UPEC2010

31st Aug - 3rd Sept 2010

Effects of Simulation Models of Overhead

Transmission Line Basic Components on
Backflashover Surges Impinging on GIS Substations
Pantelis N. Mikropoulos1 , Thomas E. Tsovilis, Zacharias G. Datsios and Nikos C. Mavrikakis
High Voltage Laboratory, School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
1
pnm@eng.auth.gr

Abstract- Overvoltages arising in 150 kV and 400 kV GIS

substations due to backflashover of the incoming overhead
transmission lines were computed with the aid of ATP-EMTP
simulations, by considering the effects of several simulation
models of the basic transmission line components. The
protection offered against impinging surges by surge arresters
operating at the substation entrance is evaluated with respect to
the basic insulation level of the GIS system. The computed
overvoltages vary considerably among tower grounding system
models and among insulator string flashover models whereas
rather insignificantly among tower simulation models. There is
no systematic variation in computed overvoltages among
insulator string flashover models. Single vertical lossless line
models and a constant rather than a current dependent
resistance are considered, in terms of simulation simplicity and
safe design, as satisfactory for simulating transmission line
tower and its grounding resistance, respectively, in insulation
coordination studies of substations.
Index TermsATP-EMTP, backflashover, fast-front
overvoltages, GIS substations, insulation coordination, lightning,
overhead transmission lines.

I. INTRODUCTION
Lightning surges may impinge on substations due to either
backflashover in the connected overhead transmission lines,
that is, flashover of line insulation caused by lightning flash
to shield wire, or shielding failure in the incoming overhead
lines, that is, lightning flash to phase conductors. The
impinging surges may cause substation outages, thus,
consequently, interruptions in power supply, which result in
economic losses and affect reliability of power systems. Thus,
insulation coordination of substations necessitates the
estimation of the arising backflashover and shielding failure
overvoltages. This can be accomplished analytically [1] or
through computer simulations [2].
For modeling of the basic components of overhead
transmission lines, that is, the towers and their grounding
system and flashover of insulator strings, several simulation
models have been proposed in literature. Specifically, tower
segments are modeled either as single-phase vertical lossless
lines with the same [3]-[10] or different surge impedance
(multiconductor models) [10]-[13] or as a combination of the
latter and lumped circuit elements (multistory models) [14][17]. The tower grounding system is represented by models of
either constant [6], [18] or current dependent grounding

resistance; the latter models consider the reduction in the

tower grounding resistance associated with soil ionization
[19]-[25]. Flashover of insulator strings is represented by
voltage-dependent switches, considering either the voltagetime characteristic of the insulator strings [26], [27] or leader
progression models [28], [29].
In the present study the overvoltages arising at the entrance
of 150 kV and 400 kV GIS substations due to backflashover
of the incoming overhead transmission lines, normally
associated with higher amplitude and steepness than shielding
failure overvoltages, are evaluated with the aid of ATPEMTP simulations, by considering several simulation models
of the basic components of the lines. The computed
overvoltages vary significantly among tower grounding
system models and among insulator string flashover models;
the effect of tower simulation models is rather insignificant.
The present analysis is important for insulation coordination
of substations since the computed peak overvoltages are used
for the evaluation of the substation outage rate as well as for
the selection of the necessary protection measures.
II. SIMULATION MODELS OF THE BASIC COMPONENTS OF
OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINES
A. Tower Models
Transmission line towers are divided in segments between
the crossarms. Each segment is represented by either a
vertical
lossless
single-phase
frequency-independent
distributed parameter line or by a combination of the latter
and lumped circuit elements [3]-[17] (Fig. 1). Thus, tower
models can be classified into three categories.

Fig. 1. Tower models: (a) single vertical lossless line models [3]-[10], (b)
multiconductor models [11], [12] (c) Hara et al. multiconductor model [10],
(d) multistory models [14]-[16], (e) Baba & Ishii multistory model [17].

i. Single vertical lossless line tower models

By following a simplified approach, towers can be
represented by a simple geometric shape, such as a cylinder
or a cone, with surge impedance calculated according to
expressions derived theoretically or through scale model
experiments (Table I). Thus, all tower segments between the
crossarms are represented by using an equal surge impedance,
ZT () [Fig. 1(a)]. The surge propagation velocity is assumed
equal to 85% of the speed of light [6]. The surge impedance
of the 150 kV and 400 kV line towers under study (Fig. 2)
according to different tower models is given in Table I.

