Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 EASYQUENCH TECHNOLOGY: 20 YEARS OF INNOVATION IN LIGHTNING PROTECTION Authrs: Jens Bthe, Etienne Cuisinier SUMMARY: Fr nw mre than 20 years, Streamer has dedicated its wrk t Overhead Lines prtectin. The main prducts develped by Streamer are Line Lightning Prtectin Devices (LLPD), meant t prtect medium vltage lines against direct lightning and lightning induced vervltages. After lcal successes, Streamer technlgy is nw spreading wrldwide. LLPDs met the challenge f bringing high prtectin fr Overhead Line by means f reliable and cmpact devices. By wrking internatinally, Streamer faced mre and mre challenges f types f line designs and lightning threats. Building n this experience, the prduct range had been extended and prcesses strengthened in rder t prvide the best custm made slutins available. STREAMER INTERNATIONAL AG Streamer is a Grup f cmpanies, funded in 1996 in in St. Petersburg, Russia. The aim f the first setup was the develpment f a Line Lightning Prtectin Device based (LLPD) n first research by Gergij Pdprkin frm St. Petersburg State Plytechnical University. Since then, majr steps in the develpment f the cmpany have been taken and are summarized belw: 1996: Streamer incrpratin is funded. New type f lighting prtectin technlgy is develped and the first patent btained 1998-1999: Strategic investrs jin the cmpany. A manufacturing facility is set up and a first distributin netwrk in Russia is develped 1999-2007: A prduct Range fr different applicatin and netwrk vltages is getting develped. Streamer establish a strng distributin netwrk in GUS and btain further patents t prtect the technlgy 2008: Innvative EasyQuench technlgy is develped. Streamer pens a sales ffice in Mscw and enters a strategic partnership with Russian Grids. The cmpany wins the first prize in XI Annual Cmpetitin Russian Innvatins and enters internatinal markets 2012: Streamer Internatinal AG is funded in Chur/Switzerland. Streamer has 650.000 installed LLPDs n netwrks 2013: Streamer pens an ffice in Bangkk/Thailand fr business develpment f the Asian market. First pilt prjects are implemented in suth- east Asia and China. 2014: 1 Millin LLPDs are installed. 27 patents are registered under Streamers brand and R&D cperatin is established with Universities in China and Switzerland. Streamer reaches 87% market share in Russia. 2015-2016: Streamer establishes a sales ffice in Beijing and penetrates new markets in Asia, Eurpe, Africa and Suth America. Strategic partnerships are established with Cmpanies in UK and Russia. Streamer enlarges its Prduct Range in Fault Indicatin Systems and Transfrmer Online Drying slutin. Tday Streamer emplys mre than 130 peple in 6 different cuntries. Mre than 1.3 Millin LLPDs are already installed in 15 cuntries all ver the wrld (see Figures 1 and 2). 1
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 Figure 1: streamer LLPD installatins by cuntry wrldwide (status 2017) Figure 2: Installed llpds frm 1996 t 2016, in Kpcs STREAMER LLPDS OVERVIEW Lightning Line Prtectin Devices develped by Streamer prvide efficient prtectin fr MV lines, including many advantages: ü Ability t prevent hazards frm direct lightning and induced vervltages ü Withstand direct lightning and induced vervltages ü High reliability and life span, self- prtected device ü High discharge capabilities, truly adapted t line requirements ü Easy t install, n maintenance required ü Ability t perate with a high level f fting resistance Figure 3 shws a LLPD equipped n a crss arm. Figure 3: LLPD equipped n a crss arm 2
