S.K.P.

Engineering College, Tiruvannamalai VI SEM

SKP Engineering College

Tiruvannamalai – 606611

A Course Material
on
Power System Transients

By

[Link]
Assistant Professor
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department

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S.K.P. Engineering College, Tiruvannamalai VI SEM

Quality Certificate

This is to Certify that the Electronic Study Material

Subject Code:EE6002

Subject Name:Power System Transients

Year/Sem:III/VI

Being prepared by me and it meets the knowledge requirement of the University

curriculum.

Signature of the Author

Name: [Link]

Designation: Assistant Professor

This is to certify that the course material being prepared by [Link] is of the
adequate quality. He has referred more than five books and one among them is from
abroad author.

Signature of HD Signature of the Principal

Name: [Link] Name: [Link] Bharathi

Seal: Seal:

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EE6002 POWER SYSTEM TRANSIENTS L T P C

3003

OBJECTIVES:

 To study the generation of switching transients and their control using circuit –
theoretical concept.
 To study the mechanism of lighting strokes and the production of lighting surges.
 To study the propagation, reflection and refraction of travelling waves.
 To study the impact of voltage transients caused by faults, circuit breaker action,
load rejection on integrated power system.

UNIT I

INTRODUCTION AND SURVEY 9

Review and importance of the study of transients – causes for transients. RL circuit
transient with sine wave excitation – double frequency transients – basic transforms of
the RLC circuit transients. Different types of power system transients – effect of
transients on power systems – role of the study of transients in system planning.

UNIT II

SWITCHING TRANSIENTS 9

Over voltages due to switching transients – resistance switching and the equivalent
circuit for interrupting the resistor current – load switching and equivalent circuit –
waveforms for transient voltage across the load and the switch – normal and abnormal
switching transients. Current suppression – current chopping – effective equivalent
circuit. Capacitance switching – effect of source regulation – capacitance switching with
a restrike, with multiple restrikes. Illustration for multiple restriking transients – ferro
resonance.

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UNIT III

LIGHTNING TRANSIENTS 9

Review of the theories in the formation of clouds and charge formation – rate of
charging of thunder clouds – mechanism of lightning discharges and characteristics of
lightning strokes – model for lightning stroke – factors contributing to good line design –
protection using ground wires–tower footing resistance – Interaction between lightning
and power system.

UNIT IV

TRAVELING WAVES ON TRANSMISSION LINE COMPUTATION OF

TRANSIENTS
9

Computation of transients – transient response of systems with series and shunt

lumped parameters and distributed lines. Traveling wave concept – step response –
Bewely’s lattice diagram – standing waves and natural frequencies – reflection and
refraction of travelling waves.

UNIT V

TRANSIENTS IN INTEGRATED POWER SYSTEM 9

The short line and kilometric fault – distribution of voltages in a power system – Line
dropping and load rejection – voltage transients on closing and reclosing lines – over
voltage induced by faults -switching surges on integrated system Qualitative application
of EMTP for transient computation.

TOTAL : 45 PERIODS

OUTCOMES:

 Ability to understand and analyze power system operation, stability, control and
protection.

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TEXT BOOKS:

1. Allan Greenwood, ‘Electrical Transients in Power Systems’, Wiley Inter Science, New
York, 2nd Edition, 1991.
2. Pritindra Chowdhari, “Electromagnetic transients in Power System”, John Wiley and
Sons Inc., Second Edition, 2009.
3. C.S. Indulkar, [Link], K. Ramalingam, ‘Power System Transients – A statistical
approach’, PHI Learning Private Limited, Second Edition, 2010.

REFERENCES:

1. [Link] and [Link], ‘High Voltage Engineering’, Tata McGraw Hill, Fifth
Edition, 2013.
2. R.D. Begamudre, ‘Extra High Voltage AC Transmission Engineering’, Wiley Eastern
Limited, 1986.
3. [Link], Handbook of Power System Engineering,” Wiley India, 2012.
4. [Link], “Electric Power Principles, Sources, Conversion, Distribution and use,”
Wiley, 2012.

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CONTENTS

[Link] Particulars Page

1 Unit – I 7

2 Unit – II 60

3 Unit – III 76

4 Unit – IV 96

5 Unit – V 116

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Unit-I
Basic Concepts and Simple Switching Transients

Part-A

1. What are the types of source of transients? [CO1-L1-Nov/Dec2011]

 Lightning
 Switching
 Very fast transient voltage.
2. What is power system analysis? [CO1-L1-Nov/Dec2012]
The evaluation of power system is called as power system analysis.
3. Define energizing quantity. [CO1-L1-Nov/Dec2009]
It refers to the current or voltage which is used to activate the relay into operation.
4. What is biased differential bus zone reduction? [CO1-L1-Nov/Dec2014]
The biased beam relay is designed to respond to the differential current in terms of its
fractional relation to the current flowing through the protected zone. It is essentially an
over-current balanced beam relay type with an additional restraining coil. The
restraining coil produces a bias force in the opposite direction to the operating force.
5. Mention the short comings of Merz Price scheme of protection applied to a
power transformer. [CO1-H1-Nov/Dec2014]
In a power transformer, currents in the primary and secondary are to be compared. As
these two currents are usually different, the use of identical transformers will give
differential current, and operate the relay under no-load condition. Also, there is usually
a phase difference between the primary and secondary currents of three phase
transformers. Even CT’s of proper turn-ratio are used, the differential current may flow
through the relay under normal condition.

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6. What are the various faults to which a turbo alternator is likely to be subjected?
[CO1-L1-May/June 2011]
Failure of steam supply; failure of speed; overcurrent; over voltage; unbalanced loading;
stator winding fault.
7. What is the voltage of basic insulation level & basic switching level? [CO1-L2-
May/June 2013]
Basic insulation level =1050KV,Basic switching level =950KV
8. Define surge tank. [CO1-L1-Nov/Dec2013]
Surge tanks are tanks connected to the water conductor system. It serves the purpose
of reducing water hammering in pipes which can cause damage to pipes. The sudden
surges of water in penstock is taken by the surge tank, and when the water
requirements increase, it supplies the collected water thereby regulating water flow and
pressure inside the penstock.
9. Define Isokeraunic level or thunderstorm days. [CO1-L3-Nov/Dec2014]
It is defined as the number of days in a year when the thunder is heard or recorded in a
particular location. Often it does not distinguish between the ground strokes and the
cloud-to-cloud strokes.
10. State the factors influence the lightning induced voltages on transmission
lines. [CO1-H1- May/June 2013]
The ground conductivity, the leader stroke current and the corona.
11. State the attenuation and distortion of travelling waves. . [CO1-H1- May/June
2013]
The decrease in the magnitude of the wave as it propagates along the line is called
attenuation. The elongation or change of wave shapes that occur is called distortion.
12. How are the insulation level and the protective safety margin arrived? . [CO1-
H1- May/June 2013]

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Selecting the risk of failure, the statistical safety factor and by firing the withstand level
of any equipment or apparatus corresponding to 90% or 95% of the withstand voltage

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Part-- B

1. Review and importance of the study of transients [CO1-L1-. [CO1-H1- May/June

2013]
As electric power systems have evolved over the last century, different forms of
instability have emerged as being important during different periods. The methods of
analysis and resolution of stability problems were influenced by the prevailing
developments in computational tools, stability theory, and power system control
technology. A review of the history of the subject is useful for a better understanding of
the electric power industry’s practices with regard to system stability.

Power system stability was first recognized as an important problem in the 1920s
(Steinmetz, 1920; Evans and Bergvall, 1924; Wilkins, 1926). The early stability
problems were associated with remote power plants feeding load centers over long
transmission lines.

With slow exciters and noncontinuously acting voltage regulators, power transfer
capability was often limited by steady-state as well as transient rotor angle instability
due to insufficient synchronizing torque.

As the complexity of power systems increased, and interconnections were found to be

economically attractive, the complexity of the stability problems also increased and
systems could no longer be treated as two machine systems. This led to the
development in the 1930s of the network analyzer, which was capable of power flow
analysis of multimachine systems. System dynamics, however, still had to be analyzed
by solving the swing equations by hand using step-by-step numerical integration.

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Generators were represented by the classical ‘‘fixed voltage behind transient reactance’’
model. Loads were represented as constant impedances.

Improvements in system stability came about by way of faster fault clearing and fast
acting excitation systems. Steady-state aperiodic instability was virtually eliminated by
the implementation of continuously acting voltage regulators. With increased
dependence on controls, the emphasis of stability studies moved from transmission
network problems to generator problems, and simulations with more detailed
representations of synchronous machines and excitation systems were required.

The 1950s saw the development of the analog computer, with which simulations could
be carried out to study in detail the dynamic characteristics of a generator and its
controls rather than the overall behavior of multimachine systems.

Later in the 1950s, the digital computer emerged as the ideal means to study the
stability problems associated with large interconnected systems. In the 1960s, most of
the power systems in the U.S. and Canada were part of one of two large interconnected
systems, one in the east and the other in the west. In 1967, low capacity HVDC ties
were also established between the east and west systems. At present, the power
systems in North America form virtually one large system. There were similar trends in
growth of interconnections in other countries.

While interconnections result in operating economy and increased reliability through

mutual assistance, they contribute to increased complexity of stability problems and
increased consequences of instability. The Northeast Blackout of November 9, 1965,
made this abundantly clear; it focused the attention of the public and of regulatory

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agencies, as well as of engineers, on the problem of stability and importance of power

system reliability.

The increased use of high response exciters, coupled with decreasing strengths of
transmission systems, has led to an increased focus on small signal (rotor angle)
stability.

This type of angle instability is often seen as local plant modes of oscillation, or in the
case of groups of machines interconnected by weak links, as interarea modes of
oscillation. Small signal stability problems have led to the development of special study
techniques, such as modal analysis using eigenvalue techniques (Martins, 1986;
Kundur et al., 1990). In addition, supplementary control of generator excitation systems,
static Var compensators, and HVDC converters is increasingly being used to solve
system oscillation problems.

There has also been a general interest in the application of power electronic based
controllers referred to as FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) controllers for
damping of power system oscillations (IEEE, 1996).

In the 1970s and 1980s, frequency stability problems experienced following major
system upsets led to an investigation of the underlying causes of such problems and to
the development of long term dynamic simulation programs to assist in their analysis
(Davidson et al., 1975; Converti et al., 1976; Stubbe et al., 1989; Inoue et al., 1995;
Ontario Hydro, 1989). The focus of many of these investigations was on the
performance of thermal power plants during system upsets (Kundur et al., 1985; Chow
et al., 1989; Kundur, 1981; Younkins and Johnson, 1981). Guidelines were developed

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by an IEEE Working Group for enhancing power plant response during major frequency
disturbances (1983).

Analysis and modeling needs of power systems during major frequency disturbances
was also addressed in a recent CIGRE Task Force report (1999). Since the late 1970s,
voltage instability has been the cause of several power system collapses worldwide
(Kundur, 1994; Taylor, 1994; IEEE, 1990). Once associated primarily with weak radial
distribution systems, voltage stability problems are now a source of concern in highly
developed and mature networks as a result of heavier loadings and power transfers
over long distances. Consequently, voltage stability is increasingly being addressed in
system planning and operating studies.

Powerful analytical tools are available for its analysis (Van Cutsem et al., 1995; Gao et
al., 1992; Morison et al., 1993), and well-established criteria and study procedures are
evolving (Abed, 1999; Gao et al., 1996).

Present-day power systems are being operated under increasingly stressed conditions
due to the prevailing trend to make the most of existing facilities. Increased competition,
open transmission access, and construction and environmental constraints are shaping
the operation of electric power systems in new ways that present greater challenges for
secure system operation. This is abundantly clear from the increasing number of major
power-grid blackouts that have been experienced in recent years; for example, Brazil
blackout of March 11, 1999; Northeast USA-Canada blackout of August 14, 2003;
Southern Sweden and Eastern Denmark blackout of September 23, 2003; and Italian
blackout of September 28, 2003. Planning and operation of today’s power systems
require a careful consideration of all forms of system instability.

