7.

3 CARRIER CURRENT PROTECTION

This is the most widely used scheme for the protection of EHV and UHV power
lines. In this scheme a carrier channel at high frequency is employed. The carrier
signal is directly coupled to the same high voltage line that is to be protected. The
frequency range of the carrier signal is 50 kHz to 700 kHz. Below this range, the
size and the cost of coupling equipment becomes high whereas above this range,
signal attenuation and transmission loss is considerable. The power level is about
10-20 W. In this scheme, the conductor of the power line to be protected are used for
the transmission of carrier signals. So the pilot is termed as a power line carrier
With the rapid development of power systems and the large amount of intercon-
nection involved, it has become very essential to have high speed protective schemes.
Carrier current schemes are quite suitable for EHV and UHV power lines. They are
faster and superior to distance schemes. Distance protective schemes are non-unit
type schemes. They are fast, simple and economical and provide both primary and
back-up protection. The main disadvantage of conventional time-stepped distance
protection is that the circuit breakers at both ends of the line do not trip simultane-
ously when a fault occurs at one of the end zones of the protected line section. This
may cause instability in the system. Where high voltage auto-reclosing is employed,
non-simultaneous opening of the circuit breakers at both ends of the faulted section
does not provide sufficient time for the de-ionisation of gases. The carrier current
protection or any other unit protection does not suffer from these disadvantages.
In unit protection, circuit breakers trip simultaneously at both ends. It is capable of
providing high speed protection for the whole length of the protected line section.
In a carrier current scheme, the carrier signal can be used either to prevent or initi-
ate the tripping of a protective relay. When the carrier signal is used to prevent the
operation of the relay, the scheme is known as carrier-blocking scheme. When the
carrier signal is employed to initiate tripping, the scheme is called a carrier intertrip-
ping or transfer tripping or permissive tripping scheme.
Carrier current schemes are cheaper and more reliable for long lines compared
to wire pilot schemes, even though the terminal equipment is more expensive and
more complicated. In some cases, the carrier signal may be jointly utilised for tele
phone communication, supervisory control, telemetering as well as relaying. Thus,
the cost of carrier equipment chargeable to relaying work can be reduced. The cou-
pling capacitors required for carrier signal can be used also as potential dividers to
supply reduced voltage to instruments, relays etc. This eliminates the use of separate
potential transformers.

316 Power System Protection and Switchgear

There are two important operating techniques employed for carrier current protec-
tion namely the phase comparison technique and directional comparison technique.
In the phase comparison technique, the phase angle of the current entering one end is
compared with the phase angle of the current leaving the other end of the protected
line section. If the currents at both the ends of the line are in phase, there is no fault
on the protected line section. This will be true during normal conditions or in case of
external faults. In case of faults on the protected line section, the two currents will be
180° out of phase. In this scheme, the carrier signal is employed as a blocking pilot.
In the directional comparison technique, the direction of power flow at the two
ends of the protected line section is compared. During normal conditions and in the
case of external faults, the power must flow into the protected line section at one end
and out of it at the other end. In case of an internal fault, the power flows inwards
from both ends.

7-3.1 Phase Comparison Carrier Current Protection

In this scheme, the phase angle of the current entering one end of the protected
line section is compared with the current leaving the other end. Figure 7.7
shows the schematic diagram of the phase comparison scheme. The line trap is a
parallel resonant circuit tuned to the carrier frequency connected in series with the
line conductor at each end of the protected line section. This keeps carrier signal
confined to the protected line section and does not allow the carrier signal to flow
into the neighbouring sections. It offers very high impedance to the carrier signal but
negligible impedance to the power frequency current. There are carrier transmitter
and receivers at both the end of the protected line. The transmitter and receiver are
connected to the power line through a coupling capacitor to withstand high voltage
and grounded through an inductance.

CTs Linetrap Line trap CTs

Protected line
CB
f section
f
F O00 000
 connected to the power line through a coupling capacitor to withstand high voltage
and grounded through an inductance.

