Numerical Modelling of Voltage-Current Characteristics of Varistor Surge Arresters

The article presents a method for creating a numerical model of a varistor surge arrester for circuit simulations to analyse surge protection effectiveness. Since the model should correspond as much as possible to the actual device in terms of the aspect to be explored, the article includes information on the construction and operation of this type of protective device. It mainly introduces detailed steps related to acquiring electrical parameters of the surge arrester through laboratory measurements, their quantitative and qualitative analysis, and the assignment of properly prepared model parameters to the functional blocks available in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Using the dedicated above, a series of test simulations were performed, the results of which were compared with each other and with the results of laboratory measurements. Finally, a summary is presented, with conclusions and possible paths for further research.