VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

at
33KV/11KV/6KV OLD CALCUTTA SUBSTATION
AND 33KV/11KV MOHANPUR GIS SUBSTATION
under
BARRACKPORE DIVISION
of
WEST BENGAL STATE ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY LIMITED
(16/07/2016 to 30/07/2016)

Presented By:RONI DUTTA

GURU NANAK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

157/F, NILGUNJ ROAD, PANIHATI, SODEPUR,
KOLKATA 700114

DECLARATION
I here certify that the project work which is being presented is done at
BARRACKPORE

DIVISION

of

WEST

BENGAL

STATE

ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY LIMITED in partial

fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of BACHELOR OF
TECHNOLOGY with specialization in ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
from

GURU

NANAK

INSTITUTE

OF

TECHNOLOGY

under

MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

(formerly known as WBUT)is an authentic record of vocational training
carried out for a training period from July 16,2016 to July 30,2016.

RONI DUTTA
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
GURU NANAK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SODEPUR, PANIHATI

(DIVISIONAL MANAGER,
BARRACKPORE DIVISION)

(ASSISTANT ENGINEER,
BARRACKPORE DIVISION)

[1]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This report is an outcome of the contributions made by many people.Therefore
it is my sole responsibility to acknowledge them. We are greatly thankful to the
sincere efforts made by Mr. Bikash Kumar Dey(Asst. Engg.,Barrackpore
Division),without whom this project would be abstract. I would also like to
thank the staff of 33kv/11kv/6kv Old Calcutta & 33kv/11kv GIS Distribution
Substation, who took out their precious time to tell us about various equipment.
My special thanks is dedicated to Mr. Souvik Sarkar (D.M ,Barrackpore
Division, W.B.S.E.D.C.L).
Along with the persons mentioned above, also I would like to thank every
skilled and semi-skilled technicians and others for being very supportive and
hence instrumental in the successful completion of the vocational training.

RONI DUTTA
Date:-30/07/2016

[2]

CONTENTS
Page No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

WBSEDCL at a glance...............................................................................4
Electrical Power Distribution.....................................................................5
Old Calcutta Substation..............................................................................6
Single Line Diagram of Old Calcutta Substation.......................................7
GIS Substation.....................................................................................8
Different Components of a Substation
a) Transformer....................................................................................10
I. Power Transformers.............................................................10
II. Station Service Transformer................................................11
III. Potential Transformers.........................................................12
IV. Current Transformers...........................................................12
b) Isolators..........................................................................................13
I. Types of Isolators................................................................13
II. Constructional Features of
Double-Break Isolators........................................................14
c) Lightning Arresters........................................................................14
d) Circuit Breakers..............................................................................15
I. Vacuum Circuit Breakers.....................................................15
e) Conductors.....................................................................................16
I. Choices Depends Upon........................................................16
II. Types of Conductors............................................................17
f) Insulators........................................................................................17
I. Pin Insulators.......................................................................18
II. Post Insulators......................................................................18
III. Strain Insulators...................................................................18
IV. Shackle Insulators................................................................18
g) Capacitor Bank...............................................................................19
h) Battery Bank...................................................................................20
I. Need for the Battery bank....................................................20
i) Relay...............................................................................................21
I. Purpose of Relay.................................................................21
II. Types of Relay....................................................................21
j) Bus Coupler....................................................................................22
7. Probable Faults in a Distribution System.................................................23
8. Conclusion................................................................................................25

[3]

