X International Symposium on Lightning Protection

9th-13th November, 2009 Curitiba, Brazil

A STUDY ON INSULATION COORDINATION OF A WIND TURBINE GENERATOR SYSTEM AND A DISTRIBUTION LINE (II)
Shozo Sekioka1, Toshihisa Funabashi2
1 2

Shonan Institute of Technology, Japan sekioka@elec.shonan-it.ac.jp Meidensha Corporation, Japan t.funabashi@honsha.meidensha.co.jp

Abstract - Lightning damage is one of the most serious problems for wind turbine generator systems. Direct lightning stroke to a blade is mainly targeted in lightning protection design and tests. Lightning surges sometimes come from a distribution/transmission line to the wind turbine system due to lightning hit to the line. In this situation, an insulation coordination design is another aspect for the lightning protection of the wind turbine system. This paper discusses a coordination design of wind turbines in a windfarm and a distribution line. Simulations are carried out using the EMTP for such parameters as peak value of the lightning current and lightning striking point.

1 INTRODUCTION The renewable energy such a wind turbine generator, a photovoltaic cell, and a fuel cell are actively constructed all over the world to solve the global warming. The wind turbine generates much higher electric power energy than the other renewable energies. A windfarm is expected to be a clean power station instead of a steam power one from which a large amount of the CO2 is exhausted. Most of Japanese wind turbine generator systems have been built along the coast of the Sea of Japan, because strong wind blows from Siberia to the coast. However, the winter lightning which has huge energy and coulomb, frequently occurs in the area, and causes many serious damages in the transmission and distribution lines, and the wind turbine generator systems [1]. Summer lightning also damages control circuits of the wind turbine generator systems. Lightning surges come into the wind turbine generator system under the following situations as illustrated in Fig. 1. (1) Overhead lines such as distribution and telecommunication lines (2) Direct lightning stroke to a wind tower or a blade (3) Ground potential rise caused by lightning hit to the ground or the tower (4) Lightning back flow from the tower to the line
Fig. 1 - Lightning events in a wind turbine generator system and a distribution line.

In case (1), a direct lightning stroke to a distribution line or a nearby lightning which generates lightning-induced voltage sometimes causes lightning damages or outages in the distribution line. The authors investigated an influence of the lightning back-flow current and the ground potential rise on the lightning overvoltages in the surge arresters of the distribution line, which is connected to the wind turbine generator system, when the lightning strikes the wind turbine tower [2]. The wind tower is high, and the lightning frequently strikes a blade. On the other hand, the distribution line is long. Accordingly, the lightning surges coming from the distribution line to the wind turbine generator system also should be considered for the lightning protection design of the wind turbine system. The authors study the insulation coordination in case of a wind turbine generator alone [3]. There many windfarms. This paper describes the insulation coordination of the distribution line and the wind turbine generator system in a windfarm, and discusses lightning overvoltages in the wind turbine for the lightning stroke to the distribution line. The EMTP [4, 5] is used to carry out the lightning surge analysis.

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Zp Ra

Zp Ra

Zp Ra

Zp Ra

Fig. 2 - Simulation circuit.

2 SIMULATION CIRCUIT
1m

2.1 Simulation Circuit for Direct Lightning Stroke to a Distribution Line Fig. 2 illustrates a simulation circuit to estimate lightning overvoltages in a wind turbine generator system in a windfarm for a direct lightning stroke to a shielding wire of a distribution line. Table 1 shows specifications of a transformer, which is used in [6]. The wind turbines and the cables in the windfarm have the same specifications.
Table 1: specifications of transformer [6].
Connection method Rating power Rating voltage Frequency % impedance Mutual leakage inductance Y- 1.0 MVA 600/6,600 V 60 Hz 15.7 % 18.2 mH

Ground wire (standard steel wire 2 22 mm ) 0.7m Medium voltage line 2 ACSR OC 32 mm

0.7m 11m

CVT 22 mm

0.6 m

(a) Distribution line (b) Service line Fig.3 - Arrangement of the distribution and service lines.

