In this paper, the validity of different approximations used
in the calculation of induced overvoltages in power lines has
been investigated. These approximations are the following: 1)
neglect the distortions introduced by the finitely conducting
ground on the EM fields; 2) the horizontal electric field at
ground level is calculated by using the wavetilt approximation,
which is valid for radiation fields and for grazing incidence;
3) the horizontal field at line height is obtained by adding
the horizontal field calculated at ground level to the horizontal
field at line height calculated over perfectly conducting ground
i.e., Cooray–Rubinstein approximation; 4) the transmission
line equations derived by assuming that the ground is perfectly
conducting are used with the horizontal field present over
finitely conducting ground as a source term in calculating
the induced overvoltages; and 5) the propagation effects on
the transients as they propagate along the line are either
neglected or modeled by replacing the line impedance due
to ground by a constant resistance. The results presented in
this paper show that in the calculation of lightning induced
overvoltages approximation 3) is justified and approximation
2) is justified if the aim is to estimate the peak value of the
induced overvoltage. Approximation 4) is probably justified
for short lines and/or for highly conducting grounds, but it
can introduce significant errors if the line is long and ground
conductivity is low. Approximations 1) and 5) may lead to
significant errors in the peak value, risetime, and derivative of
the lightning induced overvoltages.