CTS Line t rap Line trap CTs

fO CB Protected line B
section
F
000 O00

Summation Squarer Squarer Summation

network
Coupling network
capacitors
Comparer Transmitter Transmitter Comparer

To auxiliary Heceiver Choke Receiver To auxiliary

tripping relay tripping relay

Fig-77 Schematic diagram of phase comparison carrier current protection

The coupling capacitor consists of porcelain-clad, oil-filled stack of capacitors

connected in series. It offers very high impedance to power frequeney current but low

Pilot Relaying Schemes 317

impedance to carrier frequency current. On the other hand, the inductance offers a
low impedance to power frequency current and high impedance to carrier frequency
current. Thus the transmitter and receiver are insulated from the power line and effec-
tively grounded at power frequency current. But at carrier frequency they are con-
nected to the power line and effectively insulated from the ground.
For the transmission of carrier signal either one phase conductor with earth return
or two phase conductors can be employed. The former is called phase to earth cou-
pling and the latter is called phase to phase coupling. The phase to earth coupling is
less expensive as the number of coupling capacitors and line traps required is half of
that needed for phase to phase coupling. However the performance of phase to phase
coupling is better compared to phase to earth coupling because of lower attenuation
and lower interference levels.
The half-cycle blocks of carrier signals are injected into the transmission line
through the coupling capacitor. Fault detectors control the carrier signal so that it is
started only during faults.
The voltage outputs of the summation network at stations A and B are 180° out
of phase during normal conditions. This is because the CT connections at the two
ends are reversed. The carrier signal is transmitted only during positive half cycle
of the network output. Figure 7.8 shows the transmission of carrier signal during
external fault and internal fault conditions. Wave (a) shows the output of the summa-
tion network at A. Wave (b) shows the carrier signal transmitted by the transmitter
at A. Wave (c) shows the output of the summation network at B for external fault at
C. Wave (d) shows the carrier signal transmitted by the transmitter at B. Thus for an
external fault, carrier signals are always present in such a way that during one half-
cycle, signals are transmitted by the transmitter at A and during the next half-cycle by
the transmitter at B. As the carrier signal is a blocking signal and it is always present
the relay does not trip. For an internal fault, the polarity of the network output voltage
at B is reversed, as shown by the wave (e). The carrier signal sent by the transmitter at
B is shown by wave (f). In case of internal faults, carrier signals are transmitted only
during one half-cycle and there is no signal during the other half-cycle. As the carrier
signal is not present during the other half-cycle, the relay operates and the circuit
breaker trips. The comparator receives carrier signal from the receiver. So long as
the carrier is present, it does not give an output to the auxiliary tripping relay. When
the comparator does not receive the carrier signal, it gives an output to the auxiliary
tripping relay.
The ideal phase difference between carrier blocks is 180° for internal faults and
zero degree for external faults. In practice, it is kept 180° 30° for internal faults
because of
(i) the phase displacement between emfs at the ends of the protected line
section.
ii) through current being added to the fault current at one end and subtracted at
the other.
(ii) errors produced by CTs.
The phase comparison scheme provides only primary protection. The back-up
protection is provided by supplementary three step distance relays for phase and
ground faults. In a phase comparison scheme, the relay does not trip during swings
at B is reversed, as shown by the wave (e). The carrier signal sent by the transmitter at
Bis shown by wave (). In case of internal faults, carrier signals are transmitted only
during one half-cycle and there is no signal during the other half-cycle. As the carrier
signal is not present during the other half-cycle, the relay operates and the circuit
breaker trips. The comparator receives carrier signal from the receiver. So long as
the carrier is present, it does not give an output to the auxiliary tripping relay. When
the comparator does not receive the carrier signal, it gives an output to the auxiliary
tripping relay.
The ideal phase difference between carrier blocks is 180° for internal faults and
zero degree for external faults. In practice, it is kept 180° t 30° for internal faults
because o
) the phase displacement between emfs at the ends of the protected line
Section.
(i) through current being added to the fault current at one end and subtracted at
he other.
(ii) errors produced by CTs.
The phase comparison scheme provides only primary protection. The back-up
protection is provided by supplementary three step distance relays for phase and
ground faults. In a phase comparison scheme, the relay does not trip during swings

318 Power System Protection and Switchgear

Network output at A
(a) for fault at Dor C

Carrier signal
(b) transmitted from A toB
for fault at Dor C.

