This thesis investigates circuit breaker switching transients when interrupting shunt reactors and capacitor banks using a non-intrusive measurement technique. The technique measures high frequency and low frequency voltage waveforms during switching operations without requiring a plant outage. Field measurements were taken at two 275 kV substations. The results show that the technique can monitor circuit breaker switching transients and extract useful information on switching instances. Further research is discussed to realize the full potential of the measuring technique.
This thesis investigates circuit breaker switching transients when interrupting shunt reactors and capacitor banks using a non-intrusive measurement technique. The technique measures high frequency and low frequency voltage waveforms during switching operations without requiring a plant outage. Field measurements were taken at two 275 kV substations. The results show that the technique can monitor circuit breaker switching transients and extract useful information on switching instances. Further research is discussed to realize the full potential of the measuring technique.
This thesis investigates circuit breaker switching transients when interrupting shunt reactors and capacitor banks using a non-intrusive measurement technique. The technique measures high frequency and low frequency voltage waveforms during switching operations without requiring a plant outage. Field measurements were taken at two 275 kV substations. The results show that the technique can monitor circuit breaker switching transients and extract useful information on switching instances. Further research is discussed to realize the full potential of the measuring technique.
This thesis investigates circuit breaker switching transients when interrupting shunt reactors and capacitor banks using a non-intrusive measurement technique. The technique measures high frequency and low frequency voltage waveforms during switching operations without requiring a plant outage. Field measurements were taken at two 275 kV substations. The results show that the technique can monitor circuit breaker switching transients and extract useful information on switching instances. Further research is discussed to realize the full potential of the measuring technique.
REACTORS AND SHUNT CAPACITORS Mohd Shamir Ramli, B.Eng
Submi tted i n f ul f i l ment of the requi rements for the degree of Master of Engi neeri ng School of Engi neeri ng Systems Facul ty of Bui l t Envi ronment and Engi neeri ng Queensl and Uni versi ty of Technol ogy
2008
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page i Keywords Antenna, arcing ti me, capaci tor bank, capaci ti ve coupli ng, ci rcui t breaker, condi ti on monitori ng, control l ed swi tchi ng, current i nterruption, high f requency, hi gh vol tage, non-i ntrusi ve, on-l i ne moni tori ng, overvol tages, prestri ke, restri ke, rei gni ti on, shunt reactor, swi tchi ng, ti mi ng, transi ents, vol tage sensor. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page i i Abstract Switching of shunt reactors and capaci tor banks i s known to cause a very hi gh rate of ri se of transi ent recovery vol tage across the ci rcui t breaker contacts. Wi th i mprovements i n ci rcui t breaker technol ogy, modern SF6 puf f er ci rcui ts have been desi gned wi th l ess i nterrupter per pol e than previ ous generati ons of SF6 ci rcui t breakers. This has caused modern ci rcui t breakers to operate wi th hi gher vol tage stress i n the di electri c recovery regi on af ter current i nterrupti on. Catastrophic f ai l ures of modern SF6 ci rcui t breakers have been reported duri ng shunt reactor and capaci tor bank de-energi sation. I n those cases, evi dence of cumulati ve re- stri kes has been f ound to be the main cause of i nterrupter f ai l ure. Moni tori ng of vol tage wavef orms duri ng swi tchi ng woul d provi de i nf ormati on about the magni tude and f requency of small re-igni tions and re-stri kes. However, measuri ng wavef orms at a moderatel y hi gh f requency requi re pl ant outages to connect equi pment. I n recent years, there have been i ncreasi ng i nterests i n usi ng RF measurements i n condi ti on moni tori ng of swi tchgear. The RF measurement techni que used f or measuri ng ci rcui t breaker i nter-pol e swi tchi ng time duri ng capaci tor bank cl osi ng i s of parti cul ar i nterest. I n thi s thesi s, research has been carri ed out to i nvesti gate swi tchi ng transi ents produced duri ng ci rcui t breaker swi tchi ng capaci tor banks and shunt reactors using a non-i ntrusi ve measurement techni que. The proposed techni que measures the hi gh frequency and l ow f requency vol tage wavef orms during switching operati ons wi thout the need of an outage. The pri nci pl es of thi s measurement techni que are di scussed and f i el d measurements were carri ed out at shunt rector and capaci tor bank i nstall ati on i n two 275 kV air i nsul ated substations. Resul ts of the measurements are presented and di scussed i n thi s thesi s. The proposed technique shows that i t i s rel ati vel y easy to moni tor ci rcui t breaker swi tchi ng transi ents and usef ul i nf ormati on on swi tchi ng i nstances can be extracted f rom the measured wavef orms. Further research works are di scussed to reali se the f ul l potenti al of the measuri ng techni que.
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I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page i i i Table of Contents Keywords.................................................................................................................................................i Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. i i Tabl e of Contents.................................................................................................................................. i i i Li st of Fi gures........................................................................................................................................vi Li st of Tabl es .........................................................................................................................................i x Li st of Abbrevi ati ons ..............................................................................................................................x Statement of Ori gi nal Authorshi p ..........................................................................................................xi Acknowl edgments................................................................................................................................ xi i CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background..................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Research conducted .....................................................................................................................2 1.3 Thesi s outl i ne...............................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................... 4 2.1 Revi ew of current i nterrupti on i n ci rcui t breakers.......................................................................4 2.2 Reacti ve equi pment swi tchi ng .....................................................................................................6 2.3 Revi ew on capaci tor bank swi tchi ng ...........................................................................................8 2.3.1 I nterrupti ng capaci tor bank...............................................................................................8 2.3.2 Energi si ng capaci tor bank ..............................................................................................13 2.4 Revi ew of reactor bank swi tchi ng .............................................................................................14 2.4.1 I nterrupti ng shunt reactor bank.......................................................................................15 2.4.2 Current choppi ng............................................................................................................16 2.4.3 Rei gni ti on .......................................................................................................................20 2.4.4 Osci l l ati on modes...........................................................................................................24 2.4.5 I nteracti on between phases.............................................................................................26 2.4.6 Energi si ng transi ents.......................................................................................................28 2.5 Li mi tati on of overvol tage transi ent duri ng reacti ve swi tchi ng ..................................................28 2.5.1 Over vol tage l i mi tati on..................................................................................................28 2.5.2 Control l ed swi tchi ng.......................................................................................................29 2.6 Fai l ure of ci rcui t breaker due to restri ki ng ................................................................................30 2.6.1 I mportance of detecti ng restri ke.....................................................................................36 2.7 Condi ti on moni tori ng f or ci rcui t breakers .................................................................................39 2.7.1 Detecti ng restri kes or i nterrupter experi enci ng prol ong restri kes ..................................40 2.7.2 Al ternati ve moni tori ng methods.....................................................................................40 CHAPTER 3: NEW METHODS FOR CONDITION MONITORING OF RESTRIKING EHV CBS...................................................................................................................................................... 42 3.1 Non-i nvasi ve ci rcui t breaker moni tori ng usi ng radi ometri c measurement ................................42 3.2 Research methodol ogy...............................................................................................................43 3.3 Devel opi ng measuri ng equi pment .............................................................................................44 3.4 Acti ve broadband Antenna ........................................................................................................45 3.5 Capaci ti ve Coupl i ng antenna.....................................................................................................47 3.5.1 Constructi on of the Passi ve Antenna..............................................................................47 Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on 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I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page i v 3.5.2 Revi ew on capaci ti ve coupl i ng.......................................................................................49 3.5.3 Si ngl e phase capaci ti ve coupl i ng model .........................................................................51 3.5.4 Three phase coupl i ng i nsi de substati on ..........................................................................55 3.6 Recordi ng i nstruments...............................................................................................................56 3.6.1 Di gi tal osci l l oscopes.......................................................................................................56 3.6.2 Coaxi al cabl e ..................................................................................................................58 3.6.3 Measurement requi rement i n substati on.........................................................................58 CHAPTER 4: EXPLORATORY MEASUREMENT ON SINGLE-PHASE REACTOR SWITCHING AND CAPACITOR BANK SWITCHING ............................................................. 60 4.1 Fi el d measurement at Ergon Laboratory....................................................................................60 4.1.1 Purpose of measurement .................................................................................................60 4.1.2 Restri ki ng i n Vacuum Ci rcui t Breaker ...........................................................................60 4.1.3 Test and measurement set up..........................................................................................62 4.1.4 Reactor openi ng at 3kV wi th Passi ve Antenna l ocated cl ose to the suppl y transf ormer 64 4.1.5 Concl usi on......................................................................................................................67 4.2 Expl oratory three phase capaci tor bank swi tchi ng measurement at Bl ackwal l substati on ........68 4.2.1 Purpose of si te measurement ..........................................................................................68 4.2.2 Si te detai l s and arrangement ...........................................................................................68 4.2.3 Measurement set up ........................................................................................................70 4.2.4 Summary of tests/measurement carri ed out ....................................................................72 4.2.5 Openi ng operati on ..........................................................................................................73 4.2.6 Cl osi ng operati on............................................................................................................75 4.2.7 Di scussi on.......................................................................................................................77 4.2.8 I mprovement to be taken ................................................................................................77 CHAPTER 5: MEASUREMENT OF CAPACITOR BANK SWITCHING............................... 79 5.1 Si te detai l s and arrangement ......................................................................................................79 5.2 Test and measurement set up .....................................................................................................81 5.3 Summary of tests/measurement carri ed out ...............................................................................83 5.4 Background measurement..........................................................................................................84 5.5 Capaci tor bank cl osi ng...............................................................................................................87 5.6 I mperf ect capaci tor bank cl osi ng...............................................................................................90 5.7 Capaci tor bank openi ng .............................................................................................................94 5.8 Summary on capaci tor bank swi tchi ng tests..............................................................................99 5.8.1 Cl osi ng operati on............................................................................................................99 5.8.2 Openi ng operati on ........................................................................................................100 CHAPTER 6: MEASUREMENT OF SHUNT REACTOR BANK SWITCHING.................. 101 6.1 Si te arrangement ......................................................................................................................101 6.2 Test and measurement set up ...................................................................................................103 6.3 Summary of tests/measurement carri ed out .............................................................................105 6.4 Background measurement........................................................................................................106 6.5 Shunt reactor bank cl osi ng.......................................................................................................108 6.6 Shunt reactor bank openi ng .....................................................................................................114 6.7 Summary on shunt reactor bank swi tchi ng tests......................................................................119 6.7.1 Background measurement ............................................................................................119 6.7.2 Cl osi ng operati on..........................................................................................................119 6.7.3 Openi ng operati on ........................................................................................................119 CHAPTER 7: ANALYSIS OF RESULTS..................................................................................... 121 Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page v 7.1 Three phase capaci ti ve coupl i ng model ...................................................................................121 7.2 Observati ons of arci ng si gnal s i n shunt reactor openi ng .........................................................129 7.3 Anal ysi s i n f requency-ti me domai n .........................................................................................138 7.3.1 Anal ysi ng usi ng Fast Fouri er Transf orm (FFT) ...........................................................138 7.3.2 Anal ysi ng usi ng Short Ti me Fast Fouri er Transf orm (ST FFT) Anal ysi s....................139 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION........................................................................................................ 144 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................. 144 APPENDICES.................................................................................................................................. 153 Appendi x A: Si te Measurement Procedure..............................................................................153 Appendi x B : Sampl e of f orms used f or si te measurement ......................................................156 Appendi x C : Matl ab Program f or Capaci ti ve Di vi der Model (I n Chapter 7) .........................158
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Fi gure 2.1 Typi cal Ci rcui t I nterrupti on (f rom [ 7] ) ..................................................................................5 Fi gure 2.2 Si ngl e Phase Capaci tor Bank ci rcui t (f rom [ 10] )...................................................................8 Fi gure 2.3 Capaci tance Swi tchi ng (a) System vol tage and current. (b) Capaci tor vol tage (c) Vol tage across CB contact. (f rom [ 9] ) .........................................................................................................9 Fi gure 2.4 Capaci tance swi tchi ng showi ng the ef f ect of source regul ati on (f rom [ 9] ) .........................10 Fi gure 2.5 Capaci tance swi tchi ng wi th a restri ke at peak vol tage. (f rom [ 9] ) ......................................12 Fi gure 2.6. Capaci tance swi tchi ng wi th mul ti pl e restri kes. (f rom [ 9] ) .................................................13 Fi gure 2.7. Si ngl e phase equi val ent ci rcui t [ 11] ...................................................................................16 Fi gure 2.8 Current choppi ng phenomena (f rom [ 3] ) .............................................................................17 Fi gure 2.9 Choppi ng Phenomena i n si ngl e phase (f rom [ 11] ) ..............................................................19 Fi gure 2.10 Rei gni ti on Wi ndows (f rom[ 3] ) ..........................................................................................21 Fi gure 2.11 Rei gni ti on at recovery vol tage peak f or a ci rcui t wi th l ow suppl y si de capaci tance (f rom [ 3] )................................................................................................................................................23 Fi gure 2.12 Maxi mum re-i gni ti on overvol tages (f rom [ 3] ) ..................................................................24 Fi gure 2.13 Osci l l ati on Mode i n the reactor ci rcui t ..............................................................................25 Fi gure 2.14 Load si de osci l l ati on wi th ci rcui t breaker l ocated cl ose to shunt reactor (f rom[ 3] ) .........27 Fi gure 2.15 Load si de osci l l ati on wi th ci rcui t breaker l ocated remote f rom shunt reactor (f rom [ 3] ) .27 Fi gure 2.16 (a) Typi cal schemati c of SF6 CB showi ng mai n contacts (1), arci ng contacts (2) and nozzl e (3). (b) Vol tage di stri buti on i n i nterrupter chamber. [ 21] .................................................33 Fi gure 2.17 Anal ysi s of vol tage breakdown f or mai n and arci ng contacts al ong the contact gap. (f rom [ 21] ) ..............................................................................................................................................34 Fi gure 3.1 Photo of Broadband Acti ve Antenna...................................................................................46 Fi gure 3.2 Gai n vs Frequency f or RF ampl i f i er [ 62] ............................................................................46 Fi gure 3.3 Passi ve Antenna Drawi ng....................................................................................................47 Fi gure 3.4 Photo of Passi ve Antenna....................................................................................................48 Fi gure 3.5 El ectrostati c coupl i ng between a HV conductor and secondary ci rcui t...............................49 Fi gure 3.6 Capaci ti ve Di vi der ...............................................................................................................51 Fi gure 3.7 Passi ve Antenna Equi val ent Ci rcui t ....................................................................................52 Fi gure 3.8 Bode Di agram......................................................................................................................54 Fi gure 3.9 Capaci ti ve coupl i ng between three phase conductors and three passi ve antennas. .............55 Fi gure 3.10 Recordi ng i nstrument arrangement....................................................................................56 Fi gure 4.1 Restri ki ng Process Duri ng CB Openi ng (f rom [ 58] ) ...........................................................61 Fi gure 4.2 Measured Vol tage at reactor termi nal (f rom [ 58] )...............................................................61 Fi gure 4.3 Experi mental Ci rcui t arrangement .......................................................................................62 Fi gure 4.4 Photograph showi ng Laboratory arrangement.....................................................................63 Fi gure 4.5 Photograph showi ng Laboratory arrangement.....................................................................63 Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page vi i Figure 4.6 (a) WaveIorms during opening oI vacuum circuit breaker at 3 kV (b) Area A Restrikes on Reactor Voltage (c) Area A Restrikes detected by passi ve antenna.....................................65 Fi gure 4.7 HF restri ki ng pul ses detected on Acti ve Antenna ...............................................................66 Fi gure 4.8 Magni f i cati on on one HF pul se ...........................................................................................67 Fi gure 4.9. Bl ackwal l Substati on I nterconnecti on ................................................................................69 Fi gure 4.10 Bl ackwal l Capaci tor Bank Layout ....................................................................................70 Fi gure 4.11 Measuri ng equi pment l ayout .............................................................................................71 Fi gure 4.12 Antenna wavef orm on CB opened at poi nt A ....................................................................73 Fi gure 4.13 HF pul ses duri ng openi ng..................................................................................................74 Fi gure 4.14 Three typi cal HF Pul ses Duri ng Openi ng..........................................................................74 Fi gure 4.15 Passi ve Antenna wavef orm on cl osi ng ..............................................................................75 Fi gure 4.16 HF markers duri ng cl osi ng ................................................................................................75 Fi gure 4.17 (a) to (f ) typi cal HF Pul ses duri ng cl osi ng.........................................................................76 Fi gure 5.1 Three-phase vol tage wavef orms and control l ed cl osi ng poi nts f or a Capaci tor Bank.........80 Fi gure 5.2 Three-phase current wavef orms and control l ed openi ng poi nts f or a Capaci tor Bank.......80 Fi gure 5.3 Measuri ng equi pment l ayout f or tests at Bl ackwal l .............................................................81 Fi gure 5.4 Capaci tor Bank I nstal l ati on .................................................................................................82 Fi gure 5.5 Recordi ng I nstrumentati on ..................................................................................................82 Fi gure 5.6 Pl an vi ew of antenna posi ti ons at Capaci tor Bank i nstal l ati on duri ng background measurement.................................................................................................................................85 Fi gure 5.7 Wavef orm f rom Background measurement .........................................................................86 Fi gure 5.8 Pl an vi ew of the antenna posi ti ons f or Test 5......................................................................87 Fi gure 5.9 Wavef orms captured duri ng CB cl ose operati on f or Test 5 ................................................88 Fi gure 5.10 Wavef orms captured on Powerl i nk`s portable recorder Ior Test 5....................................89 Fi gure 5.11 Pl an vi ew of the antenna posi ti ons f or Test 3....................................................................91 Fi gure 5.12 Wavef orms captured on Powerl i nk`s portable recorder Ior Test 3....................................92 Fi gure 5.13 Wavef orms captured duri ng CB cl ose operati on f or Test 3 ..............................................93 Fi gure 5.14 Pl an vi ew of the antenna posi ti ons f or Test 8....................................................................94 Figure 5.15 WaveIorms captured on Powerlink`s portabl e recorder f or Test 8-Open..........................96 Fi gure 5.16 Wavef orms captured duri ng CB open operati on f or Test 8...............................................98 Fi gure 6.1 Three-phase vol tage wavef orms and control l ed cl osi ng poi nts f or a Shunt Reactor Bank102 Fi gure 6.2 Three-phase current wavef orms and control l ed openi ng poi nts f or Shunt Reactor Bank .102 Fi gure 6.3 Measuri ng equi pment l ayout at Braemar substati on..........................................................103 Fi gure 6.4 Shunt Reactor I nstal l ati on..................................................................................................104 Fi gure 6.5 PASS MO Ci rcui t Breaker.................................................................................................104 Fi gure 6.6 Passi ve and acti ve antennas l ocati on .................................................................................105 Fi gure 6.7 Pl an vi ew of the antenna posi ti ons at shunt reactor i nstal l ati on ........................................107 Fi gure 6.8 Wavef orm on Background measurement ..........................................................................108 Fi gure 6.9 Wavef orms captured on Powerl i nk`s portable recorder Ior Test 4....................................109 Fi gure 6.10 Wavef orms captured by PA 1,2 and 3 duri ng CB cl osi ng operati on f or Test 4 ..............110 Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page vi i i Fi gure 6.11 Wavef orms captured duri ng CB cl ose operati on i n Test 4 by each antenna ...................111 Fi gure 6.12 Compari son of vol tage magni tude of cl osi ng pul ses at each cl osi ng event .....................112 Fi gure 6.13 Wavef orms captured on Powerl i nk`s portable recorder Ior Test 7..................................114 Fi gure 6.14 Wavef orms captured duri ng CB open operati on i n Test 7 ..............................................115 Fi gure 6.15 Wavef orms captured duri ng CB open operati on by each antenna..................................117 Fi gure 7.1 Capaci tances between passi ve antennas and three phase conductors wi th symmetri cal spaci ngs......................................................................................................................................122 Fi gure 7.2 Equi val ent ci rcui t f or passi ve antenna at l ocati on 1 measuri ng three phase vol tages. ......123 Fi gure 7.3 Output wavef orms f or Case 1............................................................................................125 Fi gure 7.4 Capaci tances between passi ve antennas and three phase conductors wi th unsymmetri cal di stances.....................................................................................................................................127 Fi gure 7.5 Output wavef orms f or Case 2............................................................................................127 Fi gure 7.6 Output wavef orms f or Case 3............................................................................................128 Fi gure 7.7 Wavef orms recorded by Acti ve antenna on capaci tor bank openi ng ................................130 Fi gure 7.8 Wavef orms recorded by Acti ve antenna on shunt reactor openi ng duri ng Test 7.............131 Fi gure. 7.9 Test 7 - AA si gnal s wi thout noi se and l oad osci l l ati on ....................................................131 Fi gure. 7.10 Test 7 - Cumul ati ve energy agai nst ti me ........................................................................132 Fi gure 7.11 Test 7 - Densi ty of Pul ses wi th ti me................................................................................133 Fi gure 7.12 Test 7 - Cumul ati ve Pul ses agai nst ti me..........................................................................133 Fi gure 7.13 Test 5 - AA si gnal s wi thout noi se and l oad osci l l ati on .................................................134 Fi gure 7.14 Test5 - Cumul ati ve energy agai nst ti me ..........................................................................135 Fi gure 7.15 Test 5 - Densi ty of Pul ses wi th ti me................................................................................136 Fi gure 7.16 Test 5 - Cummul ati ve pul ses agai nst ti me.......................................................................136 Fi gure 7.17 RF Measurement showi ng arc si gnal U D , swi tch vol tage Us and current I s [ 50] . ...........137 Fi gure 7.18 Reactor Openi ng Test 7 (a)Ti me domai n pl ot of PA1 wavef orm f or openi ng f rom 20 ms to 50 ms (b) Frequency content of wavef orm i n (a). .................................................................139 Fi gure 7.19 (a) Vol tage-Ti me domai n pl ot of wavef orms f rom PA2 (b) ST FFT contour pl ot of PA2 wavef orms f or openi ng- f rom 23 ms to 28 ms...........................................................................141 Fi gure 7.20 (a) Vol tage-Ti me domai n pl ot of AA (b) ST FFT contour pl ot of AA (f rom 0-2MHz) (c) ST FFT contour pl ot of AA (f rom 0-10MHz) f or openi ng f rom 23 ms to 28 ms ......................142
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Tabl e 2.1 Resul ts of the overhaul of the ci rcui t breakers (f rom [ 4] ). ....................................................31 Tabl e 2.2 Resul ts of tests made to exami ne ef f ects of parasi ti c arci ng.(f rom [ 25] ) ..............................36 Tabl e 2.3 Stati sti cs cause of f ai l ure of ci rcui t breaker (f rom [ 28] ) ......................................................38 Tabl e 3.1 Characteri sti cs of Agi l ent Di gi tal Osci l l oscope....................................................................56 Tabl e 3.2 Characteri sti cs of Yokogawa Di gi tal Osci l l oscope...............................................................57 Tabl e 4.1 Cal i brati on between test vol tage, suppl y vol tage and Passi ve antenna.................................64 Tabl e 4.2 Summary of tests conducted at Bl ackwal l on 21 st May 2007 ...............................................72 Tabl e 5.1 Summary of tests conducted at Bl ackwal l on 7 th August 2007.............................................83 Tabl e 5.2 Vol tage measured by each Passi ve antenna duri ng background measurement .....................86 Tabl e 5.3 Summary of CB ti mi ng and pol e sequence f or capaci tor bank cl osi ng Test 5......................90 Tabl e 5.4 Summary of CB ti mi ng and pol e sequence f or capaci tor bank cl osi ng Test 3......................94 Tabl e 5.5 Summary of CB ti mi ng and pol e sequence f or capaci tor bank Test 8 ..................................97 Tabl e 6.1 Summary of tests conducted at Braemar substati on on 21 st August 2007 ..........................106 Tabl e 6.2 Vol tage measured by each Passi ve antenna duri ng background measurement ...................108 Tabl e 6.3 Summary of CB ti mi ng and pol e sequence f or shunt reactor bank cl osi ng Test 4 .............113 Tabl e 6.4 Summary of CB ti mi ng and pol e sequence f or shunt reactor bank openi ng Test 7 ............118 Tabl e 7.1 Cal cul ated resul ts and measured val ues f rom Braemar substati on .....................................126 Tabl e 7.2 Di f f erences between ori gi nal wavef orm and reconstructed wavef orms wi th 10% error on capaci tances................................................................................................................................129 Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page x List of Abbreviations (Sort i n al phabeti cal order.) AA - Broadband acti ve antenna AI S - Ai r I nsul ated Swi tchgear CI GRE - I nternati onal Conf erence on Hi gh Vol tage Systems, Pari s CB - Ci rcui t Breaker EHV - Extra Hi gh Vol tage HF - Hi gh f requency PA - Passi ve antenna (capaci ti ve coupl i ng antenna) PASS - Pl ug And Swi tch System SF 6 - Sul phur hexaf l uori de VCB - Vacuum circui t breaker
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page xi Statement of Original Authorship The work contai ned i n thi s thesi s has not been previousl y submi tted to meet requi rements f or an award at thi s or any other hi gher education i nsti tution. To the best of my knowl edge and bel i ef , the thesi s contai ns no material previ ousl y publi shed or wri tten by another person except where due ref erence i s made.
