A*tet I I or Estimating

A Method ig tnig
stimating Lightning
erormance of ransmission ines
AIEE COMMITTEE REPORT
CINCE the recognition of the direct
J lightning stroke as the principal fac-
tor in causing outages of high-voltage
transmission lines during thunderstorms,
engineers have sought to obtain and cor-
relate data on the nature of lightning, and
to apply such data toward improvements
in the design of transmission systems.
Such investigations have been pursued
through field and laboratory research ac-
companied by theoretical studies, and re-
markable progress has been made in many
directions. Indeed, so much has been
learned about lightning protection of
electric power systems during the past 20
years one might erroneously conclude that
the problem has been solved completely.
Many engineers concerned with the
design or operation of high-voltage trans-
mission lines have devised methods of
combining the known information on the
electrical characteristics of lightning with
those of the lines so that their perform-
ance might be studied more intelligentlv
and that economical methods for reducing
lightning tripouts could be developed.
Notwithstalnding the rather general
appreciation of the fundamental theoret-
.duce
differences in approach and in the ap-
plication of engineering judgment among
well-informed authors.
It is the purpose of this report to pre-
sent a method of estimating the lightning
performance of transmission lines based
on collective evaluation of those factors
believed to be of greatest significance and
incorporating the results of modern
methods of analysis. 1 It is the hope of the
Lightning and Insulator Subcommittee
that a method so evaluated will prove use-
ful to transmission engineers and that any
limitations of the method which remain
will stimulate the research needed to re-
move them. In general, one may classify
transmission-line lightning protection
measures as those whose function is to
prevent the initial insulation sparkover,
and those whose function is to avoid a
line tripout by preventing sustained fault
current following such a flashover. This
report is confined essentially to those of
the first class, although the application
of the method to certain types of con-
struction which fall in both classifications
will be evident.
the impulse voltage impressed
across any element of insulation between
phase conductors and grounded conduc-
tors to a value below the impulse flash-
over voltage of that element. The first
step toward meeting this requirement is
the use of properly located ground wires.
The next step is to devise means of mini-
mizing the voltage which appears across
the insulation as a result of the flow of
lightning current to earth. Finally, one
may investigate whether it is economically
feasible to increase the insulation beyond
the levels dictated by consideration of
switching surges, either by the addition of
insulator units or the use of supplemen-
tary wood insulation. It is outside the
scope of this paper to discuss design fea-
tures in detail, but certain basic prin-
ciples and data will be emphasized in
order to indicate the factors believed to
be of greatest importance in design.
Factors Affecting Insulation
Flashover
The principal factors which determine
the impulse voltage impressed across any
element of line insulation are now well
known and mav be listed as follows:
1. The magnitude of the lightning-stroke
current.
2. The wave shape of the lightning-stroke
current.
3. The inductance and ground resistance of
4. The span length.

ical considerations underlying all these Lines Equipped with Ground Wires 5. Electromagnetic coupling as influenced
by line configuration, conductor spacing,
methods, there have been substantial and height above ground.
It is impractical to provide a sufficiently
Paper 50-163, recommended by the AIEE Trans- high impulse insulation level to with- Some of these factors are influenced by
mission and Distribution Committee and approved stand the voltage which is developed when secondary phenomena whose effects can
presentation at the AIEEESrram Committee for a phase conductor is struck by any but only be approximated in any method of
General Meeting, Pasadena, Calif., June 12-16, the weakest lightning strokes whose cur- analyzing line performance which is to be
1950, and represented at the Middle Eastern Dis-.
trict Meeting, Baltimore, Md., October 3-5, 1950. rents have been recorded. It iS there- of maximum usefulness to the design engi-
Manuscript submitted May 15, 1950; made avail- fore of primary importance to employ neer. These will be discussed later in
May15, 950.shield or ground wires located to inter-
ablepintig
or order to bring out the character of the
This report was prepared by the AIJEE Working
Group on Methods of Estimating the Lightning cept direct strokes and to divert the engineering approximations involved and
Performance of High-Voltage Transmission Lines lightning current to earth through the to indicate lines of further investigation.
of heAIE Lghnig ad nslatr ubommtte, steel towers or conductors provided on Early theoretical investigations of the
Personnel of the AIFE Working Group on Methods
of Estimating the Lightning Performance of High- wood pole structures for this purpose. nature of lightning were concerned with
Voltage Transmission Lines: E. R. Whitehead, The fundamental objective of line estimating cloud potentials, and were
Chairman, L. V. Bewley, G. D. McCann, Jr., E. L.
Harder, S. K. Waldorf, W. W. LSewis. designs employing ground wires is to re- followed by numerous field studies of the

1950, VOLUM'NE 69 Estimsating Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines 1187

 < 5.0 100. Figure 1 (left). X IN FEET
_ __ O 20 40 60 80 l00 120
> Lightning -stroke
' u@O 3 so X X current probabil- 11111
o Cw40.- ityc urve
-J 4

wc, 3.0 -60 - -

cn
WL)
lk~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
SHIELDING h
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ANGLE
T

surge.v 40 - -

.-
a..A 60---l
w'

cn
0
f
C)
or R /7
O h ctiurat ofs-
CflO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~iiu 7lasove votg77 h fln nuato.A euto eea

reurdocas proerhsabe
hoy wir
develpmen of travshieling 80-- antdehvebe"mdaal

LIGHTNINGe
zeeoedw whc hav STROKE CUREN INfMPRE shov01-er. cent exve100.de 100 25rntt
50ok

