2013 Nirma University International Conference on Engineering (NUiCONE)

Designing Insulation Coordination for Ultra High

Voltage AC System by Analyzing Over Voltages
using Frequency Dependent Line Modeling
Hemangkumar Tailor, Satishkumar Joshi
Associate Professor
Abstract-- The Insulation coordination is one of the important
criteria for designing Ultra High Voltage system. The method
to design insulation coordination of any Ultra High Voltage
system needs stress analysis and its comparison with the design
strength of the equipment. In this paper types of overvoltages
in Ultra High Voltage system, process of insulation
coordination, frequency dependent line modeling and
simulation using Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP)
& design of insulation coordination for 1200 KV AC
transmission line have been presented. The technique to reduce
stress have been suggested by using Surge Arrester (SA) is
examined.
Keywords: Design of insulation coordination, Frequency
Dependent Line Modeling, Over Voltages, Ultra High Voltage
AC (UHV) System.

I. OVERVOLTAGES IN UHV SYSTEMS

Bulk power transmission has created need for UHV
transmission & the level of UHV transmission of 1200 KV
is to be explored. [1]. Electrical equipment has to withstand
different voltage stresses occurring in the network such as
continuous
power-frequency
voltage,
temporary
overvoltages and transient overvoltages. Representative
maxima of amplitudes according to their time duration are
as shown in Figure 1. [2]
A. Temporary overvoltages
Temporary overvoltages arise from single-phase earthfaults on the two unfaulted phases or from load rejections on
all three phases, if the load remaining on the generators is
not sufficient to avoid overexcitation. Their duration is in
the order of 1 s. Temporary overvoltages represent stresses
to the internal insulation, for example, internal insulation of
transformers.

Professor
In addition, temporary overvoltages are the basis for the
selection of the surge arrester ratings. From both points of
view low temporary overvoltages have to be aimed for. Per
unit values of 1.3 or even less are considered suitable.
Temporary overvoltages may also occur due to resonance
and ferro-resonance phenomena in particular when
energizing transformers via longer lines or de-energizing
inductive voltage transformers. These voltages can last for
more than 10 s. Therefore a sufficient damping of the
oscillation has to be obtained.
B. Slow Front Overvoltages
For UHV systems overvoltages due to earth-fault
initiation and clearance are of predominant importance.
Overvoltages due to earth-fault initiation occur on the
unfaulted phases and may cause a subsequent failure on
these phases. The consequence could be loss of two lines at
one earth-fault.
Overvoltage due to fault clearing occurs on the faulted
phase, when the faulted line is switched off. A subsequent
insulation failure may occur on the part of the system still in
operation.
Both these types of overvoltages should be carefully
investigated for a given system, because they cannot be
avoided by protection means. The amplitude of such
overvoltages are proportional to the earth-fault factor and
may reach 1.5 p.u for earth-fault factors of 1.25 to 1.3.
Overvoltages due to energization and, in particular, reenergization of overhead lines after faults are limited by preinsertion resistors or point-of-wave switching. An especially
severe situation is obtained for three-phase re-energization
due to the trapped charges remaining on the two unfaulted
phases, when the fault is cleared. There are two possibilities
to avoid such trapped charges:
- Single-phase reclosing

Fig.1. Representative maxima of amplitude of over voltages Urp (per

unit values)
978-1-4799-0727-4/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE

Only the phase on which an earth-fault occurred is

switched-off. As this phase is earthed by the fault, no
trapped charges will be present at re-energization. However,
during the fault an appreciable current will flow through the
fault due to capacitive coupling from the two sound phase
conductors. This current may prevent the earth-fault from
extinguishing resulting into an unsuccessful reclosure, for
which extinction of secondary arc is studied.
1

- Fast three-phase earthing of the overhead line

The trapped charges will be diverted to earth by the
earthing switch. If one of the two methods is successful, the
overvoltages due to line energization should be limited to
the overvoltage due to earth-fault initiation and clearing.
Preinsertion resistors and point-of-wave switching are most
suitable to obtain overvoltages in the order 1.5 p.u. Only
specially designed surge arresters have protective levels in
such low order.
C. Fast Front Overvoltages

