Over Voltages

Dr.M.GEETHANJALI Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering TCE, Madurai

Voltage Classification

Low Voltage

Up to 250 V A/C 1 230 V & 230 DC V

Medium Voltage

Above 250 V & Up to 650 V A/C 3 230/415 V & 500 V DC Above 650 V & up to 33000V
Above 33000 V

High Voltage

Extra High Voltage

Permissible Variation of Voltage

Max.
For

Permissible Limit - Voltage

Low & Medium Voltage is 5% For High & Extra High Voltage is 12.5%
Specified

by IE Rule No.5

What is an over-voltage?

Any voltage level that is 10% greater than the systems normal operating AC RMS or DC voltage level is called as Over voltage

Voltage and Stress on Insulation

Normal operating voltage of the system do not stress the insulation severely Voltage stresses due to over voltages can be so high and may lead to insulation failure

Leads to equipment damage

Protective devices are must to protect PS Equipment from over voltages

Causes of Over Voltages

Lightning Utility Switching Equipment / Parasitic switching

Types of Over Voltage

External

Over voltages Internal Over voltages

External over Voltages

Direct Lightning Strokes Electromagnetically induced over voltages

Due to lightning discharge taking place near the line (Commonly known as Side Stroke)

Voltage induced due to changing atmospheric conditions along line length

Contd.

Electrostatically induced over voltages due to the presence of charge clouds nearby Electrostatically induced over voltages due to frictional effects of small particles

Such as dust or dry snow in the atmosphere or due to change in the altitude of the line

Internal Over Voltages

Caused by the changes in the operating conditions Switching over voltages due to ON/OFF of equipment Temporary over voltages are the steady state over voltage of PS

arising due to line charging effect, over compensation or loss of load

Lightning Surges

Initial and direct strikes are the most damaging, however, follow up pulse continue to cause indirect problems up to 30 miles away from strike.

Lightning Phenomena

The discharge of charged cloud to the ground A lightning discharge thro air occurs

When a cloud is raised to a high potential with respect to ground or to a nearby cloud

The cloud & ground form two plates of a gigantic capacitor

Whose dielectric medium is air

As the lower part of the cloud is negatively charges & the ground get positively charged by induction Lightning discharge requires breakdown of the dielectric medium air between

The negatively charged cloud to positively charged ground

When a potential gradient of about 10kV/cm is setup in the cloud

The air immediately surrounding the cloud gets ionized 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

Utility Switching / Switching Surges

Switching of large transformers, motors, and other inductive load generates spike or transient impulse that enter your facilities through the power network.

Equipment or Parasitic Switching

Caused by equipment in your facility These freak interferences get induced back into your power system Few examples of equipment that can cause these strange transients.

Discharge lamps, Arc furnaces, Welders, and Motors

Facts about Voltage Surges

Only 20% of all transients are generated by outside sources Such as the weather, line/grid switching or accidents where line voltages cross. 80% of all transients are actually generated by internal sources

Such as motors, florescent lights, copiers, and other switching devices

Transients and Causes

Lightning Over voltages

Lightning discharges produce over voltage surges & they are extremely harmful Lightning over voltages can be classified as

Induced over voltages Over voltages due to shielding failures Over voltages by back flashovers

Lightning Phenomena

Lightning is a fast 1/50 wave front (few sec) Insulators with higher levels of fast surges can stand Lightning surges tend to be fixed, due to the lightning itself independent of line voltage Lightning more of a problem <200 kV

Causes of Lightning Over Voltage

Travelling wave produced due to lightning surges will

Shatter the insulators & may damage the poles

When lightning surge hit the winding of Transformer or Generator

Cause a considerable damage to the equipment

The arc initiated in any pat of the PS due to lightning will setup a disturbing oscillations in the line

Results in damage of other equipment connected

Klydonograph

A device attached to electric power lines for estimating certain electrical characteristics of lightning

by means of the figures produced on photographic film by the lightning-produced surge carried over the lines

The size of the figure is a function of the potential and polarity of the lightning discharge.

Klydonograph contains a rounded electrode connected to the line

Whose surge voltage is to be measured

Electrodes rests on the emulsion side of a photographic film or plate

Which in turn rests on the smooth surface of an insulating plate made of homogeneous insulating material backed by a metal plate electrode

Photographic plate or film is turned or moved

By a clockwork mechanism for bringing in the element of time

Three assemblies are generally placed in the same box

For simultaneously measuring the voltages on three phases of a Tr. Line

Lightning Protection Devices for Utilities

Shielding by earth wires / Earthing screen Proper earthing of transmission towers Lightning Arrester / Surge Arrestor like ZnO varistor