Si gnature: _________________________
Date: _________________________ Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. I nvesti gati on of Ci rcui t Breaker Swi tchi ng Transi ents f or Shunt Reactors and Shunt Capaci tors M.Shami r Raml i , M.Eng Thesi s, QUT, 2008 Page xi i Acknowledgments Fi rst and foremost, my most si ncere thanks must go to my supervi sors, Associ ate Prof essor Davi d Bi rtwhi stl e and Dr. Tee Tang, f or thei r advi ce, gui dance and most of al l thei r pati ence and understandi ng throughout thi s research. Speci al acknowl edgement i s made towards Powerli nk Queensland f or the f i nancial support gi ven to this research proj ect and also to Dr Jose Lopez Rol dan of Powerl i nk f or hi s assi stance and contri buti on in thi s research. The assi stance of staf f of Powerl i nk Queensl and i n carryi ng out f ield measurements i s greatl y acknowl edged. I woul d al so li ke to thank the Head of the School of Engi neeri ng Systems, Queensl and Uni versi ty of Technol ogy, for the use of the f aci l i ties. Speci al thanks go to the techni cal staf f at Level 9, S Bl ock, f or thei r assi stance wi th l aboratory works, giving j okes that bri ghten up the day and techni cal advi ces on equi pment. I al so thank my col l eagues f or thei r hel p throughout the research work. I gratef ul l y acknowl edge the management of Tenaga Nasi onal Berhad (TNB), Mal aysi a f or awardi ng a schol arshi p to me to f urther my studi es and to embark on a very good research that wi ll benef i t the organi sation di rectl y or i ndirectl y. Fi nal l y, my l ove and thanks go to my wi f e who has been gi vi ng support to me whi l e compl eti ng thi s research. Al so to my chi l dren f or cheeri ng me up at times when i t i s real l y needed. ALHAMDULLI LLAH.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 1: Introduction M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 1 1Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 BACKGROUND Modern SF6 puffer circuit breakers have been designed with far fewer interrupters per pole than previous generations of SF6 circuit breakers. This has meant that modern circuit breakers have to contend with far higher voltage stress in the dielectric recovery region than previous types. The increased stress has caused dielectric re-ignition of some types of circuit breakers on capacitive switching duties [1]. In line with this, new standards [2] have been developed that require a large number of tests and provide a classification of circuit breakers based on their probability of restriking for capacitive switching.
Switching of shunt reactors is recognised as a duty that causes a very high rate of rise of transient recovery voltage across the circuit breaker contacts [3]. Restrikes of modern SF6 circuit breakers have been observed during disconnection of shunt reactors but the high-frequency re- ignition current is interrupted at an early current zero and often there is no external evidence of any adverse effects on the circuit breaker interrupters.
With the ongoing development in circuit breakers, re-strike free operation of circuit breaker is not guaranteed for the stressful capacitive and inductive switching duty. [2] states that a very low restrike probability as the best possible performance for circuit breakers on capacitor bank switching duty. [1] and [3] give guidance on the application of AC high voltage circuit breakers for capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank switching respectively. Precautions are also taken during the design stage by selecting suitable breaker duty, carrying out system studies and evaluating methods to reduce overvoltage transients. Controlled switching to reduce switching transients seems to be the preferred method chosen by utilities.
Despite all these measures, failures of modern circuit breaker during capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank switching have been observed. There has been increasing evidence that recent failures of circuit breakers have been due to restriking during reactor switching [4] and capacitor switching. Generally, restrikes do not cause immediate failures but they gradually degrade the nozzle over time leading to catastrophic failure. Spencer [5] has suggested that the high-frequency re-ignition currents during interruption cause 'parasitic arcing in the circuit breaker nozzle and that this phenomena leads to gradual deterioration of the nozzle that may Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 1: Introduction M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 2 eventually puncture the nozzle material and result in the failure of the interrupter. Failures due to re-strike/re-ignition are becoming more of a concern as it is difficult to detect re-strike occurrence. Failures can be catastrophic and they can affect the availability, reliability, safety and cost of the system which can greatly affect the utilities.
Condition monitoring of circuit breakers is thus important in order to ensure the safe operation and reliability of circuit breakers. To date, no specific technique has been developed to detect re-strike. Currently, shut downs are required to physically connect monitoring equipment to measure switching transients and re-strike. An on-line non-intrusive technique would be an advantage in monitoring circuit breaker re-strike occurrence during switching of reactive equipment.
Moore [6] has demonstrated the practicality of measuring time between pole-closing in circuit breakers during capacitor switching duty from measurement of emitted radio waves. In this thesis research is conducted to determine whether it is possible to extend Moore`s methodology to investigate switching transients produced during capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank switching. Techniques for monitoring the magnitude and number of re-strikes occurring during reactor switching using this or similar methods have also been explored..
1.2 RESEARCH CONDUCTED This research investigates switching transients produced during the switching of three phase capacitor banks and shunt reactors. The research includes the development of a monitoring system which possesses most of the features required for the non-invasive, on-line monitoring of EHV circuit breakers in AIS substations. The monitoring system may be used to carry out on- line measurements at substations and the measured data are stored and analysed to give valuable information on the switching transients.
Measurements may be correlated with the actual switching event using recorded waveforms. Important information such as evidence of restrikes would be looked into from the data gathered.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 1: Introduction M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 3 1.3 THESIS OUTLINE This thesis includes a description of the development of the measuring system, results of measurements made in EHV substations, analysis of results, comparisons with other available techniques and suggestions for further works to be pursued.
Chapter 2 includes a literature review on topics related to the research. It reviews the principle of current interruption, capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank switching and failures of circuit breakers switching shunt reactor and capacitor banks. The importance of preventing failures is highlighted with the need to develop a suitable condition monitoring method to detect potential failures.
Chapter 3 describes the proposed new technique for monitoring CB during switching. It starts with a review of the radiometric method used previously and describes the methodology used in carrying out the research and development of the new monitoring system. The measurement principles are described followed by details of the design and construction of the high voltage transducers. . Chapters 4, 5 and 6 cover HV laboratory measurements, capacitor bank measurements and shunt reactor bank site measurements respectively. Switching transients are recorded and discussed. Results are analysed in time domain and important findings are highlighted.
Chapter 7 deals with analysis of the recorded waveforms. Analysis in frequency domain is shown to give more information and to correlate with the results from time domain analysis. Chapter 8 reviews work done in the research highlighting important information obtained from the measurements, the advantages of the measuring system and further work that can be done to develop the measuring system.
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This chapter contains a literature review of materials pertinent to this research. A basic review of current interruption in circuit breakers is carried out followed by a review of reactive switching, including capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank switching. The energisation and deenergisation phenomenon for capacitor and shunt reactor bank is described. Failures of circuit breakers due to restriking are considered and the case for detecting restrikes is established. This is followed by a review of the current available condition monitoring methods and their suitability for detecting restrikes. Finally, new monitoring methods are proposed. 2.1 REVIEW OF CURRENT INTERRUPTION IN CIRCUIT BREAKERS
The primary purpose of an interrupting device such as circuit breaker is to disconnect the circuit at the point at which it is placed. When closed, the circuit breaker must carry continuous rated current. The insulation to ground is stressed by the power frequency voltage and any transient overvoltages. When open, the dielectric between the contacts is stressed by the voltage developed across the open contacts.
During the transition period from closed to open and vice versa, a range of dynamic condition arise. For instance, during a transition from closed to open, the current must be interrupted to achieve electrical isolation. Interruption of current normally occurs at a current zero of the sinusoidal waveform and a voltage known as the transient recovery voltage appears across the open contacts of the circuit breaker. The ability of a circuit breaker to interrupt the current depends on external circuit parameters, dielectric recovery, contact separation at the time of current zero, interrupter design and the interrupting conditions e.g. normal load, reactive switching or fault current. The rate of rise and the peak value of the transient recovery voltage have a significant impact on circuit breaker performance. Waveforms of a typical circuit interruption [7] sequence are given in Figure 2.1 for a fault on the load-side terminals of a circuit breaker.
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Figure 2.1 Typical Circuit Interruption (from [7]) The circuit breaker contacts separate at Point A causing an arc to be drawn between the contacts. This arc has a resistance that creates a small voltage drop, Va. The arc continues until the current, I, drops to a level too small to maintain it. This occurs as the current passes through zero, at which point the arc extinguishes and the transient recovery voltage appears across the circuit breaker contacts. Successful interruption is achieved if the dielectric strength between the contacts as they separate increases at a greater rate than that of the transient recovery voltage. In addition, the breakdown strength of the gap between the contacts must exceed the peak value of the transient recovery voltage. If not, the arc will re-establish and current interruption may occur at a subsequent zero.
When the current ceases, the voltage between the contacts changes from virtually zero (the arc voltage) to the instantaneously value of the power frequency voltage. This change cannot take place instantaneously and a resultant overshoot occurs. The voltage approaches its steady state value by a transient oscillation with a frequency that is determined by the values of the circuit inductances and capacitances. The amplitude of the transient recovery voltage may reach two times the steady state voltage change for the first pole to clear. However, in practice, its value is usually less due primarily to system damping.
In addition, the instantaneous value of the recovery voltage at the instant of current interruption is dependent on the power factor of the circuit. The amplitude of the voltage change that occurs will depend on whether load, charging current or fault current is being interrupted. Under fault conditions, power systems are primarily inductive. Therefore the power factor of the circuit as seen from the circuit breaker is effectively zero lagging and the power frequency This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 6 component of the transient recovery voltage has its maximum value at the instant of current interruption as shown in Figure 2.1.
The capability of the circuit breaker [8] to successfully interrupt the current will depend on the phenomenon of current extinction at current zero. After current interruption, the still-hot gas between the breaker contacts is stressed by a steep rate of rise of the recovery voltage and in the resulting electric field the present charged particles start to drift and cause a hardly measurable so-called post arc current. The post arc-current, together with the transient recovery voltage, results in energy input in the still-hot gas channel. When the energy input is such that the individual gas molecules dissociate into free electrons and heavier positive ions, the plasma state is created again and current interruption has failed. This is called a thermal breakdown. Thermal breakdown normally occur within microsecond in a region known as thermal recovery phase. When the current interruption is successful, the hot-gas channel cools down and the post arc current disappears. However, if the dielectric strength of the gap between the breaker contacts is not sufficient to withstand the transient recovery voltage, a dielectric failure can occur. Dielectric failure normally occurs within milliseconds in a region known as dielectric recovery phase.
2.2 REACTIVE EQUIPMENT SWITCHING Switching of reactive equipment such as capacitor banks and shunt reactors is known to produce overvoltage transients that may cause insulation breakdown and lead to power system failure [8]. The reactive equipment is connected to the power system via circuit breakers, this similar for equipment like overhead lines, transformers and generators. When circuit breakers operate, parts of the power system are either separated from or connected to each other. This can be either a closing or opening operation of the circuit breakers.
After a closing operation, transient currents will flow through the system. Closing of a CB in a predominantly capacitive or inductive network may result in inrush currents. The high- frequency inrush current can cause problems by: production of severe mechanical stresses on equipment; production of over voltages due to the system response to the inrush current; and induction of undesirable transients into neighbouring circuits with low power relay and control circuits being particularly vulnerable. After an opening operation, when a power-frequency current is interrupted, a transient recovery voltage or TRV will appear across the terminals of the interrupting device. The configuration of the network as seen from the terminals the circuit breaker determines amplitude, frequency, shape of the current and voltage oscillations.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 7 When interrupting a mainly capacitive load (e.g. capacitor bank for voltage regulation) under normal load conditions, the current and voltage are approximately 90 degrees out of phase and the current is leading the voltage. When interrupting a mainly inductive load (e.g. large transformer or shunt reactor) under normal load conditions, current and voltage are also approximately 90 degrees out of phase with the current lagging the voltage.
In interrupting capacitive or inductive current, if the current is interrupted at current zero, the interruption is normal and the transient recovery voltages are within the specified values [8]. However when premature interruption occurs due to current chopping, interruption is abnormal and this may cause high-frequency re-ignitions and over voltages. If the interrupter chops high current in a reactor a high-magnitude oscillatory voltage surge may be produced.. If this process is repeated several times due to high-frequency re-ignitions, voltage doubling may ensue with rapid escalation of voltage. If these overvoltages exceed the specified dielectric strength for the circuit breaker, the interrupter and other parts of the circuit breaker may be damaged.
Re-ignition [8,9] is a phenomenon where a dielectric breakdown of the arc channel occurs within 5ms after current interruption. It is considered not detrimental to circuit breaker though no evidence has been found in the literature to substantiate this. Re-ignitions during recovery voltage are expected to cause 50Hz current to be re-established with minimal disturbance and the final interruption of current is delayed about 10ms until the next natural current zero for some types of circuit breakers. Puffer circuit breakers in which opening times are very critical may be more seriously affected, though there is no published research on this topic.
Re-striking [8,9] is dielectric breakdown of the arc channel after 5ms of interruption, when the recovery voltage is close to peak. The circuit breaker gap flashes over as the recovery voltage is greater than the dielectric strength of the gap. Re-strikes can cause high over voltages and high magnitude HF re-ignition currents that impose sever stresses on the circuit breaker and adjacent equipment. Numerous re-strikes and interruptions of re-ignition current may will lead to voltage escalation.
Voltage escalation is a phenomenon where voltage across the circuit breaker is increased by one or more interruptions of re-ignition current followed by further re-strikes. Generally interruption at the first or third re-ignition current zero or any odd zero leads to voltage escalation.
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2.3 REVIEW ON CAPACITOR BANK SWITCHING Shunt capacitor banks are extensively used to improve loading of the transmission lines as well as to support system voltages. As these capacitor banks are frequently switched in and out of duty, energisation and de-energisation transients are produced and raise important concerns. The concerns on energisation are overvoltages and inrush current whilst for de- energisation is restriking.
2.3.1 Interrupting capacitor bank Capacitor switching presents circuit breakers with a difficult switching condition. While interrupting capacitive current, the recovering circuit breaker can be severely stressed during the time when it is prone to dielectric failure. The problem of dielectric failure arises because the normal point of current interruption (current zero) occurs when the current leads the voltage by around 90 degrees. At current zero, a maximum voltage occurs, resulting in a fully charged capacitance upon disconnection from the source. The voltage due to this trapped charge creates high stresses during the first half cycle after interruption.
To consider the phenomena associated with capacitor de-energisation, the basic single phase circuit parameters are given in Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2 Single Phase Capacitor Bank circuit (from [10])
A capacitor bank can be represented by a lumped capacitance, C, connected to busbar via circuit breaker. A small capacitance, C b represents the capacitance of the substation busbar and other equipment. The impedance of the source is represented in the circuit by R 1 and L 1 . This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 9
Figure 2.3 Capacitance Switching (a) System voltage and current. (b) Capacitor voltage (c) Voltage across CB contact. (from [9]) Figure 2.3 shows events occurring before and after a capacitor bank disconnection, which in this case was performed successfully. At point A, the most favourable condition for arc interruption is present and arc extinction occurs at the first current zero after contact separation. Because of the relative phase current and voltage (current leads the voltage by approximately 90 0 ), the capacitor is fully charged to maximum voltage when the switch interrupts. The magnitude of the trapped voltage is equal to the peak value of the supply voltage, V (as shown in b).
The voltage on the supply side of the circuit breaker continues to vary at the source power frequency (as in (a)) so that the voltage across the circuit breaker builds up sinusoidally immediately after current interruption (as in (c)). One half cycle after current interruption, the voltage across the circuit breaker reaches a value equal to twice the source voltage, which is potentially dangerous. Thus, for successful interruption to be maintained, the gap between the This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 10 contacts must withstand twice the peak value of the source voltage, approximately 10ms after arc extinction [9].
Figure 2.3 tends to oversimplify conditions to some extent in that when a capacitor is connected to a system, the leading current that it draws, flowing through the inductance of the system, causes the capacitor voltage to be somewhat higher than the open-circuit system voltage, a negative regulation sometimes referred to as the 'Ferranti Rise. When the capacitor is disconnected, the potential of the source side of the circuit breaker will return to this lower value, but will do so by way of an oscillation involving the source inductance and the stray capacitance adjacent to the breaker on the source side. A more accurate representation of the disconnecting event is shown in Fig 2.4.
Figure 2.4 Capacitance switching showing the effect of source regulation (from [9]) Here V is the aforementioned negative regulation. It is important to recognise this phenomenon exists as it can be important when interrupting capacitive current on relatively weak systems [9]. A relatively weak system condition can be described where a lower voltage system is being supplied by a higher voltage system through a step down transformer with cable on the higher voltage side and the lower voltage breaker is called upon to interrupt the charging current of the cable.
Some circuit breakers, when called upon to interrupt a load of fault current, do not do so at the first current zero, but instead wait until sufficient gap has been established between their contacts for their various arc-extinguishing effects to have a better chance of operating successfully. The current involved in capacitance switching is frequently small, so that in most This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 11 cases the circuit breaker is capable of interrupting it at the first current zero. If this should occur soon after the contacts have parted, a voltage of twice the system voltage will appear across the contacts while their separation, so there is an increased likelihood of the device reigniting [9]. If a restrike takes place precisely when the voltage reaches its peak, which in equivalent to reclosing a perfect switch at that instant. There is in this case a series LC circuit so closing inrush current would be expected to respond to this sudden disturbance by being a sinusoidal oscillation with a natural frequency, f o , which is given by:
2 / 1 ) ( 2 1 2 LC f o (2.1)
where L is the inductance of the supply and C the capacitance of the bank.. A reignition or restrike can also be viewed as an inadvertent re-energisation with a trapped charge of 1 pu on the capacitor. The restrike current will be the instantaneous voltage across the switch at restrike divided by the circuit surge impedance, or
t C L Vp i r 0 2 / 1 sin 2 (2.2)
Neglecting damping, the voltage will swing as far above the instantaneous system voltage as it started below [9]. This is indicated in Figure 2.5, which shows the initial 50 Hz clearing, the trapping of charge on the capacitor, and the subsequent restrike. The transient voltage excursion to 3V p is an abnormal overvoltage and is the consequence of the energy stored in the capacitor bank at the time of the restrike.
It is entirely possible that the circuit breaker will interrupt the restrike current, perhaps at point A in Figure 2.5. If this happens, the high voltage is left trapped on the capacitor. The source voltage, on the other hand, would continue on its way, so that after another half cycle there would be approximately 4V p across the interrupter. This can be shown by the sequence drawn in Fig. 2.6 where the Rs represent sequential restrikes and the Cs subsequent clearings [9]. If a second breakdown occurs, a second oscillatory discharge would be initiated. However, since there is now twice the voltage across the switch, the current would be twice as high, and the voltage excursion would be from +3V p to -5V p (the voltage excursion, neglecting damping, is always twice the voltage across the switch). It is technically possible for the voltage to escalate still further by the same mechanism until an external flashover occurs or the capacitor fails [9].
