—

A P P L I C AT I O N N OT E 3 .0

Cables
Overvoltage protection
The APPLICATION NOTES (AN) are intended to be used in
conjunction with the

APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Overvoltage protection
Metal-oxide surge arresters in medium-voltage systems.

Each APPLICATION NOTE gives in a concentrated form

additional and more detailed information for the selection
and application of MO surge arresters in general or for a
specific equipment.

First published March 2020


O V E R V O LTA G E P R OT E C T I O N
—
Overvoltage protection of cables
Disruptive breakdowns in cable insulation lead to grave damages
and require expensive repairs. Flashovers along cable bushings
can damage them and lead to the same consequences as an insulation
breakdown. Further, repeated overvoltages influence negatively
the ageing behavior of the cable insulation. Therefore, cables must be
protected like all other electrical equipment.
1 Introduction
Environmental influences and the requirements
imposed by the licensing authorities are
making it necessary to install medium-voltage
distribution systems with more and more cables,
even in sparsely populated areas. Examples are,
besides urban areas, on-shore and off-shore
wind power parks. This poses the question which
overvoltages can occur in such systems and how
to protect the equipment of such distribution
systems against overvoltages.
Cables have a relatively high self-capacitance.
For this reason, it is sometimes assumed
that a cable can protect itself against overvolt-
ages. This is not correct, cables must be
protected like all other electrical equipment
against ­overvoltages.
Whereas in medium-voltage distribution systems
with a major proportion of overhead lines the
lightning overvoltages govern the protection
concepts and the stresses in the surge arresters,
in systems with a high proportion of underground
cables the switching overvoltages are the domi-
nant phenomenon.
Two aspects must be considered: insulation
breakdown and ageing of the insulation. It is well
known that repeated overvoltage stresses
(steepness and magnitude) negatively influence
the ageing behavior of the cable insulation,
which means that the service life of the cable is
shortened.
Considering the effect of aging of the insulation
and the voltage increase at reflection points, the
stresses due to switching transients may reach
the dielectric strength levels of the equipment
and network components used in the system.
3
A single lightning or switching overvoltage will not
lead to a breakdown of the insulation of a new ca-
ble. But aged and pre-damaged insulations may
breakdown suddenly under a single event. Cable
bushings are endangered by overvoltages ­generally.
2 Overvoltages in cables and cable systems
2.1 Overvoltages due to lightning
On overhead lines lightning overvoltages are
­usually limited to the sparkover voltage of the line
insulators, assuming a few insulators between
the point of strike and the cable bushing. It must
consequently be assumed that the peak value of
the overvoltage wave travelling in the direction of
the cable is equal to the sparkover voltage of
the line insulator. Assuming a flashover distance
of 50 cm of a line insulator (e. g. in a 24 kV-system
and poles with earthed cross arms) a flashover
voltage of 300 kV to 350 kV can be expected at
least, depending on the steepness of the incom-
ing overvoltage. In case of wooden poles the
flashover distance is given by the height of the
pole, and consequently the flashover voltage will
be much higher.
2.2 Overvoltages due to switching
Switching overvoltages are slow front overvolt-
ages per definition and occur as transient phe-
nomena during every change in the system condi-
tions. If a current circuit is opened or closed
the transition takes place in form of an oscillation.
The frequency and duration of such an overvolt-
age oscillation is highly dependent on the system
parameters. A rise time of a few 10 to a few 100 µs
is to be anticipated. The time to half value can
be up to some ms. For insulation withstand tests
a voltage waveshape of 250/2500 µs is used in
the switching impulse withstand test. However,
switching operations of vacuum breakers can
­produce very steep overvoltages.
4 A P P L I C AT I O N N O T E C A B L E S

