Soil water content and porosity impact on distribution lines lightning outage rate

The paper investigates how changes in soil resistivity due to porosity and water content variations affect the outage rate of distribution lines due to cloud to ground lightning strikes. The hybrid electromagnetic model is considered to model the grounding system for the distribution poles. The representations of other system elements are considered those typically recommended in the IEEE Standard 1410. The lightning-induced voltages across the insulator strings are estimated based on the Agrawal model, and the outage rate is assessed by means of the Monte Carlo method. Additionally, analysis considering protective techniques, such as implementing shield wires and surge arresters, is taken into account. According to results, elevating the water content and reducing porosity levels generate soils with higher conductivity, significantly impacting the distribution lines outage rate.