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Figure 2.5 Capacitance switching with a restrike at peak voltage. (from [9])
The sequence is idealized and to some extent oversimplified. Restrikes will not always occur precisely at the voltage peak, so that the voltage, if it escalates, does so more slowly. Again, the circuit is more complicated. Some capacitance will exist on the source side of the breaker, which will introduce higher frequency disturbances, as was pointed out in Fig 2.5.
When the switch recovers after point A, the potential at the switch is quite high. But the source would have it be at its potential. The source side of the switch, therefore, goes through a high-frequency transient involving an oscillation of the aforementioned capacitance and the inductance of the source. In fact, at this time, it is possible for a voltage of 4 pu to be developed across the switch, a point which is often overlooked. A reignition may occur at this time rather than half a cycle later, which will probably result in the switch conducting current for another half cycle.
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Figure 2.6. Capacitance switching with multiple restrikes. (from [9])
2.3.2 Energising capacitor bank Energisation of capacitor banks are usually associated with transient voltages and currents. Transients produced during energising capacitor bank are inrush currents causing a voltage dip and overvoltages resulting from the system response to the voltage dip. It is common nowadays to have more than one capacitor bank connected to the same bus. This has no influence on the conditions at interruption. The inrush current during closing is affected to a high degree [1]. Two different situations may occur: The capacitor bank is energised from a bus that does not have other capacitor banks energised. This situation is called isolated capacitor bank switching. The capacitor bank is energised from a bus that has other capacitor banks energised. This situation is called back-to-back capacitor bank switching. It is worth noting that even energised capacitor banks in nearby substations may contribute to the inrush current representing a back-to-back situation.
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 14 The back-to-back switching normally gives rise to an inrush current of very high magnitude and frequency which is higher than isolated capacitor bank switching. This inrush current needs to be limited in order not to be harmful to the circuit breaker, capacitor banks and/or the network. The magnitude and frequency of the inrush current is a function of the following [1]: Applied voltage during closing i.e. point on the voltage wave at closing. Capacitance of the circuit Inductance in the circuit (amount and location) Any charge on the capacitor bank at the instant of closing. Any damping of the circuit due to closing resistors or other resistances in the circuit. It is assumed that the capacitor bank is discharged prior to energization. This assumption is reasonable, as capacitor units are fitted with discharging resistors that will discharge the capacitor bank. Typical discharge times are in the order of 5 min.
The transient inrush current to an isolated bank is less than the available short-circuit current at the capacitor bank terminals. It rarely exceeds 20 times the rated current of the capacitor bank at a frequency that approaches 1 kHz [1]. Because a circuit breaker must meet the making current requirements of the system, transient inrush current is not a limiting factor in isolated capacitor bank applications.
When capacitor banks are switched back-to-back (i.e., when one bank is switched while another bank is connected to the same bus), transient currents of prospective high magnitude and with a high natural frequency may flow between the banks on closing of the circuit breaker. The effects are similar to that of a restrike on opening. This oscillatory current is limited only by the impedance of the capacitor bank and the circuit between the energized bank or banks and the switched bank. This transient current usually decays to zero in a fraction of a cycle of the system frequency. In the case of back-to-back switching, the component supplied by the source is at a lower frequency; therefore, small it may be neglected.
2.4 REVIEW OF REACTOR BANK SWITCHING Shunt reactors are mainly used in transmission networks. Their function is to consume the excess reactive power generated by overhead lines under low-load conditions, thus stabilize the system voltage. They are switched in and out almost on a daily basis, following the load Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 15 situation in the system. Shunt reactors are normally connected to substation busbars, but also quite often directly to overhead lines. They may also be connected to tertiary windings of power transformers. The reactors may have grounded, ungrounded, or reactor grounded neutral.
2.4.1 Interrupting shunt reactor bank Shunt reactor switching imposes a unique and severe duty on the connected system and circuit breaker [3,11]. At high voltages, the current to be interrupted is generally less than 300A, yet successful interruption is a complex interaction between the circuit breaker and the circuit.
Shunt reactor load currents are referred to generically as small inductive currents. The capability of circuit breakers to interrupt small inductive currents is generally not a concern. The circuit breaker will typically interrupt the current at the first current zero after contact parting, but may not be immediately capable of withstanding the high magnitude recovery voltages that can then appear across the contacts. This can result in a reignition followed by an additional loop of rated frequency current and successful interruption.
The switching of directly grounded reactors can be analysed using the equivalent single phase circuit shown in Figure 2.7. Basically, circuit breakers have no difficulty interrupting shunt reactor current; in fact, the current is forced prematurely to zero, a phenomenon referred to as current chopping. However, the chopping of the current and subsequent possible reignitions can result in significant transient overvoltages. The following two types of overvoltages are generated: Chopping overvoltages with frequencies up to 5 kHz Reignition overvoltages with frequencies up to several hundred kilohertz (kHz) The switching process may be significantly influenced by two other circuit-breaker characteristics: Rise of the dielectric withstand of the contact gap after interruption which influences the probability of re-ignitions occurring; Capability to interrupt high-frequency currents after re-ignitions which influences the risk of multiple re-ignitions and voltage escalation.
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L s = supply side (short-circuit) inductance C s = supply side capacitance CB = circuit breaker L p ,C p = stray inductance and capacitance across circuit-breaker CB Also known as first parallel circuit inductance and capacitance L b = inductance of re-ignition circuit Also known as connection series inductance C L = capacitance parallel to the reactor (load side capacitance) L = inductance of shunt reactor
Figure 2.7. Single phase equivalent circuit (from [11])
2.4.2 Current chopping Current chopping is caused by arc instability, which exhibits itself in the form of a negatively damped current oscillation superimposed on the load current [3,11]. The oscillation amplitude increases rapidly, creating a current zero at which the circuit breaker usually interrupts as shown in Figure 2.8. The frequency of the oscillation determined by Cs, CL and Lb (Figure 2.7) and is usually several hundred kHz and therefore current chopping can reasonably be assumed to be instantaneous for purposes of calculating load transients. The chopping level is determined by: This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 17 the characteristic 'chopping number oI one interrupting unit of the switching device; the effective parallel capacitance; the number of breaks in series.
a) Current through circuit breaker b) Voltage across shunt reactor Figure 2.8 Current chopping phenomena (from [3])
For a single interrupter circuit breaker, the chopping current level is given by the equation t ch C i (2.3) where i ch = current level at the instant of chopping (A) C t = total capacitance in parallel with the breaker (F) chopping number for a single interrupter (AF 0.5 )
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 18 The chopping number, , is a characteristic of the circuit breaker and typically given by the manufacturer of the circuit breaker. [3] gives a typical range of chopping number for SF6 circuit breaker of 4-17 x 10 4 .
Referring to Figure 2.7, Ct is given by the following equation L s L s p t C C C C C C (2.4) Where C P = circuit breaker parallel capacitance (F) C s = source side capacitance to ground (F) C L = effective load side capacitance to ground (F). C L is summation of the load side equipment capacitances to ground and the phase-to- phase capacitance of the shunt reactor and associated connections. For many applications, the latter may not be significant compared to former and can be ignored.
The maximum value of C t and the worst-case condition for overvoltage generation occurs when C s >> C L , in which case C t is given by L p t C C C (2.5)
Equation (2.3) applies as noted only to circuit breakers with a single interrupter. For circuit breakers with 'N interrupting units per pole, the Iollowing equation applies: t ch NC I (2.6)
The level of current chopping may be dependent on arcing time. This tends to be the case for SF6 puffer type circuit breakers. Current chopping phenomena are discussed in detail in [12,13].
Current Chopping Overvoltages Fig 2.9 shows chopping phenomena in a single-phase circuit. When a premature current interruption occurs at 6, the interruption is abnormal and causes an overvoltage. The energy trapped in the load inductance and capacitance at the instant of chopping will oscillate between this inductance and capacitance. The frequency of the oscillation is of the order of 1 kHz to 5 kHz in the HV and EHV range. It is determined by the natural frequency of the reactor load Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 19 circuit, i.e. the reactor itself and all equipment connected between the circuit-breaker and the reactor.
Figure 2.9 Chopping Phenomena in single phase (from [11])
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 20 The first peak of the oscillation has the same polarity as the system voltage at the time of interruption. This overvoltage is referred to as the suppression peak overvoltage. The maximum chopping overvoltage to earth is usually the suppression peak voltage for directly earthed reactors. Due to energy transfer between phases, the load side oscillation may in some cases exhibit slightly higher peak values after one or two cycles of the oscillation. The highest overvoltage to earth appears at the recovery peak for the unearthed and neutral reactor earthed cases [11].
The magnitude of the suppression peak overvoltage, ka is given by the expression : L o ch a C L u i k * 1 (2.7) where i ch = chopped current u o = peak system voltage to earth L = reactor inductance C L = load side capacitance.
For a given application (fixed u o , L, and C L ), when Cs>>C L and C p is negligible, the overvoltage is dependent on i ch only. Equation 2.4.2.5 can then be rewritten as Q N k a 2 3 1 2 (2.8) where Q = three-phase reactor rating (V A) = the chopping number (AF-0.5) for a single interrupter = 2 f = angular rated power system frequency N = number of interrupting units in series per pole
The chopping overvoltage is thus only dependent on the chopping number and the reactive power of the reactor [3,11].
2.4.3 Reignition The circuit-breaker, after current interruption, is stressed by the difference between the supply side voltage and the slowly decaying load side oscillating voltage. Circuit breakers with very high chopping levels may exhibit reignitions before or at the suppression peak. Reignitions if they occur have mainly the effect of reducing the chopping overvoltages. Most circuit- Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 21 breakers, such as SF6 puffer type, which have low chopping levels and seldom reignite during the suppression voltage loop.
At the recovery voltage peak the circuit-breaker is stressed by a voltage that may approach the chopping overvoltage plus the peak of the supply side voltage. If the circuit-breaker does not re-ignite before, or at this point, then the interruption is successful. If, however, the instant of contact parting is such that the contact gap does not yet have sufficient dielectric strength, then a re-ignition will occur as shown in Figure 2.10.
Figure 2.10 Reignition Windows (from[3])
Reference [3] states that all circuit-breakers will re-ignite when the interruption occurs with a small contact gap. The re-ignition 'window may be narrow or wide depending on the rate of rise of withstand capability of the increasing contact gap as illustrated in Figure 2.10. The width depends on the design of the circuit-breaker i.e. interrupting medium, contact velocity, electrode design, etc. Re-ignition-free interruption can practically be achieved by applying auxiliary equipment to circuit breaker to limit overvoltages such as opening resistors, metal oxide surge arresters and synchronous opening control devices (control switching). The latter This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 22 device opens the contacts at sufficient time before the chopping to ensure that the dielectric strength of the gap is always greater than the chopping overvoltage.
Re-ignitions occur only for relatively short arcing times in circuit-breakers with fast dielectric recovery, and occur therefore generally only on the first phase of attempted interruption. A further loop of power frequency current usually follows the re-ignition as in Figure 2.9.
Reignition Overvoltages Figure 2.11 [3] illustrates a case where a reignition occurs, the load side voltage rapidly tends toward the source side voltage, but overshoots producing a reignition overvoltage. The voltage breakdown at a reignition creates a steep voltage transient that is imposed on the reactor. The front time varies from less than one microsecond to several microseconds. Since the voltage breakdown in the circuit breaker is practically instantaneous, the steepness is solely determined by the frequency of the second parallel oscillation circuit, which in turn is dependent on the system/station layout [3]. This steep transient may be unevenly distributed across the reactor winding, stressing the entrance turns in particular with high interturn overvoltages. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 23
Figure 2.11 Reignition at recovery voltage peak for a circuit with low supply side capacitance (from [3]).
Figure 2.12 shows the maximum attainable overvoltages without damping for a reignition at the recovery voltage peak. It can be seen that interruption with high current chopping produces higher overvoltages than interruption with negligible current chopping. The high theoretical overshoot assumes that the supply side capacitance dominates over the load side capacitance (Cs>>C L ).
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Figure 2.12 Maximum re-ignition overvoltages (from [3])
2.4.4 Oscillation modes Four different oscillation modes occur during the interruption and reignition process for a directly-ground reactor. Those oscillations are described below with reference made to Figure 2.13 which clearly shows the oscillations involved. Load side oscillation A successful interruption results in the slowly decaying load side oscillation with the trapped energy oscillating between the inductance and capacitance of the load side circuit. The frequency of the oscillation is given by L L LC f 2 1 (2.9) and is in the range 1 to 5 kHz. This oscillation may be modulated due to phase interaction as described later.
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Figure 2.13 Oscillation Mode in the reactor circuit
Reignition oscillation Reignition phenomena are described in detail in [13] but is described briefly to give appreciation on oscillations involved during reignition. Three different oscillation circuits are involved in reignitions. A 'Iirst parallel oscillation occurs when CP discharges through the circuit breaker; the frequency of this oscillation is
P P p C L f 2 1 1 (2.10)
and is in the order of 1 to 10 MHz. The circuit breaker will not interrupt the current associated with the 'Iirst parallel oscillation. A 'second parallel oscillation (reignition overvoltage oscillation) will follow, as a result of which, the voltages across Cs, and CL are equalized, i.e., the voltage across the circuit breaker is reduced to zero for an instant. The Irequency oI the 'second parallel oscillation is given by
s L b s L p C C L C C f 2 1 2 (2.11)
and is in the range 50 to 1000 kHz. The circuit breaker may interrupt the current associated with the 'second parallel oscillation. II it does not, then a 'main circuit oscillation develops. This oscillation involves the total circuit and generally leads to a new loop of current. Main Circuit Oscillation Second Parallel Oscillation Load Circuit Oscillation First Parallel Oscillation Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 26 Neglecting Lb (since it is small compared to Ls and L), the Irequency oI the 'main circuit oscillation is given by
) ( 2 1 L s s s m C C L L L L f (2.12)
and is in the range 5 to 20 kHz. It should be noted that Equation 2.12 describes the main circuit oscillation in its simplest possible form. In reality, the oscillation is a composite of a number of oscillation modes dependent on the reactor installation and the local and remote configuration of the system. Note that if Cs>>CL, no main circuit oscillation will occur.
Reignitions involve an energy exchange. Prior to the reignition, the load side energy alternates between electromagnetic and electrostatic energy (load side oscillation). During the 'Iirst parallel oscillation, the electrostatic energy stored in Cp is dissipated with no exchange between the source and load sides. During the 'second parallel, oscillation electrostatic energy is exchanged between C S and C L . During the 'main circuit oscillation, all circuit elements are involved and the energy exchange is both electromagnetic and electrostatic. This can be seen in Figure 2.13.
2.4.5 Interaction between phases The interaction between phases during the switching of shunt reactors is a complex subject [3]. This is particularly the case for medium voltage transformer tertiary connected reactors where the interaction can influence the interruption process. For the case of directly and neutral reactor grounded reactors in the range 60 kV and above, the interaction influences only the load side recovery voltage oscillation.
Due to mutual coupling between the individual phases, the interaction manifests itself in the form of beating of the recovery voltage oscillation [3]. The degree of beating is dependent on the length of the connection between the circuit breaker and the reactor and on the type of reactor. When the circuit breaker is located close to the reactor, the interaction is minimal or nonexistent and the recovery voltage oscillation is a clean exponentially decaying sinusoidal function as shown in Figure 2.14. For longer connection lengths between the circuit breaker and the reactor, beating of the recovery oscillation will occur as shown in Figure 2.15. The effect is non-deterministic and varies even with fixed contact parting times. With regard to the reactors, if the units are single-phase, no interaction occurs due to the reactors. If, however, the units are Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 27 three-phase (in one tank with a common core), the phase-to-phase coupling is significant and results in beating such that the maximum recovery voltage peak can occur late in the oscillation.
[3] mentions that the interaction between phases is not a concern because the interaction does not influence the recovery voltage in the region between current interruption and the occurrence of the recovery voltage peak. If the circuit breaker successfully withstands the recovery voltage peak, then no reignition will occur later even if subsequent peaks exceed the chopping overvoltage peak value due to beating. The probability of high overvoltages occurring due to superposition of transients from adjacent phases is considered to be remote.
Figure 2.14 Load side oscillation with circuit breaker located close to shunt reactor (from[3])
Figure 2.15 Load side oscillation with circuit breaker located remote from shunt reactor (from [3])
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 28 2.4.6 Energising transients Energizing (switching-in) a shunt reactor is a situation similar to the occurrence of a reignition. However, the breakdown voltage across the circuit breaker will not exceed 1 pu for directly grounded reactors, and the peak value of the energizing transient will be 1.5 pu or less. Reactor surge arrester operation may occur if the switching device has a slow closing speed resulting in multiple restriking and possible voltage escalation.
2.5 LIMITATION OF OVERVOLTAGE TRANSIENT DURING REACTIVE SWITCHING Switching of capacitor bank and shunt reactor produces overvoltage that can be harmful to the system. The transient overvoltages may cause any of the following:- Insulation degradation and possible failure of substation equipment Operation of surge arrestors Interference in the control wiring of substations Increase in step potentials Undesired tripping or damage to sensitive electronic equipment. 2.5.1 Over voltage limitation Reference [1,3,14] state that several means are available to reduce the overvoltages generated by the switching of capacitor bank. and shunt reactor. Current-limiting reactors are normally used to reduce the current transients associated with back-to-back switching of capacitor banks. They do not limit the remote overvoltages. Pre-insertion resistors limit the inrush current and remote overvoltages. It is a basic solution widely used on transmission circuit breakers. They are usually fitted on circuit breakers and as such add to the complexity of the equipment. Depending on the design, the added complexity may or may not result in a reduced availability of the equipment. Surge Arresters are the primary means of protection against fast transients and are usually installed very close to the protected equipment in this case capacitor bank and shunt reactor. Controlled switching of circuit breaker meaning the opening and/or closing of the circuit contacts at certain points on the waveform (such as at current or voltage zeros, which is why it is often referred to as point-on-wave control) has long been recognised as a way of reducing stress on circuit breaker contacts and system components during switching. A great deal of engineering is required for good Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 29 precision of this kind of control. Controlled switching seems to be the chosen method by utilities.
2.5.2 Controlled switching Controlled switching is a method for eliminating harmful transients via time controlled switching operations. Closing or opening commands to the circuit breaker are delayed in such a way that making or contact separation will occur at the optimum time instant related to the voltage, current and phase angle. By means of controllers, both energizing and de-energizing operations can be controlled with regard to the point-on-wave position, and no harmful transients will be generated.
Strategies are identified for energizing all types of shunt capacitor banks and harmonic filter banks. The strategies involve energizing the load close to voltage zero across the circuit breaker contacts thereby avoiding energizing transients. The strategy assumes that the banks are discharged prior to energizing. For controlled opening, the strategy is to avoid short arcing times resulting in the highest risk for reignitions or restrikes. The need for controlled opening will depend on circuit breaker performance, load conditions and system frequency. All types of shunt reactors, independent of magnetic and electric circuit, can be switched in a controlled manner. The strategy for controlled opening is to select arcing times long enough to avoid re-ignitions at de-energizing. The strategy may vary depending on the size of the shunt reactor. The strategy for controlled closing is to energize at instants resulting in flux symmetry (current symmetry) thereby minimizing the risk for nuisance tripping and rotor vibrations in nearby generators due to zero sequence current.
Reference [15] suggested that controlled switching application requires CB with stable operating times and have high and stable dynamic electric withstand capability between contacts, both upon making and breaking conditions. In circuit breakers with independent mechanisms for each pole the opening and closing operations can both be controlled. However if poles are ganged and operated by a single mechanism, there are difficulties with control switching and generally it is only possible to control either the opening or closing operation. It is mentioned in [15] that it is difficult to quantify the effects of the control switching on reducing the probability of restrikes because of the wide range of variability possible in the dielectric recovery characteristics of circuit breakers.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 30 2.6 FAILURE OF CIRCUIT BREAKER DUE TO RESTRIKING Modern SF6 puffer circuit breakers have been designed with far fewer interrupters per pole. This has meant that these circuit breakers have to contend with a far greater voltage stress in the dielectric recovery region than have previous generations of circuit breakers. The increased stress has caused dielectric reignition of some types of circuit breakers on capacitive switching duties [1, 16]. Because of this new standards [2] have been developed that require a large number of tests and provide a classification of circuit breakers based on their probability of restriking for capacitive switching.
Older CBs were designed according to the old standard which is now recognized as being inadequate for determining restriking tendecies of circuit breaker switching capacitor/reactor banks. The old standards IEC56-1987 on which AS2006-1986 was based made the assumption that circuit breakers passing capacitor switching tests specified by the standards were 'restrike Iree. The idea oI 'restrike Iree circuit breakers has been abandoned in the latest IEC62271-100. In the new standards, circuit breakers are defined as either C1 (low probability of restrike during capacitive current breaking) or C2 (very low probability of restrike during capacitive current breaking) types based on capacitive switching tests made on circuit breaker.
Switching of shunt reactors is recognised as a duty that causes a very high rate rise of transient recovery voltage across the circuit breaker contacts [3]. Restrikes have been observed to occur during disconnection of shunt reactors but the high-frequency reignition current is interrupted at an early current zero and often there is no external evidence of any adverse effects on the circuit breaker interrupters. However, failures of modern circuit breakers during shunt reactor switching have been observed [4]. There has been increasing evidence that recent failures of circuit breaker have been due to restriking during reactor switching and capacitor switching.
Blundell [17] has raised issues on possibility of there being some type of generic failure mode of modern SF6 circuit breakers that leads to flashover of the circuit breaker interrupter. This hypothesis is based on observations of failures of circuit breakers made by [17]. Explosive failures of interrupters of circuit breakers were reported on opening of capacitor bank switching duty and opening of circuit breakers following shunt reactor switching. It was also suggested by [17] that similar failures of SF6 circuit breakers have been experienced by other utilities in Australia and SE Asia.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 31 Sawir et al [18] reported that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (Malaysia) experienced incorrect remote feeder tripping due to inaccurate operation of point-on-wave (POW) switching during energisation of capacitor bank. [18] stated that although point-on-wave switching of capacitor banks is an effective method in controlling system voltages, inaccurate operation of the POW during switching in of the capacitor banks resulted in high voltage transients and caused nuisance trippings. [18] suggested that the point-on-wave switching operation to be monitored periodically.