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 OPERATION PRINCIPLE Streamer s EasyQuench system cnsists f a large number f electrdes munted nt the silicn rubber enclsure. There are hles between the electrdes leading t utside the enclsure. These hles frm miniature gas- discharge chambers. See the peratin principle in Figure 3: Step 1: Lightning impulse r lightning induced vervltage encunters the LLPD. Instead f having flashver f insulatr, the LLPD sparks ver. The gaps between the electrdes break dwn, thus prviding an inised preset path (discharge channel) fr fault current establishment inside the chambers. Step 2: The discharge channel expands with increasing hldver value, creating high pressure in the chambers. As well as pwer arcs ccurring between the intermediate electrdes inside the lw vlume chambers, the sparks between the electrdes mve t the surface f the insulatin bdy due t the high pressure. Step 3: and farther blw utside arund the LLPD. Under the blwing impact and elngatin f channels between the electrdes, their intensive cling takes place with increasing electrical resistance. Ttal resistance f the prduct is increased, enabling quenching f the fault current befre its first passage thrugh zer. Such type f fault current quenching is cnditinally called zer quenching. Neither the wire nr the insulatr is damaged and n trip ccurs. Figure 4: LLPD peratin principle 3
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 LLPD RANGE OF PRODUCTS LLPDs are available in 2 main ranges f prducts. The first range f prducts is designed t prtect OHL against induced vervltages (caused by indirect lightning): indirect Lightning Line Prtectin Device (i- LLPD). The secnd range f prducts is designed t prtect OHL against a direct lightning: direct lightning line prtectin devices (d- LLPD). i- LLPDs prvide efficient prtectin against induced vervltages and limited prtectin against direct lighting d- LLPDs prvide efficient prtectin against bth induced vervltages & direct lighting Different types f LLPDs were develped t prvide suitable prtectin fr lines up t 40.5 kv (maximum perating vltage). Examples are given here belw. SAi15.z SAd20.z Sad35.z LLPD PARAMETERS & PERFORMANCES Table 1 gives the main parameters and perfrmances fr i- LLPDs and d- LLPDs. Terms are defined belw. Highest Vltage fr Equipment (HVE): rt- mean- square value f the highest phase t phase vltage fr which the equipment is designed with reference t its insulatin and ther characteristics. Maximum prspective fault current: maximum fault current that can establish n a line, at LLPD s lcatin, withut any prtectin device fr which an LLPD can be equipped. Maximum Prspective Fllw Current: maximum fllw current that an LLPD can quench and withstand, accrding t type tests. Maximum fault quenching lightning current: maximum lightning current flwing thrugh an LLPD at which it can quench the resulting fault current. The maximum fault breaking lightning current explains why i- LLPDs cannt quench the fault current systematically frm DLSs and d- LLPDs can: the lightning current frm a DLS is much higher than that frm a LIO. 4
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 Table 1: LLPDs characteristics Characteristics d- LLPDs i- LLPDs LLPDs and Line Parameters Highest Vltage fr Equipment (HVE) Frm 6 t 40.5kV Frm 6 t 24kV Line maximum prspective fault current 5kA Up t 1.5kA Maximum prspective fllw current 3.5kA NA Fting resistance necessary Rated Frequency Frequency tlerance Frm 1 t 130 Ω 50Hz ±12Hz LLPDs and Lightning Nminal discharge current: 8/20μs 20kA peak current Up t 20kA peak current Husing Impulse Withstand: 1,2/50μs High Current Impulse Withstand: 4/10μs * 70kV peak vltage 65kA peak current Lightning Discharge Capability: 200μs * 2.4C 1.2C Minimum withstand peratin 10 Maximum fault quenching lightning current 20kA 3kA Pwer Lsses 0% Reliability Yearly Prduct Failure Rate Average Life Expectancy 0% (in areas with 10 flashes clud t grund per km² per year) 20 t 30 years Time t install/ple Installatin 10 t 100 minutes (depending n the prtectin slutin implemented) 10 t 20 minutes Additinal Equipment Needed Crss Arm Fitting and Piercing Clamp Grund Lead Grund lead may be needed (depending n the prtectin slutin implemented) N grund lead needed Maintenance 1 visual verificatin per year Weight 2.5kg t 3.5kg 1.0kg t 2.6kg Maximum Altitude fr Nrmal Operatin 1000m (cnsult us if abve) *Accrding t standards IEC 60099-8 paragraphs 8.5 and 8.6 5
