IEEE Transactionson Power Delivery ,Vol. 6 , No.

3, July 1991

I327

MULTISTORY TRANSMISSION'TOWER MODEL FOR LIGHTNING SURGE ANALYSIS

Masaru I s h i i , S e n i o r Member,
U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo
Tokyo, J a p a n

IEEE

E i i c h i Ohsaki
Kazuyuki Shiokawa
The Tokyo E l e c t r i c Power C o . , I n c .
Tokyo, Japan

T a t s u o Kawamura, Member, I E E E
U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

Teruya Kouno, Member, IEEE

U n i v e r s i t y o f Tokyo
Tokyo, J a p a n

Kaneyoshi Murotani, Member, I E E E

N i s s i n E l e c t r i c Co., L t d .
Kyoto, Japan

Takemitsu Higuchi
The Kansai E l e c t r i c Power Co.,
Osaka, J a p a n

A b s t r a c t - Transmission t o w e r s have been modeled

f o r l i g h t n i n g s u r g e a n a l y s i s based on t h e measurements
on t h e towers a l o n e .
For a n a c t u a l h i g h v o l t a g e
t r a n s m i s s i o n t o w e r , however, ground w i r e s a r e equipped
i n many c a s e s .
I n view of t h i s , proposed h e r e i s a
m u l t i s t o r y t r a n s m i s s i o n tower model t o be u s e d i n t h e
m u l t i - c o n d u c t o r a n a l y s i s by EMTP.
The c i r c u i t paramet e r s of t h e model a r e determined b a s e d on t h e measurement o f v o l t a g e s a c r o s s t h e i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g s on a n
a c t u a l 500kV t r a n s m i s s i o n t o w e r .
The f l a s h o v e r p h a s e
a n d c u r r e n t i n r e s p o n s e t o a l i g h t n i n g s t r o k e t o a UHV
t r a n s m i s s i o n tower a r e a l s o a n a l y z e d by u s i n g b o t h conv e n t i o n a l and new tower models f o r comparison.
Keywords:

L i g h t n i n g s u r g e , Back f l a s h o v e r , EMTP, UHV.

INTRODUCTION

I n t h e c l a s s i c a l method f o r p r e d i c t i n g b a c k f l a s h
r a t e s of overhead power t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s , t r a v e l i n g
wave a n a l y s i s of l i g h t n i n g s u r g e s i s a n e s s e n t i a l p a r t .
A t r a n s m i s s i o n tower i s o f t e n r e p r e s e n t e d by a uniform
t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e o f f i n i t e l e n g t h 111, and t h e sens i t i v i t y of t h e p a r a m e t e r s of t h e modeled t r a n s m i s s i o n
Those p a r a tower i s l a r g e when t h e tower i s h i g h [ 2 1 .
meters have been chosen b a s e d on t h e r e s e a r c h of t h e
s u r g e r e s p o n s e of t h e tower a l o n e ; however, f o r power
t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s equipped w i t h ground w i r e s , t h e
p a r a m e t e r s may need t o be reviewed b a s e d on t h e s u r g e
response i n such configuration.
A s most of t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s of 500kV and
above v o l t a g e s i n J a p a n a r e d e s i g n e d double c i r c u i t and
e q u i p p e d w i t h ground w i r e s , a r e s e a r c h h a s been made t o
d e v e l o p a new tower model f o r l i g h t n i n g s u r g e a n a l y s i s
It is a l s o
c o p i n g w i t h such a t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e .
r e q u e s t e d t h a t t h e new tower model can be coupled w i t h
t h e multi-conductor
a n a l y s i s of l i g h t n i n g s u r g e s 131
u s i n g t h e E l e c t r o m a g n e t i c T r a n s i e n t s Program (EMTP) [ 4 ]
BasGd on t h e low-current measurement of v o l t a g e
waveforms a c r o s s t h e i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g s on a n a c t u a l
500kV double c i r c u i t t r a n s m i s s i o n tower equipped w i t h
ground wires, a new tower model i s developed.
The
measurement
was
performed
under
vertical
current
i n j e c t i o n t o t h e tower.
Whether ground w i r e s a r e conn e c t e d t o t h e tower o r n o t a f f e c t s t h e c i r c u i t paramet e r s of t h e tower model.
Those c i r c u i t p a r a m e t e r s u s e d i n a t r a v e l i n g wave
a n a l y s i s a r e c o n c e p t s under TEE1 f i e l d s whereas t h e
f i e l d s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a c u r r e n t wave on a t r a n s m i s s i o n
t o w e r u s u a l l y d i f f e r from TEM.
Therefore, essentially,
t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a t r a n s m i s s i o n tower w i t h t h e

53 IJ?.I 193-3 PWRRD

A p a p e r recommended and approved
by t h e IEEE Transmission and D i s t r i b u t i o n Committee
of t h e I E E E Power E n g i n e e r i n g S o c i e t y o r p r e s e n t a t i o n
a t t h e IEEE/PES 1989 Winter Meeting, New York, N e w
York, J a n u a r y 29 - February 3, 1989.
Manuscript
s u b m i t t e d F e b r u a r y 1 , 1988; made a v a i l a b l e f o r
p r i n t i n g J a n u a r y 9 , 1989.

Inc.

combination of lumped c i r c u i t p a r a m e t e r s and t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s i s o n l y a n approximation e x c e p t f o r t h e c a s e