Catastrophic failures of modern SF6 circuit breakers have been reported [4] when disconnecting 420 kV shunt reactors. Detailed investigations were carried out and field experience with HV SF6 circuit breakers switching reactors have been documented. [4] have made few observations on the circuit breaker interrupters used for shunt reactor during the investigation. Table 2.2 shows observations made on circuit breakers` interrupter switching shunt reactor during the investigation.
[4] described the external arcs as existences of signs of arcing between the main contacts on the exterior of the nozzles, the perforations of the nozzles with a diameter of around 1mm in the proximity of the moving contact with the farthest end of the moving contact and removal of material on the internal face of the nozzle. It is further described the commutation arcs as existences of signs of this arc between the main contacts and dirtiness and/or burr due to grease and metal particles on the internal face of the breaker porcelain housing.
Table 2.1 Results of the overhaul of the circuit breakers (from [4]).
Peelo et al [19] reported that British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority experienced a number of failures when switching out 500kV 3 x 45 MVAR shunt reactor banks. Series of This table is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 32 reactor switching tests were performed over a three year period, to determine the causes of the failures and to acquire knowledge of the switching duty in order to ensure adequate specification of breakers for applications. Results of those field tests have provided valuable and important information on interruption of small inductive currents. [19] concluded that high voltage shunt reactor switching is a severe and unique duty, surge arresters play a significant role in reactor switching application and reignitions during reactor switching can result in significant transients in control circuits.
Khodabakchian et al [20] studied 420 kV circuit breaker failures during the opening of a 100MVAR shunt reactor in a 400kV one-and-a-half breaker transmission substation in central part of Iran. The study shows that opposite-polarity high frequency arc-instability-dependant oscillations caused mainly by current transformers on each side of the circuit breaker were responsible for its thermal failures and thus the non-interruption of the low 50Hz reactor current by the 50 kA circuit breaker. [20] mentioned the advantage in using simulation capabilities of EMTP-RV to simulate large transients incorporating circuit parameters frequency dependency and dynamic arc modelling which could contribute to improved reactor installation.
Lopez-Roldan et al [21] reported that Powerlink Queensland in recent years has experienced several failures of modern SF6 circuit breakers used in Shunt Reactor switching operations in the 275 kV network. An example of a failure was the breakdown of the CB switching a line reactor with a neutral earthing reactor (NER) at the 275 kV substation. The CB had been in service for over four years and had been operated almost daily. During a routine opening operation, the dead-tank circuit breaker failed to clear on phase A and subsequently faulted internally to ground. During the fault investigation and breaker disassembly, clear marks of severe arcing puncture in the nozzle of the interrupter were found. The nozzle damage has occurred prior to failure most likely due to re-striking during opening operations. Evidence of severe nozzle puncture was also found in phase C.
The hypothesis [21] of the interrupter failure is that during the final opening, a re-strike punctured right through the nozzle between the moving main contact and the fixed arcing contact of the interrupter. The current within the nozzle was extinguished but ionized gases forced though the puncture by the action of the puffer allowed power frequency current to restart between the main contacts outside the nozzle, out of the effective area of arc interruption.
Birtwhistle [22] hypothesised that restriking of circuit breakers to be responsible for failures of interrupters of EHV and HV circuit breakers during the switching of capacitor banks. [22] also mentioned that risk of failure due to restrike are likely to be higher for circuit breakers Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 33 not tested to revised switching standard which include significantly upgrade capacitive switching test [2].
Causes of restrikes Reference [21] looked into the cause of failure of shunt reactor and circuit breaker. It started with a review of the TRV study experienced by the CB. The EMTP study showed the connection of the neutral reactor to the ground increases the TRV across the CB and removing the neutral reactor reduces the TRV. It was further reported that installing surge arresters would also reduce the TRV across the CB.
[21] also reported that the dielectric design of the interrupter chamber plays a fundamental role in the breaker performance as most of CB failures during reactor de- energization are of a dielectric nature. [21] described after arc interruption, a reignition occurs because the TRV exceeds the dielectric strength of the contact gap. It is a race between the rise of the TRV and the Rate of Rise of Dielectric Strength (RRDS) of the interrupter. [21] stated that it is important that, in the event of a reignition, the arc remains confined between the arcing contacts inside the nozzle area as shown in Figure 2.16 . Then the reignition will be extinguished even though it may contribute to damage to the nozzle. However, if the arc escapes outside the nozzle containment, either by establishing itself between the main contacts or by puncturing the wall of the nozzle, it is likely that the interrupter will not be able to clear the arc. Therefore, it is necessary that the breakdown voltage of the main contacts exceeds the level between the arcing contacts for all separations of the contact gap up to the maximum arcing gap.
Figure 2.16 (a) Typical schematic of SF6 CB showing main contacts (1), arcing contacts (2) and nozzle (3). (b) Voltage distribution in interrupter chamber. [21]
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 34 Figure 2.17 shows an example of an analysis of a contact gap. In this figure, the breakdown voltage between the arcing contacts exceeds that of the main contacts beyond a certain point along the contact travel path. If the arcing gap exceeds this point, and the TRV exceeds the breakdown voltage value, then a reignition outside of the nozzle will occur.
[21] also reported that the presence of surface charge on the nozzle is another important factor to consider in the dielectric coordination analysis. Static charge on the nozzle will distort the voltage distribution across the contacts as shown in Figure 2.16 (b) and enhance locally the electric field. The nozzle is made of a PTFE insulating material. Due to the high volumetric and surface resistance of the insulating material, any surface charge that occurs may remain in place for a very long time. The charge can be as a result of corona discharges, contact or mechanical friction [5].
Figure 2.17 Analysis of voltage breakdown for main and arcing contacts along the contact gap. (from [21])
In the interrupter diagram of Figure 2.16, the charge on the nozzle produced by the friction with the fixed arcing contact may produce a critical local electric field enhancement where the charge is of opposite polarity to the contact voltage. The field distortion also produces a change in the discharge direction from the arc contacts across the nozzle. [21]
[21] highlighted the importance of the correct selection of the controlled switching settings. Correct switching settings will ensure proper operation of the relay otherwise the function of controlled switching could have negative effects. [21] reported that a controlled switching function was employed for the reactor breaker which has failed. The initial settings given by the circuit breaker manufacturer did not achieve the minimum arcing time required during deenergisation. As a result, the relay was forcing the interrupter to clear the current at a position with low dielectric strength for the contact path along the nozzle. Repetitive reignitions This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 35 in the same area caused compounding damage in the nozzle and the final puncturing which lead to the catastrophic failure. After the fault investigation and discussion with the manufacturer [21], a decision was taken to increase the arcing time by modifying the setting in the controlled switching relay.
There have also been reports on failure due to degradation of the circuit breaker dielectric performance which was caused by restriking with parasitic arcing during reactor switching. In the past the main adverse effects of restriking of circuit breakers during switch off of shunt reactors was seen as being to cause steep-fronted surges that led to deterioration of the insulation of the reactors and of other adjacent plant such as transformers. However, work by Lui et al [23,24] to identify causes of circuit breaker failures under reactor switching applications has shown that modern single-interrupter SF6 circuit breakers may be affected by phenomenon associated with arcing on reignition. The phenomena has been termed |23| 'parasitic arcing which, it has been shown [5], results in arcing in the circuit breaker interrupter at frequencies of up to several MHz both inside and outside the interrupter. The tendency of arcs to occur outside the nozzle has been shown to be affected by the ability of the PTFE nozzle material to absorb and store small quantities of negative charge [23]. The stored charge distorts the field around the nozzle and causes re-ignition arcs to occur external to the nozzle. The stored charge was shown [23] to have greater effects on parallel-sided nozzles than on nozzles with divergent geometries.
Spencer [5] suggested that charge trapped in PTFE nozzles could be stored for up to 2 years. He speculated that : 'The mobility oI charge in PTFE is so low that, in the presence of a potential gradient, it may be expected to migrate only slowly. Thus with the electric field distributions in an interrupter unit where the downstream contact is positive, negative charge migration may occur slowly to the rim of the nozzle. This combined with charge accumulation over successive 50Hz voltage half cycles provides a possible explanation for the late breakdowns which have been reported in SF6 interrupter units at long times after current interruption and arc extinction.
It was observed [5] that parasitic arcs take paths close to the surface of the nozzle and it has been suggested that if power frequency current follows the same path as reignition currents then damage will occur to the interrupter. A series of tests was undertaken [25] on a reduced- scale interrupter to examine the effect of parasitic arcs on nozzle. Some results from these tests are summarised in Table 2.3 below.
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Table 2.2 Results of tests made to examine effects of parasitic arcing.(from [25])
On the basis of these tests, it was suggested [25] that molybdenum disulphide fill is preferable as it may prevent non-uniform charge accumulation on the nozzle that is caused by impurities in the PTFE. It was also shown that there appeared to be no correlation between nozzle charge and the degree of parasitic arcing.
Judging from the failures described earlier it can be said that restrikes in circuit breaker can occur due to circuit breaker tested to inadequate or old standard, inaccurate system study, failure of voltage limiting equipment e.g. surge arrestor, resistor, incorrect operation of controlled switching, circuit breaker wear and tear (due to daily operation) and high frequency reignition. Generally, restrikes do not cause immediate failure but gradually degrade the nozzle overtime increasing the probability of causing catastrophic failure.
2.6.1 Importance of detecting restrike Bachiller et al [26] conducted a series of field tests to examine the performance of modern SF6 circuit breakers on shunt reactor switching. From switching tests made on 110 MVAR, 420 kV shunt reactor the circuit breaker chopping number was evaluated as 15.104 to 16.104 and reignitions were observed in 25% of 68 three-phase switching operations. Reignitions occurred for arcing times of up to almost 8 ms and the maximum switching overvoltage with reignition was about 1.25 p.u. Tests on a 150MVAR, 420 kV shunt reactor resulted in six reignitions for 26 switching operations. The interrupter used to switch the This table is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 37 110MVAR reactor was examined after the tests and found to be in good condition. Re-ignition current magnitudes are calculated to be about 200A and were found to be considerably greater than measured values, indicating a higher degree of damping in the system than assumed in the model.
These tests confirmed the extent of re-ignition activity in a modern SF6 circuit breaker. There is no indication of the type of filler used in the circuit breaker nozzles. It is not possible therefore to draw wider conclusions from this work as to the degree of damage that might be expected in other circuit breakers for similar duties. Failures due to restrike/reignition are becoming more of a concern as it is difficult to detect restrike occurrence.
As mentioned earlier restrike could cause catastrophic damage to circuit breakers, causing equipment downtime, damage to adjacent equipment and possible loss of supply. When a circuit breaker is damaged, the equipment bay needs to be taken out of service. With the bay being taken out, the power system is put at a higher risk as the power system could not be operated as normal or intended. Normally when a flashover occurs it will cause catastrophic damage to the circuit breaker, the damage is not limited to the circuit breaker only. Damage to the adjacent equipment is possible due to the close vicinity of the circuit breaker with other equipment. It was reported in [27] that a CB explosion shattered the CB porcelain insulator and pieces of the porcelain insulator hit and damaged the adjacent equipment.
In a worst case scenario, the damage may cause the whole the substation to be shutdown causing loss of supply to the customer. In addition the work and cost involved in repairing or replacing the damaged circuit breaker can be very costly. Restrike can cause interrupter failure which is an important failure mode compared to the other type of CB failure. Reference [28] provides an excellent insight into the failure statistics of the component of a high voltage circuit breaker. Table 2.3 shows statistics cause of failure of circuit breaker.
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Table 2.3 Statistics cause of failure of circuit breaker (from [28])
The table shows that most of the circuit breaker failures that have been observed in the field can be attributed to mechanical problems and auxiliary control circuits. [28] indicates that 43-44% of the failures in circuit breakers are of a mechanical nature, 20-29% is related to auxiliary and electrical control circuit, and 21-31% can be attributed to high-voltage components involving the interrupters of circuit breakers. The statistics can be used as a guideline for the selection of monitoring parameter and what components to be monitored.
The author agrees with statistic of failure shown in Table 2.4 through his experience as HV equipment maintenance engineer. The high percentage of mechanical failure is expected as the mechanical components are the moving parts. It is felt that mechanical failure on the circuit breaker e.g. compressor faulty leaking energy storage could be detected during routine visual inspection or even during scheduled maintenance. Hence it can be repaired before a catastrophic failure occurs. This is also the case for failures caused by electrical control and auxiliary circuits.
However, in the case of interrupter failure, it is difficult to detect a problem before a failure or explosion occurs. When this occurs, it is too late because the damage is severe and the cost to repair the circuit breaker is high. Hence it would be a good strategy to monitor parameters which can cause interrupter failure. Considering that switching reactive equipment consider to be onerous duty for circuit breaker it is prudent to monitor restriking in circuit breakers switching capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank. This table is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 39 2.7 CONDITION MONITORING FOR CIRCUIT BREAKERS The importance of monitoring the condition of switchgear has been recognised for a long time. The majority of the condition monitoring is done off line with the data obtained from switchgear diagnostic being used to supplement maintenance reports and operational history. All these information would then be used to understand and analyse the performance and condition of the switchgear.
Nowadays utilities are looking more on on-line monitoring. There has been a trend away from time-based maintenance strategies with their predefined maintenance intervals and toward condition-based maintenance (CBM) strategies, which assess the technical condition of the equipment. Many utilities are struggling to manage their assets and with the move toward condition-based rather than time-based maintenance, the issue of CB residual life is actively being pursued [29]
Prior to on-line monitoring, diagnostic of switchgear are done by measuring the timing parameter, contact resistance between contacts, quality of insulation and visual inspections. Throughout the years, many kinds of circuit breaker condition monitoring system have been developed. Mechanical vibration signals have been used to detect mechanical fault [30,31,32]. Mechanical sensors such as pole position sensors with optical detectors have also been used to detect the distance between contactor and the closing speed and opening speed [33]of the circuit breaker contacts An electronic densimeter based on the state equation of SF6 gas has been developed and proven as a reliable formula in its gaseous and liquid phase [34] Acoustic signals have also been used to assess the conditrion of the circuit breakers [35,36]. The acoustic signal generated during non-energised switching of circuit breaker was used for diagnostic [35]. The acoustic signals recorded was analysed using digital signal processing.
Some manufacturers have produced condition monitoring equipment that monitors several parameters which they deem to be important in evaluating the performance of switchgear. In [37] the experience in using a condition monitoring unit (CMU) was presented. The CMU monitors interrupter wear, integrity of the SF6 gas system, the circuit breaker mechanical system, the electrical control system and auxiliaries. Field experiences showed that there were some issues with the reliability of the CMU unit. Significant improvements have been done based on the field experience resulting in better performance of the CMU [37].
Camps et al [38] reported that the design and application of on-line condition monitoring systems for EHV SF6 circuit breakers must be considered carefully in order to minimise the Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 40 effect on the reliability of the circuit breaker. Apart from being economically viable, it is essential that these systems measure the appropriate parameters and reliability of the condition monitoring is of a high degree.
From literature review carried out there is no evident of currently-available monitoring techniques in use to measure restriking produced during circuit breaker switching of capacitor banks and shunt reactor banks.
2.7.1 Detecting restrikes or interrupter experiencing prolong restrikes
In order to measure restriking on-line, using currently-available methods monitoring equipment must consist of high frequency voltage transformer (that need to be connected on both sides of the circuit breaker under test) and a high-frequency current transformer or Rogowski coil. The monitoring system should have adequate bandwidth and be capable of resolving very fast reignition transients. Some CB installations have been installed with such equipment i.e. for measurement of contact travel & timing, current and voltage [39]. However, the measuring equipment doesn`t have enough bandwidth to measure HF transients. Furthermore, if on-line set up is desired all equipment need to be installed at commissioning and this is very costly to have. Alternatively, for plant not equipped with on-line monitoring shutdowns are required to connect the measuring equipment. Measuring equipment which is relatively large needs to be brought to the substation, shutdowns need to be arranged which reduce the reliability of the transmission network and the amount of manpower involved in carrying out the tests is huge. Hence, it can be a costly and major exercise.
2.7.2 Alternative monitoring methods Non-intrusive methods and on-line technique would be an advantage in monitoring restrike occurrences during CB switching of reactive equipment. The ideal monitoring system would measure the early high-frequency restriking phenomena and trend the magnitude of restrike current and frequency of restriking to facilitate early identification of degradation of the condition of circuit breakers.
Substation switching operations, faults or lightning strikes inside the substation can cause potentially damaging levels of high frequency electromagnetic interference (EMI). This EMI can couple into low voltage control circuits and electronic equipment and affect their operation unless it is suitably protected. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 2: Literature Review M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 41
The radio-frequency electromagnetic emissions of high-power arcs historically been regarded as interference and have received some measure of study in regards to substation EMC [40,41]. Recently the use of RF has begun to draw serious attention from switchgear monitoring. An investigation into the detection of contact separation events was reported in [42] and [43] introduces technique that can be used to identify differences between substation switching operations using their induced radiation signatures. [43] carried out analysis of observations of captured signals from many switching arcs carried out with a view to developing on condition- monitoring systems.
Chapman [50] has demonstrated a suitable technique for the measurement of electrical discharge or switching arc during current interruption in switchgear. The method makes a direct measurement of the arcing duration based on the coupling of the VHF electric fields generated by the arc. He noticed that there are instabilities during arc initiation during contact parting and at arc interruption at current zero. During a period when the arc is stable, the signal strength reduces to near zero-level. He claimed that his technique is very successful for a single-phase interruption. However, he mentioned that the technique is not so successful for 3 phase measurement due to interphase interference from all arcs during 3 phase switching.
Moore [6] has demonstrated the practicality of measuring time between pole-closing in circuit breakers during capacitor switching duty in AIS substation from measurement of emitted radio waves. It is suggested that it might be possible to extend this methodology to provide evidence about the magnitude and number of restrikes occurring during reactor switching.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 42 3Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs 3.1 NON-INVASIVE CIRCUIT BREAKER MONITORING USING RADIOMETRIC MEASUREMENT
As pointed out in the literature review in Chapter 2, switching of shunt capacitor and shunt reactor is a great concern due to the transient produced. Re-strikes produced during disconnection of capacitor banks and shunt reactors produces high frequency oscillations. The high frequency oscillation cannot be measured by current transformers, voltage transformers or monitoring systems which are known to have a rather low bandwidth and would not be capable of resolving very fast reignition transients.
Monitoring of voltage waveforms during switching using established high voltage measuring methods would possibly provide information about the magnitude and frequency of small re-ignitions or re-strikes in circuit breakers that could be a precursor to interrupter failure. However, waveform measurements at a moderately high frequency require plant outages to connect the equipment such as voltage dividers, and this is diIIicult and costly in today`s operating environment. It would be ideal to develop a non-invasive measuring system that would detect and measure the early high-frequency restriking phenomena and trend the magnitude of re-strike current and frequency of restriking to facilitate early identification of degradation of the condition of circuit breakers.
Moore [6] has demonstrated the practicality of measuring time between pole-closing in circuit breakers during capacitor switching duty from measurement of emitted radio waves. It appears possible to extend this methodology to provide evidence about the magnitude and number of re-strikes occurring during reactive equipment switching.
Moore [6] used four broadband disckcone type antenna with a lower frequency cut-off of 100 MHz and required a state-of-the-art measuring system to detect the impulses produced during opening and closing. By triangulating the high frequency impulses, the source and time of Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 43 initiation could be identified. The technique is successful in determining CB interpole timing for capacitor bank closing.
However, Moore [6] reported that his technique could not reliably determine the opening time for capacitor bank opening due difficulty in recording the opening impulse produced. Moore claimed that it is difficult to trigger the oscilloscope due to low level of impulses produced during opening as compared to closing. He mentioned that setting the trigger level very low caused repeated triggering from communication station broadcasts and rapidly filled up the oscilloscope memory.
Moore`s |6| technique measures the high frequency phenomena with frequencies above 100 MHz and therefore obtained no data about the lower-frequency transient phenomena during switching. In our opinion, the lower-frequency transients contain a great deal of information about the sequence of events which could help us to localise the time of occurrence of restrikes with respect to other important phenomena such as 50 Hz current interruptions and interpole closing/opening time.
The work done by [6] is used as basis in carrying out the investigation on transients produced by circuit breakers switching capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank. This research investigation looks into extending Moore`s technique by combining the use of broadband active antenna with a bandwidth of 1.5 MHz to 1.5 GHz with a set of three passive antennas with a bandwidth of 30Hz to 30MHz.
3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The complete methodology adopted in this thesis is shown below:- Design and Development of a Measuring System 1) Design oscillatory radiating test circuits to provide e.m. disturbances of the type expected in the field. 2) Develop measuring systems using antennas and recording instruments that can be used in a substation environment. 3) Develop procedures for downloading and archiving test results. 4) Gain experience in practical aspects of measurement. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 44 Laboratory Measurement at High Voltage Laboratory and Exploratory F ield Measurement 1) Carry out laboratory measurement at High Voltage laboratory. 2) With industry partners identify suitable test site (close to Brisbane and with frequent capacitor bank switching) for exploratory field measurement. 3) Identify opportunities for making coincident measurements of system voltage and/or current from existing secondary systems. 4) Check triggering requirements and need for automated long-term measuring system. 5) Make risk assessments and prepare necessary procedures and associated documentation. 6) Make measurements of closing and opening operations. 7) Analyse test results. 8) Make modifications to measuring and recording systems.
Measurement on Capacitor Bank and Shunt Reactor Bank Switching Tests 1) Identify with industry partners important capacitor bank and shunt reactor switching locations. 2) Make modifications to recording equipment. 3) Make necessary risk assessments and prepare necessary documentation. 4) Make measurements of closing and opening operations. 5) Analyse test results. 6) Review progress and make adjustments/modifications to measuring systems as required.