imarimsporttoance
imptisressdonransissincCs-wihi coupliengfntr
hactori eedn uodh prain1dsrluncre
pherntonda
suretvoltagesene factors of
ofegnern anlss2I>sbsdo rnewv hp fo the pupoe of
linese meitherdircl ord thoughindutio ky avai faet.or
a Vfotesiacted erinethedetermintionjugmn
cnerapl,thcoping imusesaroer
of
abilty o mordat andmoden mehodsis minimumb votaeno
flasover ofunirs
the lne insulation. Aheselcino a
resutofsvea
by tenlghtneeing anlstrok.5 Suc as devel op- hc siundpednpnteeec wave shape ofr the volagriprssdseas
offilinetgiosprcpay
pulscptta h lgtigstoecr ievoltage.gon of
developed2'3'4Fwhichrhave2contributed)quen acos flahoer. inslaio which te eot.Iaigschaslcini
re-ti wave s hapofso currentt
rea tonprogresstionl
traelnhaedestigntheorytin
t he Unsmon
sroeqie fsurvltudy
to causwr,te
it
sparovernthuias become si any
semagnitdesrbeattmp to
tchave establishpfrequency
beene mad wavail
developmdeenent of
prepordisng tathe fatoreof uti
bee
1r
rent
dsrition curves withrespettorwav
methodpacoreseted
ment
lmedathecnceptiofi
eeme in
natral ths
ince
surgek
a t isth
ipdne eces- tem- apent
otineld, ith isonyfecessaryowto
orcountherpinselaisn idetermnce
emlye.Fialy abletind
be found,i
t h litrature.
howeve, thavte
threationly
These
beensnecsryeto been
current
sarfor an eelnsiontad
te ligtningstrok. Witrefmtiof
ahis tare ifcne prrtedtedo
whiachitrokewoiderbl
currbents- shapes,
thena-teve ifrqecoredmupl,theo cpflngfator erciseotecollectve jugen of tee
twith combined c and
iha
acltoiventheostroke e
currntermag-
thsel of m
methods made pos sib by avuatil- extsent. ntude- frequncly,crv ofFx0-iguroec1.on-
gmorexcdthi
enarged,mfeth-g ishavedTe ben roundm to equal
RlyticaossiBiltiesehu
abilt a anHta modEn mREtho afected cane
byst on hee onwie wokng group
ware inethe
i selretintofatref-
nialysufenetedata ons
odashofvalaiglneeromnewr valucaed i nfre toobstainbhu frenigy-
etmted fotuatel there
to
t tl it c g wirepvoltage.Inthecase thi rport In main such a sele it

ctowercapctitncectabte neg- uing catedlcuations of umbse cpovnerva

even f
Relation
normatlyt frorequnc invorsh Afuection
Bewemenctlnindestogrond voTagh ageUpof mhieiproblaemoiseven
meted. possbe mor
daefsigncodyitin omte tine
isetombes fulliy adequattemdatat 2x4upof
cuordiangly, aesarelacing.rqunc
misecond
preqic.Sundevop-
Formalashover wate ashapedisribeont
if idr inss- wave saewa iniestigatllyselected.in tihas
renmtuindpnden lgt-toe
of the stroest.
crminatin thes- oe,teptnilPms eee eial ocos ohawv
plther genoeralreltionsueitin between uncesatieo itahlovue oltae Vukshoud inuex of 30atoh40ekiloampere are
heftors lnlans t hre pereeeding scio belthe vnalue deerminedorith par raga Wime thane onthesett-id-
arealsopwello understod This reton qiculd wavshe
o ipressed, his
tin ines, andrfo
signerequat.Ion 1akthe factTheseP cren abns
represeinits
ully t the oftthsttin-trkcr
(1-c)ncpt ()fo anpeqatio of roked
oinelf currenvotag.IThe
dependetuone ay h
withebscassuptonsa
spades*enmi croseon wave shappe hasebee
abinsltyiforedt fandve moltaerfrmesthods isghfeteding-Stronaeo tharegronwireis, workin groupin thitye sfelection,oandef
magnituderof
impedacrs-toe lightning-stroke.Withtheana-thefrTstroke
thewhcurrenstreuirdk ocas probluem are urrentatsuithe
discussed.srotruck,
nowtftoe sp i dunaitof strok cret.a Ith re-
of petWe
eprps
neticelpossary
sparkover ltouse thuspkenlargedofthe- Thae
p~~ve cnounsideation jqus outlined
ftoe cpciacecn ene-slacstheg res c acltiower-footin
ftundtely teon o the mactosPt mportasnts
resistncervfo-
odsult evleent involved.rThus, ifqequire rinb tie laborsif evntoderate alep
andeothodprserino penthias beportweennecon- invarestighated. e factors of equation Thrstu
h thein use ofun
tht to wave
ctril andetroe ndarefntegied ltctric anagercter a shet,
ithasbeen eea
V g suart oe-
thesepaethodsveaderpossiblebond
of d (1)g ofr line40 posiexo
stu
conditihseionnyaoupitb
idesd fra erFlaces the
shapef owerctingment Rt

rent is of the terminatingstroketoatower,thepotentialPmustheecrst uponthenia tower

ridependent g duatanee
the point

wave at a speciea reference time lag

P=potential from point struck to ground The magnitude and wave shape of the effective strueture resistance to ground,
per-unit stroke current lightning-stroke current have been rec- the span length, and the wave shape of