Network output at B
(C) forfault atC
Carrier signal
(d) transmitted from B to A
for fault at C.

Network output at B
(e) for fault at D

Carrier signal
transmitted from B to A
for fault at D.

Fig. 7.8 Transmission of carrier signals during internal and external fault conditions

or out of step conditions or because of zero sequence current induced from a parallel
line, if there is no fault on the protected line section. It is used as a primary protection
for all long distance overhead EHV and SHV transmission lines.
The length of transmission line which can be protected by phase comparison
scheme is limited by phase shifts produced by the following factors
i) The propagation time, i.e. the time taken by the carrier signal to travel from
one end to other end of the protected line section (up to 0.06° per km).
i) The time of response of the band pass filter (about 5°).
(ii) The phase shift caused by the transmission line capacitance (up to 10).

7-3.2 Carrier Aided Distance Protection

The main disadvantage of unit protection scheme is that they do not provide back-up
protection to the adjacent line section. A distance scheme is capable of providing
back-up protection but it does not provide high-speed protection for the whole length
of the line. The circuit breakers do not trip simultaneously at both ends for end-zone
faults. The most desirable scheme will be one which includes the best features of
both, unit protection and distance protection. This can be achieved by interconnect-
ing the distance relays at both ends of the protected section by carrier signals. Such
schemes provide instantaneous tripping for the whole length of the line as well as
back-up protection. The following are the three types of such schemes.
) Carrier transfer or intertripping scheme
(ii) Carrier acceleration scheme
ii) Carrier blocking scheme
 16.2 LIGHTNING PHENOMENA
The discharge of the charged cloud to the ground is called lightning phenomenon. A
lightning discharge through air occurs when a cloud is raised to such a high potential
with respect to the ground (or to a nearby cloud) that the air breaks down and the
insulating property of the surrounding air is destroyed. This raising of potential is
caused by frictional effects due to atmospheric disturbances (eg, thunderstorms)
acting on the particles forming the cloud. The cloud and the ground form two plates
of a gigantic capacitor whose dielectric medum is air. Duning thunderstorms, pos
tive and negative charges are separated by the movement of air currents forming ice
crystals in the upper layer of 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 separa-
tion of charge proceeds in the cloud, the potential difference between concentrations
of charges increases and the vertical electric field along the cloud also increases. The
total potential difference between the two main charge centres may vary from 100 to
1000 MV. Only a part of the total charge is released to the ground by lightning, and
the rest is consumed in inter-cloud discharges.
As the lower part of the cloud is negatively charged, the ground gets positively
charged by induction. Lighting discharge requires breakdown of the dielectric
medium, i.e. air between the negatively charged cloud and the positively charged
ground. Though the electric field (potential gradient) required for the breakdown of
air at STP is 30 kV/ cm peak in a cloud where the moisture content in the air is large

594 Power System Protection and Switchgear

and also because of the high altitude ie., lower pressure) the electric field required
for breakdown of air is only about 10 kV/cm. The lightning discharge mechanismis
well explained with the help of Fig. 16.1.

