Surge Arresters

Electrical Apparatus
UltraSIL™ Transmission Line
Surge Arresters I235-89
GENERAL
Cooper Power Systems UltraSIL™
Transmission Line Surge Arresters
provide lightning protection for trans-
mission and distribution systems. On
shielded transmission lines or under-
built distribution circuits, the arrester
prevents tower-to-phase insulator
back-flashovers during a lightning strike.
On unshielded subtransmission or
distribution circuits, this arrester
prevents insulator phase-to-ground
flashovers.
OPERATION
The Transmission Line Surge Arrester
conducts lightning surges around the
protected insulator so that a lightning
flashover is not created, which would
lead to a system fault on the circuit.
The arrester becomes a low ohmic path
as the surge voltage across it increases.
When the surge voltage is dissipated,
the arrester returns to a high ohmic
device with only microamperes of
leakage current.
FEATURES Figure 1.
Typical Transmission Line Arrester installation.
Reliability Improvement
The primary purpose of the UltraSIL
Transmission Line Surge Arrester is
to reduce lightning caused outages Tower Construction Cost Installation Cost Savings
on sub-transmission, transmission, Savings With the use of this arrester in a
and distribution lines by eliminating An additional benefit of this arrester is suspension configuration or connected
insulator flashover or back-flashover. to lower the first cost of new transmis- across a deadened insulator, reliability
The transmission line arrester is sion line construction. This arrester can be improved. Often there is no
designed to be installed in parallel can be used to upgrade the voltage room on the tower or pole to mount a
with a line insulator. class of a line within the same tower conventional arrester. In this case the
In the event of a lightning strike to the configuration or right-of-way, or to line arrester can save installation cost,
shield of a transmission line, a voltage reduce the height of a transmission or space, and time.
potential between the phase conductor sub-transmission system. With a
strategic location of arresters, the CONSTRUCTION
and the tower ground lead will be
experienced. An excessive potential shield wire can be eliminated and the Figure 2 shows the unique solid
difference will cause a back-flashover top phase conductor can be effectively dielectric features of this arrester. It can
from the tower ground lead to the used as the shield for the other phases. be seen that there is no place for air,
phase conductor. This back-flashover This arrangement can have a significant only zinc-oxide or solid dielectric
creates a system fault to ground improvement on new construction materials. There are no internal
requiring a breaker operation to costs by making construction more springs or washers. This feature
interrupt and clear. Elimination of compact and transmitting more energy insures that moisture ingress is
this momentary outage increases in the same right-of-way with higher prevented and that there is no internal
reliability and enhances consumer reliability or by allowing a system corona due to air voids. This insures a
satisfaction. voltage upgrade on the existing long life arrester.
structures.

November 2002 • New Issue 1

Printed in U.S.A.
UltraSIL™ Transmission Line Surge Arresters
STAINLESS STEEL
LINE TERMINAL
UltraSIL SILICONE
RUBBER HOUSING
Figure 2.
Typical UltraSIL™ Transmission Line Surge Arrester Construction.
Disconnector
The optional hermetically sealed
disconnector insures that at the end of
the unit’s life it will positively disconnect
the arrester from the system. The
benefit is that a failed arrester will not
cause a permanent outage. The
disconnector is not an interrupting
device, but a disconnection device.
A breaker or fuse must be used to
momentarily clear the circuit during
a disconnection event.
Epoxy-Fiberglass
Structure
The long term mechanical strength of
this arrester comes from the unique
UltraSIL Housed Module construction.
A mix of epoxy with longitudinal and
spiral glass reinforcement strips, give
the arrester the ability to withstand
cantilever and tensile forces.
Silicone Rubber
The silicone rubber housing used on
all UltraSIL Arresters has been in
service since the early 90s. It has
proven to be the best material for all
outdoor applications at high voltages.
Silicone rubber maintains its
2
ALUMINUM
ELECTRODE
GLASS REINFORCED
EPOXY COLLAR
MOV DISKS
BONDED SOLID
INTERFACE
hydrophobic nature for the entire life
of the product. This hydrophobic nature
results in the lowest surface leakage
currents over other arresters in the
industry. It should also be noted that
because of silicone rubber’s superior
leakage current resistance, UltraSIL
Transmission Line Surge Arresters
are shorter, lighter and easier to handle
than other polymeric units.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The arrester is designed for easy
installation in parallel with most
common insulators. The line and
ground option sets allow the user to
customize any configuration. The
arrester design is fully certified to IEC
60099-4, 1991, a certified test report
is available under number CP9901.
The housing material, internals and
hardware work together as a system
and will stand up to years of
exposure to environmental extremes.
To assure a superior level of perfor-
mance, the components and the
assembled arrester units have been
subjected to a program of testing
that accurately simulates years of
exposure to field conditions.
PRODUCTION TESTS
A complete production test program
ensures a quality product. Each Metal
Oxide Varistor (MOV) receives a
series of electrical tests. Quality is
maintained with a series of destruc-
tive tests performed on every lot of
varistors. Listed below are the tests
performed on the individual varistors:
■ 100% Physical Inspection
■ 100% Discharge Voltage Test
■ 100% V1mA/cm2
■ 100% Watts Loss Measurement
1.05 x COV
■ High-Current, Short-Duration Test –
100 kA
■ Thermal Stability Test
■ Aging Test
Each fully assembled UltraSIL
Transmission Line Surge Arrester
must pass the following production
tests:
■ 100% Physical Inspection
■ 100% Watts Loss Test
■ 100% Partial Discharge Test
■ 100% Reference Voltage Test
GENERAL APPLICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
The application considerations for
transmission line surge arresters differ
from those normally used for arresters
applied to protect non-self restoring
insulation systems, such as transform-
ers. Conventional surge arresters are
applied to have the lowest possible
protective characteristics in order to
minimize voltage stress on non-self
restoring systems – maximizing their
economic life.
Transmission Line Surge Arresters are
applied such that the insulators are
protected from lightning initiated flash-
overs at a voltage just below their critical
flash-over. This application method:
a) Reduces arrester operations for
duties other than lightning initiated
operations.
b) Reduces the line arrester’s necessity
to discharge switching surges. Line
switching surge energies are a
secondary consideration and are
substantially reduced per arrester,
as the number of transmission line
surge arresters in parallel will
effectively share this duty.
c) Permits the line to naturally absorb
and dissipate energy to its voltage
limits.
 I235-89