2.2 Simulation Models (a)Distribution line The Dommel model [7] and the J.Marti model [8] are available in the EMTP. The Dommel model deals with line constants for only single frequency, and shows poorer accuracy than the J.Marti model, which can take the frequency dependence into account. Therefore, this paper adopts the J.Marti model for the distribution line and the service line. The length of the overhead line is 1 km. The distribution line is terminated by matching circuit at an end of the line to represent semi infinite length of line. The length between poles and a transformer is 40m. Fig. 3 illustrates a configuration of the distribution and service lines.

(b) Vertical conductors A wind turbine is usually mounted at the top of a wind tower to directly connect to a rotor. A reinforced concrete pole is equivalent to a metallic pipe for lightning surges based on experimental study [9]. The wind turbine is connected to a transformer or an inverter through a 3phase power cable. As a result, 4 parallel vertical conductors exist in the wind tower as illustrated in Fig. 4. This paper considers a CVT cable of 22mm2 as the power cable in the tower and a copper pipe with radius rTW of 1.6 m as the wind tower.

rTW

rc

rs

h'

Fig - 4 Configuration of a wind tower and a power cable to obtain conductor constants.

The self- and mutual surge impedances Z0s and Z0m of

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vertical conductors are given by [10]

Z 0 s = 60 ln h er h ed

(1) (2)

Z 0 m = 60 ln

where h is the conductor height, r is the conductor radius, d is the distance between centers of the conductors, and e is the base of natural logarithm. Line constants of the vertical conductors can be obtained by using CABLE CONSTANTS [11], which is a subprogram in the EMTP. The conductor height h for the vertical conductors used in the subprograms is replaced by 0.5h/e [12], and the distance between the conductors in the subprograms is the same as that of the actual configuration. The Dommel model is used for the vertical conductors in this paper because of short conductor length. (c) Surge arrester Surge arresters of the distribution line are installed on odd number reinforced concrete poles. The arresters in the high-voltage side of the transformer are not considered in this paper. The distribution line arrester at the end of the lone is located close to the transformer, and is expected to protect the high-voltage side on the transformer. Lowvoltage side arresters must be considered because direct lightning stroke to the wind tower often causes lightning overvoltages and damages in the wind turbine generator system. The arrester is represented by a series circuit of a voltage-controlled switch and a nonlinear resistance, which is given by current-voltage characteristics. Operation voltage of the distribution line arresters is 29 kV. Voltage-current curves of the arresters are shown in Fig. 6. Surge protective devices for low-voltage circuit are not simulated in this paper.
25 20 Voltage [kV] 15 10 5 High-voltage Ar

for the high voltage line. However, this simple model cannot deal with secondary transition voltages. Therefore, this paper adopts an accurate transformer model, which considers the secondary voltage and high frequency characteristics [13, 14]. Fig. 6 shows measured capacitances of Y- transformers [14]. Capacitances of a transformer can be approximated by a simple function of rated capacity [15]. Thus, the capacitances are estimated by approximate lines included in Fig. 6.
10 High-voltage winding to ground Low-voltage winding to ground High- and low-voltage windings

Capacitance [nF/phase]

1 1 10 100

0.1 Rated capacity [MVA]

Fig. 6 - Measured results of capacitances of transformers and approximate characteristics.

Now, the rated capacity is 1 MVA form Table 1. Capacitances between high-voltage windings and the ground and between low-voltage windings and ground are 500 pF, and that between low- and high-voltage windings 1000 pF. (e) Generator A generator for lightning surges analysis can be modeled by reactance and capacitance [16]. This paper represents the generator by capacitance for simplicity. The capacitance between a phase winding and the wind tower is considered. (f) Grounding system Reinforced concrete poles are used in the Japanese distribution lines to sustain wires and power apparatuses. The reinforced concrete pole should be treated as a grounding lead conductor and a grounding electrode in lightning performance [12, 17]. The grounding system of the distribution line is represented by a distributedparameter line, and a grounding resistance. The surge velocity in the reinforced concrete pole is equal to the velocity of light in free space. The grounding resistance shows current dependence for high currents. This paper does not consider the soil ionization [18] as well as frequency dependence. The ground wire is grounded at the each pole. The grounding resistance Ra for the surge arresters and the ground wire is 30 . The surge impedance Zp of the reinforced concrete pole is 200 [19].