Also, the methods of reducing the stress should be

examined. Thus, the goal is to select the minimum
insulation strength, or minimum clearance at system
voltage. The process starts with a selection of the reliability
criteria, followed by study to determine the electrical stress
placed on the equipment or on the air clearance. This stress
is then compared to the insulation strength characteristics,
from which strength is selected. [6]. If the insulation
strength or the clearance is considered to be excessive, then
the stress can be reduced by use of improving measures
such as surge arresters, protective gaps, shield wires, and
closing resistors in the circuit breakers.

Fast-front overvoltages are caused by

- Disconnector switching in substations
- Lightning strokes to overhead lines.
Disconnector switching in substations can have overvoltage
amplitude up to 2.5 p.u. If metal-oxide surge arresters are
installed on the part of the substation switched-off by the
disconnector, the overvoltage will be limited to the
protective level of the arrester. If not, the insulation has to
be designed for this value.

Usually, insulation coordination is separated into two

major parts:
1. Line insulation coordination
2. Station insulation coordination
A. Line Insulation Coordination
For line insulation coordination, the task is to specify all
dimensions or characteristics of the transmission line tower
that affect the reliability of the line:

D. Very Fast Front Overvoltages

Very fast-front overvoltages are caused in SF6 gas insulated
substations (GIS) in two ways: [3]
- Switching operations, mainly disconnector switching
- Line to enclosure breakdowns
During disconnector switching when switching short bus
ducts at a residual DC voltage of 1 p.u. the following values
will occur:
- 1.9 p.u. with large source side capacitance (2-3 nF), e. g.
capacitive VTs
- 1.5 p.u. with lower capacitance of some hundred pF, e. g.
surge arresters.
For disconnector switching in connection with a
capacitively graded multi-break circuit breaker under out of
phase conditions values of 2.02.2 pu may occur at which
a high damping of the VFT component by the grading
capacitor is to be considered.[4-5]

II. INSULATION COORDINATION

The main task for insulation coordination is the
determination of stresses and the assessment of the strength
of the system and the equipment installed. Insulation
strength is selected on the basis of some quantitative or
perceived degree of reliability and the strength cannot be
selected unless the stress placed on the insulation is known.

1. The tower strike distances or clearances between the

phase conductor and the grounded tower sides and
upper truss
2. The insulator string length
3. The number and type of insulators
4. The need for and type of supplemental tower grounding
5. The location and number of overhead ground or shield
wires
6. The phase-to-ground mid span clearance
7. The phase-phase strike distance or clearance
8. The need for, rating, and location of line surge arresters
B. Station Insulation Coordination
For station insulation coordination, it is to specify
1. The equipment insulation strength, that is, the BIL and
BSL of all equipment.
2. The phase-ground and phase-phase clearances or strike
distances.
3. The need for, the location, the rating, and the number of
surge arresters.
4. The need for, the location, the configuration, and the
spacing of protective gaps.
5. The need for, the location, and the type (masts or shield
wires) of substation shielding.
6. The need for, the amount, and the method of achieving
an improvement in lightning performance of the line
immediately adjacent to the station.
For this process, all sources of stress that may be placed on
the equipment or on the tower must be considered & for this
reason, all the possible Overvoltages for UHV line must be
analyzed.
2

