IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution

Research Article

Modelling for switching impulse breakdown of ISSN 1751-8687

Received on 29th May 2019

live working gaps between equipotential

Revised 3rd September 2019
Accepted on 3rd January 2020
E-First on 28th February 2020
worker and transmission towers doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd.2019.0789
www.ietdl.org

Yaqi Fang1 , Linong Wang2, Rui Li3, Jiachen Gao2, Bin Song2, Kai Liu4
1School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
2School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Wuhan University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
3Wuhan Power Supply Company, State Grid Hubei Electric Power Company Limited, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
4China Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan, People's Republic of China

E-mail: fyq@hbut.edu.cn

Abstract: Air gap discharge voltage is the key parameter to determine the minimum approach distance for live working. In this
study, a mathematical–physical model for predicting 50% discharge voltage of the transmission line air gaps considering the
effect of live line worker is developed based on the continuous leader inception criterion. Also, the tower structure coefficient ST
is proposed to represent the influence of various tower structures and ST is calculated by finite element method. Finally, the
switching impulse discharge tests of the equipotential worker-tower structure gaps are carried out on 750 kV transmission lines
to verify the proposed model. The research results show that the errors between the calculation and experimental data are
within ±4.03% which demonstrates the feasibility of discharge voltage prediction for complicated live working gaps. This model
offers a possible way to determine the safety air gap distance for live working by analytical and numerical calculation rather than
costly and time-consuming experiments.

1 Introduction of discharge models has also been proposed. For engineering

Live working is an important technical means to ensure the safety
operation of the power grid. Due to the large tower size of extra-
high voltage (EHV) and ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission
lines, the bare-hand method is the most widely used method in live
working on these transmission lines [1]. For the bare-hand method,
the worker is at the same potential with the live conductor. The
existence of the live line worker can change the gap configuration,
which significantly affects the insulation properties of the air gaps
[2]. In order to ensure the safety of the worker, the minimum
approach distance (MAD) must be obtained before conducting live
working. At present, the MAD is determined based on the
acquisition of gap factor via full-scale discharge tests, and then the
MAD can be calculated using the method recommended by IEC
standard 61472 [3].
Live working gap refers to the gaps between the equipotential
worker and tower or the gaps between the bundle conductor and
ground-potential worker. However, due to the existence of the
worker, the discharge characteristics of live working gap are
different from the conventional conductor-tower gaps. At present,
the discharge voltage of live working gap is obtained by the full-
scale test. With the construction of EHV and UHV transmission
projects, a series of experimental studies related to discharge
characteristics for live working gaps have been conducted on a
single circuit, double-circuit and compact transmission lines [4–
10]. For different live working conditions (the worker at different
locations) or new tower structures, discharge tests must be
performed repeatedly to obtain its 50% discharge voltage and the
gap factor. However, these tests are extremely time-consuming and
costly because of the complicated gap configurations. Until now,
there is no suitable prediction method that can be applied directly
to analyse the discharge characteristics of live working gaps.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a model to predict the
discharge voltage of live working gaps so as to reduce the full-
scale test task.
Live working gaps of EHV and UHV transmission lines belong
to long air gaps. Since the 1970s, a large amount of studies about
discharge characteristics of long air gaps including rod-plane, rod-
rod and conductor-plane gaps has been conducted [11] and a series
application, the Critical Corona Radius (CCR) method proposed by
Carrara and Thione [12] and the continuous leader inception model
developed by Rizk [13, 14] are widely used. Carrara and Thione
[12] found that under the critical switching impulse, when the
radius of the electrode is less than CCR, the breakdown voltage of
the gap does not change significantly with the decrease of the
electrode radius, and the minimum breakdown voltage of air gaps
is determined by the continuous leader inception voltage and the
voltage drop of the leader channel. However, there is a limitation
of this model that the CCR must to be obtained via experiments.
Later, for the electrode with a radius less than CCR, Rizk proposed
the general model to calculate the air gap breakdown voltage with
rod or conductor electrodes [14], the concept of ‘gap characteristic
function R’ is proposed to present the gap configuration on leader
inception voltage. However, it is hard to obtain function R with
irregular electrode. With the continuous understanding of discharge
mechanism, based on the experimental observations and some
reasonable simplifying assumptions, researchers attempt to
describe the discharge processes occurring in each discharge phase
(first corona, streamer propagation, leader formation and
propagation, final jump) in a mathematical way and some physical
models are developed such as Bondiou–Gallimberti model [15],
Becerra–Cooray model [16] and Fofana–Beroual model [17].
Physical models can reflect the physical characteristics of
discharge development. However, due to the complexity of the
phenomena involved in the discharge, it is difficult to simulate the
whole discharge processes accurately especially for the
complicated electrode structures.
In this paper, considering the overall effect of live line worker,
bundle conductors and different tower structures, a mathematical–
physical model for predicting the 50% discharge voltage of live
working gap is developed based on the continuous leader inception
criterion. Also, the switching impulse discharge tests are carried
out on 750 kV transmission lines to verify the correctness of the
model. The major contributions of this paper are given as follows:
(i) Considering the influence of worker as well as the proximity
effect of bundle conductor, gap characteristic function R of