TABLE 1 TABLE 2
Arrester Ratings Commonly Used on 3-Phase Systems Pressure Relief Tests
(Fault Current Withstand)
System Voltages L-L (kV) Arrester Ratings (kV)
Grounded High-lmpedance/ Fault Minimum
Nominal Maximum Circuits Ungrounded Circuits IEC Current Fault
Pressure Amplitude Current
33.0 36.3 27-30 36-39 Arrester Relief (kA rms) Duration
47.0 52.0 39-48 54-60 Type Class Sym (seconds)
66.0 72.0 54-60 66-84
91.0 100 78-84 90-96 UT2 B 0.8 0.5
110 123 96-108 – 40 0.2
132 145 108-120 –
TEMPORARY
A heavy duty arrester design is used, d) Maximum line-to-ground OVERVOLTAGE (TOV)
as the unit does not conduct for overvoltage and overvoltage
switching surges on the system, but duration during fault conditions. CAPABILITY
only when a surge is initiated by e) Details of the line insulation The ability to withstand 50 or 60 Hz
lightning. Therefore, its major duty is including the critical wet overvoltage conditions [Temporary
lightning current conduction. This flashover value of the insulators. Overvoltage (TOV)] is shown for
arrester is fully capable of conducting f) Shielding of the line. transmission line surge arresters.
multiple 100 kA (4/10) impulses with- The graph shows, for a given voltage
out failure or changing characteristics. g) Tower grounding and footing magnitude (on a Per Unit of COV),
It is designed for more than 30 years resistance. the time an arrester can survive a TOV
of service life. Consult your Cooper representative condition without thermal runaway.
The COV of an arrester is the to have individual system application
maximum power-frequency, line-to- needs studied.
ground voltage that the arrester will Fault Current Withstand
sustain continuously. Table 1 provides
a general application guide for the Tests
selection of the proper arrester rating Extensive pressure relief tests have
for a given system voltage and been conducted in accordance with
grounding configuration. IEC 60099-4 (IEC 99-4) to demon-
Under fault conditions and other strate the UltraSIL housed VariSTAR
system anomalies, higher than normal Class 2 arrester’s ability to withstand
voltages can be imposed upon an fault currents for specific durations.
arrester. With an improper arrester The following table shows the fault
selection, these abnormal system current withstand level to which the
voltages can cause an arrester to fail. arrester is non-fragmenting.
To help ensure that the proper arrester
is selected, Cooper Power Systems
application engineers are available to 1.7
make recommendations. The following
information is normally required:
1.6
1. Maximum system operating voltage. 60˚ C AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE
2. System grounding conditions.
1.5 NO PRIOR DUTY
a) For four-wire circuits, grounding
VOLTAGE PER UNIT MCOV

conditions depend upon

whether the system is multi-
grounded, whether it has 1.4
neutral impedance and
whether common primary and PRIOR DUTY
secondary neutrals are used.
1.3
b) For three-wire circuits, ground-
ing conditions depend upon
whether the system is solidly
1.2
grounded at the source,
grounded through neutral
impedance at the source
transformers or ungrounded. 1.1
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
c) Available Fault Current. MAXIMUM TIME DURATION IN SECONDS

Figure 3.
Temporary Overvoltage Capability of VariSTAR UT2 Surge Arresters.
Note: The 24 hour TOV with prior duty is 1.07 per unit of Uc.

