What is lightning arrester ? working ,cause of failure and applications
Lightning arrester
Lightning arrester also known as surge arrester is used in electrical substations to protect the equipments from voltage spikes caused by sky lightning or other disturbances it diverts the high voltage spikes to the ground by providing low impidance path to the ground.
working of L.A ( Lightning arrester )
- Surge Arresters are connected between phase and ground terminals.
- Main component of LA is a column of ZnO pieces, which plays important role in LA working.
- If we look at zinc oxide characteristics, which are non-linear. ZnO offers relatively high resistance at a low voltage level. And very low resistance at high voltage level.
what causes a lightning arrester to explode
Lightning arrester failure is mainly caused by internal defects and external overvoltage. The main internal defects are damp and the deterioration of the varistor. The causes of damp or water ingress of the varistor may include poor sealing, an unqualified assembly environment, and damage due to external forces.
Applications of lightning arresters
- Lightning arresters are used on tall buildings to prevent lightning from causing physical damage to infrastructure.
- It is used on power lines to protect the cables from lightning.
- Lightning arresters are used power outlets to protect electronic devices from surges of electricity.
Which lightning arrester is mostly used in substations ?
Thyrite Lightning Arrester is most commonly used it is used for protection from high voltage. It comes with thyrite which is inorganic compound ceramic material.
Where is a lightning arrester placed?
Lightning arresters are normally connected near transformers at the substation. In the high-voltage system, it is connected with bus bars, transformers, generator lines, circuit breakers and incoming and outgoing side of the feeders at substations.
What is the difference between lightning arrester and surge arresters ?
Lightning arrester
- The installation of a lightning arrestor can be done outside of the panel board.
- The main function of this arrester is to protect the apparatus from the outer surface. Eg. Lightning strikes
Surge arresters
- The installation of surge arrestors can be done within the panel board.
- The main function of this arrester is to protect the apparatus from inside eg. Over voltage, sudden voltage spikes etc.