F inal Analysis and Documentation 1) Extend analytical procedures. 2) Review all results and assess the effectiveness of the method. 3) Prepare MEng Thesis
3.3 DEVELOPING MEASURING EQUIPMENT There are important factors to be considered when developing equipment for measuring transients phenomena inside a substation. The factors are as follow: Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 45 It is important to measure the required transients within the right frequency range and with adequate sampling rate. This is to ensure measurement is done with sufficient details recorded for further analysis. The measuring system should be relatively easy to set up without requiring a plant shutdown to set up the measuring equipment. If a shutdown is required, the scheduled down time of plant should be minimum as possible. No modification is allowed to the existing installation. Modification to the substation primary and secondary equipment is not allowed in order to ensure that no risk is introduced to the existing equipment. The overall site condition needs to be considered in terms of the plant layout, distance of equipment, suitable placement of measuring equipment, safety requirement. The measuring equipment should be developed with the possibilities of having remote measurement. This will enable long term measurement to be done automatically with measurement data transferred remotely to remote operators. Measuring transient in substation is difficult. Electromagnetic interferences due to corona, earth potential rises and other causes may affect high voltage equipment and care needs to be taken to ensure that effects of the electromagnetic interferences is kept to minimum.
Two major types of equipment were developed in this research: sensors (which are antennas) and the measuring/recording equipment. The development of the antennas and the theory behind the measuring philosophy will be discussed first followed by the development of the recording equipment.
3.4 ACTIVE BROADBAND ANTENNA The active broadband antenna (active antenna) was developed by Dr Tee Tang. The active antenna designed for this application consists of a passive dipole antenna and a broadband RF amplifier. The passive dipole is 150mm long, with a diameter of 1.6mm. The RF amplifier used is of a Low Distortion RF amplifier. It is designed to have a flat frequency response from 1.5MHz to 1.5GHz and a signal gain of 12dB. The active antenna is powered by 4.5VDC batteries and it is controlled by a switch located on the casing. The antenna is housed in a PVC casing. The size of the casing is 83mm x 54mm x 31mm. For site measurements the antenna is mounted on a portable tripod. The antenna is small and portable and ideal to be use for field measurement. Figure 3.1 shows a photo of the active antenna. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 46
Figure 3.1 Photo of Broadband Active Antenna
In operation, the RF amplifier acts as an impedance transformer, converting the high output impedance of the electrically short dipole at the low frequency range to a low impedance output. At the high frequency end of the amplifier response, the RF amplifier merely amplifies the received signal. Figure 3.2 shows Gain versus Frequency for the RF amplifier. In this research, the antenna was used to record HF pulses and also acts as high frequency marker on the lower frequency transient recorded.
Figure 3.2 Gain vs Frequency for RF amplifier [62]
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 47 3.5 CAPACITIVE COUPLING ANTENNA In order to obtain information about lower-frequency transients, capacitive coupling antennas were used. For relatively low frequency transient, the wavelength is very big for example at 50 Hz, the wavelength is 6000 km whilst at 1 kHz the wavelength is 300 km. A big radiation antenna is required to receive a transmitted 50 Hz or 1 kHz signal. Capacitive coupling is a phenomenon where an electrical field e.g. between two parallel conductors apart interact. Capacitively coupled signals can be measured to give information on the magnitude and frequency of the signals. Hence, measuring using capacitive coupling antenna (passive antenna- PA) is needed to facilitate low frequency measurements.
3.5.1 Construction of the Passive Antenna
Figure 3.3 Passive Antenna Drawing The capacitive coupling antenna (passive antenna) is divided into 3 major components. The major components are the antenna head, antenna stand and antenna base. Figure 3.3 shows the drawing of the capacitive coupling antenna. It is purposely designed as such to facilitate ease Dia190.0mm Aluminium Cylinder / Passive Antenna Weight / Sand Bag Antenna Base Assembly Barrel Union (Coupling) 50mm dia PVC Tube 50mm Dia Antenna Base/ Stand Assembly Barrel Union (Coupling) 50mm dia Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 48 of transportation for field measurement. The antenna head consists of a metallic cylinder enclosed at both ends. The diameter of the metallic cylinder is 190mm and the length is 60mm. The centre pin of an insulated BNC connector is connected to one end plate of the cylinder. The overall length of the antenna head is 100mm.The antenna head is coupled with the antenna stand using a PVC barrel union coupling. The stand is made of PVC tube which is lightweight and non conductive. The stand is attached to the antenna base which is made of cast iron with three legs which is heavy enough to provide support for the whole antenna assembly. It is important that the antenna remain stable when located on the gravel on the substation switchyard. The overall height of the antenna is less than 1400mm which is well below the safe ground clearance inside a substation. Figure 3.4 shows photo of the complete assembly of the passive antenna.
Figure 3.4 Photo of Passive Antenna
In making measurements, the core of the input measuring cable is connected to the BNC connector of the PA and at the other end the cable core is connected to the input of a fully- floating oscilloscope. The cable sheath of the measuring is connected to one end which is the Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 49 earthed part of the input terminal of the oscilloscope. The terminal is connected to the substation earth through the metal housing of the oscilloscope.
3.5.2 Review on capacitive coupling High voltage conductors are surrounded by an electric field which can induce voltages on nearby conductors. Such electrostatic coupling can occur between a high voltage conductor and a secondary circuit. The principle of electrostatic coupling is illustrated in the Figure 3.5. Figure 3.5 shows the capacitance between the conductors in the two circuits and between each of the conductors and ground. It is assumed that the secondary circuit is floating. It is apparent that this is a simple potential divider.
C 32 C 12 C 13 E p E c
Figure 3.5 Electrostatic coupling between a HV conductor and secondary circuit
The voltage will divide inversely as the capacitance, regardless of frequency, thus, if Ep is the voltage on the power conductor,
p c E C C C E 32 13 13 (3.1)
Power frequencies signals and transient voltages can be coupled from one circuit to another by this means. In practice, however, the secondary circuit will usually be terminated to ground at both ends with impedances much lower than the impedance of C 32 . The shunting current in these circumstances will be determined by C 13 and for a voltage Ep at frequency will be
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 50 13 C E I p (3.2)
And the voltage of the control circuit conductor will be established by the product of this current and the impedance to the ground. The example given implies that the capacitances are known. This is usually not the case but there is standard method to calculate the capacitance between parallel wires. A computer program can be used for complicated calculation such as determining capacitance between three phase conductors to an object.
Estimating capacitance between a point above ground to an overhead conductor. Determining the capacitance between a long conductor and a point above the ground requires a complicated calculation. To roughly estimate the capacitance, the equation to calculate capacitance between two conductors was used [53]. The capacitance equation between two parallel conductors is given by a d m F C r o 2 cosh ) / ( 1 (3.3)
Where d = distance between the two wires in meter a = radius of conductor in meter
0 = permittivity of free space (F/m)
r = relative permittivity/dielectric constant for air (1atm) = 1
To estimate the capacitance, we use the distance, d= 5m and conductor radius,a = 0.015m, the capacitance is calculated to be:
03 . 0 5 cosh 10 * 854 . 8 * 1 12 C m pF C C / 79 . 4 811 . 5 10 * 854 . 8 * 12
The calculated capacitance is when the conductor is 1m in length. At a conductor length of 0.2m which is approximately the same length as the passive antenna diameter, the capacitance is 0.958pF/m. The value calculated is not accurate as it only takes into account the field from the parts of the HV line which are at right angles to the secondary conductor (antenna). The field Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 51 converges on the short secondary point from all along the HV line need to be included in the calculation of the capacitance. The actual capacitance between the antenna above a ground to the overhead wire should be higher than the calculated value using equation 3.3. To facilitate estimation and calculation during the research a capacitance of 1pF is estimated as the value of C 13 . In the following sections, C 13 will be known as C1.
3.5.3 Single phase capacitive coupling model At the power line frequency, Vs, the passive antenna is effectively coupled to the power lines capacitively, C1. As the coupling capacitance is small, which is estimated as 1 picofarad, the voltage developed across the load, Vo is linearly proportional to the load impedance. This is in effect a capacitive potential divider with a resistor connected across the low-voltage arm. Figure 3.6 shows a diagram of single phase capacitive divider.
Figure 3.6 Capacitive Divider
The single phase capacitive coupling antenna could be represented by a simple equivalent circuit. Figure 3.7 illustrates the equivalent circuit for the capacitive antenna for single phase measurement.
Vo Vs C1 Measuring Instrument HV conductor Antenna Head Details of the network to the left of the arrows are included in Figure 3.7. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 52
Figure 3.7 Passive Antenna Equivalent Circuit
Vs = Supply phase voltage Vo = Output Voltage measured C1 = Capacitance from conductor to Passive antenna Cr = Capacitance of measuring cable R = Load resistance
From the above equivalent circuit it can be seen that at very high frequency, X Cr << R. Hence, the output voltage is determined by the capacitance. While at low frequency, R << X Cr , the output voltage is determined by the resistance. In order to analyse the frequency response of the passive antenna, the transfer function of the passive antenna is determined.
Passive Antenna Transfer F unction The transfer function for the equivalent circuit is given by:- 1 ) 1 ( ) 1 ( 1 1 Cr C R j Cr C R j Cr C C V V S O (3.4)
At very high frequency, the term ) 1 ( Cr C R j is dominant and cancels out each other. Giving the equation below:-
Cr C C V V S O 1 1 (3.5)
At low frequency, the term ) 1 ( Cr C R j is small giving the equation below:- Vs C1 Cr R Vo Measuring Instrument Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 53 1 ) 1 ( 1 1 Cr C R j Cr C C V V S O
1 RC j (3.6)
By equating s=j , the above could be expressed as;- 1 ) 1 ( ) 1 ( 1 1 Cr C sR Cr C sR Cr C C V V S O (3.7)
The capacitance and resistance values with for field measurement are given below. C1 = 1pF (estimated) Cr = 20 meter * 100pF/m = 2000pF = 2nF R = 0.5M
Replacing the above values in the Eq 3.7, the transfer function could be expressed as 1 ) 2000 1 ( 5 . 0 ) 2000 1 ( 5 . 0 2000 1 1 pF pF M s pF pF M s pF pF pF V V S O
1 001001 . 0 5 7 s s e
A Bode diagram is plot from the transfer function to look at the corner frequency, c and the relationship between the magnitude, phase angle and frequency. Figure 3.8 shows the Bode diagram for the transfer function. From the Bode diagram:- The corner frequency is 2000rad/s or 318.5Hz Flat gain at -67dB. At 50Hz or 314 rad/s, the gain is -82dB with a phase shift of about 80 degree. At low frequency the phase shift is 90 degree and at very high frequency the phase shift is almost zero.
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Figure 3.8 Bode Diagram
The above bode diagram would be used as reference throughout the course of this research for observations and discussion purposes. It is pointed out that the above bode diagram may not represent the actual antenna transfer function as the above function is only an estimate for a single phase measurement and not three phase measurement. The capacitive coupling model for the three phase measurement would be discussed later. Furthermore the transfer function is determined by value of C1 the capacitance between the phase conductors and the antenna. C1 is determined by the distance between the phase conductors to the antenna and relative permittivity of air during measurement. Estimating the output voltage measured by the passive antenna Considering Vs is the phase supply voltage and assuming C1 is 1pF, Vo could be estimated using the bode diagram.in Figure 3.6 as follows:
Vs = (275kV/ 3)*1.414 = 222.3kV peak voltage (phase to ground) At 50Hz or 314rad/s, gain is -82db. Vo/Vs = -82dB. = 20log 10 (Vo/Vs) = 7.94e-5.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 55 Therefore, Vo = 223.3kV * 7.94e-5 = 17.7V peak voltage.
This process could be reversed to determine the supply voltage, Vs.
3.5.4 Three phase coupling inside substation The antenna works on coupling principle. It is important to note that for a 3 phase measurement inside a substation, an antenna placed under each three different phase conductors will have all three phase voltage coupled to the antenna via the capacitances. This gives resultant coupling voltage from all three phases to appear on the antenna. Figure 3.9 illustrates the capacitive coupling between phase conductors and each passive antenna.
The capacitance is assumed to be inversely proportional to the distance. Antenna nearest to the phase conductor will experience the strongest capacitive coupling compared to the other two phases. This results in higher magnitude of voltage coupled from the nearest phase conductor on the antenna. Therefore, it can be said that strongest coupled voltage on an antenna indicates the nearest phase conductor.
Capacitive Coupling Antenna A B C PA X Y Z C AX C BX C CX C AY C BY C CY C CZ C BZ C AZ
Figure 3.9 Capacitive coupling between three phase conductors and three passive antennas.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 56 3.6 RECORDING INSTRUMENTS Figure 3.10 shows the recording instrument arrangement. The recording instrument consists of two digital oscilloscope, coaxial cable, portable power supply and earthing accessories.
USB HSD 3.5 FDD RS-232 CRO 1 - 1.5GHz CRO 2 - 100MHz Power Supply UPS + Surge arrestor 12V Battery @ 250AH Faraday Cage i.e. vehicle Active Antenna Passive Antenna
Figure 3.10 Recording instrument arrangement
3.6.1 Digital oscilloscopes Two oscilloscopes were used for recording measurements. The characteristics of the two digital oscilloscopes are shown in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2.
Table 3.1 Characteristics of Agilent Digital Oscilloscope Make Agilent Vertical resolution 8 bits Model 54624A Input resistance 1 M 1% Available channel 4 Input capacitance 14pF Bandwidth DC to 100 MHz Data Storage Floppy disk Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 57 Max Sample rate 200 MSa/s I/O RS-232 Serial Port Record length 2 M/CH Sample rate @ 10ms time div. 20 MSa/s Table 3.2 Characteristics of Yokogawa Digital Oscilloscope Make Yokogawa Vertical resolution 8 bits Model DL 9240 Input resistance 1 M 1% Available channel 4 Input capacitance 20pF Bandwidth DC to 1.5 GHz Data Storage Internal HDD Max Sample rate 10 GSa/s I/O USB Interface Record length 2.5 M/CH Sample rate @ 10ms time div. 25 MSa/s
It can be clearly seen that Yokogawa DL9240 is superior to Agilent 54624. Yokogawa DL9240 has a segmented memory architecture that allows the main sampling memory of 2.5M per channel to be segmented into separately triggered buffers according to memory length selected. This option is known as the waveform history or History Function. History Function allows successively triggered waveforms to be stored on the oscilloscope acquisition memory and the waveforms could be displayed when the acquisition process stopped. This is a useful function to record successful impulses during switching event. Similar function was used by Moore [6] in his measurement. However, the time stamping used by Moore has a resolution of precision 10 -9 s whereas Yokogawa DL9240 has only a resolution of precision 10 -3 s. Agilent 54624 does not have this function.
For Yokogawa DL9240, using 1CH with memory length of 2.5M, waveform saved in .wdf format (proprietary binary format) uses 5MB of memory and this is equivalent to 25MB of memory if saved in .csv format. With 4CH with memory length of 2.5M, a total of 20MB memory will be used in .wdf format and time taken to save all the waveforms is around 4 minutes.
Agilent 54624 does not have the waveform save function built in but it is possible to download the waveforms acquired on all 4 CH. The available setup allows all waveforms to be downloaded but only one at a time. Using RS-232 connection at 57600 baud rate, with 2M points on each waveform; downloading time for each waveform is around 12 minutes. Hence, Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 58 for 4 waveforms a total downloading time of 50 minutes is required. This is not desirable for measurement at substations.
3.6.2 Coaxial cable The coaxial cable used is of RG58 Cellfoil. It has low loss characteristics and is double shielded. The cable capacitance per meter is 100 pF. To ensure similar cable capacitances from each antenna to the oscilloscope, each cable length for the passive antenna is set to 20 meter.
3.6.3 Measurement requirement in substation In carrying out transient measurement inside a substation, acquiring meaningful measurement result is important. However more importantly, special attention needs to be given to ensure safety of the operator and measuring equipment. In this case, Powerlink`s electrical safety procedure needs to be adhered to. Safety Requirement Preliminary risk assessment was done and procedures were prepared for carrying out measurement inside live substation. On the day of measurement, at the substation, final risk assessment was carried out by Powerlink personnel. Personal protective equipment (PPE) i.e. safety boots, safety helmet and long sleeve shirt were worn. Powerlink personnel gave a safety induction before starting of work and non-Powerlink staffs need to be accompanied by Powerlink personnel at all time while in the substation. F araday cage In order to prevent the influence of the electric field during measurement of switching transients, recording devices need to be located inside a Faraday cage. To achieve this, all the recording devices were located inside a vehicle which was earthed to the substation earthing. Single earthing Only a single point earthing is required to avoid multiple grounds which introduce ground loops. Ground loops is a phenomenon in which electromagnetic fields can induce voltage that is not only affect the original measurement signals but also may cause potential differences between different ground terminals between equipment which can be hazardous. This was achieved by connecting the equipment earth connection to the vehicle frame. The vehicle frame is then connected to the substation earthing. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 3: New Methods For Condition Monitoring Of Restriking EHV CBs M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 59 Portable Power Supplies To avoid connection with the grounding of the substation supply which in turn prevent ground loops, a portable power supply was used. The portable power supply consists of a UPS and a large 12V DC battery.
Overvoltages Protection To avoid potential electrical charges develop on the oscilloscope input terminals during equipment set up or handling inside the substation, all the input CH were set to GND. As additional precaution, all input CH were terminated with resistive load connected to ground.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 60 4Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching Exploratory measurements have been carried out on single-phase reactor switching at Ergon Energy HV Laboratory, Virginia and 3-phase Capacitor Bank switching at Blackwall Substation. The purpose, site details, test arrangements and results for both measurements are described in this chapter. 4.1 FIELD MEASUREMENT AT ERGON LABORATORY 4.1.1 Purpose of measurement Laboratory measurement were carried out at Ergon Laboratory, Virginia. The objectives of the measurement were:- To investigate the application of active antenna (AA) and passive antenna (PA) in detecting re-ignition and restriking transients produced during single-phase switching of reactor. To measure transient and waveforms produced during single-phase switching of shunt reactor. To identify improvement required for antenna, measuring technique and recording system. Measurement was carried out using both the active antenna, passive antenna and recording system developed.
4.1.2 Restriking in Vacuum Circuit Breaker In order to investigate the application of both antennas in detecting re-strike in circuit breaker, an experiment was set up on Single Phase Reactor Switching using vacuum circuit breaker. Restriking is known to be produced during interruption of inductive/reactor current by vacuum circuit breaker. Re-ignition/re-strikes in vacuum circuit breaker has been successfully modelled and measured by Lopez-Roldan et al [58]. Expected typical result for re-striking in Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 61 vacuum circuit breaker for similar circuit arrangement has been obtained [58] and are shown in Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2.
Figure 4.1 and 4.2 show the measured voltage at the HV terminal of a test transformer during the opening of the vacuum circuit breaker, approximately at the instant of maximum current. The source voltage was 5kV rms and the maximum overvoltage measured at the transformer terminal was 35 kV peak (pu). Numerous restrikes can be observed during a period of 1.2ms. The frequency of the load voltage oscillation after the restrikes is a function of the L and C at the load side of the breaker.
Figure 4.1 Restriking Process During CB Opening (from [58])
Figure 4.2 Measured Voltage at reactor terminal (from [58])
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 62 4.1.3 Test and measurement set up Figure 4.3 outlines the circuit arrangement. The rated inductance, L B is 20H and the total load side equipment capacitance C L is 5.0nF. The natural frequency of the LC oscillation on the load side is given by:- Hz C L f L B o 500 2 1
A step-up transformer is used to raise the test voltage to between 3kV and 5kV simulating the network source voltage. A 12kV rated vacuum circuit breaker is chosen to switch the reactor. The vacuum circuit breaker is manually operated without point-on-wave controlled switching facility.
Capacitive voltage dividers were located to measure the voltage at the step-up transformer (supply side) and at the reactor (load side). The recording equipment consisted of an active antenna, a passive antenna and two digital oscilloscopes. The oscilloscopes were used to record the antenna signals and voltage divider waveforms. An Agilent 54624 100MHz oscilloscope was used to record the passive antenna signal and the voltage divider signals on a lower-speed timescale. A Yokogawa DL9240 1.5GHz oscilloscope was used to record the active antenna signal on a higher-speed timescale. The recorded high-speed transient was then stored in the oscilloscope memory using the History Function. Both oscilloscopes were powered by an isolation transformer located inside the laboratory control room.
Figure 4.3 Experimental circuit arrangement
Figure 4.4 and figure 4.5 show photographs of the laboratory arrangement. Figure 4.4 shows the vacuum circuit breaker, capacitive voltage divider measuring the load side voltage, step-up transformer and the 1nF capacitor.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 63 Figure 4.5 shows a single core XLPE cable connected from the vacuum circuit breaker (which is not visible in the photograph) to the 20H reactor. The passive antenna can be seen to be located next to the reactor. The active antenna and oscilloscopes are located inside the laboratory control room. A series of tests were carried out at varying test voltages and varying antennas location for both passive antenna and active antenna. Selected results are displayed and discussed
Vacuum Circuit Breaker Capacitor 1nF Step Up Transformer Reactor Passive Antenna 1C XLPE Cable Potential Divider Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 64
4.1.4 Reactor opening at 3kV with Passive Antenna located close to the supply transformer In this test, the passive antenna was located close to the supply transformer and the active antenna was located in the control room. Prior to the opening test being carried out, measurement was carried out to calibrate the passive antenna using the supply voltage. The calibration was carried out with the vacuum circuit breaker in closed position. Table 4.1 shows the calibration result between the test voltage, supply voltage and passive antenna waveform.
Table 4.1 Calibration between test voltage, supply voltage and Passive antenna TEST VOLTAGE, V (RMS) PASSIVE ANTENNA VCH1 V (P-P) SUPPLY VOLTAGE VCH2 V (P-P) 500 0.84 0.77 1000 1.66 1.47 1500 2.47 2.17 2000 3.22 2.88 2500 3.97 3.59 3000 4.75 4.34
Figure 4.6 (a) shows the signal measured by passive antenna, supply voltage, reactor voltage. It was observed that the signal picked up by the passive antenna leads the supply voltage and reactor voltage due to the capacitive coupling nature of the passive antenna by almost 90 0 .
On opening of the vacuum circuit breaker, the supply voltage indicated HF restriking followed by voltage distortion and settled to 50Hz. The reactor voltage showed HF restriking followed by decaying transient oscillation at 500Hz. The 500Hz oscillation is a function of the L and C on the load side of the circuit breaker and corresponds with the calculated values earlier. The passive antenna picked up the high frequency restriking and the 500Hz transient LC oscillation superimposed on the 50Hz component. Restriking on the VCB occurred at the early Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 65 stage of opening/interrupting as shown in circled area A. Area A is magnified to further look at the restriking event.
