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Designing of HV Power Substation and Layout

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De s ig ning o f Hig h Vo ltag e Po we r Sub s tatio n and Layo ut (p ho to b y No ritaka Tas ho @ Flic kr)

Content
1. Introduction 2. Earthing and Bonding 3. Substation Earthing Calculation Methodology (Earthing Materials) 4. Layout of Substation 5. Dif f erent Layouts f or Substations (single busbar, mesh, 1 1/2 cb) 6. Principle of Substation Layouts (spatial separation, maintenance zones) 7. Components of a Substation (cbs, cts, isolators, insulation, transformers etc.)

7. Components of a Substation (cbs, cts, isolators, insulation, transformers etc.)

Introduction
Substations are the points in the power network where transmission lines and distribution f eeders are connected together through circuit breakers or switches via busbars and transf ormers. T his allows f or the control of power f lows in the network and general switching operations f or maintenance purposes. T he f irst step in designing a power substation is to design an earthing and bonding system. Go to Content

Earthing and Bonding

T he f unction of an earthing and bonding system is to provide an earthing system connection to which transf ormer neutrals or earthing impedances may be connected in order to pass the maximum f ault current. T he earthing system also ensures that no thermal or mechanical damage occurs on the equipment within the power substation, thereby resulting in saf ety too peration and maintenance personnel. T he earthing system also guarantees equipotential bonding such that there are no dangerous potential gradients developed in the substation. In designing the substation, three voltage have to be considered: 1. Touch Voltage: T his is the dif f erence in potential between the surf ace potential and the potential at an Earthed equipment whilst a man is standing and touching the earthed structure. 2. Step Voltage: T his is the potential dif f erence developed when a man bridges a distance of 1m with his Feet while not touching any other earthed equipment. 3. Mesh Voltage: T his is the maximum touch voltage that is developed inthe mesh of the earthing grid. Go to Content

Substation Earthing Calculation Methodology

Calculations f or earth impedances and touch and step potentials are based on site measurements of ground resistivity and system f ault levels. A grid layout with particular conductors is then analyzed to determine the ef f ective substation earthing resistance, f rom which the earthing voltage is calculated. In practice, it is normal to take the highest f ault level f or substation earth grid calculation purposes. Additionally, it is necessary to ensure a suf f icient margin such that expansion of the system is catered f or. To determine the earth resistivity, probe tests are carried out on the site. T hese tests are best perf ormed in dry weather such that conservative resistivity readings are obtained.

Eart hing Mat erials 1. Conduct ors

Bare copper conductor is usually used f or the substation earthing grid. T he copper bars T hemselves usually have a cross-sectional area of 95 square millimeters, and they are laid at a shallow Depth of 0.250.5m, in 3-7m squares. In addition to the buried potential earth grid, a separate above ground earthing ring is usually provided, to which all metallic substation plant is bonded.

2. Connect ions:
Connections to the grid and other earthing joints should not be soldered because the heat generated during f ault conditions could cause a soldered joint to f ail. Joints are usually bolted and in this case, the f ace of the joints should be tinned.

3. Eart hing Rods

T he earthing grid must be supplemented by earthing rods to assist in the dissipation of earth f ault currents and f urther reduce the overall substation earthing resistance. T hese rods are usually made of solid copper, or copper clad steel.

4. Swit chyard Fence

Earthing: T he switchyard f ence earthing practices are possibleand are used by dif f erent utilities. These are: 1. Extend the substation earth grid 0.5m-1.5m beyond the f ence perimeter. T he f ence is then bonded to the grid at regular intervals. 2. Place the f ence beyond the perimeter of the switchyard earthing grid and bond the f ence to its own earthing rod system. T his earthing rod system is not coupled to the main substation earthing grid. Go to Content

Layout of Substation
T he layout of the substation is very important since there should be a security of supply. In an ideal substation all circuits and equipment would be duplicated such that f ollowing a f ault, or during maintenance, a connection remains available. Practically this is not f easible since the cost of implementing such a design is very high. Methods have been adopted to achieve a compromise between complete security of supply and capital investment. There are four categories of substation that give varying securities of supply: Category 1 - No outage is necessary within the substation f or either maintenance or f ault conditions. Category 2 - Short outage is necessary to transf er the load to an alternative circuit f or maintenance or f ault conditions. Category 3 - Loss of a circuit or section of the substation due to f ault or maintenance. Category 4 - Loss of the entire substation due to f ault or maintenance.