The amplitudes can reach up to 4 p.u in unfavor-
able constellations.
Notable switching overvoltages occur especially
in systems with isolated or arc suppression
­neutral as a result of
• Switching on cables and overhead lines,
and of complete networks
• Disconnection of cables with re-striking
• Initiation of ground faults
• Clearing of system faults by corresponding
­c ircuit breakers
3 Overvoltage waves in cables
Overvoltage waves in cables and cable systems
are generally treated with the travelling wave
­theory. One essential difference between
the electrical data of overhead lines and cables is
the surge impedance Z of their conductors to
earth.
The surge impedance is given by the equation
Z =  L’ /  C’.
L’ is the inductance per unit length in H/km and C’
is the capacitance per unit length in F/km.
The travelling speed is given to
v = 1 /  L’ × C’.
For overhead lines in medium-voltage distribu-
tion systems the surge impedance lies in
the range of ZL = 450 Ω to 500 Ω and for cables
­between ZK = 30 Ω and 60 Ω.
With the help of Figure 1 travelling waves in cables
can be explained. In the simplified arrangement
of an overhead line and a cable section the over-
head line has a surge impedance of ZL = 450 Ω
and the cable ZK = 30 Ω, see Figure 1a. A step
voltage U travels along the overhead line at a ve-
locity of 300 m/µs in the direction of the c ­ able,
Figure 1b. The travel velocity in the cable is
­assumed to be 150 m/µs. At the transition over-
head line/cable reflections and transmissions
­occur due to the change in the surge impedances.
A part of the incoming wave is transmitted into
the cable, the larger part is reflected.
The reflected and transmitted parts of the volt-
age impulse can be calculated with the reflection
factor ru and the transmission factor bu.
Both factors depend on the surge impedances of
the overhead line ZL and the cable ZK .
2 × ZK
bu = ---------
ZL + ZK
ZK – ZL
ru = ---------
ZL + ZK

—
Figure 1: Reflections of X1 X2
a travelling wave
(square wave) with
ZL ZK ZL
the ­amplitude U
at the transition a)
­overhead line/cable.

v
U

b)
x

c)
x

d) U
x
 O V E R V O LTA G E P R OT E C T I O N 5

With the given surge impedances, a transmission
factor bu = 0.125 and a reflection factor
ru = –0.875 results for the junction (X1) from the
overhead line to the cable.
This means a voltage wave travels through the
­cable with the amplitude of U/8 and is positively
reflected at the end of the cable (X2), travelling
back to the entry point of the cable, Figure 1c.
There the v ­ oltage is again positively reflected,
Figure 1d. It is easy to realize how this wave,
­travelling back and forth in the cable, builds the
voltage s­ tep-wise up to the end value.
3.1 Time curve of the voltage in the cable
In Figure 1 the voltage reflections at the begin-
ning and at the end of the cable are explained.
In Figure 2 the time curve of the voltage in a cable
with an assumed length of LK = 100 m is shown.
The time curve of this voltage buildup follows
the time function 1 – e –t/τ as shown in the exam-
ples of Figure 2 and Figure 3. The time constant
is given by the equation
ZL × LK
τ = -------------
2 × ZK × v K
LK cable length
vK travelling speed in the cable
It follows, that in the case of a cable installed
in the path of an overhead line, say for passing
­beneath a highway, the maximum value of
the voltage u(t) in the cable is U. This means that
the wave behind the cable is also just as high
as the incoming wave.
In case of an open circuit breaker or a transformer
at the end of the cable, see Figure 3, the time
­constant is given to
ZL × LK
τ = ---------
ZK × vK
If the cable is terminated with an open circuit
breaker or a transformer the voltage will reach
a maximum of two times the incoming voltage.
The time constant will be τ = 10 µs.
The increase of the voltage in the cable, as shown
in Figures 2 and 3, follows exactly the time
­function of a capacitor that is charged with
a DC step voltage. This is logic, because a cable
can be ­considered to be a long coaxial capacitor.

For a cable length of LK = 100 m the time constant

results to τ = 5 µs.

— —
Figure 2: Time Figure 3: Same as
­characteristic of Figure 2, but with
the voltage in the cable an open circuit
on the occurrence of breaker at the end
a square wave. of the cable.