o f a c o n i c a l tower.
The newly developed t o w e r model
a p p r o x i m a t e l y i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e i n f l u e n c e of t h e r e f l e c t e d c u r r e n t wave from t h e t o w e r b a s e , a n d i s recommended
t o b e u s e d i n a m u l t i - c o n d u c t o r s u r g e a n a l y s i s of a
d o u b l e c i r c u i t t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e equipped w i t h ground
wires.
PREVIOUS STUDIES ON TOWER MODEL
T h e o r e t i c a l s t u d i e s [5]-[9] a r e very Useful i n
u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e phenomena.
On t h e o t h e r hand, i t i s
i n d i s p e n s a b l e t o conduct e x p e r i m e n t a l s t u d i e s t o eval u a t e t h e s u r g e r e s p o n s e of a complex-shaped a c t u a l
transmission tower.
On t h e measurement of s u r g e
r e s p o n s e s of a c t u a l and model t o w e r s , t h e r e i s a good
review [21.
The method o f t h e measurement i s c l a s s i f i e d i n t o
two t y p e s .
One i s t h e r e f l e c t i o n method r e p r e s e n t e d by
t h e measurement by Breuer e t a l . [ l o ] .
I n t h i s method,
a l e a d t o t r a n s m i t a steep f r o n t t r a v e l i n g wave i s conn e c t e d t o t h e t o p of a tower u n d e r measurement, and t h e
r e f l e c t e d wave on t h e measuring l e a d i s o b s e r v e d t o
e s t i m a t e t h e t r a n s i e n t impedance a t t h e tower t o p .
In
t h i s c a s e , t h e whole tower i s i l l u m i n a t e d b y t h e TEM
f i e l d a s s o c i a t e d with
t h e t r a v e l i n g wave on t h e
m e a s u r i n g l e a d a s t h e wave f r o n t a r r i v e s a t t h e t o w e r
top.
The t r a n s i e n t impedance a t t h e t o w e r t o p shows
i n i t i a l l y a h i g h v a l u e , and d e c r e a s e s w i t h t i m e [21.
T h i s method i s c o n s i d e r e d v a l i d i n e v a l u a t i n g r e f l e c t i o n a n d r e f r a c t i o n of s u r g e waves a t t h e c o n n e c t i n g
p o i n t o f t h e tower and t h e ground w i r e s .
The o t h e r method i s t h e d i r e c t method r e p r e s e n t e d
by t h e measurement of Kawai [ l l ]
I n t h i s method, a
p u l s e g e n e r a t o r i s p l a c e d on t h e t o p of a tower, a n d
t h e voltage a c r o s s an i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g i s d i r e c t l y
measured.
I n t h i s c a s e , no e x t e r n a l f i e l d e x i s t b e f o r e
t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e t e s t i n g c u r r e n t t o t h e t o w e r
t o p , and t h e e x t e r n a l f i e l d expands s p h e r i c a l l y from
t h e tower t o p .
T h e r e f o r e , n o TEM f i e l d e x i s t s u n t i l
s e v e r a l r e f l e c t i o n s i n t h e tower t a k e p l a c e .
On a
tower w i t h o u t ground w i r e s , t h e v o l t a g e a c r o s s a n i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g g r a d u a l l y rises u n t i l t h e r e f l e c t e d wave
from t h e tower f o o t i n f l u e n c e s , and i s c o n t r a r y t o t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s measured by t h e r e f l e c t i o n method.
The
s i t u a t i o n s i m u l a t e s t h e i n c i d e n t of a l i g h t n i n g s t r o k e
h i t t i n g t h e tower t o p .
I n t h i s measurement a l s o , a
l e a d connected t o t h e p u l s e generator i s necessary t o
provide a path f o r t h e return current.
I n measuring a n
a c t u a l t o w e r , it i s d i f f i c u l t t o p l a c e a v e r t i c a l l e a d
from t h e t o p of t h e t o w e r , t h e r e f o r e , t h e s i t u a t i o n i n
t h e measurement i s somewhat d i f f e r e n t from t h e i n c i d e n t
o f l i g h t n i n g s t r i k i n g t h e tower.
The t e r m s of h o r i z o n t a l c u r r e n t i n j e c t i o n and v e r t i c a l c u r r e n t i n j e c t i o n [9] i n p l a c e s of t h e r e f l e c t i o n
method a n d t h e d i r e c t method a r e m i s l e a d i n g s i n c e t h e
l e a d f o r t h e r e t u r n c u r r e n t was h o r i z o n t a l l y c o n n e c t e d
t o t h e tower t o p i n t h e Kawai's d i r e c t measurement.
T h e r e f o r e , t h e t e r m s of t h e r e f l e c t i o n method and t h e
d i r e c t method a r e used i n t h i s p a p e r .
The d i f f e r e n c e
o f t h e s e measuring methods a r e a l s o c l e a r l y s t a t e d by
Chisholm e t a l . [ 9 ] , and t h e y developed a tower model
b a s e d on t h e r e f l e c t i o n method t o cope w i t h t h e midspan
lightning stroke.

0885-8977/91/0700-1327$01.0001991 IEEE

1328
The new tower model p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s p a p e r aims
a t p r e d i c t i n g t h e back f l a s h o v e r a t i n d i v i d u a l i n s u l a t o r
s t r i n g when a double c i r c u i t tower w i t h ground wires i s
h i t by a l i g h t n i n g s t r o k e .
T h e r e f o r e , t h e r e s u l t of
t h e new tower model s h o u l d b e compared w i t h t h e
r e s e a r c h e s b a s e d on t h e d i r e c t measurement [71 [ 8 ] [ 1 1 1

SURGE R E S P O N S E CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTUAL TOWER

Measurement C o n d i t i o n s
F i g u r e 1 shows t h e measurement c o n d i t i o n s and t h e
arrangement of measuring equipment.
The tower under
measurement ( N o . 7 ) i s a 500kV double c i r c u i t suspens i o n s t e e l tower of 62.8m i n o v e r a l l h e i g h t and 10.8m
i n base width.
The ground wires were i n s u l a t e d from
N o . 6 tower by i n s u l a t o r s t o a v o i d t h e r e f l e c t i o n a t
t h i s p o s i t i o n , s i n c e t h e s p a n between N o . 6 and N o . 7
t o w e r s i s s h o r t . All t h e p h a s e c o n d u c t o r s were d i r e c t l y
c o n n e c t e d t o N o s . 5 and 8 t o w e r s t o r e d u c e t h e r a d i o
n o i s e a f f e c t i n g t h e measurement ( F i g . 1 ( a ) and ( b ) ) .
A 5 0 Q c o a x i a l c a b l e of 300m i n l e n g t h was u s e d t o
i n j e c t c u r r e n t i n t o N o . 7 tower from a p u l s e g e n e r a t o r
(PG) on t h e ground a s i s s e e n i n F i g . 1 (b) and ( c ) .
The c o r e of t h e c a b l e was connected t o a ground-wire
c r o s s a r m of t h e tower t h r o u g h a r e s i s t o r o f lkn f o r
wave s h a p i n g and 'a c u r r e n t s h u n t of 0.5fi.
The s h e a t h
o f t h e c a b l e was l e f t open a t t h e tower end. T h i s conf i g u r a t i o n i s e q u i v a l e n t t o set t h e PG on t h e groundw i r e crossarm, a s no e x t e r n a l f i e l d e x i s t s b e f o r e t h e
t r a v e l i n g wave w i t h i n t h e c o a x i a l c a b l e from t h e P G
r e a c h e s t h e tower t o p [ a ] .
T h e r e f o r e , t h i s method of
c u r r e n t i n j e c t i o n i s s i m i l a r t o t h a t of Kawai [ l l ] and
i s c l a s s i f i e d a d i r e c t method.
No other l i n e s f o r
measurement w e r e i n s t a l l e d .

