Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105 – 111

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Analysis of overvoltages in overhead ground wires of extra high

voltage (EHV) power transmission line under
single-phase-to-ground faults
I. Dudurych a, E. Rosolowski b,*
a
State Uni6ersity, L6i6 Polytechnic, 12 Bandera str., 290646 L6i6, Ukraine
b
Wroclaw Uni6ersity of Technology, ul. Wybrzerze Wyspianskiego, 27, 50 -370, Wroclaw, Poland

Received 25 January 1999; accepted 6 April 1999

Abstract

Overhead ground wires (GW) of extra high voltage (EHV) power transmission lines, apart from lightning-induced overvoltage
protection are frequently used for carrier-current communication. In this case the ground wires are suspended on insulators, the
dielectric strength of which should be sufficient for the line operational conditions. The insulation level is defined from the
condition of the single-line-to-ground (SLG) fault, thus insulator protecting spark gaps should not be flashed-over during such
conditions — in order to maintain continuity of the communication channel along the line. Overvoltages during such faults
depend on many parameters such as fault place, fault angle, pre-fault load etc. Therefore, designers should investigate the problem
for determination of the worst-case scenario. In this paper, dependence of the overvoltages on 750 kV power transmission line
ground wires upon the SLG fault place and pre-fault load of the line in transient and steady states is investigated. The analysis
was performed by using dynamic arc model incorporated into the EMTP program. The provided simulations show that
adequately introduced primary and secondary arc models are decisive factors for an accurate simulation of the electromagnetic
phenomena in the EHV transmission lines during an arc crossing-over (here the primary arc plays an important role) and during
so called dead-time, when the secondary arc takes place. This paper gives some recommendations for the insulator strings
coordination in the 750 kV earth wires on the basis of computer simulation results. © 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights
reserved.

Keywords: Transmission line; Fault simulation; Arc model; Ground wires; EMTP

1. Introduction short circuits, particularly single-phase-to-ground

Lightning surge protection is the main function of
ground wires (GWs), suspended on towers of extra high
voltage (EHV) power transmission lines. However, re-
cently GWs are often used as channels for carrier–cur-
rent communication systems for utility as well as relay
protection purposes [1]. Moreover, in some countries a
symmetrical three-phase voltage system, formed from
two ground wires and an earth, is used to deliver power
to small communities along the line [2]. It should be
noted that the GW schemes in the two above cases are
different. Nevertheless, the influence of the unbalanced
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +48-71-3203786.
E-mail addresses: idudur@polynet.lviv.ua (I. Dudurych), rose@
pwr.wroc.pl (E. Rosolowski)
faults, is very important, being even a decisive factor
for the GW construction in both cases.
The GW designed for carrier-current communication
systems should maintain continuity of the channel
along the whole communication circle and be insulated
from the ground. Therefore, all GW sections are con-
nected through very small resistances (for conduction
of carrier–currents) and insulated from the earth on all
the towers. In order to maintain the continuity of
carrier–current communication systems the insulation
level of GW should be sufficient for flash-over protec-
tion in continuous duty and for insulation dielectric
strength recovery after the fault clearing.
GW insulators of the EHV lines are shunted by spark
gaps for protection from heavy arcs during lightning-in-
duced flash-over and unbalanced short-circuits. If GW