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Dif f erent Layouts f or Substations

Single Busbar
T he general schematic f or such a substation is shown in the f igure below. With this design, there is an ease of operation of the substation . T his design also places minimum reliance on signalling f or satisf actory operation of protection. Additionally there is the f acility to support the economical operation of f uture f eeder bays. Such a substation has the following characteristics: 1. Each circuit is protected by its own circuit breaker and hence plant outage does not necessarily result in loss of supply. 2. A f ault on the f eeder or transf ormer circuit breaker causes loss of the transf ormer and f eeder circuit, one of which may be restored af ter isolating the f aulty circuit breaker.

Sing le - b us b ar s ub s tatio n layo ut

3. A f ault on the bus section circuit breaker causes complete shutdown of the substation. All circuits may be restored af ter isolating the f aulty circuit breaker. A busbar f ault causes loss of one transf ormer and one f eeder. 4. Maintenance of one busbar section or isolator will cause the temporary outage of two circuits. 5. Maintenance of a f eeder or transf ormer circuit breaker involves loss of the circuit. 6. Introduction of bypass isolators between busbar and circuit isolator allows circuit breaker maintenance f acilities without loss of that circuit. Go to Content

Mesh Subst at ion

T he general layout f or a f ull mesh substation is shown in the schematic below.

T he characteristics of such a substation are as f ollows. Operation of two circuit breakers is required to connect or disconnect a circuit, and disconnection involves opening of a mesh. Circuit breakers may be maintained without loss of supply or protection, and no additional bypass f acilities are required. Busbar f aults will only cause the loss of one circuit breaker. Breaker f aults will involve the loss of a maximum of two circuits. generally, not more than twice as many outgoing circuits as in f eeds are used in order to rationalize circuit equipment load capabilities and ratings. Go to Content

Full me s h s ub s tatio n layo ut

One and a half Circuit Breaker layout

T he layout of a 1 1/2 circuit breaker substation is shown in the schematic below.

T he reason that such a layout is known as a 1 1/2 circuit breaker is due to the f act that in the design, there are 9 circuit breakers that are used to protect the 6 f eeders. T hus, 1 1/2 circuit breakers protect 1 f eeder. Some characteristics of this design are: 1. T here is the additional cost of the circuit breakers together with the complex arrangement. 2. It is possible to operate any one pair of circuits, or groups of pairs of circuits. 3. T here is a very high security against the loss of supply. Go to Content

Principle of Substation Layouts

Substation layout consists essentially in arranging a number of switchgear components in an ordered pattern governed by their f unction and rules of spatial separation.

O ne and a half Circ uit Bre ake r layo ut

Spat ial Separat ion

1. Earth Clearance - this is the clearance between live parts and earthed structures, walls, screens and ground. 2. Phase Clearanc - this is the clearance between live parts of dif f erent phases. 3. Isolating Distance - this is the clearance between the terminals of an isolator and the connections T here to. 4. Section Clearance - this is the clearance between live parts and the terminals of a work section. T he limits of this work section, or maintenance zone, may be the ground or a platf orm f rom which the man works. Go to Content

Separat ion of Maint enance Zones

Two methods are available f or separating equipment in a maintenance zone that has been isolated and made dead:

1. T he provision of a section clearance 2. Use of an intervening earthed barrier T he choice between the two methods depends on the voltage and whether horizontal or vertical clearances are involved. A section clearance is composed of a the reach of a man, taken as 8 f eet, plus an earth clearance. For the voltage at which the earth clearance is 8 f eet, the space required will be the same whether a section clearance or an earthed barrier is used. HENCE: Separation by earthed barrier = Earth Clearance + 50mm f or barrier + Earth Clearance Separation by section clearance = 2.44m + Earth clearance For vertical clearances it is necessary to take into account the space occupied by the equipment and the need f or an access platf orm at higher voltages. T he height of the platf orm is taken as 1.37m below the highest point of work. Go to Content

Est ablishing Maint enance Zones

Some maintenance zones are easily def ined and the need f or them is self evident as is the case of a circuit breaker. T here should be a means of isolation on each side of the circuit breaker, and to separate it f rom adjacent live parts, when isolated, either by section clearances or earth barriers. Go to Content

Elect rical Separat ions

Together with maintenance zoning, the separation, by isolating distance and phase clearances, of the substation components and of the conductors interconnecting them constitute the main basis of substation layouts. There are at least three such electrical separations per phase that are needed in a circuit: 1. Between the terminals of the bus bar isolator and their connections. 2. Between the terminals of the circuit breaker and their connections. 3. Between the terminals of the f eeder isolator and their connections. Go to Content

Components of a Substation
T he substation components will only be considered to the extent where they inf luence substation layout.