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equipotential worker-tower leg gap is derived. Due to the difficulty
in obtaining function R of actual tower analytically, the tower
structure coefficient ST is introduced to present the effect of
complex towers and a numerical method for calculation ST is
proposed based on finite element method (FEM) simulation. The
proposed model can be used to quantitatively analyse the influence
of the worker and tower structure on discharge characteristic.
(ii) The proposed model can be applied to calculate the switching
impulse discharge voltages of the live working gap, under
simulated working conditions of a transmission line. It provides a
possibility to obtain the MAD by numerical calculations instead of
costly and time-consuming tests, which can provide references for
live working on HV transmission lines.
The rest of this paper is organised as follows. Section 2 introduces
the development of the model for discharge voltage prediction of
live working gaps. Section 3 presents the live working test results
and the comparisons between calculation of the test data. Section 4
analyses the influence of worker's posture and tower structures on
the discharge voltage using the proposed model and gives some
safety recommendations. Section 5 presents conclusions and future
works of this study.
2 Discharge model for equipotential worker –
tower gap
2.1 Discharge voltage calculation method
Continuous leader inception and propagation is the most important
stage in long air gap discharge process. When the radius of
curvature for the high-voltage electrode is less than CCR, the
continuous leader inception voltage almost remains the same and
the minimum breakdown voltage UB of the gap consists of the
continuous leader inception voltage Ulc and leader voltage drop
ΔUl [12]:
UB = Ulc + ΔUl (1)
Since the leader can be regarded as an arc-like channel, the leader
voltage drop can be expressed as [13]:
ΔUl = 50 d −
Ulc
+ 37.5ln 8 − 7e−1.33 d − Ulc / Es
(2)
Es
where Es is the average electric field strength of the streamer, Es =  distribution between the worker's head and rod electrode in path 1
400 kV/m.
Then the 50% breakdown voltage U50 of the air gaps under
switching impulse can be calculated using the minimum
breakdown voltage UB and standard deviation σ:
UB
U50 = (3)
1 − 3σ
Therefore, the key point is to calculate the continuous leader
inception voltage.
The general expression of the continuous leader inception
voltage of a long air gap is as follows [14]:
Uc∞
Ulc = (4)
1 + A/R
Q0
R= (5)
4πε0Uib
Uib = Uin − Uia (6)
Q0
Uia = (7)
4πε0s
where Ulc is the continuous leader inception voltage; Uc∞ is the
saturation value of continuous leader inception voltage; A is a
1272
coefficient related to high-voltage electrode type. For the rod
electrode, Uc∞ = 1556 kV, A = 7.78 [13]. R is the gap characteristic
function related to the gap configuration, gap distance, and
grounded electrode geometry. Q0 is the equivalent stream space
charge located in the vicinity of the high-voltage electrode. Uin is
the induced voltage generated by Q0 and its induced charge at the
streamer-stem tip; Uia is the induced potential at the streamer-stem
tip directly caused by Q0; Uib is the absolute induced potential at
streamer-stem tip by the image charges induced on the opposite
electrode and the nearby objects due to Q0 and the charges Q0
induces on the high-voltage electrode.
Therefore, the acquisition of gap characteristic function R is the
main procedure to obtain the continuous leader inception voltage.
2.2 Equivalent of live line worker
For bare-hand method on HV transmission lines, the live line
worker is required to wear a full-set conductive clothing, remains
at the same potential with the energised conductors and works
directly on the conductors. Our previous experimental results [4, 6–
8, 10] indicate that when the worker is on the conductor or ready to
get in or get out of equipotential, discharges usually occur between
the worker's head and tower, the worker's feet and tower, or the
worker's back and tower. The discharge voltage of the gap between
worker's head (or feet) and tower are lower than that between
worker's back and tower due to the smaller radius of head and feet.
Considering the most serious scenario, the minimum discharge
voltage of the live working gap should be obtained in order to
maximise the safety margin of live working. Therefore, this paper
focuses on the gap between worker's head or feet and tower as
shown in Fig. 1.
Previous research has found that when the gap length is within
3 to 8 m, the CCR of the rod electrode is within 0.17 to 0.3 m [11].
The equivalent radius of the worker's head or feet is smaller than
0.15 m, which is less than the CCR of rod electrode. A three-
dimensional model corresponding to Fig. 1 is established and the
electric field distribution is calculated by the FEM. Fig. 2 displays
the simulated electric field strength along the different discharge
paths in Fig. 1 when the peak value of switching impulse voltage is
applied. Since the electric field in the vicinity of the high stressed
electrode is the most intense and reduces rapidly as the distance
increasing, Fig. 2 only shows the electric field strength along the
discharge path within a range of 1 m. From Fig. 2, it can be
observed that there is slight difference of the electric field
because when the worker stands on the conductor the shape of the
worker is more like a rod electrode. In path 2, the maximum
electric field of rod is a little higher than worker's head or feet
when distance is <0.2 m due to the shielding effect of other body
parts of the worker. Therefore, the discharge parts such as head and
feet of the worker can be equivalent to a rod electrode, and the
discharge voltage can be predicted based on the leader inception
mechanism.
Fig. 1 Diagram of discharge path between the equipotential worker and
tower
IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2020, Vol. 14 Iss. 7, pp. 1271-1278
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 So the effect of the ground plane in Fig. 3a can be replaced by
an image charge −Q0 and the image of the conductor. In Fig. 3b, r0 
= s + h + a, r = 2d + a + h, thus the induced voltage Uib0 at point P
can be expressed as follows: (see (9)) . Since
s + h + a/2d + a + h <<1 and a/2d + a + h <<1, there is a
further approximation as follows:
∞
2 K0 s + h + a/2d + a + h n
π ∫ K0 a/2d + a + h n
K0(n)dn
0
(10)
K s + h + a/2d + a + h
≅ 0
K0 a/2d + a + h