Low-voltage Ar

0 1.E-03 1.E-02 1.E-01 1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 Current [A]

Fig. 5 - Voltage - current curve of the surge arresters.

(d) Transformer Transformer is frequently represented by capacitances for lightning surge analysis when the analysis is targeted only

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The grounding electrodes and the tower bases of wind turbines are connected using a grounding conductor. Low steady-state grounding resistance can be obtained using the grounding conductor. Propagation characteristics of the grounding conductor are quite different from those of an insulated conductor because of the existence of shunt conductance [20]. Voltages on the grounding conductor are attenuated and deformed along the conductor. Lightning current has short wavefront duration, and peak voltage often appears before reflection voltage from the receiving end of the grounding conductor reaches. Therefore, effective length, which is defined as the length above which no further reduction of impedance of a grounding conductor is observed, should be considered to prevent the wind turbines from lightning-caused damages [21]. Fig. 7 shows an equivalent circuit of a horizontal grounding conductor, where Z0 is the surge impedance of the loss-less line, v is the surge velocity on the line, and x is the elementary length of the equivalent circuit. The circuit is composed of shunt conductances due to finite soil resistivity and a loss-less line [20]. The grounding conductor is represented by a ladder circuit of the equivalent circuit. The steady-state grounding resistance R0 of the grounding conductor is given by
R0 = (Gl ) 1

Table 2: standard values in simulation parameters.

Striking point 1st pole Lightning Current 25 kA Grounding Resistance of Wind Turbine 10 Generator capacitance 10 nF

The grounding resistance of the wind turbine generator system is often chosen to be 2 . That for a lightning rod is 10 . This paper adopts 10 as a standard value. The grounding resistance is 1, 2, 5, and 10 . The transformer is assumed to be set on the same base of the wind tower, and the grounding of the transformer is common with the wind tower. This paper investigates influence of grounding system of a wind turbine generator system on lightning overvoltages. Five wind turbines are considered. 3 SIMULATION RESULTS 3.1 Single Wind Turbine Generator System Fig.8 shows calculated results of peak value of lightning overvoltages on single wind turbine generator for a parameter of the grounding resistance RTB of the wind turbine generator system. Voltage is defined by potential difference between the observation point and the grounding system.
5 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 10 Grounding resistance [] 100
Potential [kV]

(3)
4
Voltage [kV]

where G is the shunt conductance per length. The surge impedance and the propagation velocity of the grounding conductor are 100 , and 100 m/s respectively.
Z , v, x 0 Gx Z0, v, x

3 2 1 0

cable sending end cable receiving end Tr secondary potential

G x

k+1

Gx

Fig. 7 - An equivalent circuit of a long grounding conductor.

Fig. 8 - Calculated results of peak voltage for a parameter of grounding resistance RTB.

(g) Lightning current The lightning current waveform is assumed to be a ramp shape of 2/70 s, which is the simplest model for summer lightning. The lightning is represented by a parallel circuit of a current source and a lightning channel impedance of 1 k. Lightning current is injected into the top of a reinforced concrete pole. 2.3 Simulation Conditions This paper investigates an influence of the following parameters on lightning overvoltages on a wind turbine generator system. Standard values are shown in Table 2.

From Fig. 8, the potential in the wind turbine generator system increases as the grounding resistance RTB becomes higher, because the ground potential rises. This potential corresponds to the voltage in the telecommunication equipment. The other voltages are independent of the grounding resistance. Therefore, the grounding resistance affects only potential rise for the lightning overvoltages coming from the distribution line. Fig. 9 shows calculated waveforms in case of RTB=10 and 100 .

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40 30 20

5 4

50

cable sending-end voltage cable receiving-end voltage X Tr secondary potential

40 30 20 10 0

Potential [kV]

10 0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 Time [s] 30 40 50

3 2 1 0 0 20 40 60 80 100

10 100

Grounding resistance []

(a) Potential
4 3 2

Fig. 11 - Calculated results of peak voltage for a parameter of lightning current (100 ).

It is clear from Figs. 10 and 11, the grounding resistance RCG does not affect the voltage on the wind turbine. The potential is reduced by using the grounding conductor. Fig. 12 shows calculated waveforms of the voltage on the first, third and fifth wind turbines in cases of RTB=RCG= 100 .
4 3 2

Voltage [kV]

1 0 1 2 3 4 0 10 20 Time [s] 30 40 50

10 100
Voltage [kV]

(b) Voltage Fig. 9 - Calculated waveforms on single wind turbine generator.

1 0 1 2 3 0 10 20 Time [s] 30 40 50

From Fig. 9, the voltage waveforms are not affected by the grounding resistance. 3.2 Wind Turbine Generator System in Windfarm Figs. 10 and 11 show calculated results of peak value of the lightning overvoltages for a parameter of the grounding resistance RCG of the grounding conductor in case of RTB=10 and 100 . The values for RCG=0 and 100 are results of single turbine and no grounding conductor, respectively.
5 4
Voltage [kV]

Fig. 12 - Calculated waveforms of the voltage on first, third and fifth wind turbines.

Fig. 12 shows that significant difference is not observed among the wind turbines. Fig. 13 shows calculated waveforms in cases that the grounding resistance RCG is 10 and 100 when RTB is 100 . 4 CONCLUSION This paper has discussed lightning overvoltages on wind turbines in a windfarm for a direct lightning stroke to a distribution line. The simulation results using the EMTP show that the grounding resistance of the wind turbine generator system does not affect the lightning overvoltages, but the potential increases as the grounding resistance becomes higher. 5 REFERENCES

10

cable sending-end voltage cable receiving-end voltage X Tr secondary potential

8 6 4 2 0
Potential [kV]

3 2 1 0 0 20 40 60 80 100

Grounding resistance []

Fig. 10 - Calculated results of peak voltage for a parameter of grounding resistance RCG (RTB =10 ).

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Potential [kV]

Voltage [kV]

8 6 4

Potential [kV]

2 0 2 4 6 8

10

20
Time [s]

30

40

50

10 100

(a) Potential
4 3 2

Voltage [kV]

1 0 1 2 3 4

10

20

Time [s]

30

40

50

10 100

(b) Voltage Fig. 13 - Calculated waveforms on wind turbines in windfarm. [1] S. Sekioka, K. Yamamoto, M. Minowa, and S. Yokoyama, Damages in Japanese wind turbine generator sy stems due to winter lightning, Proceeding of International Symposium on Lightning Protection, pp. 186191, Foz do Iguau, Brazil, Nov. 2007. [2] H. Okamoto, S. Sekioka, Y. Ebinuma, K. Yamamoto, Y. Yasuda, T. Funabashi, and S. Yokoyama, Energy absorption of distribution line arresters due to lightning back flow current and ground potential rise for lightning hit to wind turbine generator system, IEEJ Trans., Vol. 129-B, No. 7, pp. 668-674, July 2009. [3] S. Sekioka, and T. Funabashi, A study on insulation coordination of a wind turbine generator system and a distribution line, CIGRE Colloquium, S2-5, Kushiro, Japan, June 2009. [4] W. S. Meyer, EMTP Rule Book, BPA, 1984. [5] H. W. Dommel, Electromagnetic transients program reference manual (EMTP theory book), BPA, 1986. [6] Y. Yasuda, T. Hara, and T. Funabashi, Analysis on lightning surge propagation in wind farm, IEEJ Trans., Vol. 125-B, No. 7, pp. 709-716, 2005 (in Japanese). [7] H. W. Dommel, "Digital computer solution of electromagnetic transients in single- and multiphase networks", IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. 88, No. 4, pp. 388-397, 1969. [8] J. R. Marti, Accurate modelling of frequency-dependent transmission lines in electromagnetic transient simulations, ibid. Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. 101, No. 101, pp. 147-157, 1982.

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