WBSEDCL at a glance
The story of WBSEB began on the first of May, 1955. WBSEB from the very
onset has set up a glorious path of service, working day and night to bring
power to each and every household, locality, town and village in West Bengal.
With its inception with a mere 755 employees and a consumer strength of only
1000 and a capacity of 4MW it has come a long way to the mammoth giant it is
today. WBSEB has taken giant strides to progress to a strength of 22,000
people with a consumer strength exceeding 50 lakhs. The Board is proud
owner of transmission lines spanning 87,500 sq. km of area with a backbone
comprising 5 zones, 17 circles, 47 distribution divisions and 467 electric supply
offices. The present capacity along with WBPDCL is 3165MW.
WBSEB, the first SEB in India, was constituted on 1st May, 1955(under
section 5 of Electric Supply Act 1948), celebrated its Golden Jubilee Year
in 2005.
WBSEB provides power to 96% of West Bengal, while meeting 80% of
the states peak power demand.
First SEB in India to record a commercial profit of Rs. 81.52 Crore in
2005-2006.
Achieved a cash surplus for last 3 years at an average of Rs. 293 Crore
per year.
Ranked 5th in all India level in ICRA CRISIL rating(up from 13th in 2002).
Received Rs. 302.76 Crore as cash incentive under APDRP incentive
scheme for reduction of loss in 2003-2004.
WBSEB was restructured as per the provision of the Electricity Act 2003
into two separate government owned companies namely West Bengal
State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.(WBSEDCL)(looking after
distribution and hydro undertaking of WBSEB) and West Bengal State
Electricity

Transmission

Company

Ltd.(WBSETCL)(looking

after

transmission and load dispatch undertaking of WBSEB) with effect from

01.04.2007.

[4]

ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRIBUTION

An electric power distribution system is the final stage in the delivery of electric
power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual
consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and
lower the transmission voltage to medium voltage ranging between 2 kV and
35 kV with the use of transformers. Primary distribution lines carry this medium
voltage power to distribution transformers located near the customer's premises.
Distribution transformers again lower the voltage to the utilization voltage of
household
appliances
and
typically
feed
several
customers
through secondary distribution lines at this voltage. Commercial and residential
customers are connected to the secondary distribution lines through service
drops. Customers demanding a much larger amount of power may be connected
directly to the primary distribution level or the sub-transmission level.

AC became the dominant form of transmission of power. Power transformers,

installed at power stations, could be used to raise the voltage from the
generators, and transformers at local substations could reduce voltage to supply
loads. Increasing the voltage reduced the current in the transmission and
distribution lines and hence the size of conductors and distribution losses. This
made it more economical to distribute power over long distances.

[5]

Old Calcutta SUBSTATION

The Old Calcutta Substation is located at Barrack pore in north 24 parganas. It
is a 33KV/11KV/6kv substation. It receives power from two different feeders
having rating of 33kv and distributes voltage at the rating of 11kv & 6kv by
stepping down the voltage from 33kv to 11kv & 6kv. It has six transformers
three having capacity of 6.3MVA two having capacity of 3 MVA & One having
capacity of 5MVA . Other than these it has an station service transformer of
rating of 100KVA, 33KV/0.433KV to supply power to the substation premises.

Different Incoming and Outgoing Feeders at Old Calcutta

Substation:

SUBSTATION FEEDER NAME

CKT-1

O
L
D
C
A
L
C
U
T
T
A

CKT-2

E.M.CO
TALPUKUR
SADAR BAZAR
RAHARA-2
BRITANIA

NILGUNJ
RAHARA-1
BARRACKPORE

NATURE

I
N
C
O
M
I
N
G

O
U
T
G
O
I
N
G

FEATURES

VOLTAGE
RATING OF
FEEDER

From Titagarh to
Old Calcutta
substation.
33KV
From Titagarh to
Old Calcutta
Substation

11KV
From Old Calcutta
Substation to the
respective places
as in feeder name.
6KV
6KV
6KV

NILGUNJ
DANGAPARA

33KV

TS L

Single line diagram of 33/11/6kv old Calcutta substation

[7]

MOHANPUR GIS SUBSTATION

The GIS Substation is also located at Barrackpore in north 24 parganas. It is a
33KV/11KV substation. It receives power from two single feeders having rating
of 33kv. It distributes voltage at different voltages, 11 kv by stepping down the
voltage from 33kv to 11kv . It has two transformers, they are all of different
power ratings. Other than these it has an station service transformer which steps
down the voltage from 33kv to 0.433kv for supplying power to station premises.

