Study on the breakdown characteristics of the transmission line gap under forest fire conditions

摘要

With the fast development of China’s power grid construction, many transmission lines’ corridors are inevitable across mountain with luxuriant vegetation. The occurrence of forest fires under transmission lines may lead to power interruptions, seriously affecting the stability of the grid operation. The characteristics of fire-induced flashovers are analyzed by statistical data of 220–500-kV lines trips in recent years. The line trip out rate caused by forest fires varied according to seasons and climate. The fire-induced flashover is much more serious than lighting trips. AC and DC voltage discharge tests of transmission line gap under different fire conditions are carried out by using wood crib fire. Test results indicate that: the gap’s insulation strength under fire conditions is reduced to about 20% of that under pure air; the values of breakdown voltage have been decreased about 30% after alkali metal added; the gap breakdown under DC voltage has obvious polarity effect, and the flame shape and leakage current waveform are different under positive DC voltage and negative DC voltage. The analysis of gap breakdown mechanism under fire conditions shows that temperature, flame conductivity and ashes are main factors. Their combined effect significantly reduces the gap’s insulation strength. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.