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Significant advances have been made in recent years in providing the study engineers
with a number of powerful tools and techniques.

A coordinated set of complementary programs, such as the one described by Kundur et

al. (1994) makes it convenient to carry out a comprehensive analysis of power system
stability.

2. Causes of Power System Transients. [CO1-L1-Nov/Dec2011]

There are different causes for power system transients. For example, lightning strokes
to the wires in the power system or to ground and component switching either of
network components or end user equipment can produce transients. Nature of power
system transients are very much eventdependent.

Short duration events can be classified into three classes:

1. Events that can be identified by their fundamental frequency magnitude. Voltage
magnitude in such events goes through significant changes for long periods. The
changes are well apart and observable with respect to time. This enables magnitude
estimators to identify and resolving events having significant changes. These are
observed mainly in fault induced events, transformer saturation, induction motor
starting, etc. Voltage dips with duration typically between 50ms and several seconds
and interruptions with duration from several seconds up to many hours are associated
with such transient events.

2. Events having significant changes in the fundamental frequency magnitude but of

short duration. In such events, it is very difficult to extract voltage magnitude of
transients. These are normally observed in fuse-cleared faults and self-extinguishing

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faults.

3. Events of very short duration (transients) for which the fundamental frequency
magnitude does not offer important information. For this class, the higher frequency
components of the signal must be considered for a thorough characterization and
classification.

The causes of transients are classified as

i) Internal cause ii) External cause
The internal causes are classified as
a) Switching surges i.e., due to the opening and closing of a switch in power system
b) Insulation failures
c) Arcing ground
d) Ferro resonance
The external cause for power system transient is lightning.
Switching surges
As the name suggests, switching means the sudden interruption in any circuit and
surges means the overcurrent spykes that are caused in the circuit.
Combined together, switching surges are the overcurrent/overvoltage spykes that are
experienced in the highly inductive circuits at the time of sudden interruption I.e.
switching period.
As the magnetic field about the inductive conductor collapses, a brief very high voltage
can be generated at that point.
These switching surges can be highly dangerous for the electrical system and thus
require proper control and protection devices.
INSULATION FAILURES

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Electrical breakdown is often associated with the failure of solid or liquid insulating
materials used inside high voltage transformers or capacitors in the electricity
distribution grid, usually resulting in a short circuit or a blown fuse.
ARCING GROUND
Arcing ground is a phenomenon which is observed in ungrounded 3 phase system . In
an. ungrounded system capacitance are formed between phase and ground. The
voltage across.
FERRO RESONANCE
Ferroresonance or nonlinear resonance is a type of resonance in electric circuits
which occurs when a circuit containing a nonlinear inductance is fed from a source that
has series capacitance, and the circuit is subjected to a disturbance such as opening of
a switch.
The external cause for power system transient is lightning
Based on waveform shape, power system transients, can be classified into

[Link]
[Link]
3. Multiple transients

1) IMPULSIVE TRANSIENTS

An impulsive transient is defined as a sudden change in the steady state condition of

voltage, current or both, that is unidirectional in polarity either positive or negative.
Analysis of impulsive transients is done by their rise and decay times. Impulsive
transients are damped quickly by the resistive circuit elements and do not propagate far
from their source. Thus their effects are localized.

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Impulsive transients are common during lightning. Lightning stroke may appear directly
or by indirect induction. When a lightning stroke hits a transmission line (direct stroke)
an impulsive over voltage is induced. They have high magnitude. Lightning over voltage
can also be induced by nearby strokes to the ground or between clouds. These over-
voltages are of lower magnitude than those produced by direct strokes. Normally
impulsive transient shows a sudden rise followed by an exponential decay. But in some
cases, lightning transient shows a sudden rise followed by a sudden drop and an
oscillation with relatively small amplitude.

2) OSCILLATORY TRANSIENTS

Oscillatory transient is alternating in nature. It shows a damped oscillation with a

frequency ranging from a few hundred hertzs up to several Mega hertzs. Oscillatory
transients can be mathematically derived by the homogenous solution to linear
differential equations. As the electric power system can approximately be described by
a set of linear differential equations, oscillatory transients are the “natural transients” in
electric power system. For this reason, oscillatory transients dominate over impulsive
transients. For example, oscillatory transient can be caused by the energizing of a
capacitor bank where, frequency of oscillation is mainly determined by the capacitance
of the capacitor bank and the short circuit inductance of the circuit feeding the capacitor
bank (capacitor energizing). Another common cause of oscillatory transient is event of
energizing of transmission line.

3) MULTIPLE TRANSIENTS WITH A SINGLE CAUSE

Multiple transients are combination of many overlapped transients occurred due to more
than one switching action. For example, in three phase system the switching action in

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the individual phases rarely take place at the same instant. Such events produce
multiple transients. Current chopping and re-strike are other two major causes of
multiple transients. Current chopping is done when the current during opening of a
circuit breaker becomes zero before the natural zero crossing. This results in transients
of high over-voltages. Re-strike may occur when a capacitor is de-energized by a slowly
moving switch where the voltage over the capacitor increases faster than the voltage-
withstand of the gap between the contacts of the switch.
LIGHTNING
Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs during an electrical storm.
This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud (called intra-cloud
lightning or IC), between that a cloud and another cloud (CC lightning), or between a
cloud and the ground (CG lightning). The charged regions in the atmosphere
temporarily equalize themselves through this discharge referred to as a strike if it hits an
object on the ground, and a flash, if it occurs within a cloud. Lightning causes light in
the form of plasma, and sound in the form of thunder. Lightning may be seen and not
heard when it occurs at a distance too great for the sound to carry as far as the light
from the strike or flash.

On Earth, the lightning frequency is approximately 40–50 times a second or nearly 1.4
billion flashes per year and the average duration is 0.2 seconds made up from a number
of much shorter flashes (strokes) of around 30 microseconds.[2]

Many factors affect the frequency, distribution, strength and physical properties of a
typical lightning flash in a particular region of the world. These factors include ground
elevation, latitude, prevailing wind currents, relative humidity, proximity to warm and
cold bodies of water, etc. To a certain degree, the ratio between IC, CC and CG
lightning may also vary by season in middle latitudes. Because human beings are

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terrestrial and most of their possessions are on the Earth where lightning can damage
or destroy them, CG lightning is the most studied and best understood of the three
types, even though IC and CC are more common types of lightning. Lightning's relative
unpredictability limits a complete explanation of how or why it occurs, even after
hundreds of years of scientific investigation.

A typical cloud to ground lightning flash culminates in the formation of an electrically

conducting plasma channel through the air in excess of 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) tall, from
within the cloud to the ground's surface. The actual discharge is the final stage of a very
complex process. At its peak, a typical thunderstorm produces three or more strikes to
the Earth per minute.[4] Lightning primarily occurs when warm air is mixed with colder air
masses, resulting in atmospheric disturbances necessary for polarizing the atmosphere.
However, it can also occur during dust storms, forest fires, tornadoes, volcanic
eruptions, and even in the cold of winter, where the lightning is known as thundersnow.
Hurricanes typically generate some lightning, mainly in the rainbands as much as 160
kilometres (99 mi) from the center.

The science of lightning is called fulminology, and the fear of lightning is called
astraphobia.

Electrical field generation

View of lightning from an airplane flying above a system.

As a thundercloud moves over the surface of the Earth, an equal electric charge, but of
opposite polarity, is induced on the Earth's surface underneath the cloud. The induced
positive surface charge, when measured against a fixed point, will be small as the
thundercloud approaches, increasing as the center of the storm arrives and dropping as

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the thundercloud passes. The referential value of the induced surface charge could be
roughly represented as a bell curve.

The oppositely charged regions create an electric field within the air between them. This
electric field varies in relation to the strength of the surface charge on the base of the
thundercloud – the greater the accumulated charge, the higher the electrical field.

Flashes and strikes

The best studied and understood form of lightning is cloud to ground (CG). Although
more common, intracloud (IC) and cloud to cloud (CC) flashes are very difficult to study
given there are no "physical" points to monitor inside the clouds. Also, given the very
low probability lightning will strike the same point repeatedly and consistently, scientific
inquiry is difficult at best even in the areas of high CG frequency. As such, knowing
flash propagation is similar amongst all forms of lightning, the best means to describe
the process is through an examination of the most studied form, cloud to ground

Downward leaders

Lightning strike caused by the connection of two leaders, positive shown in blue and
negative in red In a process not well understood, a channel of ionized air, called a
"leader", is initiated from a charged region in the thundercloud. Leaders are electrically
conductive channels of partially ionized gas that travel away from a region of dense
charge. Negative leaders propagate away from densely charged regions of negative
charge, and positive leaders propagate from positively charged regions.

The positively and negatively charged leaders proceed in opposite directions, positive
upwards within the cloud and negative towards the earth. Both ionic channels proceed,

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in their respective directions, in a number of successive spurts. Each leader "pools" ions
at the leading tips, shooting out one or more new leaders, momentarily pooling again to
concentrate charged ions, then shooting out another leader.

Leaders often split, forming branches in a tree-like pattern.[20] In addition, negative

leaders travel in a discontinuous fashion. The resulting jerky movement of these
"stepped leader(s)" can be readily observed in slow-motion videos of negative leaders
as they head toward ground prior to a negative CG lightning strike. The negative
leaders continue to propagate and split as they head downward, often speeding up as
they get closer to the Earth's surface.

About 90% of ionic channel lengths between "pools" are approximately 45 m (148 ft) in
length.[21] The establishment of the ionic channel takes a comparatively long amount of
time (hundreds of milliseconds) in comparison to the resulting discharge, which occurs
within a few microseconds. The electric current needed to establish the channel,
measured in the tens or hundreds of amperes, is dwarfed by subsequent currents
during the actual discharge.

Initiation of the outward leaders is not well understood. The electric field strength within
the thundercloud is not typically large enough to initiate this process by itself. [22] Many
hypotheses have been proposed. One theory postulates that showers of relativistic
electrons are created by cosmic rays and are then accelerated to higher velocities via a
process called runaway breakdown. As these relativistic electrons collide and ionize
neutral air molecules, they initiate leader formation. Another theory invokes locally
enhanced electric fields being formed near elongated water droplets or ice crystals. [23]
Percolation theory, especially for the case of biased percolation, describes random

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connectivity phenomena, which produce an evolution of connected structures similar to

that of lightning strikes.

Upward streamers

When a stepped leader approaches the ground, the presence of opposite charges on
the ground enhances the strength of the electric field. The electric field is strongest on
grounded objects whose tops are closest to the base of the thundercloud, such as trees
and tall buildings. If the electric field is strong enough, a positively charged ionic
channel, called a positive or upward streamer, can develop from these points. This was
first theorized by Heinz Kasemir.

As negatively charged leaders approach, increasing the localized electric field strength,
grounded objects already experiencing corona discharge exceed a threshold and form
upward streamers. High-speed photography showing different parts of a lightning flash
during the discharge process as seen in Toulouse, France.

Once a conductive channel bridges the air gap between the negative charge excess in
the cloud and the positive surface charge excess below, a massive electrical discharge
follows. This is the 'return stroke' and it is the most luminous and noticeable part of the
lightning discharge.

A large electric current flows along the plasma channel from the cloud to the ground,
neutralising the positive ground charge as electrons flow away from the strike point to
the surrounding area. This huge surge of current creates large radial voltage differences
along the surface of the ground. Called step potentials, they are responsible for more
injuries and deaths than the strike itself Electricity takes every path available to it. A
portion of the return stroke current will often preferentially flow through one leg and out

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another, electrocuting an unlucky human or animal standing near the point where the
lightning strikes.

The electric current of the return stroke averages 30 kiloamperes for a typical negative
CG flash, often referred to as "negative CG" lightning. In some cases, a positive ground
to cloud (GC) lightning flash may originate from a positively charged region on the
ground below a storm. These discharges normally originate from the tops of very tall
structures, such as communications antennas. The rate at which the return stroke
current travels has been found to be around 1×108 m/s.