f o r t h e o p t i c a l waveguides which r e s u l t e d i n t h e change

o f s e n s i t i v i t y a f t e r t h e waveguide was d i s c o n n e c t e d a n d
r e c o n n e c t e d t o t h e E/O t r a n s d u c e r .
Therefore, t h e
s e n s i t i v i t y was
c a l i b r a t e d before and a f t e r each
measurement by a c a l i b r a t o r i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e o p t i c a l
s i g n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n system, and t h e a c c u r a c y was mainI n measurements w i t h o u t
t a i n e d w i t h i n 2% o f e r r o r .
c o n n e c t i n g t h e ground wires t o t h e t o w e r , t h e v o l t a g e
between a n i s o l a t e d ground w i r e and t h e c r o s s a r m was
a l s o measured.
The f r e q u e n c y r a n g e of t h e measuring
system was DC t o 1 2 MHz, which was l i m i t e d by t h e
electro-optical signal converter.
Recorded Waveforms
The PG g e n e r a t e d a r e c t a n g u l a r p u l s e w i t h a r i s e
t i m e of 20ns and d u r a t i o n of 4 p s .
It a l s o g e n e r a t e d
Figure 2
a s l o w - f r o n t wave w i t h a r i s e t i m e of 3 p s .
shows t h e waveforms of t h e i n j e c t e d c u r r e n t measured
a t t h e tower t o p .
I n t h e c a s e of s t e e p - f r o n t wave,
a l t h o u g h t h e PG s e n t o u t a n e a t r e c t a n g u l a r p u l s e i n t o
t h e 50R c o n n e c t i n g c a b l e , t h e waveform measured a t t h e
tower t o p was deformed a s i s s e e n i n F i g . 2 ( a ) . The
d e f o r m a t i o n a t t h e wave f r o n t was n o t c a u s e d by t h e
p r o p a g a t i o n w i t h i n t h e 300m c o n n e c t i n g c a b l e , b u t by
the
transient
impedance of
t h e connecting cable
o b s e r v e d a t t h e t o w e r t o p , d e t e r m i n e d by t h e e x t e r n a l
f i e l d [81.
A c u r r e n t wave a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h i s e x t e r n a l f i e l d p r o p a g a t e d on t h e s h e a t h of t h e 300m c a b l e
w i t h t h e s p e e d o f l i g h t , a n d was r e f l e c t e d a t t h e PG
end r e s u l t i n g i n t h e s m a l l d i s c o n t i n u i t y o b s e r v e d a t
2 p s on t h e c u r r e n t waveform o f F i g . 2 ( a ) .
Figure 3
shows t h e waveform of v o l t a g e between a ground-wire
c r o s s a r m and a ground w i r e when ground w i r e s were i s o l a t e d from t h e t o w e r .

' 4 4 9 ,

( a ) Steep-front current.
measurement
(a) Layout of the transmission line

( b ) Slow-front c u r r e n t ,
3 . 0 ~ swave f r o n t .

Fig. 2.

Waveforms of c u r r e n t b e i n g i n j e c t e d i n t o tower
t o p , 1.13A/div.
Sweep: 0 . 5 p s / d i v .

F i g . 3.

Waveform o f v o l t a g e between a ground-wire

c r o s s a r m and a ground w i r e .
Ground w i r e s
isolated
from
tower,
steep-front
current
injection.

12.7rn

62.8m

(c) Layour of the tower and

the pulse generator

3 2 2m

Optical

coaxial cable

"

(b) Na 7 Tower

Fig.

1.

Setup f o r
ments.

lightning

surge

response

measure-

The i n j e c t e d c u r r e n t was measured by t h e c u r r e n t

s h u n t , and v o l t a g e s a c r o s s t h e i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g s were
measured by a lOkR r e s i s t i v e v o l t a g e d i v i d e r .
These
s i g n a l s were c o n v e r t e d i n t o l i g h t s i g n a l s and were
t r a n s m i t t e d t o waveform r e c o r d i n g d e v i c e s on t h e ground
t h r o u g h o p t i c a l waveguides.
Bundle f i b e r s were u s e d

I n F i g u r e s 7 and 8 a r e shown t h e measured wavef o r m s when t h e ground w i r e s a r e c o n n e c t e d t o t h e t o w e r .

I n t h e s e c a s e s , i t was i m p o s s i b l e t o measure t h e tower
t o p v o l t a g e s i n c e t h e r e were no p o t e n t i a l w i r e s t o b e
referred to.
The d i f f e r e n c e of t h e v e r t i c a l s c a l e s i n
t h e o s c i l l o g r a m s r e s u l t e d from t h e problem i n t h e o p t i c a l t r a n s m i s s i o n s y s t e m a s s t a t e d b e f o r e , which d i d n o t
a f f e c t t h e a c c u r a c y of t h e measurement.

1329
I n F i g u r e 7 i s a l s o shown a waveform o f t h e
The d i s c o n t i n u i t y
c u r r e n t f l o w i n g i n t o a gound w i r e .
a t 3 p s i s t h e r e f l e c t i o n of t h e t r a v e l i n g wave on
t h e ground wires from t h e a d j a c e n t N o . 8 tower 449m
away.
A t 3 . 8 p s , t h e r e f l e c t i o n From No. 5 tower 566m
Decrease o f t h e c u r r e n t a f t e r 4 p s
away i s a l s o s e e n .
r e s u l t s from t h e p u l s e d u r a t i o n of t h e i n j e c t e d c u r r e n t .
The v o l t a g e waveforms a c r o s s i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g s f o r
t h e s t e e p - f r o n t c u r r e n t were a l s o u s e d t o r e p r o d u c e t h e
r e s u l t f o r t h e s l o w - f r o n t c u r r e n t by u s i n g a convolut i o n technique.
The computed r e s u l t a g r e e d q u i t e w e l l
t o t h e measured waveforms, t h u s v e r i f y i n g b o t h t h e
l i n e a r i t y o f t h e system and t h e r e l i a b i l i t y of t h e
measurement.
MODELING OF THE SYSTEM

E q u i v a l e n t C i r c u i t of t h e System under Measurement

I n a n a l y s i s of l i g h t n i n g s u r g e s on a n a c t u a l
system, t h e c o u p l i n g between t h e ground w i r e s and t h e
phase conductors
s h o u l d a l s o b e t a k e n i n t o cons i d e r a t i o n , and it i s e s s e n t i a l t o examine a n d s e l e c t a
tower model t h a t f i t s i n a m u l t i - c o n d u c t o r c i r c u i t a s
shown i n F i g . 4 .

Iliase conduclors
No. 8

Nu. 7

r e p r e s e n t t h e s y s t e m under measurement.
For t h e p o s i t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p of t h e ground wires a n d p h a s e cond u c t o r s , t h e c o n d u c t o r geometry a t t h e a v e r a g e h e i g h t s
a s shown i n F i g . 5 i s used.
I n m u l t i - c o n d u c t o r c i r c u i t a n a l y s i s by EMTP, t h e
mutual c o u p l i n g o f t h e ground wires and p h a s e conduct o r s i s s i m u l a t e d , b u t t h e e f f e c t of t h e f i e l d r e t a r d a t i o n among t h e ground w i r e s and p h a s e c o n d u c t o r s a r e
n o t c o n s i d e r e d a t a l l . The waveform of t h e i n j e c t e d
c u r r e n t i n EMTP c a l c u l a t i o n i s a p o l y g o n a l approximat i o n of t h e a c t u a l l y i n j e c t e d waveform.
The grounding
r e s i s t a n c e of t h e tower u n d e r measurement i s assumed
t o have a f l a t r e s i s t a n c e - t i m e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a n d rep r e s e n t e d by a p u r e r e s i s t a n c e of 170, which i s t h e
measured v a l u e .
The f r e q u e n c y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e ground was
a l s o i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e computation, b u t i t s e f f e c t
turned out t o be not s i g n i f i c a n t .
Conventional Tower Models
The s u r g e impedance e x p r e s s i o n proposed by S a r g e n t
e t . a l . [ 7 ] h a s been w i d e l y u s e d a s a t o w e r model f o r
t r a v e l i n g wave c a l c u l a t i o n ( c o n v e n t i o n a l model ( 1 ) ) .
According t o t h i s e x p r e s s i o n , t h e tower under measurement i s approximated by a cone, and w e have a s u r g e
impedance of 170R f o r t h i s shape.
I n t h i s c a s e , it i s
t r e a t e d t h a t t h e v e l o c i t y of s u r g e p r o p a g a t i o n i n t h e
t o w e r i s e q u a l t o t h e v e l o c i t y of l i g h t ( 3 0 0 m / p s ) a n d
t h e r e i s no s u r g e a t t e n u a t i o n .
On t h e o t h e r hand, a s u r g e impedance of 1 0 0 t o 115
R, a s u r g e p r o p a g a t i o n v e l o c i t y of 210 t o 240 m / p s ( 7 0
t o 8 0 % of t h e v e l o c i t y of l i g h t ) and a s u r g e a t t e n u a t i o n
c o e f f i c i e n t o f 0 . 8 t o 0 . 9 o b t a i n e d by Kawai e t a l . [ l l ]
t h r o u g h e x p e r i m e n t s on a n a c t u a l tower a r e a l s o u s e d i n
J a p a n e s e d e s i g n s ( c o n v e n t i o n a l model ( 2 ) ) . Chisholm e t
a l . a l s o recommend a model w i t h reduced s u r g e propagat i o n v e l o c i t y [ 2 ] , which w i l l r e s u l t i n h i g h e r i n s u l a t o r
v o l t a g e s t h a n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l model ( 1 ) .
I n o r d e r t o a n a l y z e each i n s u l a t o r v o l t a g e due t o
a l i g h t n i n g s t r o k e t o a ground-wired t o w e r , c o n v e n t i o n a l
tower models a r e d i v i d e d a t t h e c r o s s a r m p o s i t i o n s i n t o
four sections.
N e w Tower Model