1188 Estimating Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines AIBE TRANSACTIONS

 lx ~~~200 FT SPAN Figure 3. Curves for esti- -''2 - 1000 FT SPAN~
~~~~~0 NS A
- - - - 0

x
_ _ 510 2~
PEMISIL
~ maigln2eromne''
and insulation
__ 10
QC o
w
- CLTROKE I- +- -- -
- CURE1)T 50 - The number of equivalent 0. 2
2 F 4
PROBAB ILITY
~~~~~CURVE insulators is based upon 10- --
4
3 a
- PERMISSIBLE
- 01 j A IA0 inch diameter 53/4-inch ~21 7 RK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~URRENT
~ ~ ~~ -~-spaced units, and the out- I.-
- __
z

~~~~~~~~~~~~~age PROBABILITY5
z

m
probability is based n
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~on
anisoceraunic level of w E- -- CURVES 0
0cc 0 6 ~~~~~30thunderstorm days per 0ae-
0 0
4 35 ~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~year
M I~1~5 100 %10
U)

IL-a-
w
O2 ~46 B 1IINSULATORS
1I2 14 16 1 20 22 24 (
LISLTR
w Co.- 2 4 6 6 1012 1416 lB 20 22 24

(Al (E)

o -1 400 FT SPAN 0 < 1200 FT SPAN

OW20 -~~~~~~'b2C-
*
X Cc
r
5
~~ ~
>_
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2-
WE
W. ER ISJS
-4 C URRENT 014-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ __STROKE
2 o PERMISSIBLE
ZO
2
12
0
A --
w w ~~~~PROBABILITY a-CRRENT
CA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- - - - POBABILITY - -

0 ~~~~~~~~~~~~0 0
0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0
U- 6
0
U.~~~~ - ---
0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5
-4 -J -4'- - --

--- 0 gr cc~~~~~~~~
0
-
CLa-.0 2 4 6 B 10 1214 16 16 20 2224 a-a-0.0'?246 6 1. 12 14 16 lB 20 22 24
INSULATORS INSULATORS
(B) (F)

<
't __ 600 FT SPAN
0 0: cr~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4
160FTSA
60FTSA
oa 0 0t102
20~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2>

PROBABILITY 50~~~~~~~~~~~~ I

IL IAJ W~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRBBLT

'noL

a /PERMISSIBLE 2 i LE~~~~~-

72l- - BOF SA 0
CU200FTSPN
W W
n 0 10- V -r01
PR
w
Q w-STROKE
I-O _ CURENTES

U. 6 U.O

0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0
Co 2 co

a-.d 0 2 4661 01124682 24a-a 2 4 6 6 1012 14 16 18 20 2224

INSULATORS INSULATORS
(C1

VOLUME 69~~0 EsiatnTLgtnnSProracAoNrasisin ies18

 0r
~~200,
400, 600, 8008B
1000 FT SPAN
0 TO 100 OHMS TOWER FOOTING RESISTANCE -
Figure (Continued).
3
uvsfretmaigln 2
a,
1000, 1200, 1600 2000 FT SPAN
0 TO ioo OHMS TOWER FOOTING_RESISTANCE
w ~~~200 FTCuvsfretmtnlie o

Xc I&-a SPAN 40 - -- performance and insulation 0 cr 18 PERMISSIBLE100F

so W STROKESP
a6 w
/-/PERMISSIBLE
~~~~STROKE 600 The number
inCc o._bJof equivalent
(
x a.
U)( 16

-o_OO_
V
zo
/CURRENT - 00
~~~~~~~~~~~inch
diameter 53 /4-inch
spaced units, and the out-
0g-2 I" 4

ww
ow ~~~~~~~~an
isoceraunic level of 30 0--
thunderstorm days per year O

cr- 0 6 6~~~~
0 ,~~~~PROBABILITY CURVES
U.
oIRJBLrC.RS

ILa 00 2 4 6 B 10 12-1416 16 20 22 2-4 26 ..0 26 02 b3 6 40 44 48 5sa

MINIMUM MIDSPAN CLEARANCE IN FEET MINIMUM MIDSPAN CLEARANCE IN FEET
(I) 131

the stroke current. Furthermore, the polarity and proportional to that of the by McCann.' In either case the coupling
wave shape of this potential Will in general tower or ground wire. Thus the total factors are calculated by the equation
be quite different from that of the stroke ground-wire potential does not appear log b/a
current, rising and falling more rapidly across the insulation, and the ratio of C= 3
than the current. While calculations of phase-wire potential to ground-wire po- log 2h/r()
the potential wave are theoretically tential is the coupling factor, C. If no where
straightforward, for practical purposes corona is present, the coupling factor is C = C, or Cm,,
the labor involved is prohibitive. The the same whether computed from electro- b = distance from conductor to image of
use of the electric analogue computer in static or magnetic quantities if the sur- a= ground wireodctrt
determining both tower and mid-span face of the earth is taken as a plane of ra= rdiustacfof ground wire
potentials has been described by Harder zero potential and zero resistivity, which h = height of ground wire above ground
and Clayton,5 and the results of a similar seems to be a reasonable assumption for
I oetaloegon iei mlyd
analysis for the 4-microsecond wave front conditions at the point struck. If corona
Ifmr ta bngrudwr i mlyd
are utilized in this report. In the present is present, the effective radius of the tedsacsadrdu hudb e
analysis tower or structure inductance has ground wire is increased, and the electro- placed by appropriate geometric mean
been held constant at 20 microhenrys static coupling is increased. It is believed quantities.
while the tower-footing resistance and that the best approximation to the actual M fEtmtn ihnn to

span length were varied over suitable coupling factor under surge conditions is Methodmofcestimatingeigtnn
ranges. An appropriate insulation spark- given by
over voltage has been estimated from
C C,. 2 Thprcdndiusonutnete
standard curves for suspension insulator C /em() theopretcedifongdaiscusson
flashteoreicalooundaionnponwwiche outines the
tower
tower units inthe
units
from extrapolated rod-gap curves in the
inofthe
cae flasover
of
case and wheremethod of estimating line performance
C. mgei opigfco a ebsd ob otueu,sc
case of mid-span flashovers through the Cm=mgeicopigfcocabeasd Toemstufl,uha
selection of an equivalent time lag. C, = electrostatic coupling factor method should be simple in applicationr
C= geometric mean coupling factor yet afford a means of adjusting the enter-
Coupling Factor ~~~~~~~~~Cm,
is computed using the actual radii of ing data to conform closely to individual
the ground wires and Ce is computed using line characteristics. It has been pointed-
Through electromagnetic coupling, the effective radii of the ground wires as in- out earlier that effective shielding from
potential of the phase wires immediately fluenced by corona. The effective radii of direct strokes to the phase conductor is an.
below the point struck is of the same the ground wires due to corona are given essential prerequisite to the consideration

-1-0 - - 1.12 T"- Figure (left).

4 Curve for adjust- --- -
- _ /11 _ 1.0
~~~ing the number of insulators when
w
_