Figure 4.6 (a) WaveIorms during opening oI vacuum circuit breaker at 3 kV (b) Area A Restrikes on Reactor Voltage (c) Area A Restrikes detected by passive antenna.
Figure 4.6 (b) and (c) show restrikes measured on the reactor voltage and passive antenna waveform. It can be seen that numerous re-strikes occurred for a period of 1ms. Re- strikes detected by passive antenna and measured by the voltage divider at the reactor side are similar in frequency and pattern but vary in terms of magnitude. A Passive antenna Supply voltage Reactor Voltage ( a) ( b) Reactor Voltage Passive antenna ( c) 5V 200s Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 66
In Figure 4.6(b), the pattern and the magnitude of the restrike voltages measured at the reactor voltage terminal are different from the expected result of Figure 4.2. The huge difference in the expected result may be due to the high frequency earth loop current passing through the isolation transformer (which was plugged into the same supply as the main supply transformer) supplying the oscilloscope.
In Figure 4.6 (c), the passive antenna detected the HF restriking current and small magnitude of restriking voltage. The time difference between restriking pulses ranges from 20 s initially to 200 s.
Figure 4.7 HF restriking pulses detected on Active Antenna
Figure 4.7 shows the HF restriking pulses detected by the active antenna recorded on the high speed oscilloscope. The active antenna blocks out the 50Hz component and the 500Hz transient load oscillation. The recorded HF pulses occurred for 1 ms and consistent with the restriking pulses recorded by the passive antenna. The constant amplitude on the HF pulses was due to active antenna amplifier going into saturation during restriking.
1V/div Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 67
Figure 4.8 Magnification on one HF pulse
Further observation found that every pulse has similar waveform pattern and 1 HF restriking pulse was further analysed. In Figure 4.8, the 2 nd part of the figure show that the analysed HF pulse contains 2 distinct frequency oscillations. Applying Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the HF pulse indicated that each HF pulse contained frequency component of 10MHz and 2.6MHz. This HF pulse may be related to the 'Iirst parallel oscillations that occurs during re-ignitions.
4.1.5 Conclusion The circuit arrangement for the experiment successfully produced restrike during single phase reactor switching. From series of tests carried out, the passive antenna managed to detect 50Hz signal, re-strikes during switching of shunt reactor and transient oscillation after interrupting the shunt reactor. Location of the passive antenna determines the coupling voltage. The active antenna also detected the HF re-strikes during shunt reactor switching. The only drawback was the earth loop effect which affected the result slightly.
The experiment has showed that the use of both low frequency capacitive coupling antenna and high-frequency active broadband antenna are an interesting, non-invasive technique for measuring transients and detecting re-strikes during single phase shunt reactor switching. It is thought that this technique could be extended to measurement of three phase shunt reactor or capacitor bank switching.
1V/div Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 68 4.2 EXPLORATORY THREE PHASE CAPACITOR BANK SWITCHING MEASUREMENT AT BLACKWALL SUBSTATION 4.2.1 Purpose of site measurement Site measurements were carried out at Blackwall substation on 21 st May 2007. The objectives of the measurement were:- To investigate the application of active antenna and capacitive coupling antenna in detecting re-ignition and restriking transient produced during three phase capacitor bank switching. To carry out measurement on transient and waveforms produced during three phase capacitor bank switching. To identify improvements required in terms of antenna requirement, measuring technique and recording system. To determine the background noise inside a substation.
4.2.2 Site details and arrangement Blackwall substation is a 275 kV substation interconnected with other important substations in Powerlink Queensland`s 275 kV network. The substation is interconnected with 6 other 275kV substations via 275kV overhead lines. Blackwall substation also has Static VAR Compensator (SVC) installation and two Capacitor Bank bays with 60MVAR rating each. The two capacitor bank bays are identified as Capacitor Bank No. 5 and Capacitor Bank No. 6 respectively. Figure 4.9 shows Blackwall substation interconnection. Measurements were carried out on Capacitor Bank No.5. Figure 4.10 shows the capacitor banks layout.
The monitored circuit breaker type is an ABB 275kV Hybrid PASS MO. It is a dead tank circuit breaker, using SF6 as the interrupting medium, single pole operation with hydraulic drive mechanism. Controlled switching is employed for both opening and closing operation. Computerised sequence of event (SOE) information is normally available from this type of circuit breaker but secondary voltage and current waveforms were not available for this exploratory measurement.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 69
Figure 4.9. Blackwall Substation Interconnection
The capacitor bank rated capacitance, F C B 94 . 4 and the series inrush inductance, mH L B 86 . 2 .These values were supplied by Powerlink.
The inrush current frequency for capacitor bank could be calculated as follows [1]: I solated Capacitor Bank 1 2 1 C L L f B S i
where i f is the inrush frequency (Hz) s L is the estimated source inductance, at fault current of 40kA, s L is kA kV 40 / 3 275 =12.63mH L B is equal to 2.86 mH 1 C is equal to F C B 94 . 4 Hence, Hz f i 3 . 575
Back-to-back Capacitor Bank For a back-to-back capacitor bank with similar rating SOUTHPINE ROCKLEA SWANBANK BELMONT CAPACITOR BANK MT ENGLAND TARONG BLACKWALL SVC Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 70 eq eq i C L f 2 1
where i f is the inrush frequency (Hz) eq L is series inductance of bank 1 and bank 2, 5.72mH. eq C is the series capacitance of bank 1 and bank 2 , F 47 . 2
Hence, kHz f i 34 . 1
These two frequencies are important as they would indicate the inrush frequency during transient measurement for the capacitor bank closing.
Figure 4.10 Blackwall Capacitor Bank Layout 4.2.3 Measurement set up Figure 4.11 shows the measuring equipment layout. The passive antenna is connected to CH1 on Agilent CRO whilst the active antenna is connected to CH1 on Yokogawa CRO. The active antenna was also connected to CH2 of Agilent 54624 to act as a High frequency marker. Agilent 54624 oscilloscope was used to record low-speed transients detected by the passive antenna using 20ms/div with a sampling rate of 20MSa/s. Yokogawa DL9240 was used to Control Building Capacitor Bank 6 Capacitor Bank 5 Capacitor Bank Series Reactor Switchgear A B C *Not to scale Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 71 record high speed transients detected by active antenna by using 1 s/div with a sampling rate of 10GSa/s. The high speed transient is then stored in the oscilloscope memory using the History Function which allows successively triggered waveforms to be stored on the oscilloscope acquisition memory and can be displayed when waveform acquisition stopped.
A few triggering methods were applied. The best technique was when the active antenna triggered the Yokogawa oscilloscope using conventional amplitude triggering and the Yokogawa oscilloscope in turn triggered the Agilent oscilloscope which was set for single shot operation.
During the measurement the passive antenna and active antenna were located on the busbar side of the circuit breaker.
Figure 4.11 Measuring equipment layout
USB HSD 3.5 FDD Yokogawa DL9240 Agilent 54624 Active Antenna Passive Antenna Power Supply UPS + Surge arrestor Faraday Cage e.g. vehicle B/B CB SERIES REACTOR CAPACITOR BANK CT 12V Battery @ 250AH Trigger 275 kV busbar Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 72 4.2.4 Summary of tests/measurement carried out Table 4.2 shows a summarised record of the tests carried out at Blackwall. Table 4.2 Summary of tests conducted at Blackwall on 21 st May 2007 EVENT AGILENT 54624 YOKOGAWA DL9240 Background Measurement Three phase waveform measured. Triggering by Ext trig from Yokogawa.
Triggering by Active antenna on CH1 with level set at 50mV. CB6 Closing Not properly triggered Not properly triggered Test 1 CB5 1 st Opening Not properly triggered Inaccurate waveform recorded Test 2 CB5 1 st Closing Trig: CH1 Level : 7.5V Closing transient recorded by Passive Antenna and HF markers recorded by active antenna. Both signals were recorded in 40ms window. Trig: CH1 Level : 200mV 6 individual HF waveforms recorded within 60ms. Test 3 CB5 2 nd Opening Trig: CH1 Level : 7.5V Not triggered Trig: CH1 Level : 200mV 3 similar HF waveforms triggered in approximately 10ms. Test 4 CB5 2 nd Closing Trig: CH4 (Ext-Yokogawa) Closing transient recorded by Passive Antenna and HF markers recorded by active antenna. Both signals were recorded in 40ms. Trig: CH1 Level: 200mV 6 individual HF waveforms recorded within 60ms. Similar as 1 st closing. Test 5 CB5 3 rd Opening Trig: CH4 (Ext-Yokogawa) Opening transient recorded by passive antenna and HF markers recorded by active antenna. Both signals were recorded in 20ms. Trig: CH1 Level :200mV 3 individual HF waveforms were recorded within 20ms. Similar as 2 nd closing.
Samples of opening and closing waveforms recorded on low speed oscillograph and high speed oscillograph are presented and discussed in the following sections.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 73 4.2.5 Opening operation Low Speed Oscillograph
Figure 4.12 Antenna waveform on CB opened at point A
Figure 4.12 shows the waveform received by the passive antenna when it was positioned under the conductor on the busbar side (supply side) of the circuit breaker. The passive antenna picked up the summation of the three phase 50Hz voltages. It can be observed that at about 17 ms (point A) there was sudden reduction of voltage after CB opening i.e. disconnection of capacitor bank. There are also appear to be indications of other events at about 23 ms and 27-28 ms. The event at 17 ms may be due to an oscillation similar to that shown in Figure 2.4. The lumpy staircase-like voltages observed in Figure 4.12 were due to the limited resolution of the oscilloscope.
Figure 4.13 shows that the active antenna picked up a series of HF pulses during CB opening. It can also be observed that the voltage distortion on the passive antenna 50 Hz waveform corresponds to the HF markers measured by the active antenna. The HF markers occurred for a duration of approximately 10ms.
CH1-PA CH2-AA V before V after A Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 74
Figure 4.13 HF pulses during opening High Speed Oscillograph
(a)
(b)
(c) Figure 4.14 Three typical HF Pulses During Opening Figure 4.14 shows three typical high frequency pulses recorded by the active antenna on the high speed oscillograph during Test 5. It is interesting to note that the active antenna triggered 3 HF events. This may correspond to the three pole separation events. However, HF Timescale: 1s/div
Volt scale: 200mV/div 10 ms /div 2 ms /div Zoomed view of time window above 1V /div Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 75 markers on Figure 4.13 recorded four HF pulses during opening. Comparing this with the HF pulses recorded by the high speed oscilloscope, the HF pulses probably do not indicate just pole separation. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine the time difference between each of the HF pulses as the time stamping facility on the Yokogawa oscilloscope has a resolution of 10ms. 4.2.6 Closing operation Low Speed Oscillograph Figure 4.15 shows the passive antenna picked up the summation of the three phase 50Hz component and transient oscillations during CB closing. It can be observed that there was an increase of 50 Hz voltage after the CB closing as would be expected from a connection of capacitor bank. The transient oscillations picked up by the passive antenna at point A shows the effect of inrush current during CB closing. The transient oscillation frequency recorded is approximately 400Hz. This value is less than 573.5 Hz that calculated earlier in section 4.2.2. This is probably due to the actual circuit condition with overhead line connection and SVC which were not taken into consideration in the earlier calculation.
Figure 4.15 Passive Antenna waveform on closing
Figure 4.16 HF markers during closing CH1-PA CH2-AA V before V after A CH2-AA Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 76 Figure 4.16 shows the active antenna picked up series of HF pulses during CB closing. The HF pulses also correspond to the voltage distortion/transient recorded on the passive antenna as shown in Figure 4.15. The duration of the HF pulses and transient is approximately 40ms.
High Speed Oscillograph
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f) Figure 4.17 (a) to (f) typical HF Pulses during closing Figure 4.17 shows HF pulses picked up by the active antenna and recorded on Yokogawa using the history function. The pulses are arranged according to their sequence occurrence. Pulse (a) was the 1 st pulse and pulse (f) was the last pulse. Figure 4.17 (a) and (b) show that the 1 s/div scale used is not adequate to show the HF pulse waveform. By analysing other HF waveforms, it was found that some of the HF pulses lasted for almost 20 s. It can also be seen that the picked up signal by the active antenna overloaded the oscilloscope. Figure 4.17 (e) and (f) show that positive only HF transient were recorded on Yokogawa scope. However, Time scale: 1s/div
Volt scale: 200mV/div Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 77 from figure 4.16, it can be seen that positive only and negative only transients were recorded on slower scale during closing operation.
Similar HF transient were recorded during other closing operation on the Yokogawa oscilloscope at 1 s/div scale using the history function. However, the sequence of the HF pulses between closing operations is different.
4.2.7 Discussion The exploratory measurement at Blackwall gave a good insight into the technique of measuring transients in substation using the broadband active antenna and the capacitive coupling passive antenna. Opening and closing of capacitor bank transients were detected by both antennas and recorded by the recording instrument. This would be used as reference for future measurement.
At this stage it was difficult to completely explain the waveforms recorded by both antennas and to determine the timing, pole sequence and whether re-strikes occurred. However, it was thought to be possible to improve the measuring system to give more information that would facilitate understanding of the waveforms. The exploratory measurement gave positive results in measuring transient using antennas and illustrated the importance of earthing which could be improved by using single point earthing methods. The measuring system managed to measure the transients produced during capacitor bank switching.
4.2.8 Improvement to be taken After the exploratory measurement carried out, improvements were identified on the measuring system, recording technique and other information required from Powerlink.
In order to relate measurements to the travel of the circuit breaker and to assist in analyse of the acquired waveforms, additional information will be needed from Powerlink. These include secondary current and voltage waveforms and sequence of event (SOE).
As for the measuring system, it was proposed to use three Passive antennas, one for each phase to give better information about transient waveforms recorded. Further to this, varying the location of the passive antenna need to be investigated to give Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 4: Exploratory Measurement on Single-Phase Reactor Switching and Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 78 greater understanding of the sensitivity of this type of antenna to distance from HV sources.
As for the recording technique, improvements could be made in terms of triggering settings, oscilloscope memory length, volts/div, suitable time scale for opening and closing and data storage medium.
It is also worth noting that the field measurement involves actual equipment connected to the transmission network and requires authorised staff to operate the system. Hence, the number of tests are limited and time is always a constraint. Measurements need to be planned and executed efficiently. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 79 5Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching Field measurements were carried out on three phase Capacitor Bank switching at Powerlink Queensland`s Blackwall Substation on 7 th August 2007. The purpose of the test, site details, test arrangements and results from the field measurement are described in this chapter. Purpose of the site measurement . The objectives of the field measurement carried out at Blackwall substation are:- To investigate the application of active antenna and three passive antenna in detecting re-ignition and restriking transient that may be produced during 3 phase capacitor bank. switching To measure transient waveforms produced during 3 phase capacitor bank switching. To identify effectiveness on improvements made in antennas, measuring techniques and recording systems.
5.1 SITE DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENT Measurements were carried out at the 275kV, Blackwall Substation. As mentioned in Chapter 4 the substation is interconnected to five other 275kV substations via 275kV overhead lines. Blackwall substation also has Static VAR Compensator (SVC) installation and 2 Capacitor Bank bays with 60MVar rating each. The 2 capacitor bank bays are again identified as Capacitor Bank No. 5 and Capacitor Bank No. 6 respectively.
The monitored CB is a ABB 275kV Hybrid PASS MO circuit breaker used for reactive switching of Capacitor Bank No.5. The PASS MO is a dead tank circuit breaker, using SF6 as the interrupting medium, with single-pole operation with an hydraulic drive mechanism. As expected for a reactive switching the circuit breaker, the circuit breaker operates everyday.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 80 The capacitor bank is rated at 60MVar. The rated capacitance, F C B 94 . 4 and the series inrush inductance L B = 2.86 mH. The inrush current frequency as was calculated and described in Chapter 4 (Section 4.2.2).
To reduce harmful transient overvoltages produced during capacitor bank switching operations, controlled switching is employed on the PASS MO circuit breaker for both opening and closing operations. In energising the capacitor bank, circuit breaker closing is synchronised to occur at a zero voltage crossing. While in de-energising, circuit breaker opening is done with adequate arcing time before the first current zero to avoid reignitions or restrikes. As described in Chapter 2 (Section 2.3.1) short arcing time gives higher risk of reignition or restrike.
Figure 5.1 Three-phase voltage waveforms and controlled closing points for a Capacitor Bank
Figure 5.2 Three-phase current waveforms and controlled opening points for a Capacitor Bank Current I nterruption at zero with 3.3ms between phases I t
Zero Voltage crossing with 6.6ms Between phases V t Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 81
Figure 5.1 shows control closing time used by Powerlink for a grounded-neutral capacitor bank at Blackwall substation. The circuit breaker is closed at zero voltage crossing with 6.6ms interval between poles. Figure 5.2 shows control opening time. The current interruption occurs at first current zeros with 3.3ms interval between poles. A portable recorder owned by Powerlink was used to provide secondary voltage and secondary current waveforms available from the monitoring system built into the PASS MO circuit breaker during switching .
5.2 TEST AND MEASUREMENT SET UP
Figure 5.3 Measuring equipment layout for tests at Blackwall
Figure 5.3 shows the measuring equipment layout. The measuring equipment consists of 3 passive antenna, 1 active antenna, 2 digital oscilloscopes and a portable power supply. The 3 USB HSD 3.5 FDD RS-232 YOKOGAWA DL9240 AGILENT 54624 Active Antenna 3X Passive Antenna Power Supply UPS + Surge arrestor 12V Battery @ 250AH Faraday Cage i.e. vehicle B/B SERIES REACTOR CAPACITOR BANK CT PASS CB 275 kV busbar Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 82 passive antennas were connected to Agilent 54624 oscilloscope. The Agilent 54624 was used to record the lower speed transients using 20ms/div with sampling rate of 10MSa/s. The active antenna was connected to the 4 th channel of Agilent 54624 for triggering and to act as a High frequency marker. Conventional amplitude triggering of the scope was used.
The active antenna was also connected to Yokogawa DL9240 oscilloscope. The Yokogawa DL9240 was used to record high speed transients using 1 s/div with sampling rate of 10GSa/s. The high speed transient is then stored in the oscilloscope memory using the History Function.
Figure 5.4 Capacitor Bank Installation
Figure 5.5 Recording Instrumentation Figure 5.4 shows photograph of the circuit breaker and capacitor bank installation. To the right of the photo is the capacitor bank. Next to the capacitor bank is the reactor used to limit Passive Antenna Agilent 54624 Yokogawa DL9240 Single point earthing connection to substation earth Circuit Breaker Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 83 the inrush current effect. The MO Pass Circuit breakers are after the reactors. It is a dead tank circuit breaker where the current interruption is done inside an earthed interrupting chamber. To the left of the circuit breaker is the conductor leading to the 275kV busbar. The passive antennas were located closed to the circuit breaker as shown in the circle. At the far end is the Capacitor bank no.6. The 3 passive antennas are circled. They are located on the ground on the substation gravel below the overhead conductors connecting the 3 circuit breaker terminals to the 275kV substation busbar.
Figure 5.5 shows photograph of the recording instrumentation located inside the measuring vehicle. The oscilloscopes were positioned next to each other. The portable power supply is located behind the 2 oscilloscopes. All the equipments were connected to a single point earth on the vehicle. The single point earth is then connected from the measuring vehicle to the substation earth grid.
5.3 SUMMARY OF TESTS/MEASUREMENT CARRIED OUT Series of circuit breaker closing and opening tests were made on capacitor bank 5. Positions of the 3 passive antennas and active antenna were varied during the e tests. Table 5.1 shows a summary of tests carried out. Only selected results are displayed and discussed. After evaluating the results, it was concluded that the HF pulse measured by the active antenna and recorded on the high-speed oscilloscope was very difficult to correlate with the low speed transient recorded. This is due to the sampling rate and the random nature of the arc produce during opening which will be mentioned later. However, the low speed transient measurements seemed to contain considerable information.
Table 5.1 Summary of tests conducted at Blackwall on 7 th August 2007 EVENT DESCRIPTION Background Measurement Background measurement by the 3 Passive antenna and Active antenna. Test 1 Closing All passive antennas located on the source/busbar side oI the circuit breaker. Active antenna was located just outside the measuring vehicle. 3 HF events were recorded on the lower speed scope. Test 2 Opening All passive antennas located on the source/busbar side of the circuit breaker. Active antenna was located just outside the measuring Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 84 vehicle. No significant transient or voltage changes recorded. Test 3 Closing 2 Passive antenna located on load/capacitor bank side under phase A and B and 1 Passive antenna at the source/busbar side under phase A. 3 HF events were recorded on the lower speed scope. Test 4 Opening All passive antennas located on the load/capacitor bank side of the circuit breaker. Active antenna was located just outside the measuring vehicle. Significant voltage changes recorded. Test 5 Closing All passive antennas located on the load/capacitor bank side of the circuit breaker. Active antenna was located under phase conductor B at 3.5m from B phase CB. 3HF events were recorded on the lower speed scope. Test 6 Opening All antennas with same location as in Test 5. Significant voltage changes recorded. Test 7 Closing All passive antennas located on the load/capacitor bank side of the circuit breaker. Active antenna was located at B phase CB inspection window 3 HF events were recorded on the lower speed scope. Test 8 Opening All antennas with same location as in Test 7. Significant voltage changes recorded.
Only selected results are discussed in this thesis. Background measurements are discussed first followed by results of closing tests, i.e. Test 5 and Test 3, and opening test of capacitor bank circuit breaker i.e Test 8.
5.4 BACKGROUND MEASUREMENT Figure 5.6 shows position of the 3 passive antennas and active antenna when background measurements were carried out.
Figure 5.7 shows the 50 Hz waveforms measured during background measurement before switching on of the capacitor bank . Passive antennas 1, 2 and 3 were connected to CH1, Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 85 CH2 and CH3 respectively of the oscilloscope. It can be seen that the 3 waveforms have same 50Hz frequency, but they have different magnitudes and the phase angle difference between them is not 120 0 . The magnitude of each waveform is determined by the position of the antenna hence the capacitive coupling effect.