Fig. 4 .

Equivalent c i r c u i t
f o r EMTP a n a l y s i s .

132m(Nu5-6

of

eight-conductor

Ground w i r e
1 75 cm diameter

P
a
e
q

B
0

400rn(No.5-6 )
260m(No.6-7)
36.0m(No. 7 8 )

Fig. 5.

system

Phase conductor
4 X 3 84 cm diameter
at 50 cm spacing

v?
b--d
I

l-4

50cm

Conductor geometry a t a v e r a g e h e i g h t .

I n F i g u r e 4 , EMTP Semlyen models a r e used t o

r e p r e s e n t t h e mutual conductor c o u p l i n g i n each s p a n ,
f o r m i n g a n e i g h t - c o n d u c t o r system i n v o l v i n g two ground
w i r e s and s i x p h a s e c o n d u c t o r s f o r double c i r c u i t t o

When ground w i r e s a r e i s o l a t e d from a t o w e r , t h e

t r a n s f e r impedance of t h e tower p o t e n t i a l r i s e measured
by t h e d i r e c t method i s i n i t i a l l y low [ l l ] a s i s s e e n
When ground wires a r e c o n n e c t e d ,
a l s o i n Fig. 3 .
however,
t h e t r a n s f e r impedance of t h e v o l t a g e a c r o s s
a n i n s u l a t o r s t r i n g a b r u p t l y rises a n d f a l l s t o a r e l a t i v e l y c o n s t a n t v a l u e u n t i l t h e r e f l e c t i o n from t h e
b a s e of t h e tower a r r i v e s , a s i s known from t h e
This i s because
o s c i l l o g r a m s of F i g u r e s 2 ( a ) a n d 7 .
t h e i n s u l a t o r v o l t a g e i s i n f l u e n c e d by t h e charact e r i s t i c s of t h e p o t e n t i a l r i s e of b o t h t h e tower arm
and t h e conductor.
The tower impedance e s t i m a t e d From
t h e i n s u l a t o r v o l t a g e of upper p h a s e a t 0 . 5 ~i n~ F i g .
7 , t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e c o u p l i n g between t h e ground
w i r e s and t h e p h a s e w i r e s , i s 1250, p o s t u l a t i n g t h e
combined s u r g e impedance of ground w i r e s a s 3420. T h i s
v a l u e i s c l o s e t o t h e measured tower impedance of 1190,
i n d i c a t e d i n F i g . 3, f o r a tower when t h e ground w i r e s
are isolated.
The s u r g e p r o p a g a t i o n v e l o c i t y i s c l e a r l y known
from t h e o s c i l l o g r a m s of F i g . 7, and i s v e r y c l o s e t o
t h e speed of l i g h t .
T h e r e f o r e , i n t h e new tower model,
t h e s u r g e p r o p a g a t i o n v e l o c i t y i s s e t e q u a l t o t h a t of
light.
When t h e r e f l e c t e d s u r g e wave from t h e b a s e of t h e
tower a r r i v e s , t h e p o t e n t i a l of t h e tower b e g i n s t o
decrease.
The d e c r e a s e i s r a t h e r slow a s s e e n i n t h e
o s c i l l o g r a m s i n F i g u r e s 3 and 7 , and i s c o n s i d e r a b l y
d i f f e r e n t from t h e r e s p o n s e of a uniform t r a n s m i s s i o n
l i n e s h u n t e d w i t h a l o w impedance a t i t s end.
This
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o r i g i n a t e s from t h e non-TEM f i e l d 181,

1330
and i s d i f f i c u l t t o a c c u r a t e l y e x p r e s s w i t h a s i m p l e
equivalent c i r c u i t .
Kawai approximated t h i s charact e r i s t i c by i n t r o d u c i n g a s u r g e a t t e n u a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t
i n h i s tower model [ l l ] , which p h y s i c a l l y i s v e r y c l o s e
t o unity.
The i n t r o d u c t i o n of s u r g e a t t e n u a t i o n coeff i c i e n t may r e s u l t i n a h i g h r e s i d u a l tower v o l t a g e a s
t i m e e l a p s e s , and Kawai had t o change t h e c o e f f i c i e n t
a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s t e e p n e s s of t h e i n j e c t e d c u r r e n t .
In
t h e new tower model, a n i n d u c t a n c e i s connected i n
p a r a l l e l with t h e r e s i s t a n c e determining t h e a t t e n u a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t , e n a b l i n g a more a c c u r a t e a p p r o x i mation of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e wave t a i l .
This
i n d u c t a n c e i s a p a r a m e t e r t o d e t e r m i n e t h e s h a p e of t h e
wave t a i l , and h a s n o t h i n g t o do w i t h t h e lumped induct a n c e o f t e n u s e d t o r e p r e s e n t t h e tower i t s e l f .
To e n a b l e c a l c u l a t i o n of each i n s u l a t o r v o l t a g e ,
t h e new tower model c o n s i s t s of f o u r s e c t i o n s d i v i d e d
a t t h e u p p e r , middle and lower p h a s e c r o s s a r m p o s i t i o n s .
Each s e c t i o n c o n s i s t s of a l o s s - f r e e t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e
a n d lumped c o n s t a n t s c o n s i s t i n g of a damping r e s i s t a n c e
s h u n t e d by a n i n d u c t a n c e .
Thus, t h e new tower model i s
m u l t i s t o r i e d a s shown i n Fig. 6 . The damping r e s i s t a n c e
i n each s e c t i o n i s determined from t h e r e s i s t a n c e p e r
u n i t l e n g t h of a t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e c a l c u l a t e d from t h e
p o s t u l a t e d s u r g e a t t e n u a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t of a tower.

Table I .

E s t i m a t e d Values of Tower Model C o n s t a n t s

f o r T r a n s m i s s i o n Tower Under Measurement.

I ConventionallConventionallNew

Tower s u r g e Zt1
impedance *1 Zt2

*I*2*3*4-

model ( 1 )
170 n
170 R

model ( 2 )
115 Ci
115 R

tower1
model
220 n
150 R

Ztl = ZT1 = Z T 2 = Z T 3 , and Z t 2 = ZT4.