Ground Wire / Shielding by Earth wires

Running a conductor all along the top of the Transmission Towers and Grounded

At Regular interval preferable at every Pole or Tower Direct Lightning strokes

Highly useful in protection of Tr. Line from

Ground wire also provides a certain amount of electrostatic screening

As it causes the capacitance of ground to increase & so the voltages induced in the conductors, owing to the discharge of a neighbouring cloud to decrease

Ground wire damp out the effect on any wave or other disturbance travelling along the line by its action as a short circuited secondary Selecting the size of the ground wire is based on the mechanical factor than the electrical considerations

Should have high tensile strength & be noncorrosive

Ground resistances & Clearances between the ground wire and Lines are important

In the design & construction of lines with ground wires

Limitations

It requires additional cost Possibility of its breaking & falling on line conductors thereby causing short-circuit faults

Can be eliminated by using galvanized stranded steel conductors as ground wires Provides adequate strength to the ground wires

Earthing screen

Used to protect Power Stations & Major Substations against lightning strokes Consists of a network of copper conductors over all the electrical equipment in the station

Earthed at least at two points

When a direct or indirect strokes occurs on the station screen provides a low resistance path

By which lightning surges are passed to the ground

Surge Diverters or Lightning Arrestors

A protective device which conducts/bypass the HV surges in the PS to the ground Ground wire provides certain amount of protection to the Lightning strokes Even though Lightning surges will enter the line needs to be protected

With the help of Lightning Arrestor or Diverters

LA acts similar to a Safety Valve

When a HV Surge reaches the surge diverter

It sparks over & provides a conducting path of relatively low Z between the Line & Ground It stops the flow of current thro the LA

As soon as the voltage attains normal valve

It consists of spark gap in series with a Nonlinear resistor

Resistance decrease as the voltage or current increases and vice-versa

One end of the LA connected to the Equipment & the other end connected to the ground

The gap length is so set that for normal line voltage is insufficient to cause an arc across the gap

But the a dangerously HV will breakdown the air insulation and from an arc Conducts no current to the earth

Under normal operating conditions the LA

When over voltage occurs, the air insulation across the gap breaks down & an arc is formed

Providing a low resistance path for the surge to the ground

Thus the excess charge on the line due to the surge is safely diverted thro the ground

Characteristics of an ideal Lightning Arrestor

It must not take any current at normal system voltage @ power frequency Any abnormal transient voltage above the BDV must cause a breakdown as quickly as possible Capable of carrying the resulting discharge current without damage to itself Power frequency current following the breakdown must be interrupted as soon as the transient voltage has fallen below the Breakdown value

Types of Lightning Arrestor

Rod Gap arrestor Horn Gap arrestor Electrotype arrestor Oxide film arrestor Thyrite arrestor Expulsion type arrestor Valve type arrestor

Surge Arrestor Types

Protection of Transmission Lines against Direct Lightning Strokes

Protection of Stations & Sub-stations from Direct Strokes

Traveling Waves due to Lightning Strike

Protection against Traveling Waves

Peterson Coil

A Petersen coil consists of an iron-cored reactor connected at the star point of a three phase system In the event of a fault, the capacitive charging current is neutralized by the current across the reactor which is equal in magnitude but 180 degrees out of phase This compensates for the leading current drawn by the line capacitances The power factor of the fault moves closer to unity

This facilitates the easy extinguishing of the arc as both the voltage and current have a similar zero-crossing

IC=3I=3Vp/(1/C) =3VpC Where IC is the resultant charging current that is three times the charging current of each phase to ground.

The value of the inductance in the Petersen coil needs to match the value of the line capacitance

which may vary as and when modifications in the transmission lines are carried out. Hence, the Petersen coil comes with a provision to vary the inductance

Switching Over voltage

Switching causes slow 250/2500 wave fronts (few milliseconds) Switching surges can be as high as Twice the line volts Switching more of a problem, when the operating voltage is > 300kV

Typical voltage withstands based on insulation ratings

Wires/Conductor: 6kV Motors: 2.5kV Drives: 2kV Coil /Contactors: 1.5kV Control Transformers: 1.8 - 3.0kV

Insulation Co-ordination

The process by which electrical equipment insulation strength or BIL

Which is coordinated with the protective device voltage characteristics

so that the equipment is protected against expected over voltages

Basic Impulse Insulation Level

What type of devices are used to limit over-voltages conditions in the facility?

MOV

(Metal Oxide Varistor)

TVS (Transient Voltage Supressor) GDT (Gas Discharge Tubes or Spark Gaps)

MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor)

Quick response time, Non-linear resistor High Energy Capacity, inexpensive Good for both AC/DC circuits Consistent performance Widely used

TVS - (Transient Voltage Suppressor)

Linear resistor, Low energy capacity Expensive, Very consistent operation

Gas Tube

Used on lower voltage system Lower energy capacity, inexpensive Slow to react, unpredictable