Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction 2
Electrical substation 2
Elements of a substation 2
Transmission substation 3
Distribution substation 4
Surge Arresters 6
Circuit breakers 9
Conductors 12
1
Introduction
We were trained last two month in CEB, at Horana Area office and Construction
Branch at Panadura. We mainly studied about Distribution System and Transmission System and
about construction.
Electrical substation
A substation that has a step-up transformer increases the voltage while decreasing the
current, while a step-down transformer decreases the voltage while increasing the current
for domestic and commercial distribution. The word substation comes from the days before
the distribution system became a grid. The first substations were connected to only one
power station where the generator was housed, and were subsidiaries of that power station.
Elements of a substation
Substations generally have switching, protection and control equipment and one or more
transformers. In a large substation, circuit breakers are used to interrupt any short-circuits
or overload currents that may occur on the network. Smaller distribution stations may use
re closer circuit breakers or fuses for protection of distribution circuits. Substations do not
usually have generators, although a power plant may have a substation nearby. Other
devices such as capacitors and voltage regulators may also be located at a substation.
Substations may be on the surface in fenced enclosures, underground, or located in special-
purpose buildings. High-rise buildings may have several indoor substations. Indoor
substations are usually found in urban areas to reduce the noise from the transformers, for
reasons of appearance, or to protect switchgear from extreme climate or pollution
conditions.
2
Transmission substation
A transmission substation connects two or more transmission lines. The simplest case is
where all transmission lines have the same voltage. In such cases, the substation contains
high-voltage switches that allow lines to be connected or isolated for fault clearance or
maintenance. A transmission station may have transformers to convert between two
transmission voltages, voltage control/power factor correction devices such as capacitors,
reactors or static VAr compensators and equipment such as phase shifting transformers to
control power flow between two adjacent power systems.
Transmission substations can range from simple to complex. A small "switching station"
may be little more than a bus plus some circuit breakers. The largest transmission
substations can cover a large area (several acres/hectares) with multiple voltage levels,
many circuit breakers and a large amount of protection and control equipment (voltage and
3
current transformers, relays). Modern substations may be implemented using International
Standards such as IEC61850.
Distribution substation
A distribution substation transfers power from the transmission system to the distribution
system of an area. It is uneconomical to directly connect electricity consumers to the high-
voltage main transmission network, unless they use large amounts of power, so the
distribution station reduces voltage to a value suitable for local distribution.
The input for a distribution substation is typically at least two transmission or sub
transmission lines. Input voltage may be, for example, 33kV, or whatever is common in the
area. The output is a number of feeders. Distribution voltages are typically medium
voltage, between 230V depending on the size of the area served and the practices of the
local utility.
The feeders will then run overhead, along streets (or under streets, in a city) and eventually
power the distribution transformers at or near the customer premises.
4
Besides changing the voltage, the job of the distribution substation is to isolate faults in
either the transmission or distribution systems. Distribution substations may also be the
points of voltage regulation, although on long distribution circuits (several km/miles),
voltage regulation equipment may also be installed along the line.
Complicated distribution substations can be found in the downtown areas of large cities,
with high-voltage switching, and switching and backup systems on the low-voltage side.
More typical distribution substations have a switch, one transformer, and minimal facilities
on the low-voltage side.
Mathugama
Substation
Horana Grid
8*33Kv Feeders
Substation
Pannipitiya
Substation
Ace Power
Plant
Horana Grid Substation placed between Pannipitiya and Mathugama substations. It’s
132Kv side is a outdoor Grid and 33Kv side is a indoor system. Whole system is fully
computer control and also manually control. There were two main transformers and those
are on load tap changing machines. Rated power is 31500 KVA .
5
Surge Arresters
6
Transmission Line Surge Arresters conduct lightning surges around the protected insulator
so that a lightning flashover is not created. They are designed to be installed functionally in
parallel with the line insulator. The arrester conducts the lightning surges around the
protected insulator so that a subsequent 60 Hz fault on the circuit is not created. The
arrester becomes a low ohmic path for the surge as voltage across it increases. When the
voltage returns to normal, the arrester once again returns to a high ohmic device with only
micro amps of leakage current.
I here CVT is used for communication system . CVTs in combination with wave traps are
used for filtering high frequency communication signals from power frequency. This forms
a carrier communication network throughout the transmission network.
7
Current transformers in electrical substations measure the system currents at predetermined
measuring points of the switchgear with a certain measurement inaccuracy. The measuring
points are typically located at all incoming and outgoing lines and possibly also within the
system, e.g. for the busbar protection. The current measurement signals are used for
protective functions, for monitoring the substation, for calculating performance data for
operating purposes or for consumption billing and for the representation on a display. The
output of the current transformer provides a representation of the current flowing through
the assembly that is being monitored. Associated monitoring and control instrumentation in
combination with the current transformer may provide critical system functions such as
overload protection and power usage monitoring.
Electrical power distribution systems may require the use of a variety of circuit condition
monitoring devices to facilitate the detection and location of system malfunctions. Current
transformers and current sensors are well known in the field of electronic circuit breakers,
providing the general function of powering the electronics within the circuit breaker trip
unit and sensing the circuit current within the protected circuit. Ground fault circuit
breakers for alternating current distribution circuits are commonly used to protect people
against dangerous shocks due to line-to-ground current flow through someone's body.
