Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. Lesson 1: Overhead & underground distribution systems components.
2. Lesson 2: Switchgear, circuit breakers, MCCs & contactors.
3. Lesson 3: Power line disturbances.
4. Lesson 4: Maintenance.
5. Lesson 5: Personnel vs. equipment safety.
The poles that are made from concrete are used for street lighting, distribution and transmission line.
Concrete poles are more expensive than wooden ones, lower in insulation level, more difficult to climb,
heavier to handle and more difficult to drill than wooden ones. The advantages of concrete poles are:
their longer life and their availability on demand. Holes are provided to suit required pole framing,
unused holes may be plugged with plastic caps. The poles are classified from A to J where A is the least
strong 600 lb. and J the strongest with 4500 lb. ultimate load. The minimum required information to
specify a round concrete distribution pole are: length in ft, top diameter, minimum raceway diameter,
holes (spacing and diameter), apertures, grounding, bars (galvanized or coated), surface treatment,
regular or prestressed class.
The hollow spun prestressed concrete poles have a high density concrete shell, completely, encasing a
reinforcing cage containing prestressed high tensile steel wires. Prestressing produces poles with a high
strength to weight ratios that is used for distribution lines. Squaretapered prestressed concrete poles are
constructed by placing the stressed reinforcing material (in a form) and pouring the concrete into the
form. For grounding purposes, a copper wire is usually casted into the pole. A plastic tube may be used
to obtain a hollow pole.
Fibreglass poles when compared to wood poles are immune to freezing, rotting, damage from nails and
pecking of birds. Fibreglass poles are too expensive, but fibreglass components (like insulator supports)
are reasonably priced. Fibreglass poles are used as streetlight poles supplied from an underground
distribution system. This type of pole does not require painting.
Steel structures (towers) have been used extensively to support subtransmission and transmission line
conductors.
7) What are the important factors that affect the maximum weight of the equipment to be
installed (mounted) on a pole?
The maximum weight that may be installed on poles is function of the height of the pole, the class, the
mounting distance from the pole top to the uppermost attachment, fiber strengths of poles, hoisting
cable stresses and the linemen/ equipment to be on the pole at any time. Distribution circuit structures,
generally, consist of single poles (wood), vertical or horizontal line post insulators (V/HLP) or pin type
insulators with fiberglass support brackets or crossarms. Subtransmision lines operating at voltages of
138KV or lower can be built on single woodpole structures.
8) What does framing mean? What does guying mean?
Framing means the dressing of the pole with the insulators that will carry the conductors. Just to list a
few examples: single phase primary circuit with the insulator on the top or side of the pole, 3 phase
triangular armless with 1 insulator on the top and 2 on the sides, 3 phase triangular armless with the 3
insulators on the sides, vertical dead end and double circuit framing.
A guy is a brace or cable fastened to the pole to strengthen it and keep it in position. Guys are used
wherever the wires tend to pull the pole out of its normal position and to sustain the line during the
abnormal loads caused by sleet, wind and othe weather conditions. Guys counteract the unbalanced
forces imposed on the pole by dead ending conductors, changes in conductor sizes/types/tension, angles
in the distribution pole line. Guy assemblies can be classified into: anchor (down), span, head, arm,
stub and push. The main components of the anchor guy assembly are: galvanized machine bolt with
nut, locknut, square curved galvanized washer, galvanized steel guy wire, porcelain guy strain insulator,
prefabricated guy deadend grips, plastic guy guard, angle thimbleye, eyenut, steel anchor rod, power
installed screw anchor. Refer to fig. 1.1 for the common pole guying configurations.
9) What cause pole's fires?
Fires on wood poles and crossarms can be initiated by leakage currents. When insulators on
wood poles become contaminated by dust or chemicals, then light rain fog or wet snow moistens
the insulators, the poles and the crossarms (if available), these conditions will cause leakage
currents to flow to the ground. The leakage currents go to ground through a ground wire on the
pole or the base of the pole. The flow of current is impeded by the dry areas on the assembly.
When the medium in the dry zone (example air) is subjected to dielectric stress (voltage
gradient) that exceeds the dielectric strength of this gap, an arc will be established. The arc, if
close to combustible material like wood, it will ignite the wood in the dry area. The leakage
currents can maintain the arc and the fire (after ignition).
10) What are the factors affecting the selection of a pole?
The factors can be classified broadly into availability & required strength. The availablility of
the material of the pole either wood or otherwise in the area where the pole line will be built or
the pole will be erected is very important. Regarding wood poles, the factors that affect the
choice of one type over the other are: the physical requirements of the poles, that are needed to
construct the line, and the cost of shipment from the location where the species are grown. The
transportation issue of the poles have to be considered carefully due to the quantity of the poles
required to build the line, the length of such poles as well as their weights. The strength of the
poles have to be enough to withstand all the expected loads that the poles will be subjected to
during its expected life span.
11) Pole class & guying are function of pole loading, what are the major loads acting on a
pole?
The major loads that may be acting on a pole are ice & wind loading which can be classified
into either light, medium or heavy loading, transverse wind loading on the pole & conductors,
pole line angle, longitudinal loading (along the line conductor) due to dead ending or a broken
wire and vertical loading (weight of pole, crossarms, pins, insulators, attachments, guys & ice
covered wires). Loading on poles must be calculated for the following conditions: crossings of
railways, waterways & highways, crossings of other power or communication lines, pole angles
and dead endings.
12) List the different types of switches found in overhead systems & different
configurations/installation methods?
Switches can be divided into four general classes. Air switches, oil switches, vacuum switches
and SF6 switches. Air switches can be further classified into: circuit breakers, air break, load
break and disconnect switches. Oil switches can be circuit breakers or oil circuit reclosers.
Vacuum can be a vacuum circuit breaker or a vacuum recloser. SF6 can be a circuit breaker or a
circuit switcher or a recloser. Circuit breakers are mostly used in indoor substations (unit,
transformer or distribution) or in outdoor (on structure, as standalone) installations . Overhead
switches can also be classified according to their method of operation i.e., manual vs.
manual/motor and also according to the possibility of remote/ local operation or only local
operation of the switch. Overhead switches can also be classified according to their type of
installation: vertical (tiered), horizontal or riser pole or in line (mid span openers), triangular or
poletop (fig. 1.2). Switches can also be classified according to their type of break i.e. vertical,
side or double.
13) How does an air break switch break the load & extinguish the arc?
When interrupted, the arc is formed between the metal horns of the circuit carrying the current.
The distance between the horns increases as the switch continues to open. The arc is cooled by
wind and extends in length until extinction. Air break switches are usually mounted on
substation structures or on poles and are operated from the ground level. The switches are
operated by a handle connected to the rod, extending from the switch to a level close to the
ground where the opening/closing operations are performed. Air break switches can be
automated (motorized) to allow for remote operation.
14) How does a load break switch interrupt the load current?
Load break (interrupter) switches come in single and three pole configurations. When current is
interrupted, the arc is confined and extinguished in the interrupter (no external arc interruption
or separate device is required). These switches can interrupt line currents (load splitting, load
dropping), transformer load and magnetizing currents, cable charging and load currents.
Generally, the blades are made of harddrawn copper with silvertosilver contacts, the silver
plated stationary contact may be formed of copper and include a tapered profile to improve
blade closure. The arc extinguishing process is similar to the one which occurs when an indoor
load break switch has to break the current and extinguishes the arc in the arc chute or arc tube.
With the switch in the fully closed position, current flows through the copper blade and the
silver contacts (the interrupter is, totally, out of the circuit). As the blade begins to open, the
current is transferred to the interrupter by wiping action between the shunt contact and the
interrupters external contact. After which, the main current carrying contacts part. The next step
is the opening of the internal contacts of the interrupter by the blade cam. The arc inside the
interrupter is extinguished by thermal action and the deionizing gases generated from the liner
and the internal design of the interrupter. Exhaust is quiet and flameless and is vented through
the exhaust cap. Load break switches can be motor operated for remote close / open operation.
The air break switches have a gas (or vacuum) counterpart where the arc is extinguished in SF6
poles or vacuum bottles. There are two major constructions for gas filled overhead switches
which are: one with visible break and one without. The visible break will have an SF6 bottle
where the contacts break, afterwich the arc extinguishes and a disconnect switch (interlocked
with the SF6 contacts) is used to provide the visible break (the disconnect is in series with the
SF6 pole). The other type will have the load interrupting/ switching contacts and operating
mechanism contained in a hermetically sealed welded tank. The motorized operating
mechanisms are classified into rotating and reciprocating types.
15) What are the different applications in which disconnect switches are used?
Disconnect switches are air break switches, not equipped with arcing horns or other load break
devices. The different configurations of disconnect switches, as used on overhead systems, are:
the branch feeder style, crossarm vertical, crossarm inverted, station vertical, station inverted
and main feeder style.
16) What tools are used with disconnect switches/fuse cutouts to interrupt load currents?
When portable load break tools are used in conjunction with these switches, switching the
following elements is possible: transformers, lines, cable and capacitors (with certain
limitations). These switches are defined by the following parameters: insulation ratings (the
nominal voltage in KV and the BIL in KV), rated continuous current in amperes, leakage
distance in inches, dry arcing distance, disconnect gap in inches and cantilever strength of
insulator in LBs. In general, load break tools can be classified into a load interrupter tool and
paralleling tool. The paralleling load breaking tool will create a temporary bypass jumper across
the disconnect (in parallel with the permanent tap connection). After the blade of the tool is
closed, the permanent tap can be disconnected. The load can then be dropped by opening the
blade of the tool. The tool operates by simple disconnect stick. The load interrupter tool is
defined according to its nominal voltage and its interrupting capability (nominal and
maximum). The load break tool, usually, has an anchor to hang on the attachment hook of the
disconnect (cutout or power fuse for that matter) and a pull ring hook to engage the switch pull
ring. Generally, the load break tool is attached to a universal pole. After connecting the tool to
the disconnect as previously mentioned, the universal pole is pulled downward (firmly and
steadily) and as the tool is extending to its maximum length, the disconnect is opened and the
current is diverted through the tool. At a predetermined point in the tool opening stroke, its
internal trigger trips, the charged operating spring is released, the internal contacts are separated
and the circuit is interrupted. The tool has to be reset for the next operation.
17) Give a general description of padmounted switchgear?
These switching assemblies can be classified into air insulated, oil sealed insulated, or SF6/load
break switches and vacuum fault interrupters. Typically, for the air insulated type when the
separable connectors are in place, the construction will have all energized parts enclosed in
grounded (shield) enclosure (dead front). Verification of the open switch (visible break) is
possible through plexiglass viewing windows. The three phase gang operated switches in the
assembly are operated without having to open the cable compartment. The 600 A deadbreak
bushings are externally replaceable. The unit will have parking stands, replacemant fuse storage
pockets, ground pads for grounding provisions, door retainers, latching (3 point) arrangement,
fuse viewing windows, lifting provisions, fault indicators and floor cover (if required). Fig. 1.3
shows the major compartments and mounting method on precast concrete pad.
18) What are the major components of an oil filled padmounted switchgear unit?
The oil filled units will have a fill plug, a drain valve, the oil gauge, the cable entrance, the steel
tank, the spring operator, the mechanical interlock over the fuse compartment, grounding
provision, parking stands and the hinged cover.
19) What are the major components of SF6/vacuum units?
The major elements are: the heavy gauge enclosure, sealed switch compartment, operating
handle (for manual operation), fill valve/gas pressure gauge, electronic control package (pad
lockable), electronic load tap trip adjustments (knobs, push buttons), spring assisted switch
operator (with marked position indicator), provisions for padlocking, cable entrance bushings,
phase indication labels, parking stands, deadbreak elbow connectors, door latches, hinged doors
with stoppers, viewing windows, ground lugs, deep well low current (eg. 200 A) bushings,
mechanical trip and reset lever, provisions for door padlocking, motor operator/RTUs. The
motor/RTU installation would provide remote operation of the switches (from a control station)
or local operation (motor operated). With the availability of sensors/RTU in the pad mounted
switchgear assembly, the remote indication of the load levels and faults (currents) at the control
station may assist the operators in running the system more efficiently with less down times and
higher levels of supply continuity.
20) What are the production tests that are conducted on padmounted switchgear
assemblies? How can a pad mounted switchgear be modified to operate & indicate
remotely through a SCADA?
The production tests run on such assemblies are: continuity test (to assure correct internal
connections), hipot (dielectric), pressure test (to assure tank is sealed), the protective
(electronic o/c) device characteristics curve and leakage tests (if required).
To remotely operate and indicate with pad mounted switchgear and underground distribution
systems, the following elements are to be part of the switchgear unit: one set of three current
sensors on the load side of each interrupter (or switch), source side PT with 120 V (for example)
secondary voltage, radios/modems or the required communication equipment, connector for
remote antenna (if applicable), local interface in the controller (status, control switches,
displays), local communication port to allow setup/updating software/troubleshooting/report
generation using a laptop. Should ducts be, already, installed the use of fiber optics
communication network would be the most suitable (over other means of communications: RF,
PLC, ....., etc.). Fiber optics is immune to electromagnetic and radio interference, thus it can be
placed in ducts containing high voltage Cu or Al cables (i.e. 15, 27.6 kV). The elements that are
needed to build a fiber optic network beside the cable are the transceivers with the serial and
optical ports (LED transmitter and photodiode receiver), the RTUs, optical splitters, multiplexes
and modems.
21) What are the different methods of mounting (installing) distribution transformers on
poles?
These transformers can be fastened directly to the poles, hung from cross arms, mounted on
racks or platforms or mounted on brackets attached to the poles. The KVA ratings for such
transformers are low i.e. 167 or 250. The pole mounted transformers can be installed in clusters
of 3 transformers attached to the supporting brackets of which the latter are attached to the
poles.
22) What are the main attachments (accessories) used to complete the installation of the
overhead (pole mounted) distribution transformer?
The high voltage bushing with the clamp type connector is connected to the primary (medium
voltage circuit) and the low voltage cables are connected to spade type connectors. The pole
mounted transformers use oil as the insulating material. They are installed in many
configurations. In general, these transformers are connected to the primary circuit through a
current limiting fuse and a fuse cutout. To protect the transformers against lightning or voltage
surges, the primary of the transformer will have a lightning arrester connected across it and the
ground. There is another type of pole mounted transformers which is the completely self
protected one (CSP). Primary fuses and lightning arresters are included with the transformer,
thus there is no need to any external protective device except for a current limiting fuse.
23) What are the main components (accessories) that are mounted or included with the
padmounted or vault type distribution transformers to complete its installation?
The distribution transformers rating for single phase varies from 10 KVA to 1MVA, for three
phase 30 KVA to 2.5 MVA. The power transformers come in sizes from 3MVA to 150MVA for
3 phase constructions. In distribution systems, three phase transformers and three phase banks
(i.e. 3 single phase connected to provide a delta or wye 3 phase configuration ) are quite
common. In general, the protection of the power transformers is through the use of protective
relay (o/c or differential & over current ground) and gas relays. The distribution transformers are
protected by fuses (current limiting and expulsion types). Pad mounts can be classified into
radial feed and loop feed. The pad mounted transformers will have load or fault sensing
(expulsion) type fuse. In series with this fuse a current limiting backup fuse under the oil. For
vault mounted transformers, a series of current limiting and expulsion type with power fuse or
fuse link mounted on the pole or the wall of the vault are most probably used as primary
protection. For a typical general layout of a vault, refer to fig. 1.4. For vault mounted and pad
mounted, the primary connection is made through the use of elbows (where the cables are
connected) and inserts in the transformers connected to the deep well (cavity) bushings; the
secondary windings of the transformers are brought out through L.V. bushings and spade
terminals. Other accessories that are found in distribution transformers are: pressure relief
devices, filler plugs, drain plugs and/or sampling valves, parking stands for elbows, tap changers
(offload), load break switches for radial feed pad mounts and sectionalizing switch for loop
feed.
24) What are the basic parts of a transformer?
The general arrangement of any transformer will have the following basic parts: an iron core
consisting of laminated sheets, the primary and the secondary windings. The reason of having
the cores laminated with insulation between the lamination is to reduce the eddy currents
induced by the alternating magnetic flux. The vertical parts of the core are usually termed the
limbs and the horizontal are the yokes. The two designs for the core are the core type where the
iron core forming the limbs are surrounded by the windings and the shell type where the
windings more completely surrounded by the iron (fig. 1.5). The material of the core is either
the grain oriented silicon steel or the amorphous alloys. The silicon steel (iron) contains silicon
in the 3 1/2% level. The thickness of the laminates is in the range of .014 inches (29 guage). For
high efficiency transformers or motors the steel used would have silicon in the 45% range. The
steel used in these apparatus is designated for example as M2 (.007"), M3 (.009") or M6
(.016").
25) As used with transformers, what are the important curves that define the electric steel
properties?
There are a few curves that define the important properties of the electric steel as used in
transformers, they are:
• BH loop: the magnetic induction (in weber /m2, for example) vs. the magnetic field strength,
also termed magnetizing force (in ampere turns/cm or per m) it is known as the hysteresis loop.
