New Lightning Current Arrester Design for Onshore

and Offshore Wind Turbines

Holger Heckler
Business Unit Power and Signal Quality
Phoenix Contact, Blomberg, Germany
hheckler@phoenixcontact.com
Joachim Wosgien & Martin Wetter
Business Unit Power and Signal Quality
Phoenix Contact, Blomberg, Germany
Abstract This paper describes the challenging operating
conditions of onshore and offshore wind turbines and the
requirements for the design of surge-protective devices which
result from these operating conditions. To meet these operating
conditions and the requirements derived from standards and
guidelines for wind turbines, a new hybrid design of varistor-
based and spark-gap-based IEC Class I lightning current
arresters had been designed. This paper also describes the design
principles and the operational behavior of this new arrester for
wind turbines.
Keywords: Lightning, lightning protection level, lightning
current, overvoltage, surge protection, surge-protective device,
surge-protection device, varistor, gas-discharge tube, wind turbine,
repetitive transients, vibration, monitoring unit, remote contact
I. INTRODUCTION
Wind turbines are usually installed at exposed locations,
and sometimes at very remote locations e.g. offshore or in the
middle of a desert. Especially at remote locations, the
operational reliability of wind turbines is of the utmost
importance for the operators of wind turbines. Wind turbines
are easy targets for high-energy lightning strikes. Therefore
IEC Class I surge-protective devices (SPDs) for the diversion
of lightning currents are frequently used for the protection of
low-voltage AC power systems in wind turbines.
II. SYSTEM VOLTAGES
A couple of years ago the power output of wind turbines
was relatively low and therefore surge-protective devices,
originally designed for 230/400 V AC power systems, were
used for the protection of wind turbines. Nowadays the power
output of state of the art wind turbines is in the megawatt
range. Therefore the system voltages of powerful wind turbines
have been increased to voltage levels which are significantly
higher than 230/400 V AC. Typical system voltages of wind
turbines are:
400/690 V AC (TN system)
690 V AC (IT system)
554/960 V AC (TN system)
Power systems of these voltage levels cannot be protected
effectively by surge-protective devices which have originally
been designed for 230/400 V AC power systems. Therefore
special surge-protective devices have been designed for wind
turbines with high system voltages and for power systems with
high prospective short-circuit currents. Power systems of wind
turbines may be grounded or ungrounded. For ungrounded
power systems the maximum continuous operating voltage of
surge-protective devices (MCOV, U
c
), installed between line
and ground, has to be equal (IEC 60364-5-53) or higher than
the line-to-line voltage. Its recommended that the maximum
continuous operating voltage of such surge-protective devices
should be at least 10 % higher than the line-to-line voltage.
III. SPDS FOR WIND TURBINES
One of these special surge-protective devices for the
protection of wind turbines is presented in this paper (PWT 35-
800AC, Powertrab, Phoenix Contact, Germany). This device
has a maximum continuous operating voltage of 800 V AC and
it can be used at installation locations with prospective short-
circuit currents of up to 50,000 A. In the case of a fault in the
electrical system the PWT is capable of withstanding high
temporary overvoltages (TOV) between L and earth:
1.500 V AC for 5 s
1.960 V AC for 200 ms
Figure 1. Hybrid design of the PWT
Especially sustained resonance overvoltages, resulting from
intermittent ground faults in ungrounded power systems, can
be a challenge for the operational behavior and for the
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2011 International Symposium on Lightning Protection (XI SIPDA), Fortaleza, Brazil, October 3-7, 2011
978-1-4577-1897-7/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE
prospective lifetime of surge-protective devices. Therefore its
beneficial to select surge-protective devices which are not
susceptible to resonance overvoltages.
To meet on the one hand the requirements of wind turbine
operators regarding electrical and mechanical efficiency and on
the other hand the requirements of power utilities regarding the
quality of the generated power, nowadays wind turbines are
frequently equipped with generators in combination with
power inverters. These powerful inverters increase the overall
efficiency of a wind turbine, but there are also drawbacks. The
electronic components of inverters are relatively sensitive with
respect to overvoltage impulses caused by switching actions
or by lightning-induced overvoltages. Unfortunately these
inverters can also produce repetitive high-frequency high-
voltage spikes, which are superimposed onto the system
voltage.