The massive flow of electric current occurring during the return stroke combined with
the rate at which it occurs (measured in microseconds) rapidly superheats the
completed leader channel, forming a highly electrically conductive plasma channel. The
core temperature of the plasma during the return stroke may exceed 50,000 K, causing
it to brilliantly radiate with a blue-white color. Once the electric current stops flowing, the
channel cools and dissipates over tens or hundreds of milliseconds, often disappearing
as fragmented patches of glowing gas. The nearly instantaneous heating during the
return stroke causes the air to expand explosively, producing a powerful shock wave
which is heard as thunder.

Re-strike

High-speed videos (examined frame-by-frame) show that most negative CG lightning

flashes are made up of 3 or 4 individual strokes, though there may be as many as 30.

Each re-strike is separated by a relatively large amount of time, typically 40 to 50

milliseconds, as other charged regions in the cloud are discharged in subsequent
strokes. Re-strikes often cause a noticeable "strobe light" effect.

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Each successive stroke is preceded by intermediate dart leader strokes that have a
faster rise time but lower amplitude than the initial return stroke. Each subsequent
stroke usually re-uses the discharge channel taken by the previous one, but the channel
may be offset from its previous position as wind displaces the hot channel.

Transient currents during flash

The electric current within a typical negative CG lightning discharge rises very quickly to
its peak value in 1–10 microseconds, then decays more slowly over 50–200
microseconds. The transient nature of the current within a lightning flash results in
several phenomena that need to be addressed in the effective protection of ground-
based structures. Rapidly changing currents tend to travel on the surface of a
conductor, in what is called the skin effect, unlike direct currents, which "flow through"
the entire conductor like water through a hose. Hence, conductors used in the
protection of facilities tend to be multi-stranded, with small wires woven together. This
increases the total bundle surface area in inverse proportion to the individual strand
radius, for a fixed total cross-sectional area.

The rapidly changing currents also create electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that radiate
outward from the ionic channel. This is a characteristic of all electrical discharges. The
radiated pulses rapidly weaken as their distance from the origin increases. However, if
they pass over conductive elements such as power lines, communication lines, or
metallic pipes, they may induce a current which travels outward to its termination. This
is the "surge" that, more often than not, results in the destruction of delicate electronics,
electrical appliances, or electric motors. Devices known as surge protectors (SPD) or
transient voltage surge suppressors (TVSS) attached in parallel with these lines can
detect the lightning flash's transient irregular current, and, through an alteration of its

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physical properties, route the spike to an attached earthing ground, thereby protecting
the equipment from damage.

Types

There are three primary types of lightning, defined by what is at the "ends" of a flash
channel. They are intracloud (IC), which occurs within a single thundercloud unit; cloud
to cloud (CC), which starts and ends between two different "functional" thundercloud
units; and cloud to ground (CG), that primarily originates in the thundercloud and
terminates on an Earth surface, but may also occur in the reverse direction, that is
ground to cloud. There are variations of each type, such as "positive" versus "negative"
CG flashes, that have different physical characteristics common to each which can be
measured. Different common names used to describe a particular lightning event may
be attributed to the same or different events.

Cloud to ground (CG)

Cloud-to-ground is the best known and third most common type of lightning. It is the
best understood of all forms because it allows for scientific study given it terminates on
a physical object, namely the Earth, and lends itself to being measured by instruments.
Of the three primary types of lightning, it poses the greatest threat to life and property
since it terminates or "strikes" the Earth. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning is a lightning
discharge between a thundercloud and the ground. It is usually negative in polarity and
is usually initiated by a stepped leader moving down from the cloud.

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Positive and negative lightning

CG lightning can occur with both positive and negative polarity. The polarity is that of
the charge in the region that originated the lightning leaders. An average bolt of
negative lightning carries an electric current of 30,000 amperes (30 kA), and transfers
15 coulombs of electric charge and 500 megajoules of energy. Large bolts of lightning
can carry up to 120 kA and 350 coulombs.

Anvil-to-ground (Bolt from the blue) lightning strike initiates from the clear, but turbulent
sky above the anvil cloud, then drives a bolt of plasma through the cloud directly to the
ground.

Unlike the far more common "negative" lightning, positive lightning originates from the
positively charged top of the clouds (generally anvil clouds) rather than the lower portion
of the storm. Leaders form in the anvil of the cumulonimbus and may travel horizontally
for several kilometers before veering towards the ground. A positive lightning bolt can
strike anywhere within several kilometers of the anvil of the thunderstorm, often in areas
experiencing clear or only slightly cloudy skies; they are also known as "bolts from the
blue" for this reason. Positive lightning typically makes up less than 5% of all lightning
strikes.

Because of the much greater distance to ground, the positively charged region can
develop considerably larger levels of charge and voltages than the negative charge
regions in the lower part of the cloud. Positive lightning bolts are considerably hotter and
longer than negative lightning. They can develop six to ten times the amount of charge
and voltage of a negative bolt and the discharge current may last ten times longer. A
bolt of positive lightning may carry an electric current of 300 kA and the potential at the

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top of the cloud may exceed a billion volts — about 10 times that of negative lightning.
During a positive lightning strike, huge quantities of extremely low frequency (ELF) and
very low frequency (VLF) radio waves are generated. As a result of their greater power,
as well as lack of warning, positive lightning strikes are considerably more dangerous.
At the present time, aircraft are not designed to withstand such strikes, since their
existence was unknown at the time standards were set, and the dangers unappreciated
until the destruction of a glider in [Link] standard in force at the time of the crash,
Advisory Circular AC 20-53A, was replaced by Advisory Circular AC 20-53B in 2006,
however it is unclear whether adequate protection against positive lightning was
incorporated. Aircraft operating in U.S. airspace have been required to be equipped with
static discharge wicks. Although their primary function is to mitigate radio interference
due to static buildup through friction with the air, in the event of a lightning strike, a
plane is designed to conduct the excess electricity through its skin and structure to the
wicks to be safely discharged back into the atmosphere. These measures, however,
may be insufficient for positive lightning.

Positive lightning has also been shown to trigger the occurrence of Upper-atmospheric
lightning between the tops of clouds and the ionosphere. Positive lightning tends to
occur more frequently in winter storms, as with thundersnow, during intense tornadoes
and in the dissipation stage of a thunderstorm.

Cloud to cloud (CC) and intra-cloud (IC)

Lightning discharges may occur between areas of cloud without contacting the ground.
When it occurs between two separate clouds it is known as inter-cloud lightning, and
when it occurs between areas of differing electric potential within a single cloud it is
known as intra-cloud lightning. Intra-cloud lightning is the most frequently occurring

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type. Intra-cloud lightning most commonly occurs between the upper anvil portion and
lower reaches of a given thunderstorm. This lightning can sometimes be observed at
great distances at night as so-called "heat lightning". In such instances, the observer
may see only a flash of light without hearing any thunder.

Another term used for cloud–cloud or cloud–cloud–ground lightning is "Anvil Crawler",

due to the habit of charge, typically originating beneath or within the anvil and
scrambling through the upper cloud layers of a thunderstorm, often generating dramatic
multiple branch strokes. These are usually seen as a thunderstorm passes over the
observer or begins to decay. The most vivid crawler behavior occurs in well developed
thunderstorms that feature extensive rear anvil shearing.

Observational variations

 Ball lightning may be an atmospheric electrical phenomenon, the physical

nature of which is still controversial. The term refers to reports of luminous,
usually spherical objects which vary from pea-sized to several meters in
diameter. It is sometimes associated with thunderstorms, but unlike lightning
flashes, which last only a fraction of a second, ball lightning reportedly lasts many
seconds. Ball lightning has been described by eyewitnesses but rarely recorded
by meteorologists. Scientific data on natural ball lightning is scarce owing to its
infrequency and unpredictability. The presumption of its existence is based on
reported public sightings, and has therefore produced somewhat inconsistent
findings. Brett Porter, wildlife ranger, reported having taken a photo at
Queensland of Australia in 1987.
 Bead lightning is the decaying stage of a lightning channel in which the
luminosity of the channel breaks up into segments. Nearly every lightning

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discharge will exhibit beading as the channel cools immediately after a return
stroke, sometimes referred to as the lightning's 'bead-out' stage. 'Bead lightning'
is more properly a stage of a normal lightning discharge rather than a type of
lightning in itself. Beading of a lightning channel is usually a small-scale feature,
and therefore is often only apparent when the observer/camera is close to the
lightning.
 Dry lightning is used in Australia, Canada and the United States for lightning
that occurs with no precipitation at the surface. This type of lightning is the most
common natural cause of wildfires.[50] Pyrocumulus clouds produce lightning for
the same reason that it is produced by cumulonimbus clouds
 Forked lightning is cloud-to-ground lightning that exhibits branching of its path.
 Heat lightning is a lightning flash that appears to produce no discernible thunder
because it occurs too far away for the thunder to be heard. The sound waves
dissipate before they reach the observer.
 Ribbon lightning occurs in thunderstorms with high cross winds and multiple
return strokes. The wind will blow each successive return stroke slightly to one
side of the previous return stroke, causing a ribbon effect.
 Rocket lightning is a form of cloud discharge, generally horizontal and at cloud
base, with a luminous channel appearing to advance through the air with visually
resolvable speed, often intermittently.
 Sheet lightning is cloud-to-cloud lightning that exhibits a diffuse brightening of
the surface of a cloud, caused by the actual discharge path being hidden or too
far away. The lightning itself cannot be seen by the spectator, so it appears as
only a flash, or a sheet of light. The lightning may be too far away to discern
individual flashes.

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 Smooth Channel lightning are positive cloud to ground lightning strikes where
the forward stroke originates from the ground upwards to the cloud. The smooth
channel is in the lower section of the lightning channel but should branch higher
up (not visible as the "branching" is inside the cloud). Large supercells generate
tremendous areas of positively charged cloud material (thick anvil) and wind
shear prevents excessive negative strokes as with "normal" thunderstorms.
Downdrafts, such as the forward flank downdraft (FFD), bring the positively
charged cloud material closer to the ground, where such lightning
occursStaccato lightning is a cloud-to-ground lightning (CG) strike which is a
short-duration stroke that (often but not always) appears as a single very bright
flash and often has considerable branching. These are often found in the visual
vault area near the mesocyclone of rotating thunderstorms and coincides with
intensification of thunderstorm updrafts. A similar cloud-to-cloud strike consisting
of a brief flash over a small area, appearing like a blip, also occurs in a similar
area of rotating updrafts. This CG was of very short duration, exhibited highly
branched channels and was very bright indicating that it was staccato lightning
near New Boston, Texas.

 Superbolts are bolts of lightning around a hundred times brighter than normal.
On Earth, one in a million lightning strikes is a superbolt.
 Sympathetic lightning is the tendency of lightning to be loosely coordinated
across long distances. Discharges can appear in clusters when viewed from
space.
 Clear-air lightning describes lightning that occurs with no apparent cloud close
enough to have produced it. In the U.S. and Canadian Rockies, a thunderstorm
can be in an adjacent valley and not observable from the valley where the

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lightning bolt strikes, either visually or audibly. European and Asian mountainous
areas experience similar events. Also in areas such as sounds, large lakes or
open plains, when the storm cell is on the near horizon (within 26 kilometres
(16 mi)) there may be some distant activity, a strike can occur and as the storm is
so far away, the strike is referred to as a bolt from the blue. In fact, it actually
originates from the anvil cloud atop a thunderstorm which may be as far as 35
kilometers away. It carries around ten times the current of an ordinary bolt of
lightning and has a positive charge while most other lightning has a negative one.
This commonly is known as positive lightning. .