Different Incoming and Outgoing Feeders at GIS

Substation:
SUBSTATION

G
O
U
R
I
P
U
R

FEEDER
NATURE

FEEDER
NAME

FEATURES

I
N
C
O
M
I
N
G

INCOMMER
1

From Titagarh
to GIS
Substation

VOLTAGE
RATING OF
FEEDER

33 KV

KMDA-2
O
U
T
G
O
I
N
G

JAFFARPUR
NCP

From GIS
Substation to
the respective
places as in
feeder name.

11 KV

[8]

Single line diagram of 33/11kv GIS Substation

[9]
DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF A
SUBSTATION

TRANSFORMERS
A transformer is an electrical device that transfers electrical energy between two
or more circuits through electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic induction
produces an electromotive force across a conductor which is exposed to time
varying magnetic fields. Commonly, transformers are used to increase or
decrease the voltages of alternating current in electric power applications.

POWER TRANSFORMERS
Generation of electrical power in low voltage level is very much cost effective.
Hence electrical power is generated in low voltage level. Theoretically, this low
voltage level power can be
transmitted to the receiving
end. But if the voltage level of
a power is increased, the
current of the power is
reduced
which
causes
reduction in ohmic or I2R
losses in the system, reduction
in cross sectional area of the
conductor i.e. reduction in
capital cost of the system and
it also improves the voltage
regulation of the system.
Because of these, low level power must be stepped up for efficient electrical
power transmission. This is
done by step up transformer
at the sending side of the
power system network. As
this high voltage power may
not be distributed to the
consumers directly, this must
be stepped down to the
desired level at the receiving
end with the help of step
down transformer. These are
the uses of electrical power transformer in the electrical power system.

[10]
In Old Calcutta Substation, there are six power transformers present, two of
them are 33kv/6kv transformers, three of them are 33kv/11kv p and the rest is a
33kv/6kv transformer. In Mohanpur GIS Substation, there are two power
transformer present, all of them are 33/11 kv transformer.
TRANSFORMER
Transformer 1,2 are
parallel connection
Transformer 3,4,5
are
Parallel connection
Transformer 6

RATING
3 MVA,
33KV/6KV
6.3 MVA,
33KV/11KV

FEEDERS
RAHARA-1, BARRACKPORE
E.M.CO, TALPUKUR,SADAR
BAZAR,BRITANIA,RAHARA2
NILGUNJ

5MVA,
33KV/6KV

In GIS Substation, there are two power transformers present, all of them are
33kv/11kv transformers.
TRANSFORMER
RATING
Transformer 1 & 2 are 6.3 MVA
Parallel connection
33KV/11KV

FEEDERS
KMDA
2,JAFFARPUR,NCP

STATION SERVICE TRANSFORMER

Station service transformers
are intended to provide low
voltage control power for
substations,
cell
tower
installations, and at switching
stations by tapping directly
from the high voltage line.
They are used for running the
auxiliary equipments of the
substation.
At Old Calcutta Substation, there is a station service transformer of 100kVA,
33KV/0.433kv present.

[11]

POTENTIAL TRANSFORMERS
Potential transformer or voltage transformer gets used in electrical power
system for stepping down the system voltage to a safe value which can be fed to
low ratings meters and relays as
commercially available relays and
meters, used for protection and
metering, are designed for low voltage.
Primary of this transformer is connected
across the phase and ground. Just like
the transformer used for stepping down
purpose, potential transformer i.e. PT
has lower turns winding at its
secondary. The system voltage is
applied across the terminals of primary winding of that transformer, and then
proportionate secondary voltage appears across the secondary terminals of the
PT. The secondary voltage of the PT is generally 110 V. In an ideal potential
transformer or voltage transformer, when rated burden gets connected across the
secondary; the ratio of primary and secondary voltages of transformer is equal
to the turns ratio and furthermore, the two terminal voltages are in precise phase
opposite to each other. But in actual transformer, there must be an error in the
voltage ratio as well as in the phase angle between primary and secondary
voltages.

CURRENT TRANSFORMERS
A current transformer i.e. CT is an
instrument transformer in which the
secondary current is substantially
proportional to primary current and
differs in phase from it by ideally zero
degree.
A CT functions with the same basic
working principle of electrical power
transformer, as we discussed earlier,

but here is some difference. In a power transformer, if load is disconnected,

there will be only magnetizing current flows in the primary.

