DEFINITION

As per IEC 60071

“Insulation Coordination is defined as selection of

dielectric strength of equipment in relation to the operating
voltages and overvoltages which can appear on the system for
which the equipment is intended and taking into account the
service environment and the characteristics of the available
preventing and protective devices”
 P o w e r S y s te m s O v e r v o l t a g e s

T e m p o ra ry O v e r-v o l t a g e s S w i t c h i n g O v e r-v o l t a g e s O v e r-v o l t a g e s d u e to l i g h tn i n g .

Temporary Over-Voltages

• Typically due to faults

• < 1.2 pu
• ms to tens of second or even minutes
• Not dangerous to insulation
• Decides arrester selection.
Switching Over-Voltages

• Due to system switching operations

• 1.5 pu – 5 pu depends on system voltage
• mostly damped asymmetric sinusoids
• front time of first peak – tens of s to a few ms.
• decides external insulation in EHV/UHV systems
• decides arrester duty by way of ‘long duration class’
Over-Voltages due to Lightning

• Due to ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’ lightning strokes.

• known to contribute to  50% of system outages in EHV & UHV
systems
• few hundred kV to several tens of MV.
• Few kA to 200 kA
• very short duration : times to front : 1 to few tens of s
• times to tail : few tens to hundreds of s.
• Decides line insulation (BIL)
• Severely influences Transformer insulation.
 Brief History of Development of Lightning Arresters
(Surge Diverters) - Surge Arresters

Various types of Gaps

1880 A.D.: a)'Horn Gap’
Rarely used : Waterjets to leak charges on
Transmission Lines.
b)'Modified Gaps'

Discriminating Lightning Arrester Low Equivalent Lightning Arrester

3. ‘Aluminum Cell’ LA
4. Oxide – Film Arrester  Pellet Arrester
Crosby Field & Christopher Lougee

Pb 2O5 Red Lead Pb3O 4  PbO

o
150

(Conductin g) (Litharge)
Insulating
5. Impulse Gaps – Chester Allcut

6. ‘Auto Valve Arrester’ – Westinghouse Stephen etal

7. ‘Thyrite’ – McEachron – General Electric (1932)

V=KI   0.3 to 0.4

Slope = 

LnV = LnK +  LnI

‘Modern’ Surge Arrester
Series Gaps
• + Magnetic Action
• + Grading Resistors
• + Non Linear Resistors
• + Insulating Coating
• + Pressure Relief

Nonlinear Resistors
• Silicon Carbide based
• Sic  80%
• Clay
• Feldspar
• MnO2
• CuO
• (Sodium Silicate ?)
•   0.3 to 0.45
 9. ‘Most Modern‘ Surge Arrester

Metallic Oxides – ZnO  85% to 90%

Sb 2 O 3 
 V= KI
Bi 2 O 3   SiC NLRs ….   0.25 to 0.4
CO 2 O 3  balance n = 1/  4 to 0.25
Zr2 O 3 
 MOV NLRs …   1/40 – 1/50
Al 2 O 3  ....
 1
 V2   I 2   I 2   V2  
          
 V1   I1   I1   V1 
V  I 
If  2   2,  2   2 4 to 2 2.5
 V1   I1 
n = 1/ = 40 to 50 for SiC NLRs
 2 40 to 250
for MOV
 S u rg e A rre s te r
S e r ie s G a p s
1. Should be insulating under
healthy voltage conditions
2. Should sparkover whenever
a dangerous overvoltage
arises.
3. Should quench power
follow current at the
earliest.
N o n L in e a r R e s is t o r s
1. The voltage developed during
flow of impulse currents should
be below withstand capability
of insulation under protection.
2. Should limit the power follow
current to a value that can be
safely interrupted by series
gaps.
 Power Frequency Voltage Rating of Arresters
The max voltage across arrester/s on the healthy phases under fault-conditions (single line-ground
fault is almost invariably the worst) should not cause operation of arresters.

Ideally grounded neutral

Isolated neutral Vn  remains at 0
VA = Max arrester voltage = VL-L(max) even when
fault current
at power freqency flows
Kg = 1
Solidly grounded(Effectively grounded

system)
VA = Kg . VL-L(max)  VA = VP(max)
VA = 0.8 VL-L(max)  Nearest higher standard rating slected
Practical Situation Kg = 1/3  0.6

80 arrester
Zinc-Oxide (Metal Oxide) Gapless Surge Arresters
HVDC ARRESTER CONFIGURATION
 STEP BY STEP insulation coordination procedures

The main objectives of the insulation coordination process are to establish

requirements (i.e. equipment BIL/ BSL, air clearance, and insulator creepage)
for various components in the HVDC system and to determine the devices (i.e.
arresters) necessary to protect equipment. This process typically involves 2
stages :

Preliminary and Final insulation coordination.

PRELIMINARY HVDC insulation coordination design

This consist of following steps:

• Step 1: Establish Areester location.
• Step 2: Assume a single-column arrester at each location and determine minimum
feasible arrester rating at each location.
• Step 3: Estimate, using simplified techniques, maximum arrester crest currents for
lighting surges and for switching surges.
• Step 4: Estimate, using simplified techniques, arrester absorbed energy for current
discharges determined in step 3, above.
• Step 5: Compare arrester absorbed energy determined in step 4, above, with arrester
energy capability.
• Step 6: Tabulate arrester protective levels based on the results of step 3 through 5.
• Step 7: Determine minimum insulation withstand requirements based on minimum
protective margins.
• Step 8: For equipment other than valves, select standard BIL levels which are at
least as high as the minimum insulation withstand requirements for lightning surges
determined in step 7.
Flow Chart of Preliminary insulation coordination process
Establish Arrester Location

Determine Minimum Feasible Rating of Single-

Column Arrester at Each Location

Determine Arrester Crest Currents for Lighting

and Switching Surges

Determine Maximum Arrester Absorbed Energy

Yes
Increase Number of Is Energy Greater
Columns Than Arrester
Capability?
No
New Solution No
Required?
Tabulate Arrester Protective Levels

Yes
Determine Minimum Insulation Withstand
Requirements

Choose standard BIL Levels and BSL where

possible Calculate Actual margins

Tabulate Results
FINAL HVDC insulation coordination design
The objectives of the final insulation coordination process can be summarized as
follows:
• Verification of the adequacy of the design.
• Elimination of excessive conservatism.
• Optimization of the design considering the cost of arresters.
• Determination of data for final arrester and equipment insulation specification

The steps involved in the methodology as shown in the flow chart are as follows:
• Step 1: Verify maximum continuous operating voltages (MCOV)
• Step 2: Validate or re-establish limiting cases and limiting case data.
• Step 3: Determine minimum insulation requiremtns.
• Step 4: Adjust BIL levels as required.
• Step 5: Where feasible, optimize the selection of protective devices (arresters) and
insulation withstand requirements by considering the cost of insulation versus the
cost of protection.
Flow Chart of Final insulation coordination process

Verify Maximum Continuous

Operating Voltage and Check for
Temporary Over voltages

Yes
Change Adjust V10
Required?

No

Validate / Re-Establish Limiting Cases and

Limiting Case Data

Determine Minimum Insulation

Withstand Requirement

Adjust Protective
Level Adjust BIL Level as Required

No
Yes
Optimization Stop
Feasible?
End