III. FREQUENCY DEPENDENT MODELING & SIMULATION

The simulation of transient phenomena may require a
representation of network components valid for a frequency
range that varies from DC to several MHz & it is advisable
to use and develop models appropriate for a specific range
of frequencies. Each range of frequencies will correspond to
a particular transient phenomenon. [7]
The most accurate models for transient calculations take
into account the distributed nature of the line parameters.
Two categories can be distinguished for these models:
constant parameters and frequency-dependent parameters
The number of spans and the different hardware of a
transmission line, as well as the models required to
represent each part (conductors and shield wires, towers,
grounding, and insulation), depend on the voltage stress
cause.
Approximate nominal PI section models are used for short
transmission lines (of the order of 15 km), where the travel
time is less than the solution time-step and the travelling
wave model is utilised, when travelling time is greater
than time step. There are two options for using travelling
wave model (i) Bergerons model, when physical geometry
of line regarding conductor radius & positions is not
available (ii) Frequency dependent transmission line model,
when physical geometry of transmission line regarding
conductor radius & positions is available. The several line
elements are represented by following models for simulation
of transient: [8]
The transmission line is represented by means of several
multi-phase untransposed distributed-parameter line spans
at both sides of the point of impact. This representation
can be made by using either a frequency dependent or a
constant parameter model.[9]
The transmission tower is represented by Multi-storey
model which is composed of four sections that represent
the tower sections between cross-arms.
The Grounding models can be classified into two groups:
low and high-frequency models. In practice, they
correspond respectively to power-frequency and to
lightning stroke discharged currents. When current is
discharged into the soil through a ground electrode,
potential gradients are set up as a result of the conduction
of current through the soil. The grounding impedance of a
power line is given by the relationship between the
potential rise of the electrode and the current discharged
into the ground. The representation of the grounding
impedance depends on the frequency range of the
discharged current.

The insulator string model can be based on the leader

progression model.

The line frequency-dependent surge impedance (or

admittance) and line propagation matrix are first calculated
from the physical line geometry. To obtain the time domain
response, a convolution must be performed as this is
equivalent to a multiplication in the frequency domain. It
can be achieved efficiently using recursive convolutions.
This is performed by fitting a rational function in the
frequency domain to both the frequency-dependent surge
impedance and propagation constant. As the line parameters
are functions of frequency, the relevant equations are
viewed in the frequency domain, making extensive use of
curve fitting to incorporate the frequency-dependent
parameters into the model. Two important frequencydependent parameters influencing wave propagation are the
characteristic impedance ZC and propagation constant .
Rather than looking at ZC and in the frequency domain and
considering each frequency independently, they are
expressed by continuous functions of frequency that need to
be approximated by a fitted rational function.
IV. DESIGNING INSULATION COORDINATION FOR 1200
KV AC TRANSMISSION LINE

A. Technical Parameters
For evolving parameters of the 1200kV System,
simulation studies have been carried out using frequency
dependent line modeling in EMTP and the basic parameters
are given below.[5][10-11] The technical parameters being
considered for 1200kV Transmission Lines are summarized
in Table-I below:
TABLE I
TECHNICAL PARAMETERS CONSIDERED FOR 1200KV
TRANSMISSION LINES

Sr. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6

Parameters
Nominal Voltage
Highest Voltage
Resistance
Reactance
Susceptance
Surge Impedance
Loading
7
Surge Impedance
Base KV: 1200 KV

Value
1150 KV
1200 KV
4.338 x10-7 p.u./km
1.772 x10-5 p.u./km
6.447 x10-2 p.u./km
6030 MW
239 Ohm
Base MVA: 100 MVA

From the above Table-I, it may be observed that SIL of

1200kV AC system is about 6030MW which is about 2
times SIL of 765kV system and 11 times SIL of 400kV
system. With development of 1200kV Transmission
network, the ROW can be optimized.
B. Insulation Co-ordination of 1200KV AC System
1)

Switching Over Voltage:

Common practice in long EHV system for controlling

switching over voltages during any switching operation is to
equip circuit breaker with pre-insertion resistor (PIR) which
3

comes into the circuit initially for about 8-10ms. Studies

have been carried out on a 450km long line with different
source strength and different value of PIR (10 ms insertion
time) without effect of surge arrester and results are
tabulated in Table-II below.
TABLE II
RESULTS OF 450 KM LONG LINE WITH DIFFERENT SOURCE
STRENGTH & PIR

1 p.u. = 978 kV (1200*1.41/1.732)

Source
Switching Over Voltage (p.u)
Strength
MVA
w/o PIR
300
600
10,000
2.27
1.51
1.71
15,000
2.17
1.36
1.55
20,000
2.07
1.35
1.50