TABLE I
TOWER SURGE IMPEDANCE FOR SINGLE VERTICAL LOSSLESS LINE MODELS

TABLE II
SURGE IMPEDANCE ACCORDING TO MULTICONDUCTOR TOWER MODELS

Fig. 2. Typical towers of (a) 150 kV and (b) 400 kV double-circuit lines of
the Hellenic transmission system; the length of insulator strings is 1.86 m and
3.62 m for the 150 kV and 400 kV line, respectively.

ii. Multiconductor tower models

By representing tower segments by multiconductor vertical
lossless lines [11] or, for simplicity, by single lossless lines
[11], [12], the surge impedance of each segment can be
calculated through expressions derived from electromagnetic
field analysis. Thus, according to multiconductor models the
tower segments are simulated as single vertical lossless lines
with different surge impedance, ZTi [Fig. 1(b)]. Hara et al.
[10] based on scale model experimental results proposed a
simulation model, which takes also into account the effect of
bracings and crossarms by representing the former by lossless
lines, ZLi, in parallel to the lines of the tower segments, ZTi,
and the latter by lossless horizontal lines, ZAi [Fig. 1(c)]. The
surge propagation velocity is assumed equal to the speed of
light. The surge impedance of the segments of the towers of
the 150 kV and 400 kV lines (Fig. 2) calculated according to
models [10]-[12] is given in Table II.
iii. Multistory tower models
Each tower segment is modeled as a lossless line in series
with an R-L parallel circuit [Figs. 1(d) and 1(e)]. The values
of the surge impedance of tower segments, ZTi, and the
attenuation coefficient (Table III) are determined by a trialand-error process so as to fit measured [14]-[16] or accurately

computed [17] voltage waveforms at several points along

Japanese large-scale towers. he damping resistances and
inductances, Ri and Li respectively, can be estimated for
models [14]-[16] [Fig. 1(d)] as

Ri =

2 Z Ti ln
h1 + h2 + h3

hi , i = 1 3 and R4 = 2 Z T 4 ln (1)

Li = Ri

ki h
vT

, i = 1 4

(2)

where h is the tower height, h1, h2, h3 (m) are defined in Fig.
1, ki = 2, and vT is the surge propagation velocity equal to the
speed of light. Baba and Ishii model [17] incorporates fixed

TABLE III
SURGE IMPEDANCE AND ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT ACCORDING TO

TABLE VI
CURRENT DEPENDENT TOWER GROUNDING RESISTANCE MODELS

MULTISTORY TOWER MODELS

TABLE IV
DAMPING RESISTANCE AND ki ACCORDING TO BABA & ISHII [17]

TABLE V
DAMPING RESISTANCE AND INDUCTANCE FOR MULTISTORY TOWER MODELS

C. Insulator String Flashover Models

According to [26], [27], flashover of line insulation occurs
when the voltage across the insulator strings becomes equal
to flashover strength VFO(kV) determined by the voltage-time
characteristic of the insulator strings. VFO(kV) is given as [27]
VFO = ( 400 + 710 t 0.75 ) D

values of Ri (Table IV) and inductances, Li, calculated

according to (2) by using the values of ki given in Table IV.
The values of the damping resistances and inductances of the
towers of the 150 kV and 400 kV lines (Fig. 2), calculated
according to models [14]-[17], are listed in Table V.
B. Tower Grounding System Models
Following a simplified approach, a concentrated tower
grounding system can be represented as a constant resistance
equal to the low current and low frequency grounding
resistance, R0 [6], [18]. Alternatively, according to models
[19]-[25], a concentrated tower grounding system can be
modeled by a current dependent grounding resistance, R(I), so
as to consider the reduction due to soil ionization in the
grounding resistance from the initial value of R0. Soil
ionization occurs when the lightning current, I, flowing
through the grounding system, results in the electric field
strength at the surface of the grounding electrodes to attain a
value equal to soil ionization gradient, E0. The tower
grounding system can be modeled in ATP-EMTP on the basis
of the expressions shown in Table VI with the aid of
MODELS.

