Applicability of Messenger Wire for Purpose of Lightning Protection

The Korean distribution line currently consists of overhead ground wires (OHGW), overhead distribution lines, neutral wires (NW), and messenger wires (MW). The MW is installed under the NW. The lightning protection system in Korea is focused on OHGW and lightning arrester and the MW are not considered. Therefore, this paper proposes the applicability of MW for purpose of lightning protection. For this, we analyzed the effects of lightning overvoltage according to the existence of OHGW and MW and the grounding conditions of the MW in the Korean distribution system. The grounding conditions of the MW that we took into consideration were the common or separate grounding of the MW and NW. The analysis based on the equivalent circuit of the distribution pole at each condition was performed. The distribution lines and lightning were modeled using the Electromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP). For each of the installation conditions of the OHGW and MW, the various lightning conditions were simulated and analyzed for both direct and indirect lightning. The simulation results showed that, if the OHGW was not installed in the Korean distribution system, the lightning overvoltage could be reduced by the common grounding of the MW and NW.