L K = 100 m

L K = 100 m
τ = 10 μs

τ = 5 μs
2u
U U U

t t
6 A P P L I C AT I O N N O T E C A B L E S

4 Protection of cables Cables longer than about 1000 m need a surge

For cables, the reflection of the transient voltage
wave at the end of the cable represents a high risk
and may cause flashovers at the bushings with
subsequent damages to the cable insulation as
well. This risk can only be reduced by the applica-
tion of surge arresters at the cable ends. Therefore,
cables should be treated like substation equipment
with respect to insulation coordination.
If protection on one side of the cable or on both is
needed, depends on the cable length, and if the
cable is endangered by overvoltages on one side
or on both sides.
Depending on the system voltage Us and the type
of the poles (wooden or with earthed cross arms)
of the overhead line, cables longer than some
­meters up to some tens of meters need arresters
on both sides. See Table 1 for details. Note that
the figures in Table 1 are based on general
­assumptions for a typical case. Other assump-
tions lead naturally to different figures. Especially
the steepness of the incoming overvoltage, the
surge impedance Z and the arrester characteris-
tic influence the calculated length of the cable.
However, as a rule of thumb the figures in Table 1
can be used.
­arrester only on the side of the incoming overvolt-
age. In the Annex an example illustrates the
­calculation of the critical length LK* for a cable,
which may need protection on both sides.
The specified values are valid for cable sections
with constant surge impedance. Otherwise,
the voltage reflections produce a shortening of
the cable length LK . This is the case, for instance,
with cable branches or if two cables are c ­ onnected
with a single one.
A cable that connects an overhead line with
a substation is often only endangered by lightning
on the side of the overhead line. Therefore,
the arrester must be installed at the junction
­between the overhead line and the cable. It is
not necessary to protect the other end of
the cable if the length LK of the cable does not
exceed the values given in Table 1. See also
Application Note 2.1 Transformers connected via
a cable.
The arresters are to be placed directly next to the
cable ends. The connection leads should be as
short and strait as possible. The earth connection
of the arrester must be connected directly to the
cable sheath.

—
Table 1: The maximum admissible length LK of a cable if the arrester protection is only on one side. The cable
is connected to a lightning endangered line. The connection length between the arrester and the cable should be
at most 1 m. The numerical values are valid for an arrester with Upl = 4 p.u. and In = 10 kA (arrester class SL).

