US-Mexico Collaborative Research: Lightning Effects on PowerDistribution Lines

该奖项将支持佛罗里达大学的Martin Uman教授与墨西哥Cuernavaca市墨西哥电气研究所的Francisco de la Rosa博士的研究合作。研究人员打算继续开发一种程序，以估计未受保护的配电线路的雷电性能，同时考虑到直接和近距离闪电的影响。此外，研究人员计划实施一项评估计划，以确定通过使用不同的保护方案来改善雷电性能。雷电是造成配电系统损坏的主要原因之一。许多研究试图确定直接冲击对输配电线路的影响。最近的研究表明，就配电线路而言，即使是那些终止于线路附近地面的冲击，也会产生一个峰值幅度大到足以导致绝缘失效的电压。两位合作者独立工作，获得了重要的结果，如电场水平分量的意义，这大大提高了我们对感应电压产生机制的理解。利用库埃纳瓦卡附近专门建造的实验设施，两位研究人员现在计划共同努力，更好地了解雷击对配电线路的影响。

This award will support Professor Martin Uman of the University of Florida in a research collaboration with Dr. Francisco de la Rosa of the Mexican Institute of Electrical Research in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The investigators intend to pursue the development of a procedure for estimating the lightning performance of unprotected distribution lines, taking into account the effect of both direct and close lightning. Also, the investigators plan to implement an evaluation program for determining the improvement of lightning performance by using different protection schemes. Lightning is one of the major causes of damage to electric power distribution systems. Many studies have attempted to determine the effects of direct strokes on both transmission and distribution power lines. Recent work has demonstrated that, for the case of distribution lines, even those strokes that terminate on ground in the close vicinity of the line can produce a voltage whose peak amplitude is large enough to produce an insulation failure. Working independently, the two collaborators have obtained important results, such as the significance of the horizontal component of the electric field, which have markedly improved our understanding of the mechanism of induced voltage generation. Using a specially constructed experimental facility near Cuernavaca, the two researchers now plan to join efforts to better understand the effect of lightning strokes on power distribution lines.