Mechanism of Lightning Damage on Low-voltage Distribution Equipment due to Arc dynamic current

Abstract

The lightning damage on low-voltage power distribution systems is almost burning of low-voltage distribution equipment due to flashover and arc dynamic current.
The lightning overvoltage causes flashover of low-voltage distribution equipments. After that, the flashover causes burning, because of impressing the commercial frequency voltage.
Two kinds of experiments were conducted by the authors. The first was using real scale low-voltage distribution line model. The second was using a low-voltage distribution equipment. According to the first experiment, a lightning overvoltage causes burning at an equipment or two equipments on a low-voltage power distribution system. In the second experiment, the authors suggested that flashover current due to lightning overvoltage become 0 ampere at once when flashover current switches to arc dynamic current.
As a result, it became possible to know which equipment would be burnt on a low-voltage distribution systems. By using this mechanism and calculation by EMTP, it is possible to simulete lightning damege on low-voltage distribution lines