LK LK
U U

Type of overhead line Wooden poles Earthed cross arm Wooden poles Earthed cross arm
Us in kV ZK in Ω LK in m LK in m LK in m LK in m
3.6 30 ∞ ∞ 8 19
60 ∞ ∞ 4 13
7.2 30 85 110 11 27
60 75 100 5 17
12 30 45 50 8 22
60 33 39 4 16
17.5 30 35 36 6 19
60 27 30 3 15
24 30 34 36 9 21
60 27 30 4 17
36 30 30 30 7 19
60 24 26 4 17
O V E R V O LTA G E P R OT E C T I O N
At a first glance, LK is unlimited in 3.6 kV systems.
The reason is that the LIWV is relatively high at
this system level. Even the reflected overvoltage
at the end of the cable lies under the LIWV, so that
the insulation is not in danger. This, however, is
not valid for the equipment inside the substation.
The equipment can be endangered by additional
voltage reflections, so that arresters should be
planned if necessary.
The protection of the cable ends and substations
against overvoltages can be improved by applying
shield wires along the last 3 to 4 spans of the
overhead line. For a better protection of the over-
head line low footing impedance for the last poles
at the cable terminations are recommended.
See also Application Note 2.1 Transformers con-
nected via a cable.
Damping effects in the cables are not considered
in all the calculations made for the given
­examples.
5 Selection of MO surge arresters
for cable ­protection
The MO surge arresters should be selected as
­described in the Application Guidelines
and the Application Notes 1.1 Selection of
MO surge arresters.
The example given below guides through the
principle of the selection process step by step.
Other system configurations are possible and
have to be considered from case to case.
Depending on the expected stresses, electrical
and environmental, and the importance of the
equipment to be protected it is necessary to
­decide which characteristics of the MO surge
­arresters are most important to provide best pro-
tection. In this way the type of arrester (arrester
class) can be chosen from the very beginning.
As cables can store a relatively high energy it is
advisable to choose arresters with a higher
charge transfer rating than used for the protec-
tion of overhead lines or distribution substations.
This offers at the same time a better protection
due to the normally lower residual voltage of
the arrester at the same continuous operating
­voltage Uc .
The following example is based on system
­conditions typical for cable systems in Germany.
7
Supplied information
• System with earth fault compensation
(­Petersen coil), fault duration ≤ 30 min
• Overvoltage protection in a cable system.
• System voltage Us = 24 kV
Without other specifications it is assumed
• Um = 24 kV
• LIWV = 125 kV (see Application Note 1.1 or
IEC 60071-1)
• Duration of the earth fault = 30 min
• Nominal discharge current In = 10 kA
• Arrester class SL (station low), provides
a ­favorable, i. e. a low protection level for a cable
with high energy handling capability.
• Short circuit current of the system Is = 20 kA
• Degree of pollution b (light)
• Installation height below 1000 m
Following the steps given in selection flow chart
Application Note 1.1 A1 it follows:
Step a) Continuous operating voltage Uc
The choice of the continuous operating voltage
according to Application Note 1.2 is
Us
Uc ≥ ----
T
A surge arrester class SL was chosen, e. g. the
type MWK. T follows according TOV curve to
T = 1.19 (fault duration 1’800 s, with prior duty).
With 10% additional safety margin for Uc,
this ­results in:
Uc = 24 kV / 1.19 × 1.1 = 22.18 kV.
According data sheet an arrester with Uc = 23 kV
is chosen.
Step b) Rated voltage Ur
According data sheet the rated voltage is
Ur = 28.8 kV.
Step c) Nominal discharge current In
The nominal discharge current for MO surge
­arresters class DH, SL, SM is In = 10 kA, for class
SH the nominal discharge current is In = 20 kA.
The type MWK (class SL) has In = 10 kA. See also
data sheet.
Step d) Charge and thermal rating Qrs and Wth
Based on the given information the type MWK
with the
• Repetitive charge transfer rating Qrs = 1.6 C and
• Rated thermal energy Wth = 6.25 kJ/ kVUc
was chosen for this application.
See also data sheet.
8 A P P L I C AT I O N N O T E C A B L E S

Step e) Check lightning impulse protection level Step g) Flashover distance

Upl and withstand voltage LIWV The minimum necessary withstand values of
Control of the protection level. Required is: the empty arrester housing are calculated
Upl ≤ LIWV / Ks ­according to IEC 60099-4, Ed. 3.0 as:

With LIWV = 125 kV and Ks = 1.15 for outdoor
i­ nsulation, the maximum allowed voltage
at the electrical equipment results in 108.7 kV.
The MWK 23 has a Upl of 70.7 kV and meets the
­demands with a good additional safety margin.
With the steps a) to e) the active part of
the MO surge arrester is selected. Now follows
­selection of the arrester housing and
­confirmation of mechanical data.
Step f) Creepage distance
The creepage distance is related to pollution
problems. Flashovers due to pollution are long-
term effects (in the range of one or more hours)
and occur only under continuous voltage stress
with a. c. od d. c. Short-term overvoltages (TOV)
need generally not to be considered. Therefore,
the voltage across the insulator, or insulating
housing in case of an MO surge arrester, is deci-
sive. This is the phase-to-earth voltage Us /  3.
Lightning voltage impulse 1.2/50 μs:
1.3 × Upl = 1.3 × 70.7 kV = 91.91 kV
a. c. voltage test 1 min., wet:
1.06 × Ups (switching current impulse 500 A =>
Ups = 56.6 kV) = U­test ,pv = 60 kV,pv.
This results in a withstand value of
60 kV / 2  = 42.4 kV, rms, 1 min., wet.
The proved withstand values according to
the datasheet are:
Lightning discharge voltage 1.2/50 μs: 179 kV
a. c. voltage test: 76 kV, rms, 1 min. wet.
Therefore, the housing of MWK 23 has
higher withstand values than are required
according to IEC.
Step h) Consider short circuit rating Is
The MWK 23 is proved with a short circuit current
of 20 kA and meets the demands for a short
­c ircuit current of 20 kA, as it was assumed.

