Balint Nemeth

• Doctor of Engineering
• Budapest University of Technology and Economics

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are increasing in number and overall length. This means their lightning protection must be of higher importance as well. Probability-modulated attractive space (PMAS) theory is a proven geometry-based method for lightning protection calculations. However, it cannot accurately assess the number a...

This article compares the static line rating (SLR) values defined for overhead power lines in various European countries. The results reveal significant variations in SLR values between different countries, highlighting the impact of varying limit conditions on the determination of SLR. Wind speed and direction were identified as critical factors t...

In order to adjust the electric power network to today’s trends—such as the charging of electric vehicles, design of the Internal Electricity Market (IEM), headway of renewable energy sources, etc.—the demand for flexible network solutions is increasingly significant. Dynamic line rating (DLR) technology offers a flexible solution for the uprating...

Conductive suits are widely used in the industry for live work on transmission lines. This paper covers the use of special conductive suits for AC induction protection on de-energized lines. During de-energized work in the vicinity of live conductors, inductive and capacitive coupling may result in dangerous voltages and currents. Several accidents...

This paper demonstrates a practical implementation of a dynamic line rating (DLR) system and an effective ice prediction and prevention method using line monitoring sensors within the FLEXITRANSTORE international project framework. The presented anti-icing system operated continuously for two years. As a part of the project, 4 line monitoring senso...

The purpose of this paper is to present the sensor placement strategies that currently determine the thermal monitoring of the phase conductors of high-voltage power lines. In addition to reviewing the international literature, a new sensor placement concept is presented based on a strategy centered on the following question: What are the chances o...

The current practice of creating the external lightning protection system for photovoltaic power plants, according to the IEC 62305 standard series, is overly generalised. The common problems with the usage of the standard are also presented. A novel method is demonstrated to address them, which is called zone concept. It creates the opportunity to...

Up to now the insulation in HV power transformers has been made from oil/paper therefore the diagnosis of this kind of insulation will be also important in the next forty-fifty years. The lifetime of this equipment strongly depends on the condition of the insulation system. The ageing process of oil/paper insulating systems is a very complex and co...

Historical meteorological data indicates, that our weather is becoming more and more extreme. For the electrical utility operators (Distribution System Operators - DSOs and Transmission System Operators - TSOs), these changes arise in new operation challenges that need to be addressed. For example, frequent icing phenomenon affects all the componen...

In 2016, a Hungarian law was introduced in accordance with the valid guidelines of the European Parliament related to the occupational exposures of electromagnetic fields. By this law, it is mandatory to evaluate and assess all the risks of operating equipment with voltage levels above 100 kV or currents above 100 A in the industry. Based on this g...

This paper aims to demonstrate the performance and reliability analysis of a dynamic line rating (DLR) system at the Bulgarian demonstration site of the FLEXITRANSTORE project. As part of the project, various manufacturers’ different line monitoring DLR sensors and weather stations were installed on a 110 kV double-circuit overhead line (OHL). Thes...

Nowadays the reliable availability of electricity is expected by both industrial and residential consumers. However, the generation, transmission and distribution all pose engineering challenges in adapting to consumers and sustainable directives while maintaining operational safety. The increasing demand for electricity on the consumer side and th...

This paper presents a novel installation protocol to build a reliable and economical line monitoring system on high voltage power lines. The proposed method is able to iteratively determine the required number of sensors and their installation location for a predefined level of risk. First, it requires a general analysis of the transmission line, w...

Climate change and agriculture interact with each other in many ways and have a complex impact. The agriculture sector needs to be prepared to adapt to the expected effects of climate change, and emphasis must be placed on prevention to achieve emission reduction targets. The research explores the current situation in the agricultural sector, the r...

The evolution of the digital transformation presents new challenges and many new opportunities, and provides unique solutions to individual issues, both for sectors and regions. The challenges posed by the digital world have a significant impact on social and economic processes, as well as our environment. This paper aims to provide an indicator-ba...

In the risk calculation connected to lightning protection, it is important to determine the expected average annual number of accidents caused by a lightning strike. There are different methods for that (the most popular ones are the Probability Modulated Attraction Space (PMAS) theory and the Dynamic Electro-Geometric Model (DEGM)). The paper aims...

This paper aims to represent when the primary lightning protection is not necessary for a photovoltaic power plant with a special dimension if the different security objects are not negligible during the probability and risk calculations. The calculations were made using the Probability Modulated Attractive Volume theory which is capable of special...

Exceeding the electric field’s limit value is not allowed in the vicinity of high-voltage power lines because of both legal and safety aspects. The design parameters of the line must be chosen so that such cases do not occur. However, analysis of several operating power lines in Europe found that the electric field strength in many cases exceeds th...

Dynamic line rating method (DLR) is a novel and cost-effective way to extend power overhead lines (OHLs) transfer capacity based on real-time monitoring of the weather parameters in the vicinity of the conductor. Via DLR models not only real-time, but also day-ahead transfer capacity calculation is possible which is more important from the aspect o...

FLEXITRANTORE as a HORIZON 2020 project aims to develop an integrated platform for the next generation flexible electricity transmission system. During the project the investigation and implementation of state-of-the-art technologies will be realized, like storage systems, new market designs and business models, Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) technology...

The personal protective equipment (conductive suit) should decrease the power frequency electric field high levels up to occupational permissible limit values for human safety. The personal protective equipment screening property realized by conductive materials which has shielding coefficient. It is relevant for practice to develop test method of...

