1.

Brief Description

For the past three decades, SF-6 Sulphur hexa fluoride gas is being extensively used as a dielectric
and extinguishing arc media in the area of high voltage electrical switchgear. SF-6 gas does not exist
in the natural state and is a synthetic product, finds itself progressively adopted by all concerned
users due to its improved performance characteristics and service quality which has reduced size and
weight of the equipment. The reason for this choice lies in the fairly rare combination of dielectric
and arc-extinction properties. The dielectric strength is several times greater than that of other known
media, at the same pressure. The arc-extinction properties are also unique which even after much
research carried out, could not discover a comparable media so far. GIS are equally applicable for
indoor and outdoor use for new and expansion of existing sub-stations. The GIS are manufactured
over a wide range of voltages from 60 kV to 800 kV and capacity upto 4,000 amperes depending
upon requirements in various designs suited to the particular requirements. In places where the cost
of land or the cost of earthwork is high this can greatly influence the over all investment needed. In
case of GIS each individual item of switchgear is metal enclosed which is at earth potential. This
metal enclose not only gives enhanced safety but is inherently reliable due its component being
placed within a protective gas environment. Its major advantage is the small space, occupied by the
equipment compared to air insulated equipment. When new sub-stations are planned, there is the
choice of different designs. Conventional outdoor sub-stations are a viable option when there is a
plenty of space, land prices are low, environmental conditions are normal and maintenance labour
costs are low.GIS are advantageous when the space available is limited, land prices are high,
environmental conditions are more extreme, and reliability of power supply is of more importance.

2. Aim of Micro Project

➢ To study about the review about the Gas Insulated Substation.
➢ Prepare a report of the Gas Insulated Substation.
➢ The Aim of this microproject is to understand the specification, cost, application, features
manufacturer of gas insulated substation.
➢ Collect information of Gas Insulated Substation in detail.

3. Actual procedure Followed.

• Selected the topic.
• Did research on it.
• Made report on micro project.

4. Gas Insulated Substation

GIS is totally capsuled, that is impervious to and distinguished from the external ambiance. This is a
huge benefit from environment viewpoint such as ocean based oilrigs, particle or mist pollution
sources. Nevertheless, because the gas isolated switchgear is totally capsuled, a needed visible

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disconnecting means cannot be directly accomplished. The grounding and disconnect switches,
needed in both air and gas insulated arrangements, will have view ports in gas isolated devices. GIS
has a reduced “footprint” than a corresponding air insulated substation, usually less than half the
area. Even though a gas isolated substation will initially cost more than a similar air insulated
substation, the economics may rationalize its installation where land is pricey, such as city centers.
GIS may also be rationalized when a low-profile substation is required to “hide” a substation.

As a gas isolated switchgear element is isolated for servicing, it will be required to affirm the places
of the grounding and disconnect switches. Since these switches are totally cased within the
aluminium enclosure, it is essential for producers to allow for view ports. The view ports allow, by
visual verification, to check the position of the different disconnect and grounding switches. In some
situations, this can be completed with using just a flashlight. In other situations, at strange access
points, a camera with a light source supplied by the producer is handy. Gas isolated devices are
typically furnished with a local control cabinet (LCC). Generally, this cabinet lets in control switches
for the operation of one circuit breaker and its related grounding and disconnect switches and breaker
alarms. The protective relays related with the GIS devices may or may not put in the same place.
Since SF6gas behaves as a vital insulator, it is required to keep adequate density within the GIS
devices. Hence, there will be alarm and trip contacts from sensors for each gas separation to warn
staff or isolate devices when the insulation integrity is insufficient. One of the advantages of GIS
devices over its air insulated equipment is the minimal servicing that is needed of the GIS. This is
mainly due to the breakup of the conductors and isolators from the outside ambience. Modern GIS
devices have very low SF6 gas leakage rates. The operation counter may help in finding out if any
servicing will be needed on the mechanisms, but this is generally many years between maintenance.

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5. Need of Gas Insulated Substations

❖ GIS technology originally began in Japan in the 60’s, where there was a critical need to
develop substations with a greatly reduced footprint.
❖ GIS was slowly adopted by various other countries over the following years. After about 5
years of evaluation and testing, GIS system construction increased to about 20% of new
substations in countries with severe space limitations.
❖ For countries with space readily available, the higher cost of GIS relative to AIS has limited
its adoption to special needs cases. In the US, only about 2 to 5% of new substations are
constructed as GIS.