• the d c magnetization curve: which is the magnetic induction (B) vs. the magnetizing force(H).
• Core loss: the magnetic inductions (eg. in weber/sq.m) vs. the core loss in watts/LB.
• the VA loss curve: the exciting volt ampere rms/LB vs. exciting losses in VA/LB (Pa).
• the angle from rolling direction: it is the angle from the rolling direction in deg. vs. Pa.
26) Which properties of the electric steel are structure sensitive & which are not?
The properties of the magnetic materials depend on: the chemical composition, fabrication
process and heat treatment. Saturation (magnetization) changes slowly by variation in chemical
composition but is unaffected by fabrication (including impurities) or heat treatment.
Permeability (µ) which equals B/H, coerceive force (it is the dc magnetizing force at which the
magnetic induction is zero when the mayerial is in a symmetrically cyclically magnetized
condition) and hysteresis loss are structure sensitive i.e. affected by composition, impurities,
strain, temperature, crystal structure and orientation. At constant magnetic field, the core loss
increases with increased sheet thickness. It is the eddy current component in the core losses that
increases with the increase in the thickness.
27) What are amorphous metals?
Amorphous metals are alloys with noncrystalline atomic structure. The atoms are arranged
randomly in relation to each other. It is easier to magnetize this type of alloys than crystalline
ones. If this type of material is used to build distribution transformers, lower core losses will
produced. The cooling rate of the liquid alloy to obtain the amorphous metal structure is in the
order of 1 million degrees per second. There are a few methods of quenching to produce this
material. The process that is used in practice is the planar flow casting. This technique, in a
simplified manner produces the solidified metal through the following steps:
liquid alloy is melted and delivered to a holding reservoir.
the alloy is delivered through a tap in the bottom of the reservoir to the casting nozzle and then
the quenching belt.
the quenching belt has the cooling box and leads the quenched ribbon to the measuring stand
and winding machinery.
28) What are the different types of cores used in distribution transformers?
The core construction can be any of the following, function of the rating and the design: wound,
butt, or mittered (fig. 1.5a). The wound (spiral) core may have the steel sheets cut to pre
determined lengths (commonly used) or sheets with no cuts, this is a common design with oil
filled distribution transformers. The butt (and lap) design will have two different sizes of sheets,
the first make up the legs and the other to make the yokes. In this design, the gaps between the
different steel parts (in the flux path) may be the reason for the noise and the increase in the
required ampereturns to achieve the desired (rated) flux density. The mittered core will have the
sheets for the legs and yokes cut at 45° in order to have the flux path always in the direction the
steel was rolled (grain oriented). Hot rolled or cold rolled steels are used in transformers with
regular grain or high permeability grain oriented properties.
29) What are the different arrangements of coils used in distribution transformers and
how does the cross section area of the wires look like?
The major winding types are the concentric (the l.v. is closer to the core and the h.v. is wound
on top of the l.v.) and the sandwiched (where the secondary winding sandwich is on top and
bottom of the primary one), fig. 1.6. The wires used in forming the coils are insulated copper or
aluminum. The coils are of the prewound (formed) construction and can be of the cylindrical or
disc type. Cylindrical coils are wound in helical layers, with layers insulated from each other.
Insulating cylinders are placed between the core and the first coil. They are,also, placed between
the cylindrical windings. Disc coils may be one or multi turns per layer. Multilayers have an
insulating material between them. A complete winding consists of stacked discs of coils with
inter coil insulation. The winding configuration will have an effect on the transient response of
the transformer.In dry type transformers, there are three major types of windings/windings
insulation combination. They are: open coil, cast coil and coated coil. The wires can have any of
the following forms: circular, rectangular (strip) or oval.
30) How can the exciting currents of transformers be resolved (i.e. what are the
components of the exciting currents)?
A reminder, the exciting current can be broken down into a fundamental and a family of odd
harmonics (using Fourier analysis). The fundamental component can further be resolved into
two components, one in phase with the counter e.m.f. and another out of phase by 90°. The core
loss absorbed by the hystersis and eddy current losses in the core, account for that component in
phase with the e.m.f. The magnetizing current equals the exciting current minus the core loss
component which means it is equal to all the harmonics plus the out of phase fundamental
component. At constant magnetic induction and magnetic strength field, the total losses
decrease with the increase in the permeability. For the same permeability, the losses increase
with the increase in the sheet thickness. The increase of the grain size number reduces the
losses, as well as the increase in percent silicon (increase in the resistivity) reduces the losses.
The increase in the tensile strength will reduce the losses.
31) What are the methods used to insulate the coils of a transformer?
The open coil uses a method whereby the transformer coils after being wound are immersed in
an insulating varnish like silicone. The varnish fills the air voids and coats the coil surface with
about 2 mils(.002") protective coating. The different types of wound coils used in this method
can be any of the following: barrel (cylindrical) or disc or sectional.The cast coil is used with
the barrel or sectional windings. The coils are placed in a casting mould. The mould and coils
are then placed in a vacuum chamber and evacuated. An epoxy resin (of low viscosity) is put
(injected) inside the mould (under vacuum). The mould with its contents is then placed in an
oven to solidify (ovenbake) the resin. The resulting insulation coating is 250 mils,
approximately. The coated coil is used with similar windings as used with the cast coil
insulating type. After the windings were prepared, the coils are placed in a vacuum chamber and
evacuated, then flooded under vacuum with a low viscosity epoxy resin. The coils are drained
and baked (to set the resin). This process is repeated, but this time with a high viscosity resin.
the coating over the windings will be about 100 mils.
32) When a transformer is energized, what are the losses encountered if it is not loaded &
if it is loaded?
Losses in distribution transformers can be classified into load and noload losses. The load
losses equal I2R and as can be seen varies with the square of the load current. It is, also, referred
to as winding losses. The noload losses are the result of the electric currents and magnetic
fields necessary to magnetize the transformers core. The no load losses are present as long as
the transformer is kept energized (it is independent of the transfomer loading). Auxilliary losses
(like fans energy consumption that is charged to the demand) are not available with the
distribution transformers but are present in the substation transformers above 5MVA ratings.
The total owning cost of a transformer constitute of the initial cost (purchasing price), cost of
noload losses (over the expected life of the transformer) and load losses (over the expected life
of the transformer) and may be the maintenance cost (over the expected life of the transfomer).
The losses cost and maintenance (if included) are presented as first cost (present value) in order
to make the evaluation of the total owning cost of the different available transformers for each
size or rating (of transformer) possible.
33) What are the causes of the generated gases in an oil filled transformer?
The properties of the new oil to be used in transformers, the tests performed on the oil, the
acceptable values from the different tests, the interpretation of the used oil test results and the
instruments used to detect gases in oil are covered fully in ASTM and IEEE related standards.
Gases due to composition of oil and solid insulation result from conductor temperature (due to
load losses) and exposure to arc temperature. Gases under low energy discharges and partial
discharge (corona) conditions are formed, mainly by ionic bombardment. The products that
result from thermal decomposition of oil impregnated cellulose material are carbon oxides (CO
& CO2) and hydrogen (H2) or methane (CH4).
34) What factors affect the generation of gas in oil immersed transformers?
The volume of the generated gas and its rate depend on the temperature and the volume of the
heated material. The breaking of carbonhydrogen and carboncarbon bonds result from the
thermal or electrical faults under oil. The arc under oil will have a high pressure gas bubble with
the following fluids, from the outside toward the arc, inwardly (of the bubble): oil, wet oil
vapour, superheated oil vapour, hydrocarbons (C2H2 acetylene) and hydrogen. The arc runs in
a mixture of hydrogen ions, metal vapour, electrons. Thus, to use the presence of the gas in the
transformer oil as an indication of the presence of a fault, three distinctive types of faults have to
be defined. The three types are: thermal, electrical (low intensity discharges) and high intensity
electrical arcs. The gases that may be found in transformer oil either under normal or faulty
conditions are: methane (CH4), ethylene (C2H4), ethane (C2H6), acetylene (C2H2), hydrogen
(H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The thermal faults that will cause the
oil temperature to rise to up to 500 deg.C will produce H2, CH4 and trace quantities of C2H4 &
C2H6. Temperatures in the middle zone will generate significant quantities of C2H6 & C2H4.
At the upper end of the thermal faults and high intensity arcing (electrical) faults, the
temperature range will be 700 to 1800 deg.C and the gases yielded are: H2, C2H4 and traces to
significant amounts of C2H2. Thermal decomposition of cellulose and other solid insulating
materials will produce CO, CO2 and water vapour. The ratio of CO2/CO or the ppm (quantity)
may be used as an indication of the insulation disentigration. For electrical low intensity
discharges under oil, H2, CH4 and traces of C2H2 will be produced.
35) What are the methods of laying underground cables? What are the essential parts of a
cable?
Undeground cables can be directly burried, can be put (pulled) in a conduit and burried (cable
inaconduit) or cables in conduits encased in concrete, fig. 1.7 .
They consist of three essential parts: the conductor for transmitting electrical power, the
insulation medium required to insulate the conductor from direct contact with earth or other
objects and the external protection cover to protect against mechanical damage, chemical or
electrochemical attack, fig. 1.7. Copper and aluminum conductors are found in underground
distribution cables. The conductor can be solid or stranded.The most commonly used insulating
materials in the medium voltage (primary) range are the crosslinked polyethylene and the
ethylene propylene rubber which are rated for continuous operation of 90 deg C. The concentric
neutral or shielded tape (the metallic insulation shield) is applied on the insulation
semiconducting shield. The concentric neutral is wound helically and is made of annealed
uncoated copper wires, usually. Under the concentric neutral, an equalizing tape (annealed
untinned copper tapes), each is applied in opposite direction to the other. There are a few ways
and materials that are used as cable jackets. Briefly, they are sleeved or encapsulated, the
material is PVC or linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Certain cables are used without
any jackets. The PVC covering of cables comes as a sleeved jacket and a separator between
concentric neutral and the jacket. The LLDPE covering comes either as encapsulated jacket or
sleeved. When LLDPE sleeves are used, a water blocking agent is used to prevent the
longitudinal travel of water in the space betwen the jacket and the insulation shield. The same
agent can be used with encapsulated jackets to fill the voids between the jacket and the neutral.
In general for the same size cable, the sleeved cables are more flexible and is easier to handle
than the encapsulated ones.
36) What are rubbers? What are the general properties of any cable insulating matrial?
Rubber materials can be classified into vulcanized rubber & synthetic rubber materials
(elatomers).
Vulcanized rubber: rubber in its natural form it is considered an insulating material. The draw
back is its property of absorbing moisture. The result of this draw back would be the loss of its
insulating property. Hard or vulcanized rubber is produced by mixing rubber with 30% sulphur,
other softeners and antioxidation or other compounding agents. The end result is an insulating
material which is rigid, resilient and does not absorb moisture.
When it comes to synthetic rubber materials (elastomers) known as rubbers, they can be
classified into: general purpose synthetics which have rubber like properties and special purpose
synthetics which have better properties than rubber with respect to fire and oil resisting
properties. The four main types are: butyl rubber, silicone rubber, neoprene and styrene.
Rubbers are hydrocarbon polymeric materials similar in structure to plastic resins. An elastomer
is defined, per ASTM, as a polymeric material which at room temperature can be stretched to at
least twice its original length and upon immediate release of the stress it will return quickly to
approximately its original length. Certain types of plastics can approach the rubberlike state
(polyethylenes). Others have elastomer grades, for example olefins, styrenes, fluorplastics and
silicones.
Butyl rubber: Also referred to as isobutylene isoprene elastomer is copolymers of isobutylene
and about 1 to 3% isoprene. It is similar in many ways to natural rubber. It has excellent
resistance, but it resists weathering, the sunlight and chemicals. This type of insulation, in
general, has lower mechanical properties (tensile strength, resilience, abrasion resistance and
compression set) than other elastomers. It has excellent dielectric strength, thus it can be used
for cable insulation, encapsulating compounds and a variety of electrical applications.
Silicone rubber: is one member of the family of silicone elastomers. The elastomers are
polymers composed basically of silicon and oxygen atoms. They can be classified into general
purpose, low temperature, high temperature, low compression set, high tensilehigh tear, fluid
resistant. They are the most stable of all elastomers, they have good resistance to high and low
temperatures, oils and chemicals. The silicone rubber is usually a long chain dimethyl silicone
which can be vulcanized by cross linking the linear chains and can flow under heat and
pressure. Basically, it consists of alternate silicon and oxygen atoms with two methyl groups
attached to each silicon atom. It resists heat, most chemicals (except strong acids and alkalies).
The dielectric strength is 500 volt/mil (20KV per meter).
Neoprene: also known as chloroprene, it is the first commercial synthetic rubber. It is
chemically, structurally and mechanically similar to natural rubber. It resists oils, chemicals,
sunlight, weathering and aging. It is consumed by fire but it is non combustible. It is relatively
low in dielectric strength.
Styrenebutadiene elastomers: sometimes called, Buna S are copolymers of butadiene and
styrene. The grades with styrene over 50% are considered plastics. A wide range of property
grades exists by varying the relative amounts of styrene and butadiene. Styrene content varies
from as low as 9% to up to 40%. They are similar in many ways to the natural rubbers.
The insulating materials used with cables have the following properties: high insulation
resistance, high dielectric strength, good mechanical properties, it should resist chemicals
surrounding it and it should be non hygroscopic, i.e., moisture and water resistant.
37) What is PVC?
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): it is a polymer derived, generally, from acetylene. It can be produced
in different grades depending upon the polymerization process. PVC is inferior to vulcanized
rubber with respect to elasticity and insulation resistance. PVC when used with cables has to be
processed with plasticizer. PVC can be classified into general purpose, hard grade PVC (has less
amount of placticizer) and heat resisting PVC.
38) What are polyethylenes?
These thermoplastic resins include low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density
polyethylene (LLDPE), high density polyethylenes (HDPE) and ethylene copolymers. The
advantages to be gained with polyethylene are light weight, outstanding chemical resistance,
mechanical resistance and excellent dielectric properties. The basic properties of polyethylenes
can be modified with a broad range of fillers, reinforcements and chemical modifiers.
Polyethylenes are considered easy to process: injection molding, sheet film extrusion, coating
extrusion, wire and cable extrusion coating, blow molding, rotational molding, pipe and tube
extrusion and others. The basic building blocks of polyethylene are: hydrogen and carbon atoms.
These atoms are combined to form ethylene monomer, C2 H4 i.e. two carbon atoms and four
hydrogen ones. In the polymerization process, the double bond connecting the carbon atoms is
broken and these bonds reform with other ethylene molecules to form long molecular chains.
High density polyethylene resins have molecular chains with comparatively few side chain
branches. Its crystallinity is up to 95%. Low density polyethylene resin has crystallinity from 60
to 70%. Linear low density polyethylene resins has between 60 and 75%. The degree of
cristallinity is a measure of the density of the resin. With the higher densities, the heat softening
point, resistance to gas and moisture vapour permeating and stiffness are high. On the other
hand, increased density will result in reduction of stress cracking resistance and lowtemperature
toughness. The range of density for LLDPE resins is 0.915 to 0.940 g/cm3, for LDPE resins
0.910 to 0.930 g/cm3 and HDPE 0.941 to 0.965 g/cm3.
39) What are the electric characteristics of cables?
The electrical characteristics of cables:
the resistance is given by Rac=Rdc (Ys+Yp); where Rac is the ac resistance, Rdc is the dc
resistance, Ys is the correction for skin effect and Yp correction for proximity effect. The
inductance is given by .460 log (GMD/GMR)=0.2 ln (GMD/GMR) mH/ Km, where gmd is the
distance between the cabe centre core and the point where the inductance is to be calculated at
& GMR is the effective radius of the conductor = r (.7788).
The insulation resistance for a single core cable is given by the following (r/2 pi l)(ln D/2r)
where r is the resistivity or specific resistance of the dielectric, r is the radius of the conductor, l
is the length of the cable and D is the diameter of the sheath or conentric neutral.
The capacitance in cm / cm length is given by: e/(2 ln D/d), where d is the conductor diameter.
This equation can be written as 0.03888 e/ log D/d µ Farad/mile length or e(109/18 ln D/d)
Farad/meter, where e is the dielectric constant of the cable insulation material. The stress at a
distance x from the axis is given by E/(x ln D/d), the stress is maximum at the conductor and is
equal E/(r ln D/d) or 2E/(d ln D/d), the stress at the lead sheath is 2E/(D ln D/d); where E is the
peak voltage of the conductor (potential difference between the core and the sheath). It can be
seen from the above that the ratio of the stress at the conductor to that at the sheath is D/d.
There are two main methods by which a more uniform distribution of stress may be achieved: by
the introduction of intersheaths and with layers of insulating material with different dielectric
constant (e). These methods are primarily used in high voltage cables.