Ground fault circuit breakers must be able to detect current flow between line conductors
and ground at current levels. Upon detection of such a ground fault current, the contacts of
the circuit breaker are opened to de energize the circuit. Current transformers are an
integral part of ground fault circuit breakers.
Circuit breakers
8
Electrical power transmission networks are protected and controlled by high-voltage
breakers. The definition of high voltage varies but in power transmission work is usually
thought to be 11 kV or higher. High-voltage breakers are nearly always solenoid-operated,
with current sensing protective relays operated through current transformers. In substations
the protective relay scheme can be complex, protecting equipment and busses from various
types of overload or ground/earth fault.
High-voltage breakers are broadly classified by the medium used to extinguish the arc.
Bulk oil
Minimum oil
Air blast
Vacuum
SF6
High-voltage circuit breakers used on transmission systems may be arranged to allow a
single pole of a three-phase line to trip, instead of tripping all three poles; for some classes
of faults this improves the system stability and availability.
Lightning
Insulation Damages
Falling trees
Short circuit problems
Accidents
9
Overhead line insulators, as the name suggests, are used to electrically insulate pylons from
live electrical cables.
Overhead line insulators may consist of a string of insulator units, depending on insulator
type and application. The higher the line voltage insulated, the more insulator units used in
the string. Different types of line insulators are used, depending on voltage and mechanical
strain (tension) requirements. The more widely used types are as follows.
Disc type
where insulation discs (also called insulation units) are strung together depending on the
insulation level desired.
Each disc is typically rated at 10-12kV, with a capacitance of 30-40pF . Discs are strung
together via their caps and pins. Locking mechanisms may be ball-socket or clevis-tongue
type. The cap is insulated form the pin via the porcelain (or glass) disc which adheres to
the cap and pin via adhesive cement.
These may also be strung together for higher insulation and may have similar ball-socket
and clevis-tongue locking mechanisms used among the disc types . Their longer length
makes them applicable for phase-to-phase insulation to reduce line galloping during strong
winds . Both disc and long rod-type insulators are commonly used in suspension or strain
(tension) insulator applications .
Pin type
10
Pin types are screwed onto a bolt shank secured on the cross-arm of the transmission pole
or pylon. The pin type does not take main transmission line strain (tension) ,and functions
as a jumper line insulator.
Shackle type
insulators. These are mostly applied to support line strain (tension), such as at changes of
transmission line direction.
11
Fly 7/3.40 mm
Wasp 7/4.39 mm
AAAC 7/4.25 mm
AAAC 7/3.10 mm
Earth Conductors
Clamps
Tension Clamps
Mid-span Joints
12
In electrical distribution, a fuse cutout or cut-out fuse is a combination of a fuse and a
switch, used in primary overhead feeder lines and taps to protect stepdown transformers
from current surges and overloads.A cutout consists of three major components:
* The cutout body, an open "C"-shaped frame that supports the "fuse holder" and a
porcelain insulator that electrically isolates the conductive portions of the assembly from
the support to which the insulator is fastened.
* The fuse holder, often called the "fuse tube" or "door", which contains the
interchangeable fuse element and also acts as a simple knife switch. When the contained
fuse operates or blows, the fuse holder will drop open, disengaging the knife switch, and
hang from a hinge assembly. This hanging fuse holder provides a visible indication that the
fuse has operated and assurance that the down-stream circuit is electrically isolated.
* The fuse element, or "fuse link", is the replaceable portion of the assembly that
operates due to high electrical currents.
The fuse elements, or fuse links used in most distribution cutouts are tin or silver alloy fuse
links that melt (or operate) when exposed to high current conditions. Ampere ratings of
fuse elements vary from 1 ampere to 200 amperes.
Aerial Bundled Conductors
13
Aerial bundled cables (also aerial bundled conductors) are overhead power lines using
several insulated phase conductors bundled tightly together, usually with a bare neutral
conductor. This contrasts with the traditional practice of using uninsulated conductors
separated by air gaps.
In moister climates, tree growth is a significant problem for overhead power lines. Aerial
bundled cables will not arc over if touched by tree branches. Although persistent rubbing is
still a problem, tree-trimming costs can be reduced.
Note that bundled cables are used only for low voltages (1000 V or less), in the distribution
portion of the electrical grid, as the required insulation thickness would be impractical at
higher voltages
i) Number of strands 12 or 19
ii) Nominal cross sectional area 70 sq. mm
iii) Max. linear resistance at 20°C 0.443 Ohms/Km
iv) Minimum breaking strength 840 da N
v) Diameter of compacted bare conductor Max. 10.2mm Min. 9.7mm
vi) Thickness of insulating sheath Max. 1.8mm Min. 1.52mm at 1 point
vii) Insulated cable outside diameter Max. 14.2mm Min. 13.3mm
One, two, and three Ribs to distinguish the three phase cores from each other and the
neutral shall be plain without any Ribs.
14
Minimum Factor of Safety
Cross arms of straight line support under broken wire condition 2.0
15