3
UltraSIL™ Transmission Line Surge Arresters

TRANSMISSION SYSTEM APPLICATIONS

65 mm REF
GROUND
CONNECTION

106 mm

106 mm “B”

“A” (See Table 3)

Figure 6.
Arrester on a tangent line post insulator.

LINE
CONNECTION

Figure 4.
Arrester suspended from a crossarm.

106 mm “B”

106 mm

Figure 7.
“B” Arrester mounted on a vertical line post insulator.

Figure 5.
Arrester on a dead-end insulator. NOTE: “B” dimensions vary according to size, rating and
hardware attachments.

4
 I235-89

PERFORMANCE AND TABLE 3

PROTECTIVE Insulation Withstand Voltages
CHARACTERISTICS Insulation Withstand Voltages
Dim. A Housing BIL 1.2/50 Wet 50/60 Hz
Table 4, “Protective Characteristics of Housing (mm) Leakage Strike Impulse 60 seconds
the UltraSIL Housed VariSTAR UT2 Designation (Figure 4) Distance (mm) (mm) (kV, Pk) (kV, rms)
Surge Arrester” displays the Arrester 18 360 1037 364 231 126
Rating (Ur), Continuous Operating 20 400 1152 403 254 135
Voltage (Uc) and the guaranteed 22 439 1267 441 273 149
protective characteristics. 24 479 1383 481 294 160
26 518 1498 521 312 173
The Steep Current Impulse protective 28 557 1613 560 337 180
level is the maximum residual voltage 30 597 1728 599 358 189
for a 10 kA impulse current that 32 636 1843 638 379 197
crests in one microsecond. Lightning 38 790 2189 793 436 234
Impulse Residual Voltages represent 40 830 2304 832 455 246
the maximum protective levels exhib- 42 869 2420 872 474 259
44 908 2535 912 493 271
ited by the arrester when discharging
lightning currents of the standard 46 948 2650 951 512 283
48 988 2765 991 531 296
8/20 microsecond waveshape. The 50 1026 2880 1031 550 308
maximum Switching Impulse Residual 52 1066 2996 1070 569 321
Voltages are based on a switching 54 1106 3111 1110 588 333
surge current having a time to crest of 56 1144 3226 1150 607 345
30 microseconds. For all ratings the 58 1184 3341 1190 626 358
switching surge energy absorption 60 1224 3456 1229 645 370
capability is 3.4 kJ/kV of Uc (repeatable
in one minute).

TABLE 4
Protective Characteristics of the UltraSIL Housed VariSTAR UT2 Surge Arrester
Switching Impulse
Arrester Arrester Residual Voltage
Lightning Impulse Residual Voltage (kV Crest)
Rating COV Steep Current (kV Crest) 8/20 µs Current Wave 30/60 Current Wave
Ur Uc Residual Voltage
(kV, rms) (kV, rms) (kV Crest) 1.5 kA 3 kA 5 kA 10 kA 20 kA 40 kA 125 A 500 A
27 22.0 84.4 61.0 64.3 67.4 72.8 80.7 92.0 53.5 57.0
30 24.4 93.3 67.7 71.3 74.8 80.7 89.5 102 59.3 63.2
33 27.5 105 76.3 80.4 84.2 91.0 101 115 66.9 71.3
36 29.0 110 80.4 84.8 88.8 95.9 106 121 70.5 75.2
39 31.5 120 87.4 92.1 96.5 104 115 131 76.6 81.6
42 34.0 129 94.3 99.4 104 112 125 142 82.7 88.1
45 36.5 138 101 107 112 121 134 152 88.8 94.6
48 39.0 147 108 114 119 129 143 162 94.9 101
54 42.0 158 116 123 129 139 154 175 102 109
60 48.0 180 133 140 147 159 176 199 117 124
66 53.0 199 147 155 162 175 195 220 129 137
72 57.0 214 158 167 174 188 208 236 139 148
78 62.0 232 172 181 190 205 227 257 151 161
84 68.0 254 189 199 208 225 249 282 165 176
90 70.0 262 194 204 214 231 256 290 170 181
96 76.0 284 211 222 233 251 278 315 185 197
108 84.0 314 233 245 257 277 307 348 204 218
120 98.0 365 272 286 300 324 358 406 238 254