700
1.78
1.58
1.52

Although generated switching over voltages are

minimum with 300 ohms (PIR) but considering thermal
stresses on resistor discs under severe phase opposition
condition, it was envisaged to adopt 600 ohms PIR with 10
ms insertion time and switching over voltage level of 1.71
p.u. (1672 kV) without Surge Arrester. However, with
Surge Arresters, switching over voltages was limited to1.53
p.u. (1500kV)
2)

Temporary Over Voltage:

To determine the temporary over voltages, preliminary

studies have been carried out on a 450km long transmission
line with single-line-to-ground fault followed by three phase
interruption at far end only. In the studies different source
strengths along with 60% reactive compensation were
considered. The results are presented in Table-III below.
TABLE III
RESULTS FOR TEMPORARY OVERVOLTAGE

1 p.u. = 978 kV (1200*1.41/1.732)

Temporary over voltage( p.u)
Source
Strength
MVA
Without Line
With line reactor
Reactor
10,000
1.58
1.33
15,000
1.48
1.31
20,000
1.45
1.30
As brought out at Table III above, TOVs are 1.33 p.u. for
short circuit level of 10,000 MVA. Keeping in view these
levels of TOVs, insulation co-ordination studies were
conducted with 1.4 p.u. TOV. Since short circuit level in
actual condition shall be generally higher that the short
circuits levels considered for studies, therefore actual TOVs
are unlikely to exceed up to 1.4 p.u. considered for
insulation co-ordination.

C.Selection of Insulation Levels

Insulation Co-ordination is very important for design of
the 1200kV System from the point of view of lightning
impulse withstands voltage level and switching impulse
withstand voltage level for 1200kV equipments. To achieve
necessary protective margins as per IEC-60071-1&2, indepth studies were conducted for Voltage-Current (V-I)
characteristics of ZnO (Zinc Oxide) blocks. The V-I
characteristics of the 850kV Surge Arresters as finalized for
1200 kV system are as given in Table-IV below:
TABLE IV

V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF SURGE ARRESTERS FINALIZED FOR

1200 KV
Sr.
No.
1
2
3
4
5

Surge Arrester Current

(kA)
0.5
1.0
2.0
10.0
20.0

Residual Voltage
(kV peak)
1380
1440
1500
1600
1700

1) Rated Voltage of 850 kV rms shall take care power

frequency voltage up to 1.15 p.u. for 10 seconds and 1.4
p.u. for about 1second.
2) Switching Impulse Protective level at 2.0kA is 1500 kV
and hence about 20% protective margin are available for
1200 kV Equipments with 1800 kV Switching Impulse
withstand voltage
3) Lightning Impulse Protective Level at 20.0 kA is 1700kV
and hence sufficient margins for bay equipments with
BIL- 2400kV and for transformers with BIL-2250 kV.
The location of Surge Arresters is very critical due to
voltage rise with separation distance as well as jumper
length. For adequate protection of Equipments against
Lightening surges, it was decided to place Surge Arresters at
Line Entrance and near Transformers/ Reactors. In addition,
Surge Arresters in the Bus may also be considered
necessary.
For computing discharge capability of Surge arresters,
single line to ground fault was considered for a 450km long
line. In single phase to ground fault, the healthy phase
voltage shall temporarily increase and Surge Arresters shall
be overstressed. The single phase tripping followed by three
phase tripping after dead time of about 1000 ms was
considered as indicated in Figure 2 at end of this page. The
discharge capability required for surge Arresters for these
conditions is:
Total energy = 2xLong discharge (IEC Class-5) + TOV +
Margins
4

= 2x5MJ +35MJ + 10 MJ = 55 MJ
The basic technical parameters considered for designing
insulation coordination are listed in Table-V & the
technical parameter for four column ZnO surge arrester are
listed in Table-VI below.

