CIRED 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution Prague, 8-11 June 2009

Paper 0427

BALANCE BETWEEN TEST RESULT AND ANALYSIS FOR MEDIUM VOLTAGE SYSTEM
Venugopal Vadivel Devraj Manna
Global Technology Centre Global Technology Centre
Schneider Electric India Private Limited Schneider Electric India Private Limited
India India
venu.gopal@in.schneider-electric.com devraj.manna@in.schneider-electric.com

setup shown in figure 1 and also an electrostatic analysis

ABSTRACT was done on the different test conditions.
This paper describes the comparative study and establishes
the relationship between experimental test results and finite EXPERMENTAL SETUP
element method (FEM) analysis results for the medium
The Figure 1 shows the experimental setup used for the
voltage air insulated system. A specific lightning impulse
study. The experimental set up has a metallic box with
voltage has been chosen for this study as per the
defined location for placing the bushing. Except left side all
preliminary test results. An experimental test setup has been
other sides of the box were firmly fixed. An arrangement is
designed and manufactured for the test. And an
made to adjust the left side sheet metal from the bushing
electrostatic 2D analysis has been done on the experimental
axis to maintain the minimum air clearance between live
setup by using commercially available FEM- Flux software.
parts and ground (Phase to earth clearance). All other fixed
The analysis results are compared with the real laboratory
grounded sides are having higher clearances to avoid
test results.
unwanted flashover. An option to fix/remove an insulating
The experimental test and FEM analysis was carried out on screen poly carbonate (PC) sheet on the left side sheet metal
the test setup with and without insulating screen between is provided to perform the test with and without the
phases and phase to earth to study the improvement in the insulating screen. A support is provided at the bottom of the
dielectric behavior. box to fix/remove the PC sheets between phase to phase
clearances. An edged busbar of 40x10 mm was connected to
The main goal of this study is to establish a relationship
the bushing during the testing.
between the analysis and the test results to gain confidence
on the analysis method and at the same time to use similar The bushing is surrounded by ambient air during the testing.
analysis method for dielectric design in a medium voltage
system to reduce the time taken for initial product
developmental tests certain extent.
The study reveals the values of electric field strength to be
considered for an air insulated medium voltage product
design, which is further validated by real product
verification tests.

INTRODUCTION
The major design constrains for the medium voltage
equipment designer is to optimize the size. Air constitutes
the main insulating medium in the most of the metal-clad
designs. And it is the limiting factor in determining the Figure 1: Experimental setup
dimensions of the equipment. To make the metal-clad
design as compact as possible it is necessary to ensure the
electrode/busbar arrangement which is used for connecting TEST CIRCUIT
the different switchgear components able to withstand the
A 140 kV single stage impulse generator is used for the
maximum electrical stress during the test.
testing. The standard positive polarity impulses of 1.2/ 50
For certain extent to minimize the size the often used air- µsec within its tolerance limit [1] are applied in each test
insulation can be strengthened by introducing the screens conditions. The Figure 2 shows the test circuit used for the
between bare live and earthed parts, by using insulated live testing. The values of the impulse generator parameters
parts or a combination of insulating materials which are during test are C1 25 nF, C2 1.19 nF, R1 350 Ω, R2 2400 Ω.
capable of withstanding high electrical fields. The atmospheric conditions during the testing are; ambient
temperature 31.5ºC, pressure 905 mbar and relative
In this paper the experimental test was carried out on the
humidity 68 %. The test procedure 2 in IEC 60060 is

CIRED2009 Session 1 Paper No 0427

CIRED 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution Prague, 8-11 June 2009

Paper 0427

followed for the acceptance of the test results.
per Table 1 is applied in all test conditions. As per
acceptance criteria [1] two flashover out off 15 impulses is
acceptable for the withstand voltage test.
As the clearance and creepage distance is less in the top side
of the bushing, adequate insulation is added to avoid the
flashover from top side. The flashovers are observed in the
bottom side of the bushing

Figure 2: Impulse test circuit 2D ANALYSIS

Flux 2D software is used for modeling, analysis, plotting the
TEST CONDITIONS AND RESULTS electrical potential and field distribution.