(3)

where D(m) is the insulator string length and t(s) the elapsed
time after lightning stroke.
According to leader progression models [28], [29] line
insulation flashover occurs when the insulator string length is
bridged by a leader. The leader progresses when the average
electric field strength in the unabridged gap becomes equal to
or higher than a critical value E0. Leader progression models
employ differential equations (Table VII) to compute the
leader length, L, at each time instant; flashover occurs when L
becomes equal to the gap length, D, that is, the insulator
string length. Thus, the 150 kV and 400 kV line insulator
strings were represented by voltage-dependent flashover
switches with the aid of MODELS by incorporating (3)
according to [26], [27] and the differential equations shown in
Table VII according to leader progression models [28], [29].
TABLE VII
LEADER PROGRESSION MODELS

III. OVERVOLTAGES ARISING IN GIS SUBSTATIONS

ATP-EMTP simulations were performed for two 150 kV
and 400 kV GIS substation configurations (Fig. 3). For both
substations, the last section of 1.75 km of the incoming
overhead transmission lines was represented by a sequence of
J.Marti frequency dependent models, considering the line
span (350 m) and the tower geometries shown in Fig. 2. The
underground XLPE power cables were represented by the
Bergeron model. Surge arresters were modeled as nonlinear
current dependent resistors taking into account their
characteristics (Table VIII). GIS bays were represented as
lossless stub lines with a surge impedance of 75 [2]. The
step-up transformers were represented by a capacitance picircuit together with BCTRAN model. Cable connections and
the surge arrester lead lengths shorter than 3 m were modeled
by a lumped parameter inductance of 1H/m [2]. The earth
resistivity was assumed 200 m.

Fig. 3. Schematic diagrams of the evaluated systems (a) 150 kV and

(b) 400 kV GIS substations.
TABLE VIII
SURGE ARRESTER CHARACTERISTICS

The effects of simulation models of towers and their

grounding system and of insulator string flashover on the
arising overvoltages in the GIS substations were investigated
for the following worst case scenario: lightning is assumed to
strike to the first tower close to the substation, at the time
instant of positive power-frequency voltage peak of the upper
phase of the overhead transmission line. Lightning stroke was
represented by a current source of negative polarity producing
a current waveshape 7/77.5 s with front upwardly concave
[21], [30], [31]. The lightning current had an amplitude of
200 kA and a maximum steepness calculated according to
[31]. Finally, simulations were performed with and without
surge arresters operating at the substation entrance so as to
evaluate the protection offered against impinging surges with
respect to the basic insulation level, BIL, of the GIS system;
the latter is 750 kV and 1425 kV for the 150 kV and 400 kV
substations, respectively.
A. Effect of Tower Models
Fig. 4 shows the computed peak overvoltages arising at the
entrance of the 150 kV and 400 kV GIS substations by

Fig. 4. Computed peak overvoltages at the entrance of the (a), (c) 150 kV
and (b), (d) 400 kV GIS substations; models are numbered according to
Tables I-III, vertical bars indicate the variation of peak overvoltages among
tower models, red line corresponds to safety margin of BIL/1.15.

considering in simulations the tower models presented in

Section II.A; insulator string flashover was modeled
according to [27]. From Figs. 4(a) and 4(b) it is obvious that
the overvoltages, obtained by using a fixed tower grounding
resistance of 10 , do not vary significantly among tower
models. Actually, as can be deduced for Figs. 4(c) and 4(d),
the overvoltages, increasing with tower grounding resistance,
vary among models within 10% over the range of tower
grounding resistance of 5-20 ; generally, the differences in
overvoltages among tower models are less pronounced for
higher tower grounding resistance. It is noteworthy that
increasing tower surge impedance within the range given in
Table I results in a small increase in overvoltage peak,
especially for lower tower grounding resistance; however,
this is insignificant when surge arresters are operating at the
substation entrance. The increase of overvoltage peak due to
an increase in either tower surge impedance or grounding
resistance can be explained by the corresponding increase in
the instantaneous flashover voltage of line insulation. It is
important that when surge arresters are operating at the
substation entrance the peak overvoltages are limited to
values lower than the safety margin of BIL/1.15 [32] (Fig. 4).
B. Effect of Tower Grounding System Models
Fig. 5 shows the computed peak overvoltages at the
entrance of the substations under study for constant and
current dependent tower grounding resistance by assuming a
low current low frequency grounding resistance, R0, of 10 ;
towers and insulator string flashover were modeled according
to [6] and [27], respectively. From Fig. 5 it can be deduced
that the computed overvoltages vary a little among tower
grounding system models. However, when a higher value of
R0 is employed in simulations (Fig. 6), differences in
overvoltages among simulation models increase up to 19%.
The overvoltages, increasing with R0, are highest when the
tower grounding system is modeled by a constant grounding
resistance equal to R0, as suggested by [6] and [18], or
according to model [25]; this is more pronounced for

