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Heat transfer basics, as applied to electrical equipment. 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 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 varry 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.
Conduction: it is the process by which heat flows from a higher temperature to a lower temp. region
within the same medium or different mediums by virtue of direct physical contact. The transfer of
energy could take place by elastic impact (fluids) or diffusion of faster moving electrons to the lower
temperature regions (in metals). Conduction is usually combined with convection and maybe radiation
in nonsolid mediums. qk =KA dT/dA ; where qk is the rate of heat flow by conduction in a material, K
is thermal conductivity of a material, A is the perpendicular area to the direction of flow of heat
through which conduction is taking place, dT/dA is the temp. gradient at the section. Usually qk is
expressed in BTU/hr, A in sq.ft., K in BTU/hr.ft.F and is a property of the material and is an indication
of the quantity of heat that will flow across a unit area if the temp. gradient is unity, dT/dA is expresses
in deg F/ft. Thermal conductivites range from 4.103 for gases to 101 for liquids to 2.102 BTU/hr.ft.F for
solids. The expression for a steady state heat flow case is qk = dT/L/AK; where dT is the temperature
difference between the higher and lower temperatures, L/AK is known as thermal resistance where L is
the distance between the high and low temps., A is the cross sectional area through which heat flows.
Radiation: it is the process by which heat flows from a high temp. body to another at a lower temp.
when the bodies are separated in space. Light and thermal radiation travel at 3.108 m/s and differs only
in their wavelengths. Radiant heat emitted from a hot body is in the form of finite batches and when
they encounter a body in their way the energy is absorbed near the surface by the body. A perfect
radiator emits radiant energy from its surface at a rate
qr =6 A1 T14 S BTU/hr; where A1 is the surface area in sq.ft., T1 is the surface temp. in degrees R, S is
a constant equal 0.1714(108) Btu per sq.ft.R4. Real bodies do not meet the specifications for perfect
radiators(gray vs. black)then qr=6A1 F12 (T14 T24); where T2 is the temp. of the surrounding body,F1
2
is a factor to allow for gray bodies and the geometry of the bodies.
Convection: it is the process of heat transfer that involves heat conduction, energy storage and mixing
motion. It is a common method in heat transfer between a solid surface and a liquid or gas. Natural and
forced convection cooling of electrical equipment are common. Examples are: oil immersed
transformers, arc chambers in circuit breakers, switchgear assemblies and motor control starters/centres.
Free(natural) convection is when the mixing motion takes place as a result of density difference caused
by temperature gradient. With forced convection mixing motion is induced by some external agent (a
pump or a blower). The rate of heat transfer qc= hc A dT; where hc is convection heat transfer
coefficient, dT is the difference between the surface and the fluid temperature and A is the heat transfer
area. The coefficient hc is function of the geometry of the surface and the velocity/physical properties
of the fluid.
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 they experience different thermal conditions as exposure to the environment is
considered. Bus bars are sometimes insulated others are not and are enclosed in bus ducts or
compartments. The model 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
than 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 ambient. The total rate of heat flow can be given by q=
T/(Rk+Rr+R
(m/k)1/2; where m is the mass and k is the stiffness for the represented spring mass model.
The energy method can solve vibration problems, E=T'+V; where T'denotes the kinetic energy due to
the velocity of the mass of the system, V is the potential energy and is due to either the configuration of
the mass or due to the stress of the elastic members. 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. Now we shall turn our
attention to earthquakes as they affect electrical stationary equipment. 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
and damping characteristics. After modelling the system a dynamic analysis is performed and the
computed acceleration of the floor supporting the equipment indicates the level (of vibration/force)
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 packages based on finite element analysis or matrix techniques. The
two most common techniques for dynamic analysis are the time history analysis and the response
spectrum. 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: time history
input, broadband random motion, narrow band random motion, continous 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.
One more theoretical point to be covered before covering enclosures practical aspects is arc proof
m.v. switchgear design. What is arc proof and when an enclosure is designated as such? Internal arcs
may occur in metal clad swgr assemblies. These arcs depend on their intensity, the enclosed volume
and the duration may cause extensive damages to property and personnel. The causes for such arcs are:
maloperation of components, insufficient maintenance to the assembly which may lead to failure of
equipment due to insulation deterioration, human errors and entry of rodents. The types of arc proof
enclosures are: type A (front accessibility i.e. should an arc occurs inside the assembly, it has to exhaust
through the top, the sides or the back), B (front,sides and back accessibility), C(same as B plus between
compartments). The major modifications to standard gear are: addition of pressure relief flaps located
on top of each compartment, modified front doors (heavy duty hinges, special bolting mechanisms and
additional latches) and mechanical interlocks. After testing the cubicle for the design arcing fault level,
the following should be observed: none of the properly closed doors come open, none of the cubicle
parts are ejected like the flaps, windows,..etc., no holes in the enclosure due to burning or tear are
present, cotton gauze indicators around the cubicles are not ignited and all earth connections are in
tact.The cubicle is then rated for he tested s.c.c. level in KA(kiloamperes).