Distortionless transmission l i n e sections.
L o s s - f r e e t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e a n d damping r e s i s t o r .
T = H/VT: Tower t r a v e l t i m e .
DISCUSSION

Fig. 6.

N e w m u l t i s t o r y t r a n s m i s s i o n tower model.

S e l e c t i o n o f Tower Model P a r a m e t e r s
The c i r c u i t p a r a m e t e r s of t h e new tower model w e r e
b a s i c a l l y determined from t h e measurement w i t h t h e
s t e e p - f r o n t c u r r e n t , a s t h e l i n e a r i t y of t h e system was
confirmed.
Higher v a l u e of t h e s u r g e impedance i s
assumed f o r t h e upper p a r t of t h e tower t o cope w i t h
t h e i n i t i a l l y h i g h t r a n s f e r impedance of t h e i n s u l a t o r
Because t h e
v o l t a g e s when ground w i r e s a r e connected.
r e s u l t of t h e m u l t i - c o n d u c t o r a n a l y s i s by EMTP was d i f f i c u l t t o p r e d i c t by c a l c u l a t i o n by hand, t h e optimum
v a l u e s of t h e tower s u r g e impedances and t h e a t t e n u a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t had t o be determined by a t r i a l and-error process.
The determined p a r a m e t e r s f o r t h e
new tower model i s l i s t e d i n T a b l e I .
I n F i g u r e s 7 and E, v a r i o u s waveforms c a l c u l a t e d
f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l and new tower models a r e shown f o r
comparison.
The employed p a r a m e t e r s f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l
models a r e l i s t e d a l s o i n T a b l e I .
The measured
r e s u l t s w e r e c o n v e r t e d i n t o t h e impedance e q u i v a l e n t s
a s f o l l o w s : f o r F i g . 7, t h e maximum v o l t a g e v a l u e was
d i v i d e d by t h e i n ~ e c t e dc u r r e n t a t t h e moment when t h e
8 , t h e maximum
v o l t a g e r e a c h e d maximum; f o r F i g .
v o l t a g e v a l u e s were d i v i d e d by t h e peak c u r r e n t v a l u e
i r r e s p e c t i v e of t h e i r t i m e .
The i n s u l a t o r v o l t a g e s of
u p p e r p h a s e , which a r e t h e h i g h e s t i n t h e measurements,
a r e b e s t s i m u l a t e d by t h e new tower model i r r e s p e c t i v e
o f t h e c u r r e n t waveform.

I n d e v e l o p i n g a s i m p l e c u i c u i t model t o r e p r e s e n t
a t r a n s m i s s i o n tower f o r l i g h t n i n g s u r g e a n a l y s i s , i t
u s u a l l y i s only an approximation, s i n c e t h e i n i t i a l
e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c f i e l d around a tower i s n o t TEM whereas
s i m p l e c i r c u i t e l e m e n t s c a n b e s t s i m u l a t e phenomena
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h TEM f i e l d .
A c o n i c a l tower i s a n
e x c e p t i o n , b u t t h e e f f e c t of t h e r e f l e c t e d wave from
t h e tower b a s e can no l o n g e r be s i m u l a t e d by a s i m p l e
loss-free
transmission l i n e .
Moreover, t h e s u r g e
r e s p o n s e of a t y p i c a l double c i r c u i t tower l i k e i n F i g .
l ( b ) i s more l i k e t h a t of a c y l i n d e r t h a n a cone a s i s
known from F i g . 3 .
The a u t h o r s ' approach t o t h i s problem i s b a s e d on
t h e measurement on a n a c t u a l double c i r c u i t t o w e r , and
t h e r e c e r t a i n l y i s limitation i n extending t h e r e s u l t s
drawn h e r e t o o t h e r t y p e s of t r a n s m i s s i o n t o w e r s .
However, from a s e n s i t i v i t y s t u d y of b a c k f l a s h r a t e s ,
t h e c i r c u i t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a tower become more
s i g n i f i c a n t when t h e tower h e i g h t exceeds a b o u t 40m
121.
Most of such h i g h t o w e r s more o r l e s s resemble
t h e one i n F i g . l ( b ) , t h e r e f o r e , t h e r e s u l t s i n t h i s
paper a r e still considered valuable.
For a tower h i g h e r t h a n a b o u t 40m, it i s p h y s i c a l l y more a p p r o p r i a t e t o s i m u l a t e it by a t r a n s m i s s i o n
l i n e t h a n by a lumped i n d u c t a n c e . With t h i s s e l e c t i o n ,
t h r e e p a r a m e t e r s need t o be d e t e r m i n e d , namely, t h e
s u r g e impedance ZT, t h e s u r g e v e l o c i t y VT a n d t h e s u r g e
a t t e n u a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t y.
When t h e i n j e c t e d l i g h t n i n g
c u r r e n t h a s a l o n g f r o n t d u r a t i o n r e l a t i v e t o t h e tower
t r a v e l t i m e T , t h e v a l u e of ZT/VT, p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e
e q u i v a l e n t tower i n d u c t a n c e , w i l l a f f e c t t h e peak v a l u e
T h e r e f o r e , t h e s e two
o f t h e tower p o t e n t i a l r i s e [ 2 ] .
p a r a m e t e r s i n a tower model a r e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d each
other.
Observed v a l u e s of t h e s u r g e v e l o c i t y a r e suscept i b l e t o measuring c o n d i t i o n s .
In the reflection
method, t h e moment of t h e a r r i v a l of t h e s u r g e wave
r e f l e c t e d from t h e tower b a s e i s u s u a l l y more ambiguous
i n t h e v o l t a g e waveform t h a n i n t h e d i r e c t method.
I n t h e d i r e c t method, on t h e o t h e r hand, t h e i n s u l a t o r
v o l t a g e i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y a f f e c t e d by a n a d d i t i o n a l
a d m i t t a n c e i n p a r a l l e l t o t h e i n s u l a t o r when ground
wires a r e n o t c o n n e c t e d t o t h e tower [ l l ] . P h y s i c a l l y ,
t h e s u r g e v e l o c i t y w i l l n e v e r exceed t h e s p e e d o f
light.
I n t h e o s c i l l o g r a m s i n F i g . 7 , t h e moments of
t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e s u r g e wave from t h e tower b a s e a r e
c l e a r , and t h e s p e e d of t h e s u r g e i s v e r y c l o s e t o t h e
s p e e d of l i g h t .
T h e r e f o r e , i t i s concluded t h a t t h e
a c t u a l v e l o c i t y of t h e s u r g e i s n e a r l y t h e s p e e d o f

1331

o n v e n t i o n a l model ( 1 )
171 V 8 5 Q

' o n v e n t i o n a l model ( 2 )
143 V 6 9 n

N e w tower model

184 V

968

111 V

568

Tower
top
vo 1t a ge
(100%)

Upper p h a s e
insulator
voltage
97 V

48.Q ( 1 0 8 % )

2IX)\

Middle phase
insulator
v o lt a q e

IM

Lower phase
insulator
voltage

-+
.*I

I,.'_L..,

326

20 8

' "&!

Current
flowing
i n t o ground
wire

Fig. 7.