Stepped
Leader
Pilot Return
Streamer
Streame
+************ **+++++++++
a) (b)

edrt

Leader

Return
Bamer
Strean

(c)

Fig.16.1 Lightning mechanism

When a potential gradient of about 10 kV/cm is set up in the cloud, the air
immediately surrounding the cloud gets ionised and the first process of the actual
lightning discharge starts. At this instant, a streamer called a 'pilot streamer starts
from the cloud towards the ground which is not visible. The current associated with
this streamer is of the order of 100 amperes, and the most frequent velocity of propa-
gation of he streamer is about 0,.15 m/us (1.e. 0.05 per cent of the velocity of hght).
Depending upon the state of ionisation of the air surrounding the pilot streamer, it
is branched into several paths, a stepped leader is formed, as shown in Fig. 16.1(a).
It is called a stepped leader because of its zig-zag shape. It contains a series of steps
about 50 m in length. The velocity of propagation of these steps should be more
than 16.6 per cent that of light. A portion of the charge in the centre from which
the strike originated is lowered and distributed over this entire system of temporary
conductors. This process continues until one of the leaders strikes the ground. When

Protection Against Overvoltages 595

one of the stepped leaders strikes the ground, an extremely bright return streamer, as
shown in Fig. 16.1(b) propagates upward from the ground to the cloud following the
ame n th as tho anne of the dom d leader The charge distributed olon
 Protection Against Overvoltages 595

one of the stepped leaders strikes the ground, an extremely bright return streamer, as
shown in Fig. 16.1(6) propagates upward from the ground to the cloud following the
same path as the main channel of the downward leader. The charge distrbuted along
the leaders is thus discharged progressively to the ground. giving rise to the very
large currents associated with lightning discharges. The conventional directions of
the current in the stepped leader and return streamer are the same. The curent varies
between I kA and 200 kA and the velocity of propagation of the streamer is about I10
per cent that of light. It is here that the negative charge of the cloud is being neutral-
ized by the positive induced charge on the ground. It is this instant which gives rise
to the lightning flash which is visible with our naked eye.
After the neutralization of the most of the negative charge on the cloud any further
discharge from the cloud may have to originate from another charge centre within
the cloud near the already neutralized charge centre. Such a discharge from another
charge centre will, however, make use of the already 10nised path, and consequently
it will have a single branch and will be associated with a high current. This streamer
of discharge is called a dart leader as shown in Fig. 16.1(©). The velocity of propaga-
tion of the dart leader is about 3 per cent that of light. The dart leader can cause more
Severe damage than the return stroke.
Though the discharge current in the return streanmer is relatively large but since
it continues only for a few microseconds, it contains less energy and hence this
streamer is called a cold lightning stroke. The dart leader is called a hot lightning
stroke because even though the current in this leader is relatively smaller, it contains
relatively more energy since it continues for some milliseconds.
It has been observed that every thundercloud may consist of as many as
40 separate charged centres due to which a heavy lightning stroke may occur. This
lightning stroke is called multiple (or repetilive) stroke.
When a lightning stroke takes place to a point adjacent to the line, the current asso-
C1ated with it induces a voltage on the line which is in the form of a travelling wave.
A lightning discharge may have currents in the range of 10 kA t0 about 100 kA, and
the duration of the lightning flash may be of the order of a few microseconds. The
current wave form is generally a unidirectional pulse which rises to a peak value in
about 3 jus and decays to a small values in several tens of microseconds. Therefore,
the overvoltage due to lightning will have travelling waves of very steep wave front
which may be dangerous to the line and equipment of the power system and may
cause damage.

163 WAVE SHAPE OF VoLTAGE DUE TO LIGHTNING

Lightning sets up steep-fronted, unidirectional voltage waves which can be
represented as the difference of two exponentials. Thus
v=V(-e) (16.1)
where a and b are constants which determine the shape and v is magnitude of the
steep voltage and V is equal to the crest (peak) value of the impulse voltage wave.
The steep is dependent on whether the surge is induced or is the result of a direct
stroke. The wave shape of this type is shown in Fig. 16.2.

