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Dimensioning of Electrical Clearance of OHL Using

Correlation between Weather Condition
and Lightning Strike Probability

B. RUSEK*, S. STEEVENS, K. KLEINEKORTE

Amprion GmbH, Germany
M. HANNIG, C. BALZER, V. HINRICHSEN, C. NEUMANN
TU Darmstadt, Germany

SUMMARY
This paper presents a new approach for dimensioning of electrical clearance for 380kV overhead lines.
Its principle is based on the circumstance that lightning strikes, i.e. fast front overvoltage surges, only
occur at weather conditions, which significantly differ from the standard weather conditions. Ordinary
dimensioning of electrical clearance is performed for standard weather conditions. Detailed analyses
allow using electrical clearances resulting from slow front overvoltages only, which are significantly
lower comparing to fast front overvoltages. Therefore the electrical clearance is adapted to the present
weather conditions in this approach.
Especially for overhead lines, which have been designed for relatively low operating conductor
temperatures of, e.g. 60°C, an increase of the line ampacity can be achieved by temporary reduction of
electrical clearance, without reducing the operational safety.
The analysis shows that the probability of lightning strike to the lowest conductor on the tower, which
restricts the ampacity of the line, is very low. Additionally, back flashovers are very rare events, which
practically do not occur if the footing resistance of tower is lower than 10 Ω, which is the case for
most of the towers of the considered network. Both events only occur during thunderstorms, where
heavy loaded conductors are cooled down by bad weather conditions, so that lightning strikes occur at
time instants when the conductor has come back to the original sag, i.e. the standard electrical
clearance is fulfilled.
The cooling amounts approximately 20°C, which in typical line spans corresponds to a change in sag
between 0.46 m and 0.7 m. Due to the cooling effects, the current carrying ampacity of the considered
overhead line can be increased by about 30 %.

Keywords
Electrical clearance, insulation co-ordination, overhead lines, slow front overvoltage, fast front
overvoltage, increase of OHL ampacity

*bartosz.rusek@amprion.net
1. Introduction
The dimensioning of air clearances (Del in figure 1.1)
for 380 kV overhead lines (OHL) is described in
standard EN 50341-1 “Overhead electrical lines
exceeding AC 1 kV” [1], which uses the regulations
defined in IEC 60071-1 “Insulation Coordination” [2]. 40°C
The dimensioning of air electrical clearances of a 60°C
Base
380 kV OHL based on these standards show that the load
80°C
slow front overvoltages (SFO) and fast front Exceptional
Conductor
load
overvoltages (FFO) are relevant. temperature

Del_sf Del_ff
Detailed considerations of SFOs in the considered =2,1 m =3,2 m
380 kV network of a German TSO show that there is a
considerable difference in clearance requirements
resulting from SFOs and FFOs. With phase-to-phase

Object
SFOs, which have a probability of 2 % that a peak value
of 720 kV is exceeded (i.e. Ue2 = 720 kV), using a
statistical approach, an air electrical clearance Figure 1.1: Example of conductor sag
Del_sf = 2.1 m can be derived [3]. An FFO equal to the change due to different loads in relation to
voltage U10 = 1720 kV, which will lead to flashover of electrical clearance resulting from different
insulator in 10 % of surges, determines an air electrical voltage surges
clearance of Del_ff = 3.2 m. Thinking in terms of safety,
the higher air electrical clearance Del = 3.2 m is chosen. It must be mentioned here, that EN 50341-1
(see Table 5.6) allows using empiric electrical clearance of Del = 2.8 m, if the clearance (electrical
clearance plus additional safety clearance) is higher than 110% of minimal clearance between
components on high voltage potential and earthed objects. The approach here presented will fulfil the
safety philosophy for both standard methods.
FFO surges occur during thunderstorms only, when a lightning strike hits the OHL either on the
ground wire or the conductors. Hence with respect to the clearance, it can be assumed that in fair
weather conditions no lightning strike occurs, and only SFOs need to be considered. SFOs can occur
any time, because they originate from switching operations and earth faults. Based on these
assumptions, it can be concluded that in fair weather conditions the air clearance (in the considered
example) of Del_sf = 2.1 m is applicable, which is significantly lower in comparison to the air clearance
for FFOs at Del_ff = 3.2 m. Hence it can be concluded, that the standard air clearances are quite
conservative for fair weather conditions.
If in fair weather conditions Del_sf can be used instead of Del_ff the difference of 1.1 m (in this example)
can be used for other purposes like higher loading of the OHL and an overall increase of line
ampacity.
In order to increase the ampacity of an existing
OHL by temporary reduction of clearances, a
typical operating scenario of a line is considered, in Current
Conductor
temperature
which clearances are designed for a maximum 100% 80°C
conductor operating temperature of 60 °C (case 1 in
figure 1.2). At the beginning the load of the OHL 2
66% 60°C
amounts to approximately 33 % of conductor
nominal load (100% corresponds to 680A for single 1
33% 40°C
ACSR 256/35 conductor), which leads – under
consideration of standard ambient weather Time
Base load Exceptional
conditions (35 °C ambient temperature, 0.6 m/s load
wind speed, 900 W/m2 solar radiation) – to a Figure 1.2: Typical operation scenario for lines
conductor temperature of about 40 °C. Further on it designed for temperatures of 60 °C and 80 °C,
is assumed that after a certain time the parallel line respectively (1) and (2)
needs to be disconnected due to a fault. The

2
considered line takes the load of the faulty line, and the loading jumps to 66 %. This leads to an
increase of conductor temperature to a value of 60 °C. The clearance requirements are fulfilled here at
any time.
In order to increase the ampacity of the line, a higher conductor temperature is required (case 2 in
figure 1.2). However, for such cases the clearance requirements according to the standard will be
fulfilled for base load only. In cases of exceptional load, the standard clearances would be exceeded
(figure 1.2). A remedy can be achieved through the relation of standard ambient conditions during
thunderstorms and FFOs.
The purpose of this contribution is to give evidence that a temporary higher ampacity of OHLs is
possible without reducing operational safety.
2. Electrical clearance for the 380 kV system
The air electrical clearance is determined by means of the following safety philosophy: Overvoltages,
in particular lightning overvoltages, shall not cause a flashover between conductor and earthed objects
(across the electrical clearance), but shall lead to a flashover across the insulator in the vicinity of the
lightning strike location. The insulator strings are used as voltage limiting equipment. Therefore,
dimensioning of the electrical clearances should be based on the flashover characteristic of the
insulators applied.
The dimensioning of the air clearance is performed according to IEC 60071-1 and -2 [2][5].
2.1 Required air clearance for SFOs
The major challenge in determining the required clearance is to evaluate the statistical distribution of
occurring SFOs, represented by voltage Ue2 (2% phase-to-earth overvoltage). For the purpose of this
study Ue2 has been evaluated by numerous simulations of three phase pre charged line energizations.
The main factors influencing the voltage amplitude are the number of parallel lines at the feeding end
as well as the mechanical delay between the switching of the three phases. With the latter being a
statistically distributed parameter, numerous
simulations with the help of a transient analysis
program (ATP/EMTP) have been performed, 50 km
0.999 100 km
varying independently the delay of switching 0.997 200 km
with respect to phase R from zero to 5 ms for 0.99
0.98
the two phases S and T [3]. The resulting 0.95
probability distribution (case-peak method) is 0.90

presented in figure 2.1 for a line length of

Cumulative probability function

0.75

50 km (red), 100 km (green) and 200 km (blue). 0.50

The number of parallel lines connected to the
0.25
feeding end is five, which can be considered as
conservative regarding possible network 0.10
0.05
configurations. From figure 2.1 the Ue2 can be 0.02
derived: 0.01
0.003
2 0.001
𝑈e2 ≈ 2.1 p. u. = 2.1� ⋅ 420 kV ≈ 720 kV
3
1.6 1.8 2 2.2
Applying the statistical co-ordination factor of Highest overvoltage in p.u.
Kcs = 1.05 (which corresponds to an accepted
Figure 2.1: Cumulative probability function of slow
failure rate of 10-3) as well as the safety factor front overvoltages due to three phase line energization
and the altitude correction, the required for three different line lengths. Number of lines at the
withstand voltage Urw can be derived. From the feeding end: five
latter, the required air clearance for SFOs is
evaluated using the following equation [5]:

3
 𝑈e2 ⋅𝐾cs ⋅𝐾s ⋅𝐾a
1 𝐾Z ⋅1080⋅𝐾g_sf
1 720⋅1.05⋅1.05⋅1.1
𝐷el_sf = �e − 1� = �e 0.922⋅1080⋅1.3 − 1� = 2.09 ≈ 2.1 m
0.46 0.46

With:
Del_sf – required air clearance for SFO
Ue2 – phase-to-earth SFO with a 2% probability of being exceeded
Kcs – statistical co-ordination factor
Kg_sf – gap factor for slow front impulses (for electrical clearance a value of Kg_sf = 1.3 is given in EN 50341)
Ks – safety factor (Ks = 1.05)
Ka – altitude correction factor
KZ = 1 - 1.3 ⋅ Z = 0.922 – statistical distribution factor (Z = 0.06 for SFO)
2.2 Required air clearance for FFOs
For dimensioning of the air clearance, the required withstand voltage, i.e. the 10 % flashover voltage
of air electrical clearance U10air, is often correlated with the 10 % flashover voltage U10ins of the
insulators (KZ = 1 - 1.3 ⋅ Z). This means that the insulator and the air clearance can be flashed over
with the same probability (U10air=U10ins), which does not fulfil the aforementioned basic safety
philosophy that the insulator should flash over rather than the clearance. As remedy, the probability of
flashover of electrical clearance will be reduced to 1 %, which corresponds to a factor
KZ = 1 - 2.3 ⋅ Z = 0.931 [4]. The required air clearance for FFO surge is determined according to the
following equation:

𝑈10 ⋅ 𝐾s ⋅ 𝐾a 1720 ⋅ 1.0 ⋅ 1.0

𝐷el_ff = = = 3.23 ≈ 3.2 m
𝐾Z ∙ 530 ⋅ �0.74 + 0,26 ⋅ 𝐾g_sf � 0.931 ⋅ 530 ⋅ (0.74 + 0.26 ⋅ 1.3)
With:
Del_ff – required air clearance for FFO of positive polarity
U10 –10% flashover voltage of the insulator
Ks – safety factor (Ks = 1.00 because U10 has been acquired in an HV laboratory)
Ka – altitude correction factor (Ka = 1.0 because the electric strengths of air across insulator and clearance are the
same)
KZ =1 - 2.3 ⋅ Z = 0.931 – statistical distribution factor (Z = 0.03 for FFO)
3. Overvoltage probability
3.1 Shielding failure rate (SFR) and shielding failure flashover rate (SFFOR)
The dimensions of the tower under
investigation can be taken from figure 3.1.
The air electrical clearance is of special
interest for the outer phase conductors
nearest to ground (#4, #7), because the inner
conductors (#5, #6) cannot be hit by a
lightning strike and the elevated conductors
(#2, #3) on the upper cross arm are typically #1
too far away from any object on ground.
#2 #3
The SFR can be calculated according to
CIGRÉ Technical Brochure 063 [6] by
#4 #6 #5 #7
using the EGM (electro-geometrical model)
and the CIGRÉ distribution of lightning Conductor of
special interest
peak currents for negative first return
strokes. Hereby the cross section of a
transmission line is analysed, taking into
account the ground wire and the phase
conductors. In the EGM, which is widely Figure 3.1: Cross section of the given line configuration
used in the international standards (red crosses) with a single ground wire (#1) and two
systems of three conductors each

4
(e.g. IEC 62305), the negative downward leader is represented just by a straight vertical line. This
leads to horizontal distances, from where a lightning leader may bypass the ground wire and hit the
phase conductors. The example of striking width (DC) for an 8 kA lightning strike current is shown in
figure 3.1. In this example the conductors (#2, #3, #4 and #7) may suffer a shielding failure from a
vertical lightning leader with a peak current of 8 kA, because DC is higher than zero.
The development of the DC for considered tower type is investigated by a MATLAB-Script taking into
account the different striking distances for the ground plane, the conductors and the ground wire. The
result is presented in figure 3.2. For the considered tower the maximum peak currents, still striking the
upper conductors, can reach up to 39.7 kA, whereas the outer conductor on the lower cross arm can
experience a peak strike current of 17 kA.
The shielding failure rate (SFR) of a given
line configuration can be calculated using
following equation [6]
𝐼M
SFR = 2 ⋅ 𝑁g 𝐿1 � 𝐷C 𝑓(𝐼) d𝐼
3 kA
where
DC - striking width,
Ng - ground flash density,
IM - maximum peak lightning strike current
L1 - total length of the OHL.
Figure 3.2: Development of the striking width for all
Note that there is a factor of two, which conductors of system 1 in dependency of the lightning
accounts for a symmetric OHL configuration peak current
as can be seen in figure 3.1.
To achieve the SFR this development has to
be multiplied with the peak current
distribution for negative lightning current
amplitudes. figure 3.3 presents the weighted
striking distance DC(I) under consideration of
the distribution of lightning current
amplitudes f(I) according to CIGRE [6].
When a lightning strike hits a conductor, the
lightning current causes an overvoltage,
which can be calculated as
𝑍
𝑈50,neg = 𝐼̂ ∙
2 Figure 3.3: Striking width weighted with negative peak
with Z being the surge impedance of the current distribution
phase conductors.
Assuming a minimum allowed clearance of 2.1 m to ensure sufficient strength against FFO, the
corresponding negative withstand voltage of the air clearance amounts to about 1220 kV. This voltage
will be reached by lightning strike current of about 9 kA. Hence, the lightning strikes with current
amplitudes above 9 kA can cause a flashover across the 2.1 m air gap. The corresponding SFFOR can
be determined by adapting the SFR equation given above:
17 kA

𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆s1,c2 = 𝑁g ∙ 𝐿 � 𝐷c (𝐼) 𝑓(𝐼) d𝐼

9 kA

The integral corresponds to the (green) area indicated in figure 3.3 and results in a striking width of
0.24 m. Table 3.1 gives the flashover rate of the (minimum) air clearance of 2.1 m.

5
For each 100 km of line length, a flash density Table 3.1: SFFOR of conductor #2 for lightning current
of 2.5/km2*a and a time period of 17 years, amplitudes between 9 and 17 kA
one lightning strike would hit the conductor Parameter Value Unit
and cause an overvoltage amplitude equal to Dc (9…17 kA) 0. 24 m
or larger than the withstand voltage of the 2.1 Ng 2.0 2.5 3.0 1/km2*a
m air gap, which is taken as the minimum SFFOR 0.05 0.06 0.07 1/100 km*a
clearance.
500

3.2 Back flashover probability (BFR) 0 Outer conductor, upper cross arm
Inner conductor, lower cross arm
A flashover from a conductor on the lower -500
Outer conductor, lower cross arm

cross arm towards earthed objects may also

occur if a lightning strike hits the tower or the -1000

Voltage in kV
earth wire and the tower potential is increased -1500
so much that a flashover from the tower to the
-2000
phase conductor happens (back flashover). As
a consequence, an overvoltage surge may enter -2500

the conductor exceeding the flashover voltage

-3000
to the earthed object.
0 10 20 30 40 50
The probability of a back flashover as well as Time in µs
the resulting overvoltage is strongly dependent Figure 3.4: Example of a back flashover at the inner
on the tower footing impedance and the conductor on the lower cross arm
voltage phase angle of the considered phase 3500

conductor in the moment of strike. Figure 3.4 Outer conductor, upper cross arm
3000
presents an example of voltages after lightning Inner conductor, lower cross arm
Outer conductor, lower cross arm
strike at the top of the tower. In this figure, the 2500

flashover occurs at t = 11 µs at the inner

Maximum Voltage (absolut) in kV

2000
conductor on the lower cross arm (#4). There
are no further flashovers on other conductors. 1500

The tower was modelled according to 1000

IEC 60071-4 [8] with a footing impedance of
20 Ω and only one ground wire. The lightning 500

strike current amplitude was -200 kA, the 0

maximum steepness as well as the front 0 50 100 150 200

Peak current (absolut) in kA

duration was set according to the correlations in
[8]. Furthermore, the power-frequency voltage Figure 3.5: Maximum phase voltage as a function of
of conductor #4 is at its positive peak value in the peak current of the stroke hitting the tower
order to provoke a flashover. Finally, to 2500 2.5

estimate the instant of flashover a leader

development model as specified in [8] was 2000 2

implemented. As the injected current amplitude

is negative, the parameters representing a 1500 1.5
Voltage (absolut) in kV

Streamer length in m

positive insulator flashover must be selected.

Hence, the results in figure 3.5 are to be 1000 1
considered as a worst-case scenario regarding
all relevant parameters. 500 0.5

With these assumptions, further investigations

were carried out considering a variation of 0 0

lightning current amplitudes. The results are 10 10.5 11 11.5 12

given in figure 3.5. A flashover across the
insulator of the inner conductor on the lower
cross arm (#4) takes place at lightning current
amplitudes of about -110 kA and above only.
Under best case conditions regarding the phase
Time in µs
Figure 3.6: Voltage waveshape (black, primary axis)
and the leader discharge development (red, secondary
axis) in case of a back flashover at a lightning current
amplitude of -160 kA

6
angle, i.e. for the negative power-frequency peak value on the phases connected to the lower crossarm,
the back flashover appears only at the conductor on the upper crossarm.
Reducing the tower footing impedance improves the flashover performance. For tower footing
impedances below 10 Ω, no back flashover at the conductors on the lower cross arm will occurs- even
under worse case conditions regarding the phase angle. In practise that can be achieved by additional
earth electrodes.
In addition to the amplitude of the surge entering the conductor in case of a back flashover, special
attention should be payed to its shape when assessing the probability of a flashover to grounded
objects from the conductor wire: As the steepness of the incoming surge is larger than that of the
standard lightning impulse, the leader discharge development needs considerably higher amplitudes.
In consequence, a flashover of the 2.1 m air clearance to earthed objects does not occur at lightning
current amplitudes of -110 kA, for considered towers with a footing impedance of 20 Ω, but rather for
amplitudes higher than -160 kA. Figure 3.6 shows the voltage on the conductor wire and the
development of the leader discharge to the earthed object in case of a back flashover at lightning
current amplitudes of -160 kA. It should also be kept in mind that the polarity effects regarding the
dielectric strength between tower and conductor wire as well as conductor wire to earth are inverse: A
negative stroke, which is more likely to produce a back flashover than a positive stroke of the same
amplitude, leads to overvoltage of negative polarity on the conductor wire with respect to ground,
which gives higher dielectric strength than at positive polarity.
In conclusion the flashover probability of the 2.1 m air gap is extremely low, and a flashover can be
totally excluded if a tower footing impedance of <10 Ω can be ensured.
3.3 Summary of voltage surges in relation to clearances
Considering the SFFOR at the lower cross arm and BFR it can be stated that the electrical clearance
will be exposed to these voltage stresses very seldom. Already this fact would be sufficient for
dimensioning of electrical clearances for SFO i.e. Del_sf only.
4. Relation of FFOs with weather conditions
4.1 Conductor sag
The sag of a transmission line depends on, among others, material properties, current load,
meteorological conditions and the design temperature. Once the line is erected, the phase conductors
may be subject to high temperatures during periods of high electrical loading and both the shield wires
and phase conductors must remain intact under 500 m 400 m 300 m 200 m
high ice and wind load. 30
28 ∆=0,70m
The age-related conductor elongation is
essentially independent of the thermal conductor 26

elongation and is called creep. The resulting 24 Conductor type

Al/Acs 265/35 (σM=43 N/mm²)
maximum sag is achieved after approx. 40 years
Conductor sag in m

22
for old transmission lines (normally the 20
∆=0,66m
stationary final state).
18
For old transmission lines it is expected that the 16
lines will be re-adjusted after 40 years. For new 14
lines the age-related elongation is considered in ∆=0,57m
12
the planning, so that the reserve can be up to 1.7
10
m, depending on the span length (among others).
For old transmission lines, which have not been 8 ∆=0,46m
re-adjusted, the potential minimum clearances 6
under corresponding conditions (weather, 4
current load), will generally be reached sooner. 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Conductor temperature in °C
Figure 4.1 shows the conductor sag of an
exemplary Al/St conductor. For simplifying this Figure 4.1 Typical sag of conductor in the middle of
the span

7
considerations it will be assumed, that the earthed object is located in the middle of the span. A
conductor temperature change of 20 °C results in a sag change in the middle of the span between
0.46 m and 0.7 m depending on span length. Relating this difference to clearance requirements in
figure 1.1 and chapters 2.1 and 2.2 it can be concluded that a change of conductor temperature in the
range of 20 °C corresponds to the clearance distance requirements resulting from SFOs and FFOs.
4.2 Calculation of conductor temperature
Conductor temperature is influenced by its load and also by several ambient parameters. According to
CIGRE TB 207, „Thermal behaviour of overhead conductors“, the heat supplied to the conductor is in
a static equilibrium to the heat that is dissipated from the conductor. For a static case the following
general relationship is given [7].
𝑃J + 𝑃M + 𝑃S + 𝑃i = 𝑃c + 𝑃r +𝑃w
With:
PJ - Joule heating
𝑃M - magnetic heating
𝑃S - solar heating
𝑃i - corona heating
𝑃c - convective cooling
𝑃r - radiative cooling
𝑃w - evaporative cooling
To simplify the calculation, the
parameters with low influence on
conductor temperature as
magnetic and corona heating and
evaporative cooling will be
neglected. Additionally, in order
to consider a dynamic behaviour
of the conductor the thermal
capacity of the conductor (c) has
to be included
d𝑇AV
𝑚𝑚 = −𝑃J − 𝑃S + 𝑃c + 𝑃r
d𝑡
To use this formula ambient Figure 4.2 Ambient temperature, global radiation, wind speed and
conductor temperature regressed on the location of lightning strike for
temperature, global radiation and
4 different load scenarios
wind speed at the particular spot,
where the lightning strikes, have to be evaluated. Therefore, an existing database that covers 30 000
lightning strikes over a time period of 10 years along the exemplary transmission line corridor is
evaluated. Along this line several weather stations were available. Records of all relevant
environmental parameters at time intervals of 5 minutes were available. The investigation took into
account the different heights above sea level of the towers and also of the weather stations, as well as
the distance between both locations for every lightning incidence. Because there are many lightning
strikes during a thunderstorm, which occur at the similar environmental conditions, only one
representative lightning strike per thunderstorm was taken into account. It is assumed, that the
lightning strikes are only relevant during a day, because during a night there is no global radiation and
temperatures are lower than during a day.
For purpose of this study it has been assumed, that every considered lightning event would strike the
tower or the conductor. In reality, only very few strikes (see probability considerations in chapter 3)
would lead to a FFO, hence these assumptions are quite conservative. In total nearly 300 lightning
events were investigated.
Figure 4.2 shows the ambient temperature in a given distance to the weather station, as well as the
global radiation and the wind speed. Also four different loads are assumed, 50 %, 75 %, 100 % and
125 % of the nominal load. Due to an approaching thunderstorm, around 1.5 h before any lightning

8
strikes, the ambient temperature drops rapidly by some 10 °C. Also, the sky gets cloudy, which causes
the global radiation to decrease as well. Most of the lightning in Germany is related to updraft
thunderstorms, which is why the wind speed also increases. The cooling effect of the wind has the
most prominent impact on conductor temperature. However, this effect only takes place during the
early stage of thunderstorm. The main reason why the conductor temperature is lower in comparison
to a time instant 4 h before the lightning strike event is the lower ambient temperature. The rain would
additionally improve the cooling. Nevertheless, it has not been included because of the lack of such
data.
4.3 Statistical analysis of lightning strike events and conductor temperature
The conductor temperature before and exactly at the time of lightning strike in case of 75 % and
100 % of load for the considered 300 lightning strikes are presented in figure 4.3. For analysis of this
figure, there must be kept in mind that the increase of the line ampacity is reached by increase of the
load from 66% to 100% which corresponds to increase of conductor temperature from 60°C to 80°C
or sag increase in range between 40 and 70cm. The electrical clearance is designed in considered
example for 60°C (or 66% of nominal load) according to the standard and amounts 3.2 m or 2.8 m
(depending on method used in standard).
• For 75% of nominal load the conductor temperature was always lower than 48°C at the
instance of lightning strike. Hence, the electrical clearance, which will be reached at 60°C, for
moderate increase of the load (of ca. 10%) is fulfilled with significant reserve (circa 10°C
which corresponds to 20 cm of sag). Even before thunderstorm (see 4h curve), the standard
clearance Del_ff was fulfilled. (Small deviations are neglected due to used worst case scenarios)
• Increase of the line ampacity form 66% to 100% leads to increase of the conductor
temperature in median to 55°C and maximal to 80°C (see the temperature 4h before
thunderstorm). Hence, here no lightning strike occurs, the electrical clearance for SFO
Del_sf = 2.1 m can be used.
• For nominal load (100%) in 95% of lightning events, the conductor temperature was lower
than 60°C. Here, the standard clearances Del_ff are fulfilled for the instance of lightning strike.
• For the remaining 5% of events the conductor temperature for 60°C was slightly exceeded of
maximal 5°C. Due to the fact that not all weather parameters have been considered and worse
case scenarios have been assumed, this is still acceptable.

Figure 4.3 Statistical analyses of conductor temperature before and at time point of 300 lightning strike events
for 2 load scenarios of conductors
9
Adapting the electrical clearance to the occurring voltage stresses at different environmental
conditions allow the increase of the line ampacity of about 30 %. Thereby, independently on the
method used for deriving Del_ff , the Del_sf can be used in fair weather conditions where lightning
strikes do not occur.
5. Conclusions
This paper presents a new approach for dimensioning of electrical clearance for 380kV overhead lines.
Its principle is based on the circumstance that lightning strikes, i.e. fast front overvoltage surges, only
occur at weather conditions, which significantly differ from the standard weather conditions. Ordinary
the dimensioning of electrical clearance is performed for standard weather conditions. Detailed
analyses allow using electrical clearances resulting from slow front overvoltages only, which are
significantly lower comparing to fast front overvoltages. Therefore the electrical clearance is adapted
to the present weather conditions in this approach.
The analyses show that the probability of lightning strike to the lowest conductor is very small.
Additionally, back flashovers are very rare events, which practically do not occur if the tower footing
resistance is lower than 10 Ω, which is the case for most of the towers of the considered network. Both
events only occur during thunderstorms, where the conductors are cooled down by weather conditions.
The cooling amounts to approximately 20 °C, which in typical line spans corresponds to a sag change
between 0.46 m and 0.7 m.
Due to the typical operation load profiles, for most of the time the clearances according to present
standard can be fulfilled. The exceptional loads are very seldom events, and even then the above
presented considerations show that the clearances can be adapted to the possible SFO stresses.
Moreover, these considerations provide a good explanation for the empirical electrical clearances
given in EN 50341-1 (e.g. 2.8 m for 420 kV) instead of clearances derived according to the insulation
coordination rule based on the 10 % flashover voltage of insulators (of e.g. 3.2 m).
Finally, it can be concluded that due to cooling phenomena during thunderstorms, the ampacity of the
considered overhead line can be increased in most of the cases by about 30 % without reducing the
operational safety of overhead lines and thus saving the basic principles of insulation co-ordination.
For flashover of air electrical clearance many factors must be present with a millisecond precision, the
thunderstorm, the shielding failure or back flashover, the lighting strike current of enough high
amplitude, the exceptional load, the maximal elongation of the conductors and the object in a span
where lightning strike hits. Dealing with low probabilities of these individual factors, the total
flashover probability of air clearance is extremely low for the scenarios considered here. Nevertheless,
here presented approach is not a general rule since it depends on weather conditions, which may
significantly vary in different climatic zones.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
[1] EN 50341-1: Overhead electrical lines exceeding 45 kV- Part 1: General requirements: 04-2010.
[2] IEC 60071-1: Insulation coordination, Part 1: Definitions, principles and rules, Jan 23, 2006.
[3] C. Balzer, at al.: “Statistische Bestimmung von Überspannungen bei Einschaltvorgängen von
Freileitungen zur Dimensionierung von Isolatorketten” (Statistical Evaluation of Overvoltages
caused by Energization of Overhead Lines and Dimensioning of Line Insulators). VDE-
Fachtagung Hochspannungstechnik 2016, 14th to 16th November, 2016, Berlin/Germany
[4] C. Neumann, at al.: “Aspects of insulation coordination for DC links using hybrid lines”. CIGRE-
IEC Colloquium 2016, Canada
[5] IEC 60071-2: Insulation coordination, Part 2: Application Guide, December 1996.
[6] CIGRE WG 33.1: A. Erikkson, et. al.: “Guide to procedures for estimating the lightning
performance of transmission lines.”. CIGRE Technical -Brochure 063, October 1991.
[7] R. Stephen, D. Douglass, et. al.: “Thermal behavior of overhead conductors”, CIGRE-Brochure
207, 2002
[8] IEC 60071-4 IEC TR 60071-4: Insulation co-ordination – Part 4: Computational guide to
insulation co-ordination and modelling of electrical networks. 06-2004.

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