~~IOC - - -
- __ __ - ~~ the height and spacing of conduc- ~- - - --
w ~~~~~~~~~~tors
differ from the reference valIues. {
- _ -- ~~~~~~~~~Multiply theactua umber mbof of0"1
(D ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~_insulators by the correction factor w
 I-
1oo MICROSECONDS - -
_I -
teristics of insulators dicated.7
V
-TO FLAS3HOVER--- -
and rod gaps

1700- __ _ I/ 2, 3/4 6/ 16 1 2 34 Allvalues are based Strokes to Ground Wire or Tower

/ 6 on positive waves
1500 - -
-- -
t-
- -
_ - -
-7 8 and corrected to
standard atmospheric or
Lightning strokes to the ground wire
tower may cause insulation sparkover
-+-)- - 6 conditions at the tower, and allowance must be made
1300 / ___ / for the possibility of mid-span sparkover.
w L / tt//:l/,lr AV / // /IV/ / | The latter are believed to be extremely in-
- - -7 77;§ T - 7 7 -7 -: 7 frequent, particularly on well-designed
J4 - / - - - high-voltage lines. With the aid of equa-
- - - - - - - - - tion 1, the electric analogue computer,
//oZV 7 At//l/z/ | | <and standard impulse flashover curves
- -//-/ I / 2 '/ / // for insulators and rod gaps, the number
-J --i l o|f ffi l l insulator units or the mini-
standard
700 - - - - - - - - - mum mid-span clearance required to
withstand sparkover for any assigned
50o
- -I
- - -
- 7
- -t- -t
- - - - - -crest value of stroke current within the
range considered may be deternined.
INSULATOR UN'ITS - STANDARD ROD GAPS The frequency of sparkover in a given case
10 IN. DIA-5-3/4 IN. it then is given by the frequency with which
300 -SPACI NG4---4- -.J-.404 .
-16 j
the assigned current value is equalled
2 10 14 K 18-STANDARD INSULATOR UNITS or exceeded. Figure 1 shows the
mag-
GAP SPACING-INCHES-O 20 40 60 80 100 nitude frequency distribution curve which
has been used in the present study. It is
of other design factors. Moreover, it is Figure 1 shows the configuration of the expressed in terms of strokes per 100
known that not every insulation flash- shielding and the protected phase con- miles per year for an isoceraunic level of
over results in power-follow current and ductor which permits 0.1 per cent of the 30, and has been derived from 3,214
an accompanying tripout. Thus there are strokes to terminate on the phase con- measurements. It is convenient to es-
three parts to the estimating problem: ductor. Good design practice calls for tablish general curves on the assumption
1. Number of insulation sparkovers caused shielding angles of 30 degrees or less in that each insulation sparkover is accom-
by strokes to the phase conductor (shielding order to allow for hillside locations and in panied by power-follow flashover and a
failures). this case even better average shielding line tripout, and to adjust the results for
2. Number of insulation sparkovers caused should be expected. Because of the field experience with particular types of
by strokes to the ground wire or tower. vagaries of natural lightning it seems de- line construction. Accordingly, such
3. Number of tripouts caused by 1 and 2. sirable to allow for 0.1-per cent shielding curves have been prepared for span
lengths from 200 to 2,000 feet, covering
1800- -}----1----j--- -1-- - - - - - I Figure 7 (left). the ranges of 0 to 100 ohms structure
- - - - -| |_|_ | Impulse insula- ground resistance, 2 to 26 insulator units,
| -|WOOD GAP--1 tion added to in- 2 to 200 kiloamperes stroke current, and
16001 r
1600 -1' A
;: e iI Is I uao stringssb
wosulator 0 to 20 outages per 100 miles per year.
14r ~~~~~~~~wood Two sets of curves are shown for each
1400 Equivalent insula- span length, one giving the estimated
I I ; | | | | tors to be added
I | may be deter-
A
1200 IJ ,1 1Imined from Figure
1200 3 6 | 60 CYCLE RESISTANCE
~~~
~~~~ 5
6
,, IO -- - .-- 7 100

o 10
8O0 - - - - -0-2 ance of -
0
// ~~~NUMBER 0 SAND 9ROUNDS
600 OF~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~UNITS
~A r'4/

19501,VOLUM 69 Estmain Lihnn4eromneoTasisonLns19

 Figure 9. Isoceraunic map show-
\J
70 ing number of thunderstorm days
per year

outages per 100 miles per year as deter-
mined by the curve of Figure 1, and the
other giving the permissible stroke cur-
rent for use with more accurate stroke
current distribution data which may be
available for a particular region under
consideration. Curves (A) to (H) of
Figure 3 apply for strokes to the tower,
while curves (I) and (J) apply for strokes
to mid-span.
The outage curves are based on a line
configuration which involves a 28-foot
separation between a ground wire at a ref-
erence height of 75 feet and the most
distant phase conductor. If the actual
ground wires are at a different height or
the geometric mean distance from the
ground wires to the most distant phase
n -.4
>_
< < [ X X
w /
a.
uw 2.0
o tary dry wood insulation is employed. It
2
1.61
w
Cn l 2 -h - TOWER FOOTING RESISTANCE-50 OHMS
w
conductor is other than 28 feet, the ac-
tual number of insulators should be mul-
tiplied by the correction factor from
Figure 4 to obtain the number of in-
sulators with which to enter the curves.
The influence of corona on the coupling
factor has been included as indicated in
equation 2 through the use of effective
radii as determined by McCann6 for the
electrostatic coupling factor. In the
case of strokes to mid-span, it has been
necessary to extrapolate the available
data. Increasing coupling factors have
been used up to 8 megavolts, but they
have been held constant to assure con-
servative results for voltages above this
value.
The reference value of tower inductance
Figure 10 (left). Con-
< g parison of estimated per-
formance with experi-
e - - - _ i --:nce --
has been taken as 20 microhenrys. This
is believed to be a conservative value,
since it corresponds approximately to a
steel tower 100 feet high or to a wood pole
50 feet in height with a ground conductor
having an inductance of 0.4 microhenry
per foot. It is not possible to give ac-
curate correction factors to modify the
indices of Figure 3 for other values of in-
ductance which are applicable to all span
lengths, but Figure 11 has been included
to indicate the influence of inductance on
the number of insulators required in the
case of a 1,000-foot span and a 2x40-
microsecond wave of 50-kiloampere crest.
Figure 6 shows the standard impulse
flashover characteristics for insulators and
rod gaps upon which the general curves
are based. On wood pole lines and cer-
tain types of steel tower construction, the
impulse insulation may c6nsist of por-
celain and wood in series. Figure 7 gives
the insulation which may be added to that
of the porcelain alone when supplemen-