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UltraSIL™ Transmission Line Surge Arresters

TABLE 5
UltraSIL Transmission Line Arrester UltraQUICK Catalog Numbering System
Example of an arrester having a COV 42kV rms.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Arrester COV Housing Line Earth
Prefix Nameplate Packing
(kV rms) Code Terminal Terminal

UT2 042 20 1A 1A A A

A = English Packing
UltraSIL B = Spanish
Transmission Line See Fig. 8 A Export packing,
Surge Arrester individually
packed in cartons
2 – IEC Class 2
See TABLES 7 & 8

Arrester COV Digits 7 & 8 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60

(kV rms)
Leakage
022 Ur Length 922 1037 1152 1267 1383 1498 1613 1728 1843 2189 2304 2420 2535 2650 2765 2880 2996 3111 3226 3341 3456
Arrester (mm)
024 Rating
027 (kV rms)

029 27 * O
032 30 * O O
33 * O O
034 36 * O O
036 39 * O O
42 * O O
039 45 O O
*
042 48 * O O
54 * O O
048 60 O
*
053 66 * O O
72 * O O
057
78 * O O
062 84 * O O
90 * O O
068
96 * O O
070 108 * O O
076 120 *
084
098

ORDERING INFORMATION Olean, NY USA

VariSTAR Surge Arrester
Cooper Power System UltraSIL
Transmission Line Surge Arresters are
supplied in a variety of customer defined RATING, Ur YYYY
options. The catalog numbering system ___ kV rms Pres. Rel.
allows the purchaser to define the COV, Uc 40 kA rms
features of the arrester. See Table 5. ___ kV rms
Tables 6 & 7 lists the available line and Cert
earth terminal options. A wide variety Class 2 IEC60099-4
of options are available, allowing Cat. No. __________
users to customize the arrester to Serial No. _________
Frequency Altitude
their specific needs. For further options 50-60 Hz 0-12000 ft.
contact your Cooper Power Systems 0-3600 N
sales engineer.

Figure 8.
Class 2, UT2 UltraSIL Nameplate – stamped in stainless steel top cap.
6
 I235-89