[12]
The primary of the power transformer takes current from the source
proportional to the load connected with secondary. But in case of CT, the
primary is connected in series with power line. So current through its primary is
nothing but the current flows through that power line. The primary current of
the CT, hence does not depend upon whether the load or burden is connected to
the secondary or not or what is the impedance value of burden. Generally CT
has very few turns in primary where as secondary turns are large in number.

ISOLATORS
Isolator is a manually operated mechanical switch which separates a part of the
electrical power system normally at off load condition. Circuit breaker always
trip the circuit but open contacts of breaker cannot be visible physically from
outside of the breaker and that is why it is recommended not to touch any
electrical circuit just by switching off the circuit breaker. So for better safety
there must be some arrangement so that one can see open condition of the
section of the circuit before touching it. Isolator is a mechanical switch which
isolates a part of circuit from system as when required. Electrical isolators
separate a part of the system from rest for safe maintenance works.

TYPES OF ISOLATORS
There are different types of isolators available depending upon system
requirement such as
1) Double Break Isolator
2) Single Break Isolator
3) Pantograph type Isolator.
Depending upon the position
as
1) Bus side isolator the
2) Line side isolator the
3) Transfer bus side isolator
bus.

in power system, the isolators can be categorized

isolator is directly connected with main bus.
isolator is situated at line side of any feeder.
the isolator is directly connected with transfer

[13]
CONSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES OF DOUBLE BREAK
ISOLATORS
These have three stacks of post insulators as shown in the figure. The central
post insulator carries a tubular or flat
male contact which can be rotated
horizontally with rotation of central
post insulator. This rod type contact is
also called moving contact.
The female type contacts are fixed on
the top of the other post insulators
which fitted at both sides of the central
post insulator. The female contacts are
generally in the form of spring loaded figure contacts. The rotational movement
of male contact causes to come itself into female contacts and isolators becomes
closed. The rotation of male contact in opposite direction make to it out from
female contacts and isolators becomes open. Rotation of the central post
insulator is done by a driving lever mechanism at the base of the post insulator
and it connected to operating handle (in case of hand operation) or motor (in
case of motorized operation) of the isolator through a mechanical tie rod.

LIGHTNING ARRESTER
An electrical surge can be occurred in
an electrical power transmission
system due to various reasons. Surge in
electrical system originated mainly due
to lightning impulses and switching
impulses. Electrical surge produces a
large transient over voltage in the
electrical network and system. This
over voltage wave travels through the
electrical network and causes over voltage stresses on all the electrical
insulators and equipment come under its travelling path. That is why all

electrical equipment and insulators of power system must be protected against

electrical surges. The main equipment commonly used for this purpose is
lightning arrester or surge arrester.

[14]
In electrical sub-station, arresters are mainly used at the entrance of any feeders
and also they are used at both rides of electrical power transformers as
transformer is also considered as inductive load and very costly equipment.

CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Electrical circuit breaker is a switching device which can be operated manually
as well as automatically for controlling and protection of electrical power
system respectively. As the modern power system deals with huge currents, the
special attention should be given during designing of circuit breaker to safe
interruption of arc produced during the operation of circuit breaker. According
to their arc quenching media the circuit breaker can be divided as1. Oil circuit breaker.
2. Air circuit breaker.
3. SF6 circuit breaker.
4. Vacuum circuit breaker.
In Old Calcutta Substation all the circuit breakers are vacuum circuit breakers.
and GIS Substation, all the circuit breakers are SF6 circuit breakers.

VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKER

A vacuum circuit breaker is such kind
of circuit breaker where the arc
quenching takes place in vacuum. The
technology is suitable for mainly
medium voltage application. For
higher voltage vacuum technology has
been developed but not commercially
viable. The operation of opening and
closing of current carrying contacts
and associated arc interruption take place in a vacuum chamber in the breaker
which is called vacuum interrupter. The vacuum interrupter consists of a steel
arc chamber in the centre symmetrically arranged ceramic insulators. The
vacuum pressure inside a vacuum interrupter is normally maintained at 10 - 6 bar.

