Wagner’s method
The shielding design according to Wagner’s method is
based on empirical curves, derived from scale model ex-
periments [1], [16], which relate the separation distance
between protected object and air terminal, mast or shield
wire, with the ratio of their heights at various failures rates.
Typical such curves for the case of an object protected by a
single mast are shown in Fig. 2; Wagner proposed similar
curves referring up to 15% shielding failure rate. Also, in-
stead of using a fixed shielding angle, Wagner’s method
implies that for a fixed failure rate the shielding angle var-
ies with the ratio of air terminal to protected equipment
heights (Fig. 3).

1.0

0.9 Fig. 4: Protection zone (shaded area) offered by two masts according to
the rolling sphere method; S striking distance, hm height of masts.
0.8

0.7 A shielding system, designed according to electro-

0.6 geometric models for a striking distance corresponding to
lightning peak current Is, is assumed to intercept all light-
hp/hm

0.5

α
1% ning strokes with peak current values higher than Is but it
0.4
0.1% may be penetrated by lightning strokes of lower current.
0.3 hm Thus, an effective shielding design may be accomplished
0.2 hp for Is equal to the maximum current which would not cause
0.1 flashover of substation equipment insulation. This critical
0.0
ΔR current, Ic, may be expressed as [20]:
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
ΔR/hm
2.2 BIL
Fig. 2: Failure rate of an object protected by a single mast [1]. ΔR separa- Ic = (1)
tion distance between protected object and mast; α shielding angle; hp, hm Zs
protected object and mast heights, respectively.

70 where BIL (kV) is the basic insulation level and Zs (Ω) is

the surge impedance of the conductor through which the
60 surge is passing. A method for calculating Zs is given in
[13], which considers geometrical parameters and the co-
Shielding angle (deg) .

50
rona effect.
1%
40
The developed software incorporates the revised electro-
geometric model [10], [14] and calculates the striking dis-
0.1%
30 tance S (m) as a function of Ic (kA) with the aid of the fol-
lowing expression:
20

10 S = 7.2kI c0.65 (1)

0
where k takes values 1.2 for strokes to masts and 1 for
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
hp/hm strokes to wires and ground.
Fig. 3: Shielding angles, derived from Wagner’s empirical curves, at dif-
ferent failure rates; case of an object protected by a single mast. III. DEVELOPED SOFTWARE