TABLE 6
Options
Option Line and Earth Terminal Option Description Option Line and Earth Terminal Option Description
Code (note all hardware comes unattached) Code (note all hardware comes unattached)
(Standard line option) 12 mm Stud with hex nut, lock washer Isolator, 2 hex nuts, 2 lock washers, and coupling nut
1A 1H
and wire clamp
Universal joint (includes eye nut, clevis with pin and cotter pin, Line (saddle) Clamp with hex nut and lock washer
1B 1J
hex nut, lock washer and 610 mm wire rope) wire rope
1C Hotline clamp with hex nut and lock washer Dead-End Clevis with eye bolt, (2) hex nuts, coupling nut,
1K
152 mm Threaded extension including 2 hex nuts, 2 lock wire rope, and lock washer
1D washers, and coupling nut 152 mm Braided wire rope with hex nut, lock washer, and
1M
305 mm Threaded extension including 2 hex nuts, 2 lock ring tongue terminals
2D washers, and coupling nut 305 mm Braided wire rope with hex nut, lock washer, and
2M
457 mm Threaded extension including 2 hex nuts, 2 lock ring tongue terminals
3D washers, and coupling nut 457 mm Braided wire rope with hex nut, lock washer, and
3M
610 mm Threaded extension including 2 hex nuts, 2 lock ring tongue terminals
4D washers, and coupling nut 610 mm Braided wire rope with hex nut, lock washer, and
4M
762 mm Threaded extension including 2 hex nuts, 2 lock ring tongue terminals
5D washers, and coupling nut 762 mm Braided wire rope with hex nut, lock washer, and
5M
914 mm Threaded extension including 2 hex nuts, 2 lock ring tongue terminals
6D washers, and coupling nut 914 mm Braided wire rope with hex nut, lock washer, and
6M
1E 152 x 44 mm Aluminum bracket with hex nut and lock washer ring tongue terminals
2E 305 x 44 mm Aluminum bracket with hex nut and lock washer 2N 51 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket, hex nut, lockwasher
3E 457 x 44 mm Aluminum bracket with hex nut and lock washer 3N 76 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket, hex nut, lockwasher
4E 610 x 44 mm Aluminum bracket with hex nut and lock washer 4N 102 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket, hex nut, lockwasher
152 mm Lead - #4 stranded, insulated cable with hex nut, lock 5N 127 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket, hex nut, lockwasher
1F washer, and wire clamp 6N 152 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket, hex nut, lockwasher
305 mm Lead - #4 stranded, insulated cable with hex nut, lock 51 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket with isolator, 3 hex nuts,
2F 2P
washer, and wire clamp 3 lock washers, and coupling nut
457 mm Lead - #4 stranded, insulated cable with hex nut, lock 76 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket with isolator, 3 hex nuts,
3F 3P
washer, and wire clamp 3 lock washers, and coupling nut
610 mm Lead - #4 stranded, insulated cable with hex nut, lock 102 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket with isolator, 3 hex nuts,
4F 4P
washer, and wire clamp 3 lock washers, and coupling nut
762 mm Lead - #4 stranded, insulated cable with hex nut, lock 127 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket with isolator, 3 hex nuts,
5F 5P
washer, and wire clamp 3 lock washers, and coupling nut
914 mm Lead - #4 stranded, insulated cable with hex nut, lock 152 x 51 mm Aluminum angle bracket with isolator, 3 hex nuts,
6F 6P
washer, and wire clamp 3 lock washers, and coupling nut
152 mm Lead with isolator - #4 stranded, insulated cable with
1G 1R Split ring hanger with hex nut, lockwasher, and bolt
hex nut, lock washer, and wire clamp
305 mm Lead with isolator - #4 stranded, insulated cable with 1S 152 x 25 mm Flat aluminum strap with 1 bolt, 1 washer and
2G 1 hex nut
hex nut, lock washer, and wire clamp
457 mm Lead with isolator - #4 stranded, insulated cable with 2S 305 x 25 mm Flat aluminum strap with 1 bolt, 1 washer and
3G 1 hex nut
hex nut, lock washer, and wire clamp
610 mm Lead with isolator - #4 stranded, insulated cable with 3S 457 x 25 mm Flat aluminum strap with 1 bolt, 1 washer and
4G 1 hex nut
hex nut, lock washer, and wire clamp
762 mm Lead with isolator - #4 stranded, insulated cable with 4S 610 x 25 mm Flat aluminum strap with 1 bolt, 1 washer and
5G 1 hex nut
hex nut, lock washer, and wire clamp
914 mm Lead with isolator - #4 stranded, insulated cable with
6G hex nut, lock washer, and wire clamp
Note: Other options available. Contact your Cooper Power sales representative for specific application requirements.

TABLE 7
Combination Options
Option Line and Earth Terminal Option Description Option Line and Earth Terminal Option Description
Code (Note all hardware comes unattached) Code (Note all hardware comes unattached)
Universal joint with isolator (includes options 1B and 1H Hotline clamp with isolator and universal joint (includes
A1 plus 3 hex nuts and 3 lock washers, 1 coupling nut, and E1 options 1B, 1C, 1H, plus 3 hex nuts, 3 lock washers,
wire rope) 1 coupling nut, and wire rope)
Line (saddle) clamp with isolator (includes options 1J and
B1 1H plus 3 hex nuts, 3 lock washers and 1 coupling nut)
Line (saddle) clamp with Isolator and universal joint
C1 (includes options 1J, 1H, and 1B plus 3 hex nuts, 3 lock
washers, 1 coupling nut, and wire rope)
Hotline clamp with isolator (includes options 1C and 1H
D1 plus 2 hex nuts, 2 lock washers and 1 coupling nut)

7
UltraSIL™ Transmission Line Surge Arresters

Figure 9. Figure 15. Figure 20.

Option 1A - Wire clamp and nut. Option 1G - Isolator with lead. Option A1 - Universal joint and isolator.

Figure 10. Figure 16.

Option 1B - Universal joint. Option 1H - Isolator with coupling nut. Figure 21.
Option C1 - Line clamp and isolator.

Figure 11. Figure 22.

Option 1C - Hotline clamp. Figure 17. Option E1 - Universal hotline clamp.
Option 1J - Line saddle clamp.

Figure 12.
Option 1D - Threaded extension.
Figure 23.
Option 2P - Aluminum angle bracket
Figure 18. and isolator.
Option 1K - Dead end clevis.

Figure 13.
Option 1E - Aluminum bracket and nut.

Figure 24.
Figure 19. Option 1R - Split ring hanger.
Option 2N - Aluminum 90° bracket.

Figure 14.
Option 1F - 152 mm to 914 mm #4 lead.

P.O. Box 1640

© 2002 Cooper Industries, Inc. Waukesha, WI 53187
UltraSIL™ is a trademark of Cooper Industries, Inc. www.cooperpower.com
MI
8 11/02