Practical enclosure configurations:Construction of switchgear enclosures can broadly be classified into
welded construction and bolted ones. Another way to classify is according to the steel thickness( 11
gauge,14 gauge,...etc.) for the different elements like the plates, doors and channels. Painted or
galvanized steel are found in switchgear cubicles. Control panel enclosures can be classified according
to CSA C22.1 Part 1 clause 2400 or NEMA publication IS1.1. For switchgear refer to Part I, for a
summary of the different arrangements. Another two standards that are used for building switchgear
assemblies are CSA C22.2 # 31 and ANSI C37.20. M.V. swgr assemblies can be classified into metal
clad and metalenclosed. For a gear to be considered metal clad the following should exist: the main bus
and connections should be insulated, the breakers, the p.t. & fuses should be of the drawout
construction c/w shutters, each of the main compartments in the cubicle should be steel barriered and
grounded, mechanical interlocks are provided to ensure safety when racking in and out the breaker. All
types of switchgear enclosures have ventilation openings, sometimes punched and sometimes welded
louvers are required (inside frame with filters if outdoor or in a dusty environment). Heat is generated
within the enclosures due to the passage of the current in the main bus, run backs, connections, main
disconnects, cable lugs, breaker contacts. All this heat generated if not allowed to escape i.e. inadequate
ventilation, may cause substantial temperature rise beyond acceptable levels as set by standards and
may cause deterioration to certain components inside the gear. The standards that determine the
maximum temperature rise inside the switchgear, at different locations, are the CSA C22.2#31
(clause6.1) and ANSI C37.20 (Clause 4.4). Heat is removed from the inside to the outside through
different mechanisms of heat transfer: convection free or forced and radiation. All the mechanical
supports are to support all the static and dynamic loads due to closing of the breakers, vibration or
earthquakes, if applicable, without exceeding the allowable stresses & without excessive deflection.
Stiffening of structure and better methods of anchoring the gear to the floor in earthquake zones are
recommended. For control panels the enclosures are classified into: for hazardous locations and non
hazardeous ones. Further classification for the hazardous is type 7 (air break, indoor class1 group
A,B,C,D), type 7 (oil immersed, indoor class1 group A,B,C, D), type 9(air break, class 2 group E, F, G)
and type 10 for mines application. For nonhazardeous locations type 1 (indoor general purpose), type 2
(indoor, dripproof), type 3 (outdoor, dust tight, rain tight, sleet tight and ice resistant), type 3R (outdoor,
rain proof, sleet and ice proof), type 3S (outdoor dust tight, rain tight, sleet and ice proof), type 4 o/d
(or i/d water tight and dust tight), type 4X (i/d or o/d water tight, dust tight, corrosion resistant), type 6
(i/d or o/d submerssible, water tight, dust tight, sleet and ice resistant), type 11 (i/d corrosion resistant,
drip proof, oil immersed),type 12 (i/d dust tight, drip proof, industrial use) and type 13 (i/d oil and dust
tight). For an enclosure to have any of these designations it has to go through a series of design tests to
assure that under the required conditions the box will protect the equipment inside and will be safe to
operate and monitor from he outside.
Conductors:in this section the solid bus and flexible cable conductors as used with switchgear and
motor control centres installations will be covered. When designing internal bus layout for a gear
assembly clearances (phase to phase & phase to ground insulated or bare), current carrying capacity,
thermal rating for available s.c.c. passing through, max. allowable forces and supporting of the bus are
of utmost importance. For cables clearance and support within the gear are important issues, also the
max. temp. a cable is allowed to be exposed to should be verified. Bus bars dimensioning for
mechanical and thermal s.c. strength: when current carrying bars are placed parallel to each other with
a small distance in between, forces which are distributed in a uniform manner over the length of the bar
will be exerted. Bending stresses on the conductors are the results, these stresses become significant
under short circuit conditions. On the supports compressive, tensile and cantilever stresses exist. The
electromagnetic force between the main conductors through which the same current flows is given by
the following equation: F=0.2xI2l/a; where F is the force exerted, I is the peak s.c.c., l is the length of
the conductor, a is the distance between the conductor (bars). If the main bus is made up of more than
one bar per phase, the previous equation to read: F=0.2(I/t)2l/a; where t is the number of bars per phase,
l is the distance between the supports or the equally distributed spacers when more than one bar per
phase are used, a is the equivalent distance between elements of phase bars. Above equations are valid
only to conductors of any cross section area provided the distance between them is much greater than
the width of conductor (bar), otherwise correction factor should be included. The permanent
deformation of 0.3 0.4% of the supported length is considered acceptable. The stress on the main
conductor= VBFl/8Z; where V is a factor depending on the type of current a.c. or d.c. (equal 1 for a.c.
