Modeling and Insulation Performance Analysis of Composite Transmission Line Tower Under Lightning Overvoltage

In this paper, a new non-uniform multiconductor transmission line model combining with lumped circuit elements for a composite transmission line (TL) tower under lightning strokes is established. The metal ground-wire cross arms, the metal tower main body and its bracings are modeled as equivalent horizontal and vertical TLs, respectively. The two grounding ladders are regarded as two parallel-vertical TLs considering their mutual coupling. These distributed TL parameters are calculated by analytic equations. The composite arms are equivalent as lumped capacitances determined by employing 3-D finite-element method. The lightning overvoltage analysis for a 330-kV composite tower is performed by applying the hybrid model. The incident and reflected voltages are calculated. The insulation performance evaluation for the composite tower is discussed in detail.