HEMP-induced transients in electric power substations

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Abstract

A nuclear detonation in or above the earth's atmosphere produces an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A large portion of the EMP electromagnetic energy is within the RF spectrum. A detonation at high altitudes above 40 km produces an EMP called high-altitude EMP (HEMP). HEMP is a steep-front short duration transient with a rise time on the order of a few nanoseconds which decays to near zero in less than a microsecond. A single high-altitude burst can subject much of the continental United States to intense HEMP electric fields on the order of tens of kilovolts per meter. The intense transient HEMP will induce fast transients in high-voltage transmission lines and bus structures, instrumentation cables, and control wires in power transmission and distribution (T D) substations. A system of traveling wave coupling models for a 500 kV substation, including models for the high voltage primary bus, components (circuit breakers, disconnect switches, power transformers, and current and voltage instrument transformers), low voltage control wiring circuits, and a number of conducted and radiated interference coupling modes, had been developed earlier by EPRI. These EPRI served as the baseline for the present HEMP coupling investigations. The HEMP effects on protective relays were assessed for a nominal HEMP environment using several new field coupling models merged with the switching transient data. It is found that a representative solid state relay is unlikely to be damaged or to misoperate by the nominal HEMP threat with a peak field strength of 50 kV/m. However, it is possible for both DC control wires to flash over to ground simultaneously, causing fuses to blow and placing the relay in an inoperative state.

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