circuits), Z is the section modulus of the rigid conductor, B is a factor depending on support type of
fixing, ranges from 1 to 0.73. Stress on a conductor element is given by VFl/16Z. The stress on the
support points can be given by FsV; where s is a factor for support stress depending on type of fixation
varies from 0.375 to 1.25, V ranges from 1 to 2 (depending on the resultant stress) Sres=SH+ST; where
SH is the stress on the main conductor and ST on the conductor element. The criteria by which the bus
is considered mechanically strong enough to withstand the s.c. forces are: Sres < 1.5 S0.2 and ST less
than S0.2; S0.2 is the stress that would cause 0.2% permanent deformation. If the switchgear is subjected
to reclosing schemes a safety factor of 1.8 should be included in the calculation of the resultant stress.
The supports should not be subjected to stresses that exceed the min. breaking load of the insulators as
recommended by the manufacturer.
Bus bars including their connections,taps and associated components are stressesd thermally under s.c.
conditions. The thermal stress depends on the magnitude of the s.c.c., its duration and its
characteristics. The short time current is defined as the r.m.s. current value that would generate the
amount of heat equal to the one generated by the s.c.c. (the d.c. and a.c. components varry during the
time of existance of the s.c.). The electrical apparatus is considered to have adequate thermal strength
if: the resultant short time current is less than or equal the max. permissible rated short time current for
the short circuit duration as specified by the supplier of gear. If the actual s.c. duration is longer than
recommended, the resultant actual short time current should be less than or equal the short time
(recommended) multiplied by the root of the withstand time divided by the s.c. duration.
The mechanical dimensioning of cable fittings is determined by the forces occuring under s.c.
conditions. These forces are also very high, due to the close proximity of conductors. The forces are
absorbed because they act radially. A cable of correct thermal size for s.c. conditions is able to
withstand the mechanical s.c. stresses.
The following paragraph will cover the practical discussion regarding bus bars, power and control
cables/wires as used with swgr assemblies and control panels. In most installations the material of solid
bus is either copper or aluminum with silver or tin platting or only connections platting for copper and
Al respectively. In m.v. installations, insulated bus and connections eg. epoxy dipping, heat shrinkables
or jacketed are in use. Connections are either tapped or covered with boots. Hardware used are either
cadmium plated or zinc plated and occasionally stainless steel. Flexible power conductors come in
variety of voltages (600V44KV), variety of configurations (single or multi conductors), different
insulating material (for different temperature ratings and locations), different construction (concentric
neutral, metallic sheath with or without cover), different conductors i.e.copper or Al. For wiring control
circuits on swgr assemblies or control panels TBS, TEFZEL or SIS wires are most commonly used,
each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Insulators and insulating materials: 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). Some of the most important insulating materials will be briefly discussed hereafter.
Insulating varnishes are solutions of materials like gums, asphaltsin and volatile liquids like patrol
benzene, alcohols, ..etc. This type of insulating material can be classified into 3 categories of
application: impregnating, coating and bonding. The drying methods are air or baked.
Impregnating,filling/sealing compounds prepared from petroleum bitumins, mineral oils and sometimes
quartz as a filler. Natural resins or gums rosin (from sap of pine trees) brittle yellow or brown in colour.
Shellac is another example.
Mineral waxes include paraffin (is a substance obtained from distillation of petroleum), ceresine (the
grease like residue left after the distillation of paraffin is refined to give this substance).
Synthetic waxes are non combustible made of chlorinated naphthalene.
Varnished clothes is made of cotton for example impregnated with oil or oil bitumin varnishes.
Silk is woven into fabrics and used as wire coverings.
Rubber(natural or synthetic) it is obtained from the sap of trees found in tropical areas or produced
from alcohol or oil. The addition of 310% sulphur produces vulcanized rubber which posses better
properties.
Hard rubber(ebonite) high content of sulphur up to 25%,can be machined and worked despite of its
brittlness.
Backelite is a class of synthetic resins produced by condensation of phenolic materials with
formaldehyde.
Paper and pressboard paper is produced from wood pulp, rags or plant fibre by chemical processing.