The material used for current carrying contacts plays an important role in the
performance of the vacuum circuit breaker. CuCr is the most ideal material to
make VCB contacts.

[15]
OPERATION:The main aim of any circuit breaker is to quench arc during current zero
crossing, by establishing high dielectric strength in between the contacts so that
reestablishment of arc after current zero becomes impossible. The dielectric
strength of vacuum is eight times greater than that of air and four times greater
than that of SF6 gas. This high dielectric strength makes it possible to quench a
vacuum arc within very small contact gap. For short contact gap, low contact
mass and no compression of medium the drive energy required in vacuum
circuit breaker is minimum. When two face to face contact areas are just being
separated to each other, they do not be separated instantly, contact area on the
contact face is being reduced and ultimately comes to a point and then they are
finally de-touched. Although this happens in a fraction of micro second but it is
the fact. At this instant of de-touching of contacts in a vacuum, the current
through the contacts concentrated on that last contact point on the contact
surface and makes a hot spot. As it is vacuum, the metal on the contact surface
is easily vaporized due to that hot spot and create a conducting media for arc
path. Then the arc will be initiated and continued until the next current zero. At
current zero this vacuum arc is extinguished and the conducting metal vapour is
re-condensed on the contact surface. At this point, the contacts are already
separated hence there is no question of re-vaporization of contact surface, for
next cycle of current. That means, the arc cannot be re-established again. In this
way vacuum circuit breaker prevents the reestablishment of arc by producing
high dielectric strength in the contact gap after current zero.

CONDUCTORS
The selection of the optimum conductor type and size
for a given distribution line design requires a
complete understanding of the characteristics of all
the available conductor types. This understanding
must encompass more than just the current carrying
capability or thermal performance of a conductor.

CHOICES OF OVREHEAD DEPEND UPON Power Delivery Requirements

Current Carrying Capacity
Electrical Losses

[16]
Line Design Requirements
Distances to be spanned
Sag and Clearance Requirements
Environmental Considerations
Ice and Wind Loading
Ambient Temperatures

TYPES OF CONDUCTORS
There are various types of overhead conductors used for electrical transmission
and distribution.
AAC All Aluminium Conductors
AAAC All Aluminium Alloy Conductors
ACSR Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced
ACAR Aluminium Conductor Aluminium Alloy Reinforced
AACSR Aluminium Alloy Conductor Steel Reinforced
ACSS Aluminium Conductors Steel Supported
ACCC Aluminium Conductor Composite Core
The various combinations and modifications of these conductor types provide a
wide variety of possible conductor designs.

INSULATORS
There are various types of insulator used as overhead insulator likewise
1. Pin Insulator
2. Post Insulator
3. Strain Insulator
4. Suspension Insulator
In addition to that there are other two types of electrical insulator available
mainly for low voltage application - Stay Insulator and Shackle Insulator.

Here, we will discuss about pin type, post type, strain type and shackle type
insulators as they are used in Old Calcutta and GIS Substation. Suspension type
insulators are mainly used for high voltage transmission, that is why we will not
discuss about suspension type insulators here.

[17]
PIN INSULATORS
A pin insulator consists of a non conducting material such as porcelain, glass,
plastic, polymer, or wood that is formed into a shape that will isolate a wire
from a physical support (or "pin") on a telegraph, utility pole or other structure,
provide a means to hold the insulator to the pin, and provide a means to secure
the conductor to the insulator.

POST INSULATORS
Post insulator is more or less similar to pin insulator but former is suitable for
higher voltage application. Post insulator has higher numbers of petticoats and
has greater height. This type of insulator can be mounted on supporting
structure horizontally as well as vertically. The insulator is made of one piece of
porcelain but has fixing clamp arrangement are in both top and bottom end.

STRAIN INSULATORS
When suspension string is used to
sustain extraordinary tensile load of
conductor it is referred as string
insulator. When there is a dead end
or there is a sharp corner in
transmission line, the line has to
sustain a great tensile load of
conductor or strain. A strain
insulator must have considerable
mechanical strength as well as the necessary electrical insulating properties.