For Bessel function K0(x), when x is small, it will be:

1
K0(x) = ln (11)
x

Thus the induced voltage Uib0 can be further approximated as: (see
(12)) . Now taking the effect of tower structure into consideration
as shown in Fig. 4. Experimental study shows that the gap factor of
conductor-tower leg gap is almost the same with the conductor-
cylinder gap [10, 18], therefore in this paper, the cylinder gap is
chosen as a basic structure to obtain its function R. The scheme for
determination R for a conductor + worker-cylinder gap is shown in
Fig. 4.
In Fig. 4, the resultant effect of Q0 and the charge it induces on
the conductor and rod can be expressed as follows: (see (13)) .
Therefore, allowing for the influence of the tower leg, Uib is the
absolute value of the induced voltage at the point P by the induced
charge on the cylinder due to the image charge −Qe: (see (14)) ,
where
∞
2 K02(n)
φ
b
b+d
=
π ∫ 0
K0 b/b + d n
dn (15)

For EHV and UHV transmission lines, the bundle conductor has
been adopted to reduce the corona loss. The bundle conductor can
be replaced by an equivalent conductor with an equivalent radius
ae, and ae is expressed as follows:

ae = (nalrbn − 1) 1/ n (16)

where n is the number of sub conductors; al is the radius of the

sub-conductor; rb is the bundle radius.
The numerical evaluation shows distance s has little influence
on the value of Uib, therefore the induced voltage of a bundle
conductor + rod-tower leg gap becomes as follows:
Fig. 2 Electric field of the worker-tower gap
(a) Worker's head-crossarm (path 1), (b) Worker's head-tower body (path 2), (c) Q0φ b/b + d
Worker's feet-tower body (path 2) Uib− leg =
4πε0(b + d)
2.3 Continuous leader inception voltage of live working gaps 2(d + b) ln ae + h/ae
× 1− 1−
2(d + b) + ae + h ln 2(d + b) + ae + h/ae
When the worker's head or feet become high-voltage electrode, (17)
these parts can be equivalent as a rod electrode. Considering a
conductor + rod-plane gap as shown in Fig. 3, the equivalent 1 φ b/b + d 2(d + b)
stream space charge Q0 is at a distance s from the surface of the rod = 1−
Rleg (b + d) 2(d + b) + ae + h
electrode. The point P at the streamer-stem tip is at a distance s0 ln ae + h/ae (18)
from the rod. Both s and s0 are much smaller than the gap distance 1−
ln 2(d + b) + ae + h/ae
d. The radius of the conductor is a, and the length of rod electrode
is h. The actual tower structures in transmission lines are more
For a long cylinder with diameter of 2a and a point charge Q complicated than a single tower leg, so it is difficult to calculate the
which is situated at a distance f from the axis of the cylinder. The gap characteristic function R with irregular tower structure
potential U(x) in points at any distance x from the axis of the mathematically. In this paper, we define the tower structure
cylinder is as follows [14]: coefficient ST to present the effect of different tower structures on
∞ the continuous leader inception voltage:
K0 f /x n
U(x) = −
Q
2π 2ε0 x ∫
0
K0 a/x n 0
K (n)dn (8)
Uib− tower
ST = (19)
Uib− leg
where K0(x) is the modified Bessel function in zero order.

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where Uib-tower is the induced voltage of any tower structure; Uib-
