IX International Symposium on
Lightning Protection
26th-30th November 2007 – Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
TESTING OF LONG-FLASHOVER ARRESTERS DESIGNED FOR
DISTRIBUTION LINES
Orsino Oliveira Filho, Darcy Ramalho de
Mello and Gloria Suzana Gomes de Oliveira
CEPEL – Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Elétrica, Brasil
orsino@cepel.br, darcy@cepel.br, gloria@cepel.br georgij.podporkin@streamer.ru, acacio.wey@bighost.com.br
CEPEL address: Av Horácio Macedo, 354, Cidade Universitária, PO. Box 21941-911 – Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Abstract - Outages of overhead power lines due to lightning
strokes are one of the main causes of shortages of electric
supplies and economic losses of power utilities. Pole-top
metal oxide arresters can protect distribution lines against
induced over-voltages, but they can be destroyed in case of
direct lightning stroke. Long Flashover Arresters (LFAs)
have been developed and used successfully for this purpose
and have no possibility of being destroyed because the
current flows externally along its surface. Since field
experience with 10 kV LFAs has been very successful, it was
decided to work on developing 13.8 kV LFAs, considering
that it is the predominant voltage level of overhead
distribution lines in Brazil and other countries. The
performance of LFA for quenching and dielectric tests has
been investigated through laboratory tests under conditions
that typically represent electrical energy distribution
systems. Details about these tests and their results are
presented in this paper. Information about their design and
applications are also shortly presented.
1 INTRODUCTION
Outages of overhead power lines due to lightning strokes
are one of the main causes of shortages of electric
supplies and economic losses of power utilities. Widely
separated pole-top metal oxide arresters can protect a
distribution line against induced overvoltages. The main
problem of using pole-top metal-oxide arresters is that
they can be destroyed at direct lightning stroke to an
overhead line [1].
In many countries, covered conductors are used for
distribution overhead lines. Such conductors have many
benefits comparing with bared conductors but there is a
problem of conductors burn down by power arc follow,
which occurs after application of lightning overvoltage
and flashover of insulator. Arcing horns or similar
devices, which are used in some countries for protection
of covered conductors against conductors burn down, do
not protect overhead lines from lightning outages.
In Russia, for lightning overvoltage and conductor-burn
protection of 10 kV overhead lines, Long Flashover
Georgij Podporkin and Acacio Wey
Streamer Electric Company, Russia
Arresters (LFAs) have been used for more than three
years [2, 3]. The operating principle is based on extension
of the impulse flashover channel on the arrester surface
through the creeping discharge effect. Owing to a long
flashover length, the power arc gets extinguished. The
main advantage of LFA is that current passes outside the
apparatus, flowing along arrester surface. Therefore, the
arrester cannot be destroyed by excessive current, even at
direct lightning stroke. LFA’s construction is rather
simple and reliable.
There are several types of LFA under development. LFA
of Loop type (LFA-L) is intended for protection of
overhead lines against induced overvoltages. Principle of
operation and its design are detailed in [1]. LFA-Ls are
recommended to be installed one arrester per pole with
phase interlacing [4]. LFA of Module type (LFA-M) can
protect overhead lines against induced overvoltages and
direct lightning strokes as well. In latter case it should be
installed in parallel to each insulator at a pole [3].
Experimental exploitation of LFAs started in 1999 and
during last three years more than 80 thousands arresters
were installed in various utilities. Since field experience
with 10 kV LFAs in Russia is very successful, it was
decided to work on developing 13.8 kV LFAs,
considering that it is the predominant voltage level of
overhead distribution lines in Brazil and other countries.
Lightning has been reported as being the main source of
outages on distribution networks, corresponding to 30 to
60 % of these system outage indexes. This is particularly
confirmed in Brazil, which has a very high incidence of
lightning strokes due to its ground dimension and inter-
tropical location. For example, considering two Brazilian
utility companies installed in a region with ground flash
density in the range of 4 to 8 flashes/(km2.year), lightning
was associated with approximately 35% and 43% of the
total number of outages monitored during 1998 to 2002.
[5]
The performance of LFA for quenching and dielectric
tests has been investigated through laboratory tests under
conditions that typically represent electrical energy
distribution systems. Laboratory tests for LFA-M and
LFA-L were performed in Russia and Brazil, respectively.
Details about these tests and their results are presented in
this paper. Information about their design and applications
are also shortly presented.