Figure 5.6 Plan view of antenna positions at Capacitor Bank installation during background measurement
PASS Switchgear Control Building 1 2 3 Capacitor Bank 6 Capacitor Bank 5 Capacitor Bank Series Reactor A B C Capacitive Coupling Antenna Active Antenna 13m 4.0m 2.5m Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 86
Figure 5.7 Waveform from Background measurement
CH1 has the biggest magnitude as antenna 1 is experiencing strong capacitive coupling effect from phase A hence indicating phase A. CH2 for antenna 2 being in the centre position, phase B, has the lowest magnitude as antenna 2 is experiencing coupling effect from all 3 phases. Hence, indicating phase B. CH3 has higher magnitude than CH2 but lower than CH1 as antenna 3 is experiencing strong coupling effect from phase C but also coupling from difference phases from adjacent bay i.e. Cap Bank 6. Hence, indicating phase C.
Table 5.2 Voltage measured by each Passive antenna during background measurement Antenna Measured V peak
(Load, R = 500 k ) PA1 10V PA2 7V PA3 7.5V
A B C Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 87 5.5 CAPACITOR BANK CLOSING
Figure 5.8 Plan view of the antenna positions for Test 5 Result for closing capacitor bank for Test 5 is discussed. Figure 5.8 shows the position of the 3 passive antennas and active antenna for Test 5 Closing. All the passive antennas were located at the capacitor side. Passive antenna 1 (PA1) was located under phase A, PA2 under phase C and PA3 under phase B. The active antenna was located on the busbar side under phase B. Figure 5.9 shows the waveform recorded during closing of capacitor bank 5 circuit breaker. From the three passive antennas, the inrush current effect during closing can be clearly seen on the voltage waveform. The voltage waveform increased indicating CB closing and point of current flowing with transient oscillation followed by steady state waveform.
A B C 1 2 3 Capacitor Bank 5 Capacitor Series Reactor PASS CB Capacitive Coupling Antenna Active Antenna Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 88
Figure 5.9 Waveforms captured during CB close operation for Test 5 The instant of individual phase closing could be determined by the comparing the magnitude of voltage detected by the passive antennas. Passive antenna that detected the largest voltage magnitude represents the closing phase. In this test, during the first pole closing, antenna 1 under phase A detected the highest voltage compared to antenna 3 and 2 located under phase B and C respectively. For the second pole closing, antenna 3 under phase B has the highest magnitude compared to the other 2 antennas thus indicating phase B closing. This was followed by phase C closing, where antenna 3 under phase C has the highest voltage magnitude. Therefore, by comparing the passive antennas signal the sequence of CB pole closing could be determined. The closing sequence for this test is A-B-C.
1V 10 ms X2 X1 PA1 under Phase A PA3 under Phase B PA2 under Phase C Pulses from Active antenna @ 50mV/ div Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 89 The active antenna picked up the HF pulses or HF markers. The HF markers are in line with the starting of voltage transient on the passive antennas. The time difference between the 3 HF markers is indicated by X1 and X2. Both X1 and X2 were measured to be approximately 6.6ms. X1 and X2 indicate the timing between pole closing. Test 5 - Close 6.6 ms 6.6 ms 1 APhase APhase B Phase B Phase C Phase C Phase Time
Figure 5.10 WaveIorms captured on Powerlink`s portable recorder Ior Test 5 Figure 5.10 shows the voltage and current waveIorm Irom the Powerlink`s portable recorder. The voltage waveforms are indicative of the busbar voltage whilst the current waveforms represent the capacitor bank current. It can be seen that CB was closed at zero voltage crossing causing minimal inrush current to flow into the capacitor bank. The timing between each pole closing is 6.6ms and the pole sequence is A-B-C.
The waveforms from all the antennas gave same timing difference and pole sequence as with waveIorm Irom Powerlink`s portable recorder. They are summarised in Table 5.3.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 90 Table 5.3 Summary of CB timing and pole sequence for capacitor bank closing Test 5 X1 ms X2 ms Sequence Measured from antennas waveform 6.6 6.6 A-B-C Powerlink waveform 6.6 6.6 A-B-C
From Figures 5.9 and 5.10 it can be seen that the voltages recorded on the PA are a composite of the three-phase voltages with the magnitude of the component of each phase depending on the distance of the PA from the phase busbar. For example in Figure 5.9 in the region X1 the phase A voltage is very similar to the start of the phase A voltage in Figure 5.10. The phase B voltage in the region X1 is lower than that in phase A and the phase C voltage is less than that in phase B: this is to be expected because the distances from phase A to the A phase PA, the B phase PA and the C phase PA are each greater than the preceding value. It can be seen that the shape of the voltage waveforms in Figure 5.9 are very similar to the current waveforms in Figure 5.10. This was due to the shunt resistance connected across the output of the passive antenna introducing a phase shift of almost 90 degrees in the output voltage signal.
The pulses of the AA are superimposed on each phase voltage in Figure 5.9 and provide accurate identification of each pole closure. Timing of the closing operation may be obtained directly from Figure 5.9 and values X1 and X2 are comparable with similar measurements from Figure 5.10.
5.6 IMPERFECT CAPACITOR BANK CLOSING Result for closing onto the capacitor bank for Test 3 is discussed in this Section. Figure 5.11 shows the position of the 3 passive antennas and active antenna Ior Test 3 Closing. Passive antenna 1 and 3 were located at the capacitor side while passive antenna 2 was located at the busbar side. Passive antenna 1 (PA1) was located under phase A, PA2 under phase A and PA3 under phase B. The active antenna was located on the busbar side close to measuring vehicle.
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Figure 5.11 Plan view of the antenna positions for Test 3
Figure 5.12 shows the voltage and current waveIorm Irom the Powerlink`s portable recorder. From the voltage waveform for phase B , it can be seen that CB was closed prior to zero voltage crossing. This caused big inrush current to flow into the capacitor bank as indicated by the current waveform on phase B. The inrush current also caused a voltage dip on the B phase busbar voltage. Similar occurrence can be seen on phase C and phase A. The timing between each pole closing is 6.6ms and the pole sequence is B-C-A.
Capacitive Coupling Antenna Active Antenna A B C 1 2 3 Capacitor Bank 5 Capacitor Series Reactor PASS CB Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 92
Figure 5.12 WaveIorms captured on Powerlink`s portable recorder Ior Test 3
Figure 5.13 shows the waveform recorded by the passive antennas and active antenna during closing of capacitor bank. Only waveforms for passive antenna 1, passive antenna 3 and active antenna were shown. Waveform for passive antenna 2 was not shown because passive antenna 2 was located on the busbar side as in figure 5.12 hence the waveform detected by passive antenna 2 could not be compared reliably with waveforms from passive antenna 1 and passive antenna 3.
On waveforms recorded on passive antennas 1and 3, the inrush current effect during closing can be clearly seen on the voltage waveform. The sudden voltage increase or voltage spike on antenna indicated the CB pole closing and point of current flowing with transient oscillation followed by steady state waveform. The transient oscillation in this test is more severe when compared to transient oscillation detected in test 5. This is due to the incorrect zero voltage crossing closing which was shown in Figure 5.12. The magnitude of the 50 Hz components in Figure 5.13 looks smaller than in Figure 5.9 because waveforms in Figure 5.13 were measured using 5V/div while waveforms in Figure 5.9 were measured using 1V/div. C Phase C Phase B Phase A Phase B Phase A Phase Test 3 - Close Current Voltage 6.6 ms 6.6 ms Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 93
Figure 5.13 Waveforms captured during CB close operation for Test 3 Top trace 50mV/div: Second trace 5V/div: Third trace 50 mV/div: Bottom trace 5V/div,
In this test, by comparing the voltage magnitude at point of closing the pole closing sequence could be determined. Antenna 3 under phase B was the 1 st to close as it has higher transient voltage compared to Antenna 1. Antenna 1 under phase A was the last to close as it has the higher voltage magnitude than antenna 3. The closing sequence for this test is B-C-A.
The active antenna picked up the HF pulses or HF markers. The HF markers are in line with the starting of voltage transients from the passive antennas. The time difference between the 3 HF markers is indicated by X1 and X2. Both X1 and X2 were measured to be approximately 6.6ms. X1 and X2 indicate the timing between pole closing.
The waveforms from all the antennas gave the same timing difference and pole sequence as with waveIorm Irom Powerlink`s portable recorder. They are summarised in Table 5.4. From results in Table 5.3 and 5.4, in both tests the circuit breaker was controlled close at 6.6ms interval with similar pole sequence. The 6.6ms interval may suggest correct zero voltage PA1 under Phase A PA3 under Phase B X1 X2 Pulses from Active antenna @ 50mV/ div 5V/ div 10ms/ div Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 94 crossing closing between phases. However for test 3, by looking at the transient waveforms detected by the passive antenna it can be said that the closing was not done exactly at zero voltage crossing.
Table 5.4 Summary of CB timing and pole sequence for capacitor bank closing Test 3 X1 ms X2 ms Sequence Measured from antennas waveform 6.6 6.6 B-C-A Powerlink waveform 6.6 6.6 B-C-A
5.7 CAPACITOR BANK OPENING Result for capacitor bank opening for Test 8 is discussed in this section. Figure 5.14 shows the position of the 3 passive antennas and active antenna Ior Test 8 Opening. Passive antenna 1 and 3 were located at the capacitor side while passive antenna 2 was located at the busbar side. Passive antenna 1 (PA1) was located under phase A, PA2 under phase A and PA3 under phase B. The active antenna was located on the busbar side close to measuring vehicle.
Figure 5.14 Plan view of the antenna positions for Test 8 A B C 1 2 3 Capacitor Bank 5 Capacitor Series Reactor PASS CB Capacitive Coupling Antenna Active Antenna Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 95
Figure 5.15 shows the voltage and current waveIorm Irom Powerlink`s portable recorder. From the current waveform for phase A , it can be seen that phase A was the first to open and current was interrupted at first current zero. At current zero, the busbar voltage for phase B is at maximum. Similar occurrence can be seen on phase C and phase B. The timing between each current interruption is 3.3ms and the pole sequence is A-C-B.
Figure 5.16 shows the waveform recorded during opening of capacitor bank. In this the passive antennas showed in each phase the recorded voltage had initially an approximately 50 Hz waveform but after a time there appears to be a sudden reduction in this 50 Hz value due to current interruption. We term the apparent instant of the change in the waveform magnitude as the inflection points. The instant of pole opening can be approximately determined by determining the inflection points on the waveforms. This is rather difficult but the approximate inflection point for each voltage waveform is indicated by the arrow in Figure 5.16. It is clear that more accurate determinations of the inflection points could be made using advanced signal processing techniques on digitised waveforms. Unfortunately only the analogue signals were recorded due to limitations of equipment available at the time that tests were done. It was not possible to save these signals.
In this test, during the first pole opening, antenna 1 under phase A detected the largest voltage drop compared to antenna 3 and 2 located under phase B and C respectively. For the second pole opening, antenna 2 under phase C has the largest voltage drop compared to the other 2 antennas thus indicating phase C opening. This was followed by phase B opening, where antenna 3 under phase B has the largest voltage drop. Therefore, by comparing the passive antennas signal the sequence of CB pole closing could be determined. The closing sequence for this test is A-C-B.
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Figure 5.15 WaveIorms captured on Powerlink`s portable recorder Ior Test 8-Open.
As mentioned before, the instant of current interruption between poles could be determined by looking at the inflection point on the waveforms. The inflection point for each voltage waveform is indicated by the arrows in Figure 5.16. The time difference between the inflection points are indicated by X1 and X2 which is also the time between zero current interruption. X1 was measured to be approximately at 3.4ms and X2 was measured to be approximately 3.6ms. The inflection points identified are thought to have errors between 0.5ms from the actual current interruption point. The error is to represent inaccuracies when identifying the inflection point using only the diagram. A more precise technique would be to digitise the record and carry out analysis using digital signal processing.
Ic Ib Ia Vc Vb Va Test 8 - Opening Current Supply Voltage Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 97 The waveforms from all the antennas gave similar timing difference and pole opening sequence as those determined from waveform measured by Powerlink`s portable recorder. They are compared in Table 5.5.
Table 5.5 Summary of CB timing and pole sequence for capacitor bank Test 8 X1 ms X2 ms Sequence Measured from antennas waveform 3.4 3.6 A-C-B Powerlink waveform 3.3 3.3 A-C-B
The active antenna picked up the HF pulses as shown in Figure 5.16. The HF pulses on opening seemed to be occurring in more random manner as compared to HF pulses detected during closing. It is also noticed that the HF pulses are concentrated in three groups . These groups occur just before phase A current interruption (A Open), just before phase C current interruption (C Open) and just before phase B current interruption (B Open). It is interesting to note that HF signals were also detected by all passive antennas before individual phase current interruption. This shows that the HF signals are also coupled to the passive antennas. In the area before phase A current interruption, the highest magnitude of HF pulses detected by the active antenna correspond to the highest magnitude HF signals detected by passive antenna 1 located at phase A. Similar observation can be made for area phase C and phase B. . At this stage it is difficult to correlate the HF pulses detected by the active antenna and the low frequency signals detected by the passive antennas. The HF signals detected during pole opening may be related to the arcing aftercontact parting, arc generation in the interrupter chamber and final current interruption at current zero. In a 3 phase switching, these HF events may overlap with one another making it difficult to differentiate the HF events occurring in each pole opening.
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Figure 5.16 Waveforms captured during CB open operation for Test 8 Inflection points (current interruption) shown by arrows.
X1 X2 2 ms 1V Phase A Phase B Phase C A Open B Open C Open 200mV Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 99 From all the four Capacitor Bank opening tests carried out, none produced any re- strikes. It is thought, on the basis of measurements made at the Ergon laboratory in Chapter 4 of this thesis that when a restrike does occur, the magnitude of current and transient voltage would be sufficiently large to give very distinct indication of the existence of the restrike on the low frequency transient passive antenna signals and corresponding HF pulses from the active antenna.
In general, opening of capacitor bank circuit breakers generally does not lead to any significant switching transients. The major reason is that circuit breakers are designed to have very low risk of restrikes upon interruption of capacitive current. Application of controlled switching should further reduce the small statistical risk that a re-strike may still occur. This is achieved by the circuit breaker being controlled in such a manner that short arcing times are avoided.
5.8 SUMMARY ON CAPACITOR BANK SWITCHING TESTS 5.8.1 Closing operation Closing operations were successfully detected using the active antenna and passive antennas. Pulses from the active antenna act as HF markers and give clear closing times. The passive antennas give clear indication of the instant of pole closing, timing differences and the pole sequence. The timing information by the antennas could be used to further determine the circuit breaker pre-arcing time. This can be achieved by synchronising the coil energisation time with the recording instrument. The closing time could be determined from the circuit breaker timing test result, alternatively more accurate timing could be obtained via precision CB auxiliary contacts. The make time is the time from coil energising until the current making which is indicated clearly by the antenna signal. The pre-arcing time is simply the difference between the closing time and the make time.
Results from capacitor bank closing on Test 3 and Test 5 indicate that this technique could also be used to check the control switching relay effectiveness during zero voltage closing. In Test 5, the transient oscillation detected upon CB closing is smooth as compared to transient oscillation in Test 3. The transient oscillation detected by the passive antennas in test 3 indicated that closing was not properly done at zero voltage crossing.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 5: Measurement of Capacitor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 100 5.8.2 Opening operation Opening operations were not as successfully measured as in closing operations. The HF pulses detected by the active antenna do not provide clear current interruption instants. The HF markers show consistent indication of arc disturbance before current interruption in each phase. The HF signals detected may be related to the arcing contact parting, arc generation in the interrupter chamber and final current interruption at current zero.
The passive antennas give indications of the instant of current interruption, the timing difference between poles and the pole sequence. The current interruption could be determined from the inflection point on the waveform recorded by the passive antenna. More precision on the interruption timing could be achieved by applying digital signal processing (DSP) e.g. Wavelet Transforms. At this stage it is difficult to correlate the HF pulses s detected by the active antenna and the low-frequency transients detected by the passive antennas.
The opening operations carried out did not produce any re-strikes. It is thought that when a restrike occurs, the magnitude of current and voltage transients involved would be sufficiently large to give similar results to those recorded in this thesis during closing operations.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 101 6Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching Field measurements were carried out on three phase Shunt Reactor Bank switching at Powerlink Queensland`s Braemar Substation on 21 st August 2007. The purpose of the test, site details, test arrangements and results for the field measurement are described in this chapter. Purpose of the site measurement The objectives of the field measurement carried out at Braemar substation are:- To investigate the application of broadband active antenna and three capacitive coupling antenna (Passive antenna-PA) in detecting re-ignition and restriking transient that may be produced during 3 phase shunt reactor bank. switching To measure transient and waveforms produced during 3 phase shunt reactor bank switching. To identify effectiveness on improvements made in antennas, measuring technique and recording systems.
6.1 SITE ARRANGEMENT Measurement was carried out at 275kV, Braemar Substation. The substation is interconnected with other 275kV substations via 275kV overhead lines. Braemar substation has Static VAR Compensator (SVC) installation. There are two 275 kV Shunt Reactor with a rating of 35MVAR each. The shunt reactors are connected to the 275kV overhead lines leading to Tarong substation. Only one shunt reactor bank is currently in service and this shunt reactor was used for the switching test.
The monitored CB is similar to the type used for capacitor bank switching in Chapter 5. The circuit breaker is used for reactive switching of directly grounded shunt reactor bank and the circuit breaker is operated daily. The shunt reactor bank is rated at 35MVar. The rated capacitance was given to be, nF C B 863 . 2 and the rated reactance, H L B 85 . 8 . It is a three phase unit in a single tank..
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 102 The load oscillation frequency is given by equation 2.4.4.1 in Chapter 2 and can be calculated as follows: B B L C L f 2 1
Hence, Hz f L 1000 Controlled switching is employed on the circuit breaker for both opening and closing operation of the shunt rector to reduce switching transients. In energising the shunt reactor bank, in order to give the smallest inrush current the circuit breaker closing is done at maximum power frequency voltage. While in de-energising, circuit breaker opening is done with an adequate arcing time before the first current zero to avoid reignitions or restrikes. As described in Chapter 2 (Section 2.4.1) short arcing time gives high risk of reignition or restrike.
Figure 6.1 Three-phase voltage waveforms and controlled closing points for a Shunt Reactor Bank
Figure 6.2 Three-phase current waveforms and controlled opening points for Shunt Reactor Bank
Maximum Voltage with 3.3ms Between phases V t
Current I nterruption at zero with 3.3ms between phases V t Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 103 Figure 6.1 shows the controlled closing time strategy used by Powerlink for the directly grounded shunt reactor bank at Braemar substation. The circuit breaker is closed at maximum voltage with 3.3ms interval between poles. Figure 6.2 shows the controlled opening time. The current interruption occurs at first current zero with 3.3ms interval between poles. A portable recorder owned by Powerlink was used to record secondary voltage and secondary current waveforms during switching.
6.2 TEST AND MEASUREMENT SET UP
Figure 6.3 Measuring equipment layout at Braemar substation Figure 6.3 shows the measuring equipment layout. The measuring equipment consists of 3 passive antenna, 1 active antenna, 1 digital oscilloscopes and a portable power supply. The three passive antennas and active antenna were connected to the Yokogawa DL9240 oscilloscope which was used to record the low speed transients using 10ms/div with sampling rate of 25MSa/s. The active antenna was used to trigger the Yokogawa oscilloscope. Conventional amplitude triggering of the scope was used. USB HSD YOKOGAWA DL9240 Power Supply UPS + Surge arrestor 12V Battery @ 250AH Faraday Cage i.e. vehicle O/H 3X Passive Antenna Active Antenna SHUNT REACTOR SA CB Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 104 The oscilloscope stored 2.5Mpts per triggered event. The file is saved in .wdf binary format for fast analysis in Yokogawa oscilloscope. It can also be exported to PC in .csv format for further analysis. The oscilloscope was powered by a portable power supply. All the measuring equipment were located inside a vehicle and all the equipment were earthed through a common point from the vehicle to the substation earth grid.
Figure 6.4 Shunt Reactor Installation
Figure 6.5 PASS MO Circuit Breaker
Shunt reactor A B C Surge arresters Circuit breaker Vehicle for measuring equipment Post Insulators Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 105
Figure 6.6 Passive and active antennas location
Figure 6.4 shows photograph of the circuit breaker and shunt reactor bank installation. To the left of the picture is the 30MVar Shunt Reactor. It is a 3 phase oil immersed reactor. To the right of the reactor are the surge arrestors to protect the reactor from overvoltage. On the right side of the photograph is the Pass MO Circuit breaker. The conductor phases are shown next to the CB bushing. Figure 6.5 shows side view of the PASS MO circuit breaker. It is a dead tank circuit breaker where the current interruption is done inside an earthed interrupting chamber. The hydraulic mechanism housing is located on the left side of the circuit breaker. The right side of the circuit breaker bushing is connected to the 275kV overhead/busbar while the left side bushing is connected to the post insulator, surge arresters and shunt reactor. Connections are made using aluminium conductors. Figure 6.6 shows the location of the 3 passive antennas. They were located under the circuit breaker conductor as shown in the circle. The nearest passive antenna in the photo is located at phase C while the furthest passive antenna is located at phase A. The active antenna is located close to phase C.
6.3 SUMMARY OF TESTS/MEASUREMENT CARRIED OUT A series of closing and opening of the circuit breakers for shunt reactor bank were carried out. The positions of the three passive antennas and active antenna were fixed throughout the tests. Table 6.1 shows a summary of tests carried out. Background measurement would be discussed first followed by results on closing tests i.e. Test 4 and opening test of shunt reactor bank circuit breaker i.e. Test 7.