The Table 1 shows the different test conditions, the air

clearances (Figure 3) for phase to earth (Ph/E) X1, phase to
phase (Ph/Ph) X2 and the test results.
The air clearances X1 and X2 test voltages are chosen based
on preliminary tests conducted on the experimental setup in
Figure 1 by applying positive polarity impulses on the
bushing. To obtain the clearances and test voltage the left
side sheet metal is adjusted for phase to earth test conditions
and middle bushing is adjusted for phase to phase test
conditions.
The experimental set up is connected to the test circuit.
Only the rear end bushing is used in test conditions 1&2 and
air clearance X1 is maintained as indicated in the Table 1.
The rear and middle bushings were used in test conditions
3&4 to maintain the air clearance X2. In test conditions 3&4
the left side sheet metal is completely removed from the
metallic box and air clearance X2 is maintained as indicated
in the Table 1.
The high voltage lead is connected to the relevant bushing
insert and grounded connection is given from the bottom of
the middle bushing for the test conditions 3&4. The metallic
box is grounded to the impulse generator’s single point
ground.
Table 1: Test conditions and results
Figure 3: 2D simulation model for analysis a) Ph/E and
Test X1 X2 Test No. of Results b) Ph/Ph test conditions
conditions (mm) (mm) voltage impulses
The experimental setup in Figure 1 is modeled for 2D
(kV)
analysis as shown in Figure 3 for the phase to earth and
1.Ph/E 13 pass
phase to phase test conditions. The material and boundary
without 125 - 82 15 2 fail
conditions for the analysis is indicated in Figure 3. From the
PC screen
2D analysis the electrical potential and field distribution is
2.Ph/E 15 pass
plotted. The value of maximum field stress and its location
with PC 70 - 82 15 1 fail
is identified.
screen
3.Ph/Ph 13 pass
Model:
without - 80 65 15 2 fail
PC screen As per the Table 1and Figure 3a) the test conditions 1&2 for
4.Ph/Ph 15 pass the Ph/E arrangement with and without PC screen is studied
with PC - 90 130 15 0 fail as an axisymmetric model. The model’s Y axis coincides
screen with the bushing axis. The test condition 3&4 for phase to
The 15 positive polarity impulse of specified test voltage as phase arrangement with and without PC screen is studied as

CIRED2009 Session 1 Paper No 0427

CIRED 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution Prague, 8-11 June 2009

Paper 0427

Plan2D model as per Figure 3b). The air medium is

considered inside the metallic box and top side of the
bushing.
The simulation is an electrostatic type, its properties being
defined by means of materials’ (epoxy, PC and air) relative
permittivity (εr). The imposed electrical potential on the
bushing insert and busbar is as per the test conditions in
Table 2. Table 2 shows the 2D analysis conditions for the
different test conditions with applicable material and
boundary conditions.
Table 2: 2D Analysis conditions
2D Analysis conditions
Material εr Regions & Boundary conditions (kV)
Regions
1.Ph/E 2.Ph/E 3.Ph/Ph 4.Ph/Ph
Axi-Sy Axi-Sy Plan2D Plan2D
Air 1 Present
Bushing -
4.2 Present
epoxy
PC 2.8 No Yes No Yes
Bushing
insert+ - 82 82 65 130 Figure 4: Electrical potential and field distribution a) Ph/E
busbar (kV) without PC screen b) Ph/E with PC screen
Bushing
metal - 0
screen (kV)
Metallic
- 0
box (kV)
The material regions and boundary conditions applied are
shown in the Figure 2. The relative permittivity is assigned
to the insulating regions are as per the Table 2.