leg is the induced voltage of a single tower leg structure.
The value of ST can be calculated by the FEM [19, 20]. In this
paper, we assume that the point P in Fig. 3 is very close to the
surface of the high-voltage electrode. And we use a point charge Q
to simulate the effect of streamer space charge. By setting a point
charge Q along the discharge path at a certain distance s from the
high-voltage electrode, the overall induced voltage Uin can be
obtained by calculating the induced voltage on the surface of high-
voltage electrode. Then Uib can be obtained from (6) and (7). The
influence of the values of Q and s on ST has been studied by
establish a solid model of conductor-tower gap of 5 m spacing [20].
Firstly, s is kept as 0.5 m, and Q are set as 1 × 10−12, 1 × 10−6, 1 × 
10−3 and 1 C respectively to calculate Uib. Then Q is then kept as
1 C, and Uib is obtained when s ranges from 0.1 to 0.8 m. Potential
calculation results show that ST will not be affected by Q, and only
slightly affected by s, thus the value of Q is selected as 1 C and s is
determined as 0.5 m. The potentials of tower structures and outer
boundary are set to zero.
Therefore, considering the effect of the bundle-conductor and
different tower structures, when the worker's head or feet become
the high-voltage electrode, the general continuous leader inception
voltage of the live working gap can be expressed as follows: Fig. 3 Scheme for determining R of a conductor + rod-plane gap
(see (20))
(see (21))
Then the 50% breakdown voltage of live working gaps can be
calculated using (1)–(3).

3 Experimental validation
In this paper, the switching impulse discharge tests of the 750 kV
transmission line live working gaps are carried out in the UHV
outdoor test site of China Electric Power Research Institute. The
six-bundle conductors with 23 mm sub-conductor diameter and
400 mm bundle spacing are used in the test and the length of the
bundle conductor is 20 m. The simulated tower is made of high-
strength angle steel at a 1:1 ratio with the 750 kV side phase tower
structure, cup tower window and V type tower window. In live
working, the worker is required to wear full-set conductive
clothing. Therefore, in the test, the sim man made by aluminium-
alloy is used to simulate the worker and the sim man is produced
according to the real size and shape of the worker. During the test,
the air pressure is 100.0–101.1 kpa, the temperature is 18.5–
20.5°C, and the humidity is 9.7–11.3 g/m3. All the atmospheric
parameters are near to normal conditions. Fig. 4 Scheme for determining R of a conductor + rod-cylinder gap
During the discharge test, different gap configurations are
formed by adjusting the locations and the posture of the sim man. structure, worker's feet-cup tower window, worker's head-cup
There are five live working gaps including worker's feet-side phase tower crossarm, worker's feet-V tower window, worker's head-V

∞
2 K0 s + h + a/2d + a + h n
Uib0 =
Q0
−
Q0
4πε0 ⋅ 2d 4πε0(2d + a + h) π ∫ 0
K0 a/2d + a + h n
K0(n)dn (9)

Q0 Q0 ln 2d + a + h/s + h + a
Uib0 = − ⋅
4πε0 ⋅ 2d 4πε0(2d + a + h) ln 2d + a + h/a
(12)
Q0 1 1 ln s + h + a/a
= − 1−
4πε0 2d 2d + a + h ln 2d + a + h/a