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 FULL IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY LLPDs can be implemented in different ways, depending n the type f threat and n the line characteristics. With its experience f mre than 20 years in Overhead Lines prtectin, Streamer built its wn prcess fr analyzing lightning threats and implementing lightning prtectin slutins in the mst efficient way. LINE ANALYSIS & DEPLOYMENT OF LLPDS The fllwing prcess is used t estimate the lightning threat n the line and t suggest the mst suitable prtectin slutins fr it: 1) Site visit, gathering all line s parameters and lightning parameters n the line s area 2) Estimatin f the lightning threat (number f trips per year due t direct lightning and due t induced vervltages). The estimatin is based n a line mdelling (using EMTPR sftware) and calculatins are based n [1] 3) Estimatins f line perfrmances are made fr a set f different suitable and cst- effective LLPD deplyment slutins 4) Results are prvided t custmers: with and withut different LLPD deplyment slutins, including csts and expected line perfrmances (see Table 2) 5) Streamer prvides blue prints (see Figure 5) and ptentially custm made hardware munting slutins fitting the line design fr the chsen prtectin slutin. LLPDs are then ready t be installed. [1] IEEE, Guide fr Imprving the Lightning Perfrmance f Electric Pwer Overhead Distributin Lines, 2004 Table 2: Example f summarized perfrmances prvided, mre detailed results are available Number f trips n the line per year Withut LLPDs With LLPDs (first slutin) With LLPDs (secnd slutin) Frm induced vervltages 3,8 Frm direct lightning 24,5 Frm induced vervltages 0,4 Frm direct lightning 8,0 Frm induced vervltages 0,9 Frm direct lightning 2,7 6
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 Figure 5: Example f blue prints prvided TESTING METHODOLOGY OF LLPDS Installing new and innvative slutins n Overhead Lines requires a testing methdlgy t evaluate the efficiency f LLPDs t prevent trips n line. Fr this, in the past years, Streamer develped the testing prcess summarized in the fllwing paragraph (see als Figure 6). Figure 6: Testing methdlgy 7
Streamer AG INMR Wrld Cngress 2017 ü In rder t perfrm the field test, an apprpriated line segment shuld be chsen. We usually fcus n strategic segments with high number f ptential trips and easy t islate (it shuld be easy t determine whether the trip cmes frm this segment r anther). ü T lead the analysis, data cncerning the line itself is needed. The cllectin f segment data includes line parameters, switchgear fault lgger data and lightning data. ü LLPDs are then implemented n the line segment, fault lgs are als required in rder t islate the segment. ü Once the segment is equipped, LLPDs shuld be bserved fr ne lightning seasn, peridic checks can be carried ut n LLPDs (using ne- time- peratin- indicatrs) and fault lggers. ü At the end f the lightning seasn, fault lg data, substatin switchgear recrds, lightning data and LLPD peratin data shuld be cllected. Finally, an analysis is perfrmed, answering the fllwing questins: Are the LLPDs installed crrectly? Are the LLPDs perating prperly? Is the applicatin f LLPDs relevant? Is the applicatin f LLPDs efficient? CONCLUSION: Streamers histry started in 1996 by an innvatin fr a Line Lightning Prtectin Device (LLPD) made by Gergij Pdprkin frm St. Petersburg State Plytechnical University. Fr a perid f almst 10 years, Streamer was fcused n develping the patent technlgy int a prduct slutin fr Medium Vltage Netwrks. After great cmmercial success n Russia, in 2012 Streamer started its internatinal Market develpment. A wide range f prducts was develped t fit market requests frm tday mre 15 different cuntries in the wrld. While Streamer is cperating with different suppliers fr ther Prduct Ranges, its main fcus f develpment always last n Lightning Prtectin. In rder t ffer the mst suitable prtectin slutins fr Overhead Lines, Streamer wrked ut a methdlgy t qualify lightning threats and t find the best way fr the system integratin f LLPDs. The cmpany wrks in a netwrk f scientific institutes, universities and distributrs wrldwide which is tday the fundament f its wrldwide grwth. Tday in 2017 Streamer is recgnized as ne f the leading cmpanies fr Lighting Prtectin n Overhead lines and has an internatinal Team f 130 emplyees n ffices in 6 different cuntries t better feed cstumer requirements. 8