2 LFA DESIGN AND OPERATION

Figure 1 - Loop-shaped LFA. a) photo of tests; b) main
2.1 LFA-L (Loop) dimensions. 1 – cable loop; 2 – clamp; 3 - steel structure; 4 –
metal tube; 5 – power line conductor; 6 – flashover channel; 7 –
Figure 1 presents an LFA of Loop type installed on a insulator; 8 - intermediate ring electrodes.
metal structure which models distribution line pole. A
piece of cable with steel cord is bent in a loop and
connected to the pole with a clamp. A metal tube is placed
over the insulated loop in its middle part forming, together
with the line conductor, a sparkover air gap S. At one arm
of the loop, intermediate ring electrodes are installed. The
loop is at the same potential as the structure. Due to a
relatively big capacitance between the metal tube and the
steel cord inside the cable, the tube is practically at the
same potential as the pole. Therefore an overvoltage
taking rise between the line conductor and the pole will be
also applied between the metal tube and the line
conductor. If the overvoltage is large enough, the
sparkover gap S will break down and the overvoltage will Figure 2 - LFA-M arrester for protection of 13.8 kV overhead
be applied between the metal tube and the steel cord lines. a) block diagram; b) electric schematic; c) arrester testing;
inside the cable to its insulation. Due to the overvoltage, a d) dimension.
creeping flashover develops from the metal tube to a
clamp of the insulated loop passing intermediate ring 3 APLICATION GUIDELINES
electrodes and next to the structure, thus completing the
discharge circuit. The intermediate electrodes have 3.1 Protection against induced overvoltages
protrusions at opposite sides. Therefore flashover channel
is broken into serially connected pieces of channels and To eliminate high short circuit currents associated with
due to this reason arc quenching is facilitated (see photo two-or three-phase lightning flashovers to ground, LFA-
in Figure 1a). Ls are recommended to be installed one arrester per pole
with phase interlacing (Figure 3).
2.2 LFA-M (Modular)
With such an arrangement, a flashover to ground results in
An LFA-M arrester consists of two cable-like pieces with a circuit comprising two phases, two arresters and two
a resistive core [3]. There are also intermediate ring grounding resistors that limit the fault current and ease arc
electrodes on its surface for the same purpose as for LFA- quenching. The higher are the values of the grounding
L (see above). The cable pieces are arranged so as to form resistance, the more effective is LFA-L operation.
three flashover modules 1, 2, 3 as shown in Figure 2. The
resistive core of the upper piece, whose resistance is R,
applies the high potential U to the surface of the lower
piece at its middle. Similarly, the resistive core of the
lower piece of the same resistance R applies the low
potential 0 to the surface of the upper piece, also at its
center. In this way the total voltage U is applied to each
flashover module at the same moment, and all three
modules are assured conditions for simultaneous initiation
of creeping discharges developing into a single long
flashover channel. Figure 3 - Schematic of LFA-L installation on a distribution
line.
3.2 Protection against direct lightning strokes
A direct lightning stroke causes flashover of all the
insulators on the affected pole. Therefore, in order to
protect the line against a direct lightning stroke, LFA-Ms
should be mounted on the pole in parallel with each line
insulator (Figure 4). Phase-to-phase faults on a pole can
give rise to follow-up current on the order of 10 kA or
more. In order to quench such currents, flashover length
of the LFA-M 13.8 kV should be 1.7 m, i.e. much higher
than that of LFA-L (0.9 m) which intended to protect
overhead lines against induced overvoltages.
4 QUENCHING TESTS
4.1 Quenching Tests for LFA-L
The tests for investigating the arc quenching performance
of LFA-L were carried out in CEPEL’s laboratory, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, in the same installation designed for surge
arrester tests, taking advantage of the existent
infrastructure used for the standardized operating duty
test. The circuit used and its main parameters are shown in
Figure 5.
The procedure for LFA-L quenching tests consisted of
firing it by injecting a current impulse through the
sparkover air gap S (see Figure 1), being the power line
conductor energized by 60 Hz voltage of 7.5 kVrms to
ground.
The current impulse was obtained using an RLC-series
impulse current generator, charged under 145 kVdc. The
instant of the impulse injection was roughly controlled in
order to make it occur in a desired phase angle of the 60
Hz current.
For each test circuit condition, different cases of phase
angles were considered for injecting the impulse current.
The current limiter resistances were also varied, according
to the circuit shown in Figure 5: R=10 Ω, 15 Ω, 20 Ω e 40
Ω. Two different types of insulator were used: porcelain
pole insulator and polymer pin insulator, as shown in
Figure 6.
With the different injection phase angles and current
limiter resistances, it was possible to investigate the
quenching performance of LFA-L for various following
current values and durations.

4.2 Quenching Test Results for LFA-L

The quenching test arrangements are shown in Figure 7

and the results are summarized in Table I and Figure 8.