o. Xd F1SPA
1.2,00
5000
f8tES STROKtE CURRENT M
AMPER

°O n-5
- - - - - -
f ct oftow er inductance c,4S
0
n z .... * ............onnumberofinsulators Z
l
C0
<> z
0.4
O4
* 0.8
1
1.
.2
.6
2.0 | g required for
microsecond
a 2!x40-
wave of 4
L
4 8 2 16
l
20 24
ACTUAL NUMBER OF OUTAGES PER 1OO MILES PER YEAR 50-kiloamperes crest TOWER INDUCTANCE IN MICROHENRYS

1192 Estimating Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines AIEE TRANSACTIONS

 Figure 12. Transient impedance EXAMPLE 2
-l\- of counterpoise systems A 33-kv wood pole line, shielded by
140 - - - ground wire, located in territory with an
130 isoceraunic level of 30 has two 53/4-inch
120 spaced insulators per string. The mini-
mum flashover path is the porcelain plus
110 four feet of wood. The average span is
7!110 t _ Z a 150 SURGE IMPEDANCE (INITIAL)
NOUMBERL WIRESSTANCE
NMBEAR
0 100 R L KE 200 feet and the mid-span clearance eight
Z 900
- ~~~NtNNt: 1000'TOTAL OFWIRES
LENGTH
ENT OF WIRE feet.
ih
The tower-footing resistance is 50

wJ Xohms for all poles. The distance between

the ground wire and bottom conductor is
2
Fzw 70 t X t < lt tt 10 feet at the tower. What is the outage
_ \probability for this line?
G5 From Figure 7 four feet of wood is es-
timated as adding 450 kv to the insula-
40 t> v < _ _ tion strength of the porcelain. Thus the
30 Pi H < 4 4__ __total equivalent insulation is 6.0 units.
20
. __ 3Bb,the
Since _ spacing from ground wire to
conductor is considerably less than 28
10
) Xfeet, an adjustment is needed to com-
LEAKAGE
RESISTANCEi pensate for increased coupling.
MICROSECONDS From Figure 4 the correction factor for
a 10-foot spacing is 1.2 and the effective
should be noted that the addition de- United States and part of Canada. The insulation becomes 6 X 1.2 = 7.2 insulators.
creases with the time to flashover and general outage probability curves are From Figure 3(A) the outage probability
with the length of the insulator string. based upon 100 strokes to the line per 100 for 7.2 insulators and 50 ohms footing re-
Moreover, it has been found that moisture miles per year for an isoceraunic level of sistance is 5.4 outages per 100 miles per
may substantially reduce the impulse 30. year. The permissible stroke current is
insulating value of wood insulation, par- Three examples will be given illustrat- 62,000 amperes. From Figure 3(J) the
ticularly at the longer time lags.8 If ing their use. outage probability for strokes to mid-span
more accurate data are not available, each for a 200-foot span and 8-foot clearance is
foot of wood may be taken as equivalent EXAMPLE 1 0.0 per 100 miles per year and the per-
to one insulator unit if dry, and as A 138-kv steel tower line, shielded by missible stroke current is 200,000 am-
equivalent to one-half unit if wet. If the an overhead ground wire, located in ter- peres.
limiting insulation is an air gap, the ritory with an isoceraunic level of 50, has Since the permissible stroke current for
equivalent number of suspension insulator ten 5 3/4-inch spaced insulators per string. mid-span flashover exceeds twice that for
units may be obtained readily from The average span is 1,000 feet and the strokes to the tower, the total outage
Figure 6. mid-span clearance is 24 feet. The probability should be taken from Figure 5.
Strokes to mid-span may cause tower tower-footing resistances are 10 ohms for The permissible stroke current to a tower
flashovers if the permissible stroke cur- 20 per cent of the towers and 20 ohms for is 62,000 amperes, for which the total out-
rent for mid-span flashover exceeds twice 80 per cent of the towers. What is the age probability is read as 3.1 per 100
that of the tower. With small error, the outage probability for this line? From miles per year. This figure assumes that
outage probability for such strokes can Figure 3(E) for 1,000-foot spans, the all insulator flashovers result in tripouts.
be combined with that for strokes to the outage probability for 10 ohms and 10 Experience with such lines indicates that
tower to give a single outage probability insulators is 0.7 outage per 100 miles per approximately 50 per cent of the flash-
curve for all strokes to the ground wire. year. For 10 insulators and 20 ohms the overs will result in tripouts, so that the
Figure 5 shows the curve to be used in figure is 2.8. The combined probability final estimate is 0.5X3.1=1.6 outages
these cases. for strokes to tower is (0.7X0.2)+2.8X per 100 miles per year for this line. This
0.8) = 2.38 per 100 miles per year. The estimate assumes perfect shielding and
Applications of the Estimating permissible stroke currents for the 10 and would be increased to approximately 1.65
Curves 20 ohms are 124,000 and 79,000 amperes for 0.1-per cent shielding failures.
respectively.
The estimating curves may be used to From Figure 3(I) the outage prob- EXAMPLE3
compare the relative performance of pro- ability is 0.6 per 100 miles per year for A transmission line is to be constructed
posed transmission-line designs or to de- 1,000-foot spans with mid-span clearance in a territory where the isoceraunic level
termine the probable effect of modifica- of 24 feet. The permissible stroke cur- is 30. The line will be shielded by ground
tions to existing lines. It is in such ap- rent is 128,000 amperes. The average of wire and it is desirable to insulate the line
plications that their greatest value lies. 2.38 and 0.6 is 1.49 for an isoceraunic so that outages due to lightning will be
