Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Power System Protection

for Engineers

Electrical Equipment Damage

Copyright © SEL 2004

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 1

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Electrical Equipment Damage

Objectives

l Understand the Effects of High Current on

Electrical Equipment
l Introduce the Use of Time-Current Curves
l Understand the Importance of High-Speed
Protection to Reduce Thermal and
Mechanical Damage Due to Faults
l Understand the Effect of Voltage Sags and
Hazards to System Stability

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 2

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Faults in Electrical Systems

Produce Current Increments

a
b
c
I
Distribution Fault
Substation
I
Wire

Generally, short circuits cause very high magnitude system current (larger than the
normal load currents).

Electrical system components (overhead lines, cables, transformers, etc.) have

metallic conductors (wires) that experience this high current.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 3

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Temperature Rise From Current

Constant Current
I T
Equilibrium
T Te

Ti
dW
= I 2R
dt t
T(t)=( Ti - Te )e-t/t + Te

Any current (large or not) passing through a wire in free space causes a
temperature rise in the wire. The energy comes from the current, for which the
change over time (power) can be expressed with the following equation:
dW
= I2R
dt

In the former equation, “I” represents the rms value of the current.

Part of this energy heats up the conductor; convection transmits another part of
this energy to ambient. During normal load conditions, if we assume the current
has constant rms (steady state), the wire temperature reaches an equilibrium. This
means that the wire temperature T remains constant and all the energy the current
provides is transmitted to the surrounding medium.

For this simple system, the wire temperature as a function of time can be
expressed as follows:

T( t ) = ( Ti - Te )e - t / t + Te

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 4

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Factors Influencing Wire Heating

Current Wire
Magnitude Material
Properties
I

Ambient
d
Temperature
and Other
Wire Size
Environmental
Factors

For a given material and a given set of constant environmental parameters, the
temperature change of the wire depends almost exclusively on the wire size and
the current magnitude (the rms value).

Expressed as an equation, the relationship is as follows:

T( t ) = ( Ti - Te )e - t / t + Te

The values Te, Ti and t strongly depend on the rms value of the current I.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 5

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Insulated Conductor (Cable)

Thermal Damage
Insulation
T
I
Te
Td Insulation damage

Ti
td
t

For an insulated conductor, the insulation will experience the temperature

increase.

Plastic insulation–such as that used in common cables–is instantaneously

damaged if the temperature exceeds a limit value called damage temperature ( Td
). This temperature is 150° C for common thermoplastic insulation.

If the current is large enough, the wire temperature could exceed the limit. The
time td needed for the temperature to reach the limit is called damage time.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 6

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Insulated Conductor Thermal Damage

I
t
T
I = I3 > I2
T
I = I2 > I1 Damage
I = I1 Curve
t1
Td I = Imd t2
t3

Ti

t3 t2 t1
t
Imd I1 I2 I3 I

We can show (experimentally and analytically) that:

• The damage time is shorter as the applied current is larger

• There is a current (Imd) that causes the equilibrium to equal the insulation damage
temperature. Equivalently, the damage time for this current is “infinite.”

The curve obtained by plotting the damage time vs. the applied current is called the damage
curve.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 7

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Electrical Equipment Component

Thermal Damage Curve
t Time vs. Current Plot

Damage
Curve

In Imd I
Rating

Time vs. current plots are widely used in protection.

The damage curve is also known as the thermal capacity curve, or the short-time
thermal damage curve.

Notice that the cable rating (rated current) is not the same as the minimum current
Imd. The nominal current In (rating) is the current that causes the wire to reach the
rated temperature of the cable in the steady state (equilibrium). This temperature,
in steady state, is the value at which the manufacturer guarantees the useful life of
the cable.

If a current with an rms value between Imd and In is applied to a given

component, this current will reach an equilibrium larger than the rated temperature
but smaller than the damage temperature. In this case, we say that the damage will
be in long time. This means that the equipment will lose years of life (accelerated
aging).

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 8

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Insulated Cable Damage Curves

l Copper Conductors,
Thermoplastic
Insulation
l Damage
Temperature: 150° C

For relatively large currents (larger than three times the cable rating) it is possible
to approximate the damage curve with the following equation:
CA 2 [seconds]
td = 2
I

where C is a constant that depends on the wire material, the insulation

properties, and the ambient variables; and A is the cross section in square
inches or mm2 of the conductor.

Note that this is the following old and famous equation:

I2 t = K [A 2 s]

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 9

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Distribution Conductor Damage Curves

l Stranded Aluminum
Conductors (Without
Insulation)

l Damage Time
Needed for
Annealing

In the case of conductors without insulation (as in overhead distribution lines), the
damage temperature is given by the annealing temperature.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 10

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Distribution Transformer Damage Curve

Transformer
Impedance: Z = 4%

I / In = 1 I / In = 2 I / In = 20

Many factors affect the shape of transformer damage curves. We will study these
curves later in this course.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 11

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Experiment

Expensive Cable T
Melting
Inexpensive
Wire Tm
T2 Damage
Td
I
T1

T1
tm td t
T2 tm < t d

The Inexpensive Wire is Sacrificed to

Protect the Expensive Cable

In this simple experiment, we sacrifice an inexpensive wire to save expensive

cable. In other words, for a given current, the inexpensive wire reaches melting
temperature before the expensive wire reaches damage temperature. The
inexpensive wire blows out and the cable is protected.

