Modelling lightning performance of transmission systems using PSpice

Understanding the lightning performance of a transmission line requires visualization of the current waveform of the lightning stroke, the voltage wave produced by the lightning current, the propagation of this voltage wave, and the possible flashover of insulators and/or lightning arresters. Without the use of a simulation program, this topic would be difficult to understand. PSpice was selected as the software to generate the appropriate data needed to demonstrate this phenomenon graphically. A discussion is given of the models available in PSpice which were used to simulate this physical phenomenon successfully. The models developed to simulate the insulator strings and lightning arresters are also presented. These models are crucial to the complete simulation, and a study is provided which uses all the models discussed