Automatic bus transfer scheme in

thermal and nuclear power

stations

Why bus transfer?

In order to ensure uninterrupted supply to connected loads in thermal and nuclear
power stations, two types of automatic supply transfer schemes are normally used:
automatic bus transfer scheme and auto-changeover scheme.

Automatic bus transfer scheme in thermal and nuclear power stations

This technical article as explained by BHEL deals with automatic bus transfer
scheme, used in medium voltage switchgear of thermal power stations, which is
required for transferring load from the unit transformer bus to the station
transformer bus and vice versa.

Contents:
1. Automatic bus transfer scheme
1. Unit switchgear
 2. Station switchgear
3. Modes of bus transfer
1. Manual changeover without voltage interruption
2. Manual changeover with voltage interruption
1. Slow changeover
2. Fast changeover
1. How phase comparison relay works?
3. Automatic changeover with voltage interruption, under
fault condition

1. Automatic Bus Transfer Scheme

Automatic bus transfer schemes are normally required for switchgear employed in
large thermal / nuclear power plants, where it is absolutely essential to provide
uninterrupted power to the power plant auxiliaries, even during failure of their
primary source of power, viz. the unit or station auxiliary transformer.

The requirements of a bus transfer scheme can be better understood by first

understanding the arrangement and operation of medium voltage switchgear
in large power plants.
Medium voltage switchgear employed in large power plants are mainly divided into
two main categories: unit switchgear and station switchgear.

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1.1 Unit Switchgear

The unit switchgear receives power from the unit auxiliary transformer (UAT),
which is directly connected to the output of generator of the same unit. Hence it is
called a unit switchgear. It mainly supplies power to all the auxiliaries of the power
plant that are essential for the running of that particular unit.

Some examples of important auxiliaries are boiler feed pump, circulating water
pump, various fans, etc.

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1.2 Station Switchgear

The station switchgear receives power from the station auxiliary transformer
(SAT), which is fed from an outside source. This switchgear is mainly used
for start-up of the power plant for power plant/township lighting and other
supplies, and to feed auxiliary switchboards for coal handling, ash handling, etc.,
i.e. auxiliaries that are common to more than one unit.

An illustration of the typical arrangement of a  unit and station switchgear, and

unit to station bus transfer scheme, in a power station, is given in Figure 1.

Figure 1 – A typical arrangement of unit and station switchboards, with unit to

station bus transfer scheme
Scheme explanation
Before the power plant starts generating power, it is required to start-up the
auxiliaries like the boiler feed pump, CW pump, etc. During start-up, as the unit
is still not generating, the unit switchgear bus is fed from SAT through a tie
connection to the station switchgear bus.

Once the unit starts generating power, the unit switchgear bus is disconnected from
the station switchgear bus, and starts taking power from the unit itself, through
UAT.
Thus the power plant is run from the output of its own generating unit. In case the
unit is tripped due to some fault or planned shutdown, the incoming supply to the
unit switchgear bus fails. In this condition also, it is essential to keep the power
plant auxiliaries in a running condition.

Hence the power supply to the unit switchgear bus is again taken from SAT,
through the tie connection to the station switchgear bus.

This is called a unit to station bus transfer.

Once the fault is cleared and the unit starts generating power again, the incoming
supply to the unit switchgear bus is again shifted from SAT to UAT, by opening the
tie breaker between the station and unit switchgear buses, and closing the incomer
from UAT.

This is called a station to unit bus transfer.

Sometimes, due to a fault in one station transformer, it may also be required to shift
supply of the station switchgear from one SAT to another, through tie breakers
provided between two station buses.

This is called a station to station bus transfer.

This entire operation of shifting of the power from unit to station bus and vice versa

or from one station bus to another,  has to be very fast and accurate. Also, care

has to be taken to ensure that such a bus transfer  should not take place if there

is any fault on unit or station bus, or if the station supply is not available.

There are many other interlocking conditions, which govern the functioning of bus
transfer. The transfer of bus can sometimes be manual and sometimes automatic,
depending upon the operating conditions. All these functions are carried out
through the use of special bus transfer schemes, which are explained below.

The medium voltage unit and station switchboards are provided with bus transfer
facility which could come into operation either manually (planned operation)
and/or automatically. During the normal running of the unit, unit board is supplied
from the unit transformer and the station board from the station transformer, as
explained above. Both the switchboards are provided with bus tie breakers for
inter-connection.
The bus transfer could be manual (pre-planned) in the event of the transfer of unit
load from station to the unit transformer as is the case immediately after the unit
has been started. The operation could also be vice versa.

Similarly, in the event of one station transformer being taken out for some reason,
the corresponding section of the station board is fed from the other station board.
The transfer could also be automatic in the event of a fault characterised by the
operation of protection relay.

The manual and automatic bus transfer can be arranged in such a way that any of
the following modes of operation is possible.

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1.3 Modes of Bus Transfer

1. Manual bus transfer:
1. Without voltage interruption (allowing short parallel operation of
the two sources)
2. With voltage interruption
1. Slow changeover
2. Fast changeover
2. Automatic bus transfer (under fault condition) with voltage
interruption:
a. Slow changeover
b. Fast changeover
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1.3.1.1 Manual changeover without voltage

interruption (short parallel operation)
This mode of operation is not used in the normal course because it involves the
paralleling, however shortly, of the station and unit transformers or of the two
station transformers. Such paralleling is not permissible because it will result in the
fault level rising beyond the specified withstand and rupturing the capacity
of medium voltage circuit breakers .