Table I: Quenching Test Results for LFA-L. Vg = 145kVdc,

V60Hz = 7.5 kVrms, Ifoll = Following current.
R(Ω) Insulator Tests Ifoll (Acr) Result
Polymer pin 5 All quenching
40 170
Porcelain pole 5 All quenching
Polymer pin 3 All quenching
10 470
Porcelain pole 7 3 no quenching
Figure 4 - Protection of 13.8 kV overhead lines against direct
lightning strokes by LFA-M arresters. Polymer pin 6 1 no quenching
15 350
Porcelain pole 7 All quenching
20 Polymer pin 7 300 All quenching
R
Lg Rg
LC
Cg
parameters
Current impulse
ZnO for a typical LFA-L generator
distribution
line
TC2 TC1

DIV1 DIV2

Figure 5 – Circuit and parameters for LFA-L quenching tests.

DIV1: Voltage divider, source side; DIV2: Voltage divider,
LFA-L side; TC1: High frequency current transformer, LFA-L
current; TC2: High frequency current transformer, 60 Hz source
current; R: Current limiter resistor. R=10 , 15 , 20 and 40 Ω; LC a) Porcelain pole insulator b) Polymer pin insulator
parameters for a distribution line: C ≈ 0.5 nF, L ≈ 0.35 mH; Figure 6 – Insulators used for LFA-L quenching tests
Current impulse generator: Cg = 1µF, Lg = 21.8µH, Rg = 75Ω;
Note: The power source was a regulator, 0-15 kV, 5 MVA.
4.3 Quenching Tests for LFA-M

The quenching tests for LFA-M were performed in

NIIVA´s laboratory, St. Petersburg, Russia. The test
circuit was essentially the same shown in Figure 5, except
the power frequency which was 50 Hz and the resistance
R which was short-circuited.

Test results are summarized in Table II and some typical

oscillograms are presented in Figure 9. There are two
possibilities of current quenching: 1) when current
impulse finishes (it is called further “quenching at front”);
2) when power frequency current passes zero (it is called
further “quenching at zero”). Figure 8 b) - No quenching

4.4 Comments on Quenching Tests Figure 8 – Quenching tests results LFA-L. R=15 Ω, 1-> Source
current 400 A/div, 2-> LFA-L current 500 A/div, 3-> Source
From the quenching test results presented above for LFA- voltage 8474 V/div, 4-> LFA-L voltage 8484 V/div.
L, it can be said that it reliably (100%) interrupts the
Table II: Quenching Test Results for LFA-M, R = 0 Ω, Ishort-
power frequency current following the impulse current
circuit = 4000 A, V50Hz = 8.7 kVrms. Ifoll = Following
discharge, when tested under conditions that represent a current.
typical 13.8 kV distribution line with grounding resistance
Vg (kVdc) Tests Ifoll (Acr) Result
greater than or equal to 15 Ω.
200 5 1084 All quenching
For lower values of grounding resistance, e.g. 10Ω, 240 2 1196 All quenching
probability of arc quenching is less than 100%. Based on 248 1 1215 Quenching
the obtained results for R=10Ω, the probability of failure 248 1 1400 No quenching
can be estimated as Pf = 8/180≈0.04 and probability of
successful arc quenching Pq=1- Pf=1-0.04=0.96.

a) with polymer pin insulator b) with porcelain pole insulator

Figure 7 – Quenching test arrangement
Figure 9 a) - Quenching at zero, Ifoll ≅ 1.1 kA