Effects

Lightning strike
Main article: Lightning strike

Objects struck by lightning experience heat and magnetic forces of great magnitude.
The heat created by lightning currents traveling through a tree may vaporize its sap,
causing a steam explosion that bursts the trunk. As lightning travels through sandy soil,
the soil surrounding the plasma channel may melt, forming tubular structures called
fulgurites. Even though roughly 90 percent of people struck by lightning survive, [60]
humans or animals struck by lightning may suffer severe injury due to internal organ
and nervous system damage. Buildings or tall structures hit by lightning may be
damaged as the lightning seeks unintended paths to ground. By safely conducting a
lightning strike to ground, a lightning protection system can greatly reduce the
probability of severe property damage. Lightning also serves an important role in the
nitrogen cycle by oxidizing diatomic nitrogen in the air into nitrates which are deposited
by rain and can fertilize the growth of plants and other organisms.

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Thunder

Because the electrostatic discharge of terrestrial lightning superheats the air to plasma
temperatures along the length of the discharge channel in a short duration, kinetic
theory dictates gaseous molecules undergo a rapid increase in pressure and thus
expand outward from the lightning creating a shock wave audible as thunder. Since the
sound waves propagate not from a single point source but along the length of the
lightning's path, the sound origin's varying distances from the observer can generate a
rolling or rumbling effect. Perception of the sonic characteristics is further complicated
by factors such as the irregular and possibly branching geometry of the lightning
channel, by acoustic echoing from terrain, and by the typically multiple-stroke
characteristic of the lightning strike.

Light travels at about 300,000,000 m/s, and sound travels through air at about 340 m/s.
An observer can approximate the distance to the strike by timing the interval between
the visible lightning and the audible thunder it generates. A lightning flash preceding its
thunder by one second would be approximately 350 metres (0.22 mi) in distance; a
delay of three seconds would indicate a distance of about one kilometer (0.62 mi)
(3×340 m). A flash preceding thunder by five seconds would indicate a distance of
approximately one mile (1.6 km) (5×340 m). Consequently, a lightning strike observed
at a very close distance will be accompanied by a sudden clap of thunder, with almost
no perceptible time lapse, possibly accompanied by the smell of ozone (O3).

High-energy radiation

The production of X-rays by a bolt of lightning was theoretically predicted as early as

1925[63] but no evidence was found until 2001/2002, when researchers at the New

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Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology detected X-ray emissions from an induced
lightning strike along a grounded wire trailed behind a rocket shot into a storm cloud. In
the same year University of Florida and Florida Tech researchers used an array of
electric field and X-ray detectors at a lightning research facility in North Florida to
confirm that natural lightning makes X-rays in large quantities during the propagation of
stepped leaders. The cause of the X-ray emissions is still a matter for research, as the
temperature of lightning is too low to account for the X-rays observed.

A number of observations by space-based telescopes have revealed even higher

energy gamma ray emissions, the so-called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs).
These observations pose a challenge to current theories of lightning, especially with the
recent discovery of the clear signatures of antimatter produced in lightning.

Volcanic activity produces lightning-friendly conditions in multiple ways. The enormous

quantity of pulverized material and gases explosively ejected into the atmosphere
creates a dense plume of particles. The ash density and constant motion within the
volcanic plume produces charge by frictional interactions (triboelectrification), resulting
in very powerful and very frequent flashes as the cloud attempts to neutralize itself. Due
to the extensive solid material (ash) content, unlike the water rich charge generating
zones of a normal thundercloud, it is often called a dirty thunderstorm.

 Powerful and frequent flashes have been witnessed in the volcanic plume as far
back as the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius by Pliny The Younger.[
 Likewise, vapors and ash originating from vents on the volcano's flanks may
produce more localized and smaller flashes upwards of 2.9 km long.
 Small, short duration sparks, recently documented near newly extruded magma,
attest to the material being highly charged prior to even entering the atmosphere.

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Extraterrestrial

Lightning has been observed within the atmospheres of other planets, such as Jupiter
and Saturn. Although in the minority on Earth, superbolts appear to be common on
Jupiter.

Lightning on Venus has been a controversial subject after decades of study. During the
Soviet Venera and U.S. Pioneer missions of the 1970s and 1980s, signals suggesting
lightning may be present in the upper atmosphere were detected.[72] Although the
Cassini–Huygens mission fly-by of Venus in 1999 detected no signs of lightning, the
observation window lasted mere hours. Radio pulses recorded by the spacecraft Venus
Express (which began orbiting Venus in April 2006) may originate from lightning on
Venus.

3. RL CIRCUIT TRANSIENT WITH SINE WAVE EXCITATION

SWITCHING AN RL CIRCUIT [CO1-L2- May/June 2012]

A sinusoidal voltage is switched on to a series connection of an inductance and a

resistance (Figure 1.1). This is in fact the most simple single-phase representation of a
high-voltage circuit breaker closing into a short circuited transmission line or a short-
circuited underground cable. The voltage source E represents the electromotive forces
from the connected synchronous generators. The inductance L comprises the
synchronous inductance of these generators, the leakage inductance of the power
transformers, and the inductance of the bus bars, cables, and transmission lines. The
resistive losses of the supply circuit are represented by the resistance R. Because we
have linear network elements only, the current flowing in the circuit after closing the

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switch can be seen as the superposition of a transient current and a steady-state

current. The transient current component is determined by the inductance and the
resistance only and is not influenced by the sources in the network (in this case by the
voltage source E). It forms the general solution of the first-order homogeneous
differential equation, whereas the steady-state current component is the particular
solution of the nonhomogeneous differential equation. In the latter case, the transient
oscillations are damped out because their energy is dissipated in the resistive part of
the circuit. Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law gives us the nonhomogeneous differential
equation of the circuit in Figure 1.1:

The switch can close the circuit at any time instant and the phase angle can have a
value between 0 and 2π rad. To find the general solution of the differential equation, we
have to solve the characteristic equation of

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The first part of Equation (1.9) contains the term exp[−(R/L)t] and damps out. This is
called the DC component. The expression between the brackets is a constant and its
value is determined by the instant of closing of the circuit. For [ϕ − tan−1(ωL/R)] = 0 or
an integer times π, the DC component is zero, and the current is immediately in the
steady state. In other words, there is no transient oscillation. When the switch closes the
circuit 90° earlier or later, the transient current will reach a maximum amplitude, as can
be seen in Figure 1.2. The current in Figure 1.2 is called an asymmetrical current. In the
case where no transient oscillation occurs and the current is immediately in the steady
state, we speak of a symmetrical current. The asymmetrical current can reach a peak
value of nearly twice that of the symmetrical current, depending on the time constant
L/R of the supply circuit. This implies that, for instance, when a circuit breaker closes on
a short-circuited high-voltage circuit, strong dynamic forces will act on the connected
bus bars and lines because of the large current involved.

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When the time constant of the supply circuit is rather high, which is the case for short-
circuit faults close to the generator terminals, the transient and subtransient reactance
of the synchronous generator cause an extra-high first peak of the short-circuit current.
After approximately 20 milliseconds, when the influence of the transient and
subtransient reactance is not present any longer, the synchronous reactance reduces
the root-mean-square value (rms value) of the short-circuit current. Under these
circumstances, an alternating current flows without current zeros for several periods in
the case of a fault in one of the phases because of the large DC component. This
current cannot be interrupted because the current zero necessary for current
interruption is lacking.

4. Switching an LC transient Circuit [CO1-L3- May/June 2012]

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Another basic network is the series connection of an inductance and a capacitance; this
is in fact the most simple representation of a high-voltage circuit breaker switching a
capacitor bank or a cable network. To make it simple, we first analyse the case in which
a DC source energises the network by closing the (ideal) switch. As can be seen from
Figure 1.3, there are two energy-storage components – the inductance storing the
magnetic energy and the capacitance storing the electric energy. After closing the
switch, an oscillation can occur in the network. This is due to the fact that an exchange
of energy takes place between the two energy-storage devices with a certain frequency.
Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law results in

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5. Basic transforms of the RLC circuit transients. [CO1-L2- May/June 2013]

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In the three cases mentioned herewith (see Figure 1.6), the particular solution is the
same but the general solution is different. The transient component in the current
contains sinusoidal functions with angular frequency β, which usually differs from 50- or
60-Hz power frequency of the particular solution, and this is the cause for the irregular
shape of the current. When the DC component exp(αt) = exp[−(R/2L)t] = exp[−(t/τ )] has
damped out with the damping time constant and the transient part of the current has
been reduced to zero, the steady-state

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6. Explain Double Frequency Transients. [CO1-L2-Nov/Dec 2011] [CO1-L2-

Nov/Dec 2016]

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7. EFFECTS OF TRANSIENTS ON POWER SYSTEM[CO1-L2-May/june 2011]

Transients are very much related to the operation and performance of different parts of
power system as well as loads and measuring and protective devices also. Nature and
duration of _power system transients are related to correct operation of circuit breakers,
and over voltage due to switching of high voltage lines. High magnitudes of voltage
transients break insulations of the system. High magnitude of current transients can
burn out devices and instruments. Transients can cause mal-operation of relays and
mal-tripping of circuit breakers. Frequent number of direct or indirectly induced
oscillatory transients may change the magnetic properties of core materials used in
electric machines.

The purpose of a power system is to transport and distribute the electrical energy
generated in the power plants to the consumers in a safe and reliable way. Aluminium
and copper conductors are used to carry the current, transformers are used to bring the

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electrical energy to the appropriate voltage level, and generators are used to take care
of the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy. When we speak of
electricity, we think of current flowing through the conductors from generator to load.
This approach is valid because the physical dimensions of the power system are large
compared with the wavelength of the currents and voltages; for 50-Hz signals, the
wavelength is 6000 km. This enables us to apply Kirchhoff’s voltage and current laws
and use lumped elements in our modelling of the power system. In fact, the
transportation of the electrical energy is done by the electromagnetic fields that
surround the conductors and the direction of the energy flow is given by the Poynting
vector. For steady-state analysis of the power flow, when the power frequency is a
constant 50 or 60 Hz, we can successfully make use of complex calculus and phasors
to represent voltages and currents.

Power system transients involve much higher frequencies up to kilo Hertz and mega-
Hertz. Frequencies change rapidly, and the complex calculus and the phasor
representation cannot be applied any longer. Now the differential equations describing
the system phenomena have to be solved. In addition, the lumped-element modelling of
the system components has to be done with care if we want to make use of Kirchhoff’s
voltage and current laws. In the case of a power transformer, under normal power
frequency–operation conditions, the transformer ratio is given by the ratio between the
number of the windings of the primary coil and the number of the windings of the
secondary coil. However, for a lightning-induced voltage wave, the stray capacitance of
the windings and the stray capacitance between the primary and secondary coil
determine the transformer ratio. In these two situations, the power transformer has to be
modeled differently!

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When we cannot get away with a lumped-element representation, wherein the

inductance represents the magnetic field and the capacitance represents the electric
field and the resistance losses, we have to do the
analysis by using travelling waves. The correct ‘translation’ of the physical power
system and its components into suitable models for the analysis and calculation of
power system transients requires insight into the basic physical phenomena. Therefore,
it requires careful consideration and isnot easy.
A transient occurs in the power system when the network changes from one steady
state into another. This can be, for instance, the case when lightning hits the ground in
the vicinity of a high-voltage transmission line or when lightning strikes a substation
directly. The majority of power system transients is, however, the result of a switching
action. Load break switches and disconnectors switch off and switch on parts of the
network under load and no-load conditions. Fuses and circuit breakers interrupt higher
currents and clear short-circuit currents flowing in faulted parts of the system. The time
period when transient voltage and current oscillations occur is in the range of
microseconds to milliseconds. On this timescale, the presence of a short-circuit current
during a system fault can be regarded as a steady-state situation, wherein the energy is
mainly in the magnetic field, and when the fault current has been interrupted, the
system is transferred into another steady-state situation, wherein the energy is
predominantly in the electric field. The energy exchange from the magnetic field to the
electric field is when the system
is visualised by lumped elements, noticed by transient current and voltage oscillations.