0378-7796/00/$ - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 7 8 - 7 7 9 6 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 4 9 - 8
106 I. Dudurych, E. Rosolowski / Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105–111
Fig. 1. Single-line diagram of the analyzed system.
is used for the relay protection channel these spark gaps
should not be flashed-over during unbalanced faults.
Thus insulator strings of GWs should be chosen to
withstand maximum voltage of the unbalanced short-
circuit.
Ground wires designed for carrier – current communi-
cation systems usually comprise a stranded steel core
surrounded by aluminium wires. Such wires are chosen
for the light line attenuation. Suspension of properly
conducting GWs, grounded at the ends of the line
through small inductances of carrier – current protec-
tors, leads to noticeable decreasing of the zero sequence
reactance value of the line. It is because currents circu-
lating through the ground wires, towers and earth
create a magnetic field, there is a decrease in the
resulting magnetic couplings with the phase wires. On
the other hand, decreasing zero sequence impedance
leads to increasing single-line-to-ground (SLG) fault
current, which can be used for determination of a
definitive value of voltage induced in the GWs [3].
Therefore, EHV transmission lines with overvoltage
ground wires used for lightning surge protection as well
as for carrier–current communication and relay protec-
tion systems, should be properly tested under single-
phase-to-ground fault conditions in the line. To explain
the concept and for investigation of the above phenom-
ena from the point of view of GW insulation coordina-
tion, a real 750 kV transmission line was taken for
study.
Fig. 2. Transposition and crossing over scheme for the considered line.
This paper is organized as follows. First, the selected
transmission system is described (Section 1). Section 2
gives detailed information on modeling of the system
elements, especially the primary and secondary arc
models. Results of overvoltage investigations during
SLG fault at the line are presented in Section 4, and
Section 5 draws the conclusion.
2. Description of the studied system
The scheme of the studied system is presented in Fig.
1. It consists of Ukrainian and Hungarian power sys-
tems connected through a 750 kV power transmission
line of 459 km length. The line has four transposition
sections of phase wires of 85.4, 163.3, 134.6 and 74.2
km in length (Fig. 2). Phase wires are triple bundles of
AC-500/65 wires on the Hungarian sections and quad
bundles of AC-400/93 wires on the Ukrainian side.
Ground wires are adequately specified as AC-95/142 on
the Hungarian side and AC-95/141, and AC-70/72 on
the Ukrainian side.
Sources are characterized by the following
impedances:
Z1 = 0.3+ j 30.9V, Z0 = 0.4+ j 36.8V
from Ukrainian side (PS1),
Z1 = 0.7+ j 80.8V, Z0 = 0.9+ j 86.8V
from Hungarian side (PS2).
The line is equipped with two shunt reactors of
2× 110 MVA rating power placed at both ends. Two
earth wires are grounded at both ends of the line
through small inductances of carrier–current protec-
tors. They are crossed over 12 times along the line (Fig.
2).
 I. Dudurych, E. Rosolowski / Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105–111
Fig. 3. Position of phase conductors and ground wires.
3. Model of the 750 kV power transmission system
As it is seen from Fig. 2, for adequate representation
of the transmission system the used model should exem-
plify the system structure with detailed representation
of all basic components.
3.1. Power systems
Power systems connected to the line are represented
in EMTP by their positive and zero sequence
impedances using 51, 52, 53-type branches [4] for mutu-
ally coupled RL elements. It was concluded from the
performed experiments that equivalent capacitances of
the systems have no significant influence on the ob-
tained results, therefore, they were not included in the
model.
3.2. Power transmission line
107
adapted to the considered problem. Primary arc occurs
during flash-over of the line insulator string, caused by
lightning stroke or other reasons. Secondary arc follows
the primary one when the faulted phase circuit breaker
trips, as is sustained by mutual coupling between the
healthy and faulted phases.
The dynamic volt-ampere characteristics (VACs) of
the electric arc have features of hysteresis. For the
primary arc simulation the VAC shape was taken from
the investigation results [6] for the heavy-current arcs
with peak current of 1.3 and 14 kA. For the secondary
arc simulation the VAC shape was taken from the
investigation results for the low-current arcs with peak
current of 145 A [6]. Extensive study in [7,8] has shown
that the dynamic volt–ampere characteristics of the
electric arc can be exactly simulated by the empirical
differential equation
dgk 1
= (1)
dt Tk(Gk − gk)
where gk is the dynamic arc conductance, Tk is the time
constant; Gk is the stationary arc conductance; sub-
script k indicates the kind of arc (k=p for primary arc;
k= s for secondary arc).
The stationary arc conductance Gk can be physically
interpreted as the arc conductance value when the arc
current is maintained for a sufficiently long time under
constant external conditions. So, Gk is the static charac-
teristic of the arc, which can be evaluated from
i
Power transmission line is represented by the dis- Gk = (2)
tributed-parameter line model [4] of 16 sections as in
Fig. 2. Each uniform section is considered to be un-
transposed phase and uncrossed-over two ground wire
element (five-phase line model). The travelling-wave
model is based on d’Alambert’s solution of the lossless
single-phase line equations in combination with the
phase variables transformation into mode variables [5].
The line parameters were calculated from tower geome-
try and bundle conductors dimensions (Fig. 3), aver-
aged over three phases.
Frequency dependence of transformation matrices is
being taken into account by appropriate dominant fre-
quency selection during the transient. Solution equa-