The developed software incorporates the empirical The software for direct stroke shielding of substations
curves of Wagner referring to 0.1% and 1% failure rate, has been developed in Microsoft Visual Basic 6 and it runs
which are commonly used in practice. It also takes into as a Microsoft Windows application. With the aid of a
account the type of air terminal i.e. mast or shield wire. user-friendly graphics interface, an installed shielding sys-
tem can be validated and/or a new system can be designed.
C. Revised electrogeometric model Air terminals, specifically masts or shield wires, can be
Electrogeometric models were first developed for trans- easily placed at appropriate positions with respect to the
mission line shielding [17]-[20] and their application has protected equipment provided that the minimum air clear-
been extended to shielding of substations [3]-[11]. Typical ances according to [12] are met. The software incorporates
of these models is the rolling sphere method; the rolling the shielding design methods adopted by IEEE [13] that is
sphere radius representing the striking distance is corre- the fixed angle method, the Wagner’s method [1] and the
lated with the lightning peak current. According to this revised electrogeometric model [10], [14].
method, the protection zone of a system of air terminals is The basic input data required for the design, that is the
represented by circular boundaries defining a volume system voltage, BIL and the dimensions of protected equip-
within which a fully situated structure is protected (Fig 4). ment, is entered in the first window (Fig.5). In the same
Based on this method, a revised electrogeometric model window the user selects the design method, the number and
was introduced [10], [14]; the striking distance is reduced the type of the air terminals and their symmetrical position-
by 10% to take into account its statistical nature and in- ing with respect to the protected equipment (Fig.5).
creased by 20% for strokes to mast.
 In the second window (Fig. 6), depending on the selected
design method, the height of the air terminals is plotted as a
function of its separation distance from the protected equip-
ment. Then the program calculates the required height of
the air terminals for the entered separation distance from
the protected equipment or visa versa.
Fig. 5: Input data window.
Fig. 6: Calculations window.
Fig. 7: Results window.
The user may accept the calculated values or select another
air terminal arrangement. In case of an ineffective shielding
design the unprotected equipment area will be shown in the
results window displaying also a warning message. The
results window displays a schematic diagram of the air
terminals arrangement together with information related to
input data and shielding design effectiveness (Fig. 7).
IV. SOFTWARE APPLICATION AND DISCUSSION
ON THE SHIELDING DESIGN METHODS
An application of the developed software to the shielding
design of typical substations of the Hellenic Transmission
System, 150 kV and 400 kV substations, has been made. In
these calculations the switchyard area (26 m x 30 m) is the
same in both substations, however, the height of the pro-
tected equipment is set to 7.5 m and 14 m for the 150 kV
and 400 kV substations, respectively. From the results of
the program a comparison among the different design
methods can be made with respect to the required number
and height of air terminals and their positioning.
Table 1 shows the results of the application of the devel-
oped software on shielding design of the substations by
considering as air terminals 4 shield wires separated by
each other by 6.5 m. It is evident that the revised electro-
geometric model results in the most conservative shielding
design, more conservative the lower the system voltage.
Between the geometric methods Wagner’s method yields a
more conservative design (Table 1), however, this behav-
iour would depend on the ratio hp/hm as can be deduced
from Fig. 3. Also, Wagner’s method may result in a differ-
ent shielding design depending on shielding failure rate;
this is shown in Table 1 where the height of shield wires
refers to 0.1% failure rate while that in parenthesis to 1%.
Table 1: Input data and results of shielding design of 150 kV and 400 kV
substations; 4 shield wires separated by each other by 6.5 m.
150 kV substation 400 kV substation
BIL = 750 kV, Zs = 400 Ω BIL = 1425 kV, Zs = 350 Ω
Design Method Height of shield wires (m) Height of shield wires (m)
Fixed angle 10.8 17.4
Wagner’s 11.5 (11.0) 18.5 (17.8)
Revised EGM 15.6 21.1
Table 2 shows the results of the application of the devel-
oped software on shielding design of the substations by
using fixed heights for the air terminals, 20 m and 30 m for
the 150 kV and 400 kV substations, respectively. The mini-
mum number of masts required for an effective shielding