In this chapter, a few simple switching transients are thoroughly analysed to acquire a
good understanding of the physical processes that play a key role in the transient time
period of a power system. As switching devices, we make use of the ideal switch. The

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ideal switch in closed position is an ideal conductor (zero resistance) and in open
position is an ideal isolator (infinite resistance). The ideal switch changes from close to
open position instantaneously, and the sinusoidal current is always interrupted at
current zero.

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UNIT-II
SWITCHING TRANSIENTS
Part-A

1. What are the various faults that would affect an alternator? [CO2-L2-
Nov/Dec2011]
(a) Stator faults
1, Phase to phase faults
2, Phase to earth faults
3, Inter turn faults
(b) 1, Earth faults
2, Fault between turns
3, Loss of excitation due to fuel failure
(c) 1, Over speed
2, Loss of drive
3, Vacuum failure resulting in condenser pressure rise, resulting in shattering of the
turbine low pressure casing
(d) 1, Fault on lines
2, Fault on busbars
2. What are the main safety devices available with transformer? [CO2-L1-Nov/Dec
2013]
Oil level guage, sudden pressure delay, oil temperature indicator, winding temperature
indicator
3. What are the problems arising in differential protection in power transformer
and how are they overcome? [CO2-L2-May/June 2011]

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1. Difference in lengths of pilot wires on either sides of the relay. This is overcome by
connecting adjustable resistors to pilot wires to get equipotential points on the pilot
wires.
2. Difference in CT ratio error difference at high values of short circuit currents that
makes the relay to operate even for external or through faults. This is overcome by
introducing bias coil.
3. Tap changing alters the ratio of voltage and currents between HV and LV sides and
the relay will sense this and act. Bias coil will solve this.
4. Magnetizing inrush current appears wherever a transformer is energized on its
primary side producing harmonics. No current will be seen by the [Link]’s as
there is no load in the circuit
4. Define Basic Impulse Level. [CO2-L1-Nov/Dec 2014]
It is defined as the minimum insulation impulse withstands voltage of any power
equipment or apparatus. The BIL of a power system is usually chosen as 25% to 30%
more than the protective level offered by the protective devices.
5. What are inelastic collisions? [CO2-L2-May/June 2009]
They are those in which internal changes in energy takes place within an atom or a
molecule at the expense of the total kinetic energy of the colliding particle. The collision
often results in a change in the structure of the atom.
6. What are the causes of bus zone faults? [CO2-L2-Nov/Dec 2011]
 Failure of support insulator resulting in earth fault
 Flashover across support insulator during over voltage
 Heavily polluted insulator causing flashover
 Earthquake, mechanical damage etc.
7. Define collision cross section. [CO2-L2-Nov/Dec 2010]

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It is defined as the area of contact between two particles during a collision. In other
words the total area of impact.
8. What is ionization? [CO2-L3-Nov/Dec 2011]
The process of liberating an electron from a gas molecule with a simultaneous
production of a positive ion is called ionization.
9. What is power swing? [CO2-L1-Nov/Dec 2010]
During switching of lines or wrong synchronization surges of real and reactive power
flowing in transmission line causes severe oscillations in the voltage and current
vectors. It is represented by curves originating in load regions and traveling towards
relay characteristics.
10. What is CPMC? [CO2-L2- May/June 2013]
It is combined protection, monitoring and control system incorporated in the static
system.
11. Define Resistance switching. [CO2-L2-Nov/Dec 2011]
It is the method of connecting a resistance in parallel with the contact space(arc). The
resistance reduces the restriking voltage frequency and it diverts part of the arc current.
It assists the circuit breaker in interrupting the magnetizing current and capacity current.
12. What do you mean by current chopping? [CO2-L2-Nov/Dec 2011]
When interrupting low inductive currents such as magnetizing currents of the
transformer, shunt reactor, the rapid deionization of the contact space and blast effect
may cause the current to be interrupted before the natural current zero. This
phenomenon of interruption of the current before its natural zero is called current
chopping.
13. What are the methods of capacitive switching? [CO2-L1-Nov/Dec 2013]
• Opening of single capacitor bank
• Closing of one capacitor bank against another

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14. State the properties of good dielectrics[CO2-L1-May/June 2012]

Low dielectric loss, high mechanical strength, should be free from gaseous inclusions
and moisture and be resistant to thermal and chemical deterioration.
15. What is meant by ferro resistance? [CO2-L2-Nov/Dec 2011]
The variation of input voltage that is insufficient duration to allow visual vibration of a
change in electric light source intensity.
16. what is the difference between restrikes & multiple restrikes? [CO2-L1-
Nov/Dec 2013]
That's because it's harder for them to reach peak demand during the day when
everyone's running AC. So they might charge less in the evenings to try to get you to
move some of your consumption (like laundry machines) outside of those daytime
hours. And even if your utility doesn't have cheaper rates at night, if your utility has a
demand charge it could pay to shift your laundry to the evenings, because running
laundry + air conditioning at the same time results in a higher demand.
17 What is meant by recovery voltage? [CO2-L2- May/June 2011]
The power frequency rms voltage appearing across the breaker contacts arc is
extinguished and transient oscillations die out is called recovery voltage.
18. How the conductor return to ground? [CO2-L1- May/June 2010]
Modal quantities travel both conductor return to ground.
19. Write any two applications of switching? [CO2-L3- May/June 2013]
 Design of carier propagation.
 Radio interference
 Control band of instrument.

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Part -B

1. Explain over voltages due to switching transients[CO2-L3- May/June 2013]

Transient over voltages
Transient overvoltages in electrical transmission and distribution networks result from
the effects of lightning strikes and switching operations and are hence unavoidable.
They are of very short duration (microseconds to milliseconds) and can be of large
magnitude. Transient overvoltages and other power quality disturbances cause billions
of dollars of losses each year worldwide due to damaged equipment and lost
[Link] are also known as surges or spikes but will be referred to in this
Technical Note by their more correct technical name of transient overvoltages.
This Technical Note will classify transient overvoltages, detail what causes them, and
explain how they travel through the distribution network. A subsequent Technical Note
(in preparation) will describe the impact of transient overvoltages on network and
customer equipment,and suggest ways to either protect distribution networks and
customer equipment or prevent the transient overvoltage from occurring.

Sources of over voltages

There are two main sources of transient over voltages on utility systems, capacitor
switching and Lightning. These are also sources of transient over voltages as well as
many of other switching phenomena within end-user facilities. Some power electronic
devices generate significant transients when they switch.
Transient over voltages can be generated at high frequency (load switching and
lightning), medium frequency (capacitor energizing), or low frequency.
Capacitor switching

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Capacitor switching is one of the most common switching events on utility systems.
Capacitors are used to provide reactive power (in units of vars) to correct the power
factor, which reduces losses and supports the voltage on the system. They are a very
economical and generally trouble-free means of accomplishing these goals. Alternative
methods such as the use of rotating machines and electronic var compensators are
much more costly or have high maintenance costs. Thus, the use of capacitors on
power systems is quite common and will continue to be. One drawback to the use of
capacitors is that they yield oscillatory transients when switched. Some capacitors are
energized all the time (a fixed bank), while others are switched according to load levels.
Various control means, including time, temperature, voltage, current, and reactive
power, are used to determine when the capacitors are switched. It is common for
controls to combine two or more of these functions, such as temperature with voltage
override.
Restriking voltage and recovery voltage
It is the transient voltage that appears across the contacts at or near current zero during
arcing [Link] dielectric strength rise is greater than the rise of restriking voltage then
the arc will not restrike.

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RestrikingVoltage :
it is the transient voltage that exists during the arcing time. ( natural frequency kHz ).
Recovery Voltage :
it is the rms voltage after final arc extinction. ( normal frequency 50 or 60 Hz). both
voltages appear between circuit breaker poles.
s a piece of equipment which can Make or break a circuit either
manually or by remote control under normal conditions.

er consists of fixed and moving contacts called electrodes

automatically unless the system becomes faulty .These contacts can be opened
manually or by remote control.
a fault occurs in a circuit the trip coils of the circuit breaker get energized and
the moving contacts are pulled apart by some mechanism ,thus opening the circuit.
Rate of rise of recovery voltage
It is the rate of increase of restriking voltage and is abbreviated by R.R.R.V. its unit is
kV/m [Link] the fig2 below showing the opening of circuit breaker under fault
conditions. Before current interruption, the capacitance C is short circuited by the fault
and the short circuit
current through the breaker is limited by inductance L of the system The short circuit
current will lag the voltage by 90° where i represents the short circuit current and ea
represents the arc voltage. Under short circuit condition the entire generator voltage
appears across inductance L. when the contacts are opened and the arc finally
extinguishes at some current zero, the generator voltage e is suddenly applied to the
inductance and capacitance in series. This L-C combination forms an oscillatory circuit

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produces a transient of frequency;fn= 1/ [ 2π(LC)1/2] , which appears across the

capacitor and hence across the contacts of the circuit breaker. This transient voltage is
known as restriking voltage and may reach an instantaneous peak value twice the peak
phase neutral voltage i.e. 2 Em. It is R.R.R.V, which decides whether the arc will re-
strike. If R.R.R.V is greater than the rate of rise of dielectric strength between the
contacts, the arc will re-strike. The arc will fail to re-strike if R.R.R.V is less than the rate
of increase of dielectric strength between the contacts of the breaker.
The value of R.R.R.V depends on:

2. Explain Resistance switching. [CO2-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]

To reduce the restriking voltage, RRRV and severity of the transient oscillations, a
resistance is connected across the contacts of the circuit breaker. This is known as
resistance switching. The resistance is in parallel with the arc. A part of the arc current
flows through this resistance resulting in a decrease in the arc current and increase in
the deionization of the arc path and resistance of the arc. This process continues and
the current through the shunt resistance increases and arc current decreases. Due to
the decrease in the arc current, restriking voltage and RRRV are reduced. The
resistance may be automatically switched in with the help of a sphere gap as shown in
Fig. The resistance switching is of great help in switching out capacitive current or low
inductive current.

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The analysis of resistance switching can be made to find out the critical value of the
shunt resistance to obtain complete damping of transient oscillations. Figure 5.8 shows
the equivalent
electrical circuit for such an analysis.
Unipolar switching

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Unipolar systems usually have a dielectric that is a simple TMO. Examples are NiO [12],
CuO, CoO, Fe2O3 , HfO, TiO2Ta2O5 , Nb2O5 [10,11]. These systems are good
insulators with a large resistivity. They would normally not show any RS effect. To get
the systems into the switching regime it is usually required to perform and initial
‗electroforming‘ step. In this process, a strong electric field is applied, which brings the
system close to the dielectric break down. A full break down is prevented by a current
limitation or compliance. After this ‗SET‘ procedure, the resistance of the device shows
a significant decrease, reaching a ‗low resistance‘ state, RLO , which is stable, i.e.,
non-volatile. This state has an ohmic I-V characteristic at low bias. To switch the system
to the ‗high resistance‘ state, RHI ,a voltage has to be applied to the device, with either
the same or opposite polarity than the previously applied ‗forming‘ voltage. In this
‗RESET‘ step, the resistance of the system suddenly increases, back to a ‗high
resistance‘
value close to the original one. No current compliance should be used in the RESET
step. In fact, the resistance change occurs when the current through the device
becomes larger than the value of the compliance. To SET the system again in the low
resistance state, a voltage with current compliance has to be once again applied,
similarly to the forming step. The system‘s resistance suddenly decreases down to a
value close to RLO at a threshold voltage Vth , which is smaller that the forming one.
The SET and RESET switching process can be repeated may times. The magnitude of
resistance change typically remains within well-defined values, however some
dispersion is often observed. An example of a typical electroforming and successive
RESET and SET steps are shown in Fig

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Bipolar switching
Bipolar resistive switching has been observed in a variety of ternary oxides with
perovskite structure such as SrTiO3(STO), SrZrO3 , and also in more complex systems
such as the ‗colossal‘ magneto resistive manganites LSMO, LCMO, PCMO, PLCMO,
and even incuprate superconductors YBCO and BSCCO. Some reports indicate that
better performance may be obtained by small chemical substitution, such as Bi:SrTiO3
and Cr:SrTiO3 . These bipolar systems may be either insulators or poor metals. Strong
hysteresis in the two-terminal resistance
is often observed without the need of an initial forming step. Nevertheless, electro-
forming usually done, as it may improve the reproducibility of resistive switching, but this
initial forming

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step remains not well understood. The choice of a proper electrode material for each
dielectric is an important issue for bipolar devices. Sawa and collaborators have
performed a systematic study, concluding that a key feature for RS is the formation of
Shottky barriers [10]. In fact, the observed scaling of RHI and RLO with the geometry of
the devices indicate that the phenomenon should take place at the electrode/oxide
interfaces.