Nevertheless, they have been prepared in level of 30. The outage probability for limited to 2.0 per 100 miles per year.
such a way that, with the help of addi- the given isoceraunic level of 50 is 50/30 Knowledge of existing lines in the terni-
tional data, they may be used to estimate times 1.4I9 or 2.48 outages per 100 miles tory indicates that tower-footing resist-
the actual average performance of lines, per year. This computation assumes ances of 20 ohms can be obtained econom-
Figure 9 shows an isoceraunic map'4 perfect shielding and would be increased ically. The choice of towers and conduc-
which gives the average number of to approximately 2.65 for 0.1-per cent tors calls for an average span of 800 feet.
thunderstorm days per year for the shielding failures. The conductors and ground wire will be

1950, VOLUME 69 Estimating Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines 1193

sagged to provide a mid-span clearance of VARIABILITY OF TOWIER FoOTING Table 1. Summary oF Anacom Study
18 feet. How many insulators are re- RESISTANCE,
quired to effect the desired limitation on Thesiangcrsaebsdona4
outages?
From igure3(J) he ouage poba- constant value of resistance located at the 0 ~ ~ Tm a
bility fr stroke to midspan is .6 out- base of the tower. If the resistance has ~ ~ to Insulate
age per 100 miles per year. The outage but secured by means close to the tower
been 'C Microecond
be

probability for strokes to tower must be ishihr hn proiatl 10 ci W

ohms, the resistance to high lightning P414> 4..5Md
Tower Span
3.4 if the average is to be 2. 0 per year. current may be substantially lower than
From Figure 3(D) 8.5 insulators are re- te6-cevau N rct ft200 0 5.2 14.8 2.0 2.0
quired for the outage probability of 3.4 te6-ycl vau.N corecion factors 5 6.0 14.8 3.0 2.0
if the footing resistance is 20 ohms. Thus are available for common grounding sys- 10
20
6.9
9.8
15.0
15.6
4.0
4.0
2.0
2.0
nine insulators should lmtteotg tems at the significant lightning cur- 5 60 1.
rents, but Figure 8 shows how the resist- 100 23.4 23.5 4.0 2.0
probability to 2.0 per 100 miles per year. ance of driven ground rods varies with 400 0 6.6 29.5 2.0 2.0
current.'0 5 7.4 30.0 3.0 2.0
Outage Estimates and Field 10 8.8 30.0 4.0 2.0
20 13.0 30.7 4.0 2.0
Experience Experience ~~~~~~~~~~EFFECT
OF DISTRIBUTED GROUNDING OR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~50
100
22.2
33.0
32.0
34.5
4.0
4.0
2.0
2.0

Although the estimating curves are COUNTERPOISE SYSTEMS 600 0 6.8 45.5- 2.0 2.0
5 8.0 46.2 3.0 2.0
most valuable for comparative purposes, The perfor-mance of distributed ground- 10 9.9 46.2 4.0 2.0
it is believed that they give results con- ing systems, commonly called counter- 20 15.0 46.8 4.0 2.0
50 27.5 48.0 4.0 2.0
sistent with practically all of the published poises, has been reported in the litera- 100 40.0 49.5 4.0 2.0
results on actual line performnance. In ture.9'0"1'1 Figure 12 shows how the 800 0 7.0 62.5 2.0 2.0
gnrlit is known that 33-ky lines with a impedance of a counterpoise grounding 5 8.1 63.0 4.0 2.0
basic insulation level of 700 kv and 10 system varies with time. Since such sys- 20 16.2 64.0 4.0 2.0
ohms footing resistance result in two or tems usually extend in both directions 50 30.0 65.0 4.0 2.0
three outages per 100 miles per year. from a tower, N may be taken as 2. 1,0 00 75.0 74.0 2.0 2.0
The 132-ky lines designed for good light- For the 4-microsecond wave front of 5 8.3 74.0 4.0 2.0
ning performance will have about one out- current upon which the general curves are 10 10.9 74.0 4.0 2 .0
20 17.4 75.0 4.0 2.0
age, while modern 220-ky lines will have based, it appears satisfactory to use the 50 33.5 76.5 4.0 2.0
only a small fraction of one outage per 100 measured leakage value of the grounding 100 50.5 79.0 4 .0 2.0
miles per year. The latter are often re- system if this resistance is secured with a 1,200 0
5
7.0
8.5
86.0
86.0
2 .0
4 .0
2.0
2 .0
ferred to as lightning-proof. Figure 10 total length of buried conductor of 1,000 10 11.2 86.5 4 .0 2. 0
shows a comparison of published per- feet or less per tower. Further comment 20 17.8 88.0 4. 0 2.0
50 35.0 89.0 4.0 2.0
formance with estimated performance.'13 on this point is made in the section on 100 57.0 90.0 4.0 2.0
The estimated performance necessarily is Current Wave Shape. 1,600 0 7.1 112.5 2 .0 2 .0
based upon average tower-footing re- 5 8.9 113.4 4.0 2.0
CURRENT WAVE SHAPE 10 11.5 113.4 4. 0 2.0
sistance obtained by low voltage measure- 20 18.7 114.0 4. 0 2.0
ments. If the distribution of towers hay- rpdrucln0 50 37.5 2 .0115.0 4.0
Because of the rai rdcto of 100 65.0 119.0 4.0 2.0
ing various footing resistances is known, ground-wire voltage caused by the re- 2,000 0 7.4 130.0 2 .0 3.0
a much more accurate estimate results. flections from adjacent towers, the dura- 5 9.0 130.0 4.0 3.0
tion f th tai of he curentwavedoes10 12.0
tion of the tail of he current wave does20 20.2 130.0 4.0 3.0
130.0 4.0 3.0
Factors Limiting Accuracy of not greatly influence insulator flashover. 50 41.3 130.0 4.0 3.0
10 70.0 130.0 4.0 3.0
Estimates .However, the wave front of the current ____________ __ _
wave is of the greatest significance. Un-
In the evaluation of essential factors fortunately there are insufficient data
affecting the problem, the working gro-up upon which to base a really satisfactory sionally one must expect to have lightning
has been fully aware of the uncertainties distribution curve for wave fronts and in currents whose rate of current rise is