❖ With GIS technology, the clearance needed for phase to phase or phase to ground for all
equipment is much less than that of an AIS or air insulated substation.

❖ The total space required for a GIS is roughly a tenth of that needed for a conventional AIS
facility. While the conventional, AIS requires several feet of air insulation to isolate a
conductor, SF6 gas insulation only needs inches, allowing a GIS facility to fit into areas far
smaller than that of a AIS facility. A GIS is mainly constructed where real estate space is
expensive or scarce.

❖ GIS technology is a good choice to use in desert locations, as it can be enclosed in a building
which is environmentally protected from extreme conditions.

In addition to protecting the system components from extreme heat and cold, GIS technology
encloses the electrical components within a Faraday cage (an earthed metal screen surrounding a
piece of equipment to exclude electrostatic and electromagnetic influences) which shields the
system from potential lightning strikes.

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 • Gas Insulated Components of Substation
(I) Electrical bus bars.
(II) Electrical isolators.
(III) Circuit breakers.

(IV) Current transformer.

(V) Voltage transformer.

(VI) Earth switches.

(VII) Lightning arrester.

6. Specifications (GIS)

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7.0 Applications (GIS)
❖ Low area requirement. 550 kV models, for example, take only fraction of the space required by
conventional – air types.

❖ Environmental adaptability. GIS is suitable for installation almost anywhere: in or out of doors,
even underground; near the sea, in mountainous areas, in regions with heavy snowfall, etc. iii.
High margin safety. The high voltage conductors are securely enclosed in grounded metal.

❖ High reliability. The chemically inert SF6 enveloping the conductors and insulators preserves
them for years of trouble-free operation.

❖ Long maintenance intervals. SF6 gas’s arc-quenching properties reduce contact wear.
Technological advancements over the years have seen GIS continues to grow smaller and
lighter.

❖ Low Maintenance Cost: GIS are highly reliable and maintenance free. No inspection is
required before ten years.

❖ Long Life: The operating life of GIS is 40 to 50 years compared to 25 to 30 years of

conventional outdoor grid station. viii. Personnel Safety: GIS causes no risk of injury to
operating personnel.

❖ Short Circuits by Wildlife: Fully encapsulated enclosures reduce risk of outages caused by
lizards and vandalism.

❖ Unbeatable Performance: Factory assembled and tested units offers unbeatable performance in
terms of reliability and continuity of power supply.

❖ Unaffected by Environmental Conditions: GIS is unaffected by environmental factors. It is

most suitable for harsh environmental conditions i.e. where humid, saline, polluted atmosphere
laden with industrial exhausts prevails.

❖ Economical: SF6 plants are more economical than conventional equipment despite the higher
cost of switchgear.

8.0 Uses (GIS)

GIS for outdoor use
a. GIS for outdoor use is a compact switchgear solution for a rated voltage upto 245 kV, used
mainly for renewal or expansion of air insulated outdoor subs-stations. They are also equally used
for new outdoor sub-stations. With the introduction of outdoor GIS, replacement and expansion of
sub-stations can be carried out with ease and convenience with minimum disturbance of supply. GIS
outdoor has the same feature as GIS indoor.

b. GIS for outdoor use, is the combination of metal encapsulated, gas insulated modules with air
insulated components such as bus bars, etc and are mounted on a separate frame on foundation. All

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modules fit together at the same height. Only supporting structures, foundations, and termination
gantries are required. The quantities and equipment for outdoor bushings, foundations and support
structures is very small compared to air insulated conventional sub-station

9.0 Features (GIS)

Gas Insulated Switchgear Substations are fast gaining popularity in India and many other countries
due to constraint of sufficient land for Air insulated outdoor substations. We have thorough
knowhow of designing and preparing drawings for Gas Insulated substations up to 400kV. Following
services are provided:

❖ Topographical contour survey ofsGeotechnical investigation o Soil resistivity measurement