Qe = Q0 × 2(d + b)
1 1 ln s + a + h/a (13)
× − 1−
2(d + b) 2(d + b) + a + h ln 2(d + b) + a + h/a

∞
K02(n)
Uib = 2
Qe
2π ε0(b + d) ∫ K0 b/b + d n
dn
(14)
0

Q 1 − 2(d + b)/2(d + b) + a + h 1 − ln s + a + h/a /ln 2(d + b) + a + h/a b

= 0 ⋅φ
4πε0(b + d) b+d
1274 IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2020, Vol. 14 Iss. 7, pp. 1271-1278
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Fig. 5 Switch impulse discharge test arrangement (worker's feet-tower)
(a) Worker's feet-side phase, (b) Worker's feet-cup tower window, (c) Worker's feet-V
tower window
Fig. 6 Switch impulse discharge test arrangement (worker's head-
crossarm)
(a) Worker's head-cup tower crossarm, (b) Worker's head-V tower crossarm
tower crossarm. Fig. 5 presents the test arrangement of the worker's
feet-tower gaps and Fig. 6 shows the test arrangement of worker's
head-crossarm gaps.
The standard switching impulse of 250/2500 μs is applied and
is generated by a 5400 kV impulse generator. The ‘up and down’
method, is adopted in the tests. During the test, the sim man is
connected with the conductor to remain the same potential with the
conductor. The tests are conducted with the gap distance ranging
from 3 to 6 m, and 40 discharge tests are conducted at each
distance. The 50% discharge voltage U50 and the standard
deviation σ can be calculated by the following equation:
1556 1556
Ulc = =
1 + 7.78/Rtower 1 + Uib− tower /Uib− leg 7.78/Rleg
1556
=
1 + 7.78STφ b/b + d /b + d 1 − 2(d + b)/2(d + b) + ae + h 1 − ln ae + h/ae /ln 2(d + b) + ae + h/ae
b+d
Rtower =
STφ b/b + d 1 − 2(d + b)/2(d + b) + ae + h 1 − ln ae + h/ae /ln 2(d + b) + ae + h/ae
IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2020, Vol. 14 Iss. 7, pp. 1271-1278
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2020
n
∑i = 1 Ui
U50 = (22)
n
n
∑i = 1 (Ui − U50)2 (23)
σ= × 100%
n−1
where Ui is the ith valid applied voltage, kV; n is the total number
of valid tests.
With the same high-voltage electrode, the induced voltage Uib
is dependent on the gap spacing and the grounded electrode
geometry. In order to obtain the value of ST in various scenarios,
the three-dimensional models of actual tower and the single tower
leg are established in SolidWorks according to the test arrangement
mentioned above. Fig. 6 shows the solid models of live working
gap between the worker and cup tower crossarm and the model of
gap between worker and single tower leg. Then the models are
imported to FEM-based software COMSOL. The relative
permittivity of bundle conductor, worker, tower structure and air
are set as 1. The equivalent streamer space charge Q of 1 C is set
along the discharge path at a distance s of 0.5 m from the
equipotential worker. The potentials of the tower structures and
outer boundary are set to zero. All the components are meshed with
tetrahedron. A workstation equipped with 16 × 3.07 GHz Intel
Xeon processors and 64 GB RAM is used to ensure smooth
simulation calculations. It takes about 20 min for the FEM
simulation of one model for different live working gaps (Fig. 7).
Consequently, the overall induced voltage Uin on conductor and
equipotential worker generated by Q and its induced charge can be
obtained, and Uib can be calculated via expressions (6) and (7).
Table 1 presents the calculated value of ST and U50, and the
tested results of U50 at different gap distance. The errors between
calculation and test data are also displayed in Table 1.
It can be seen from Table 1 that the errors between the
calculated and tested discharge voltage are within − 2.81 and
0.37% for side phase tower structure, and within − 4.03 to 2.97%
for cup tower, and within − 3.43 to 4.02% for V tower under
different working conditions. The mean absolute percentage errors
between the calculated and test results for side phase tower
structure, cup tower and V tower are 1.25, 2.41 and 1.55%,
respectively. For all conditions, the maximum error is less than
±4.03%, which proves that the model developed in this paper has
good feasibility in the prediction of the 50% discharge voltage of
live working gaps.
The 50% discharge voltage of an air gap different from rod-
plane gap can be predicted using the following expression:
U50 = K 500 d 0.6 (24)
where K is the gap factor; d is gap distance, m.
Using the above expression to fit the experiment results from
Table 1, the gap factor of worker's feet- side phase gap, worker's
feet- cup tower window gap, worker's feet- V tower window gap,
worker's head-cup tower crossarm gap and worker’ head-V tower
crossarm gap are 1.328, 1.265, 1.266, 1.134 and 1.142,
respectively. This means under the same gap distance, the
minimum 50% discharge voltage appears in the worker's head-cup
tower crossarm gap as shown in Fig. 6a and the maximum 50%
discharge voltage occurs in the worker's feet-side phase gap as
shown in Fig. 5a. For example, when gap distance is 4 m, the 50%
discharge voltage of worker's feet-side phase gap is 17.1% higher
(20)
(21)
1275
Fig. 7 Three-dimensional models of live working gap
(a) Worker's head-cup tower crossarm, (b) Worker's head-single tower leg