existing with respect to many of the pri- an effort to make the results conserva- sufficiently high to cause flashover either
mary data employed. Moreover, there tive, a wave front of two microseconds at the tower or at mid-span which would
remain certain points upon which little, if was initially selected for the purpose of not be indicated from the curves pre-
any, research has been conducted. While the present study. As the investigation sented."
a few of these have been indicated in ap- proceeded it became apparent that only
propriate preceding sections, it appears the higher currents, in excess of 30 kilo- SRK URN ANTD
desirable to list the more important ones amperes, were of especial importance. The magnitude distribution curve of
mined are likely to be too low, since they
do not include the current carried by the
cross braces. On the other hand, the
metho of deriving the stroke current re-
method of deriving the stro.ke current re-
sults in values which may be in error on
the high side to a comparable degree.
Moreover, stroke currents which have
been directly measured are in quite good
agreement with Figure 1. For these
reasons the working group has adopted
this curve as satisfactory for estimating
purposes.
RATIO OF OUTAGES TO FLASIIOVERS
All lightning flashovers do not result in
sustained power-follow current and an
accompanying line tripout. Performance
records on various types of lines give some
information on the ratio of outages to
flashovers.161 7 For high-voltage steel
tower lines the ratio is 0.85 for lines under
100miles in length. 100 de-
Thlis ratio may
mlsilegh
crease to 0.5 for lines over 200 miles in
length. In the case of wood pole lines
where the flashover path may include
wood members, the ratio of outages to
flashovers ranges from 0.35 to 0.50.
If the characteristics of the line and its
insulation result in a substantial reduction
of the ratio of outages to flashover, this
ratio should be included in the final es-
timate of the outage probability. If,
however, the ratio is near unity, it well
may be neglected and the general curves
used directly to give cotnservative re-
sults.
OTHER LINE POTENTIALS
In the preparation of the general
curves, no account has been taken of the
Discussion
J. H. Hagenguth (General Electric Com-
pany, Pittsfield, Mass.): The paper should
be of considerable help to the industry in
evaluating lightning performance of trans-
mission lines. As pointed out in the paper
many of the factors involved in the calcu-
lations are known only approximately.
One of these is the amplitude of the light-
ning stroke current and its wave shape.
Measurements of tower current ampli-
tudes by Lewis and Foust, Waldorf, and
Gruinewald in Germany, result in frequlency
curves of almost exactly the same shape.
A total of 6,377 measurements are involved,
It would seem, therefore, that these curves
should approach very closely the tinte fre-
quency distribution of lightning current
amplitudes in towers. This curve is con-
siderably below the curve of Figure 1 of the
report which gives lightning stroke currents
calculated from tower current measure-
ments.
For instance, 5 per cent of the tower cur-
1950, VOLUME 69 Estimating Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines
normal frequency voltage, nor has con-
voltawe
sideration been given to any potential
which may exist on the phase conductor
as a result of electromagnetic induction
as a resu..t of e.lectromagnetic ind.uction
from the stroke itself. While this uncer-
tainty may represent an area inviting
y
future research or analysis, it is felt that
it does not represent a factor which seri-
ously affects the relative usefulness of the
method presented.
Conclusions
This report represents the results of a
study of various methods of estimating
lightning performance which has been
made wrkinggroupof th AIEE
made by a working group of the AIEE
ya
Lightning and Insulator Subcommittee.
The essential factors of the problem have
been carefully considered and have been
incorporated into a method which, it is
those concerned
hoped, will be of value toThsrtomyd-LIGHTNING
with the design of new lines or the modi-
fication of old ones. Various phases of the
result resut
involveinolveconsderale
considerable ucertinty
uncertainty LIGHTNING:
and these have been discussed brieflv in
orderthatthe
order that character oof the
the caracer pproima-
the approxima- 1937, pages 236-41.
tions adopted may be better under-
stood.
Ref
1. A LARGE-SCALEGENERAL-PURPOSE ELECTRIC
COMPUTER, e.L. Harder, G. D. McCann.
ANALOGUE
AIEE Transactions, volume 67, part I, 1948, pages
664-73.
2. ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
REFERENCE BOOK (book). R. R. Donnelley and
Sons Company, Chicago, Ill., 1942. Line Design
Based Upon Direct Strokes, A, C. Monteith,
Pages 325-48.
3. PROTECTION OF TRANSMISSION LINES AGAINST
LIGHTNING: THEORY AND CALCULATIONS, L. V.
Bewley. General Electric Review (Schenectady,
N, Y.), volume 40, April 1937, pages 180-88.
rents are 40,000 amperes as compared to
62,000 for the assumed lightning stroke cur-
rents. The maximum tower current is of
the order of 140,000 amperes as compared to
200,000 amperes lightning stroke current.
Calculations made somne time ago' indi-
cate that lightning stroke currents are only
slightly higher in amplitude than the current
in a tower which was struck. This also is
substantiated by measurements of the light-
sing stroke currents in series with trans-
mission towers by means of lightning rods
