Changes of Electrical Characteristic of ZnO Varistors by a Lightning Impulse Current

뇌충격전류에 의한 산화아연형 바리스터의 전기적 특성변화

This paper describes the effect of lightning impulse current on ZnO varistors(390 V, 6.5 kA) used in low-voltage AC mains as a protective device against transient overvoltages. A lightning impulse current standardized in IEC 61000-4-5 is applied to the varistors, and the energy applied to the varistor at each time is about 12 J. In the experiment, various Parameters such as leakage current, reference voltage are measured with the number of applied impulse current. Also, micro-structure changes of the varistors after applying the lightning impulse current of 200 times are compared. The electrical characteristics of the varistors are degraded by overtime impulse current, showing increase in leakage current and decrease in reference voltage.