SHACKLE INSULATORS
The shackle insulator is usually used in low voltage distribution network. It can
be used both in horizontal and vertical position. The use of such insulator has
decreased recently after increasing the using of underground cable for
distribution purpose. The tapered hole of the shackle insulator distributes the

load more evenly and minimizes the possibility of breakage when heavily
loaded. The conductor in the groove of shackle insulator is fixed with the help
of soft binding wire.

[18]

CAPACITOR BANK
A capacitor bank
is
a
grouping of several identical
capacitors interconnected in
parallel or in series with one
another. These groups of
capacitors are typically used
to correct or counteract
undesirable
characteristics,
such as power factor lag or
phase shifts inherent in
alternating current (AC)
electrical power supplies.
The use of a capacitor bank to correct AC power supply anomalies is typically
found in heavy industrial environments that feature working loads made up of
electric motors and transformers. This type of working load is problematic from
a power supply perspective as electric motors and transformers represent
inductive loads, which cause a
phenomenon known as phase shift or
power factor lag in the power supply.
The presence of this undesirable
phenomenon can cause serious losses in
terms of overall system efficiency with
an associated increase in the cost of
supplying the power.
The use of a capacitor bank in the power
supply system effectively cancels out or
counteracts these phase shift issues,
making the power supply far more
efficient and cost effective. The
installation of a capacitor bank is also
one of the cheapest methods of
correcting power lag problems and
maintaining a power factor capacitor bank is simple and cost effective.

[19]

BATTERY BANK
The heart of a substation is the battery bank. A battery bank is a primary
component of a substation or switchyard DC control system. The function of the
control system is to supply control power to operate critical devices such as
protective relays, alarms and status indicators, supervisory and communications
equipment, and switchgear operating circuits.
Battery bank for switchgear and control applications are made up of many cells.
These cells are typically wired in series to achieve a desired voltage and may
also be wired in parallel to achieve additional ampere capacity. Sizing of these
battery banks, therefore, includes selecting the number and type of cells to be
used. A battery room is a room in the substation used to house this battery
bank for backup or uninterruptible power systems.

NEED FOR THE BATTERY BANK

If this were to fail, an electric
utility could expose all feeders
associated with the station to a
condition where they could not
ever trip in a fault. Not only
that, but any backup devices,
such as the main breaker on
the low-voltage side or the
high-voltage side protection of
the power transformer, would
all be inoperative, leaving the transmission grid protection as the only possible
back up. This could then cause such catastrophic consequences as burning wire
down across town and eventually destroying the substation transformer. This is
not to mention the hazard it would cause to the public.
At Old Calcutta Substation and GIS Substation, each of them has a battery room
for housing battery bank. The capacity of each of the battery bank is 30 volts
which is feed to the control panel components of the substation. One of the
applications of battery bank here is to operate the Vacuum Control
breakers(VCB).The motor of the VCB although is charged by AC current, but

the operation of the VCB requires DC current which is supplied by the battery
room provided at the substation.

[20]

RELAY
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to
mechanically operate a switch, but other operating principles are also used, such
as solid-state relays. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by
a low-power signal (with complete electrical isolation between control and
controlled circuits), or where several circuits must be controlled by one signal.
Relays with calibrated operating characteristics and sometimes multiple
operating coils are used to protect electrical circuits from overload or faults; in
modern electric power systems these functions are performed by digital
instruments still called "protective relays".

PURPOSE OF RELAY
A protective relay is a relay,
the principal function of
which is to protect service
from interruption or to
prevent or limit damage to
apparatus. A protective
relay is a device designed to
trip a circuit breaker when a
fault is detected. The first
protective relays were electromagnetic devices, relying on coils operating on
moving parts to provide detection of abnormal operating conditions such as
over-current, over-voltage, reverse power flow, over- and under- frequency.
Microprocessor-based digital protection relays now emulate the original
devices, as well as providing types of protection and supervision impractical
with electromechanical relays.

TYPES OF RELAY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Over current relay

Earth fault relay
Differential relay
Time delay relay
Under voltage relay

6. IDMT relay
7. Directional relay

[21]

BUS COUPLER
Bus Coupler is a device which is used to couple one bus to the other without
any interruption in power supply and without creating hazardous arcs. Bus
coupler is a breaker used to couple two busbars in order to perform maintenance
on other circuit breakers associated with that busbar. It is achieved with the help
of circuit breakers and isolators.

