Discrete-event simulation of the shielding failure of the arrester protected overhead-lines to evaluate risk of flashover

Damages caused by lightning stroke in power system networks are severe for insulations and result in less reliable energy supply. Knowledge of protection schemes and better selection of these devices in power systems is a goal of designers to reduce the risk of flashover in any risky point. In this paper, a statistical procedure is presented to evaluate risk of failure in an overhead-line which is protected by arresters in most risky towers. Main aim of the work is to present the modeling aspects for considering random nature of stroke and its simulation procedure. The random nature of a lightning stroke composed of proper discrete-event simulation of a stroke via its peak current, front time and tail time and accurate mathematical representation of such lightning stroke in a transient analyzer. In addition, the maximum lightning current which causes shielding failure for a specified tower design and probabilistic specification of lightning for discrete-event simulation is taken into account. As a study case, random nature modeled lightning strokes are applied to a 230 kV overhead-line which is located in a hilly area and the risk of failure is calculated when arresters are located beside the stroke point.