The interlocking of the auxiliary system is so devised as not to permit, in the normal
course, such a parallel operation.
Synchronising panel
However, in case of an emergency, when the other modes of bus transfer with
voltage interruption are not available, this mode can be adapted with due
precautions.

For adopting this mode of transfer, there should be a facility bypassing the

normal interlocking against parallel operation. The changeover would involve
check synchronising the two sources, whereafter the breaker for new sources of
supply would be closed. Closure of the breaker will automatically give tripping
command to the breaker for the existing supply automatically.
The bus transfer can be operable in either direction, i.e., transfer of unit load from
the unit transformer to the station transformer and vice versa or transfer of the
station load from one station transformer to the other station transformer.

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1.3.1.2  Manual Changeover with Voltage

Interruption
a) Slow Changeover
This changeover consists in switching off the existing source of supply and allowing
the residual voltage of motors connected to the bus to decay sufficiently,
whereafter only impulse goes to the breaker of the new source of supply for
closure.

This signal for closing the new supply source breaker goes only after the residual
voltage has reached the pre-set value, which is about 20% of the rated
voltage.

Necessary VTs and fast acting voltage sensing relays are used for sensing the
appropriate voltage condition for bus transfer. This ensures that at the moment of
changeover, even if the residual voltage of motor is in phase opposition to the
voltage of the new source of supply, the motors will not be subjected to
magnetic shocks which could prove dangerous. Reduction of residual motor
voltage to 20% of the rated voltage ensures that the closure of new supply even in
phase opposition to the residual motor voltage will be harmless.
Since the residual motor voltage has dropped down to as low a level as 20%, it pre-
supposes that the motors have slowed down considerably. As such, on closure of
the new sources of supply, there will be a danger of heavy inrush of starting
current which will last till the motors are accelerated to the normal speed.

This starting current inrush, though somewhat lower than when starting from
standstill, will yet be high enough to cause a heavy voltage drop in the transformer
impedance of the new source which may be severe enough to cause the motors to
pull out.

In order to safeguard against such a contingency and to make bus transfer

purposeful, it is therefore essential that simultaneously with the tripping of the
existing source of supply, a trip command also goes to a pre-selected number of
non-essential auxiliary motors on a pre-calculated basis so that inrush current at
the time of closure of the new supply will be so restricted as to limit the voltage
drop to not more than 15% of the rated voltage.

This mode of bus transfer can also be available for bus transfer in either

direction,  i.e. from the unit transformer to the station transformer and vice

versa.

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b) Fast Changeover
This changeover ensures that the bus transfer takes place so rapidly that the
residual motor voltage vector has fallen behind the incoming voltage vector
only so little.
On one hand, closure against phase opposition is ruled out, on the other hand, at
the time of the closure, the connected motor speed has dropped down only
marginally with the result that at the moment of transfer of connected motors to the
new source of supply, there is only a small rise of current as compared to the
normal running current (this marginal rise could be of the order of 50%).

The voltage drop during the bus transfer is therefore marginal and the bus transfer
is satisfactory.

A sensitive phase comparison relay, which is the most vital element of the fast
changeover scheme, should be used to permit the rapid changeover in the
event of the two source voltage difference, phase angle difference and
frequency difference is in pre-set limit before issuing closing command to the new
source.
This relay otherwise blocks the closing command thereby preventing the
changeover under unfavourable conditions of the new source and the residual
voltage of the decaying bus.

The phase comparison relay  supervises the two sources continuously and is

fast operating with the minimum operating time.

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How phase comparison relay works?

In basic phase comparison (PC) protection, the channel does not attempt to send
the entire waveform between terminals. Instead, the channel conveys only the
phase information regarding the current by sending only one of two states – either
the sending end waveform is above the zero axis, or it is below the axis. The same
two-state logical determination is made for the local current signal at the receiving
terminal.

After delaying the local signal to align with the received signal, the states of the two
signals are compared (see Figure 3).

For normal load flow or for an external fault, the situation is as shown on the right.
Current flows into one end, and out the other. If the CT circuits are consistently
polarized at the two ends, then the local and remote mark signals (positive phase
position of respective current signals) have little or no coincidence – if we combine
them with an AND gate, its output will be false, or will have at most two short true
pulses per power cycle if the current waves are not exactly out of phase.
Figure 3 – Basic phase comparison operation
For an internal fault, as shown on the left, current flows into the line from both
ends. The local and remote mark signals are now aligned for all or most of the
positive half-cycle. The output of the AND gate now comprises a positive or true
pulse lasting about one-half cycle, alternating with a false or zero output of the
same duration.

If the AND gate output feeds a timer of about one quarter power cycle pickup delay,
the output can be used to initiate tripping of the local breaker.

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1.3.2 Automatic Changeover with Voltage
Interruption, under Fault Condition (Fast
Changeover followed by Slow Changeover)
As compared to the bus transfer described above, the changeover in this mode of
transfer is initiated automatically on sensing a fault to the existing voltage supply.
Thus with the help of appropriate sensing relays, the bus transfer takes place
automatically when the existing voltage drops below a certain voltage level for a
pre-set time (about 85% of the rated voltages).

Before the bus transfer is initiated in such a condition, appropriate relays are

used to discriminate between the condition of fault in the bus
voltages because of external fault and because of internal bus fault. In case of an
internal bus fault (including uncleared feeder fault), the bus transfer system is
locked out.
This mode of bus transfer can be available for bus transfer from the unit
transformer to the station transformer.

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References // 
1. Switchgears book by BHEL – Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
2. Phase Comparison Relaying by Bogdan Kasztenny, Ilia Voloh (General
Electric) and Eric A. Udren (KEMA T&D Consulting)