[22]

Probable Faults in a Distribution System

In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric
current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which current bypasses the
normal load. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by some
failure. In three-phase systems, a fault may involve one or more phases and
ground, or may occur only between phases. In a "ground fault" or "earth fault",
current flows into the earth. The prospective short circuit current of a
predictable fault can be calculated for most situations. In power systems,
protective devices can detect fault conditions and operate circuit breakers and
other devices to limit the loss of service due to a failure.

TRANSIENT FAULT
A transient fault is a fault that is no longer present if power is disconnected for a
short time and then restored; or an insulation fault which only temporarily
affects a device's dielectric properties which are restored after a short time.
Many faults in overhead power lines are transient in nature. When a fault
occurs, equipment used for power system protection operates to isolate the area
of the fault. A transient fault will then clear and the power-line can be returned
to service. Typical examples of transient faults include:-momentary tree contact,
bird or other animal contact, lightning strike, conductor clashing etc.

PERSISTENT FAULT
A persistent fault does not disappear when power is disconnected. Faults in
underground power cables are most often persistent due to mechanical damage
to the cable, but are sometimes transient in nature due to lightning.

SYMMETRIC FAULT
A symmetric or balanced fault affects each of the three phases equally. In
transmission line faults, roughly 5% are symmetric.[2] This is in contrast to an
asymmetrical fault, where the three phases are not affected equally.

ASYMMETRIC FAULT
An asymmetric or unbalanced fault does not affect each of the three phases
equally. Common types of asymmetric faults, and their causes:

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Line to Line:-A short circuit between lines, caused by ionization of air,

or when lines come into physical contact, for example due to a
broken insulator.
Line to Ground:- A short circuit between one line and ground, very
often caused by physical contact, for example due to lightning or
other storm damage
Double Line to Ground :- Two lines come into contact with the ground
(and each other), also commonly due to storm damage.

BOLTED FAULT
One extreme is where the fault has zero impedance, giving the
maximum prospective short-circuit current. Notionally, all the conductors are
considered connected to ground as if by a metallic conductor; this is called a
"bolted fault". It would be unusual in a well-designed power system to have a
metallic short circuit to ground but such faults can occur by mischance. In one
type of transmission line protection, a "bolted fault" is deliberately introduced to
speed up operation of protective devices.

REALISTIC FAULTS
Realistically, the resistance in a fault can be from close to zero to fairly high. A
large amount of power may be consumed in the fault, compared with the zeroimpedance case where the power is zero. Also, arcs are highly non-linear, so a
simple resistance is not a good model. All possible cases need to be considered
for a good analysis.

ARCING FAULT
Where the system voltage is high enough, an electric arc may form between
power system conductors and ground. Such an arc can have relatively high
impedance (compared to the normal operating levels of the system) and can be
difficult to detect by simple over current protection. For example, an arc of
several hundred amperes on a circuit normally carrying a thousand amperes
may not trip over current circuit breakers but can do enormous damage to bus
bars or cables before it becomes a complete short circuit. Utility, industrial, and

commercial power systems have additional protection devices to detect

relatively small but undesired currents escaping to ground. In residential wiring,
electrical regulations may now require Arc-fault circuit interrupters on building
wiring circuits, to detect small arcs before they cause damage or a fire.

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CONCLUSION
The Vocational training at 33KV/11KV Old Calcutta Substation and GIS
Substation under Barrackpore Division of

West Bengal State Electricity

Distribution Company Limited turned out to be a wonderful industrial

experience which not only provided me with the opportunity to be aware of the
electrical power distribution system process but also provided me the
opportunity to interact with the experienced engineers in the power sector which
has helped me increase my exposure.

The vocational training organized by WBSEDCL helps students lot more than
books by giving us a practical knowledge. It helped me to correlate my
theoretical conceptions with practical ones. I would like to thank everybody
who has been a part of this project, without whom this project would never be
completed with such ease.

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