Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages

Lightning strikes on transmission lines often generate overvoltage, which is the primary reason for insulator string flashover. This overvoltage, with a rapid rise time of just a few microseconds, causes leader propagation characteristics to differ significantly from those under an impulse with a sl...

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Main Authors: Lei Jia, Song Zhang, Lu Qu, Yongxiang Cai, Huaifei Chen, Xiaobing Xiao, Ruihan Qi, Minchuan Liao, Jian Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11097294/
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author Lei Jia
Song Zhang
Lu Qu
Yongxiang Cai
Huaifei Chen
Xiaobing Xiao
Ruihan Qi
Minchuan Liao
Jian Hu
author_facet Lei Jia
Song Zhang
Lu Qu
Yongxiang Cai
Huaifei Chen
Xiaobing Xiao
Ruihan Qi
Minchuan Liao
Jian Hu
author_sort Lei Jia
collection DOAJ
description Lightning strikes on transmission lines often generate overvoltage, which is the primary reason for insulator string flashover. This overvoltage, with a rapid rise time of just a few microseconds, causes leader propagation characteristics to differ significantly from those under an impulse with a slower rise time. However, most existing studies focus on leader behavior under slow-rise-time impulses, like switching impulse voltage, while research on fast-rise-time impulses remains limited. To address this gap, this study conducted a discharge experiment using a 5 m air gap under lightning impulse voltage in a lab setting. Voltage, current, and high-speed images were recorded simultaneously. The results revealed how leader velocity and charge per unit length relate to the leader’s position and voltage amplitude. When compared to switching impulse voltage, these characteristics were found to be ten times greater under lightning impulse voltage. The study also examined the leader’s branching behavior, including the number of branches and the spatial distribution of bifurcation points. It explored how voltage amplitude affects these traits, showing that higher voltage increases the likelihood of branching, with three or four branches becoming more common. Additionally, the research analyzed the leader’s attachment points and, for the first time, observed two attachment points occurring simultaneously. These findings enhance our understanding of how leaders behave dynamically under fast-rise-time impulse voltage.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 2169-3536
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Access
spelling doaj-art-eba08eddfdf94d0e8a3e15fcad7f3e672025-08-20T03:02:26ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011313477213478010.1109/ACCESS.2025.359297811097294Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse VoltagesLei Jia0Song Zhang1Lu Qu2Yongxiang Cai3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5718-1813Huaifei Chen4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6942-8895Xiaobing Xiao5Ruihan Qi6Minchuan Liao7Jian Hu8Electric Power Research Institute, Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, ChinaElectric Power Science Research Institute, Guizhou Power Grid Company Ltd., Guiyang, ChinaElectric Power Research Institute, Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, ChinaElectric Power Science Research Institute, Guizhou Power Grid Company Ltd., Guiyang, ChinaElectric Power Research Institute, Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, ChinaElectric Power Science Research Institute, Guizhou Power Grid Company Ltd., Guiyang, ChinaElectric Power Research Institute, Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, ChinaElectric Power Research Institute, Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, ChinaElectric Power Research Institute, Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou, ChinaLightning strikes on transmission lines often generate overvoltage, which is the primary reason for insulator string flashover. This overvoltage, with a rapid rise time of just a few microseconds, causes leader propagation characteristics to differ significantly from those under an impulse with a slower rise time. However, most existing studies focus on leader behavior under slow-rise-time impulses, like switching impulse voltage, while research on fast-rise-time impulses remains limited. To address this gap, this study conducted a discharge experiment using a 5 m air gap under lightning impulse voltage in a lab setting. Voltage, current, and high-speed images were recorded simultaneously. The results revealed how leader velocity and charge per unit length relate to the leader’s position and voltage amplitude. When compared to switching impulse voltage, these characteristics were found to be ten times greater under lightning impulse voltage. The study also examined the leader’s branching behavior, including the number of branches and the spatial distribution of bifurcation points. It explored how voltage amplitude affects these traits, showing that higher voltage increases the likelihood of branching, with three or four branches becoming more common. Additionally, the research analyzed the leader’s attachment points and, for the first time, observed two attachment points occurring simultaneously. These findings enhance our understanding of how leaders behave dynamically under fast-rise-time impulse voltage.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11097294/Leader propagationlightning impulsehigh-voltage testhigh-speed photography
spellingShingle Lei Jia
Song Zhang
Lu Qu
Yongxiang Cai
Huaifei Chen
Xiaobing Xiao
Ruihan Qi
Minchuan Liao
Jian Hu
Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages
IEEE Access
Leader propagation
lightning impulse
high-voltage test
high-speed photography
title Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages
title_full Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages
title_fullStr Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages
title_full_unstemmed Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages
title_short Leader Propagation Characteristics Under Positive Lightning Impulse Voltages
title_sort leader propagation characteristics under positive lightning impulse voltages
topic Leader propagation
lightning impulse
high-voltage test
high-speed photography
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11097294/
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AT huaifeichen leaderpropagationcharacteristicsunderpositivelightningimpulsevoltages
AT xiaobingxiao leaderpropagationcharacteristicsunderpositivelightningimpulsevoltages
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