Full wave electromagnetic modelling of lightning discharge through complex power systems

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

There is a significant need in the power systems community for accurate electromagnetic analysis of lightning discharge through complex 3D power installations such as towers supporting transmission lines, transformers substations, and others. Currently existing tools make various approximations in the process of such analysis causing modelling inaccuracies in many practical scenarios. Such errors ultimately make unreliable predictions about the failure rates of the systems costing millions of dollars in economic losses due to higher systems failure rates and resulting power outages. In this research project research groups of Dr. Okhmatovski and Dr. Kordi at the University of Manitoba will develop new generation of full-wave electromagnetic modelling capabilities which will significantly improve the accuracy of lightning discharge models. Specifically, Method of Moments (MoM) formulation free of the approximations featured in the currently available models will be developed. The MoM formulation will be based on full-wave 3D Rao-Wilton-Glisson discretization of the Mixed-Potential Integral Equation (MPIE) which rigorously accounts for the soil effects and general 3D flow of the current in the tower conductors as the broadband lightning discharge occurs. The stratified medium of the soil will be rigorously accounted for through creation of accurate Green's function models and their inclusion into the pertinent MPIE. The new MoM framework will also incorporate frequency dependent Ohmic losses in the tower conductors. To perform transient analysis of the power transmission system including multiple towers and transmission lines during lightning strike the broadband network parameters extracted using the developed accurate MoM model will be fitted with pole-residual form using VECTFITing algorithm. Created macro model will be integrated into PSCAD/EMTDC system. Over 10,000 engineers in 70 countries around the world including Canada will benefit from the new capabilities in PSCAD/EMTDC software. The new module integrated into PSCAD/EMTDC as a result of the proposed research project is expected to open new jobs at Manitoba HVDC Centre and bring it substantial increase in annual revenue.