Stresses on crossing third-party assets due to lighting strikes along underground HVDC cable rout

Lightning strikes terminating in the vicinity of a cable route may result in high electric field stress across the cable sheath insulation, potentially leading to puncture of the sheath. The present report summarizes findings from a study on protection of buried HVDC cables by bare copper wires. In addition to evaluation of stresses on the HVDC cable sheath insulation, stresses on crossing third-party cables are also considered. Based on results of 3D FEM simulations of electric field stresses, it is concluded that the risk of damage to crossing cables is low.