CLC/TS 50539-22 stipulates that surge-protective devices
for wind turbines, which are installed close to the generator,
shall be capable of withstanding superimposed voltage
transients:
Repetitive transients superimposed on the voltages
L-Earth: up to 1.7 kV (peak)
Repetitive transients superimposed on the operating
voltages L-L up to 2.95 kV (peak).
A 3+0 arrangement of PWTs fulfills the requirements of
CLC/TS 50539-22 and it is capable of withstanding
superimposed voltage transients:
Repetitive transients superimposed on the voltages
L-Earth: up to 2.5 kV (peak) and 1.9 kV AC
Repetitive transients superimposed on the operating
voltages L-L: 3.0 kV (peak)
Figure 2. 3+0 arrangement of three PWTs for the protection of three-phase
four-wire systems
Figure 3. 3+0 arrangement of three PWTs
Repetitive high-voltage spikes may cause additional stress
for surge-protective devices especially for those surge-
protective devices which only consist of metal-oxide varistors.
Only surge-protective devices which are free of leakage
current, even if exposed to repetitive high-frequency voltage
spikes, are capable of maintaining a long service life without
significant degradation. Surge-protective devices with spark
gaps are usually free of leakage currents. To be able to reach
low protection levels with the help of spark gaps, spark gaps
have to be equipped with a triggering circuit. Problems may
occur if triggered spark gaps, with sensitive triggering circuits,
are exposed to repetitive high-voltage spikes. Therefore one of
the main design goals for surge-protective devices for wind
turbines is the resistance to repetitive high-voltage spikes and
the resistance to resonance overvoltages. The PWT reaches this
design goal by using a series connection of an IEC Class I
gas-discharge tube (GDT) and two IEC Class I varistors. The
gas-discharge tube inside the PWT is fully encapsulated.
During the discharge of a surge current or a lightning current
no ionized hot gases are released.
IV. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Surge-protective devices, which are installed in onshore
and offshore wind turbines, are exposed to harsh environmental
conditions. SPDs for onshore and offshore wind turbines
should have a high resistance to corrosion and a high resistance
to permanent vibrations which occur during the normal
operation of wind turbines. Wind turbines are not only installed
at sea level. Today we find them at elevations of more than
2,000 m above sea level.
Because of the high corrosion-resistance, the very robust
housing and the increased air and creepage distances, the PWT
is suitable for offshore wind turbines and onshore wind
turbines at elevations of up to 4.000 m above sea level.
V. MAINTENANCE
The typical service life of newly erected wind turbines is
about 20 years. Wind turbines are often erected at remote
location (e.g. offshore, deserts, mountainous areas), which
cannot easily be reached for maintenance purposes. Therefore
its of utmost importance for operators of wind turbines to limit
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the amount of unscheduled maintenance to an absolute
minimum. A major design goal of wind turbines is to make the
mechanical and the electrical design as reliable as possible.
Surge protection systems are critical for the operation of wind
turbines. Therefore IEC 61400-24 stipulates that the
maintenance and replacement of surge-protective devices shall
be done according to a maintenance plan. To be able to do
maintenance on surge-protective devices, they must to be
installed in a way that they may be easily inspected and
replaced during scheduled maintenance.
VI. OPERATING DUTY TEST
Operators and designers of wind turbines nowadays
frequently ask for electrically robust surge-protective devices.
Surge-protective devices must be capable of withstanding on
the one hand, lightning overvoltages and lightning currents,
and on the other hand, man-made overvoltages which reach
wind turbines from the electric grid or which are generated
inside a wind turbine.
The performance requirements and the testing methods of
low-voltage surge-protective devices are defined in IEC 61643-
11. IEC Class I surge-protective devices, which have to be
tested in accordance IEC 61643-11, can be considered to be
very robust, even if they are exposed to high-energy long-
duration lightning currents of the waveshape 10/350 s.
IEC 61643-11 stipulates that an Operating Duty Test
must be carried out. The purpose of this test is to simulate
surge currents and lightning currents, which a surge-protective
device is exposed to during its service life. We have to keep in
mind that the main focus of IEC 61643-11 and the Operating
Duty Test of IEC 61643-11 is for the protection of buildings
but not necessarily for the protection of wind turbines at
exposed locations.