Pressboard differs from paper in the thickness and is usually of 2 grades one is used in air the other has
to be impragnated in oil before its use as insulating material.
Hard fibre is produced by treating cotton base paper with zinc chloride. It is to machine.
Paper or fabrics laminated insulation the first consists of sheets of paper with synthetic resin (phenol
formaldehyde) subjected to pressure under 160 deg C temperature. The same process used with fabrics.
Moulded materials are mixtures consisting of essentially binders, fillers and may be placticizers or
pigments.
Wood may be used where long insulating pieces are needed with high mechanical strength for
examples: oak, maple and brich.
Mica it is a finely laminated class of minerals. Splittings are bonded together by means of stickings
varnishes and are built up into sheets or plates.
Glass is made up of fused silica, silicone dioxide (sand), oxides of metals (potassium,sodium ....etc.).
Ceramics which can be classified into cordierite and porcelain. The porcelain is made up of china clay,
fireclay, quartz, feldspar. Porcelain is highly resistant to heat and electric arcs, with low moisture
absorption. Cordierite has lower dielectric constant than porcelain, lower tensile strength and higher
moisture absorption property.
Insulating oils are obtained from petroleum by fractional distillation. Transformer oil serves as an
electric insulator as well as cooling medium in power transformers. Oil is also used in oil filled cables,
capacitors and circuit breakers, the electric strength is 5 to 18 KV/mm.
where is the loss angle. Schering bridge (refer to EPDS, level 2, question 43) is
used to measure the capacitance and tan of a device or equipment. Electric strength is the
property of an insulating material which is a measure of its 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 liquid dielectrics depends, greatly, on the amount of moisture, gases and impurities present.
When overheating occurs, the molecules are destroyed and failure of dielectric is imminent.
All bus including bends and special shapes for m.v.gear can be dipped and insulated by epoxy
(generally l.v. bus is bare). Heat shrinkable insulation made of cross linked flame retardant halogen free
track resistant polyolefin is also used to insulate the bus. Installation on the bus bars is performed by
preheating the bars, slipping the tubes and heating by a standard torch. Bus joints, taps and splices can
be covered with tape or air filled vinyl boots. The use of heat shrinks on joints is possible. The slipon
type of bus insulation can be used with lexan polycarbonate resin as raw material, as it is considered to
have one of the better characteristics of todays thermoplastics. When this type of sleeves is used, the
following materials should stay away: methylene chloride, ethylene chloride, acetones, ketones, esters,
carbon tetrachloride and aromatic hydrocarbons. Usually the main bus is supported by the interframe
barriers which could be polyester glass or porcelain bus supports or epoxy bushings depending on the
design and voltage class. The shutters are either made of aluminum or polyester laminates. The primary
disconnects are made of epoxy resin or porcelain housing on polyester glass. Interphase barriers are
made up of polyester glass laminates bonded together with epoxy. The higher the temperature where the
insulating material is installed, the higher the dissipation loss. The higher the frequency of the applied
electric field, the higher the dissipation factor and a higher stress is imposed on the insulating material.
Contamination and humidity is detrimental to insulating materials and in electrical installations may be
the cause of failures arcing and spark over between the live parts and ground or interphase over or
through the insulation.
Drawers and cradles, due to the requirements of certain standards or to facilitate the operation and
maintenance of the electrical apparatus, drawers and cradles are seen quite often in switchgear/motor
starters assemblies. In l.v. designs cradles are used with circuit breakers to provide a mean of isolation
of the c.b. from the main bus or riser. Interlocks are provided to prevent the withdrawal or insertion of
breakers while contacts are closed or the spring is charged, also interference blocks are used to prevent
insertion of wrong size breakers in the compartment. In MCCs, up to a certain size the stab ins in the
back plate are used as a mean of attaching the starter to the back riser. With m.v. switchgear
construction drawers are used for breakers and other components like potential transformers and
fuses/molded case l.v. breakers for control power transformers. For the m.v. switchgear design to be
given the metal clad designation the power circuit breakers have to be of the drawout construction. For
p.t., a couple of designs are available the draw out and the tilt outthe, latter is used with lower voltage
classes. For c.p.t., there is an interlock between the molded case secondary breaker and the fuse drawer
so that the secondary breaker has to be opened before disconnecting the primary leads that are
connected to the m.v. bus. Thus, one can conclude that for any draw out configuration the following
main elements have to be present: a fixed rail attached to the structure, provision (wheels) on breaker or
drawer to allow withdrawal, secondary disconnects, main disconnects, necessary interlocks
(interference blocks,...) and levers and may be shutters.