----&

-. _ _ _ _

:k
I

3/15

Comparison between c a l c u l a t e d and measured waveforms, ground wires c o n n e c t e d t o tower t o p , S t e e P - f r o n t

current injected.

C a l c u l a t e d Waveforms ( F i g s . 7 and 8 ) :

__ Tower t o p o r i n s u l a t o r v o l t a g e

V o l t a g e a t tower c r o s s a r m p o s i t i o n
induced on p h a s e conductor

_ _ _Voltage
-

l e a s u r e d ( Sweep :0 . 5 P s / d i v )

:onventional model ( 1 )
79 V 2 3 . 2 Q

z o n v e n t i o n a l model ( 2 )
98 V 28.8R

Tower
tOP
voltage

Upper p h a s e
insulator
v o l t age

jw,

Middle phase
insulator
vo I t a ge

Lower phase
insulator
vo I t a ge

Fig. 8.

Comparison between c a l c u l a t e d and measured waveforms, ground w i r e s c o n n e c t e d t o tower t o p , slow-front

current inlected.

1332
light, and the crossanns of a double circuit tower
do not much affect the actual surge velocity.
Because the transfer impedance of the tower is
time dependent, the value of ZT cannot be determined
from an instantaneous value of the impedance. Because
of the reason discussed before, if the equivalent surge
velocity is chosen as the speed of light, optimum
ZT will be higher than the case of slower VT for lightning current of a slow front. To cope with the case of
steep-front current to a high tower, it is desirable
for the tower model capable of handling the timevarying nature of the transfer impedance to some extent.
This is the reason why the tapered surge impedance and
a sophisticated treatment of the surge attenuation
coefficient was introduced in the new tower model.
The observed transfer impedance of the insulator
voltage is initially high and decreases in a short time
for a ground-wired tower. But even taking into account
the preceding discussions, the selected surge impedances of the new tower model is considerably higher than
the measurement with ground wires isolated from the
tower. It is known from the aurthors' experiment using
a geometrical model, that the influence of horizontally
installed current-injection cable, instead of vertical
installation, cannot be disregarded in the measurement
of tower alone, but this influence is much smaller in
the measurement of a ground-wired tower. So errors in
the measurement is considered not significant.
The reason of the considerably high values of the
surge impedance in the new tower model might be attributed to the Semlyen model used in the multi-conductor
analysis of EMTP. In this calculation, the effect of
the field retardation cannot be simulated, and the
voltage on the ground wires is instantaneously induced
on the phase wires.
This will lead to an overestimation of the effect of the coupling between the
ground wires and a phase conductor during the time as
long as about the tower travel time. If compensating
this effect by the value of equivalent surge impedance
of the tower, it must be higher than a value to be chosen in a single-conductor analysis.
The high tower surge impedance will affect the
initial portion of the current flowing into gound wires,
though the effect doesn't last for a long time. As is
seen in Fig. 7, the calculated current flowing into a
ground wire for the case of the new tower model is 1.3
times of the measurement. But the corona effect will
certainly increase the initial current into the ground
wires from the case of low-voltage measurement. Further
studies to include the corona effect are desirable in
the next step.

analyzed equivalent circuit for the UHV line.

Each phase line has an ac voltage source of 1100 x
n//Tcos (wt + e ) kV on both ends to account for the
superposition of the phase voltage on the surge voltage.
Tower height is 107m. Lightning current was injected
into No. 3 tower and the impedance of the lightning
discharge path was assumed to be 400n. Whether or not
a flashover occurred on an arcing horn of each insulator string was judged based on the leader model [121
for a long air gap.
Calculation was made for gap
length of 5m, which was reduced from the actual length
of 5.9m, taking into account a safety factor. Corona
effects were not considered.
Table I1 lists minimum peak currents causing back
flashover on a UHV line. The wave front of the current
is lps. The minimum peak current is affected by the
phase of the AC voltage, and is 150 to 180 kA for the
new tower model, whereas it is 180 to 210 kA for both
the conventional models.
The use of the new tower
model is recommended for safety-side lightning protection design when the multi-conductor lightning surge
analysis is performed by EMTP.
Table 11. Minimum Lightning Stroke Current Causing
Back Flashover On a UHV Transmission Tower.
(Current of linearly rising front.

10

11

12

Conventional
model ( 1)
FO
I MLSC
phase
kA

Middle
Middle
Middle

Conventional
model ( 2 )
FO
I MLSC
phase
kA

200kA Middle
200kA Middle
200kA Middle

1 p.u. = 1100 x

n/n=
898

Zo= 4000
Grouritl wires

1
'l'ower

Fig. 9. Equivalent circuit for a U W transmission line.

New tower
model
FO
1 MLSC
phase
kA

200kA Middle
190kA Middle
200kA Middle

APPLICATION TO U W TRANSMISSION LINE

Back flashover conditions of a UHV transmission
line were analyzed using the conventional tower models
( 1), ( 2 ) and the new tower model.
Figure 9 shows the

Wave front: lps)

kV.

18OkA
180kA
180kA

1333
CONCLUSIONS

[E]

A r e l i a b l e low-current
measurement of i n s u l a t o r
v o l t a g e s on an a c t u a l double c i r c u i t 500kV t r a n s m i s s i o n tower was performed u s i n g a d i r e c t method.
The
t r a n s f e r impedance of t h e tower c o n s i d e r a b l y v a r i e s
depending on whether o r n o t t h e ground w i r e s a r e connected t o t h e tower.

Based on t h e above measurement, a new m u l t i s t o r y

tower model f o r a d o u b l e - c i r c u i t tower w i t h ground
wires i s developed t o be used i n t h e m u l t i - c o n d u c t o r
l i g h t n i n g s u r g e a n a l y s i s by EMTP.
This a n a l y s i s
e n a b l e s t o p r e d i c t t h e waveform of each i n s u l a t o r
v o l t a g e , which i s u s e f u l i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e p h a s e and
t h e i n s t a n t of a back f l a s h o v e r .
The new tower model
i s recommended i n Japan t o be used i n t h e m u l t i conductor a n a l y s i s of EHV- and UHV-class double c i r c u i t
transmission l i n e s .
The new tower model and c o n v e n t i o n a l tower models
a r e compared i n t h e a n a l y s i s of minimum b a c k - f l a s h o v e r
l i g h t n i n g c u r r e n t s a t a UHV t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e .
The new
model g i v e s about 2 0 % s m a l l e r c u r r e n t , a more c r i t i c a l
estimation.
I t i s known from t h e measurement t h a t t h e a c t u a l
s u r g e v e l o c i t y i n t h e tower i s c l o s e t o t h e v e l o c i t y of
l i g h t , and i s n o t much i n f l u e n c e d by t h e e x i s t e n c e of
c r o s s a r m s of a double c i r c u i t tower.
But when t h e
equivalent
surge velocity
i n t h e tower model i s
s e l e c t e d a s t h e speed of l i g h t , t h e e q u i v a l e n t tower
s u r g e impedance may need t o be a h i g h e r v a l u e t h a n i n
t h e c a s e of a slower e q u i v a l e n t s u r g e v e l o c i t y .
A c o n s i d e r a b l y h i g h e r tower s u r g e impedance i s
s e l e c t e d i n t h e new tower model t h a n t h e v a l u e p r e d i c t e d
from t h e measurement of a tower w i t h i s o l a t e d ground
w i r e s . The d i f f e r e n c e i s i n h e r e n t , however, t h e u s e of
t h e Semlyen model i n t h e EMTP i s a m p l i f y i n g t h e d i f f erence.