To avoid or to minimize scheduled and unscheduled
maintenance of surge-protective devices which are installed in
wind turbines, some designers and operators of wind turbines
ask for surge-protective devices which are more robust than
surge-protective devices which are tested in accordance to
IEC 61643-11. The idea behind this is: A surge-protective
device, installed in a wind turbine, shall preferably have a
service life which is at least as long as the anticipated service
life of a wind turbine. The operating conditions of electrical
systems in state of the art wind turbines differ significantly
from the operating conditions of electrical systems in ordinary
buildings. Wind turbines are frequently installed at remote
locations, where they are endangered by lightning strikes.
During their service life the electrical systems of wind turbines
are exposed to low-energy surges which are mainly caused by
switching action or low-energy partial lightning currents. The
authors of IEC 61400-24 are aware of these types of frequent
low-energy surges. Therefore IEC 61400-24 mentions that
The SPD manufacturer can provide information on SPD
service life time. Up to now there is no test standard in which
an Operating Duty Test for wind turbines is defined.
Therefore operators and designers of wind turbines define their
own test specifications for surge-protective devices. Some of
them defined a test procedure for a so-called Standard
Lightning Environment. This test procedure, which is
intended to simulate the exposure of wind turbines to lightning
currents over a period of 20 years in an area with an average
ground flash density. If lightning hits a wind turbine, then the
lightning current usually flows via multiple paths to ground.
Therefore a test procedure for the simulation of a Standard
Lightning Environment for wind turbines consists of multiple
lightning currents with amplitudes of up to 5.0 kA (10/350 s):
6 strikes at 5.0 kA
9 strikes at 3.75kA
24 strikes at 2.5 kA
21 strikes at 1.25 kA
To be able to simulate the lightning effects in an area with a
high ground flash density, the test cycle for the Standard
Lightning Environment has to be repeated multiple times. The
ground flash density in an area with a high ground flash density
is considered to be 10 times higher than the ground flash
density in a Standard Lightning Environment. The varistor-
based and spark-gap-based IEC Class I lightning current
arrester PWT is capable of withstanding the above mentioned
test cycle more than ten times. This means:
200 years anticipated service life in a Standard
Lightning Environment
20 years anticipated service life in an area with high
ground flash density
VII. MONITORING UNIT
An IEC Class I surge-protective device is usually equipped
with a status indicator and a remote contact. Most surge-
protective devices in the market have status indicators which
indicate the following two states:
operational
defective
If a surge-protective device, which is installed in a wind
turbine at a remote location, is no longer operational, then the
surge-protective device has to be replaced. To be able to avoid
unscheduled maintenance, operators of wind turbines need to
be aware if a surge-protective device is close to the end of its
service life. This allows operators of wind turbines to do
preventive maintenance on surge-protective devices and to
replace surge-protective devices which are close to the end of
their service life. Therefore the status indicators and the remote
contacts of surge-protective devices should provide
information for the following states:
operational
operational, but close to the end of the service life
defective
To fulfill these requirements of wind turbine operators, the
PWT is equipped with a special monitoring unit. If a varistor of
the PWT is still fully functional, but close to the end of its
service life, small leakage currents will flow through the
varistor and heat up the varistor slowly. The monitoring unit of
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the PWT is able to discriminate between the state close to the
end of service life and the state defective.
VIII. FAILURE BEHAVIOR
The failure behavior of surge-protection devices may be
open circuit or
short circuit.
The PWT has an integrated short-circuit device which is
activated if the temperature inside the housing of the PWT
exceeds 150 C. The short-circuit current, which flows, in the
case of a malfunctioning PWT, through the short-circuiting
device, is capable of tripping an upstream 400 A gL/gG back-
up fuse at locations with a prospective short-circuit current of
up to 50,000 A.
IX. DISCHARGE CURRENTS
For the testing of the discharge capability of IEC Class I
lightning current arresters, surge currents with the waveshape
10/350 s are used. The 10/350 s surge-current impulse
"emulates" the first stroke of a real-world lightning strike. The
parameters of 10/350 s surge-current impulses e.g.
waveshape and charge are specified in IEC 62305-1.