The electrostatic charge accumulation of extremely pure substances usually makes the manufacturing technology more difficult. The electrostatic behaviour of the materials can be examined by the measurement of charge decay time, but the conductivity of pure materials is very low, therefore they show very long charge decaying times. Hence, this quant...

Due to the growing demand for electrical energy, the use of alternative transfer capacity-enhancing methods such as Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) become more and more significant. However, there are some challenges regarding the prediction of the DLR value, which are still unresolved. In the last few years several DLR pilot projects have been constitut...

The security of supply with a high level of operational safety and security has a prominent role in the domestic and international electricity networks. Due to continuous growth of consumer demand, the integration of renewable energy sources and other related changes in the market issues, a number of problems and challenges with the operation and u...

High voltage live-line maintenance (LLM) is a commonly applied method worldwide to execute planned works in the grid economically [1]. In case of bare-hand technique workers wear a so-called conductive clothing acting as a Faraday-cage which protects them against the high electric fields during the work.

Lightning protection of overhead lines is a widely examined topic. Standard and enhanced calculation methods are used to estimate risk arising from lightning stroke. [4] However there are special cases, like parallel lines, crossing lines, or lines running into a substation, when the exact geometry of the arrangement has to be taken into considerat...

Due to the high amount of installed devices in the Hungarian medium voltage grid it is important to be aware of the exact root causes of malfunctions. If the root causes are known it is possible to prevent the undesired malfunctions, therefore the operational safety can be increased. There are continuous investigations performed in the High Voltage...

The main purpose of arc protection is the prevention of the initiation of an electric arc, and to decrease the emitted energy of the arc to the lowest possible level. If the hazard is not negligible, personal protective equipment must be used. In case of live-line maintenance (LLM) in high voltage (HV) systems, the use of personal protective equipm...

In case of transmission and distribution networks, extra low frequency (typically 50 or 60 Hz) electric and magnetic fields have to be taken into consideration separately from each other. Health effects have been documented from exposures to both types of fields. Magnetic fields are qualified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (category "2B") by WH...

In mid 1960s, Endre Németh brought on the idea of measurement of return voltage as a diagnostic technique of the insulation of high voltage equipment. From this idea, two diagnostic methods have been developed, namely the Return Voltage Measurement (RVM) and the Voltage Response (VR) method. The recent development of the VR method – by changing of...

Live-line maintenance (LLM) has special requirements for the equipment, which protects the LLM personnel from different kinds of hazards - especially in high voltage transmission systems. Conductive clothing provide protection for the primary effects of the high electric field acting as a Faraday cage. However, this kind of protection cannot guaran...

Uprating power lines has become an issue with the increasingly widespread application of non-conventional power plants, and as power-demand on user-side increases continuously. There are several possible solutions to these problems, one of them is Dynamic Line Rating (DLR). The method of DLR suggests a relatively cost efficient course of action in...

Live-line maintenance (LLM) has several technical and economic benefits. Planned works can be executed without any consumer disturbance, while the network is energized. Strict regulations regarding to the working method, well-educated workers and well-considered safety factors ensures the high level of safety of this technology. Although statistics...

There are several cases when medium voltage lines are running near each other and/or are crossing a high voltage line near a substation. Determination of the severity of lightning strokes at critical sections of the transmission lines is important from the point of a detailed risk calculation. There are different methods used nowadays for that purp...

In the last few years bird protection became a more and more important aspect on medium voltage overhead lines. Injuries of birds related to electrocution endanger both the health of the different species and the reliability of the grid as well. International standards and national regulations based on the opinion of different associations for wild...

Based on the latest researches and guidelines of International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) extra-low frequency (ELF) electric and magnetic fields have several short-term and long-term health effects. The short-term effects of these fields is detectable, but the long-term effects are mostly unknown - results of epidemiol...

Nowadays live-line maintenance (LLM) is one of the most common methods to repair and maintain energized elements of the power grid. The main advantage of this technique that it represents a balance between technical and economic factors: no consumer disturbance is needed, there is not any service outage caused and losses can be kept as low as possi...

Bird protection on overhead power lines is an important issue worldwide. In Hungary the share of overhead lines in the medium voltage grid is quite high. These lines often cross national parks and protected areas, where rare species of birds are especially endangered by electrocution. There are several solutions to protect birds against electric sh...

Composite insulators are widely used on high voltage power lines because of their technical and economic benefits. In the recent years the number damaged composite insulators due to brittle fracture increased worldwide. In the High Voltage Laboratory of Budapest University of Technology and Economics a new technology has been developed to analyze h...

Live-line maintenance (LLM) became more and more popular in the last decades because of its technical and economic benefits. From the aspect of transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) different fees related to service outages can be eliminated and losses caused by the resistance of a longer current path can be...

Nowadays the different live-line maintenance methods are one of the most common working techniques to maintain, repair or check high voltage power lines. Shielding of extra low frequency (ELF) electric fields is relatively easy: the conductive clothing worn by the workers act as a Faraday-cage. During live-line maintenance workers are near the cond...

Plastics have become dominant in modern electrical insulation technology. The mobility of charge carriers in plastics are minor, hence the possibility of space charge accumulation is more likely. The charge accumulation alters the electric field distribution within the material, which has to be considered during design. The pulsed electroacoustic (...

In the High Voltage Laboratory at Budapest University of Technology and Economics developed expert system, called Transformer Status Indicator (TSI) provide a good solution for technical and economical evaluate and for compare multiple transformer diagnostically results. The power transformer is the most important equipment in the transmission and...