tions in the modal domain are independent from each
other and may be reached by the algorithm for the
single-phase line using its modal travel time and its
modal characteristic impedance. In this model the line
resistance is taken into consideration by adequate inclu-
sion of lumped resistances [4].
3.3. Arcing single phase faults
Arcing single-phase faults are simulated using models
of the primary and the secondary arcs adequately
(uok + Ri)lk
where i is the arc current; uok is the arc voltage drop per
unit length along the main arc column; lk is the arc
length; R is the constant part of the arc cathode and
anode resistance.
For the primary arc uop is constant and equal to
about 15 V/cm for the range of current 1.3–24.0 kA [9]
and lp may be assumed constant and somehow wider
than the length of the line insulator string. The value of
the constant voltage parameter of the secondary arc uos
is evaluated empirically on the basis of numerous inves-
tigation results in the range of low values of current,
collected in [9]. For the range of peak currents Is, from
approximately 1–55A it can be roughly defined as
uos = 75I −
s
0.4
V/cm [7]. The arc length of the secondary
current ls changes with time, and for relatively low wind
velocities (up to 1 m/s), can be approximated as ls =
10lptr for tr \ 0.1s but when the secondary arc reigni-
tion time tr 5 0.1s ls = lp.
The secondary arc reignition voltage (in V/cm) is
calculated by empirical formula [7] as
5+ 1620Te
ur = (3)
(2.15+ Is)(tr − Te)
108 I. Dudurych, E. Rosolowski / Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105–111
where Te is the secondary arc extinguishing time (when
tr 5 Te, ur =0); Is is the peak value of current on the
volt –ampere arc characteristic.
Time constants are determined as follows:
akIk
Tk = (4)
lk
where ak is the empirical coefficients.
The empirical coefficients ak can be obtained by
fitting Eq. (1) with Eq. (2) and Eq. (4) to match the
experimental VACs of the heavy- and low-current arcs,
accordingly.
The described models of the primary and the sec-
ondary arcs were incorporated into EMTP through the
MODELS capability [4] using the TACS (transient
analysis of control systems) – controlled type-91 time-
varying resistances. Besides that, the secondary arc
model comprises type-11 TACS-controlled switch.
The implementation of the arc model is shown in Fig.
4. It operates as follows, the integration step gk is
evaluated by Eq. (1) and Eq. (2) on the basis of arc
current and voltage values from the previous step.
Type-11 switch is being opened when the secondary arc
extinguishing conditions occur and closed when the
recovery voltage exceeds the dielectric strength of
heated air around the short-circuit arcing column by
previous arc ignition.
The simulation results obtained with the EMTP im-
plemented arc model were compared with the real-field
on the power transmission line 1150 kV [10] and good
matching was obtained.
3.4. Circuit breakers
Circuit breakers are presented by time-controlled
EMTP switches [4], which are opened when current
goes through zero after the prescribed opening time and
closed after the prescribed closing moment, when the
current passes through zero. The same switches are
used in the short circuit making scheme for the short-
circuit initialization.
Fig. 4. Primary and secondary arc models implementation: u, i is the
voltage and current at the fault place; Ra is the non-linear resistance
of the arc; on – off-signal switching-on when the secondary arc
reignites, and switching-out when it extinguishes.
3.5. Shunt reactors
Shunt reactors are represented by the ordinary RL
uncoupling branches.
The developed model has been used for transient
study under the single-phase-to-ground faults.
4. Simulation experiments
For investigation of the problem many different cases
were analyzed. Consider the following scheme, the sin-
gle-phase-to-ground fault in phase C of the line from
the 750 kV power transmission system shown in Fig. 1
is initiated at 5 ms. Circuit breakers of the sending and
receiving power systems open their contacts after 70
ms. The secondary arc extinction occurs approximately
at 140 ms.
As the GW are considered in this application to serve
as the communication channel for the emergency con-
trol schemes, the ground wire insulation and protecting
spark gaps should not be flashed over during SLG
faults. Therefore, spark gaps were not simulated in the
study.
In normal duty the voltage induced in the GW is
relatively low (500–700 V for this case) and does not
define the GW insulation characteristics. They are
defined by voltages induced during single-phase-to-
ground faults. Therefore, the simulation experiments
for faults occurring in different locations along the line
have been conducted. Maximum values of the over-
voltages under the SLG faults along the line are pre-
sented in Fig. 5. It can be seen that the maximum
values of overvoltages depend upon the fault location
and are concentrated in the middle region of the line. It
should be mentioned that maximum overvoltages occur
in the vicinity of the position of the applied single-
phase-to-ground fault. Exceptions are for the cases
when the fault occurs at one end of the line. Moreover,
overvoltages occurring after the fault clearing are also
dangerous and may reach values commensurate with
those induced by the fault current, especially when the
fault occurs far away from the substation.
As is seen from Fig. 5, the insulation level of the GW
in the middle of the line should be chosen higher than
that of the rest. For example, according to the maximal
GW overvoltage value of 206.3 kV (in node 10 of Fig.
2, under the SLG fault at this location) the number of
insulators n in the GW insulator chain (string) of the
! " ! "
750 kV line should be chosen from [1]:
umax 206.3
n=int = int =7
Emdll 1.1 · 29
where umax is the GW insulator string affecting voltage,
kV; ll is the leakage path length, cm (for the glass
insulators of the 750 kV line ll = 29 cm); Emd =(0.5–
 I. Dudurych, E. Rosolowski / Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105–111 109