Circuit Breakers
There are two forms of open circuit breakers:

1. Dead Tank circuit breaker compartment is at earth potential. 2. Live Tank circuit breaker compartment is at line potential. T he f orm of circuit breaker inf luences the way in which the circuit breaker is accommodated. T his may be one of f our ways.

1. Ground Mount ing and Plint h Mount ing

T he main advantages of this type of mounting are its simplicity, ease of erection , ease of maintenance and elimination of support structures. An added advantage is that in indoor substations, there is the reduction in the height of the building. A disadvantage however is that to prevent danger to personnel, the circuit breaker has to be surrounded by an earthed barrier, which increases the area required.

Ret ract able Circuit Breakers

T hese have the advantage of being space saving due to the f act that isolators can be accommodated in the same area of clearance that has to be allowed between the retractable circuit breaker and the live f ixed contacts. Another advantage is that there is the ease and saf ety of maintenance. Additionally such a mounting is economical since at least two insulators per phase are still needed to support the f ixed circuit breaker plug contacts.

Suspended Circuit Breakers

At higher voltages tension insulators are cheaper than post or pedestal insulators. With this type of mounting the live tank circuit breaker is suspended by tension insulators f rom overhead structures, and held in a stable position by similar insulators tensioned to the ground. T here is the claimed advantage of reduced costs and simplif ied f oundations, and the structures used to suspend the circuit breakers may be used f or other purposes. Go to Content

Current Transf ormers

CTs may be accommodated in one of six manners: 1. Over Circuit Breaker bushings or in pedestals. 2. In separate post type housings. 3. Over moving bushings of some types of insulators. 4. Over power transf ormers of reactor bushings. 5. Over wall or roof bushings. 6. Over cables. In all except the second of the list, the CT s occupy incidental space and do not af f ect the size of the layout. T he CT s become more remote f rom the circuit breaker in the order listed above. Accommodation of CT s over isolator bushings, or bushings through walls or roof s, is usually conf ined to indoor substations. Go to Content

Isolat ors
T hese are essentially of f load devices although they are capable of dealing with small charging currents of busbars and connections. T he design of isolators is closely related to the design of substations. Isolator design is considered in the following aspects: Space Factor Insulation Security Standardisation Ease of Maintenance Cost Some types of isolators include: Horizontal Isolation types Vertical Isolation types Moving Bushing types Go to Content

Conduct or Syst ems

An ideal conductor should fulfil the following requirements: Should be capable of carrying the specif ied load currents and short time currents. Should be able to withstand f orces on it due to its situation. T hese f orces comprise self weight, and Weight of other conductors and equipment, short circuit f orces and atmospheric f orces such as wind and ice loading. Should be corona f ree at rated voltage. Should have the minimum number of joints. Should need the minimum number of supporting insulators. Should be economical. T he most suitable material f or the conductor system is copper or aluminium. Steel may be used but has limitations of poor conductivity and high susceptibility to corrosion. In an ef f ort to make the conductor ideal, three dif f erent types have been utilized, and these include: Flat surf aced Conductors Stranded Conductors Tubular Conductors Go to Content

Insulat ion
Insulation security has been rated very highly among the aims of good substation design.

Extensive research is done on improving f lashover characteristics as well as combating pollution. Increased creepage length, resistance glazing, insulation greasing and line washing have been used with varying degrees of success. Go to Content

Power Transf ormers

EHV power transf ormers are usually oil immersed with all three phases in one tank. Auto transf ormers can of f er advantage of smaller physical size and reduced losses. The different classes of power transformers are: o.n.: Oil immersed, natural cooling o.b.: Oil immersed, air blast cooling o.f .n.: Oil immersed, oil circulation f orced o.f .b.: Oil immersed, oil circulation f orced, air blast cooling Power transf ormers are usually the largest single item in a substation. For economy of service roads, transf ormers are located on one side of a substation, and the connection to switchgear is by bare conductors. Because of the large quantity of oil, it is essential to take precaution against the spread of f ire. Hence, the transf ormer is usually located around a sump used to collect the excess oil. Transf ormers that are located and a cell should be enclosed in a blast proof room. Go to Content

Overhead Line Terminat ions

Two methods are used to terminate overhead lines at a substation. 1. Tensioning conductors to substation structures or buildings 2. Tensioning conductors to ground winches. T he choice is inf luenced by the height of towers and the proximity to the substation. T he f ollowing clearances should be observed: Voltage Level Less than 66kV 66kV 110kV 110kV 165kV Greater than 165kV Go to Content Resource: Mr Alvin Lutchman, Lecturer at University of West Indies Minimum Ground Clearance 6.1 m 6.4 m 6.7 m 7.0 m