Análisis de la soportabilidad del aislamiento, en líneas aéreas de distribución frente a descargas tipo rayo, mediante códigos PYTHON y simulaciones en ATPDRAW

Abstract

Lightning-origin overvoltages represent a major threat to the external insulation of overhead distribution lines. The analysis of this phenomenon is not limited to the determination of a single flashover value, but rather requires the evaluation of the insulation behavior under electrical stresses of different magnitudes and durations, which is represented through voltage–time withstand curves. This work presents a comparative analysis of different mathematical models used to obtain external insulation withstand curves for overhead distribution lines. These models, proposed in widely used technical references, allow the assessment of insulation performance under transient overvoltages associated with atmospheric discharges, taking into account the time-dependent nature of the electrical stress. The adopted methodology combines analytical modeling and computational tools. The withstand curves are obtained and compared using Python-based routines, while the transient behavior of the line under traveling wave propagation is analyzed through electromagnetic transient simulations in ATPDraw. In addition, the voltage level corresponding to the initiation of flashover is evaluated as a complementary aspect, without being the main focus of the study. The results enable the identification of differences and similarities among the analyzed models and their influence on insulation performance assessment. The comparative evaluation of voltage–time withstand curves provides useful technical criteria for insulation coordination studies in overhead distribution lines.