Table 1 Discharge voltage comparison of live working gaps

Gap structure Gap distance, m ST Calculated U50, kV Tested U50, kV Tested σ, % Error, %
Worker’ feet-side phase 3.13 1.06 1341 1336 3.8 0.37
3.5 1.09 1416 1415 4.0 0.07
4.0 1.1 1499 1527 5.7 −1.83
4.5 1.17 1557 1602 6.1 −2.81
Worker's feet-cup tower window 3.5 1.41 1352 1352 4.7 0.00
4.2 1.48 1459 1496 3.2 −2.47
4.5 1.38 1520 1575 5.0 −3.49
5 1.49 1573 1636 5.6 −3.85
Worker's feet-V tower window 3.5 1.31 1372 1360 5.1 0.88
4.2 1.26 1498 1497 4.2 0.07
4.5 1.21 1549 1562 5.4 −0.83
5 1.29 1599 1640 3.7 −2.50
Worker's head-cup tower crossarm 4.4 1.47 1388 1348 5.5 2.97
4.8 1.46 1449 1430 3.6 1.33
5.2 1.34 1526 1543 2.4 −1.10
5.6 1.36 1572 1638 4.7 −4.03
Worker’ head-V tower crossarm 4.4 1.30 1424 1369 4.3 4.02
4.8 1.40 1461 1458 3.6 0.21
5.2 1.32 1530 1537 5.2 −0.46
5.6 1.33 1577 1633 5.4 −3.43

than the 50% discharge voltage of worker's head-cup tower

crossarm gap. This is due to overall effect of the worker's posture
and the different tower structures. With the same tower structures,
the discharge voltage of the worker's feet-tower window gap is
11.6 and 10.9% higher than worker's head-tower crossarm gap in
cup tower and V tower, respectively. With the same worker's
posture, the discharge voltage of the worker's feet-side phase gap is
5.0% higher than worker's feet-cup tower window gap.

4 Discharge characteristics analysis

4.1 Influence of live line worker
The gap characteristic function R represents the effect of the gap
configuration on the continuous leader inception voltage. The
comparison of R and the continuous leader inception voltage Ulc
under different gap configurations are shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
From Figs. 8 and 9, it can be seen that with the same tower
structure (like cup tower window), the difference in discharge
voltage is mainly affected by the posture of the worker. When the
discharge appears on the worker's feet, the length of the worker's
body part outside the conductor is 0.5 m (h = 0.5 m). When the
discharge occurs on the worker's head, the length of the worker's
body part outside the conductor is 1 m (h = 1 m). Comparing the R
values of cup tower and V tower, it can be seen that with the same
gap length, the longer length the body exceeds the conductor
(which means larger h), the smaller the corresponding R value, and
the lower the corresponding leader inception voltage and the 50%
Fig. 8 Comparison of R under different gap configurations
discharge voltage. The shielding effect of the bundle conductor for
the worker will be reduced with the increasing value of h, which
will raise the possibility for air gap breakdown.
Standing or riding on the conductor are the common posture of
the equipotential worker. Taking the cup tower as an example,
when the length h various between 0.5 m (riding on conductor) to
1.8 m (standing on conductor), the 50% discharge voltage of
worker's head- tower crossarm gap is calculated using the proposed
model when gap distance ranges from 4 to 7 m. The 50% discharge
voltage under different conditions is shown in Fig. 10. Also, the