596 Power System Protection and Switchgear

The wave shape is generally

defined in terms of the times and
in microseconds. Where is the ,
time taken by the voltage wave
0.5 V *****
front to reach its peak value, and t2
is the time taken for the tail to fall
to 50 per cent of the peak value.
Both times are measured from the
Virtual zero time point (i.e., from
he start of the wave). ne
wavcsFig. 16.2 Wave shape of voltage due to lightning
then reterred to as wave. The
/
standard wave chosen for the testing purpose is a 1/50 wave which implies that is ,
1 jus and 1, is 50 JAs.

16.4 OVERVOLTAGES DUE TO LIGHTNING

Lightning causes two kinds of voltage surges (overvoltage), one by direct stroke to a
line conductor, and the other induced by indirect stroke when bound eharges are dis
sipated following a lightning discharge to an object near the line conductor. A direct
stroke to a phase (line) conductor is the most severe lightning stroke as it produces
the highest overvoltage for a given stroke current. The current in a direct stroke to
a phase conductor is hardly affected by the voltage which it sets up between the
conductor and ground, so that a direct lightning stroke approximates to a constant
current source. lf a current flows in a direct stroke to a phase conductor, forward
and backward travelling currents i, and i, cach of magnitude /2 flow in the conduc-
tor away from the pont of strike in both directions of the line as shown in Fig. 16.3.
Therefore, the voltage surge magnitude at the striking point is given by

(16.2)

where Zg 1s the surge impedance of the line.

fCloud
Direct Lightning Stroke

Phase Conductor

Owers
16.8.3 Lightning Arresters or Surge Diverters
Lightning arresters are also known as surge diverters or surge arresters. They are
connected between the line and ground at the substation and always act in shunt
(parallel) with the equipment to be protected, and perform their protective function
by providing a low-impedance path for the surge currents so that the surge arrester's
protective level is less than the surge voltage withstanding capacity of the insulation
of equipment being protected. A lightning arrester's protective level is the voltage
appearing across the terminals of the arrester at sparkover or during the flow of cur-
rent through the arrester after sparkover. The main purpose of lightning arresters is to
divert or discharge the surge to the ground.
The action of the surge diverter can Surge voltage if no
be studied with the help of Fig. 16.15. protective device
Is present
When the travelling surge reaches the
diverter, it sparks over at a certain pre-
fixed voltage as shown by point P and , Initial peak
provides a relatively low-impedance Residual voltage
path to ground for the surge current. The
current flowing to ground through the
surge impedance of the line limits the
amplitude of the overvoltage across the
line and ground known as 'residual volt- Time
age' (as shown by point Q in Fig. 16.15)
to such a value which will protect Fig. 16.15 Voltage characteristic of
surge diverter
the insulation of the equipment being
protected.

608 Power System Protection and Switchgear

It is however, essential that the low-impedance path to ground must not exist
before the overvoltage appears and it must cease to exist immediately after the volt-
age returns back to its normal value.
An ideal lightning arrester or surge diverter should possess the following
characteristics.
) It should not draw any current at normal power frequency voltage, i.e. during
the normal operation.
ii) It should breakdown very quickly when the abnormal transient voltage above
its breakdown value appears, so that a low-impedance path to ground can be
provided.
(iii) The discharge current after breakdown should not be so excessive so as to
damage the surge diverter itself.
(iv) It must be capable of interrupting the power frequency follow-up current after
the surge is discharged to ground.
Impulse Ratio of Lightning Arresters
It is defined as the ratio of the breakdown impulse voltage of a wave of specified
duration to the breakdown voltage of a power-frequency wave. The impulse ratio of
any lightning arrester is therefore a function of time duration of the transient wave.
Types of Lightning Arresters (or Surge Diverters)
The following are the main types of lightning arresters.
) Expulsion Type Lightning Arrester
(ii) Non-linear Surge Diverter
(ii) Metaloxide Surge Arrester (MOA)
(i) Expulsion type lightning Line
arrester External
Series Gap
This type of arrester is also known as
Expulsion Gap or Protector Tube. It Upper Metal Electrode
consists of a fibre tube with an clec-
trode at each end. The lower electrode
is solidly grounded. The upper elec
trode forms a series gap with the line
conductor, as shown in Fig. 16.16.
FiberTube
Gap
When a surge appears on the conduc-
tor, the series gap breaks down, result-
ing in formation of arc in the fibre
tube between the two electrodes. The
heat of the arc vaporises some of the
Bottom Metal Electrode
fibre of the tube walls resulting in the
generation of an inert gas. This gas is
expelled violemtly through the arc so Vent for G
(1v) Resonance and high voltages resulting from the steep-fronted wave may cause
internal or external flashover of an unpredictable nature causing building up
of oscillations in the electrical equipment.

