Influence of Series Gap Structures on Lightning Impulse Characteristics of 110-kV Line Metal–Oxide Surge Arresters

The line surge arrester with series gap can effectively improve the lightning protection performance of the transmission line and guarantee its safe operation. This paper discussed the design of two different series gap structures, and their influence on the line surge arresters. Experimentally, the line surge arresters with separated gaps were found to have higher lightning impulse discharging voltage versus time characteristics than the other arresters with fixed gaps. It has contributed to the effect of the composite insulator which fixes the two discharging electrodes. As a result, the length of the separated gap can be designed to be shorter than that of the fixed gap.