3. Explain current chopping. [CO2-L3- Nov/Dec 2016]

Current chopping is a term that came to our vocabulary with the advent of vacuum
switching which was commercially started back in the 1950‘s. Earlier switching means in
air or oil are in terms of dielectric recovery rate relatively slow and as the main contacts
would part the arc would go through several zero crossings before it would finally go out
and the dielectric strength across the now open gap be strong to prevent a restrike, and
thus continuation of current for a further half cycle. With the introduction of vacuum as a
dielectric medium that has a completely different characteristic to that of air or oil
dielectrics in so much that it has a very rapid dielectric recovery rate. Upon opening the
main contacts of a vacuum interrupter whether is be a circuit breaker or a contactor,
high velocity movements are easily obtained because of the low mass and small
movements required to obtain arc isolation up to limited high voltages. As such, the arc
will be extinguished at the first current zero and within half a cycle. Because of the rapid
recovery rate of the dielectric, the arc, in vacuum interrupter will tend to go out before
current zero which will result in an instantaneous current drop to zero and lead to an
induced voltage or voltage transient being generated to down-stream equipment.

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This can be seen by calculating the formula. Vt = IC xZ0 Vt – Voltage Transient IC –

Current Chop Z0 – Surge Impedance Therefore if the current chop is .9 of an amp and
the surge impedance is 3,000 ohm‘s, the voltage transient will equal 2700 volts on top
of the RMS system
voltage whether it be 4160 or 5KV. However if the current chop is 5 amps times surge
impedance of 3,000 ohms, then the voltage transient can equal 15KV on top of the RMS
supply
voltage. You will notice from the above that some assumptions are made with regards
to surge impedance values which are difficult to obtain and vary per circuit. In addition,
the voltage transient value that a motor or dry type transformer will withstand is difficult
to obtain from motor and transformer manufacturers. Therefore Joslyn Clark has taken
the approach in their designs by the contact material mix gives an interrupt
characteristic more than capable of handling the maximum horsepower rating lock rotor
currents in terms of interrupt level and keeping the chopping current to an absolute
minimum. Over the years this philosophy has proven itself as unlike other
manufacturers we have yet to see motor insulation problems created by our contactor.
The motors manufactured to NEMA design standards which we consider high class or

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on motors produced to IEC standards which we consider to be of a lower class, cheaper

version.

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4. Explain ferro-resonance overvoltages. [CO2-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]

Partial resonance conditions occur in power systems when unbalanced configuration
occurs so
as to place capacitances in series with inductances.

When a transformer is connected to a long transmission line and both are switched
together, such a condition might occur as shown in Fig. 10.6. Under normal operating
conditions, the line capacitance to ground is energized by the phase voltage. However,
suppose during a switching operation, one pole opens or closes non-simultaneously
with the others. The equivalent circuit, Fig. 10.6(b), shows that the line capacitance is in
series with the transformer inductance in the open phase. The condition when two poles
are open may be seen in Fig. 10.6(b). The problem involves very difficult analysis and
must take into account the distributed capacitance of line and the non-linear

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magnetization curve of the transformer. This is a highly specialized topic and will not be
considered further. The problem is also very important in urban distribution where long
cables are used underground and failures to both cable and transformer insulations
have resulted in great expense and inconvenience to consumers and power companies,
especially since load-shedding and frequent switching has become common.

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UNIT- III
LIGHTNING TRANSIENTS
Part-A

1. What are the classifications of high voltages? [CO3-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]

High dc , high ac of power frequency , high ac of high frequency and impulse voltages.
2. What is RRRV? [CO3-L1- Nov/Dec 2013]
It is the rate of rise of restriking voltage, expressed in volts per microsecond. It is losely
associated with natural frequency of oscillation.
3. Write the classification of circuit breakers based on the medium used for arc
extinction? [CO3-L2- Nov/Dec 2012]
 Air break circuit breaker
 Oil circuit breaker
 minimum oil circuit breaker
 Air blast circuit breaker
 SF6 circuit breaker
4. Mention few drawbacks of core type furnace. [CO3-L1- May/June 2014]
 Due to poor magnetic coupling , leakage reactance is high and power factor is
low
 Low frequency supply is required
5. State the advantage of core less induction furnace[CO3-H1- Nov/Dec 2009]
 Time taken to reach the melting temp is less
 There is no smoke and noise
6. What are the hazards imposed by oil when it is used as an arc quenching
medium? [CO3-L2- Nov/Dec 2010]
There is a risk of fire since it is inflammable. It may form an explosive mixture with arc.
So oil is preferred as an arc quenching medium.

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7. What are the advantages of oil as arc quenching medium? [CO3-L3- May/June
2014]
• It absorbs the arc energy to decompose the oil into gases, which have excellent
cooling properties
• It acts as an insulator and permits smaller clearance between line conductors and
earthed components
8. Why faults occur in a power system? [CO3-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]
The faults occur in a power system due to
 Insulation failure of equipment
 Flashover of lines initiated by a lighting stroke
 Due to permanent damage to conductors and towers or due to accidental faulty
operations.
9. List the various types of faults. [CO3-L2- may/june 2012]
(i) Series fault or open circuit fault
 One open conductor fault
 Two open conductor fault
(ii) Shunt fault or short circuit fault.
Symmetrical fault or balanced fault
Three phase fault Unsymmetrical fault or unbalanced fault
 Line to ground (L-G) fault
 Line to Line (L-L) fault
 Double line to ground (L-L-G) fault
10. What are demerits of MOCB? [CO3-L1- May/June 2014]
 Short contact life
 Frequent maintenance
 Possibility of explosion

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 Larger arcing time for small currents

 Prone to restricts
11. How are impulse waves specified? [CO3-L1- Nov/Dec 2015]
By defining the rise of front time, fall times to 50% peak value and the value of the peak
voltage.
12. Mention the factors contributing to good line design. [CO3-H1- May/June
2011]
In the laboratory with a combination of a series R-L-C circuit under over damped
conditions or by the combination of 2 R-C circuits.
13. What are the disadvantages of MOCB over a mechanism of lighting strokes?
[CO3-L3- Nov/Dec 2013]
 The degree of carbonization is increased due to smaller quantity of oil There is
difficulty of removing the gases from the contact space in time
 The dielectric strength of the oil deteriorates rapidly due to high degree of
Carbonization.
14. What is sub transient reactance? [CO3-L2- May/June 2015]
The synchronous reactance is the ratio of induced emf on no load and the subtransient
symmetrical rms current.

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Part-B
1. Explain Lightning details. [CO3-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]
Lightning is produced in an attempt by nature to maintain dynamic balance between the
positively charged ionosphere and the negatively charged earth.
Over fair-weather areas there is a downward transfer of positive charges through the
global air-earth current. This is then counteracted by thunderstorms, during which
positive charges are transferred upward in the form of lightning. During thunderstorms,
positive and negative charges are separated by the movements of air currents forming
ice crystals in the upper layer of a cloud and rain in the lower part.
The cloud becomes negatively charged and has a larger layer of positive charge at its
top. As the separation of charge proceeds in the cloud, the potential difference between
the centers of charges ‗increases and the vertical electric field along the cloud also
increases. The total potential difference between the two main charge centers may vary
from l00 to 1000 MV. Only a part of the total charge-several hundred coulombs is
released to earth by lightning; the rest is consumed in inter cloud discharges. The height
of the thundercloud dipole above earth may reach5 km in tropical regions.

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Figure: 1 Overvoltage Due To Arcing Ground

The Lightning Discharge

The channel to earth is first established by a stepped discharge called a leader stroke.
The leader is initiated by a breakdown between polarized water droplets at the cloud
base caused by the high electric field, or a discharge between the negative charge
mass in the lower cloud and the positive charge pocket below it. (Figure 1.2) As the
downward leader approaches the earth, an upward leader begins to proceed from earth
before the former reaches earth. The upward leader joins the downward one at a point
referred to as the striking point. This is the start of the return stroke, which progresses
upward like a travelling wave on a transmission line

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Figure:1.2 Developmental Stages Of A Lighting Flash And The Corresponding Current

Surge

LIGHTNING PHENOMENON

At the earthling point a heavy impulse current reaching the order of tens of kilo amperes
occurs, which is responsible for the known damage of lightning. The velocity of
progression of the return stoke is very high and may reach half the speed of light. The
corresponding current
heats its path to temperatures up to 20,000°C, causing the explosive air expansion that
is heard as thunder. The current pulse rises to its crest in a few microseconds and
decays over a period of tens or hundreds of microseconds.
Facts about Lightning

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A strike can average 100 million volts of electricity

Current of up to 100,000 amperes

Can generate 54,000

Lightning strikes somewhere on the Earth every second

Kills hundreds of people every year.

Use The Five Second Rule Light travels at about 186,291 miles/second

Sound travels at only 1,088 feet/second

You will see the flash of lightning almostimmediately5280/1088= 4.9

About 5 seconds for sound to travel 1 mile1 miles (statute) is equal to 1,609.34 meters.1
Feet are equal to 0.30 meters.

Lightning Voltage Surges

The most severe lightning stroke is that which strikes a phase conductor on the
transmission line
It produces the highest overvoltage for a given stroke current.

The lightning stroke injects its current into a termination impedance Z, which in this case
is half the line surge impedance Zo since the current will flow in both directions as
shown In Figure1.3. Therefore, the voltage surge magnitude at the striking points = (½)
IZo The lightning current magnitude is rarely less than 10 kA. For typical overhead line
surge impedance Zo of 300 Ω, the lightning surge voltage will Probably have a
magnitude in excess of1500 kV.

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Figure:1.3 Developmental Lighting over voltage

2. EFFECT OF LIGHTNING [CO3-L2- May/June 2015]

The impedance of the lightning channel itself is much larger than 1/2Zo (it is believed to
range from l00to 3000 Ω).
Lightning voltage surge will have the same shape characteristics.
In practice the shapes and magnitudes of lightning surge waves get modified by their
Reflections at points of discontinuity as they travel along transmission lines.
Lightning strokes represent true danger to life, structures, power systems, and
Communication networks.
Lightning is always a major source of damage to power systems where equipment
Insulation may break down, under the resulting overvoltage and the subsequent high-
Energy discharge.

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Lightning has been a source of wonder to mankind for thousands of years. Scotland
points out that any real scientific search for the first time was made into the
phenomenon of lightning by Franklin in18th century. Before going into the various
theories explaining the charge formation in a thunder cloud and the mechanism of
lightning, it is desirable to review some of the accepted facts concerning the thunder.
3. Explain Cloud and The Associated Phenomenon. [CO3-L1- Nov/Dec 2015]
The height of the cloud base above the surrounding ground level may vary from 160 to
9,500m. The charged centers which are responsible for lightning are in the range of 300
to 1500 m.
The maximum charge on a cloud is of the order of 10 coulombs which is built up
exponentially
over a period of perhaps many seconds or even minutes. The maximum potential of a
cloud lies approximately within the range of 10 MV to 100 MV.
The energy in a lightning stroke may be of the order of 250 kWhr.
Raindrops:
Raindrops elongate and become unstable under an electric field, the limiting diameter
being0.3 cm in a field of 100 kV/cm. A free falling raindrop attains a constant velocity
with respect to the air depending upon its size. This velocity is 800 cms/sec. for drops of
the size 0.25 cm dia. and is zero for spray. This means that in case the air currents are
moving upwards with a velocity greater than 800 cm/sec, no rain drop can fall. Falling
raindrops greater than 0.5 cm in dia become unstable and break up into smaller drops.
When a drop is broken up by air currents, the water particles become positively charged
and the air negatively charged. When ice crystal strikes with air currents, the ice crystal
is negatively charged and the air positively charged.
Wilson’s Theory of Charge Separation Wilson‘s theory is based on the assumption that
a large number of ions are present in the atmosphere. Many of these ions attach

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themselves to small dust particles and water particles. It also assumes that an electric
field exists in the earth‘s atmosphere during fair weather which is directed downwards
towards the earth (Figure.1.4 (a)). The intensity of the field is approximately 1 volt/cm at
the surface of the earth and decreases gradually with height so that at 9,500 m it is only
about 0.02 V/cm. A relatively large raindrop (0.1 cm radius) falling in this field becomes
polarized, the upper side acquires a negative.