606 Power System Protection and Switchgear

Hence it is absolutely necessary to provide some protective devices at the stations
or sub-stations for the protection of equipment against the travelling waves (surges)
caused by lightning. The protective devices used for this purpose are described in the
following sub-sections.
16.8.1 Rod Gap
A rod gap provides the simplest and cheapest protection to line insulators, equip-
ment insulators and bushings of transformers. It is clear that in case of serious over-
voltages, the over-insulation of any one part of the power system may cause the
breakdown of the insulation of some vital and perhaps inaccessible part. Thus, it
is preferred that it is the line insulators that flashover rather than the bushings of a
transformer breaking down. Again, it is preferred that a bushing breakdown before
the insulation of the transformer of which it forms a part. In the case of transformers,
rod gaps which are also called coordinating gaps are installed to protect the appara-
tus. Rod gaps provide back-up protection to the bushings of transformers in case of
the primary protective devices, i.e. lightning arresters fail.
A rod gap consists of two rods of Bushing
approximately 1.2 cm diameter or Insulator
square, which are bent at right angles
as shown in Fig. 16.13. One rod is con-
nected to the line while the other rod is
connected to ground. In case of a trans-
former, they are fixed between bushing
insulators. In order to avoid cascading
across the insulator surface under very
steep-fronted waves, the rod gap should
be adjusted to breakdown at about 20
per cent below the impulse flashover
voltage of the insulation of the equip- Fig. 16.13 Rod gap

ment to be protected (i.e. bushing insu-

lator of a transformer in Fig. 16.13). Further, the distance between the gap and the

insulator should be more than one-third of the gap length i.e. L) in order to

prevent the are from being blown to the insulator. The accurate breakdown value of
the rod gap cannot easily be predicted because the breakdown of air depends upon
the atmospheric conditions (ie., humidity, temperature and pressure), as also upon
polarity, steepness and the waveshape of the wave.
The major disadvantage of the rod gap is that it does not interrupt the power fre-
queney follow current after the surge has disappeared. This means that every opera
tion of the rod gap creates an L-G fault which can only be cleared by the operation
of the circuit breaker. Thus, the operation of the rod gap results in circuit outage and
interruption of power supply.

16.8.2 Arcing Horn

The damage to line insulators from heavy ares formed due to overvoltages is a seri-
ous maintenance problem. Several protective devices have been developed to keep
level of protection is fixed only by the value of the impulse breakdown voltage. It
gets increasingly difficult for the expulsion gap to interrupt currents of low value,
because of the small amount of deionising gas formed by it.
Though the sub-divided series gap of the non-linear surge diverter is also an
isolator during normal conditions, it actually plays a role in the performance
of the diverter during its operation. As the current through the diverter is lim-
ited to a comparatively low value by the non-linear resistors, it is practically in
phase with the system voltage. Because of the current being practically in phase
with the system voltage, an instant of current zero is also an instant of zero for the
ystem voltage. Thus, the sub-divided gap interrupts the current at the first zero. As
the impulse breakdown voltage is usually less than the residual voltage, it is the latter
which determines the level of protection provided by the non-linear surge diverter
(ii) Metal-oxide surge arrester (MOA)
The metal oxide surge arrester abbreviated as MOA is a recently developed ideal
Surge arrester. It is a revolutionary advanced surge protective device for power sys
tems. It is constructed by a series connection of zinc oxide (ZnO) elements having

