Research on The Lightning Performance of 500kV Composite Cross-arm Tower

Abstract

Nowadays, ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines guarantee the stable supply of electric power. However, Lightning shielding failure is the main factor to threat the safety and reliability of UHV transmission lines. In order to assess the lightning resistance of composite UHV transmission towers, this paper compares the lightning resistance of composite cross-arm towers and steel cross-arm towers at the same conductor height based on typical electrical geometry model calculation principles, at the same time composite cross-arms with different tower heights and different protection angles are been analysed. The result shows that the lightning performance of composite cross-arm is basically the same as that of steel towers at the same conductor height. Because the tower height and protection angle can be reduced, the lightning resistance of composite cross-arms is better than that of steel towers.