Figure:1.4 (a) Capture of negative ions by large falling drop; (b) Charge
separation in a thunder cloud according to Wilson’s theory.
4. State Wilson’s Theory of Charge Separation.
Wilson‘s theory is based on the assumption that a large number of ions are present in
the atmosphere. Many of these ions attach themselves to small dust particles and water
particles. It also assumes that an electric field exists in the earth‘s atmosphere during
fair weather which is directed downwards towards the earth (Figure.1.4 (a)). The

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intensity of the field is approximately 1 volt/cm at the surface of the earth and decreases
gradually with height so that at 9,500 m it is only about 0.02 V/cm. A relatively large
raindrop (0.1 cm radius) falling in this field becomes polarized, the upper side acquires a
negative charge and the lower side a positive charge. Subsequently, the lower part of
the drop attracts –ve charges from the atmosphere which are available in abundance in
the atmosphere leaving a preponderance of positive charges in the air.
The upwards motion of air currents tends to carry up the top of the cloud, the +ve air
and smaller drops that the wind can blow against gravity. Meanwhile the falling heavier
raindrops which are negatively charged settle on the base of the cloud. It is to be noted
that the selective action of capturing –ve charges from the atmosphere by the lower
surface of the drop is possible. No such selective action occurs at the upper surface.
Thus in the original system, both the positive and negative charges which were mixed
up, producing essentially a neutral space charge, are now separated.
Thus according to Wilson‘s theory since larger negatively charged drops settle on the
base of the cloud and smaller positively charged drops settle on the upper positions of
the cloud, the lower base of the cloud is negatively charged and the upper region is
positively charged (Figure.1.4 (b)). Simpson’s and Scarse Theory Simpson‘s theory is
based on the temperature variations in the various regions of the cloud. When water
droplets are broken due to air currents, water droplets acquire positive charges whereas
the air is negatively charged. Also when ice crystals strike with air, the air is positively
charged and the crystals negatively charged. The theory is explained with the help of
Fig. 1.5.

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Figure:1.5 Charge generation and separation in a thunder

cloud according to Simpson‘s theory Let the cloud move in the direction from left to right
as shown by the arrow. The air currents are also shown in the diagram. If the velocity of
the air currents is about 10 m/sec in the base of the cloud, these air currents when
collide with the water particles in the base of the cloud, the water drops are broken and
carried upwards unless they combine together and fall down in a pocket as shown by a
pocket of positive charges (right bottom region in Fig. 7.23). With the collision of water
particles we know the air is negatively charged and the water particles positively
charged. These negative charges in the air are immediately absorbed by the cloud
particles which are carried away upwards with the air currents. The air currents go still
higher in the cloud where the moisture freezes into ice crystals.
The air currents when collide with ice crystals the air is positively charged and it goes in
the upper region of cloud whereas the negatively charged ice crystals drift gently down
in the lower region of the cloud. This is how the charge is separated in a thundercloud.
Once the charge separation is complete, the conditions are now set for a lightning
stroke.
5. Explain Mechanism of Lightning Stroke [CO3-L1- May/June 2015]

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Lightning phenomenon is the discharge of the cloud to the ground. The cloud and the
ground form two plates of a gigantic capacitor and the dielectric medium is air. Since the
lower part of the cloud is negatively charged, the earth is positively charged by
induction. Lightning discharge will require the puncture of the air between the cloud and
the earth. For breakdown of air at STP condition the electric field required is 30 kV/cm
peak. But in a cloud where the moisture content in the air is large and also because of
the high altitude (lower pressure) it is seen that for breakdown of air the electric field
required is only 10 kV/cm. The mechanism of lightning discharge is best explained with
the help of Fig. 1.6. After a gradient of approximately 10 kV/cm is set up in the cloud,
the air surrounding gets ionized. At this a streamer (Fig. 1.6(a)) starts from the cloud
towards the earth which cannot be detected with the naked eye; only a spot travelling is
detected.
The current in the streamer is of the order of 100 amperes and the speed of the
streamer is 0.16 m/μ sec. This streamer is known as pilot streamer because this leads
to the lightning phenomenon. Depending upon the state of ionization of the air
surrounding the streamer, it is branched to several paths and this is known as stepped
leader (Fig.1.6(b)). The leader steps are of the order of 50 m in length and are
accomplished in about a microsecond. The charge is brought from the cloud through the
already ionized path to these pauses. The air surrounding these pauses is again ionized
and the leader in this way reaches the earth (Fig.1.6(c)).Once the stepped leader has
made contact with the earth it is believed that a power return stroke(Fig. 1.6(c)) moves
very fast up towards the cloud through the already ionized path by the leader. This
streamer is very intense where the current varies between 1000 amps and 200,000
amps and the speed is about 10% that of light. It is here where the –ve charge of the
cloud is being neutralized by the positive induced charge on the earth (Fig. 1.6 (d)).

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It is this instant which gives rise to lightning flash which we observe with our naked eye.
There may be another cell of charges in the cloud near the neutralized charged cell.
This charged cell will try to neutralize through this ionized path. This streamers known
as dart leader (Fig.1.6 (e)). The velocity of the dart leader is about 3% of the velocity of
light. The effect of the dart leader is much more severe than that of the return stroke.
The discharge current in the return streamer is relatively very large but as it lasts only
for a few microseconds the energy contained in the streamer is small and hence this
streamer is known as cold lightning stroke whereas the dart leader is known as hot
lightning stroke because even though the current in this leader is relatively smaller but it
lasts for some milliseconds and therefore the energy contained in this leader is relatively
larger.
It is found that each thunder cloud may contain as many as 40 charged cells and a
heavy lightning stroke may occur. This is known as multiple stroke. 1.2.3 Line Design
Based On Lightning The severity of switching surges for voltage 400 kV and above is
much more than that due to lightning voltages. All the same it is desired to protect the
transmission lines against direct lightning strokes. The object of good line design is to
reduce the number of outages caused by lightning. To achieve this following actions are
required. (I) The incidence of stroke on to power conductor should be minimized. (ii)
The effect of those strokes which are incident on the system should be minimized. To
achieve (i) we know that lightning normally falls on tall objects; thus tall towers are more
vulnerable to lightning than the smaller towers. In order to keep smaller tower height for
a particular ground clearance, the span lengths will decrease which requires more
number of towers and hence the associated accessories like insulators etc. The cost will
go up very high. Therefore, a compromise has to be made so that adequate clearance
is provided, at the same time keeping longer span and hence lesser number of towers.

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Figure:1.6 Lightning mechanism

With a particular number of towers the chances of incidence of lightning on power
conductor scan be minimized by placing a ground wire at the top of the tower structure.
. The tower presents a discontinuity to the travelling waves; therefore they suffer

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reflections and refraction. The system is, then, equivalent to a line bifurcated at the
[Link] know that the voltage and current transmitted into the tower will depend
upon the surge impedance of the tower and the ground impedance (tower footing
resistance) of the tower. If it is low, the wave reflected back up the tower will largely
remove the potential existing due to the incident wave. In this way the chance of
flashover is eliminated. If, on the other hand, the incident wave encounters high ground
impedance, positive reflection will take place and the potential on the top of the tower
structure will be raised rather than lowered. It is, therefore, desired that for good line
design high surge impedances in the ground wire circuits, the tower structures and the
tower footing should be avoided.

6. Lightning protection systems[CO3-L2- May/June 2011]

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Busbars are used for ground conductors in high-current circuits.

Lightning protection systems are designed to mitigate the effects of lightning through
connection to extensive grounding systems that provide a large surface area connection
to earth. The large area is required to dissipate the high current of a lightning strike
without damaging the system conductors by excess heat. Since lightning strikes are
pulses of energy with very high frequency components, grounding systems for lightning
protection tend to use short straight runs of conductors to reduce the self-inductance
and skin effect.

Bonding

Strictly speaking, the terms grounding or earthing are meant to refer to an electrical
connection to ground/earth. Bonding is the practice of intentionally electrically
connecting metallic items not designed to carry electricity. This brings all the bonded
items to the same electrical potential as a protection from electrical shock. The bonded
items can then be connected to ground to bring them to earth potential.

Ground (earth) mat

In an electrical substation a ground (earth) mat is a mesh of conductive material

installed at places where a person would stand to operate a switch or other apparatus; it
is bonded to the local supporting metal structure and to the handle of the switchgear, so
that the operator will not be exposed to a high differential voltage due to a fault in the
substation.

In the vicinity of electrostatic sensitive devices, a ground (earth) mat or grounding

(earthing) mat is used to ground static electricity generated by people and moving

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equipment. There are two types used in static control: Static Dissipative Mats, and
Conductive Mats.

A static dissipative mat that rests on a conductive surface (commonly the case in
military facilities) are typically made of 3 layers (3-ply) with static dissipative vinyl layers
surrounding a conductive substrate which is electrically attached to ground (earth). For
commercial uses, static dissipative rubber mats are traditionally used that are made of 2
layers (2-ply) with a tough solder resistant top static dissipative layer that makes them
last longer than the vinyl mats, and a conductive rubber bottom. Conductive mats are
made of carbon and used only on floors for the purpose of drawing static electricity to
ground as quickly as possible. Normally conductive mats are made with cushioning for
standing and are referred to as "anti-fatigue" mats.

3 ply static dissipative vinyl grounding mat shown at macro scale

For a static dissipative mat to be reliably grounded it must be attached to a path to

ground. Normally, both the mat and the wrist strap are connected to ground by using a
common point ground system (CPGS).

In computer repair shops and electronics manufacturing workers must be grounded

before working on devices sensitive to voltages capable of being generated by humans.

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For that reason static dissipative mats can be and are also used on production
assembly floors as "floor runner" along the assembly line to draw static generated by
people walking up and down

7. What is tower footing resistance? What are the effects of it? [CO3-L2- May/June
2012]

Tower footing resistance (Rt) is the resistance offered by the metal parts of the tower+
the ground resistance. It is important for the protection against Surge Voltages. If it is
high then even if a lightning hits the earth wire and travels through the tower to earth,
the voltage developed at the cross arm of the tower (which is normally at zero potential)
could be so high as to produce a 'Back Flash-Over' thus transferring the surge that
should have been discharged to ground, to the phase conductors and travelling on
either side towards the power transformers, C.B s, switches, bus bars [Link] the the
very purpose of using the earth wire on top to shield the phase conductors is lost if the
tower footing resistance is not kept low.

Tower footing resistance is the resistance offered by tower footing to the dissipation of
current. The effective wire depends to a large extended on the tower footing resistance.
The tower top potential depends on the resistance. Significance: A low value of tower
footing resistance results in less voltage stresses across line insulation. A tower footing
resistance of 20Ω for EHV lines and 10 Ω for HV lines provides sufficient lightning
protection. Depends on Type of electrode configuration employed. Soil resistivity .
8. Give the factors contributing to good line design. [CO3-H3- nov/Dec2011]
In order to reduce the hazard that lightning poses to power system, certain factor that
determine the line performance must be understood.
First we try to keep the incidence of stokes to the system to a minimum.