612 Power System Protection and Switchgear

a highly non-linear resistance. The excellent non-linear characteristic of zinc oxide

element has enabled to make surge arresters without series connected spark gaps, i.e.
fully solid-state arresters suitable for system protection up to the highest voltages.
As mentioned earlier, the conventional non-linear surge diverters almost exclu-
sively use Silicon Carbide (SiC) non-linear resistors. As this material is not ideal,
it is not non-linear enough and thus imposes certain design restrictions. Also, its
characteristics call for a large number of spark gaps. A new class of non-linear mate-
rial was recently developed in Japan by Japan's Matsushita Electrie Company. The
new ceramic material is basically formed from zinc oxide together with addition of
other oxides, such as bismuth and cobalt oxides. As the main constituent of this new
ceramic material is zinc oxide, the non-linear resistor made of this material is popu-
larly known as zinc oxide element and surge arresters made of zinc oxide elements
are called metal oxide surge arresters. Such material can be used to make resistors
with a much higher degree of non-linearity over a large current range. With such
resistors, one can design arresters having voltage-current characteristics very close to
ideal. Because of the high degree of non-linearity, this material allows considerable
simplification in arrester (diverter) design.
The metal oxide surge arrester (MOA) which consists of a series connected stack
of dises of zinc oxide elements, operates in a very simple fashion. It is dimensioned
so that the peak value of the phase to ground voltage in normal operation never
exceeds the sum of the rated voltages of the series-connected discs. The resistive
losses in the arrester in normal operation are therefore very small. When an overvolt-
age occurs, the current will rise with the wavefront according to the characteristics
without delay. No breakdown occurs but a rather continuous transition to the con-
ducting state is observed. At the end of the voltage transient, the current is reduced
closely following the I-V curve (i.e. in contrast to the conventional arrester, there is
no follow-up current).
The metal oxide surge arrester has the following marked advantages over conven-
tional arresters.
() Series spark-gap is not required.
(ii) It has very simple construction and is a fully solid-state protective device.
(iii) Significant reduction in size.
(iv) Quick response for steep discharge current.
() Very small time delay in responding to overvoltages.
(vi) Superior protective performance.
(vii) Outstanding durability for multiple operating duty cycle
(vii) No abrupt transient such as that occurs at the time of sparkover in a conven-
tional arrester.
(ix) Negligible power follow-up current after a surge operation.
MOA is especially suitable for gas insulated sub-stations (GI
installed directly in SFg
Figure 16.20 illustrates the difference in the operations of M O28 / 686
arresters, responding to an on-coming surge v). The voltage wa
smooth and can be expressed as follows
 Protection Against Overvoltages 609
The expulsion arrester derives its name from Line
the fact that gases formed during its operation are
Divided
expelled from the tube through a vent. spark gap
This type of arrester is mainly used to prevent flash
Leak tight
Over of line insulators, isolators and bus insulators. porcelain
housing
i) Non-linear surge diverter
This type of diverter is also called valve type light- Non-linear
ning arrester, or conventional non-linear type light- resistor
ning arrester. It consists of a divided spark-gap (i.e.
several short gaps in series) in series with non-linear
resistor elements. The divided spark-gap and the non-
linear resistor elements are placed in leaktignt porce Fig. 16.17 Value-type
lain housing which ensures reliable protection against lightning arrester
atmospheric moisture, condensation and humidity (non-linear diverter)
(see Fig. 16.17). Figure 16.18 shows a typical valve
type lightning arrester
The functions of the diverter's divided spark-gap are as follows
(a) It prevents the flow of current through the diverter under normal conditions
(b) It sparks over at a predetermined voltage.
(c) It discharges high-energy surges without any change in sparkover character-
istics.
(d) It interrupts the flow of power-frequency follow current from the power system
after the surge has been dissipated.
The functions of the non-linear resistors are as follows:
(a) They provide a lowW-impedance path for the flow of surge current after gap
sparks over.
(b) They dissipate surge energy.
(c) They provide a relatively high-resistance path for the flow of power frequency
follow current from the power system, thereby assisting the divided gap to
interrupt the power frequency current (i.e. reseal against system voltage).
The divided spark-gap consists of a number of short-gaps in series. Each of them
has two electrodes across which a grading resistor of high ohmic value is connected.
The grading resistors ensure even grading of voltage between the various gaps. The
system is similar to that of a number of capacitors connected in series and across
each of these capacitors is a high value resistor. The voltage grading by means of
resistors also makes it possible to raise the interrupting capacity of the divided spark
gap.
In case of relatively slow variations in voltage, there is no sparkover across the
gaps as the influence of parallel grading resistors across these gaps prevails over that
of the spark-gap capacitances with regard to one another and to the ground. But when
there are large rapid variations in voltage, the even grading of the voltage across the
series of gaps no longer remains and the influence of unbalanced capacitances of
the gaps prevails over the grading resistors. The surges are mainly concentrated on
the upper spark gaps which on sparking over result in the sparkover of the complete
arrester