Fig. 5. Overvoltages under faults at nodes: 1, 5, 10, 13, 16 in the line.

Fig. 6. Ground wires voltage measured at node 1 during SLG fault at node 13.

1.1) kV/cm (maximum value)-moisture discharge elec- and in nodes 1 and 15—only three insulators for
tric field intensity, int{ } is the rounding to the nearest ground wire suspending.
greater or equal integer value. At the same time the In Fig. 6, overvoltages in node 15 (see Fig. 2)
number of insulators in node 2 may be chosen as n= 5 (18.5 km from the sending end of the line) induced by
110 I. Dudurych, E. Rosolowski / Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105–111

the SLG short-circuit in node 13 (74.8 km from
the sending end) are shown. Similar picture of over-
voltage are observed in node 1 (21 km from the receiving
end).
In Fig. 7. GW’s overvoltages in node 5 (145 km from
the receiving end of line) induced by the SLG fault in
node 13 (74.8 km from the sending end) are shown. It
is seen from Figs. 6 and 7 that overvoltages in GWs
drastically depend upon location along the line and they
are higher in GW located just over the faulted phase.
In Figs. 8 and 9 GW’s currents at the beginning
and at the end of the line under considered faults
are shown. These currents contain high harmonics, which
influence the communication quality along the GW.

Fig. 7. Ground wires voltage measured at node 5 during SLG fault at node 13.

Fig. 8. Ground wires current at the beginning of line during SLG fault at node 13.
 I. Dudurych, E. Rosolowski / Electric Power Systems Research 53 (2000) 105–111
Fig. 9. Ground wires current at the end of line during SLG fault at node 13.
5. Conclusions
This paper presents a method for assessment of
overvoltage induced in overhead ground wires during
single-line-to-ground faults. The value of this over-
voltage can be used for insulation coordination when
GWs are used for communication purposes. For analy-
sis of the problem in the EHV lines the detailed model
of the considered system is presented. The primary and
secondary arcs were adequately adapted and incorpo-
rated into EMTP model.
A digital model of the EHV transmission line is
developed for the investigation of phenomena in the
overhead ground wires under the arc during single-
phase-to-ground faults. It has been shown that analysis
of these faults are vital for insulation coordination for
ground wires.
The accurate arc model gives the opportunity to
obtain realistic data on overvoltages and overcurrents
in ground wires under the arc single-phase-to-ground
faults, which are decisive from this purposes.
These investigations have shown that the insulation
level of GW at the ends of the line may be taken lower
than those positioned at the middle of it.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the valuable information on
the technical data of the real power transmission line,.
111
given by the Deputy Director of the Western Dispatch
Center Relay Service in Lviv Mr. V. Ivanonkiv.
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