The h i g h e q u i v a l e n t s u r g e impedance of t h e new

tower model r e s u l t s i n a h i g h e r i n i t i a l c u r r e n t f l o w i n g
i n t o a ground w i r e t h a n a measured v a l u e .
Corona
e f f e c t s , which i s n o t c o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s p a p e r , w i l l
a l s o a f f e c t on t h i s a s p e c t .
These problems s h o u l d be
i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e f u t u r e work.
REFERENCES

Transmission = R e f e r e n c e
Book
345 kV and
Above/Second E d i t i o n , p u b l i s h e d by E P R I , P a l o
A l t o , C a l i f o r n i a , 1982.
W. A .
Chisholm
et
al.,
"Travel
Time
of
Transmission Towers," I E E E T r a n s . , v o l . PAS-104,
N O . 1 0 , 1985, pp. 2922-2928.
J . Ozawa e t a l . , " L i g h t n i n g Surge A n a l y s i s i n a
M u l t i c o n d u c t o r System f o r S u b s t a t i o n I n s u l a t i o n
Design," I E E E T r a n s . , v o l . PAS-104, N o . 8 , 1985,
p p . 2244-2254.
E l e c t r o Magnetic T r a n s i e n t s Program (EMTP) Rule
Portland
Book Mode 31, p u b l i s h e d by B . P . A . ,
Oregon, A p r i l 1982.
R . Lundholm e t a l . , " C a l c u l a t i o n of Transmission
Line L i g h t n i n g Voltage by F i e l d Concepts,"
T r a_
n s . , v o l . 77, 1958, pp. 1271-1283.
_
C . F . Wagner and A . R . Hileman, "A N e w Approach
t o t h e C a l c u l a t i o n of t h e L i g h t n i n g Performance
of Transmission L i n e s 1 1 1 - A S i m p l i f i e d Method:
S t r o k e t o Tower," A I E E T r a n s . , v o l . 79, 1960, pp.
589-603.
M.
A.
S a r g e n t and M . Darveniza,
"Tower Surge
Impedance," I E E E T r a n s . , v o l . PAS-88, No. 5 ,
1969, pp. 680-687.
_ _ I _ _

~~

[91

[lo!

ill]

[12:

B r a u n s t e i n , "The Induced Overvoltages Across

t h e Insulator
S t r i n g s of
Power Transmission
Systems due t o D i r e c t L i g h t n i n g S t r o k e s ," I E E E
PES Sunmer Meeting, Paper C72 559-3, 1972.
W. A . Chisholm e t a l . , " L i g h t n i n g Surge Response
of
Transmission
Towers,"
IEEE
Trans.,
vol.
PAS-102, N O . 9 , 1983, pp. 3232-3242.
G . D . Breuer e t a l . , " F i e l d S t u d i e s of t h e Surge
Tower and
Response of a 345-kV Transmission
Ground Wire," A I E E T r a n s . , v o l . 77, 1958, pp.
1392- 1396.
M . Kawai, " S t u d i e s of t h e Surge Response on a
Tower," ~
I E E E _T r a n_s . , _v o l .
Transmission L i n e
PAS-83, 1964, pp. 30-34.
T. Shindo and T.
S u z u k i , "A N e w C a l c u l a t i o n
Method of Breakdown Voltage-Time C h a r a c t e r i s t i c
of Long A i r Gaps," IEEE T r a n s . , v o l . PAS-104,
No. 6 , 1985, pp. 1556-1563.
A.

ACKNObILEDGEMENT

The a u t h o r s a r e g r a t e f u l t o t h e members of t h e
Committee f o r Surge S t u d i e s i n E l e c t r i c Power Systems
o f t h e I E E of J a p a n f o r many u s e f u l d i s c u s s i o n s .

I s h_
i i (SM'87)_ i s an a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r of
I n s t i t u t e of I n d u s t r i a l S c i e n c e , U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo,
Tokyo, Japan.
He r e c e i v e d B.S., M.S. and D r . Eng.
d e g r e e i n 1971, 1973 and 1976 a l l from U n i v e r s i t y of
H i s s p e c i a l t y i s high voltage engineering.
Tokyo.

Masaru
~

( 5 ' 5 6 - M'59) i s a p r o f e s s o r of
I n s t i t u t e of I n d u s t r i a l S c i e n c e , U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo,
Tokyo, Japan.
H e r e c e i v e d B.S., M.S. and D r . Eng.
d e g r e e i n 1954, 1956 and 1959, r e s p e c t i v e l y a l l from
U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo.
H i s s p e c i a l t y i s HV and power
engineering.

Tatsuo Kawamura
___-

Teruya Kouno (M'78) i s a p r o f e s s o r of t h e Department of

E l e c t r i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g , U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo, Tokyo,
Japan.
He r e c e i v e d B.S., M.S. and D r . Eng. d e g r e e i n
1957, 1959 and 1962, each from U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo.
H i s s p e c i a l t y i s high voltage engineering.

i s a manager of
E i i_
c h_
i _
Ohsaki
_
_

UHV Transmission L i n e
P r e p a r a t i o n O f f i c e , Tokyo E l e c t r i c Power C o . ,
Inc.,
H e received B . S .
d e g r e e i n 1973 from
Tokyo, Japan.
M e i j i U n i v e r s i t y , Tokyo, J a p a n .
H e h a s been engaged
mainly i n i n s u l a t i o n d e s i g n and s u r g e a n a l y s i s of UHV
t r a n s m i s s i o n system.

Kazuyuki Shiokawa i s a member of UHV New Technology

P r o j e c t Team, E n g i n e e r i n g Department, Tokyo E l e c t r i c
Power Co., I n c . , Tokyo, Japan.
He r e c e i v e d B.S. d e g r e e
i n 1982 from Keio U n i v e r s i t y , Tokyo, J a p a n .
He h a s
been engaged mainly i n i n s u l a t i o n d e s i g n and s u r g e anal y s i s of UHV t r a n s m i s s i o n system.
Kaneyoshi Murotani (M'69) i s t h e deputy manager of
Power Equipment Div. 11, N i s s i n E l e c t r i c Co., L t d . ,
Kyoto, Japan.
He r e c e i v e d B.S. d e g r e e i n 1960 from
U n i v e r s i t y of Tokyo, Tokyo, J a p a n .
H e h a s been engaged
mainly i n r e s e a r c h and development works on power capac i t o r and G I S .
Takemitsu Higuchi i s t h e d i r e c t o r of Koyaguchi C o n t r o l
C e n t e r , Kansai E l e c t r i c Power Co.,
I n c . , Wakayama,
Japan.
He g r a d u a t e d Osaka T e c h n i c a l J u n i o r C o l l e g e ,
Osaka, J a p a n i n 1966 and completed a s p e c i a l c o u r s e of
Osaka U n i v e r s i t y , Osaka i n 1968.
He h a s been engaged
mainly i n t h e r e s e a r c h on l i g h t n i n g p r o t e c t i o n .