1276 IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2020, Vol. 14 Iss. 7, pp. 1271-1278
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2020
Fig. 9 Comparison of Ulc under different gap configurations
Fig. 10 Influence of worker's posture on 50% discharge voltage
test results of worker's feet-cup tower window from Table 1 is
plotted in Fig. 10 for comparison. It can be seen from Fig. 10 that
the discharge voltage decreases with the increase of h. The
discharge voltage at h = 1.8 m is reduced by 8–12% compared with
the discharge voltage at h = 0.5 m. With the increase in gap
distance, the influence of the worker on the discharge voltage
reduces. Fig. 10 also indicates that with the same length of h, the
discharge voltage between worker-tower crossarm gap is higher
than worker-tower window gap. If the worker enters equipotential
from upper crossarm vertically (h = 1.8 m), the discharge voltage is
reduced by about 14% compared with the worker entering
equipotential from the tower window. This is because the worker is
similar to a protruding rod electrode when standing or riding on
conductor, which significantly distorts the electric field around the
worker, resulting in lower discharge voltage. If the worker enters
equipotential from the tower window (usually siting in a basket, h 
= 0.5 m), due to the shielding effect of the conductor, the discharge
voltage will be higher.
The insulation capability of the gap will be significantly
reduced with the increasing length of the worker's body outside the
bundle conductors. Therefore, in live working practice, the
equipotential worker should watch his posture and keep himself
close to the bundle conductor as much as possible. Based on the
above analysis, it can be concluded that it is safer to enter the
equipotential from the tower body side via basket than to enter
from the crossarm above the conductor.
4.2 Influence of tower structure
Figs. 8 and 9 also indicate that the values of R and Ulc increase
with the gap distance increasing and the Ulc tends to be saturated
with the rising gap spacing. With the same gap distance and the
same worker's posture, for example, the worker's feet becomes the
discharge electrode as shown in Figs. 5a–c, the discharge voltage
of side phase tower structure is higher than cup tower and V tower.
IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2020, Vol. 14 Iss. 7, pp. 1271-1278
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2020
The difference is mainly caused by the tower areas and structures
surrounding the high-voltage electrode. The area of cup tower
window around the conductor and worker is larger than V tower
window and the side phase structure, resulting in the smallest R of
the cup tower window, therefore the magnitude of the induced
charge on cup tower window is the largest, which makes it easier
for the discharge development. So it can be concluded that the
influence of the tower structure on the live working gap discharge
characteristics is mainly caused by the area of the grounded tower
structures around the high-voltage electrode. The larger area of the
tower surrounding the highly stressed electrode, the more induced
charge is generated by the stream space charge, resulting in the
lower discharge voltage of the gap.
5 Conclusion
A discharge voltage calculation model of live working gaps is
presented in this paper, through the combination of analytical
derivation and FEM calculation. In this model, both of the
influence of equipotential worker and various tower shapes are
taken into consideration. In addition, the live working gap
discharge test under switching impulse is carried out on 750 kV
transmission lines. The correctness of the proposed model is
verified by the test data. The effects of the worker and tower
structures on the discharges characteristics are also analysed and
safety recommendations are put forward. Based on the predicted
results and analysis, the conclusions of this study can be drawn as
follows:
(i) The calculated 50% discharge voltage shows good agreement
with the test results. Under all circumstances, the errors between
the calculated data and tested data are within 4.03%, which are
acceptable for engineering applications.
(ii) The longer length the worker's body exceeds the conductor, the
weaker the shielding effect of the conductor is, and the lower the
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gap discharge voltage is. Entering the equipotential from the tower
body side instead of from the crossarm is recommended.
(iii) The discharge voltage of worker-side phase gap is 5% higher
than worker-tower window gap, which means the larger area of the
tower surrounds the equipotential worker and conductor, the lower
the discharge voltage of the gap is.
The proposed model preliminarily achieves discharge voltage
prediction of live working gaps, which contributes to reducing the
full-scale test work and provides an effective means to determine
the MAD for live working on EHV and UHV transmission lines. It
should be pointed out that the model in this paper is applicable in
normal atmospheric conditions. However, it should be pointed out
that the model in this paper is applicable in normal atmospheric
conditions, however during the implementation of live working,
variations in air density and humidity may lead to the diversity of
discharge voltage. Modelling accounting for the effects of
atmospheric parameters still needs more work.
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IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2020, Vol. 14 Iss. 7, pp. 1271-1278
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2020