According to IEC 62305-4 and IEC 60364-5-53, the
minimum discharge capability of an SPD for 10/350 s surge-
current impulses is 12.5 kA for five-wire systems (L1, L2, L3,
N, PE) and 16.7 kA for four-wire systems (L1, L2, L3, PE). To
meet the requirements of Lightning Protection Level LPL I, the
minimum discharge capability of an SPD for 10/350 s surge-
current impulses is 25.0 kA for five-wire systems (L1, L2, L3,
N, PE) and 33.4 kA for four-wire systems (L1, L2, L3, PE).
The Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines
(Germanischer Lloyd) stipulates that wind turbines and its
sub-components shall be protected according to the Lightning
Protection Level I (LPL I, acc. to IEC 62305-1). The calculated
discharge current to fulfill the requirements of the Lightning
Protection Level LPL I is according to IEC 62305-1 a
cumulative current of 100 kA (10/350 s).
The PWT is suitable for single-phase and three-phase
power systems. Each arrester has a discharge capability of
35 kA (10/350 s) and 100 kA (8/20 s). A 3+0 arrangement
of three PWTs is capable to discharge a cumulative current
(summation current) of 105 kA (10/350 s) and 300 kA (8/20
s). This meets the requirements of the Lightning Protection
Level LPL I for three-phase four-wire systems.
X. OPERATION BEHAVIOR
The PWT consists of a series connection of an IEC Class I
gas-discharge tube and IEC Class I varistors. The gas-
discharge tube becomes conductive if the spark-over voltage is
reached. The impulse spark-over voltage of a gas-discharge
tube is dynamic and depends on the rate of the voltage rise:
Fast voltage rise: higher spark-over voltage
Slow voltage rise: lower spark-over voltage
TABLE I. LIMITING VOLTAGES OF A PWT EXPOSED TO HYBRID
IMPULSES (1.2/50 S, 8/20 S, 2 OHM)
Charge voltage Limiting voltage Spark-over time
3.1 kV 3.08 kV 1.86 s
3.2 kV 3.17 kV 1.60 s
3.3 kV 3.22 kV 1.29 s
3.4 kV 3.27 kV 1.10 s
3.5 kV 3.30 kV 0.97 s
4.0 kV 3.31 kV 0.66 s
4.5 kV 3.38 kV 0.56 s
5.0 kV 3.44 kV 0.46 s
5.5 kV 3.45 kV 0.41 s
6.0 kV 3.50 kV 0.36 s
For slow-rising surge voltages the average spark-over
voltage of the gas-discharge tube inside the PWT is in the
range of between 2.8 and 3.0 kV. From 3.1 kV, the gas-
discharge tube inside the PWT becomes conductive. For the
determination of the spark-over behavior, the PWT has been
tested using a hybrid generator (1.2/50 s, 8/20 s, 2 ohm). A
hybrid generator produces a 1.2/50 s voltage impulse when
the device under test has a high impedance (open loop). The
moment the device under test becomes low-impedant (closed
loop), a hybrid generator produces a current impulse with the
waveshape 8/20 s.
Figure 4. Course of the limiting voltage of a PWT at a hybrid impulse
(1.2/50 s, 8/20 s, 2 ohm) with an open-loop voltage of 6 kV (3 kA)
Figure 5. Course of the limiting voltage of a PWT at hybrid impulses (1.2/50
s, 8/20 s, 2 ohm) with open-loop voltages from 3.1 to 6.0 kV (1.55 to
3.0 kA)
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Figure 6. Ignition characteristic of the PWT at hybrid impulses (1.2/50 s,
8/20 s, 2 ohm) with open-loop voltages from 3.1 to 6.0 kV (1.55 to 3.0 kA)
Varistor-based IEC Class II surge-protective devices
usually have a max. discharge capacity of 40 kA (8/20 s). The
active area of typical IEC Class II varistors is about 1,150 mm
2
.
The active area of the Class I varistors inside the PWT is about
16,000 mm
2
. Because of the large active area of the IEC Class I
varistors, the residual voltage and the protection level of the
PWT is very low even if a 100 kA lightning current flows
through a 3+0 arrangement of PWTs.