1334
Surge Response of Ishii Tower

Discussion

W.A. CHISHOLM (Ontario Hydro Research Division. Toronto,

Ontario, Canada): I would first compliment the authors on completing a full-scale test of surge response on a complete tower skywire - phase conductor system. Scale measurements are
instructive, but do not allow modeling of magnetic permeability
and soil resistivity in a realistic way. Other full-scale measurements, including those reported in reference 191, were performed
on isolated towers or partially-complete systems. While we
obtained good agreement between model and full-scale tests using
both "direct" and "reflected" techniques, we had an advantage of
very low soil resistivity (p = 4-6 0-m). The authors' test geometry
is more representative of a real EHV transmission line.
The authors state that Chisholm, Chow and Snvastava
recommend a model with reduced surge propagation velocity 121.
This is not quite correct. We assume that all propagation along
tower elements takes place at the speed of light. There are no
dielectric materials near the tower, and we ignore corona effects.
The additional travel time contributed by tower cross-arms is
caused by extra path length. A part of the surge current splits at
each junction between the tower and the cross-arms. Some small
part of the surge current will travel from top to base at light velocity. The bulk of the current will, however, be reflected and
refracted several times. It is this additional path length that
increases the time needed to see a complete reflection from
ground. I believe that the authors' Figure 7 shows a return
reflection more than 500 ns after the initial rise. The two-way
travel time expected from a 63-m tower would be only 420 ns. An
expanded figure would clarify this point.

Time (microseconds)

Figure Al: Calculated Tower-Top Transfer Impedance

Surge Response of Ishii Tower

The experimental technique is exciting the impedance

between the tower and the outer sheath of the co-axial feed line.
This structure can be treated as a biconical antenna, with the cone
angle changing as the wave radiates out from tower top. The angle
associated with the coaxial cable sheath will be small, and the
resulting source impedance will be about 500-600 0.This will be
dominated by the 1-kn source resistor.

In the first 25 ns, the cross-arm supporting the skywire

is a cone with an impedance of 146 R. After encountering the
tower body, the angle decreases somewhat, and the tower
impedance increases to about 190 R. At ground level, the cone
angle increases, leading to a surge response for the ground plane
that falls to 15 fi at some distance /All.

Time (microseconds)

Figure A2: Calculated Transfer Impedance at Top Crossarm

to introduce a model for the travel-time delay. With this tower and
skywire model, voltages at several points were calculated for a unit
step current. Figures A1 to A4 show the calculated transfer
impedances at tower top and each tower crossarm position.
The "tower-top voltage" indicates the current injected
into the skywire. It can also be compared with the "Tower Top
Voltage" predictions for the three tower models. It is closest to
Conventional Model 1. Dividing the 80-n transfer impedance by
the 266-n skywire impedance gives a ratio of 0.30. Thus, 30% of
the injected current will initially go down the skywires and 70%
will proceed down the tower. The measured value for the initial
current split appears to be 2x0.21 or 0.42 if the "current flowing
into ground wire" of Figure 7 is for a single groundwire. After 500
ns, the reflection from tower base decreases slowly. After several

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Time (microseconds)

Figures A2 to A4 show transfer impedance waveshapes

at tower crossarm positions. In all cases, peak transfer impedances

Figure A3: Calculated Transfer Impedance at Middle Crossarm

1335

Surge Response of IshiiTower

01

"

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Time (microseconds)

Figure A4: Calculated Transfer Impedance at Bottom Crossarm

of nearly 100 Q are seen. These values are almost double the
observed insulator voltages, which highlights the importance of
coupled voltages to the phase wire in the overall problem. Some
details of predicted waveshapes are seen in the oscilloscope
records. The top crossarm shows considerable oscillation and
other crossarms show two initial steps. The reflection from ground
is a slow decrease rather than a sharp drop in potential.

I am somewhat troubled by the coupling model. I

would expect the phase conductors to act as antennas,rather than
surge impedances over ground, during the period before a
reflection has returned from tower top. 1 would appreciate the
authors' views on this point.

REFERENCE
/AI/

"Lightning Surge Response of Ground Electrodes", W.A.

Chisholm and W. Janischewskyj, IEEE 88 SM 562-1,
Presented at IEEE-PESSummer Meeting, Portland, Oregon,July 1988.

Manuscript received February 27, 1989

M. ISH11 and K. MUROTANI:

We appreciate Dr. Chisholm's

valuable comments and the detailed analysis of the fine
structure of the transfer impedance of the tower.
Dr. Chisholm's remark on actual and equivalent
surge velocities is an important point, and we believe
that our interpretation is essentially the same. There
is no doubt that the surge propagates along a tower
element in the air with the speed of light. When the
tower is modeled by a simple transmission line, its
equivalent surge velocity is closely related to its
surge impedance. And it is difficult to independently
determine the equivalent surge velocity from an oscil-

logram of the step response of the tower, which usually

does not clearly show the arrival of the reflected
surge wave from the ground. In Fig. 7, however, the
indication of the arrival o f the reflection from the
ground is rather clear, yielding the apparent surge
velocity being close to the speed of light. Thus. in
this study, the equivalent surge velocity was chosen to
be the speed of light. then the surge impedance best
fit for this velocity was determined.
A l l the waveforms obtained in the full-scale test
were also digitized every lOns with 8-bit resolution,
and the apparent two-way travel times of the surge
could be determined fros the digitized records with the
time resolution of 10ns. For the waveforms of Fig. 7.
the insulator voltage of the upper phase yields the
two-way travel time of 440ns, and skywire current
yields 450 to 46011s. Taking into account the length of
the tower arm of 7m and the skywire support of 1Om. the
apparent velocity for the voltage waveform of the upper
phase is 98%. and that for the skywire current waveform
is 98-100% of the speed of light. Therefore, from
these figures. the influence of the crossarms on the
apparent velocity is not obvious.
On the other hand, if the apparent velocity is
determined based on the height of the measuring point,
i t is 87% of the speed of light from the voltage waveform of the upper phase. and is 91-93% from the skywire
current waveform. The apparent velocity so determined
is slower for the insulator voltages of lower positions, because the proportion of the arm length in the
Propagation path increases. As the travel time in each
section of the multistory tower model is determined in
the way shown in Fig. 6 , it might have been more appropriate to choose the equivalent surge velocity as
about 90% of the speed of light. For that choice,
lower tower surge impedance than that for the new tower
model in Table 1 will be selected.
Dr. Chisholm's detailed analysis on the transfer
impedance of the tower succeeds in qualitatively explaining the fine structure of the measured waveforms.
It indeed demonstrates that steps and oscillations seen
in the oscillograms of Fig. 7 are not noises. The
reason why high frequency components are not seen in
the oscillograms is not for the limitation of the frequency response of the measuring system, but for the
response characteristics of the impedance of a cylindrical structure as seen in Fig. 3. The values of impedance of various parts adopted in Dr. Chisholm's
analysis may need some adjustments to explain the initial current split of 42% to skywires.
We agree that the phase conductors act as antennas
in the beginning. As we used EMTP in the surge analysis of the multiphase system, we had to simplify the
representation of the phase conductors. B u t we suppose
that this simplification resulted in the selection of
the rather high initial surge impedance of 2 2 0 R for
the new model, which is nearly twice as high as the
maximum transient impedance of the tower without skywires, as seen in Fig. 3.

Manuscript received August 20. 1990.