extending beyond the towers. Frequently
tower currents and lightning rod currents
are alike. Therefore, the frequency curvre
given in Figure 1 of the report should give
pessimistic results. In the case of strokes
to midspan, of course, the currents measured
on the ground wire should be added up to
give total current.
The sparkover characteristic curves shown
in Figure 6 do not give the complete story
of sparkover in the nonuniform field. It has
been shown2 that sparkover depends greatly
on the type of the wave shape applied. For
instance, for a 50-inch gap, sparkover may
4P Discussion by C.F.
~~~ExPERIENCE Wagner, G. D. McCann of
WITH PREVENTIVE LIGHTNING PRO-
TECTION ON TRANSMISSION LINES, S. K. Waldorf.
AIEE Transactions, volume 60, 1941, page 702.
*5. TRANSMISSION LINE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE
BASED ON DIRECT LIGHTNING STROKES, E. L.
Harder, J. M. Clayton. AIEE Transactions,
volume 68, part I, 1949, pages 439-49.
~~~~~~~~~~6.
THE EFFECT OF C-ORONA ON COUPLING FACTORS
BETWEEN GROUND WIRES AND PHASICONDUCTORS,
G. D. McCann. AIEE Transactions, volume 62,
1943, pages 818-26.
7. SHIELDING OF TRANSMISSION LINES, C. F.
Wagner, G. D. McCann, G. L. MacLane, Jr.
AIEE Transactions, volume 60, 1941, pages 313-
28.
8. WIIAT WOOD MAY ADD TO PRIMARY INSULATION
FOR WITHSTANDING LIGHTNING, J. T. Lusignan,
Jr. Electrical Engineering (AIEE
Jr., C. J. Miller,volume
Transactions), 59, September 1940, pages
534-40.
PROTECTION oF TRANSMISSION LINES AGAINST
9.LIGHTNING
(book), W. W. Lewis. John Wiley and
Sons, Inc., New York, New York, 1950.
10. IMPULSE AND 60-CYCLE CHARACTERISTICS OF
DRIVEN GROUNDS-Il, P. L. Bellaschi,
Armington, A. E. Snowden. AIEE
R. E.
Transactions,
volume 61, 1942, pages 349-63.
1i. Discussion by J. H. Hagenguth of PRACTICAL
COUNTERPOISEE. FOR
DESIGN OP PROTECTION, TRANSMISSION-LINE
Hansson, S. K. Waldorf.
AIEE Transactions, volume 61, 1942, pages 1011-
12.
12. PROTECTION OF TRANSMISSION LINEs AGAINST
THEORY AND CALCULATIONS, L. V.
Bewley. General Electric Review (Schenectady,
N. Y.), volume 40, April 1937, pages 180-88; May
13. LIGHTNING PERFORMANCE OF TYPICAL TRANS-
MISSIONL.NES. Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield,
14. HYDROMETEROLOGICAL REPORT NUMBER 5-
PART II. U. S. Weather Bureau (Washington,
D. C.), August 1945.
15. THE MEASUREMENT oF LIGHTNING CURRENTS
IN DIRECT STROKES, G. D. McCann. AIEE
Transactions, volume 63, 1944, pages 1157-64.
16. LIGHTNING SURGE EFFECTS ON TRANSMISSION
LINES, G. D. McCann. Electric Light and Power
(Chicago, Il1.), May 1945, pages 76-84.
17. AN EIGHT-YEAR INVESTIGATION OF LIGHT-
NING CURRENTS AND PREVENTIVE LIGHTNING PRO-
TECTION ON A TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, E. Hansson,
S. K. Waldorf. Electrical Engineering (AIEE
Transactions), volume 63, May 1944, pages 251-
58,
be as low 1,130
as kv for a rectangular wave
and as high as 1,630 kv for a straight rising
front. The type of voltage wave to be ex-
pected at any part of the system depends on
the relative values of inductance and resist-
ance in the discharge path. At midspan,
the usual case of high inductance and low re-
sistance would produce a rather steep front
and very short tail wave corresponding more
nearly to the straight risingfrontcondition.
For sparkover at 2 microseconds, this would
give approximately 330 kv per foot or more
to obtain sparkover.
Nevertheless, the examples of Figure 10
show very good correlation between calcu-
lated performance and experience.
REFERENCES
1. Discnssio,l by J. H. Hagenguth on .IGHITNING
CURRENTS AND POTENTIALS ON OVERHERAD TERAS-
MISSION LSINES, R. H. Golde. Proceedinlgs, Institu-
tion of Electrical Engineers (London, England),
volume 96, part II, number 49, February 1949,
pgs9-4
DRVERtcuson AND COUNTECRPOISE WIanS IN HIGH-
RESISTANCE: SOIL ON CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY
1195
140-KV SYSTEM, J. G. Hemstreet, W. W. Lewis,
C. M. Foust. AIEE Transactions, volume 61,
3. VOLT-TIME AREAS OF IMPULSE SPARK_OVER
J. H. HagengUth. Electrical Engineering (AIEE
Transactions), volume 60, July 1941, pages 803-10.
E. R. Whitehead: The points brought out
in Mr. Hagenguth's discussion are indeed
pertinent and received the careful consider-
ation of the working group in establishing
the set of approximations upon which to base
the method. The greatest single difficulty
is that adequate treatment of these and
other factors awaits a degree of knowledge of
the wave shape of the lightning current
roughly comparable to that concerning the
current amplitude.
In its early approach to the problem, the
working group recognized two general trends
of thought. On the one hand, it appeared
desirable to base the method on a very few
factors whose influence was firmly estab-
lished and on which the greatest volume of
data was available. On the other hand, it
seemed important that the method make the
fullest possible use of modern knowledge re-
lating to other factors such as Mr. Hagen-
guth has mentioned. Study of the latter
course soon brought out that the analytical
tools and general appreciation of these fac-
tors were far ahead of the available data
essential for their practical use. Thus, the
report of the working group represents its
current evaluation of the weight to be ac-
corded the various theoretical consider-
ations in a method which, it is hoped, will be
of value to designers of transmission
lines.

1196 Lstimating Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines AIEE TRANSACTIONS