Fig. 5. Computed peak overvoltages at the entrance of the (a) 150 kV and
(b) 400 kV GIS substations; low current and low frequency grounding
resistance 10 , red line corresponds to safety margin of BIL/1.15.

Fig. 7. Computed peak overvoltages at the entrance of the 150 kV and

400 kV GIS substations; tower grounding resistance 10 ; red line
corresponds to safety margin of BIL/1.15.

Fig. 8. Computed peak overvoltages at the entrance of the (a) 150 kV and
(b) 400 kV GIS substations as a function of tower grounding resistance; red
line corresponds to safety margin of BIL/1.15.

Fig. 6. Computed peak overvoltages at the entrance of the (a) 150 kV and
(b) 400 kV GIS substations as a function of low current and low frequency
grounding resistance; red line corresponds to safety margin of BIL/1.15.

relatively higher R0. However, when surge arresters are

operating at the substation entrance the peak overvoltages are
limited to values lower than the safety margin of BIL/1.15
[32] (Figs. 5 and 6) and do not vary significantly, less than
6%, among tower grounding system models. Summarizing,
the use in simulations of a constant tower grounding
resistance, yielding the highest computed overvoltages in the
substations, may result in a safer design.
C. Effect of Insulator String Flashover Models
Fig. 7 shows the computed peak overvoltages at the
entrance of the 150 kV and 400 kV GIS substations by
considering in simulations the insulator string flashover
models presented in Section II.C; towers were represented

according to [6] and were terminated by a constant grounding

resistance of 10 . The computed overvoltages vary notably
among models, up to 18%, especially for the 400 kV system.
They increase with increasing tower grounding resistance
(Fig. 8), especially when surge arresters are not operating at
the substation entrance. It is important to note that for the
400 kV system when leader progression models are employed
in simulations the overvoltages, even when surge arresters are
installed, are higher than the safety margin of BIL/1.15 for
tower grounding resistance higher than about 15 . This,
contrary to common practice [33], indicates the necessity of
using a higher insulation level for the GIS equipment, and is
considered as unrealistic since care is normally taken to
reduce the last tower grounding resistance to values lower
than 10 . As a general result, due to the non-systematic
variation in overvoltages among insulation string flashover
models conscious selection of the latter is needed for
insulation coordination of substations.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The effect of the simulation models of the basic
components of overhead transmission lines on the arising
overvoltages at the entrance of 150 kV and 400 kV GIS
substations due to backflashover of the incoming lines has
been investigated with the aid of ATP-EMTP simulations.
Tower simulation model does not affect significantly the
computed overvoltages, especially with increasing tower

grounding resistance. Thus, single vertical lossless line

models are considered as satisfactory for simulating
transmission line towers, due to their simplicity, in
insulation coordination studies of substations.
Tower grounding system simulation model affects
considerably the computed overvoltages, which increase
with tower grounding resistance; however this is
insignificant when surge arresters are operating at the
substation entrance. A constant rather than current
dependent resistance, resulting in higher computed
overvoltages, is considered as satisfactory in terms of safer
design for simulating tower grounding resistance in
insulation coordination studies of substations.
The computed overvoltages vary significantly however
non-systematically among insulator string flashover
models. Thus, conscious selection of the overhead line
insulator string flashover model is needed for insulation
coordination of substations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T. E. Tsovilis wishes to thank the Research Committee of
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the support provided
by a merit scholarship.
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