Fig. 2 Surge Arrester Energy Accumulation

TABLE-V
TECHNICAL PARAMETERS FOR DESIGNING INSULATION
COORDINATION

Parameters
Rated Voltage
Nominal Voltage
Rated Frequency
Fault Current
Lightning
Impulse Voltage
Level

Value
1200 KV
1150 KV
50 Hz.
50 KA
2400 kV
2250 KV
2550 KV

Switching
Impulse Voltage
Level
One Minute
Power Frequency
Voltage

1800 KV
1950 KV
1200 kV

Remarks

Switchyard equipments
Transformers & Reactors
Transformer & Reactor
Bushings
Switchyard Equipments
and Transformers
Bushings

TABLE-VI
TECHNICAL PARAMETERS FOR ZnO SURGE ARRESTER

Parameter

Value

SA Class
Rated Voltage
Continuous Operating
Voltage(COV)
Nominal discharge current
Lightning Impulse Protective
Level(LIPL)
Switching Impulse Protective
Level(SIPL)
Energy level
ZnO disc diameter

5
850 kV rms
723 kV rms

V. CONCLUSIONS
a) For designing Insulation Coordination of UHV Line,
besides the continuous power-frequency voltage,
temporary overvoltages and transient overvoltages like
slow front overvoltage, fast front overvoltage & very
fast front overvoltage have to be considered.
b) For IC, determination of stresses and the assessment of
the strength of the system and the equipment installed is
required & methods of reducing the stress should also be
examined.
c) It is appropriate to use and develop Frequency dependent
Line models for a specific range of frequencies &
various power system elements are modeled using
EMTP.
d) The simulation results of designing 450 KM line indicate
satisfactory per unit limits for switching & temporary
Overvoltages.
e) Finally the selection of Insulation level & the role of
surge arrester is suggested.

20 kA
1700 kV peak at 20
kA
1500 kV peak at 2
kA
55 MJ
136 mm/ 125mm

VI. REFERENCES
[1] R N Naik, Y K Sehgal, Subir sen, Integration of 1200 KV AC
Systems for future Indian Grid (IEC/ CIGRE UHV Symposium
Beijing, 2007)
[2] C.Neumann K.-H. Weck, Planning of UHV systems with respect to
insulation coordination, IEC/CIGRE UHV Symposium Beijing 1821 July 2007.
[3] K.H. Schilling, E.Lerch, A.Luxa, UHV AC Transmission Systems
(IEC / CIGRE UHV Symposium Beijing, 2007)
[4] R. Nayak, M. Krishnakumar, A. Anand, Design of 1200 kV
transmission line (GridTech Conference, New Delhi 2007)
[5] R N Naik, M.C.Bhatnagar, B.N.De.Bhowmick R.K.Tyagi, 1200kV
Transmission System and Status of Development of Substation
Equipment/ Transmission Line Material in India, Second
International Symposium on Standards for UHV Transmission-IEC/
CIGRE UHV Symposium New Delhi, 2009.
[6] Andrew. R. Hileman, Insulation Coordination for power systems,
Taylor & Francis group, LLC, 1999.
[7] Juan. A Martinez- Velasco, Power System Transients- Parameter
Determination, CRC Press- Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton,
New York.
[8] Neville Watson, Jos Arrillaga, Power Systems Electromagnetic
Transients Simulation,
The Institution of Engineering &
Technology, London, UK, 2007.
[9] Juan.A Martinez- Velasco, Ferley Castro- Aranda, Modeling of
Overhead Transmission Lines for Lightning Studies, International
Conference on Power Systems Transients (IPST05) in Montreal,
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[10] G.N.Alexandrov, 1100 kV overhead transmission line optimum
design for the increase of its reliability, IEC/CIGRE UHV
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[11] A.Ametani, N. Nagaoka, T.Noda, T.Matsuura, A Simple & Efficient
Method for Including A Frequency-Dependent Effect in A
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[13] A. Haddad & D. Warne, Advances in High Voltage Engineering,
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[14] A.P. Sakis Meliopoulos, Power System Grounding and Transients,
Marcel Dekker,Inc.; Newyork and Basel.