LOCATION OF DIRECT LIGHTNING IMPACTS TO OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINES

BY MEANS OF A TIME OF ARRIVAL

ALGORITHM
Outline
Why?
Assumptions of the Method
Description of the Method
Case of Study
Montecarlos Simulation Description
Results and Performance
Future Work
Why is important to know where the lightning had impacted?
To monitor activities related to the keraunic level and density distribution along the
transmission lines.

To schedule and program the power system operation in order to decrease the outages rates.

To get information about the lines response to lightning strikes
Assumptions & Considerations
1. Velocity of the traveling waves is
assumed to be constant and equals
to each direction (v=c)
3. The length of the Impact
location is calculated from
each end of the line
2. The acquisition systems are assumed to be time synchronized
and the distance d between them is known
Assumptions & Considerations
The time of arrival can be estimated from the waves front
Time of arrival estimation by the
currents signal slope:
90 10
10 10
90 10
OA
t t
t t I
I I
| |

=
|

\ .
1 2
1 2
OA OA
x x
t t
u = =
1
1 2
2
1 2
1
2
OA
OA OA
OA
OA OA
t
x d
t t
t
x d
t t
=
+
=
+
Signal Processing
Some signal processing to improve the
performance of the time of arrival
estimation:
Frequency content description:
Operation frequency -> 60Hz.
Some frequency components are
produced by reflections at the ends of
individual spans (fspan).
There is an additional frequency
associated to the reflection of the total
lines length.
2
span
span
c
f
x
=
Signal Processing
Frequency Content associated to lightning
strikes:
the most representative frequency
components associated to the lightning
discharge current are produced by its
rise time tf.
Probability distribution of time rise:
Exponential Moving Average (EMA)
Low pass filter capabilities, but with a faster response to trend changes
( )
2
2
ln
2
0.188
0.411
1
2
1.77 3<I<20kA
0.906 I>20kA
0.494
f
t
f
f
f t e
t
I
I

o
o t

o
| |

|
|
\ .
=

=

=
( )
1
1
k k k
k
x x x x o
+
+
= +
Signal Processing
t90 t10
Fc=50
[kHz]
Fc=500
[kHz]
Fc=50
[kHz]
Fc=500
[kHz]
Band Frequency of Interest
Extraction
1
X
2
X
yes
No
No
t90 t10
Time of Arrival
Algorithm
-
1
X
Total Lines
Length
+
d
+
-
2
X
Sensors
Current Signal
Measured at
Begining
Sufficient Signal Energy to
Determine Location of the
Strike?
EMA
Sensors
Current Signal
Measured at
End
EMA
Noise Reduction with EMA
filtering
yes
Time of Arrival
Algorithm
Total Lines
Length
d
Estimated Strike
Location along the
Overhead Line
Band Frequency selection and Noise reduction by Signal Processing at each end of the line
Line Modeling & Statistical Performance
Models used for performance evaluation:
ATP/EMTPs Line Constants sub-
routine for each middle span
-Jmarti Model
-Untransposed Line
Soil resistivity was assumed to be
constant and equal to 100m
Users Models subroutine for
signal processing and time of
arrival estimation
Line Modeling & Statistical Performance
Monte Carlo Based Simulation :
Peak Current Determination:
Time Rise Determination:
5000 cases were simulated in order to get convergence of the Monte Carlo method
ln(61) 1.33
ln(33.03) 0.605
I<20kA
I 20kA
(0,1)
f
f
e
I
e
f N
+
+

=

>

0.188
0.411
ln(1.77(I) ) 0.494
ln(0.906*(I) ) 0.494
I<20kA
I 20kA
(0,1)
f
f
f
e
t
e
f N
+
+

=

>

Simulated Point of Impact:

| |
100
(0,1)
x km f
f U
=
Time Decay:
77
c
t s =
Line Modeling & Statistical Performance
Monte Carlo Based Simulation - Automatic cases generator
MODELS
ATP File
(*.atp)
MATLAB
ATP Draw
Case Base, Line Topology and Characteristics
FOREING
MODEL
Uniform
Random
Location of
Strikes
Discharge
Parameters
ATP File (*.atp)
ATP File (*.atp)
Simulation
Case
Theoretical
Strike
Location
MODELS
FOREING
MODELS
Estimated
Strike
Location
Error Analysis and Performance
Case 1: direct lightning strikes to the earth wire
without flashover possibility (back-flashover was not
included)
Case 2: direct lightning strikes to the earth wire with
flashover possibility (a back-flashover model was
included)
Case 3: along the simulated transmission line, some
parameters were modified, creating zones with more
susceptibility for fault.
( ) | |
0.75
710
400
fe
V t W kV
t
| |
= +
|
\ .
Line Modeling & Statistical Performance
Results and performance of the method for cases 1 and 2
Percentages of error for flashover and no-flashover cases:
0 20 40 60 80 100
0
50
100
Error [%]
P
e
r
c
e
n
t

o
f

D
a
t
a

[
%
]


No Flashover
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0
2
4
Error [%]
P
e
r
c
e
n
t

o
f

D
a
t
a

[
%
]


Flashover
About 96% of the simulated
strikes location data have been
estimated with an absolute error
of 2.5%
From the data with possibility of
flashover, the error was in major
under 5%
Line Modeling & Statistical Performance
Case 3: Proposed case base to analyze the performance to detect high flashover rates zones along
the line.
Identifying susceptible zones for flashover -a tool for corrective maintenance-
Conclusions
The method performance was evaluated on a 500kV line and reported an accuracy lower
than 3% for the estimated location.

The usefulness of the method as a tool for corrective maintenance, to find susceptible zones
for flashing along the line.

The method and scheme of simulation can be used for insulation coordination with a specific
discharge density and would be useful to propose corrective actions to an existent
transmission line.

Future Work
As a complement for the presented method a future work is proposed in order to
determine from the current signal measured the peak current of the lightning strike (more
objective criteria for maintenance operations).

Take into account the interaction between the phases and the ground wire: