TNA and Laboratory Study of the Switching-Surge Behavior of Lightning Arresters

Two different network configurations for 420 kV are examined on TNA simulating different possible types of lightning arresters to determine the discharge currents and energies through the arrester and their distribution as a function of the closing sequence of the breaker and of the switching impulse sparkover voltage of the arrester. The effect of the different possible characteristics of the magnetic active gap on the magnitude of the currents and on the residual voltage are examined.