610 Power System Protection and Switchgear

U Terminal for line connection

Cap casting (Aluminium)

Spring

Thyrite discs

Wet process procelain container

Series gap unit

Steam Cured Cement

Bottom Casting (Aluminium)
 610 Power System Protection and Switchgear

UU Terminal for line connection

Cap casting (Aluminium))
Spring

Thyrite discs

Wet process procelain container

Series gap unit

Steam Cured Cement

Bottom Casting (Aluminium)
Terminal for Ground Connection

Foundation Base
Fig. 16.18 A typical value-type lightning arrester
The main function of the diverter is the protection
of the insulation against dan-
gerously high overvoltages and for this reason the breakdown
voltage of the diverter
at system frequency is made greater than 1.8 times
the normal value.
The ideal characteristic for the non-linear resistor would
be RI = constant, since
such a resistor will maintain constant voltage by changing its
resistance in inverse
proportion to the current. The non-linear resistor is in the form of discs
of 9 cm diam-
eter and 2.5 cm thickness. The material used for such resistors,
called by trade names
of "Thyrite", and "Metrosil" is a hard ceramic substance in the form
of cylindrical
blocks which consist of small crystals of silicon carbide bound
together by means
of an inorganic binder, with the whole assembly being subjected to heat
treatment.
The non-linear characteristic is attributed to the properties of the electrical
contacts
between the grains of silicon carbide. As the material used f non-linear
resistors for
the arrester is known by trade name as thyrite, this type of lightning
arrester is also
sometimes called Thyrite type lightning arrester.
Figure 16.19 shows the volt-ampere characteristic of the non-linear resistor,
the
dotted curve being the static characteristic, while the solid curve is the dynamic char-
acteristic corresponding to the application of a voltage surge. If a horizontal line,
tangential to the dynamic characteristic is drawn, then its intercept with the voltage
axis gives the residual voltage. The residual voltage is defined as the peak (erest)

Protection Against Overvoltages 611

value of the voltage which appears between Voltage

the terminals of the surge diverter at the
instant when the surge current discharges
through it. This voltage varies between
3 kV and 6 kV, depending on the type i.e. Static
characteristic
station type or line type, the discharge cur-
rent and the rate of change of this current. D
A non-linear resistor type lightning
arrester is also known as valve type light-
626/686
ning arrester. The valve type arrester Fig. 16.19 Volt-ampere
of non-linear diverter
a
derives its name from the fact that the non-
linear resistance (similar to valve opening) regulates itself to the flowing current and
limits the voltage when high surge (lightning) currents flow through the arrester.
The valve arrester works as an insulator at normal system voltage, but it becomes
a good conductor of low resistance to limit the lightning (surge) voltages to a value
lower than the basic impulse level of the equipment being protected. It re-establishes
itself as an insulator after the discharge of the surge current.