❖ Electrical SLD, protections, metering, controls and indications
❖ Survey drawings, Topographical contour layout o Overall site layout plan o Substation layout
plan & elevation o Indoor and outdoor Cable trench layout o Earthing calculation, layout and
earthing details
❖ DSLP calculation and layout
❖ Control schematics and terminal plans of bay marshalling kiosks o Cable schedule and
interconnection diagram for Power and control cables o Technical specification of all
equipment and materials o Lighting calculations, SLD and layout
❖ Bill of materials for cables, cable trays, racks, earthing, lightning protection and lighting
systems
❖ Short circuit force calculation for strung bus and rigid tubular bus o Fault level calculation o
CT & VT sizing calculations
❖ Battery and battery charger sizing calculations
❖ Vendor drawing review.
❖ Civil drawings and calculations for foundations, cable trenches, culverts, drains, control
bldg., GIS Bldg., DG room, Store shed, Security room, Switchyard panel room (AC Kiosk),
pump house, fire water reservoir.
❖ GS structure drawings for gantry towers, beams and equipment supports o SCADA
architecture diagram, Input-Output list, BOM of SCADA system o Schematic diagrams,
specifications and BOM for Fire detection and alarm system o LILO Tower and Overhead
line termination arrangements.

10. Maintenance of GIS Maintenance

Maintenance GIS equipment has showed great reliability over the last several decades. GIS
factories are promoting a “maintenance-free” approach. This does not mean that maintenance is not
needed at all, but practice has showed that very minimum maintenance is required for GIS
installation in comparison to other substation technologies. Following paragraphs focus on different
aspects of maintenance and operation of GIS installations.

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 Typical Maintenance Processes GIS manufacturers provide end users with suggested maintenance
plans. These plans can insignificantly differ between manufacturers, but the basic principles are as
follows.

Visual Verification
Visual Verification On a frequent basis (few times a year), it is suggested to complete a visual
inspection of all GIS devices. The equipment does not require de-energization. The objective of this
inspection is to verify that there is no sign of unexpected wear or equipment disoperation. Common
operations completed during this inspection are: -

❖ Examine compressor run times and adequate operation for pneumatic systems. In the case of
spring operators conduct a visual inspection for any defects.

❖ Verify oil pressure and tightness.

❖ Note down switching equipment operations using the operation counters.

Minor Verification
Minor Verification This verification can be completed every 5–10 years on GIS devices but the
verification can also depend on several operations of switching elements. The objective is to verify
the adequate operation of all switching elements. For this, the corresponding equipment has to be
de-energized.

Laboratory assessment of the gas may assist in identifying unusual wear, insulator defects or other
problems due to arcing or partial discharge and can be repaired before it degenerates to an
unexpected major fault.

This maintenance procedure does not demand opening gas chambers. Common operations
completed during this inspection are:

❖ Verification of SF6 by-product and impurity content (SO2 and moisture, in situations
when chambers are not equipped with absorbers)
❖ Verification of SF6 pressures (density)
❖ Find any SF6 leakages (in case of alarms since the last verification)
❖ Verification of SF6 gas purity
❖ Verify proper operation of pressure switches, in the case of hydraulic mechanism use
❖ Verification of SF6 density relay operations
❖ Verification of control and alarm functions
❖ Verify the correct alignment and operation of position indicators –
❖ Note down and verify circuit breakers operating times (from auxiliary switches) Exercise
the circuit breakers and switching elements.

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Major Verification
Major Verification This verification can be completed every 15–20 years but it strongly depends on
the number of operations of switching equipment. Typically, major verifications are more
condition-based than time-based maintenance. Opening of some chambers may be needed during
such verifications.

In addition to the tasks completed during minor verifications, the common operations completed
during major inspections are:

❖ Lubrication of different linkages and drives

❖ Replacement of gaskets and absorbers when chambers are opened.
❖ Record and verification of travel curves for circuit breakers
❖ Opening and verification of the switching elements if they have reached the limits suggested
by the GIS manufacturers.
❖ Overhaul of the hydraulic mechanism with oil, filter, and switches replacement plus
maintenance on the rams and drive mechanisms. Inspection of the circuit breaker interrupter
mechanism including nozzles and contacts

11. Outcome of The Project

❖ Learning about the Gas Insulated Substation.

❖ Learning about the specification, application, features, cost, manufacturer, of gas insulated
Substation.
❖ Learn to find the gas insulated substation information from various websites and reference
books.

12. Conclusion:

Overall, geographic information systems (GIS) are an efficient and effective option for high
voltage substations, particularly in heavily populated regions. It is an excellent choice for electricity
transmission and distribution because to its compact form, great insulating characteristics, and
resistance to extreme weather conditions. The expensive cost of installation and maintenance, on the
other hand, may be a barrier to wider adoption.

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