For a numerical example regarding the calculation of cable constants: resistance, inductance
(inductive reactance), capacitance (capacitive reactance) & insulation resistance, please refer to
level 1/lesson 2/question 25.
40) What are the failure modes in cables?
The most common ways of failure in cables are: coring (or tracking) and thermal instability. The
first has the progressive coring starting at the conductor or the sheath and ultimately bridges the
electrodes (conductor & sheath). The second occurs when the power factor increases so rapidly
with the rise of temperature in such a manner that a small rise in temperature increases the
dielectric losses by a greater amount. The voltage to break down a certain insulation depends
upon many factors such as duration of application, shape of electrodes, temperature, pressure,
the presence of moisture and gaseous spaces.
For crosslinking of polyethylene there are a few methods in us today: peroxide systems,
radiation and silane bridges formation. The curing of the extruded cables takes place in air at
ambient temperatures, in a hot water bath or in a steam room. The failure in cables with this
insulating material can be attributed to the water absorption property of XLPE. When the cables
are subjected to stress (i.e. under voltage) and water is on the outside or in the conductor,
transparent treelike imperfections are formed. These water trees are initiated in voids or
contaminants in the body of the insulation. Some of the factors that contribute to water tree
growth in extruded insulation are voltage stress, water, contaminants and imperfections,
temperature gradient and aging. The strandseal (the liquid filling the spaces between the strands
in the conductor area) characteristics are: high viscosity at overload temperature to ensure that
the strandseal will not flow from the conductor, good low temperature properties (i.e. compound
fracture under low temperature while bending the cable should not happen), compatible with
metals of the conductors & conductors semiconducting shields and adhere to conductor over a
broad range of temperatures.
41) What are the requirements that a manhole must fulfill?
When the concrete encased designs are used, manholes have to be constructed and should have
sufficient space to cut, splice and pull the cables. They should be strong enough to withstand the
loads above them without collapsing. In general, manholes, handholes and vaults are to be
designed to sustain all expected loads which may be imposed on the structure. The vertical
and/or horizontal design loads shall consist of dead load, live loads, equipment load, impact,
load due to water table or frost and any other loads expected to be imposed on and/or adjacent to
the structure. The manholes are generally built of reinforced concrete or brick and the covers are
made of steel. The opening leading from the street to the manhole chamber is called the
chimney or throat. An opening having a minimum diameter of 32" is usually provided. This
opening has to be large enough for a man to enter on a ladder and also to pass the equipment
needed for splicing and testing. The pulling rope is attached to the cable by means of a woven
cable grip, sometimes called basket grip, or by means of a clevis or eye. To prevent injury to the
cable by scraping on the manhole frame or at the duct opening, a feeding tube (guiding tube) is
sometimes used. To protect the cable from excessive tension during pulling in, the cable is
lubricated with a compatible material to the jacket. The cable is drawn into the duct by means of
a winch or capstan The winch is usually mounted on a truck or a portable cable puller located
near the manhole or the riser (pole) conduit, at pulling end. For common manhole
configurations, refer to fig. 1.8.
42) What are the dissipation factor & power factor of a cable insulation?
The dissipation factor or tan d is a measurement of the quality of the insulation. The lower the
factor value (eg. .001to .02), the better the insulation. Starting at 0.08 & higher is an indication
of the insulation degradation. Note that cos f = tan d = wcr; where c is the capacitance of the
insulation and r is the resistance of the insulation & w = 2 pi f, f is the frequency of the applied
voltage.
Power factor of single core cable: suppose that the dielectric has a resistance R which is
independent of the stress and may be considered as constant throughout the cable upon the
application of an alternating voltage of frequency f, there will be an in phase current equal the
voltage divided by the resistance of the insulation per cm length. The resistance = ρR dx/(2 pi x
1) ohm/cm. The losses with alternating currents are caused by absorption phenomena and is
usually much less than those caused by d.c. The charging current = wCV; where C is given by
e/2ln D/d cm/cm and leads the voltage by 90 degrees. The total current I is the vector sum of
V/R and wCV and leads the voltage by an angle fi=1/wCR. The conductance (reciprocal of R)
of the cable per cm length is G=cos fi (w C). This measurement indicates the quality of the
insulation. If the angle fi is 90 (or close to) i.e. cos fi is zero or close to (is equal to tan d; where
d = 90 fi) the cable is considered in good condition. The dielectric loss is V2/R=V2 G=w C V2
fi. The power factor of the dielectric materials vary with stress and temperature. It increases
with the increase of any of these two variables i.e. stress or temperature.
43) How would the inductance, capacitance & dissipation factor of a cable be measured?
Bridges are used for the measurement of inductance, capacitance and loss (dissipation) factor,
fig. 1.9. The bridges that are used in practice are: Maxwell's inductance, Wien's & Schering's
capacitance bridges (give also tan d) and combined Maxwell/Wien bridge for L, C and tan d.
44) What are the different methods to locate faults in underground cables?
The main methods that may be used are: Murray loop test, fall of potential test, dc charge and
discharge test, induction test, impulse wave echo test and arc reflection.
The Murray loop test can precisely locate the fault if its current is more than 10 mA i.e. for a
battery with 100V, the fault resistance can be as high as 10 Kohm. The sensitivity is function of
the detector used. In its simplest form, the faulty cable is looped to an adjacent sound conductor
of the same cross sectional area. Across the open ends, a galvanometer is joined and parallel
with it a resistance box with two sets of coils. The d.c. supply is connected to this arrangement.
When the galvanometer pointer is balanced (because of adjustments to the resistance box), the
fault position is found by: distance to fault = (a / a + b).loop length; where a: is the length of the
bridge arm joined to the faulty core, b: is the length of the bridge arm joined to the sound core
and the loop length is equal to twice the route length.
The fall of potential test: is achieved by measuring the voltage at both ends. By comparing the
measurements, the fault location can be estimated. The equipment used are a battery, rheostat,
ammeter and low range moving coil ammeter.
Charge and discharge test: this method is valid only when locating a broken core fault.
Measuring the relative capacity from each end of the broken core, and using the formula d =(C1
/ C1 + C2).l; where d is the distance of the fault from the measured C1 capacitance, l is the
length of the cable, C1 & C2 are the observed capacitances from both end of the broken core.
All other cores, other than the one tested are grounded to avoid false readings.
The induction method (fig. 1.9a) or the thumping method: the cable is supplied with
intermittent pulses of current derived from impulse generator, the cable route is then explored
with a search coil connected to telephone receiver (acoustic detection devices). The coil is held
close to the ground with its plane parallel to the run of the cable. When the fault is passed, the
cable will carry no current and nothing will be heard on the earphone.
The impulse wave echo (Cable radar): this method is based on the principle that a pulse
propagating along a cable will be reflected when it meets an impedance mismatch. For a cable
of uniform dielectric, the pulse reflected at the mismatch is displayed on a CRT at a time delay
directly proportion to the distance of the mismatch from the test end (irrespective of the
conductor size) and is given by X = (t1/t2).cable route length; where t1 is the pulse time to fault
(or mismatch) and t2 is the pulse time to far end of cable. This method can be generalized and
through the use of generators that give pulses of short duration and low voltages being
transmitted through the cable, any deviations (cable start, splices, faults and cable end) will
produce reflections. These reflections will be displayed on the CRT of the measuring device.
The limitation of this method is when the fault resistance is high (higher than ten times the
cable characteristics impedance which varies in the range of 30 to 50 ohm). With high
impedance faults, urning the fault into a lower resistance fault and cable radar method is used to
obtain the fault location.
Arc Reflection: this method is considered as a combination of cable radar and surge pulse
methods. The latter being a generator of high voltage pulses that are sent throughout the cable
and produces arcing at the fault location, part of the pulse energy is reflected to the cable start
where it is partially reflected into the fault. This process continues until the capacitively stored
energy is exhausted. The observation on a CRT of the spacing of the reflections will indicate the
fault location.
45) What is the need for a cable termination?
The use of cable terminations (fig. 1.10) is dictated because of the following:
due to the abrupt change in the continuity of the cable shield the electrical stresses increases
(the termination will reduce this stress).
the need to increase the creepage distance between the live conductor and the ground (or
neutral or shield).
the need to prevent moisture ingress into the cable.
overhead line vibrations have to be prevented from being transmitted to the underground cable.
The different types of terminations are: the fully taped, molded stress cone and tape, one piece
molded, porcelain terminators, potheads and heat shrinkables.
46) Why would cable splices be used?
Cable splices (fig. 1.11) are used for the following reasons:
continuation of all cable components is to be maintained.
to provide protection against entrance of water and other contaminants into the cable.
to provide mechanical support to the cable.
47) To make a splice that would last long, what are the conditions that have to be fulfilled
while doing the splice?
When making a splice, the following conditions have to be fulfilled:
voids should not be introduced.
the in line connector has to be of the right size.
the right tool and compression force has to be used to crimp the connector to the conductor of
the cable.
the applied insulation thickness should not exceed 1.5 times the cable insulation, to avoid
overheating of splice.
Tapped splices, heat shrinkables and cold shrinkables are commonly used.
48) What are faulted circuit indicators? Where they are mounted?
Faulted circuit indicators which can be installed in podmount transformers or switchgear can be
classified accordingly: manually resettable, high voltage, current resettable and timed resettable.
The basic idea of operation is that if a fault to occur downstream this device all the indicators
ahead of the fault will operate or set (as the fault current is flowing through them) and all the
ones downstream the fault will not operate. For the manual reset types, the intervention of the
operator is required to reset the device. For the high voltage type, when the supply is restored
i.e. the voltage is available again on the section (circuit), the device resets. For the current type,
after repairs have been done, the current flowing in the circuit reaches a minimum preadjusted
value (eg. 2 or 3 amp.) will cause the device to reset. For the timed one, after four hours, let's
say, it will reset automatically. These four hours are usually factory adjustable. When an
indicator operates, it will show the section of the buried cable that may be faulty. Certain
designs come with attachments to alleviate potential nuissance resetting or setting like inrush
currents when energization of transformers or due to reclosing actions of reclosures or station
circuit breakers.
49) What is route tracing?
Self contained instruments are available for tracing the routes and the depth of hidden or buried
cables. The location of underground cables is based on the principle of the concentric
electromagnetic field surrounding a current carrying conductor. To identify and locate a cable, a
predetermined frequency current from a generator is transmitted along the cable. The resulting
magnetic field is then explored by means of an inductive probe or detector rod with the integral
search coil and receiver. They are equipped with to give audio and visual signals. If the
searching devices can detect power frequency, the high frequency generator.
50) Draw a sketch for an elbow & an elbow insert showing the main components of such a
device?
51) What are the different types of conductors used in overhead distribution systems?
The wires and cables over which electric energy is transmitted are made of copper, aluminum,
steel or a combination of Cu and steel or AL and steel. For overhead lines, hard drawn copper
can be used. It is preferred over soft drawn or annealed as the treatment of the last two reduces
the tensile strength of the wire from approximately 55,000 to 35,000 lb/sq.in. This is, also, the
reason for eliminating soldering of hard drawn copper, as this causes the reduction in the
strength of the hard drawn wire. Joints are made of splicing sleeves. Annealed or soft drawn
copper is used for grounds or special applications where bending and shaping the conductor is
necessary. Aluminum is widely used for distribution and transmission line conductors. When Al
conductor is stranded, the central strand is often made of steel to reinforce the cable. Reinforced
Al cable called ACSR (aluminum conductorsteel reinforced) is suitable for long spans.
Copperweld conductor is a coating of copper securely welded to the outside of the steel wire.
The layer of copper increases the conductivity and give a protective coating to the steel wire.
The conductivity of copperweld conductors can be raised if the thickness of copper increases.
The applications for copperweld are: rural lines, guy wires and o/h ground wires. Alumweld
conductors are constructed from steel wire that is covered with aluminum to prevent the steel
from rusting as well as to improve its conductivity.
52) Compare the conductivity & strength of aluminum conductors to those of copper?
When the same sizes of copper and aluminum conductors are compared, Al will have 60% of
the copper conductor conductivity, 45% of copper tensile strength and 33% of copper weight.
For the Al conductor to carry the same current as that of a Cu conductor its cross sectional area
must be 66% higher than that of copper and in this case its tensile strength will be 75% and its
weight will be 55% of that of the copper conductor.
53) What does cold flow means?
Aluminum expands 36% more than coper. If Al conductor is installed in a copper connector, the
Al (when heated due to the flow of the current) tends to flow out of the connector. When the
connector cools down, the Al will contract with a diameter inside the copper connector slightly
smaller than originally was. More extrusion will occur during subsequent loading cycles
causing the contact resistance to increase. The contact resistance & consequently the heat
generated at the connector (I2R) keeps increasing until failure occurs. Materials of conductor
and connectors have to be compatible so load cycling (cold flow) would not produce hot spots
or failures. To minimize cold flow any or all of the following should be observed: use
compression type aluminum connectors, use Belleville washers, the aluminum connectors must
have substantial mass to run cool and the contact area between the conductor strands and the
connector is to be maximized. When exposed to air, an invisible oxide film is produced (which
is corrosive resistant). It has an insulating property and has to be removed when connections are
made.
54) What are the different types of connectors used in power distribution systems?
Mechanical connectors: are commonly used with copper conductors. When this type of
connector is used with aluminum conductors, large springloaded pad is part of the installation
to avoid cold flow.
Compression connectors: are used for Al and Cu conductors. The length of the connector is
function of the ampacity and the tension. The right tools and dies must be used and the right
number of crimps and pressure will ensure an efficient/ proper electric connection.
Compression tools can be classified into manual and hydraulic. Connectors when compressed
over a conductor a specific range of % compaction must be attained in the range of 5 to 15 % of
thhr conductor area. Excessive compaction will result in conductor deformation and light
compaction may not provide sufficient pullout strength.
Wedge connectors: are suitable for wide range of main and tap wire sizes. Aluminum should
physically be placed above copper when both materials are used in one connection.
Stirrups: are used to provide a connection zone (area) for the hot line clamp away from the
main line so that arcing will not damage the main conductor. They can be classified into wedged
and bolted, the first being more reliable.
Hot line clamps: are used to connect equipment onto the main overhead lines. They make
connecting and disconnecting easier.
55) What are the factors affecting the selection of line conductors?
The most important factors in sizing a line conductor are: the line voltage, the amount of power
to be transmitted and the mechanical strength required. Other factors that may become relevant,
depending on the application are: voltage regulation (drop through the line), power loss, span,
total length of line. When conductors are connected to each other by connectors, the connection
should provide an adequate current path under all expected operating conditions. The
connection should withstand all the combined mechanical and electrical stresses (vibration,
tension, shear, heat). Materials of conductor and connectors have to be compatible so load
cycling (cold flow) would not produce hot spots or failures. Protection against weather Lesson
2: Switchgear, circuit breakers, MCCs & contactors.conditions, like water stop and corrosion
protection, is provided whenever possible.
56) How are conductors graded when it comes to flexibility?
Concentric lay stranded cables can be classified according to their flexibility class AA, A, B, C
and D where AA is the most rigid, bare and used in overhead systems, C and D being the most
flexible.
57) What is the function of an insulator?
The function of an insulator is to separate the line conductor from the pole or tower.
58) What are the types of insulators?
Insulators are fabricated from porcelain, glass, fiberglass, polymer or silicone. Insulators can be
classified into pin, post and suspension. They can, also, be classified according to the method of
attaching the conductor to the insulator i.e. clamping or tieing.
59) What are the properties of an insulator?
The properties of any insulator can be classified into: mechanical, electrical, environmental and
maintenance. The mechanical characteristics can further be classified into: everyday loads,
exceptional loads, design loads, cyclic loads, torsion and static loads, safety factors, single or
multiple insulator strings, long term strength. The electrical criteria are further divided into:
clearances, BIL, power frequency flashover or withstand voltage (dry and wet), steep front
wave, power arcs, leakage distance, contamination performance. For the environmental
characteristics, the following are important: ageing under UV and dry arcing, type of
contamination, corona, RIV, washing, corrosion of end fittings and temperature range. The final
property of an insulator is maintenance, it comes down to ease or difficulty of handling or the
need for special precautions. In general there are three lines of defence for an insulator:
hydrophobicity, self cleaning and track / fire resistance.
60) What are porcelain insulators made of?
Porcelain insulators are made of clay. Special types of clay are selected and mixed mechanically
until a plasticlike compound is produced. The clay is then placed in moulds to form the
insulators. The moulds are placed in an oven to dry the clay. When the insulator is dry, it is
dipped in a glazing solution and fired in a kiln. The glossy surface produced from this process
makes the surface selfcleaning. Cementing several shapes can make available large porcelain
insulators. Cement growth, which may result from chemical reaction between the cement and
the metal parts, can cause stresses that can crack the insulator.
61) What are glass insulators made of?
Glass insulators are made from sand, soda ash and lime. The materials are mixed and melted in
an oven until a clear plasticlike product is produced. This product is then put in a mould and is
allowed to cool. The final step is putting glass insulator in the oven for annealing.
62) What are fiberglass insulators made of?
Fiberglass insulators (fiberglass rods with flexible skirts) are made up of fiberglass treated with
polyester resin or more commonly with epoxy resins. Rubberlike compounds are applied to the
rods to fabricate suspension, deadend and post type insulators. The rubberlike compound can
be EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene, Modified) polymer or silicone elastomer. EPDM is
applied by injection as well as silicone. EPDM and silicone come in many different fomulations.
Silicone is based on siloxane resin (Polydimethysiloxane). The base molecule consists of a chain
of alternate oxygen and silica atoms with organic methyl groups attached to the silicone atoms.
63) What are the properties of silicone that is used in insulators?
The properties of silicone to be used as insulators in power distribution systems are: high tear
strength, high tracking and erosion resistance, has to be highly hydrophobic (water repellency
property) or water repellent and has to recover quickly from any temporary hydrophobicity loss
and has to resist UV aging. Continuous corona effect, close proximity of silicone insulators to
large quantities of water vapour, spraying the insulator with salt water and rapid buildup of
deposit on the surface of the silicone will have negative impact on the performance of the
insulator. The degree of permanent loss of hydrophobicity is different for each of the conditions
aforementioned. It became obvious that certain tests should be performed on the materials
applied to the rods to be able to anticipate its performance over its long expected life time.
64) What are the tests performed on the bulk material & those conducted on the complete
insulator?
The following points are worth investigating for the bulk material used as insulators for
installation outdoors: thermal endurance, mechanical creep, longterm dielectric break down,
partial discharge and as a complementary test to the partial discharge xray radiation test for
larger cavities and voids.
The tests conducted on insulators:
Surface, which can be evaluated for tracking and arc resistance. Surface erosion is mainly
linked to UV radiation, corona and is enhanced by humidity and salt, thus testing for this effect
for outdoor insulators is extremely important. Surface erosion should be differentiated from
pitting erosion (damage in depth of insulator over a small area).
Tracking wheel (Merrygoround test) is the the track and fire resistance test of the specimen
insulator. Tracking wheel test procedures vary because of the following: spray solution
ingredients, volume of spray, test voltage, maximum allowable current (limited by the fuse or
C.B.), rotation speed, test specimen and orientation.
Contamination (salt and fog) test is used directly on insulators, the important factors in such
test are: the salt concentration, test voltage, shape and creepage distance of the insulator.
65) What are the different types of fuses used in power systems?
In distribution systems, three phase transformers and three phase banks (i.e. 3 single phase
connected to provide a delta or a Y 3 phase configuration) are common. In general, the
protection of the power transformers is provided through the use of protective relays (o/c or
differential and over current ground) and gas relays. The distribution transformers are protected
by fuses (current limiting and expulsion types). Medium voltage fuses (2.4 to 72kV) can be
classified according to the following, they either fall under the distribution fuse cutouts or power
fuses. The power fuses can further be classified into expulsion type and current limiting.
Distribution fuse cutouts were developed for use in overhead distribution circuits (a connection
to distribution transformers, supplying residential areas or small commercial/industrial plants).
66) How are fuses used to protect pole mounted transformers?
The pole mounted transformers have ahead of them current limiting fuses and distribution
cutouts with fuse links with speed T or K as defined in ANSI C37.100 other speeds are also
available to achieve proper coordination between the fuses and upstream/downstream protective
devices.
67) What are the components of a fuse cutout? How does a fuse cutout operate?
A distribution fuse cutout consists of a special insulating support and fuse holder. The
disconnecting fuse holder engages contacts supported on the insulating support and is fitted
with a fuse link (with speed Kfast or Tslow as defined in ANSI 37.100). The typical refill
construction of the distribution fuse cutout unit: current transfer bridge (connects the lower
fusible end to the lower ferrule), fusible element, auxiliary arcing rod, auxiliary bore (where the
arc is drawn and is interrupted for low fault currents), main arcing rod, main bore (where the arc
is drawn and interrupted for moderate to high fault currents above 100A), solid material arc
extinguishing medium (boric acid for example), outer tube (of epoxy), fuse tube plug, upper
terminal. The major components of the fuse holder of a fuse refill type fuse: the pull ring, upper
and lower ferrule, glass epoxy fuse tube, blown fuse indicator, window and silencer. The typical
parts that constitute a power fuse link are: the exhaust ferrule, the current transfer bridge, the
fusible element, the arcing rod, the bore with the solid arc extinguishing material, drive spring,
actuating pin, glass epoxy tube, the upper contact, the upper seal, arcing rod retainer. The
operation of the fuse is goverened by two curves: the minimum melting and the total clearing.
The fuse holder is lined with an organic material. In fuse cutouts, the interruption of an
overcurrent takes place inside the holder. The gas ionized (liberated), when the liner is exposed
to the heat of the arc (as a result of the melting of the link), is then deionized (at current zero).
68) How does a power fuse extinguish the arc?
Power fuses have characteristics that differentiate them from distribution fuse cutouts, these
characteristics are: they are available in higher voltage ratings, the can carry higher load
currents, they can interrupt higher fault curents and they can be installed indoors.Power fuses
consist of a fuse holder, which accepts a refill unit or fuse link. The power fuse (expulsion type)
interrupts currents, like the distribution cutout.
69) How does a current limiting fuse (c.l.f.) interrupt currents?
The current limiting type interrupts overcurrents when the arc established by the melting of the
fusible element, is subjected to the mechanical restriction and cooling action of powder or sand
filler, surrounding the fusible element. There are three features for the medium voltage current
limiting fuse:
1.Interruption of overcurrents is accomplished quickly, without the expulsion of arc products or
gases, as all the arc energy is absorbed by the sand filler and, subsequently, released as heat.
2.Current limiting action that occurs through the fuse is substantial, if the overcurrent exceeds,
significantly, the continuous current rating of the fuse.
3.Very high interrupting ratings are achieved by virtue of the current limiting action of the
fuse.Current limiting fuses can reduce the mechanical forces exerted on the components (in
series) from the source up to the fault point due to the peak short circuit current. They can,also,
reduce the thermal overloading due to the integration of the short circuit current over the period
of the fault existence. They may impose an overvoltage condition on the equipment connected
due to the current chopping effect (forcing current to zero befoe natural current zero).
70) What are the defining parameters of fuses?
The typical ratings for the fuse/fuse holder combination are: nominal voltage, maximum
voltage, BIL, continuous (load) current rating, speed and interrupting capacity (rating).
71) How are fuses used to protect pad mounted transformers?
Pad mounts can be classified into radial feed and loop feed. The pad mounted transformers will
have load or fault sensing (expulsion) type fuse that is accessible from outside the transformer to
remove and replace and in series with this fuse a current limiting backup fuse under the oil and
is inaccessible without denergizing the transformers and removing the transformer from the site
and probably breaking the welds of the cover, depending on the transformer design. The partial
range current limiting fuse operates without discharging flames, gases or any other by products
of expulsive nature. This series of fuses provides the current time characteristics of a co
ordinated full range fuse, C.L. fuse is selected to operate only on internal failures of the
transformer (permanent short circuit faults).
72) How are fuses used to protect vault installed transformers?
For vault mounted transformers, a series of current limiting and expulsion type with power fuse
or fuse link mounted on the pole or the wall of the vault are most probably used as primary
protection. For vault mounted and pad mounted, the primary connection is made through the
use of elbows (where the cables are connected) and inserts in the transformers connected to the
deep well (cavity) bushings; the secondary windings of the transformers are brought out through
L.V. bushings and spade terminals.
73) What are the main components of a c.l.f.?
The construction of C.L. fuses: fiber glass housing, it serves to hold the fuse components intact
and isolate the fuse internals from oil; silica filler, it absorbs the heat of the arc and helps
extinguishing the arc; the silver element (current limiting portion) it serves to clear the high
fault current; the spider made of mica or ceramic, to mount the silver element on; end caps,
made up of copper and the tin element (only for full range clearing general purpose fuse)which
supposedly clears low current (to provide the extended range over the C.L.). Thus, it has the T
speed expulsion link characteristics.
74) What is energy management?
Energy management can be applied to the generation, transmission & distribution side of the
electric network (utility side) as well as to the utilization side (user or consumer). The latter may
be termed demand side energy management. The main purpose of power system energy
management is to achieve the goal of generating, transmitting & distributing electric energy
efficiently & reliably.Its main functions are the supervision, the control and management of the
electrical network in an integrated manner. It includes SCADA (system supervisory control &
data acquisition) & DAC (distribution automation & control). Refer to level 1/lesson 2/questions
21 to 23 inclusive and question 80 below for more details.
75) What is demand side energy management?
The demand side energy management means the use of electric energy efficiently, thus
increasing the profitability of the user or power consumer i.e. paying the minimum possible for
the electrical power utilization. For industrials, the electric utility bill,usually, include a portion
to the maximum demand (an average over a period of lets say 15 minutes) in KW reached for
the billing period plus the energy consumption in KWH. To reduce the energy bill any of the
following can be done:
monitoring the demand so that in batch production line staggering loads to maintain the
demand in KW at a minimum possible level can save in the energy bill,
if the time of day or time of year is applied, then the process or equipment that utilizes high
demands or consumes a lot of energy can be scheduled for the time of lower rates,
usually the utility will penalize the user when poor power factor equipment are use, thus
improving shunt capacitors close to the loads with low p.f. can reduce the energy bills.
Coordination of capacitors design, rating & location can improve p.f. as well as reduce losses in
lines and raise power quality in a plant.
turnning off the loads (equipment & lights) that are not in use can make a difference in the
energy bill.
76) What are high efficiency motors?
High efficiency motors are built with better quality material (steel) to reduce losses & improve
efficiency. They are 3 to 8 % more efficient than the standards one. The lower the motor
horsepower the bigger the efficiency gap between the standard & the high efficiency one.
77) What are the office equipment commonly used & what are their approximate power
consumption?
Example for office equipment & their average consumption: desktop PC (130 W), monochrome
monitor (30 W), colour monitor (60 W), laptop PC (10 W), dot matrix printer (50 W while
printing & 25 while idle), laser printer (300 w while printing & 150 W while idle), inkjet printer
(10 W while printing & 3 while idle), photocopier (3001000 W), fascimile machine (100 W
while transmitting & 15 W while idle), modem (20 W) and electric typewriter (130 W).
78) What are the required data to compare the total cost of the different lighting options
or to calculate the payback period of the different installations?
A detailed cost spread sheet can help in comparing the cost of the available new installations or
to calculate the pay back period, the main elements of such sheet: total wattage/fixture, burning
hours/year, rated life in hours, ratio of burning hours to rated life in hours, number of lamps,
operating cost (annual energy cost, annual demand cost, labour cost for relamping) & fixed cost
(fixture cost including the lamp plus labour cost for installation).
79) What are the data required to be able to compare the required wattage for the
available alternative bulbs/fixture options ?
In order to compare the wattage required for different alternative fixtures/bulbs, the following
parameters are to be known: wattage/bulb, actual wattage/fixture, mean lumens/fixture, the
required lumens for the area where the fixtures/bulbs will be installed, the number of fixtures
required & the total wattage.
80) What are the main tasks of a SCADA system?
The main tasks that a SCADA system has to provide are: controlling the plant/system field
devices (obviously), alarm handling, limits changing, providing more than 1 operation mode,
data archiving provision, events logging and the production of report & trend charts (graphs).
81) What are GIS?
GIS is a computer tool that allows the user to position, analyze and verify objects & events of
geographic nature and produce an output in a geographic form (maps & tables). It is a software
that links information about where things are with information about what things are like. The
components that build the (digital) maps are distributed on different layers. The user enter
different geographic features on different layers (this characteristic is similar to CAD software
packages). When the user retrieves the map, to be displayed in front of him/her on the screen,
he/she decides which layers to be shown based on the information required. Thus certain layers
(information) can be suppressed if they are irrelevant to the task at hand. A digital map created
by GIS will have points (dots) that represent features on a map like cities, polygons (small areas)
that represent features such as lakes and arc (lines) that represent features like roads. The GIS
software can be considered a package made up of sub packages that can communicate and
understand each other. It can access data directly from other software packages like geographic
data & shapes, CAD drawings, databases, images or can import & export data from/to other
programs. These integrated characteristics provide the full functionality of a GIS which
includes: statistical analysis & research (similar to commonly used database software packages),
entering, storing, manipulation & analysis of data in geographic style (functionality for a
mapping or geographic information system) and displaying output results or producing of
documents for presentation purposes in tables and/or map forms. The output results are laid out
in geographic format that provides a much clearer and easy to understand presentation. These
features of the GIS distinguishes it from other information technology systems and makes it a
tool of great value to public as well as private users when it comes to presenting well explained,
informative documents, to providing the required results of an analysis and showing the
assumptions upon which the results are based, to forecasting the outcome based on the available
factors & variables or in preparing strategic plans. The preparation of maps and reports based
on geographic analysis are not new activities, but with the GIS the outcome is produced faster,
consistent & accurate. Before, only few persons had the knowledge and were able to access
these geographic data in order to make decisions or solve problems. Now, the GISs are taught in
secondary schools and post secondary institutes world wide. The industry is in the millions of
dollars and employs hundreds of thousands workers.
82) What are the components of a GIS?
There are 5 main components that build a GIS, they are: hardware, software, data, users &
methods.
83) How does a GIS work?
The system stores the geographic features (information) among different layers. Such features
will be displayed on the screen as geometric shapes, points, lines or areas. For example a layer
may have points that represent the cities in a region (or all the wells in an area), another layer of
lines may represent all the streets in an area ( or watercourse in a region), a layer of areas can
represent construction areas or similar use areas in a region. Each of the geographic features
will have its own set of attributes (characteristics of such feature) that are described by numbers,
characters, images and CAD drawings (typically stored in tabular format and linked to the
feature by a user defined identifier). For instance a well might include depth and gallons per
minute as its descriptive element. Each geographic feature will also have its exact geographic
position expressed as coordinates, eg. Cartesian planar (x,y), 3dimension (x,y,z), vector,
which is stored with its attributes. Though the system is built on simple idea but it is powerful &
versatile. It solves a lot of real life problems from setting the route of a delivery truck, to
deciding on the best way for emergency convoys to take, to storing all the important details of a
municipality or a city like the location of Police & Fire stations, hospitals, parks, overhead &
underground distribution systems, electrical service entrance points, meters locations, water
pipes routes, sewage & storm sewage paths & locations, telephone lines, electrical power
stations location & details, telephone end offices (local central offices), toll offices (tandem
offices) & intermediate switching offices, environmental data and weather patterns.
84) What are the tasks of a GIS?
The general objective of a GIS is to essentially fulfill the following 5 tasks: data entering &
saving, data manipulation, management of system, research & analysis on the data entered &
acquired and displaying & viewing the sought information.
3) What are the properties of insulating materials used in switchgear assemblies? What
are the insulating materials that are used in building such assemblies & how they are
formed?
An insulating material is a material that offers relatively high resistance to the passage of an
electric current. The material used for insulation in electrical apparatus and machines are
numerous and diverse: solid, liquid, gaseous organic or inorganic natural or man made
(synthetic). The characteristics of any insulating material used as barriers, supports or bushings
in gear construction are: track resistivity, high dielectric strength, low power factor (or
dissipation factor), flame retardant (per CSA C22.2 #31 or ANSI C37.20) and high mechanical
strength. The materials used in switchgear/control panels are polyestere, epoxies, ceramics. The
forming methods are casting, preform molding, premix,laminating and wrapped laminating.
4) What is the effect of an electric field on insulating materials?
As the case with a conductor a dielectric placed in an electrostatic field will be subjected to
electrostatic induction. In a conductor the free electrons move through the entire volume of the
material, in a dielectric the electric field will twist and strain the molecules to orient the positive
charges in the direction of the field and the negative charges in the opposite direction i.e.
polarization phenomena. The polarization of the dielectric vanishes as soon as the electric field
is removed. Polarization is an elastic shift of electric elements in the dielectric material, if the
electric field is too high the dielectric will breakdown and ceases to insulate. In a dielectric,
displacement (polarization) current and conduction current exist. This material can be modelled
or represented by a capacitor in series (or in parallel or a combination of both) with a resistor,
fig. 2.3. The 2 possible leakage paths in a dielectric material are through the body and over its
surface (creepage tracking). The total conducting current is the sum of the through and over
the surface currents. The resistivity of a dielectric varies with its state (solid, liquid, gas),
composition, humidity and ambient temperature. The other important property is the permitivity
of the dielectric dielectric constant or specific inductive capacity which is defined as the
capacitance of the cpacitor with its dielectric material (its insulator) to the capacitance of the
same capacitor with vacuum as insulator. When a dielectric is subjected to a changing electric
field some of the electric energy is transformed into heat and is lost. In a real dielectric the
phase angle is less than 90 deg. due to the conduction current, fig. 2.3. This angle, due to the
shift of the current vector relative to the voltage vector, is called the dielectric loss angle (phase
difference or phase deflect angle). Dielectric loss increases and the quality of the dielectric
decreases with increasing tan d (dissipation factor) where d is the loss angle. Schering bridge
(refer to lesson 1 question 43 for a sketch of Schering bridge) is used to measure the capacitance
and tan d of a device or equipment. Electric strength is the property of of an insulating material
which is a measure of it capability to withstand electric stress without injury. It is the minimum
electric stress in KV/cm that will cause failure (breakdown) of the dielectric under certain
conditions of service. Breakdown in solid dielectric is due to one of the following 2 main
reasons: high electric stress that causes destruction to the structure and the other due to thermal
effects that can lead to decomposition or melting/burning of the material. The dielectric strength
of liqud dielectrics (for example oil) depends, greatly, on the amount of moisture, gases and
impurities present. When overheating occurs the molecules are destroyed and failure of
dielectric is imminent.