Table 2: Minimum number of air terminals required for shielding design
of 150 kV and 400 kV substations.
150 kV substation 400 kV substation
BIL = 750 kV, Zs = 400 Ω BIL = 1425 kV, Zs = 350 Ω
Air terminal height: 20 m Air terminal height: 30 m
Number of Number of Number of Number of
Design Method
shield wires masts shield wires masts
Fixed angle 2 >4 1 4
Wagner’s 2 4 1 4
Revised EGM 4 >4 3 4
design is greater than that of shield wires, especially for the
geometric design methods. Shield wires are reasonably
more commonly used in shielding of substations [2].
Concluding, both geometric design methods are simple
in application. However, Wagner’s method may provide a
more accurate protection zone offered by the air terminals
since in this method the shielding angle varies with the
ratio hp/hm (Fig. 3) and depends on failure rate and type of
air terminal. Also, both geometric methods do not take into
account the prospective lightning peak current; the latter is
considered by the electrogeometric models, which however
are more time consuming in their application.
Wagner’s method is the only one of those methods a-
dopted by IEEE [13] by which a shielding design can be
achieved at a given failure rate. The latter approach is more
realistic when considering that lightning interception phe-
nomenon is statistical in nature, hence also its related de-
sign parameters namely striking distance and interception
radius are statistically distributed. Actually, an effective
shielding design of a substation should consider, besides
lightning peak current distribution, interception probability.
The necessity for such an approach in shielding design has
been discussed in detail before [21]–[25], where a new sta-
tistical shielding design method was introduced; an exten-
sion of this work to substations will be given elsewhere.
V. LIMITATIONS OF THE DEVELOPED SOFTWARE
The application of the developed software results in a
conservative shielding design of a substation since the lat-
ter is considered as a rectangular structure. Also, only sym-
metrical positioning of the air terminals with respect to the
protected equipment is considered; this is not always the
case in practice. Finally, unequal air terminal heights and
combination of shield wires and masts for a shielding de-
sign are not incorporated in the developed software.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
A user-friendly Windows application software has been
developed for shielding design of high voltage substations
against direct lightning strokes; shielding design can be
achieved in a few minutes on the basis of a 3-dimensional
analysis. With the aid of the software, an installed shielding
system can be validated and/or a new system can be de-
signed according to IEEE Standard 998:1996. The per-
formance of different shielding design methods can be eas-
ily evaluated for various operating system voltages and
equipment dimensions.
An application of the developed software to the shielding
design of typical substations of the Hellenic Transmission
System, 150 kV and 400 kV substations has been made,
and a comparison of the design methods has shown that the
electrogeometric model results in more conservative shield-
ing design than the geometric methods, more conservative
the lower the system voltage.
The shielding design results obtained from the applica-
tion of the developed software should be treated cautiously
since the importance and the value of the equipment being
protected must always be taken into account in shielding
design. However, the developed software is a useful tool
for electrical engineers and can also be used for educational
purposes in high voltage engineering courses.
VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Th. E. Tsovilis wishes to thank the Research Committee
of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the support pro-
vided by a merit scholarship.
VIII. REFERENCES
[1] “Shielding of Substations”, C. F. Wagner, G. D. McCann and C.M.
Lear, AIEE Transactions, Vol. 61, 1942, pp. 96-100.
[2] “A Survey of Industry Practices Regarding Shielding of Substations
Against Direct Lightning Strokes”, A. M. Mousa and R. J. Wehling,
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1993, pp. 38-
47.
[3] “Monte Carlo Simulation of the Lighting Performance of Overhead
Shielding Networks of High Voltage Substations”, M. A. Sargent,
IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-91,
No. 4, 1972, pp. 1651-1656.
[4] W. H. Dainwood, “Lightning Protection of Substations and Switch-
yards Based on Streamer Flow Theory”, M.Sc. Thesis, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 1974.
[5] “Shielding of Modern Substations Against Direct Lighting Strokes”,
H. Linck, IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol.
PAS-90, No. 5, 1975, pp. 1674-1679.
[6] “Shielding of High-Voltage and Extra-High-Voltage Substations”,