POTENTIAL AND FIELD DISTRIBUTION

The electrical potential and field distribution is simulated
for all the four conditions mentioned in the Table 2. From
the actual test results the flashover were observed is mainly
in the air medium. There is no puncture observed in the
bushing epoxy regions. In all the simulation conditions in
the Table 2 the electrical field distribution is plotted for the
maximum scale of 3 kV/mm with reference to breakdown
strength of air to clearly visualize the highly stressed area in
air.
The magnitude of the electrical field along the bushing
surface are plotted to check the maximum magnitude of the Figure 5: Electrical potential and field distribution - Ph/Ph
electrical field along the bushing surface for easy reference. without PC screen

2D Analysis results:
The Figures 4a), b) shows the potential and field
distribution for the analysis conditions 1&2 in the Table 2.
The Figures 5 shows the potential and field distribution for
the analysis condition 3 in the Table 2. The maximum field
concentration was observed on the busbar surface.
ELECTRICAL FIELD PLOT ON THE HV
BUSBAR SURFACE
From the Figures 4&5, it is evident that the maximum field
is concentrated on the busbar edge. In Figure 6 a line region
A-B is drawn on the busbar surface to obtain the maximum

CIRED2009 Session 1 Paper No 0427

CIRED 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution Prague, 8-11 June 2009

Paper 0427

field (Emax). The Figure 7 a), b) shows the electrical field Table 3: Field efficiency factor η for the test conditions
plotted on the line region A-B.
Test Xtest Vtest Emean t: Emaxt ηtest
conditions mm kV kV/mm kV/mm %
1.Ph/E
without PC 125 82 0.66 8.66 7.6
screen
2.Ph/E with
70 82 1.17 9.72 12.0
Figure 6: Line region A -B on busbar surface for field plot PC screen
a) Ph/E b) Ph/Ph test conditions 3.Ph/Ph
w/o PC 80 65 0.81 3.41 23.9
screen
4.Ph/Ph
with PC 90 130 1.44 6.82 21.2
screen
The Table 4 shows the required distance (air clearance) X
derived from the above relations for the withstand voltage
of 95 kV for the same experimental setup.
Table 4: Derived air clearance X for 95 kV
Test V Emax Emean X
η %
conditions kV kV/mm kV/mm mm
1.Ph/E
without PC 6.5 95 10.04 0.66 145
screen
2.Ph/E with
10.4 95 11.26 1.17 81
PC screen
3.Ph/Ph
w/o PC 16.3 95 4.98 0.81 118
screen
4.Ph/Ph
with PC 29.0 95 4.99 1.44 66
Figure 7: Electrical field plot on line regions A - B. screen
a) Analysis conditions 1&2 b) Analysis conditions 3&4 For validation, the test condition 1 in Table 4 is verified
with actual test by keeping Ph/E clearance as 145 mm and it
withstood for 95 kV impulses. The similar method can be
RELATION BETWEEN TEST AND ANALYSIS adopted for deriving X for other impulse voltages.
The Table 3 shows the field efficiency factor η [2] for all
the test conditions. The factor η is obtained from the ratio of CONCLUSION
Emax (maximum electrical field) obtained from the 2D
analysis to Emean (mean electrical field) from the From the above discussion it is possible to establish a
experimental condition. This factor η is clearly related to relationship between test results and the analysis values
electrostatic field analysis. The η equals unity for a uniform (Emax) which helps to derive the approximate air clearance
field, and it approaches zero for highly non-uniform field. required for withstanding a specific impulse voltage.
The following relations shows relationship between η, Emax, However the derived air clearance will depend on the
Emean and the air clearance X. electrode configuration and the system environment. It is
recommended to perform a dielectric analysis on the
Vtest E Mean test
E Meantest = ; η test = medium voltage system to identify the possible failure
X test E Max test location and improve the design before performing the
actual tests. A dielectric analysis improves the design and
E Max test η V significantly reduces iterations to achieve the desirable
E Maxderived = Vrequired ;η derived = test test results.
Vtest Vrequired
Vrequired Vrequired REFERENCES
X derived = = − − − −1
E Meantest E Maxderived η derived [1] IEC 60060-1, 1989, “High-voltage test techniques.
Part 1: General definitions and test requirements”
[2] E. Kuffel, W.S. Zaengl and J. Kuffel, 2000, "High
Voltage Engineering", Butterworth-Heinemann

CIRED2009 Session 1 Paper No 0427