According the assumption low pollution (pollu- Step i) Consider mechanical loads
tion class b – light according IEC/TS 60815-1) Special requirements for mechanical loads are
is considered. Therefore, the reference unified not given. Therefore, no further considerations
­specific creepage distance (RUSCD) between necessary.
phase and earth is 27.8 mm/kV.
—
Note: In previous standards the definition of It follows: the MWK 23 fulfills all
the creepage distance was related to the system
voltage phase-to-phase and defined as “specific
requirements and is the right
creepage distance” SCD. In this case the SCD ­arrester from all points of view
would be 27.8 /  3  = 16 mm/kV.
for this application.
This results in a minimum requirement of 384 mm
creepage distance. With silicone housing and
light pollution (pollution class b, see Table 4 in the
Application Guidelines) the creepage distance can
be reduced by 30%. This ultimately results
in a creepage distance of 269 mm. The MWK 23
has a creepage distance of 567 mm according
the data sheet and fulfills the requirement.

Note: The creepage distance for a MO surge

­arrester is sometimes specified in relation to the
continuous operating voltage Uc of the arrester.
Therefore, it is in any case important to know
to which voltage the creepage requirements are
­related.
9 O V E R V O LTA G E P R OT E C T I O N
Summary
Electrical distribution systems are subject to
lightning strikes, switching transients and system
faults at nearly anytime. Such occurrences can be
damaging to electrical systems as well as to
­various installed equipment. Therefore, surge
protection is needed which provides protection
for cables as for all other installed equipment.
Gapless Metal-Oxide surge arresters (MO arrest-
ers) provide best protection against all kind of
transient overvoltages. The function of the
MO a­ rrester is to guard the insulation of the cable
and the cable bushing.
In case a transient overvoltage, e. g. a lightning
overvoltage, travels along an overhead line and
enters a cable, the voltage in the cable will reach
the same value as the incoming voltage. If the end
of the cable is terminated with a very high
­impedance (open circuit breaker or transformer)
the voltage in the cable will reach even twice
the incoming voltage.
Cables can store a relatively high energy, which in
case of an overvoltage, can be discharged into
the MO surge arrester. For this reason, MO surge
arresters with a high energy handling capability
should be used. MO surge arresters with higher
energy handling capability provide also a better
protection level.
The application of MO surge arresters reduces
ageing effects of the cable insulation and,
­therefore, provide increased lifetime of the cable.
9
It is advisable that a surge arrester should be
­provided at the following points in a cable s
­ ystem:
• at all switchgear bays that are open during
­system operation
• at arc suppression coils (Petersen coil)
• at the end points of the network,
i. e. at the ­cable end of open rings
Furthermore, surge arresters must be installed at
the conjunction of cable/overhead lines.
For short cable sections a protection on one side
can be enough. This is possible because the
­protective range of an arrester at one end of the
cable can still offer enough protection at the other
end. In Table 1 information is given if an MO surge
arrester at one end of the cable is sufficient,
or if both ends need protection. As a rule of
thumb, a cable longer than indicated in Table 1
and shorter than 1000 m needs protection at both
ends of the cable.
If both ends of a cable are endangered
by l­ightning or other transient overvoltages
­protection at both sides is advisable.
Large cable systems may require system studies
to find an optimized protection solution.
10 A P P L I C AT I O N N O T E C A B L E S
—
A P P L I C AT I O N N OT E 3 . 0 A N N E X
This Annex explains why short cables and very
long cables need protection against overvoltages
on one side only. The following example is a very
general one, and different assumptions as made
below will lead to different results.
Further, damping effects are not considered.
With the considerations made up to this time