5) What is vibration?
Vibration is an oscillating motion, periodic/transient in nature. Study of vibration rely on
dynamics (the field in mechanics that deals with bodies in motion and the forces causing such
motions).
6) What is kinetics?
Kinetics is the study relating between the motion of the bodies and the forces acting upon them.
7) What is kinematics?
Kinematics is the study of the geometry of motion, without reference to force or mass.
Kinematics is primarily concerned with displacement, velocity, acceleration and time.
8) How can vibration be classified?
Vibration can be classified in several ways. The first approach to categorize vibration is as
follows: free vibration occurs when an elastic system is displaced or given some initial velocity
from an impact, forced vibration occurs with the application of external force forced vibration
are periodic, aperiodic or random. Vibration can be classified by the number of degrees of
freedom (the number of independent coordinates needed to completely describe the motion).
For harmonic motion: the motion completed in any one period is called cycle the period is the
time necessary to complete one cycle of motion: f =1/T, T=(m/k).5; where m is the mass and k is
the stiffness for the represented spring mass model. The movement of the base or the foundation
may result in unwanted vibration of an elastic structure resting on the base. The maximum
response (displacement, velocity, acceleration) are quite usefull in seismic studies. It is
convenient to plot these maximum values (response spectra curves) as function of the natural
frequencies of a series of a single degree of freedom systems subjected to an acceleration time
history record.
Coordinates selection can affect the easiness by which a dynamics problem is solved.
Coordinates, generally, is defined as an independent quantity that will specify position.
9) How can switchgear assemblies be verified for installation in seismic (earthquake)
zones?
An earthquake may be described as the vibratory and often violent movement of the earth's
surface which is preceded by a release of energy in the earth's crust. Destructive earthquakes are
associated with sudden dislocation of the segment of the crust. A fault is a sign of relative crust
movement. The local depth of an earthquake is the distance between the earth's surface and the
region focus of the origin of the earthquake energy. The epicentre of the quake is the point on
the earth's surface directly above its focus. In general, seismic waves in equipment housed in a
building are different from those experienced by the ground or foundation. Each medium
responds in a different manner to the seismic waves due to its mass, stiffness & damping
characteristics. After modelling the system (as shown in fig. 2.4 below) a dynamic analysis is
performed and the computed acceleration of the floor, supporting the equipment, is the level
which the equipment will see. The verification methods of a switchgear or MCC as for whether
it is suitable for installation in an earthquake zone are either analytic or experimental. Seismic
analysis requires a knowledge of proper mathematical modelling of the equipment, its damping
characteristics and the use of a digital software package based on finite element analysis or
matrix techniques. The two most commonly applied techniques for dynamic analysis are the
timehistory analysis and the response spectrum one. With switchgear assemblies it is very
difficult to develop an adequate mathematical model due to the nonlinearity of the structure.
Thus testing is a more practical route when qualifying/certifying equipment for seismic
application. Valuable information can be collected from such tests damping, natural frequencies,
mode shapes and nonlinear behaviour. Seismic testing is performed through the use of shaker
tables. Input motion can be classified accordingly: timehistory input, broadband random
motion, narrow band random motion, continuous sine test, decaying sine test. The most
important consideration when designing gear for such an application is to avoid resonance. The
equipment resonance frequency should not coincide with the building one. The components
should not be resonating with the structure (or the cabinet). If possible the design of the
equipment is to yield above 2535 HZ fundamental resonant frequency. Tightening the
equipment nuts and bolts, welding the structure or stiffening the equipment support will greatly
influence the equipment resonant frequency and its dynamic response ch/cs.
10) How is the heat generated inside an enclosure due to the passage of normal load
current is transferred to the outside of the enclosure?
Whenever a temperature gradient exists within a system or when two systems at different
temperatures are brought into contact energy is transferred. The process by which the energy
transport takes place is known as heat transfer. All heat transfer processes involve the transfer
and conversion of energy. In the design of electric equipment (machines, switchgear,.. etc.),
transfer analysis must be made to avoid conditions which may cause overheating and damage to
the equipment and to assure temperature rise limits are within the applicable standards. To solve
heat transfer problems familiarity with the laws and physical mechanisms of heat flow, fluid
mechanics, physics and mathematics is necessary. There are three distinct modes of heat
transfer: conduction, radiation and convection. When the rate of heat flow in a system does not
vary with time i.e. it is constant, the temperature at any point does not change and steady state
conditions prevail. When the flow is transient (unsteady) the temperatures at various points in
the system change with time. Thus energy storage is part of the unsteady heat flow. A special
case when the temperature at a particular point in the system periodically varies, the rate of heat
flow and the rate of energy storage undergo periodic variations. The internal energy is the
energy possessed by an element of matter because of the velocity and relative position of the
molecules. The more rapidly the molecules are moving the greater will be the temperature.
Combined heat transfer mechanisms, heat is usually transferred in steps through a number of
different series connected sections, if the transfer is occuring through two mechanisms in one
section the heat transfer is considered taking place in parallel. For example, bus bars in medium
and low voltage switchgear installations experience different thermal conditions, when they are
exposed to the surrounding environment. Bus bars are sometimes insulated others are not and
are enclosed in bus ducts or compartments. The model, fig. 2.5, for such application can be
summerized as follows: heat is generated in the bars, transferred to the surrounding air by
convection and to the inner side of the enclosure by radiation then by convection from the air to
the inside surface of the enclosure than by convection and radiation from the outer surface of
enclosure to the surrounding atmosphere (ambient). The total rate of heat flow can be given by
q= T/(Rk+Rr+Rc); where an analogy between heat flow and current flow can be derived. The
thermal resistance is equivalent to the electric resistance (to the flow of current), q is equivalent
to the current (the rate of flow of electricity electric charges )and the temperature difference
analogous to the voltage difference. Thus one can conclude that enclosures for electrical
equipment should be designed in such a way as to allow for proper ventilation for the equipment
and components enclosed, consequently as heat is dissipated to the surrounding of the enclosure
the building accomodating the electrical equipment (apparatus) should have sufficient
ventilation to allow for the escape of the heat from the inside to the outside of the building. Heat
is generated in cubicles from bars carrying current, connections, circuit breakers, disconnects
(cluster fingers). Heat run tests are performed on switchgear assemblies and breakers as type
tests. The temperature rise at the different locations of the equipment under test (EUT) must be
within the limits as specified in the applicable standards.
11) What are the important features that distinguish metal clad from metal enclosed
construction?
Switchgear assemblies can be either metalclad or metalenclosed. For a gear to be considered
metal clad the following should be fulfilled: the main bus and connections should be insulated;
the breakers, the potential transformer (p.t.) & fuses should be of the drawout construction
complete with shutters; each of the main compartments in the cubicle should be steel barriered
and grounded; mechanical interlocks should be provided to ensure safety when racking in and
out the breaker.
12) What are the different types of switchgear cubicles?
There are a few distinct types of switchgear cubicles, fig. 2.6, which are: incoming (main)
cubicles, transformer feeders, bus tie (sectionalization), generator exciter control, generator
neutral cubicles, induction motor control cubicle, synchronous motor switching board and
potential transformer cubicles (used in conjunction with isolated phase bus in generating
stations).
13) What is the definition of a circuit breaker (c.b.)?
Most of the codes define a circuit breaker as a device designed to open and close a circuit
automatically at a predetermined overcurrent values (short circuit or overload) without injury to
itself when properly applied within its rating.
14) What are the main components & what is the function of each part, of a moulded case
circuit breaker (m.c.c.b.)?
A molded case circuit breaker comprises of: the molded case (frame), operating mechanism, arc
extinguishers, contacts, trip elements and the terminals (connectors: mechanical/compression
lugs or solid bar). The function of the molded case is to provide an insulated housing to
assemble and mount all of the circuit breaker components. The cases are molded from phenolic
material. It provides ruggedness and high dielectric strengh to the breaker in a compact design.
Maximum current, voltage and interrupting current determine the size and strength of the
molded case circuit breaker. Different manufacturers build breakers for the same rating with
different physical sizes i.e. noninterchangeable. The faceplate gives all the important data such
as: catalog number, serial number of breaker, interrupting ratings at different voltage classes,
standards registration numbers i.e. for the CSA or UL, calibration temperature for thermal
magnetic units, lugs data (size & type), electrical accessories & date of manufacturing. The
function of the operating mechanism is to provide a means of opening and closing the breaker.
It is of the quickmake/quickbreak mechanism. These breakers are also trip free i.e. if the
breaker operating handle is pushed and hold in the on (close) position and there is a fault on the
system (or the trip test button is pressed, if available) the breaker would trip open & stay open
until the close handle is released. There are three distinct positions for the handle to settle in the
ON, OFF & TRIP (which is midway between the ON and OFF positions). The breaker has to be
reset after tripping by pushing the handle all the way to the OFF position and than pushing it to
the ON position. The function of the arc extinguisher is to confine, divide and extinguish the arc
drawn between the breaker contacts (each time the breaker interrupts). The trip element
provides the protection in case of prolonged overloads or short circuits. It actuates the operating
mechanism and trip the breaker open. This element is made up of electromechanical or solid
state components. The electromechanical element is referred to as the thermal magnetic and it
includes the bimetallic element and the electromagnet. The current (load) flows through or
heats the bimetal. When a combination of high current level and a long duration exists which is
sufficient to deflect the bimetal far enough to physically push the trip bar and unlatch the
contacts, the breaker will trip open. There is no field adjustment available for the thermal
element. The magnetic trip action is achieved through the use of an electromagnet connected in
series with the load current. When the short circuit current passes through the coil this causes
the electromagnet to attract the armature (trip bar) and the unlatching action causes the breaker
to trip open. Magnetic trip is adjustable in 250A frame breaker and over. Two adjusting methods
are available one is the independent adjustment of each pole of the breaker thus three adjusting
knobs versus one knob to adjust all 3 poles simultaneously. Thermal magnetic trip elements are
temperature sensitive thus a modified unit to compensate for variations in ambient temperature
(with a modified design) can be applied under specific conditions. An ambient compensated
overload trip unit can be used whenever the breaker (protecting a cable or a down stream
device)is located in a different place with different ambient temperature than the protected
device or conductor; thus derating or uprating of breakers become unnecessary. Ambient
compensation is obtained by using an additional compensating bimetal which counteracts the
effect of ambient temperature changes on the overload bimetal. There are various methods of
connecting the line and load sides of a circuit breaker which are bus bars, panelboard straps,
rear connected studs, plugin adapters, terminals (cable lugs for single or multiconductors for
copper only or copper/aluminum ones). The tripping unit can be made up of solid state
components or microprocessor based elements. These components replace the bimetallic &
magnetic elements in a conventional molded case c.b. Internal current transformers in the
breaker are required to feed in the S.S. trip unit. Each frame size can accommodate a set of
rating plugs, these plugs set the rated continuous current of the breaker. Some types of rating
plugs are adjustable between 70100% or 50100% of the rated current of the plug itself. The
breaker characteristic curves are similar to the thermal magnetic trip curves except that the
different tripping actions are more clearly defined and can be adjusted. The distinct portions of
the characteristics (ch/cs) curve are the long time ampere rating & the long time delay
(simulates the thermal section of a thermal magnetic c.b.), the short time pickup & the short
time delay (I2t in or out), the instantaneous pickup (simulates the magnetic portion in a thermal
magnetic curve). These breakers can come with a builtin ground fault protection (for solid
effective grounded neutral only) with adjustment of ground fault pickup and time delay. The
time current ch/cs curves for current limiting type c.b. have basically the same shape as
conventional c.b. The only difference is the current limiting action displayed at higher fault
levels. A total interruption time of from 1/4 to 1/2 cycle is consistent with the current limiting
operation. The electromagnetic repulsion created by closely spaced parallel contact arms
carrying current in opposite directions intensified by an O shaped magnet surrounding the
contact arm cause the contacts to blow open in an extremely short period of time. Circuits
which produce high fault currents typically are associated with low short circuit power factors
(i.e. high X/R ratios). The high speed contact separation enhances the ability of the c.b. to limit
both the peak current and the let through energy into the connected load. The integral current
limiting breaker is similar to the standard thermal magnetic except that it incorporates a current
limiting device. This device consists of 3 current limiters specially designed to coordinate with
the breaker of which they are an integral part. All normal overloads and s.c. faults are
interrupted by the thermal magnetic portion of the c.b. When a large fault occurs the trigger
type current limiters will blow and operate the trip bar to open the breaker thus preventing
single phasing.
15) What is a moulded case switch?
The standard molded case switch, which is a more compact design than the conventional
disconnect switch, has no trip unit. It consists of the standard breaker contacts, bussing and lugs
for the highest ampere rating in each frame size and is manually operated only.
16) What are the different types of safety switches? What are the components of such
switches?
The safety switches can be single throw or double throw. All switches have visible blades and
safety handles (interlock bypass lever, cross bar and operating spring). There are two types of
switch contacts the butt and the knifeblade/jaw construction. In the former only one of the
blades contact surface is held in tension against the conducting path, electromagnetic forces due
to high current faults will tend to force the contacts apart therefore arcing and contact burning
may be the result. In the latter the jaws distribute a uniform clamping pressure on both sides of
the blade contact surfaces, the electromagnetic forces due to the high s.c. currents will tend to
squeeze the 2 sides of the jaw together onto the blade. The action of the blade moving in and out
of the jaws aids in cleaning the contact surfaces. The contacts are made of copper and the
current carrying parts of the switch are plated, to reduce heating. Fused switches will have fuse
clips/holders plated (either spring reinforced or not). The fuse classes found on these switches
are J, R, or L for 800A and over. The molded case switches and the safety switches are installed
in a variety of enclosures to meet practically all applications. The enclosures are designated
according to NEMA standards (1,3R,4,4X,5,...etc.) or CSA (1,2,3,..etc), all the enclosures have
to go through a set of qualifying tests before been given such a designation.
17) What are panelboards & how they are classified?
Panel boards are used to distribute electric power to different areas (or applications) within a
building or a plant. The branch breakers can feed lighting loads or power loads (motors,
heaters,...etc.). The major components of the breaker panelboards are the box which comes in
standard dimensions, the interior which holds the breakers and comes in standard current
carrying capacity & mounting spaces, the solid neutral which is a bare conducting bar with
lugs, the trim either flush or surface which covers the gutters and has the door that covers the
branch/main breakers, finally the breakers plug on or bolted type. For the fusible panels the
components are: the fusible switch unit, the interior assembly, the enclosure the box and the
front trim parts, the cover plates (blanks) and the neutral. These of boards can be classified,
broadly, into two categories: lighting and distribution/power. Another method of classification is
whether the board contains breakers, switches (fused or unfused) or a combination thereof. The
panelboards can also be classified according to the main, accepting the incoming cable, whether
it is a breaker a switch or just a set of lugs. The rating ranges, for single phase (three wire) or
three phase (three or four wire) lighting panels, from 120/240V to 600V 50A800A main
breaker or main lug. The rating range for single phase (two or three wire) or three phase (three
or four wire) power panels from 120/240V through 600V a.c or 250V d.c., main breaker or
switch or lugs, up to 1200A.
18) What is meant by the rating of a c.b.?
