Germany 3

Johannes Kuhert (19)

City/Region: Ottendorf-Okrilla, Sachsen Hobbies: Building electrical circuits, computer programming, cycling, piano and windsurfing Career: Electrical Engineer School: Humboldt Gymnasium

Development of a Simulation Model for Surge Arresters

Electrical power surges and spikes can seriously damage Personal Computers (PCs), electrical appliances, telecommunication devices, and electrical wiring. Lightning strikes above all can wreak immense damage on electronic circuitry. Surge arresters are widely used, to protect electronic devices from such hazardous voltage. Yet as Johannes found out while today nearly all plans for electric power distribution are drawn up with the aid of a computer it is still necessary actually to test newly developed devices to find out whether they can withstand high electrical impulses. Johannes wanted to see whether he could assist by designing a surge arrester that could be incorporated into a computer electrical simulation program that would reduce the need for the actual testing of electronic devices. In devising his model, he first had to become familiar with the simulation system Pspice, and tested several electronic circuits. After collecting information about the electronic properties of surge arresters, he did manage to develop his own electronic computer model to simulate such tests.