Figure 7. Course of the limiting voltages of the PWT at surge-current
impulses (8/20 s) with amplitudes from 3.1 to 35.3 kA
The PWT 35-800AC has a maximum continuous operating
voltage (MCOV, U
c
) of 800 V AC. The peak value of an 800 V
AC sinusoidal curve is 1.131 V DC. A PWT, which is exposed
to a 5 kA (8/20 s) surge current has a residual voltage of only
1.880 V (DC). This is just 1.66 times higher than the DC peak
value of the maximum continuous operating voltage of the
PWT. Therefore the PWT is capable of effectively protecting
electronic components.
XI. COORDINATION WITH CLASS II VARISTORS
For the proper energy coordination of a PWT, when
installed with a downstream Class II varistor, the characteristic
U/I curve of a downstream Class II varistor has to be above the
characteristic U/I curve of a PWT.
Figure 8. Residual voltages of a PWT (Class I) and a VAL-MS 750 (Class II
varistor) at surge-current impulses (8/20 s)
Coordination tests have been carried out using a Class II
varistor with a MCOV of 750 V AC (VAL-MS 750, I
max
=
30 kA). The PWT and the Class II varistor were connected in
parallel and the distance between the PWT and the Class II
varistor was 3 m.
Figure 9. Current distribution between a PWT (Class I) and the VAL-MS
750 (Class II) at a 30 kA (8/20 s) surge-current impulse
During the coordination tests, surge current impulses
(8/20 s) with amplitudes from 5.3 to 54.7 kA flowed through
the arrangement of a PWT and a Class II varistor. The max.
current which flowed through the Class II varistor was 8.2 kA.
During the coordination tests, about 16 % of the summation
current flowed through the Class II varistor. Over the whole
range of surge currents there was proper coordination between
the PWT and the Class II varistor. The Class II varistor was not
overloaded. The max. electric charge for these kinds of Class II
varistors is about 1000 mWs. At a summation current of
30 kA (8/20 s) an electric charge of about 96 mWs flowed
through the Class II varistor. At a summation current of
54.7 kA (8/20 s) an electric charge of about 164 mWs flowed
through the Class II varistor.
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XII. CONCLUSIONS
The PWT meets the requirements of standards and
guidelines for the protection of wind turbines.
The monitoring function allows the replacement of a
PWT before it reaches the end of its service life.
The residual voltages during the discharge of
lightning currents and surge currents are so low that
the PWT is suitable for effectively protecting power
systems of wind turbines with sensitive inverters.
The PWT can be energy coordinated with a Class II
varistor (MCOV = 750 V AC, I
max
= 30 kA) installed
at a distance of 3 m.
REFERENCES
[1] IEC 61400-24 Edition 1.0 (2010-10): Wind turbines - Part 24: Lightning
protection
[2] Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines, Edition 2010,
Germanischer Lloyd
[3] CLC/TS 50539-22 (2010-05): Low-voltage surge protective devices -
Surge protective devices for specific application including d.c. - Part 22:
Selection and application principles - Wind turbine applications
[4] IEC 61643-11 Edition 1.0 (2011-03): Low-voltage surge protective
devices Part 11: Surge protective devices connected to low-voltage
power systems Requirements and test methods
[5] IEC 61643-21 Edition 1.0 (2000-09): Low voltage surge protective
devices - Part 21: Surge protective devices connected to
telecommunications and signalling networks - Performance
requirements and testing methods
[6] IEC 61643-21 Edition 1.0 with Am. 1 (2008-04): Amendment 1 - Low
voltage surge protective devices - Part 21: Surge protective devices
connected to telecommunications and signalling networks - Performance
requirements and testing methods
[7] IEC 62305-1 Edition 2.0 (2010-12): Protection against lightning - Part 1:
General principles
[8] [8] IEC 62305-4 Edition 2.0 (2010-12): Protection against lightning -
Part 4: Electrical and electronic systems within structures
[9] [9] IEC 60364-5-53 Edition 3.1 with Am. 1 (2002-06): Electrical
installations of buildings - Part 5-53: Selection and erection of electrical
equipment - Isolation, switching and control
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