In general, the rating of a circuit breaker is the limit of the range of operating characteristics
under well defined conditions, this can include, where applicable: rated maximum voltage, rated
voltage range factor K, rated frequency, rated continuous current, rated dielectric strength (dry
and wet, where applicable, low frequency withstand voltage, dry impulse withstand voltage, dry
chopped wave impulse withstand voltage & dry/wet switching impulse withstand voltage, rated
standard duty cycle, rated interrupting time, rated permissible tripping delay, rated reclosing
time, rated SCC, rated transient recovery voltage, load current switching vs. life of device, rated
capacitance current switching, rated line closing switching surge factor, rated out of phase
switching current, rated shunt reactor current switching, rated excitation current switching, rated
control voltage, rated fluid operating pressure (if hydraulic/pneumatic control). The rated
maximum voltage for the different breaker voltage classes in KV: 4.76, 8.25, 15, 25.8, 38 with
rated continuous current at 60HZ in A rms: from 600 to 3000 with rated SCC (at rated
maximum KV) in KA rms (nominal voltage): 9.130 (4.16KV), 35(7.2KV), 19.338(13.8KV),
25(24.6KV), 20(34.5KV). The rated insulation levels, which withstand low frequency and
impulse in KV rms and crest, respectively, are: 19 & 60, 26 & 75, 36 & 95 and 70 & 150. The K
factor can vary from 1 to 2. The short time ratings (3 seconds) in KA rms are: 44, 25, 37.5 and
31.5. The close and latch rating in KA rms are: 70, 40 and 60. The rated current of a circuit
breaker is the maximum value of current in amperes rms which the breaker will carry
continuously, without having the temperature of various parts of the breaker as set by the
standards being exceeded. Applications at frequencies, other than the design frequency need
special consideration and sometimes deration of the breaker capabilities. The close and latch is
the ability of the breaker to close and to be maintained closed under faulty conditions i.e. to
close against the electromagnetic forces, which is proportional to the square of the phase current
(maximum instantaneous value). It is known that in a particular phase, the current is maximum
right at the instant the short circuit takes place, after which the current decreases gradually. The
current in the first one or two cycles is known as the subtransient current, the next 810 cycles
is known as the transient and finally the steady state. The breaking current of the breaker
depends upon the instant on the current wave when the contacts begin to open (tripping delay
and opening time). In general, the interrupting time (opening time and arcing time), for AC MV
CB's, ranges from 5 to 8 cycles. The breaking capacity of a CB is the product of the breaking
current and the recovery volt.
19) What does asymmetrical current mean?
When SC occurs, the current increases due to the fact of an establishment of a new circuit with
lower impedance. For a symmetrical SCC to be produced under the SC PF of zero, the fault has
to occur exactly when the normal voltage is maximum. The total SCC is the sum of all sources
connected to the circuit. The symmetrical current is essentially at a maximum and decreases
(decrements), until a steadystate value is reached. Most SCC's are not symmetrical, but are
offset from the normal current axis for several cycles. If the SC (fault) occurs at point zero on
the voltage wave and the PF is zero (fault impedance is purely inductive), the current starts to
build up from zero, but cannot follow a normal current axis because the current must lag behind
the voltage by 90°. The current is asymmetrical with respect to the original axis. The actual
value of the DC component (which causes the offset or asymmetry), would depend on the time
at which the SC occurs in the voltage wave and is quantitatively equal and opposite to the value
of the steady state symmetrical current wave at time of zero. When the DC current assumes a
value equal to the peak value of the symmetrical current, the wave is considered fully offset,
(maximum asymmetry). The maximum asymmetrical peak does not generally occur during
conditions of maximum asymmetry, it occurs at a fault angle of zero. The fault angle for
maximum asymmetry ranges from 0° to 90°.
20) What is meant by restriking voltage & what is meant by recovery voltage?
The definition for restriking voltage is the resultant transient voltage which appears across the
breaker contacts at the instant of arc extinction. The rate of rise of restriking voltage is the peak
value of restriking voltage divided by the time taken to reach the peak value. The recovery
voltage is the power frequency (R.M.S. voltage) that appears across the breaker contacts, after
the transient oscillation dies out and final extinction of arc has resulted in all poles.
21) What is the classification of the tests conducted on medium voltage circuit breakers &
what is th purpose of each category?
Tests performed on circuit breakers can be divided into five categories, according to the
following: Design Tests, Production Tests, Tests after Delivery, Field Tests & Conformance
Tests. The purpose of the design (type) tests, is to confirm the adequacy of the design of a
particular type of CB to operate satisfactorily under practical conditions. It is intended to work
under (examples of tests): rated maximum voltage, rated voltage factor, rated frequency, rated
transient recovery voltage, rated interrupting time, rated permissible tripping delay, rated re
closing time, load current switching, rated capacitor switching current, rated line closing surge
factor, outofphase switching current tests, shunt reactors, rated excitation current switching,
rated control voltage current. Also, rated continuous current carrying capacity (thermal
testing): these tests demonstrate that the c.b. can carry its rated continous current at its rated
frequency without exceeding the temperature limits as set by the appropriate standards. Also,
rated dielectric strength tests are conducted on the circuit breaker as type tests: it is
demonstrated by subjecting the breaker to high potentials both at normal power frequency and
high frequency (impulse). The dielectric strength depends upon clearances, bushing material,
workmanship and material quality. Generally, the dielectric test at power frequency is performed
by applying an a.c. (sine wave voltage)with a crest value of 1.414 times the rated low frequency
withstand voltage. This voltage is applied for 60 seconds to different poimts on the assembly or
breaker. For example it is applied to each terminal individually with all other terminals
connected together and to ground, this is done while the breaker is opened. With the breaker
contacts closed, the test voltage is applied to each phase and the other phases are grounded to
the c.b. frame. The breaker is considered to have passed the test if there is no puncture or
flashover of the dielectric material. This is a dry test for indoor installations. Outdoor circuit
breakers have to go through a wet dielectric test. The applicable standards (ANSI C37.09 &IEC
56) give the voltage levels and durations (eg. 60KV for 10 sec.). Indoor circuit breakers are also
subjected to rated full wave impulse withstand voltage. Both positive and negative impulse
voltages have a crest value equal to the rated full wave impulse withstand voltage of the c.b.
This value is function of the rated voltage of the c.b., the wave shape is 1.2x50 microsecond. If
no damage or flashover is observed the breaker is considered to have passed the test. Chopped
wave tests are performed on outdoor c.b. if the breaker voltage rating exceeds a certain level
(eg.15.5KV). If the withstandability of the breaker is to be verified for switching, switching
impulse tests are performed. They are simillar to the full wave tests but with a different wave
shape (eg.250/2500 microsecond). Short circuit rating test are also conducted on circuit
breakers as type tests. The S.C. rating of a c.b. is proven by an extensive series of tests. To
demonstrate the capability of the c.b. to interrupt the maximum specified current without injury
to itself (when applied to grounded and ungrounded systems). The c.b. has to interrupt the rated
symmetrical current in the presence of abnormal recovery voltage (it is defined in the
appropriate standards). The general acceptable conditions of the breaker after successful testing
are: the mechanical parts and insulators are to be in the same condition as before the test duty, it
is capable of making and breaking its rated normal (full load) current at the rated voltage and
shields fitted for bushings or arc control should be intact. Production tests will be conducted on
each assembled unit to check for good workmanship and no errors in parts used. They will
include, where applicable: nameplate checks, resistors, heaters and coil checks, control and
secondary wiring checks, clearance and mechanical adjustment checks, mechanical operations,
stored energy system tests, electrical resistance of current path, timing tests, low frequency
withstand voltage tests on major insulation components and control/secondary wiring. Tests
after delivery are performed to assure that no damage has been inflicted on the breakers during
shipment. Field tests are divided into commissioning & startup to ensure that the breaker is in
good condition and is suitable for energization & for routine maintenance that is conducted on
the breaker at specific intervals during its life time. Conformance tests are certain type tests that
are performed on certain breakers in a group of breakers as agreed upon by the purchaser & the
manufacturer to reproove conformance of the design with the applicable standards.
22) What are the main components of an oil c.b & how does it interrupt the arc?
They are simple in construction. The major parts of a minimum oil c.b. excluding the poles are
the base frame,the drive which is constructed as a stored energy opening and closing
mechanism (the operating mechanism). The opening spring of the stored energy mechanism is
charged automatically during the closing action. The closing spring is charged either by means
of an electric motor (is built into the drive housing) or by means of a removable crank. The pole
constitute of insulating cylinder, arc chamber, fixed, guiding and moving contacts. It also has
the gas expansion chamber, terminals, oil sump, oil draining and oil filling plugs and the oil
level indicator.
Arc Interruption in Oil: on separation of the moving contact from the fixed contact in the arc
chamber, the current continues to flow through the vaporizing metallic current paths. The high
temperature occurring under such conditions, decomposes the oil (which boils at 658°K), in the
immediate vicinity and a gas bubble is formed (under high pressure). It consists of (from outside
inward): wet oil vapour, superheated oil vapour, hydrocarbons (C2H2 at around 4000°K), the
arc (approximate temperature 7000°K) as shown in fig. 2.7. As can be seen, the arc runs in a
mixture of hydrogen (in both molecular and atomic states), carbon and copper vapour. The
thermal conductivity is high due to the dissociation of hydrogen molecules into atoms. The
thermal energy generated in the arc is primarily dissipated outward through the surrounding gas
envelope to the oil. Also, the gas in the arc chamber escapes to the gas expansion chamber, so
that a type of heat dissipation by convection is created, thus the rate at which heat is dissipating
is increasing. Near current zero, the thermal power generated by the current (in the arc)
approaches zero. If the heat dissipation outwards is sufficiently large, the temperature in the arc
zone can be reduced in such a manner that the arc would lose conductivity and extinguish. An
arc in hydrogen has a short thermal time constant, so that the conditions are favourable for
quenching. There are two other situations that may occur under certain conditions: thermal
Restriking of Arc, reignition. Thermal restriking is when the postarc current rises again and
passes into the next half cycle of SCC, as the arc plasma heats up due to the insufficiency of
heat dissipation to make conductance of the arc zone equal to zero. Reignition happens when
therestriking voltage of the system causes a renewed formation of the arc, (after completion of
the first interruption) and continuation of flow of current. The arcing chamber designs are either
of the axial or radial venting type. Often, a combination of both are used in the design of
minimum oil, MV CB's. The axial venting process generates high gas pressures and has high
dielectric strength. This is used mainly for interruption of low currents. The radial venting is
used for high current interruptions, as the gas pressures developed are low and the dielectric
strength is low. The higher the current to be interrupted, the larger the gas pressure developed.
23) What are the major components of an air circuit breaker & how does the arc get
interrupted in air?
The basic characteristics for air magnetic circuit breakers are maximum rationalization and
constructional simplicity. The major components of such breakers are: the poles, the arc chutes,
the base frame, the operating mechanism, The operating mechanism construction and parts are
similar to that of the minimum oil CB. The poles include: the fixed and moving arcing contacts,
the fixed and moving main contacts, epoxy resin bushings, moving isolating contacts (main
disconnects), pneumatic blow nozzles, the connections to the coils arc chute. The arc chutes
contain: the blowout coils, the arc splitter plates, the arc runners, supporting insulating plates &
the magnet pole pieces.
The arc interruption in oil is due to the generation of hydrogen gas because of the
decomposition of oil. Arc interruption properties of hydrogen are far superior to air, but air has
several advantages which are: fire risk and maintenance difficulties associated with oil CB's are
eliminated, arcing products in air are generally removed, whereas oil deteriorates with
successive breaking operations, (e.g. formation of carbon) & heavy mechanical stresses set up
by gas pressure and oil movement are absent. The arc in the air CB runs in a mixture of
nitrogen, oxygen and copper vapour. When the current is greater than 100A, these gases get
dissociated into atoms, which changes the characteristics of the arc, on account of the associated
change in its thermal conductivity. The outcome of this is the fact that the discharge suddenly
contracts and acquires an appreciably higher core temperature. The oxygen gas may remain
dissociated, even when the current is in the order of 1 amp. The arc is extinguished by
lengthening and increasing the voltage gradient. The arc discharge is moved upward by both
thermal and electromagnetic (the blowout coils) effects. The arc is then driven into a chute
consisting of splitters. The splitters increase the length of the arc even further, the interspaces
between the splitters give improved cooling. Near current zero, the relative high resistance is
obtained and the arc quenches.
24) What are the main components of a vacuum c.b & how does the arc get extinguished in
vacuum?
The most significant characteristics for vacuum circuit breakers are: reduced overall dimensions
and weight, long electrical life & low energy requirement for operation. In a vacuum system,
pressure is maintained below atmospheric pressure. Pressure is measured in terms of mm of Hg
(mercury). One mm of Hg is also known as one torr. The standard atmospheric pressure at 0° is
760 mm of mercury. It is now possible to obtain pressures as low as 108 torr. In a vacuum, the
current growth cannot take place prior to breakdown due to formation of electron avalanches.
However, if it could be possible to liberate gas in the vacuum by some means, the discharge can
take place. In the vacuum arc the neutral atoms, ions and electrons do not come from the
medium in which the arc is drawn, rather, they are obtained from the electrodes themselves
through the evaporation of their surfaces. The major parts of Vacuum CB's are: the bottle
supports, the bottles, as shown in fig. 2.8 below, which include: the fixed contact with fixed
stem, the moving contact with moving stem, the bellows, the metallic arcing chamber at 108
torr of vacuum, the insulators, the mechanical coupling to the operating mechanism, the
operating rod, the contact force spring, the operating crank and operating lever, operating
mechanism (in its mechanism housing) which includes: the electric spring charging motor, the
breaker shaft, the closing spring, the opening spring, ratchet gear, tensioning shaft, coupling rod
and any other auxiliaries required like shunt trip, close release, auxiliary switches, etc.
The arc in the vacuum is a metal vapour arc. As the current carrying contacts are separated,
cathode spots are formed. For low current (below 10 kA), a highly mobile cathode spot (evenly
distributed over the contact surface) is formed and for larger currents, a multiple number of
cathode spots (the constricted form of the arc) are formed. These spots constitute the main
source of vapour in the arc. In case of constricted arcs, there is the danger of local overheating at
the arc roots, which can lead to restrikes. The contacts, therefore, have a hollow cylindrical
shape with slits in the body of the contact to divert the current flow away from the axial
direction that it would otherwise take. This generates a magnetic force that drives the arc along
the circular contact end faces. In this case, the energy released in the arc root is distributed over
the whole contact face. Local overheating is thus avoided. The drawing of the arc will be caused
by the high electric field between the contacts or by the resistive heating produced at the point
of application, or both. The material of the contacts can be copperbismuth alloy, silverbismuth
or chromecopper alloy. The emission of electrons from the electrodes can be the result of any
combination of the following: field emission, thermionic emission, secondary emission by
positive ion bombardment, pinch effect. The high vacuum inside the vacuum interrupter has to
be maintained throughout its life. The choice of a suitable contact material is of great
importance because each time an arc is switched in vacuum, material is evaporated from the
contacts and bound gas is set free. The metal vapour condenses in the form of pure metal onto
the contacts and the vapour shields, where it acts as a getter for certain gases. If the getter action
exceeds the rate at which the gas is freed, vacuum in the interrupter will be improved. The
stability of the arc in the vacuum depends upon the contact material and its vapour pressure (the
higher the vapour pressure at low temperature, the better the stability of the arc) and upon the
circuit/load parameters, such as voltage, current, inductance and capacitance. It is known that
current chopping in air and oil circuit breakers occurs because of instability in the arc column,
whereas in the case of vacuum breakers, current chopping is a function of the vapour pressure
and the electron emission properties of the contact material. When the arc interruption is over,
the space between the electrodes is filled with vapour and plasma. The process by which this
residue decays and by which the vacuum gap regains its dielectric strength, is known as the
recovery phenomena. At current zero, the cathode spot extinguishes within 108 seconds and
after this the original dielectric strength is established quickly. Certain loads and switching
conditions can cause overvoltages and force the use of either surge limiters (limit the magnitude
of the overvoltage) or surge capacitors (reduce the rate of rise, lower the surge impedance and
may reduce the transient recovery voltage frequency).
25) What is meant by current chopping, multiple reignition & virtual chopping?
Current Chopping: is the sudden reduction of current to zero prior to a natural current zero. It is
caused by arc instability, high frequency current oscillations and by the interrupter re
establishing dielectric strength, too quickly. This latter problem was overcome through the use
of suitable contact material.
Multiple Reignition: may occur under certain combinations of capacitance and inductance, on
both the load and line sides of the breaker. This may cause transient frequencies and consequent
overvoltages. Multiple reignition and its resultant overvoltages take place in the following
circumstances: initially the CB interrupts the current in the first zero after separation of
contacts, transient recovery voltage must rise at a rate faster than the reestablishment of
dielectric strength in the contact gap, so that the reignition will occur (the gap starts to conduct
again) & the CB must be in a position to interrupt the high frequency oscillatory current, which
flows through the contact gap after the first reignition.
Virtual Chopping: occurs in three phase systems and is the result of the reignition of one of the
poles, which has previously interrupted. The reignition in one pole, causes high frequency
current to flow (induced) in the other two phases. If the breaker extinguishes the arc at the
artificial zero (high frequency current) and the magnitude of the power frequency current is at
the full load value, virtual chopping is produced and overvoltages that are produced on the
system, which are higher than those of current chopping and multiple reignition.
26) What are the different types of SF6 circuit breakers, what are the main components of
an SF6 c.b. & how does the c.b. interrupt the arc?
The different types are: The Puffer Interrupter, he Magnetic Interrupter & the SelfBlast
Interrupter. The puffer type of interrupter uses a piston to compress SF6 gas through a nozzle
arranged in such a manner as to exchange, at a high rate, the dielectric medium in the region of
the arc. As the ionized gas has the ability to capture free electrons, has high thermal
conductivity and has high insulating qualities, the ionized gas can quickly regain its insulating
characteristics near current zero. In the magnetic type of interrupter, the arc plasma is moved by
magnetic forces into a new region of fresh SF6, (rather than moving the SF6 into the arc plasma
region). The higher the current being interrupted, the higher the force of the magnetic field. The
interrupting characteristics depend on the rate at which the arc plasma encounters fresh SF6.
