Abstract: A liquid immersed surge arrester that protects electrical equipment includes a module assembly. The module assembly includes at least one varistor and a pre-impregnated composite around the at least one varistor. The liquid immersed surge arrester also includes contacts on opposite ends of the module assembly with which the module assembly is connected to electrical equipment to be protected and to electrical ground. The liquid immersed surge arrester also includes a tank that houses the module assembly and the contacts. A fault-tolerant protection device for protecting electrical equipment includes a surge arrester to protect electrical equipment from damage during periods of voltage above a normal operating range. The fault-tolerant protection device also includes a surge durable fuse element to disconnect the surge arrester after failure of the surge arrester to allow unprotected operation of the electrical system.

Abstract: An electrical module assembly used in a surge arrester is manufactured by wrapping an electrical module assembly including at least one metal oxide varistor (MOV) disk to which a reinforcing structure including a pre-impregnated epoxy/glass-fiber composite has been applied with shrink film and compacting the wrapped electrical module assembly by heating the shrink film such that the shrink film shrinks and applies a radially compressive force to the electrical module assembly. The wrapped electrical module assembly then is cured at a temperature at which the shrink film no longer applies a compressive force.