Series R-C graded gap assembly for MOV arrester

1. A gap assembly for an arrester, comprising:

a spark gap assembly, including

an insulative housing having a first bore and a second bore;

a resistor and a capacitor disposed in said first bore and electrically in series with one another to form a series connected resistor-capacitor combination;

a spring member disposed in said first bore and biasing one of said capacitor and said resistor toward the other of said capacitor and said resistor; and

a spark gap disposed in said second bore and electrically in parallel with said series connected resistor-capacitor combination; and

an MOV block disposed electrically in series with said spark gap assembly,

wherein said series connected resistor-capacitor combination has an impedance characteristic at a selected power frequency response range essentially matching an impedance of said MOV block.

2. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 1 , wherein

said second bore has a larger transverse diameter than said first bore.

3. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 1 , wherein

said resistor is a linear resistor.

4. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 1 , wherein

said resistor has a value of between approximately 10 kΩ-1000 kΩ.

5. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 4 , wherein

said resistor has a value of between approximately 100-250 kΩ.

6. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 1 , wherein

said capacitor has a capacitance of between approximately 20-150% of a capacitance of said MOV block.

7. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 6 , wherein

said capacitor has a capacitance of between approximately 50-80% of said capacitance of said MOV block.

8. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 1 , wherein

said capacitor and said MOV block have a capacitance of between approximately 70-400 pF.

9. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 1 , wherein

an upper plate is disposed on an upper surface of said insulative housing and a lower plate is disposed on a lower surface of said insulative housing.

10. A gap assembly for an arrester, consisting essentially of:

at least one spark gap assembly including

at least one resistor and at least one capacitor disposed electrically in series with said at least one resistor to form a series connected resistor-capacitor combination; and

a spark gap disposed electrically in parallel with said series connected resistor-capacitor combination; and

at least one MOV block disposed electrically in series with said at least one spark gap assembly,

wherein said series connected resistor-capacitor combination has an impedance characteristic at a selected power frequency response range essentially matching an impedance of said MOV block.

11. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 10 , wherein

said at least one resistor is a linear resistor.

12. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 10 , wherein

said at least one resistor has a value of between approximately 10 kΩ-1000 kΩ.

13. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 12 , wherein

said at least one resistor has a value of between approximately 100-250 kΩ.

14. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 10 , wherein

said at least one capacitor has a capacitance of between approximately 20-150% of a capacitance of said at least one MOV block.

15. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 14 , wherein

said at least one capacitor has a capacitance of between approximately 50-80% of said capacitance of said at least one MOV block.

16. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 10 , wherein

said at least one capacitor and said at least one MOV block have a capacitance of between approximately 70-400 pF.

17. A method of assembling an arrester, comprising the steps of

disposing at least one capacitor electrically in series with at least one resistor to form a series connected resistor-capacitor combination having a first impedance characteristic;

disposing the series connected resistor-capacitor combination electrically in parallel with a spark gap to form a spark gap assembly; and

disposing the spark gap assembly electrically in series with at least one MOV block having a second impedance characteristic,

wherein said disposing of said at least one capacitor electrically in series with said at least one resistor comprises essentially matching at a selected power frequency response range the first impedance characteristic of the series connected resistor-capacitor combination with the second impedance characteristic of the at least one MOV block.

18. The method of assembling an arrester according to claim 17 , further comprising

disposing the at least one capacitor and the at least one resistor in a first bore of an insulative housing and disposing the spark gap in a second bore of the insulative housing.

19. The method of assembling an arrester according to claim 17 , wherein

the at least one capacitor and the at least one MOV block have a capacitance of between approximately 70-400 pF.

20. The method of assembling an arrester according to claim 17 , wherein

the at least one capacitor has a capacitance of between approximately 20-150% of the capacitance of the at least one MOV block.

21. A gap assembly for an arrester, comprising:

at least one spark gap assembly, including

at least one resistor and at least one capacitor disposed electrically in series with said at least one resistor to form a series connected resistor-capacitor combination, and

a spark gap disposed electrically in parallel with said series connected resistor-capacitor combination; and

at least one MOV block disposed electrically in series with said at least one spark gap assembly,

wherein said series connected resistor-capacitor combination has an impedance characteristic at a selected power frequency response range essentially matching an impedance of said at least one MOV block.

22. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 21 wherein

said series connected resistor-capacitor combination produces a non-linear grading between said spark gap and said MOV block during an overvoltage surge, and produces a linear grading between said spark gap and said at least one MOV block at a power frequency.

23. The gap assembly for an arrester according to claim 21 wherein

said impedance of said series connected resistor-capacitor combination is configured to interact with said impedance of said at least one MOV block to control voltage across said spark gap as a function of total applied voltage and a frequency of an overvoltage surge.