This is a function of the current being interrupted. The selfblast type of interrupter uses the arc
energy to heat the gas and increase its pressure. The gas is then allowed to expand. With this
expansion, the arc extinguishing process takes place in a manner quite similar to that of the
puffer interrupter.
The main components of an SF6 CB's are: the supports, the interrupters (poles), which consist
of cylindrical insulating envelopes, moving and fixed arcing and main contacts, sliding contacts,
upper and lower terminals, blow nozzles, operating and insulating connection shafts, activated
alumina filter, pressure switches and charging valve/plug, the operating mechanism which
includes: the enclosure, the charging motor, the closing and opening springs, closing cam and
latch, the tripping latch, any auxiliaries like auxiliary switches, operating push buttons,
operation counters and breaker contact indicators.
The SF6 gas is colourless, odourless and nontoxic. SF6 is an electronegative gas,which means
that it has a high affinity for electrons. Whenever the electron collides with the neutral gas
molecule, it is absorbed to form a negative ion, the movement of which is much slower than the
free electron. It also has excellent dielectric properties, arc quenching capability and good
thermal/chemical characteristics. The dielectric strength is attributed to the large collision cross
section of its molecules and the many elastic collision mechanisms which allow an efficient
slowing down of free electrons. The gas not only possesses a good dielectric strength, but it also
has the unique property of fast recombination, after the source energizing the spark is removed.
SF6 is considered very effective in the arc quenching process. Considering the chemical
characteristics, we note first the manner in which SF6 decomposes, with increasing temperature
and then recombines as the temperature decreases. The construction of the SF6 molecule is a
sulphur atom at the centre, electrons are shared with six fluorine atoms, symmetrically
arranged. This structure, with its chemical bonds saturated, is chemically inert and highly stable.
As the temperature increases, SF6 molecules first dissociate into sulphur and fluorine atoms.
This occurs at around 2100K. As the temperature is further elevated,the sulphur gradually
ionizes into positive sulphur ions, giving up electrons. These electrons are capturedby the
fluorine atoms producing negative fluorine atoms (which are heavier than electrons).As the
temperature is increased to 4000K, the energy level is high enough to cause stripping of extra
electrons bonded to the fluorine atoms and the medium becomes more conductive. At about
6000K, the medium develops into a conductor by virtue of the abundance of free electrons,
stripped from both the sulphur and fluorine atoms. Now, as the temperature in the arc core
decreases along with the current, the population of free electrons decreases. At above 6000K the
decrease is slow, below 6000K the fluorine atoms begin to capture the free electrons. At 3000K,
nearly all of the free electrons are captured by the fluorine atoms producing negative fluorine
ions. As the fluorine ions are much slower than the electrons, the current is reduced in
proportion to the reduction in speed, when the electrons are captured. As all electrons are
captured, the current is reduced to zero. SF6 gas becomes thermally hyperconductive at around
2100K, when molecular dissociation takes place. In any gas, when there is an arc, the majority
of the current is carried in a welldefined arc core. Gases within the arc core are more
dissociated, providing the source of electrons that carry the current. As the current increases,
the temperature of the core increases within significantly lower plateaus of temperatures on
either side of the arc core. With SF6, the arc is concentrated into a smaller region and the
majority of the medium acts as a heat sink. As the temperature of the arc core falls with the
decrease in current, the SF6 ceases to conduct current. The fact that the arc core is well defined,
with the majority of the medium in a state of hyperconductivity, the energy evacuation from the
arc core is very efficient. The thermal energy within the arc core is quickly transferred to the
hyperconductive medium and to the surrounding heat sink region.
27) What are contactors & what are the major elements of a contactor?
A contactor is a 2state device for repeatedly establishing & interrupting an electric power
circuit (refer to fig. 2.9 below) .
The basic components of a contactor are: contact system, arc extinction devices, mechanical
linkages between the contacts & the drive unit, the drive unit, the conductor connections & the
frame. The electromagnet (for electromagnetic contactors) consists of, basically, a coil of wire
placed on an iron core. The armature is mechanically connected to the contacts. When a
contactor's armature is sealedin, it means that it is held closely against the magnet yoke. When
the coil is deenergized, thanks to the small air gap in the iron circuit, the armature drops out
(opening the contacts).
28) What is a manual starter & what is an electromagnetic one?
A manual starter consists primarily of a set of manually operated contacts & a motor overload
sensing device (melting alloy, bimetallic or electronic type). Electromagnetically operated ones
are basically manual ones plus a solenoid for closing the power contacts. The magnet frame &
armature assembly of the low voltage contactors are 1 of the following: clapper, vertical action
or bell crank, fig. 2.10 shows a couple of these 3 different designs.
29) What are the different methods of starting a squirrel cage induction motor (SCIM)?
They are: across the line (full voltage starting that provides the highest starting torque as well as
the highest starting current & accelerates the load to full speed in the shortest possible time),
autotransformer, primary resistor, wyedelta starting & part winding. The second to the fifth
methods, inclusive are termed reduced voltage motor starting methods (fig. 2.11). The selection
of the reduced voltage method involves a coordination between the required starting torque &
allowable starting current (this current overloads the circuit & may reduce the voltage causing a
sag to other loads in the power distribution system). Certain starting methods necessitate that
the motors would be built in certain ways. The starting torque varies with the square of the
starting current (when reduced voltage methods applying less than full line voltage to the
motor during starting are used, the starting current & torque will be lower).
30) What is a combination motor controller?
The combination motor controller consists of an externally operable circuit disconnecting means
(a switch in series with Form II fuse for short circuit protection only or a circuit breaker with
magnetic element protection only) in series with a magnetic motor controller (contactor plus
overload or a relay that matches the motor heating curve), refer to fig. 2.12 below.
31) From where the power source to the control circuit can come from?
The power source of the control circuit can be classified into: common control, separate control
or control circuit transformer. It can come directly from the power feeding the terminals of the
motor, from an external source (d.c. battery or a.c. station service transformer) or from a step
down control potential transformer connected to the supply line of the motor, refer to fig. 2.13.
32) What are the major tests conducted on contactors?
Contactors have to undergo certain tests to be qualified or applroved by the bodies having
jurisdiction like UL, CSA, IEC. The principle tests are: spacings between live parts & ground,
temperature rise of coils, contacts & terminals, operating voltage range, overload capability,
mechanical/electrical endurance & dielectric strength tests.
33) What are the different types of medium voltage contactors?
For decades, high voltage motors were switched exclusively by airbreak contactors. The design
for airbreak contactors has to allow for the large contact gap required (approximately 1.5 ") &
for the arc chutes (as the arc has to be drawn & forced into thechutes to get elongated, cooled,
having its resistance increased & extinguished). The arc is generaaly maitained for several 1/2
cycles, it restrikes after a current zero because the dielectric strength of the break (gap) recovers
relatively slowly. As the arc is driven into the chute, its voltage rises sharply & the current
amplitude decreases. At the instant of arc extinction, the phase angle between the current &
voltage becomes zero and the voltage stressing the break becomes less severe. The second type
of interrupting media is the vacuum. With vacuum contactors (shown in fig. 2.14), the arc is
confined to the contact gap (which is only a few millimeters) as the vacuum has a dielectric
strength of 30 KV/mm. Arcs in vacuum can be classified into diffused (for currents less than 10
KA ) & constricted (for higher currents). Overheating (one of the side effects of constricted
arcs) can lead to restrikes.
34) Beside the contactor & fuse, what are the other major components used to build the
m.v. controller?
They are: operating coils, control transformers, auxiliary switches, metering & protective low
voltage devices, activating levers & springs.
35) What are control panels?
Control panels can be built in different constructions depending on the environment and may
include any or all of the following devices: contactors, breakers, switches, relays, pushbuttons,
selector switches, meters, pilot lights (filament or LED). These panels incorporate the logic
(decision making), input & output devices.
36) What are the major components of low voltage motor control centers?
They come in various configurations. Their main purpose is to control & provide protection to
motors & connecting cables. The basic construction (fig. 2.15) consists of an enclosure 90"
heigh with widths & depths varying to accommodate the different components & devices
packed into the enclosure. Such enclosures have: the 3phase horizontal main bus, the risers, the
barriers, the main incoming compartment (that would accommodate the lugs, the main switch
or the main breaker), the different compartments, backplates & front compartment doors. The
number of compartments per cubicle varies with the size if starters installed, the maximum is 6
or 7 (function of th design) & the minimum is 1. Motor control centers (MCCs) can be built
back to back. The starters include in the MCCs may be wired according to any of the following
standard designations: EEMAC class I type A (no terminal blocks), class I type B (control
wiring are brought to terminals in the starters unit), class I type C (no starter interwiring with
control & load wiring are brought out to terminals at top or bottom of each section cubicle or
to a master control section), class II type B (the control wires from each starter are brought to
terminals in each unit with interlocking & interwiring between lineup units connected) and
class II type C (all wiring is brought to a master terminals section as class I type C with
interlocking & starters interwiring connected).
Lesson 4: Maintenance.
1) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for an air c.b.?
2) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for an oil c.b.?
3) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for a SF6 c.b.?
4) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for a vacuum c.b.?
5) What would a switchgear maintenance program include?
6) What would a pole mounted switch maintenance program include?
7) What are the maintenance tasks performed on an insulator?
8) What is meant by distribution line inspection?
9) What would be included in the cables maintenance program?
10) What would be included in the conductors maintenance program?
1) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for an air c.b.?
The breaker, if it is to bestored before installation, has to be kept in a dry environment, free from
condensation and protected against dust, corrosives and chemical agents. When in operation, the
switchgear including the breakers should be installed in such a way that the environment is free
from dust and moisture. The frequency of inspection is related to these two conditions and other
operating conditions (given later). Heaters can be connected to the thermostat or humidistat to
operate under certain temperatures or humidity levels to maintain a suitable temperature or
humidity level (for example,30° and 50% or less). When a considerable layer of dust forms on
the insulating surfaces, it modifies their dielectric characteristics substantially and with time,
lowers the insulating levels in a dangerous way. Frequent inspection and checking, therefore, are
recommended under the following conditions: moisture and condensation, corrosive
atmosphere, dusty, unclean environment, heavy and frequent duty cycle, frequent outages due to
faults. Also in determining how frequently one should carry out inspections, the following
conditions are: the values of interrupted currents and power factor of the system, how long the
equipment has been in service, the history of previous inspection and maintenance programs.
Should the breaker need to be moved around, this should take place with the arc chutes removed
(before the arc chutesare installed). The arc chutes have to be installed and fastened to the
breaker as close as possible to the point of installation (application), into the switchgear
assembly. All inservice checks are to be carried out with the breaker open and the closing
springs released. Usually, during the normal duty, very little maintenance is required. The parts
of an air CB's pole that should undergo periodical inspection are: the insulating materials (arc
chutes, arc chute supports, end blocks and insulating diaphragms), fixed and moving arcing
contacts, fixed and moving main contacts. Each breaker manufacturer supplies an
installation/maintenance manual, which should be referred to before performing any
maintenance operation or establishing a maintenance program. The manual gives such details
as: intervals between periodic inspection, under regular or special operating or environmental
conditions, lubrication requirements (for pins, bearings, etc.) and properties of such grease or
oil, the type of grease (silicone or vaseline base) that has been applied to the contacts' faces,
lists of spare parts that should be kept in stock, testing for closing and opening time of the
breaker when a specific control voltage is applied (ie., 125VDC), the millivolt test parameters,
that measure the resistance of the contact (the results of which may dictate a closer look at the
contactcondition and whether fine filing, cleaning, adjustment and relubricating are required).
For the operating mechanism, visual inspection of closing springs, shafts, supports, tripping
springs, etc., is advisable, as well as visible inspection of the lubrication points, according to the
manufacturers recommendations and at the suggested intervals. Checking handle pins, bolts,
fixing screws and so on, for proper torquing and fixing is an important step in the inspection
procedure. A final word about maintaining air CB's in which the breakers remain closed for a
long time is, it is very important to exercise the breakers once in a while, to prevent any
reduction of closing and tripping capabilities. Carefully clean the insulation to remove any dust
or foreign materials. Cleaning and lubricating the operating mechanism and the connecting rods
twice a year may ensure more efficient service. Check the conditions of the main and arcing
contacts, the ceramic plates and arc runners inside the arc chute, whenever the breaker
interrupts a high short circuit (fault) current, before reinstalling the breaker in the cubicle and
re energizing.
2) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for an oil c.b.?
General Checks and Maintenance: We shall start with preliminary operations conducted on a
breaker that has been stored for a period of time before being put into service: clean the external
metal parts with a clean piece of cloth, clean the insulating parts using a clean dry cloth, If the
poles were filled with oil for the purpose of protection, drain it out, wash the poles following the
manufacturers' instructions and fill with the recommended oil grade, (if the oil has been
previously used, a filtering and drying process should be performed prior to filling the poles).
The filling process should take place while the breaker is opened and up to the mark on the oil
level indicator, check both the upper and lower terminals for cleanliness and make sure they are
free from deformations that could have been incurred from shocks, carry out some hand closing
and opening operations to make sure that the operating mechanism works satisfactorily. These
points are general in nature. For specific makes of breakers, refer to the instruction manual.
With oil CB's, during normal service conditions, it is preferable to have the oil level checked
periodically. Under frequent operations when short circuit currents are interrupted, the breaker
fixed contacts should be inspected for pitting (where filing of surfaces may be needed, but
without changing the original shape of the contact). If the contacts appear to be worn out,
replacement is necessary. Checking the condition of the contacts is performed while the breaker
is out of service and located on a work bench. The poles could be left filled with oil. To access
the fixed contact, loosening and unscrewing certain components of the pole, make it possible to
slip out the terminals and fixed contact for inspection. If the main contacts are considerably
worn out, it would be necessary to check the moving contacts, drain the oil from the pole (by
removing the drain plug), and then following the steps recommended by the manufacturer,
loosen and unscrew certain pole components and get access to the moving contacts. Depending
on their condition, the moving contacts could be worked on or replaced. Once the pole is
assembled, but before it is filled with oil, it is recommended to wash the pole with fresh oil
three or four times (until the difference in colour between the oil going out and the one going in
is almost nil). Tighten the drain plug and fill the pole with the right grade of oil to the right
mark, to make the pole ready for reapplication. For the operating mechanism, the same steps
and discussion used with air CB's can be applied here.
3) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for a SF6 c.b.?
As for air and oil CB's, the SF6 breaker needs storage conditions that are dry, clean and
uncontaminated. To pull a breaker out from storage and install it in the switchgear cubicle, the
procedure is generally as follows: the breaker should be open and the springs discharged, the CB
poles, main disconnects and electrical connections should be inspected, all insulating parts
should be checked for damage, any dust or dirt should be wiped off with a clean, lintfree cloth,
saturated with oilfree solvent. For the installation in the board, use the stepbystep instructions
given in the CB'smanual. With these types of breakers, highly reliable service can be expected
with the minimum required maintenance. These CB's are provided with a spring charging
operating mechanism (stored energy), similar to the other mechanisms used with the other types
of breakers. These operating mechanisms are usually adjusted in the factory and require little (if
any) adjustment at the site. Should the racking mechanism, closing springs, discharge devices or
transmission contacts require any site adjustment, refer to the manufacturers' manual. It gives
the right steps to make any such adjustments. It is important that the circuit breakers be
lubricated at all times. Before re greasing, remove the old, hardened lubricant. Then apply the
grease (type and grade recommended by the breakers' supplier) to parts like pins, bearings and
mating surfaces of moving, current carrying joints. Wear of contacts can be checked after
opening and disconnecting the breaker, using the slow closing operation. Then a decision can be
made whether the amount of wear is within the acceptable limits or the pole has to be replaced.
Another operation that could be performed on an SF6 breaker during its lifetime is the refilling
of a pole with SF6 gas, using a cylinder of SF6, adapter and dual stage pressure regulator.For
the full procedure, refer to the manual. This operation is necessary if a drop in the pressure of
the pole is detected via routine checks on the pressure or via theindication of the pressure switch
attached permanently to the pole. Other checks that can be conducted on an SF6 CB during its
service lifetime are: the checking of the pressure switch setting, contact resistance, the
insulation resistance.
4) What are the typical general inspection & maintenance procedures for a vacuum c.b.?