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The objective of good line design is to reduce the number of outages caused by
lightning.
First we try to keep the incidence of stokes to the system to a minimum.
Then we try to minimize the effects of those strokes that do terminate on the system.
Lightning problems can be eliminated if all transmission was through tunnels at least
20ft under the ground.
Tall towers are more vulnerable than low goal post-like structures. In order to prevent
the lightning, some adequate clearances must be provided.
High ground impedance or tower footing resistance is to be avoided. High surge
impedance in ground wires, tower structures are to be avoided.

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UNIT- IV
TRAVELLING WAVES ON TRANSMISSION LINE
COMPUTATION OF TRANSIENTS
Part-A

1. How does the over voltage surge affect the power system? [CO4-L1- May/June
2012]
The over voltage of the power system leads to insulation breakdown of the equipments.
It causes the line insulation to flash over and may also damage the nearby ransformer,
generators and the other equipment connected to the line.
2. What is pick up value? [CO4-L2- May/June 2013]
It is the minimum current in the relay coil at which the relay starts to operate.
3. Define target. [CO4-L1-Nov/Dec 2012]
It is the indicator used for showing the operation of the relay.
4. Define reach. [CO4-L2-Nov/Dec 2013]
It is the distance upto which the relay will cover for protection.
5. Define blocking. [CO4-L1-Nov/Dec 2014]
It means preventing the relay from tripping due to its own characteristics or due to
additional relays.
6. Mention the problems associated with bifilar strip design. [CO4-L3-Nov/Dec
2012]
The shunt suffers from stray inductance associated with resistance element and its
potential leads are linked to a small part of the magnetic flux generated by the current
that is measured.
7. Mention the different ways in which the stray effect is reduced in resistance
shunt? [CO4-H1- May/June 2012]

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Bifilar flat strip design, Co-axial tube or park’s shunt design and Co-axial squirrel Cage
design.
8. Specify the 2 types of arrangements in sphere gaps. [CO4-L1- May/June 2010]
Vertically with lower sphere grounded and horizontally with bith spheres connected to
the source voltage or one sphere grounded.
9. State the advantages of Sphere gaps? [CO4-L2- Nov/Dec 2013]
They are used for voltage measurements. They are suitable for all types of waveforms
from d.c to impulse voltages of short times. They are used for radio frequency a.c
voltage peak measurements upto 1 MHz.
10. Mention the advantages of field tests. [CO4-L1- May/June 2011]
The circuit breaker is tested under actual conditions like those that occur in the network.
Special occasions like breaking of charging currents of long lines, very short line faults,
interruption of small inductive currents etc… can be tested by direct testing only.

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Part-B
[Link] the Bewley Lattice Diagram [CO4-L2- Nov/Dec 2011]
This is a diagram which shows at a glance the position and direction of motion of every
incident,
reflected and transmitted wave on the system at every instant of time. Providing that the
system
of lines is not too complex the difficulty of keeping track of the multiplicity of successive
reflections is simplified. As a first example, consider the case of an open-circuited line
having the following parameters:

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2. Explain Reflection and Refraction at a Bifurcation[CO4-L2- Nov/Dec 2016]

Let a line of natural impedance Z1 bifurcate into two branches of natural impedances Z2
and Z3, then, as far as the voltage wave is concerned, the transmitted wave will be the
same for both branches, since they are in parallel. On the other hand, the transmitted
currents will be different in the general case of Z3 ≠ Z2. A short time after reflection the
condition will be as shown in Figure B-1 in which it is assumed that the voltage is
reflected with reversal of sign.

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3. Explain Transient response of systems with series and shunt lumped

parameters and distributed lines[CO4-L2- Nov/Dec 2011]

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4. Basic idea of travelling wave. [CO4-L3- Nov/Dec2011]

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5. Explain Standard waves and natural frequencies. [CO4-L1- Nov/Dec 2011]

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6. Explain the step response[CO4-L3- May/June 2013]

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UNIT- V
TRANSIENTS IN INTEGRATED POWER SYSTEM
Part-A

1. State the various types of earthing. [CO5-L2- May/June 2013]

Solid earthing, resistance earthing , reactance earthing , voltage transformer arthing and
zig-zag transformer earthing.
2. State voltage transients on closing and reclosing lines. . [CO5-L1- May/June
2011]
Frechner’s Law states that the same percentage change in stimulus calculated from the
least amount perceptible gives the same change in sensation. Inverse Square Law
states that the intensity of i voltage transients on closing and reclosing lines produced
by a point source varies inversely as square of the distance from the source.
3. Define withstand test voltage.. [CO5-L2- Nov/Dec 2013]
The voltage which has to be applied to a test object under specified conditions in a
withstand test is called withstand voltage.
4. Define switching surges on integrated system. [CO5-L1- Nov/Dec 2011]
The voltage that causes a flashover at each of its applications under specified
conditions when applied to test objects as specified is called switching surges on
integrated system.
5. What is a surge diverter? [CO5-L2- Nov/Dec 2015]
It is a non-linear resistor in series with a spark gap kept at line terminals in the
substations.
6. What is the function of surge arrester? [CO5-L1- Nov/Dec 20132
They are capable of discharging 10 to 20 KA of long duration surges and 100 to 250 KA
of short duration surge currents.
7. Define type test. [CO5-L3- Nov/Dec 2010]

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They are intended to prove or check the design features and the [Link] are done
on samples when new designs or design changes are introduced.
8. Define candle power. [CO5-L2- Nov/Dec 2011]
It is defined as the no. of lumens emitted by that source per unit solid angle in a given
direction. The term candle power is used interchangeably with intensity.

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Part- B
1. Explain Line Dropping and Load Rejection[CO5-L2- Nov/Dec 2013]

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Figure 3.1: Equivalent circuit during load rejection

The secondary side switching of transformers connected to high voltage lines can itself
create over voltages, even without restriking. This comes about again as a result of the
nonlinear properties of the transformer core.
It is well known that magnetizing current of a transformer contains 3rd hormanics. There
is a possibility for considerable harmonic voltage generation due to higher impedance of
both line and transformer.
2. Explain Load Rejection[CO5-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]
Where the line is connected to a major load on a generating station, sudden load
rejection will result in over speeding of the machines and a rise in voltage until such
times as this can be checked by the governers and exciters.
The amplitude of the over voltage can be evaluated approximately, as illustrated by
Fig.3.1,
by,

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where `E' is the voltage behind the transient ractance, which is assumed to be constant
over the subtransient period and its value before the incident, Xs the transient ractance
of the generator in series with the thransformer reactance, and Xc the equivalent
capacitive input reactance of the system.

3. Explain Voltage Transients on Closing and Reclosing Lines[CO5-L2- Nov/Dec

2011]
The transient phenomena will vary according to the system configuration, the source
type, line length, and terminations. For a line open at the far end, three types of
transients on switching are shown in Fig.3.2. Figure 3.2(a) shows a transient which can
be expected when the source is mainly inductive, for example, a single line connected
to a transformer. It is single-frequency transient, and if switching takes place at
maximum voltage in a phase, the transient oscillates to almost twice the value of the
system voltage across the entire line length. Figure 3.2(b) shows a high-frequency
transient which can be expected with innite source impedance. This means that the
system from which the line originates has a number of cables or lines connected to it,
and the line being switched is not longer than the incoming lines. Many line terminations
and connections at the point of origination of the line being switched means that these
terminations present an overall low characteristic impedance compared to the line being
switched. As a result the transient occurs at its natural frequency.

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Figure 3.2(c) shows the pattern of switching transient with complex source impedance,
con- sisting of inductance of transformers and the surge impedance of other lines and
cables feeding
the system. The transient overvoltage occurs at a number of frequencies.

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Highest overvoltages occur when unloaded high-voltage transmission lines are

energized and reenergized and this imposes voltage stresses on circuit breakers.
Figure 3.3(a) shows closing of
a line of surge impedance Z0 and length l, open at the far end. Before the breaker is
closed, the voltage on the supply side of the breaker terminal is equal to the power
system voltage, while the
line voltage is zero. At the moment of closing, the voltage at the sending end must rise
from zero
to the power frequency voltage. This takes place in the form of a traveling wave on the
line with
its peak at um interacting with supply system parameters. As an unloaded line has
capacitive impedance, the steady-state voltage at the supply end is higher than the
system voltage, and due
to Ferranti e_ect, the receiving-end voltage is higher than the sending end. Overvoltage
factor
can be de_ned as follows:

where, um is the highest peak voltage at a given point and un is the power frequency
voltage on
the supply side of the breaker before switching.
The increase in power-frequency overvoltage depends considerably on the line length.
The

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transient voltage is not so simple to determine and depends upon the phase angle at
the closing
instant (Fig. 3.3). At instant t = t1, maximum superposition of transient and power-
frequency

4. Explain Over voltages by faults[CO5-L3- Nov/Dec 2011]

Overvoltage may be produced by certain types of asymmetrical fault such as a ground
fault
on one of the phase conductors of a three-phase transmission line. The situation is
somewhat
analogous to the switching transients except that here instead o_njecting a current, a
voltage
equal and opposite to the prefault voltage at the fault point is applied. The losses in the
system
will dampen the transient by some percentage.

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_ Figure 3.4 shows the faulted system in which a ground fault has occured on the \a"
phase
at point F. Figure 3.5 shows the prefault steady-state voltage VfSa at the fault point. If it
is assumed that a fault occurs at the peak of the prefault voltage and t = 0 at this instant,
then the voltage injected at the fault point is as shown in Figure 3.5 (b). Figure 3.6
shows the de-energised network to which is applied the voltage Vffa. This is also known
as the superimposed voltage.
We can study the problem of overvoltage by asking how the de-energised network
behaves in response to the application of this voltage. Complex analysis based on
travelling wave theory (such as Bewley lattice diagrams) can be used to depict the level
of overvoltage likely to be induced, particularly on the unfaulted phases due to the
injection of the suddenly applied voltage

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at the fault point. A line-ground fault of the type considered here can produce an
overvoltage on an unfaulted phase as high as approximately twice the normal line-to-
neutral voltage. Figure 3.7 gives an example of such an overvoltage, in particular when
the fault occurs at the midpoint of the line; then maximum voltage is at the midpoint the

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unfaulted conductor.

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5. Explain Switching Surges on Integrated System[CO5-L1- Nov/Dec 2011]

The disturbance produced by the switching operation as modified by the interconnected
system
spreads through the system, setting up waves that travel along the lines and reactance
to and froat open ends.
Figure 3.8(a) shows two buses with voltages of 138kV and 345kV interconnected by
auto- transformer. The 138kV bus is fed through the generator transformer. There are
lines connected to both the buses. Figure 3.8 (b) shows a single phase representation.

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A fault at short distance down the line of 354kV bus is considered for the analysis. The
switching operation due to this fault will evoke a response from both the line and the
system.
Figure 3.8 (c) shows the equivalent circuit of the system with a common voltage base.
The lines are represented by the resistances R1 and R2 under transient conditions until
it is modified by reaction from points down the line. The surge impedance of the circuit
is given by,

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6. EMTP (Electromagnetic Transients Program) for transient application and short

line and kilometric fault [CO5-L2- Nov/Dec 2013]

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The EMTP is a computer program designed to solve electrical transient problems in

lumped circuits, distributed circuits, or both. It was introduced by [Link] in the
early 1960s.
Transient analyses can be carried out in circuits with any arbitrary configuration of
lumped parameters (R,L and C). Transmission lines, with distributed parameters,
transposed or untransposed, can be included in the network. Losses in lines are
approximated by lumped resistance. Nonlinear resistaors (for surge arresters) and
nonlinear inductors (for saturable devices) can be represented. It is also possible to
open or close switches to simulate breaker operations, ashovers etc. Both voltage and
current sources are available with sine, ramp, or step functions. Trapped charges can
be recognized. The EMTP is based on the application of the trapezoidal rule to convert
the differential equations of the network components to algebraic equations. This
approach is demonstrated in the following text for the inductance, capacitance, and
lossless line. For the inductance L of a branch between the nodes k and m, it holds

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