Figure 9 b) - No quenching , Ifoll ≅ 1.4 kA

Figure 8 a) – Quenching
Figure 9 – Quenching test results LFA-M
As can be seen from Table II, LFA-M successfully
quenches power follow current for a circuit with short
circuit current of 4 kA and for power generator voltage of
8.7 kVrms. Therefore, for lower grid voltage of 7.5
kVrms, it is expected that LFA-M quench higher values of
power follow currents.
5 DIELECTRIC TESTS
In order to verify the dielectric performance of LFA
arresters with some insulators used in Brazilian
distribution lines, several dielectric tests were carried out
in CEPEL’s High Voltage Laboratories. The 15 kV
insulators used are shown in Figure 10. Insulators number
1, 2 and 5 are made of porcelain. Insulators 3, 4 and 6 are
polymeric and insulator 7 has a porcelain core with
polymeric protection.
5.1 Lightning impulse tests
The determination of the impulse withstand voltage was
made using the up-and-down test method with 30
impulses, at both polarities in the following conditions:
• without LFA under dry condition;
• with LFA under dry condition;
• with LFA under wet condition.
LFA-L was connected to the conductor via air gap S = 3
cm, while LFA-M was connected to the conductor
directly, without air gap.
During tests all flashovers occurred at LFAs while the
insulators withstood applied impulses. The obtained
flashover voltages of LFAs were less than flashover
voltages of all types of insulators. The smallest difference
was observed for the insulator Nr. 1 and the greatest for
insulators Nr. 3, 5 and 6.
Figure 10 – Insulators used in dielectric tests.
In order to verify the impulse disruptive discharge
behavior of LFA, three lightning impulses with peak value
of 300 kV, that is the highest possible induced
overvoltage in distribution lines, were also applied to the
LFA test arrangement. For all insulator test arrangements,
the disruptive discharges occurred on the LFA at a voltage
level bellow the Basic Insulation Level (BIL).
5.2 Radio interference voltage tests
Radio interference voltage (RIV) tests were also carried
out in the arrangement with LFA and insulators. The
criterion considered was: RIV maximum limit of 200 µV,
1MHz, under 8.8 kVrms. The tests were made in the
following conditions:
• without LFA under dry condition;
• with LFA-L under dry condition;
• with LFA-M under dry condition.
It was observed that the RIV values for LFA-M with
insulator Nr. 1 exceeded the maximum limit at a voltage
level close to 8.8 kV. It was also observed that in the knee
region, the RIV curves for LFA-M varied sharply with the
test voltage.
5.3 Power frequency tests
The determination of 60 Hz disruptive discharge voltages
was made considering the average of five values of
voltages that caused disruptive discharges when applied to
the LFA-L in the test arrangement. The tests were made in
the following conditions:
• Without LFA-L arresters under dry condition;
• With LFA-L under dry condition;
• Without LFA-L under wet condition;
• With LFA-L under wet condition.
It was observed that the disruptive discharge voltages
obtained under dry conditions, for all LFA-L test
arrangements, were smaller than those for all tested
insulators alone. Otherwise, the results were different with
insulators number 2, 3 and 7, under wet condition. This
fact indicated that the length of the gap between LFA-L
and the conductor must be dependent of the insulator type.
In order to verify the power frequency disruptive
discharge behavior of LFA-M, 60 Hz voltages of 34
kVrms, that is the withstand voltage level for 15 kV
distribution lines, were applied to LFA-M test
arrangement, under dry and wet conditions, during 1
minute. No discharge occurred for all test arrangement
and conditions.
5.4 Pollution tests
Pollution tests were carried out in the arrangement with
LFA and insulator number 5 with a salinity of 40 kg/m3.
Each LFA type was stressed three times in its test
arrangement, during one hour, with 8.8 kVrms and no
flashover was observed. After the tests, both LFA types
presented minor marks of corrosion in the intermediate
ring electrodes, as can be seen in Figure 11.
5.5 High impulse current tests
Additionally, some high impulse currents were applied in
the same unit of LFA-L used in all quenching tests in
CEPEL. Impulse currents up to 30 kAcrest, 8/20 µs and
up to 85 kAcrest, 4/10 µs were applied to the LFA-L unit.
No damage was observed on its surface and ring
electrodes.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Long Flashover Arresters were developed to protect
overhead distribution lines against lightning overvoltage
and conductor-burn and have been successfully used in
Russia 10 kV lines. In order to check their dielectric and
operating performances considering their possible
application in 13.8 kV overhead lines, laboratory tests
were carried out under high voltage and impulse current
conditions. Based on the technical information and test
results presented here, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
a. Long Flashover Arresters of Loop (LFA-L) and
Modular (LFA-M) types had a good performance
in the dielectric, lightning impulse, radio
interference, power frequency and power arc
quenching tests.
b. LFA-Ls can protect overhead 13.8 kV lines
against induced overvoltages. LFA-Ls are
recommended to be installed one arrester per
pole with phase interlacing.
c. LFA-Ms can protect overhead 13.8 kV lines
against overvoltages of direct lightning strokes.
LFA-Ms should be mounted on the pole in
parallel with each line insulator.
Figure 11 – Ring electrodes after pollution tests.
7 REFERENCES
[1] IEEE Guide for Improving the Lightning Performance of
Electric Power Overhead Distribution Lines, IEEE Std
1410TM- 2004.
[2] G. V. Podporkin, A. D. Sivaev, "Lightning Protection of
Overhead Distribution Lines by Long Flashover Arresters",
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 13, n. 3, pp.
814-823, July 1998.
[3] G. V. Podporkin, V.E. Pilshikov, A. D. Sivaev, “Lightning
Protection of Medium Voltage Overhead Lines by Modular
Long-Flashover Arresters", IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery, vol. 18, n. 3, pp.781-787, July 2003.
[4] G. V. Podporkin, A. D. Sivaev and V. E. Pilshikov,
“Application of Long Flashover Arresters for Lightning
Protection of Overhead Distribution Lines”, Proceedings of
24th International Conference on Lightning Protection
(ICLP), 14th-18th September 1998, Birmingham, United
Kingdom, pp. 605-610.
[5] S. P. Silva, A. Piantini, J. L. D. Franco, J. Gonçalves,
"Lightning performance studies for a 13.8 kV distribution
network", Proc. of the VII International Symposium on
Lightning Protection (VII SIPDA), v. 1, pp. 137-143,
Curitiba, Nov. 2003.