Just as for the other types of CB's, when you get a breaker out of storage to install in the
switchgear, you need to take certain preparatory steps. These are: the examination of the entire
breaker, removal of dirt and moisture, operating the breaker manually several times, conducting
a hipot test, according to the manufacturers' recommended values. After installing the breaker
in its cell, exercise the breaker to assure proper operation (while the power is off). The general
major checks recommended on vacuum CB's after roughly 3,000 operations or 3 years of
operation or whenever a severe fault occurs, (some of these checks may be done more
frequently, as a function of the operating and environmental conditions). All these checks to be
conducted after the breaker has been opened, springs discharged and breaker removed from its
cubicle. Measure the erosion of the contacts. This could be checked by inspecting the springs
overtravel and comparing it with the manufacturers' acceptable limits. Hipot test the circuit
breaker, according to the manufacturers' recommendations. The hipot test voltage is applied
across the open contacts of each vacuum interrupter.
5) What would a switchgear maintenance program include?
It would include annual visual inspection. Such inspection should start with the external items
like the condition of the pad or foundation. The paint on the surfaces should be checked for
cracks or pealed areas. The cabinet doors should be checked for their condition as well as the
bolts closing the doors onto the structure. Dust or dirt on the insulation inside the cubicles
should be removes (as dirt decreases the dielectric strength of the insulator causing tracking).
Switches, fuses & other internal equipment should be inspected in accordance with the
manufacturer's instruction manuals. Cable terminations, grounds & other connections to the
switchgear equipment must be kept in good condition.
For the relays installed as part of the switchgear line up, the preliminary examination & checks
would include the following: checking for damage like dents/broken glass covers/loose parts, the
presence of iron filings in the air gap of magnets, moving part are moving smoothly,
rating/range/auxiliary supply voltages are per specifications, mounting as per manufacturer's
specification & contact surfaces of output relay contacts are properly handled. The electrical
tests that may be conducted on relays (function of their function & purpose) are: insulation
resistance, pickup value, dropout value, timing, polarity checks, directional sensitivity, stray
operation verification, slope characteristics & flag indication/auxiliary contacts operation. The
periodic tests that may be performed on such devices are: healthiness of the relay, the proper
operation of indicators, tripping of associated breakers & operation of annunciators. The
maintenance should include general inspection at appropriate intervals (the frequency is
function of the environment, whether it is primary or backup protection, how critical is the load
being protected & relay mal operation effects on the connected loads) of the physical condition
of all parts. The following steps can be performed: removing the dust & dirt (using soft hand
brush or mechanical blower) from the relay cover & other exposed parts, internal wiring, coil
ends, printed circuit & integrated circuits should be examined for corrosion or rust, checking &
cleaning contact surface, Bearing & axels should be verified such that the disc or cup unit axles
is having a slight play against the bearings, jewel surface should be examined for cracks, pivots
& jewels should be cleaned, relay flags & indicators should be exercised to verify their
operation/reset is without friction (moving freely), finger contacts on drawout units should
should be examined for signs of tracking or oxidization & should be cleaned.
6) What would a pole mounted switch maintenance program include?
They should be checked every time they operated for the following: burned contacts, damaged
interrupters or arcing horns, proper alignment, worn parts, defective insulators, adequate
lightning arrester protection, proper ground connection & loose hardware.
7) What are the maintenance tasks performed on an insulator?
Insulators in highly contaminated areas may require frequent cleaning. The insulators can be
washed with high pressure water (minimum resistance of 1000 ohms/cubic centimeter) using
special hoses & nozzles. Procedures developed for safe washing of energized insulators must be
followed. In general, insulators can be cleaned by hand wiping. Insulators may be sprayed with
silicone gel, to extend the cleaning cycle and to make it easier to remove contaminants from the
insulator surface. Most insulator damage will result from gun shots, lightning or contamination
flashover & wind damage. Broken, cracked or damaged insulators should be replaced as soon as
they are detected. Defective insulators symptoms may include the following: visible corona &
radio interference.
8) What is meant by distribution line inspection?
It means checking thoroughly the pole line & equipment each time work (like installing new
equipment or devices or making modifications/repairs) is performed. The line route sould be
followed (using a circuit map)at least once every 5 years and operating characteristics & defects
of distribution lines and equipment should be recorded in sufficient details to permit the
scheduling of repairs. Common defects or conditions which should be observed & recordes are:
For the poles: broken or damaged poles, leaning poles, poles in hazardous locations.
For Guys: slack, broken or damaged guys, guys too close to primary conductors or equipment,
guy insulator is not installed as specified.
For pole top assemblies: broken, burned or damaged pins and/or crossarm requiring
replacement, broken skirt of pin type insulators.
For line conductors: too much slack in primary conductors, floating or loose conductors,
conductors burning in trees, foreign objects on line, insufficient vertical clearance over and/or
horizontal clearance from: other wires, buildings, parks, playgrounds, roads, driveways, loading
docks, silos, signs, windmills and pedestrians' ways, waterways (sailboat launching areas),
railways, airports and swimming pools.
For installed equipment: leaking oil, blown fuses, switch contacts are not properly closed and
blown arresters.
9) What would be included in the cables maintenance program?
The terminations of underground cables are inspected as a part of the maintenance procedures
for riser poles, pad mounted switchgear & transformers. The route of underground cable circuits
should be walked on a 2 year cycle. The route of the cable should be inspected for obstacles,
changes in grade of the ground. Cables that fail while in operation must be located and repaired
or replaced. Secondary enclosures for low voltage cables should be inspected while checking
the route of primary (medium voltage) cables or while connecting /disconnecting services to
customers. Required repairs can be completed at time of inspection.
10) What would be included in the conductors maintenance program?
Conductors can be damaged by aeolian vibration, galloping (dancing of conductor), sway
oscillation, unbalanced loading, lightning discharges or short circuit conditions. Inspection of
the pole line will reveal the need for conductor repairs. There are three kinds of vibrations, as
mentioned previously, of overhead line conductors. First, the simple swinging of conductors in
the wind (sway oscillation) which is harmless as long as the available clearance is sufficient to
prevent flash over (sparking over) under condition of swinging. During sleet storms with strong
winds, the second type of vibration (galloping or dancing) is experienced which is a low
frequency type (about 1 c/s), the amplitude is very large (about 20 ft). The last type of vibration
is the high frequency oscillation (to 100 c/s) aeolian of about 1 inch amplitude. In this case
the wind velocity is about 2 to 10 m.p.h. and steady. Under conditions of conductor vibration,
the conductors at the supports (or clamps) may suffer fatigue which will cause eventually
mechanical failure. The fatigue may be lessened by reinforcing the conductor for a few feet on
either side of the clamp by binding metal rods (or a length of the same conductor) to the main
conductor outside the clamp. The other method of protecting conductors from the vibration is
through the use of dampers. The two examples are the use of a box which contains a weight
resting on a spring and two weights attached to a stranded conductor (1 or 2 ft) which is
clamped to the line (main) conductor. Abrasion to the outside surfaces of the conductor is
visible while inspecting the conductor. Fatigue results in the failure of the conductor strands or
tie wire. Broken conductor tie wires at an insulator discovered during inspection or as a result of
severe radio interference require immediate repairs. Infra red scanning can be run on the line to
locate hot spots on the line, in the equipment or at the connections.
Lesson 5: Personnel vs. equipment safety.
1) What are the safety features that may be found in the circuit breakers?
2) What are the safety features that may be found in the switchgear assemblies?
3) What are the safety features that may be found in the control panels & panelboards?
4) What are the safety features that may be found in the distribution transformers & what are those
found in power transformers?
5) What is personnel safety & what is equipment safety?
6) What are personal safety equipment?
7) What does the construction resource manual of OSHA (occupational safety & health authority)
cover?
8) What are the details included in the distribution & transmission subsection of the construction
resource manual?
9) What are the bodies responsible for issuing the safety related regulation, codes & standards?
1) What are the safety features that may be found in the circuit breakers?
Safety functions in circuit breakers can be classified into pole related or operating mechanism ones.
The pole related features are function of the poles design & the interrupting medium. For example the
circuit breakers having their poles filled with SF6 gas may have a rupture disk per pole (for over
pressure protection), pressure switches or density monitors (for under pressure protection) that would
indicate if the pressure goes below a certain value or trip if it goes too low. Another example is the oil
circuit breakers where their poles will have an oil level indicator, gas expansion chamber & exhaust
valve. For the operating mechanism, certain safety functions are operative in conjunction with the
breaker compartment like the interference block (that allows only the righr rated breaker to be racked
into the compartnment), when the breaker is racked in or out & if closed, it will trip open & discharge
the spring (trip free condition) and if the breaker is in the connect position the accessibility to the
racking mechanism will be denied (until the breaker is tripped or opened). The circuit breakers stand
alone safety features: electrical & mechanical (kirk key & padlocks) interlocks.
2) What are the safety features that may be found in the switchgear assemblies?
Certain features will be there for the operator to use when working with or close to the equipment to
provide him/her with a safe place to work in. Some examples for such safety functions that are found in
switchgear assemblies are: metal clad designs (insulating the bus bars & partitioning the cubicles in a
switchgear lineup) to better isolate the major components in the cell, using fire retardant/resisting,
track resistant & low moisture absorbing (nonhygroscopic) insulating material & barriers, arc proof
enclosures for switchgear (venting all the high pressure gases generated from internal arcing & short
circuits through the chimney of the cell, keeping the other compartments in the faulted cell plus the
other cells intact), in outdoor enclosures 2 doors are provided with panic bars), the provision of
grounding load or line bus (run backs) in switchgear after deenergizing the circuit (using the ground
stirrups & grounding cables), the availability of fire extinguishers, work clearances (rather than electric
clearance) are provided to facilitate maintenance & other work that will be performed later on site, the
presence of electric interlocks & mechanical interlocks (Kirk key & provision for padlocks).
3) What are the safety features that may be found in the control panels & panelboards?
The noncarrying metallic parts are all bonded together and connected to the ground bus that is
provided inside the panel. The ground bus size must be adequate to carry the expected ground fault
currents. It must also have sufficient connections to accept all the ground connections going out of the
panel as well as the connection to the ground grid/electrodes of the site. Ground Fault Interrupters
(GFI) are found in panel boards to provide protection to human beings rather than to equipment. The
hand to hand resistance of an adult lies between 1000 to 4000 ohms function of voltage, moisture levels
and muscular structure. The effect of a 60 c/s shock on a normal adult is as follows: over 5 ma painful
shock, over 15 ma is sufficient to cause freezing, over 30 ma causes difficulty in breathing that can lead
to suffocation, 50100 ma possible ventricular fibrillation, 100200 ma definite ventricular fibrillation,
over 200 ma severe burns & muscle contractions. A standard overcurrent device will never sense such
low levels of current despite of the fact that it is dangerous to the human being. Ground fault circuit
interrupters are covered in the UL standard 943 and the CSA C22.2 no.144. The GFI should trip when
the ground current reaches 6 ma or more, the time it should take to trip = [20/ground fault current]1.43.
This device should not trip below 4 ma, it also contains a means of testing the ground fault circuitry.
The standards classify the GFI into class A (which is briefly covered above), portable and non
classified ones. The GFI sensing components are the zero sequence current sensor that monitors the
balance of the current in either the single phase 2 wire circuit (the hot and neutral wires) or the single
phase 3 wire i.e. 2 pole breakers (the 2 hot plus the neutral wire). When the sensor detects an unbalance
as low as 6 ma, it will send a signal to the control circuitry to initiate a trip of the breaker feeding the
fault (causing leakage current to ground). The rules that govern the application & use of the GFI are
given in CSA C22.1.
4) What are the safety features that may be found in the distribution transformers & what are
those found in power transformers?
In distribution transformers, the protection provided to the equipment (to ristrict the damage to a
minimum under faulty conditions) are: lightning arresters, load or fault sensing expulsion type fuses
plus current limiting fuses, oil level indicators & pressure relief valve (which is also considered as a
personnel safety function). The protection for personnel, while working around the unit, are the
bonding of all metal noncurrentcarrying parts & connecting them to the ground bus in the transformer
tank. The adequetly sized ground bus in the unit is connected to the ground (electrodes). The protection
to the power transformers (example of rating 75/100/125MVA, 230kV/27.6kV) will be against internal
faults and is provided through the use of gas relays (in the transformer tank and tap changer enclosure)
and one differential relay. Another differential relay of a different type, redundant (for dependability
reasons) may, also, be used. Other faults that may occur and do not warrant a trip but rather an alarm or
the operation of a bank of fans are: overload and overheating of the transformer. For overvoltage
protection, horn gap protectors, lightning arresters and transformer rod gaps may be used. Overexciting
of the transformer may occur and an overvoltage relay may be used to indicate or alarm, rather than to
trip. Other devices that are found on transformers in order to indicate or protect against a certain
abnormality are: thermometers, winding temperature devices (thermometers) and pressure relief
devices. Thermometers indicate top liquid temperature (ambient plus temperature rise of transformer).
Thermometers may have a bimetal spiral in the metal housing, temperature indicating pointer, drag
pointer (resettable). The liquid tight well for the sensing element allows the removal of the thermometer
with no further steps. Thermometers may have up to three micro switches, the first for the fans (close
@ 70ºC, open @ 65º C), the second for the alarm (close @ 85ºC, open @ 80ºC) and the third for the
trip (close @ 95ºC, open @ 90ºC). The winding temperature thermometers can be classified into direct
type and C.T. type. The first type has a capillary tube equipped with porcelain insulator that isolates the
sensing bulb from the thermometer. The bulb is usually placed in direct contact with the low voltage
bus. The second type consists of thermometer bulb, a resistor or thermocouple inserted in resistance
heating element which is energized from a current transformer. The heating element and temperature
sensitive device are mounted in a dry well on the tank wall, the whole assembley is then immersed in
the top liquid. Pressure relief devices are used in sealed transformers. The common types are the
diaphragm and the mechanical automatic reseal. The diaphragm is designed to rupture before damaging
pressure can build up. After operation the diaphragm has to be replaced. The automatic reseal type will
maintain its seal until the threshold pressure (eg. 8psi + 1) is reached, at which point the valve snaps
open, the full operation takes about 2 milliseconds. The device automatically recloses and reseals
when the intermal pressure drops to 4 psi approx. Remote and local indicators to show that the device
had operated are, usually, available but not necessarily as a standard part of the transformer. For
personnel safety beside the function provided by the pressure relief device, bonding & grounding all
metal noncurrentcarrying components (tank, core,..) to the ground mat is provided.
5) What is personnel safety & what is equipment safety?
Safety issues can be classified broadly into safety of personnel and safety of equipment. The persons
dealing with the electrical equipment have to be cautious & follow the proper procedures to ensure their
safety (zero injury), the safety of the people around them as well as the safety of the location where
they are. The equipment have to operate safely and when they fail, they fail safe, causing minimum
damage to themselves and to their surroundings and if possible zero injuries to the workers around
them. When safety issues are applied to the electrical field i.e. power systems, equipment and
individuals dealing with such systems, a lot of interrelated factors come to play. The major factors can
be classified into the safety features of the equipment or devices that are available during the following
phases: manufacturing (or assembly), testing, operation & maintenance, the safety procedures that the
workers have to follow under the same phases previously mentioned, the training level of the
individuals dealing with each of the devices in the system and the acts & regulations that had to be
complied with.
6) What are personal safety equipment?
Personal protection & life saving equipment are rubber gloves (plus leather gloves worn on top of the
rubber ones & rubber sleeves), safety belts, safety helmets, rubber insulating line hose, rubber
insulating insulator hoods, conductor covers, insulator covers, crossarm covers, pole covers and rubber
insulating blankets. All the major components (like rubber gloves for example) used to perform such
critical tasks, as working close to energized circuits have to be tested before being used again.
7) What does the construction resource manual of OSHA (occupational safety & health
authority) cover?
The topics contained in the construction resource manual are: inspections, citations & proposed
penalties, recording & reporting occupational injuries & illness, construction work for general industry
and safety & health regulations for construction which may contain the following subparts: general,
general interpretation, general safety & health provisions, occupational health & environmental control,
personal protective & life saving equipment, fire protection & prevention, signs, signals & barricades,
materials handling, storage, use & disposal, hand & power tools, welding & cutting, electrical work,
scaffolds, fall protection, cranes, hoists, elevators & conveyors, motor vehicles, mechanized equipment
& marine operation, excavation, concrete & masonry, steel erection, tunnels, shafts & compressed air,
demolition, blasting & use of explosives, power transmission & distribution, stairways & ladders, toxic
& hazards substances.
8) What are the details included in the distribution & transmission subsection of the construction
resource manual?
The subpart entitled power transmission & distribution may include the following relevant safety issues
regarding the electrical power systems building/construction including associated equipment and other
components: general requirements, tools & protective equipment, mechanical equipment, material
handling, grounding for protection of crew members, overhead lines, underground lines, construction in
energized substations, external load helicopters, body belts & safety straps, aerial lifts, helicopters and
definitions for terms used in above topics.
9) What are the bodies responsible for issuing the safety related regulation, codes & standards?
The bodies that are responsible for issuing and/or enforcing the safetyrelated acts, regulations and
codes: Ministry of Labour, Canadian Standards Association (CSA), Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA), Underwriters Laboratory (UL), American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), British
Standards Institute (BSI), American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Instiute for Electrical
& Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Society for Testing & Material (ASTM).