A. M. Mousa, IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems,
Vol. PAS-95, No. 4, 1976, pp. 1303-1310.
[7] “Protect your Plant Against Lightning”, R. H. Lee, Instruments and
Control Systems, Vol. 55, No. 2, 1982, pp. 31-34.
[8] J. T. Orrel, “Direct Stroke Lightning Protection”, paper presented at
IEE Electrical System and Equipment Committee Meeting, Wash-
ington, D.C., 1988.
[9] “The Protection of High Voltage Substations Against Lightning”, F.
Hofbauer, Proc. CIGRE, Paper No. 33-02, 1988.
[10] “A Computer Program for Designing the Lightning Shielding Sys-
tems of Substations”, A. M. Mousa, IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1991, pp. 143-152.
[11] “Shielding of Substations Against Direct Lightning Strokes by
Shield Wires”, P. Chowdhuri, IEEE Transactions on Power Deliv-
ery, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1994, pp. 314-322.
[12] IEC Standard 60071-2, Insulation co-ordination, Part 2: Application
guide, 1996.
[13] IEEE, “Guide for Direct Lightning Stroke Shielding of Substations”,
IEEE Standard 998, 1996.
[14] A. M. Mousa and K. D. Srivastava, “A Revised Electrogeometric
Model for the Termination of Lightning Stroke on Ground Objects”,
Proc. of the International Aerospace and Ground Conference on
Lightning and Static Electricity, Oklahoma City, USA, April 1988,
pp. 324-352.
[15] T. Horvath, “Problems with Application of the Protection Angle
Method at three-dimensional Structures”, 29th ICLP, Uppsala, Swe-
den, June 2008, paper 4-5.
[16] “Shielding of Transmission Lines”, C. F. Wagner, G. D. McCann
and G. L. MacLane, AIEE Transactions, Vol. 60, 1941, pp. 313-328.
[17] “Monte Carlo Computer Calculation of Transmission Line Lightning
Performance”, J. G. Anderson, AIEE Transactions, Vol. 80, 1961,
pp. 414-420.
[18] “Shielding of Transmission Lines”, E. S. Young, J. M. Clayton and
A. R. Hileman, IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol.
S82, No. 4, 1963, pp. 132-154.
[19] E. R. Whitehead, “Mechanism of Lightning Flashover”, EEI Re-
search Project RP 50, Illinois Institute of Technology, Pub. 72-900,
February 1971.
[20] “The Mechanism of Lightning Flashover on High-Voltage and Ex-
tra-High-Voltage Transmission Lines”, D. W. Gilman and E. R.
Whitehead, Electra, 27, 1973, pp. 65-96.
[21] P. N. Mikropoulos and Th. E. Tsovilis, “Experimental Investigation
of the Franklin Rod Protection Zone”, 15th International Symposium
on High Voltage Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia, August 2007,
paper 461.
[22] “Striking Distance and Interception Probability”, P. N. Mikropoulos
and Th. E. Tsovilis, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 23,
No. 3, 2008, pp. 1571-1580.
[23] P. N. Mikropoulos and Th. E. Tsovilis, “Interception Radius and
Shielding Against Lightning”, 29th ICLP, Uppsala, Sweden, June
2008, paper 4-10.
[24] “Interception Probability and Shielding Against Lightning”, P. N.
Mikropoulos and Th. E. Tsovilis, IEEE Transactions on Power De-
livery, accepted.
[25] P. N. Mikropoulos, Th. E. Tsovilis and T. Ananiadis, “The Effect of
an Earthed Object on the Interception Radius of the Franklin Rod:
An Experimental Investigation”, Med Power’08, Thessaloniki,
Greece, November 2008, submitted.
IX. BIOGRAPHIES
Pantelis N. Mikropoulos was born in Kavala,
Greece in 1967. He received the M.Eng. and
Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engi-
neering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
(AUTh), Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1991 and 1995,
respectively. He held postdoctoral positions at
AUTh and the University of Manchester, Man-
chester, UK. He was Senior Engineer with Public
Power Corporation SA, Greece. In 2003, he was
elected Assistant Professor in High Voltage Engi-
neering at AUTh, and since 2005, he has been the Director of the High
Voltage Laboratory at AUTh. His research interests include the broad area
of high-voltage engineering with an emphasis given on air and surface
discharges, electric breakdown in general, and lightning protection.
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Thomas E. Tsovilis was born in Piraeus, Greece
in 1983. He received the M.Eng. degree in electri-
cal and computer engineering from Aristotle Uni-
versity of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, in
2005, where he is currently pursuing the Ph.D.
degree in the High Voltage Laboratory. His re-
search is dedicated to lightning protection, includ-
ing theoretical analysis and scale model experi-
ments.
Panagiotis Chatzidimitriou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1983.
He received the M.Eng. degree in electrical and computer engineering
from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2007.
Panagiotis Vasilaras was born in Ioannina, Greece in 1984. He received
the M.Eng. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2007.