the wave travelling from the line in the direction
of the cable was assumed to be a square wave or
a wave with strongly simplified wave shape.
In practice this theoretical assumption is too
­simple. If realistic values for the rise time and half
value of the tail for the overvoltage wave on
the overhead line are assumed, this leads to the
­conclusion that with very short and very long
­cables the overvoltage protection using surge
­arresters can be simplified. Then, only one set of
arresters is needed at one of the two ends of
a ­cable.
— U U
Figure A1: Critical
lengths for cables with 1
arrester protection only
at one end of the cable.
0.5
x x
T T₂
LK
a) T > 4 ×  = 0.4 μs
vK
LK = 15 m
The single travelling time of a wave in the cable is
LK/vK . The rise time of an overvoltage wave on
the overhead line, and hence on the arrester next
to the cable head, is assumed to be T as shown in
Figure A1. If this rise time is not shorter than four
times LK/vK , then despite of the multiple reflec-
tions the voltage at the cable end is almost of the
same amplitude as at the front end of the cable.
Consequently, the voltage at the end of the cable
increases at most to the protection level of the
­arrester at the front end of the cable. The a ­ rrester
at the end of the cable does not contribute
­anything to the protection. If a rise time of 0.4 µs
is assumed, corresponding to the conditions
of ­medium-voltage systems, then according to
­Figure A1 a) with a single arrester a cable of
­maximum length of 15 m is adequately protected.
Lightning currents rise very fast, reach their peak
value, and then drop rather quickly to zero. The
electrical charge in a lightning strike is therefore
in any case limited, as is the portion of the charge
which can flow in an overhead line. In addition,
a cable can be regarded as a capacitance between
conductor and earth which increases propor-
tional to the cable length LK . Consequently, for
a given lightning charge a long cable with a high
capacitance is charged to a lesser extent than
a short cable with low capacitance.
3 × ZF × LK
b) T2 <
ZK × vK
LK* = 1000 m
11 O V E R V O LTA G E P R OT E C T I O N
It can therefore be assumed that a critical cable
length LK* exists, at which the unprotected cable
end is only charged to the same voltage as the end
protected by an arrester. This critical length LK*
will naturally depend on how quickly the ­lightning
decays, or on the length of the tail h
­ alf-value time
T2 of the incoming overvoltage wave in F ­ igure A1
b). Under the simplifying a ­ ssumption that the
voltage in the tail of the overvoltage wave decays
linearly, the equation was derived
T 2 × ZK × vK
LK* ≥ --------------
3 × ZF
If this equation is valid, the voltages on the two
ends of the cable are almost equal.
With the realistic assumption of T 2 = 300 µs
a critical length of 1000 m is obtained for a cable.
This means that for all cables of a length > 1000 m
arrester protection at one end of the cable is
­sufficient.
—
Figure A2: Medium-­ LK
voltage cables with
lengths between 15 m U
and 1000 m are to be
protected at each end of
the cable by an arrester.
15 m < LK < 1000 m
11
Summarizing, with the assumptions made,
the following protection concept arises for cables:
• Arrester protection at only one cable end for ca-
ble lengths < 15 m or > 1000 m.
• Arrester protection at both cable ends accord-
ing to Figure A2 for all cables lengths between
15 m and 1000 m.
In a more general way, it can be stated that
­medium-voltage cables in the range of some me-
ters to some tens of meters and cables of around
1000 m and more need overvoltage protection
on one side only. This depends strongly on the
­system voltage, the type of pole and the assumed
­waveshape of the incoming overvoltage.
Typical f­ igures for medium-voltage cables are
given in T ­ able 1.
It goes without saying that cables that are prone
to overvoltages at both ends need overvoltage
protection on both ends of the cable.
—
ABB Power Grids Switzerland AG
PGHV
Surge Arresters
Jurastrasse 45
CH-5430 Wettingen/Switzerland
Tel. + 41 58585 2911
Fax + 41 58585 5570
Email: sales.sa@ch.abb.com

abb.com/arrestersonline

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