What do we call this inexpensive wire?

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 12

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Fuse Melting

t
I = I3 > I2
T
I = I2 > I1
I = I1
Melting Melting
Tm Curve
I = Imm
t1
t2
Ti t3

t3 t2 t1 t
In Imm I1 I2 I3 I

Fuse Rating

As we did with damage time, we can show (experimentally and analytically) the following:

• The melting time decreases as applied current increases.

• There is a current (Imm) that causes the equilibrium to equal the fuse melting
temperature. Equivalently, the melting time for this current is “infinite.” It is
difficult to experimentally determine an accurate value for this current.

The curve obtained by plotting the damage time vs. the applied current is called the
minimum melting time curve.

Notice that the fuse rating (nominal current) is not the same as the minimum melting
current Imm.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 13

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Time vs. Current Plots

Protected t
Equipment
Fuse
Protected
td Equipment
I Damage curve

tm
Fuse
l First Approach to Basic Melting
Protection Principle: Curve
SPEED
In Imm Ix I

Fuse Rating

The result of the experiment described on the previous page can be represented in
a time vs. current plot.

As a first approach, we can say that, for every current value, the fuse must melt
before the protected equipment suffers damage.

Later in the course, we will improve this approach.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 14

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Fault Clearing
T
tarc
Vaporization i
Melting Tm Fuse
T

Ti
tm tc t
i
i
t

Melting Clearing

The melting time the former pages of this section describe refers to the time
before the fuse reaches melting temperature. The current does not become zero
immediately. The fuse goes through a series of different stages that terminate with
the development of an arc. The current disappears when this arc is completely
extinguished. At that moment, we say that the fault has been cleared.

The time period between the fault occurrence and the fault clearing is called the
total clearing time.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 15

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Fuse Curves
t

Total
Clearing
Time
tc
Curve
tm
Minimum
Melting
Time
In Imm Ix I Curve

Fuse Rating

As we did with melting time, we can draw a curve to represent the total clearing
time as a function of the current.

Following are the main characteristics of a fuse:

• The minimum melting time curve

• The total clearing time curve

• The fuse minimum melting current

• The fuse rating (nominal current) which should not be confused with the
minimum melting current.

We will describe further fuse characteristics later in this course.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 16

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Time vs. Current Plots

t l A Better Approach:
Consider the Total
Protected
Equipment
Clearing Time
td
Damage curve

tc Protected
Equipment
Fuse
Fuse
Curves
I

In Imm Ix I

To improve the first approach for overcurrent protection, we could say that the
total clearing time for the fuse should be less than the damage time for the
protected equipment.

We will describe practical details of fuse application later in this course.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 17

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Other Damage

l Mechanical Damage
l Voltage Sags
l Transient Stability

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 18

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Mechanical Damage
l Very Destructive in Bus Bars, Isolators,
Supports, Transformers and Machines
l Damage is “Instantaneous”
Mechanical
Forces

f1 f2

i1
i2

Rigid Conductors f1(t) = k i1(t) i2(t)

Large short-circuit currents produce large mechanical forces.

Large mechanical forces cause permanent deformation in the shape of rigid

conductors and the destruction of supports.

The effect could be very destructive in transformers, motors, and generators.

Damage occurs “instantaneously” (in a very short time).

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 19

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Voltage Sags
Unacceptable Voltage Variation
VOLTAGE (%)
100
ELECTRONIC DRIVER
90

80 COMPUTER

70

60

CONTACTOR
50

40

30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
TIME (Cycles)

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 20

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Voltage Sags

=Loads

I
S/E
Vs

V
Vs 1 p.u.

UVVR limit
(sensitive loads)

Clearing Time
t

Electrical equipment (which comprises load) has an unacceptable voltage

variation region (UVVR). The region indicates the equipment tolerance to voltage
variations. The clearing time and the recovery voltage in the system must remain
out of the UVVR.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 21

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Transient Stability

1 2

System
EÐ0 Fault EÐd
Generator

d Unstable d Stable

tcrit tclear t tclear tcrit t

With the introduction of distributed generation practices, electromechanical

stability problems become an important issue in modern distribution systems.

For synchronization of generators and utility systems after a fault, the clearing
time must be very short.

The upper permissible limit for this clearing time is traditionally known as the
critical clearing time.

For the simple case shown, the clearing time (tclear) of Circuit Breakers 1 and 2
must be less than machine characteristics and the critical clearing time (tcrit) the
system imposes.

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 22

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Summary

l Thermal Damage
l Mechanical Damage
l Voltage Sags
l Transient Stability

PROTECTION SPEED

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 23

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Damage is Extensive When Relays

Do Not Operate Correctly

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 24

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 25

 Power System Protection for Engineers – PROT 401

Section 2 - Electrical Equipment Damage

Electrical Equipment Damage_r15 26