Passive antenna Active antenna Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 106
Table 6.1 Summary of tests conducted at Braemar substation on 21 st August 2007 EVENT DESCRIPTION Background Measurement Background measurement by the 3 Passive antenna and Active antenna. Circuit breaker in closed position and reactor energised. Test 1 Opening LC transient oscillations detected however the magnitude exceeded the oscilloscope scale. Each CH1, CH2 and CH3 was paralleled with 1M Ohm resistor. Test 2 Closing 3 distinct HF event transient recorded. Test 3 Opening Additional voltage reduction was added and it was observed that the magnitude of the transient oscillation was still big. CH1 and CH3 further paralleled with 100K ohm resistor and CH2 with 10K resistor. Test 4 Closing 3 distinct HF event with transient recorded. Test 5 Opening Additional voltage reduction was further added and it was observed that the magnitude of the transient oscillation recorded was suitable for analysis. CH1 and CH2 paralleled with 10K, CH3 with 100K. Test 6 Closing Not triggered as the portable power supply was running low on power. Test 7 Opening LC transient oscillations recorded.
On circuit breaker opening, tt was found that the transient load oscillation produced considerably large magnitude. In order to be able to measure the signal produced, the signal was scaled down. This was achieved by connecting resistor in parallel with each channel. For Test 7, CH1 and CH2 were paralleled with a 10K resistor. CH3 was paralleled with a 100K resistor. The signals were recorded digitally for further analysis.
6.4 BACKGROUND MEASUREMENT Figure 6.7 shows the positions of the 3 passive antennas and the active antenna This arrangement was used for the all closing and opening tests.
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Figure 6.7 Plan view of the antenna positions at shunt reactor installation Passive antenna 1 was located under phase A, passive antenna 2 under phase B, passive antenna 3 under phase C and active antenna located close to phase C. Passive antennas 1,2 and 3 were connected to CH1, CH2, and CH3 of the oscilloscope respectively. The active antenna was connected to the CH4.
Figure 6.8 shows the waveforms measured with the 3 passive antennas during background measurement. It can be seen that the three waveforms have same 50Hz frequency, different magnitudes and the phase differences between them are not exactly 120 0 . The magnitude of each waveform and the phase angle is determined by the position of the antenna which determines the capacitive coupling effect to the conductors.
PA3 has the biggest magnitude it is experiencing strong capacitive coupling effect from phase C. PA2 being in the centre position has the lowest magnitude as it is experiencing net coupling effect from all 3 phases. PA1 has higher magnitude than PA2 and almost the same as PA3 as PA1 is experiencing strong coupling effect from phase A.
C B A 3 1 2 Reactor Bank Shunt Reactor PASS CB Capacitive Coupling Antenna Active Antenna Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 108
Figure 6.8 Waveform on Background measurement
Table 6.2 Voltage measured by each Passive antenna during background measurement Antenna Measured V peak
(Load, R = 500 k ) PA1 19.04V PA2 8.32V PA3 20.85V
6.5 SHUNT REACTOR BANK CLOSING Results for Test 4 (closing shunt reactor bank) is discussed. Figure 6.9 shows the voltage and current waveIorms Irom the Powerlink`s portable recorder. The voltage waveforms represent the busbar voltages whilst the current waveforms represent the shunt reactor bank currents. It can be seen that CB was closed at maximum voltage causing minimal inrush current to flow into the capacitor bank. The timing between each pole closing is 3.3ms and the pole closing sequence is B-A-C. 1 3 2 Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 109 Figure 6.10 shows the waveform recorded during closing of the shunt reactor bank. The first pole closing occurred at 30ms. This was followed by closing of another 2 poles. The closing operation caused some transient oscillation followed by the steady state 50 Hz oscillation which is similar to the background measurement.
Figure 6.9 WaveIorms captured on Powerlink`s portable recorder Ior Test 4
Va Ib Vc Ia Vb Ic A Close B Close C Close Test 4 - Close Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 110
Figure 6.10 Waveforms captured by PA 1,2 and 3 during CB closing operation for Test 4
Figure 6.11 shows the closing signals detected by each antenna. All passive antennas showed similar starting point and time difference between pulses. The active antenna picked up the HF pulses (HF markers). The HF markers are in line with the starting of voltage transient on the passive antennas.
The time difference between the 3 HF markers is indicated by X1 and X2. Both X1 and X2 were measured to be approximately 3.3ms. X1 and X2 indicate the timing between pole closing. At this stage, it is not possible to determine the sequence of closing. In order to determine the sequence of closing, it is best to analyse the closing pulse at each closing.
Steady state at 50 Hz Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 111
Figure 6.11 Waveforms captured during CB close operation in Test 4 by each antenna
X1 X2 PA1 under phase A PA2 under phase B PA3 under phase C AA under phase C Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 112
Figure 6.12 Comparison of voltage magnitude of closing pulses at each closing event
Figure 6.12 shows the zoom-in-view of the closing pulses detected by each passive antenna at each closing instant. At first closing, by comparing the magnitude of waveforms on each passive antenna phase B has the highest magnitude. At second closing, phase A has the highest magnitude and at the third closing, phase C has the highest magnitude. By comparing the magnitude of waveforms on each antenna at the individual closing pulse, the pole sequence could be determined. The highest magnitude at each closing instant indicate the closing phase. Hence, the closing sequence was B-A-C. 1 st closing 2 nd closing B phase (PA2) A phase (PA1) 3 rd closing C phase (PA3) Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 113 The waveforms from all the antennas gave slight difference in closing but similar pole sequence as with waveIorm Irom Powerlink`s portable recorder. They are summarised in table 6.3. Table 6.3 Summary of CB timing and pole sequence for shunt reactor bank closing Test 4 X1 ms X2 ms Sequence Measured from antennas waveform 3.7 3.0 B-A-C Powerlink waveform 3.3 3.3 B-A-C
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6.6 SHUNT REACTOR BANK OPENING Results for Test 7 (reactor bank opening) is discussed here. Location of the antennas is as per Figure 6.7. Figure 6.13 shows the voltage and current waveIorms Irom the Powerlink`s portable recorder. From the current waveform for phase B, it can be seen that CB phase B was the first to open and current was interrupted at first current zero. At current zero, the busbar voltage for phase B is at maximum. Similar occurrence can be seen on phase A and phase C. The timing between each current interruption is 3.3ms and the pole sequence is B-A-C.
Figure 6.13 WaveIorms captured on Powerlink`s portable recorder Ior Test 7
Ia Va Vb Ib Vc Ic Current Interruption at A Current Interruption at B Current Interruption at C Test 7 - Open Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 115
Figure 6.14 Waveforms captured during CB open operation in Test 7
Figure 6.14 shows the waveforms recorded by the passive antennas during opening of shunt reactor bank. CH1, CH2 and CH3 represent passive antennas 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Passive antennas 1,2 and 3 were located under phase A, B and C, respectively. Referring to the opening waveforms recorded on CH2, the opening process could be clearly divided into 3 stages. The 1 st stage is before pole opening or pre-current interruption which is before 20ms, where no Oscillation at 1kHz Beating on voltage oscillation Current Interruption PA1 under phase A PA2 under phase B PA3 under phase C Pre Current Interruption Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 116 transient was observed at this stage. The 2 nd stage is the current interruption which occurred from 20ms to 33ms. In this stage, the 3 phase CB poles started to open, causing arc to be drawn followed by current interruption at or near current zero. This process occurred on all 3 phases and explained the disturbances observed on the waveforms. The 3 rd stage is the transient voltage oscillation of the reactor. The oscillation detected by the passive antennas started from 33ms and last until more than 100ms. The frequency of the oscillation was 1.03 kHz. This oscillation is also known as load side oscillation as described in Chapter 2 (Section 2.4.4). The oscillation waveform in Figure 6.14 does not look sinusoidal due to resolution of the graph produced.
On the waveform recorded on CH3, beating on the voltage oscillation could be clearly seen. Beating is due to coupling between individual phases. For a three phase unit reactor (in one tank), beating is considerable as the phase to phase coupling is significant. The oscillation frequency of each phase may differ slightly from each other.
Figure 6.15 shows a close up view of the opening waveforms from 18ms to 38ms. It shows more detailed information on the current interruption region. The transient recovery oscillation generated after the 1 st current interruption could be clearly seen at 26ms on all three graphs. This was followed by another oscillation superimposed on the earlier transient oscillation at around 29.3ms, followed by another oscillation superimposed at around 32.7ms. Each starting instant of the oscillations can represent current interruption at zero or current chopping of phase.
The current interruption instant of each CB pole could be determined by comparing the magnitude of voltage on each CH at the starting of oscillation. The CH with the largest magnitude of voltage represents the current interruption phase. In this test, during the first current interruption, CH2 detected the highest voltage compared to CH1 and CH3, indicating it was phase B. For the 2 nd current interruption, CH 1 detected the highest voltage compared to CH2 and CH3 hence indicating phase A. This was followed by interruption on phase C, where CH3 has the highest voltage. The opening sequence for this test is thus B-A-C.
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Figure 6.15 Waveforms captured during CB open operation by each antenna As mentioned before, the instant of current interruption could be determined by comparing the voltage magnitude at the start of each oscillation. The time difference between the current interruption points can be easily determined and they are indicated by X1 and X2 (e.g. on CH3 waveform, Figure 6.15). X1 was measured to be approximately at 3.3ms and X2 was measured to be approximately 3.4ms. 1 st open 2 nd open 3 rd open X1 X2 PA1 under phase A PA2 under phase B PA3 under phase C AA under phase C Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 118 The waveforms from the passive antennas gave similar timing differences and pole sequence as with the waveIorm Irom Powerlink`s portable recorder. They are summarised in Table 6.4.
Table 6.4 Summary of CB timing and pole sequence for shunt reactor bank opening Test 7 X1 ms X2 ms Sequence Measured from antennas waveform 3.3 3.4 B-C-A Powerlink waveform 3.3 3.3 B-C-A
The active antenna (CH4) picked up the HF pulses (HF markers) as shown in Figure 6.15. The HF markers on opening seemed to be occurring in more random manner as compared to the HF markers detected during closing. It is also noticed that the HF markers are concentrated within 3 areas. The areas are (1) area before phase B current interruption (B Open), (2) area before phase A current interruption (A Open) and (3) area before phase C current interruption (C Open). It is interesting to note that the HF signals were also detected by all passive antennas before individual phase current interruption. This shows that the HF signals are also coupled to the passive antennas. At this stage it is difficult to correlate the HF markers detected by the active antenna and the low frequency signals detected by the passive antennas. The HF signals detected during pole opening may be related to the arcing contact parting, arc generation in the interrupter chamber and final current interruption at current zero. During a 3 phase switching, these HF events may overlap with one another making it difficult to differentiate the HF markers associated with each pole opening. It is also interesting to note that active antenna picked up more HF pulses prior to reactor current interruption compared to capacitor bank current interruption.
From Test 5 and Test 7 of the shunt reactor opening tests, none of them produced any re-strike. Re-strikes with parasitic arcing if occurred would produce high frequency, low- magnitude restriking current. This would be shown by discontinuities in the oscillatory transients. These discontinuities should occur early in the oscillatory transients. It is thought that when a restrike occurs, the magnitude of current and transient voltage would be considerably big to give distinct changes on the low-frequency transient on the passive antennas signals as well as the HF markers on the active antenna.
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6.7 SUMMARY ON SHUNT REACTOR BANK SWITCHING TESTS 6.7.1 Background measurement During the background measurement, the 3 Passive antennas capacitively coupled with the three phase 50Hz voltages. The magnitude of each received waveform is different. The phase angle difference between them is not 120 0 . The magnitude of each waveform and the phase angle between them is determined by the position of the antenna because of the capacitive coupling effect.
6.7.2 Closing operation Closing operations were successfully detected using the active antenna and passive antennas. During closing, the passive antennas and active antenna easily detected the inrush current effect on each pole closing. The timing of the inrush current could be easily measured to give the time difference between closing of the 3 phases. The sequence of the pole closing was determined by identifying the highest voltage detected by the passive antennas at each closing instant.
6.7.3 Opening operation Opening operations were successfully measured by combining the waveforms from the passive and active antennas. Opening sequence could be easily determined by comparing the magnitude of oscillations produced after each current interruption. The passive antennas gave indication on the instant of current interruption, the time difference between current interruption and the pole opening sequence. The HF markers detected by the active antenna did not provide clear current interruption instant but showed consistent indication of arc disturbance before current interruption in each phase. The HF signals detected may be related to the arcing contact parting, arc generation in the interrupter chamber and final current interruption at current zero.
The opening operations carried out did not produce any re-strike. It is thought that if a restrike occurs, the magnitude of current and transient voltage involved would be considerably big to give similar results as in closing operation.
During opening, the passive antennas detected large transient oscillations. The large magnitude is due to the magnifying effect (high-pass characteristics) of the measurement system A sample characteristics for the measuring system is shown in Figure 3.8 in Chapter 3 (Section Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 6: Measurement of Shunt Reactor Bank Switching M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 120 3.5.3) The high voltage amplitude of transient oscillation detected by the passive antennas requires the signal to be reduced for measuring and recording purposes. In this test, the reduction was achieved by putting a resistor in parallel with the oscilloscope input. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 121 7Chapter 7: Analysis of Results This chapter presents the three-phase capacitive coupling model and analyses the results of field measurements. For the three-phase capacitive coupling model, the effect of distance and coupling capacitance is discussed. For the field measurement results, analysis is carried out to determine the arcing characteristics during shunt reactor opening. A time-frequency domain analysis of the shunt reactor opening is also presented. 7.1 THREE-PHASE CAPACITIVE COUPLING MODEL In Chapters 5 and 6, the background measurements for the capacitor bank at Blackwall substation and shunt reactor bank at Braemar substation were discussed. It was observed in both cases, the location and distance of the passive antennas from the phase conductors had great effect in the waveforms received. The background waveforms measured indicated the magnitude and phase angle of the waveforms were affected by the distance of the passive antenna from the high voltage conductors: hence the capacitances from the HV conductors to the passive antennas are an important parameter.
The distances between the passive antennas at Blackwall and Braemar substations were not symmetrical as each substation has a different physical layout. Hence, the coupling capacitances would have different values. This explains the difference in magnitude and phase angle of the waveforms recorded at Blackwall and Braemar substations. In Chapter 3, it was shown that the passive antenna`s transIer Iunction for a single phase capacitive coupling at low frequency is determined by C 1 , (the capacitance between the phase conductors and passive antenna) and R, (the resistance in parallel with the input of the measurement oscilloscopes) . Resistance,R could be pre-determined prior to measurements whereas capacitance C 1 needs to be measured or derived to enable a full model to be constructed for the measurement system..
A three-phase capacitive coupling model is used to show the importance of coupling capacitance when measuring three-phase voltages at low frequency. Figure 7.1 shows all relevant capacitive coupling between phase conductors and passive antennas.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 122 A simple model assumes that the distances between the antennas and phase conductors are symmetrically disposed about the centre conductor, as shown in Figure 7.1. Consider the passive antenna, PA1. C 1A is the capacitance between it and phase A directly above the antenna. C 1B is the capacitance between it and phase B and C 1C is for phase C furthest phase from PA1. C 1A has the strongest capacitance followed by C 1B and C 1C . Here, the capacitances are assumed to be inversely proportional to distances. Capacitances for the remaining antennas are as shown in Figure 7.1.
Capacitive Coupling Antenna A B C PA2 L L C 1A C 1B C 1C C 2B C 3C C 2A C 2C C 3B C 3A V 1 V 2 V 3 PA1 PA3 H
Figure 7.1 Capacitances between passive antennas and three phase conductors with symmetrical spacings
In this simplified model, C 1A has the same value as C 2B and C 3C The capacitances C 1B ,C 2A ,C 2C and C 3B are the same. Finally, C 1C =C 3A.
The capacitive coupling of three-phase to any antenna can be represented by an equivalent circuit as shown in Figure 7.2. At low frequency e.g. 50Hz, the transfer function for single phase capacitive coupling is given by Eq. 3.6. Capacitance Cr has no effect on the output.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 123 V A V B V C C 1A C 1B C 1C V 1 R C R
Figure 7.2 Equivalent circuit for passive antenna at location 1 measuring three phase voltages.
Provided that V 1 is extremely small compared to the phase voltages in Figure 7.2 the currents flowing into R are a function of only the phase voltages and the coupling capacitances. The voltage V1 can however vary as the total current through R changes. Under these conditions it can be shown that, for PA1, the voltage contribution from each phase is coupled through capacitance C 1A , C 1B and C 1C giving a resultant voltage
) ( 1 1 1 1 C C B B A A V C V C V C R j V (7.1)
Similar equations are applied to the remaining two passive antennas with their respective capacitances, giving ) ( 2 2 2 2 C C B B A A V C V C V C R j V (7.2)
) 3 3 3 3 C C B B A A V C V C V C R j V (7.3)
The above equations give the output voltage of each passive antenna.
Using the measured voltage from each passive antenna and by reversing the technique in determining the output voltage, the supply voltage could be determined. The supply voltage could be reconstructed using the equation below:-
R j C V C V C V V A A A A 3 3 2 2 1 1 (7.4)
Similar equation is used to reconstruct the supply voltage of the remaining two phases. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 124
R j C V C V C V V B B B B 3 3 2 2 1 1 (7.5)
R j C V C V C V V C C C C 3 3 2 2 1 1 (7.6)
A Matlab program was written to simulate the capacitive coupling model incorporating Equation 7.1 to 7.6. The program assumes (a) the highest capacitance, C P is associated with the antenna located directly beneath the phase conductor, and (b) the capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance from another phase conductor to the passive antenna. For simplicity, C P is chosen to be 1 pF. Temperature and atmospheric pressure effects are neglected. The model calculates the voltages picked up by the passive antennas and reconstructs the phase voltages by reversing the calculation.
The parameters used for the simulation are: Highest capacitance, Cp = 1 pF Measurement resistance, R = 0.5 M System frequency, f = 50 Hz Phase to ground voltage (peak) = 275kV/ 3*1.4142 Vpeak = 224.5 kV Horizontal distance, L = 4 m Vertical distance, H = 3 m
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 125 Case 1 Simulation with symmetrical distances between passive antennas and reconstruction of phase voltages with no error introduced to the capacitance values
Figure 7.3 Output waveforms for Case 1
Figure 7.3 shows output waveforms from simulation for case 1. The first plot (a) shows the original waveforms of phase A, B and C representing the three-phase voltage supply. The peak voltage is 224.5 kV and the phase difference between all adjacent waveforms is 6.6 ms (120 0 ).
The second plot (b) shows waveforms calculated at the passive antennas 1,2 and 3. PA1 and PA3 have a peak voltage of 20 volts whilst PA2 has the lowest peak voltage of 14 volts. The PAs waveforms are shifted; the phase difference between PA1 and PA2 is approximately 5.5 ms (99 0 ), PA2 to PA3 is approximately 5.4 ms (97.2 0 ) and PA3 to PA1 is approximately 9.1 ms (163 0 ). The waveforms generated are similar to the result of the background measurement at Braemar substation (in Chapter 6). Table 7.1 shows the calculated results and measured results from Braemar substation and the differences in percentage.
A B C PA3 PA2 PA1 (a) (b) (c) Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 126 Table 7.1 Calculated results and measured values from Braemar substation Calculated waveform Measured values from Braemar Difference s PA1 20.0 19.04 4.8% PA2 14.1 8.32 40.1% PA3 20.0 20.85 4.25% Phase Difference PA1- PA2 5.5ms 5.8ms 5.45% Phase Difference PA2- PA3 5.4ms 5.2ms 3.8% Phase Difference PA3- PA1 9.1ms 9.0ms 1%
The third plot (c) shows the reconstruction of the phase voltage. Using the passive antennas voltages and assuming similar capacitances values as before, the phase voltage is reconstructed. The reconstructed voltage is exactly the same as the original waveforms of plot (a).
Case 2 Simulation with unsymmetrical distances between passive antennas
Capacitive Coupling Antenna A B C PA2 L L C 1A C 1B C 1C C 2B C 3C C 2A C 2C C 3B C 3A V 1 V 2 V 3 S PA1 PA3 H
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 127 Figure 7.4 Capacitances between passive antennas and three phase conductors with unsymmetrical distances
This case looks into the effect of varying the passive antenna location on the waveforms recorded by the passive antennas. Referring to Figure 7.4, PA1 was shifted 2 meter away from its previous position. Figure 7.5 shows the simulation output waveforms.
Comparing with plot (b) of Figure 7.3, it can be seen that the peak voltage picked up by PA1 has decreased from 20 to 17.1 volts. PA2 and PA3, as expected do not show any change to the peak voltage picked up. The reduction in voltage picked up by PA1 indicates that the increased distance reduces the coupling capacitances, hence reducing the coupling voltages. It is also worth noting that the phase differences are also affected. The phase difference between PA1 and PA2 is altered to approximately 5.8 ms (104.4 0 ) and PA3 to PA1 to approximately 9.1 ms (163 0 ). No changes on the phase difference between PA2 to PA3 (which is still approximately 5.4 ms (97.2 0 )).
Figure 7.5 Output waveforms for Case 2
PA1 PA2 PA3 (a) (b) Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 128
Case 3 Simulation on reconstructing phase voltages with 10% error introduced to the capacitance values
This case looks into the accuracy in reconstructing the phase voltages using the passive antenna voltages. A -10% error was introduced on capacitance C 1A , C 1B , C 1C . Figure 7.6 shows output waveforms from simulation for case 3. Table 7.2 shows summarised differences between the original waveforms and the reconstructed waveforms. From the results, phase A has the largest reconstructed voltage error at 9.2% and phase difference error of 2-2.5%. This is expected as C 1A has the strongest capacitive coupling to phase A compared with C 1B to phase B and C 1C to phase C.
Figure 7.6 Output waveforms for Case 3
A simple model for three phase capacitive divider using passive antenna has been developed. It gives reasonably good indication of voltages coupled to the passive antennas. However, the model relies on the value of capacitances between phase conductors and passive A C B (a) (b) Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 129 antennas. The capacitance values used in this model are only estimations with the assumption that capacitance is inversely proportional to distance without considering any other factors.
Table 7.2 Differences between original waveform and reconstructed waveforms with 10% error on capacitances
In order to achieve better accuracy, capacitances between the passive antennas and the phase conductors need to be determined as accurate as possible. This would require access to 3D em field calculation software which was not available to the author during the period of the research project.
7.2 OBSERVATIONS OF ARCING SIGNALS IN SHUNT REACTOR OPENING
Arcing signals can be indicated by the HF pulses detected by the active antenna (AA). During capacitor bank opening, the amount of arcing signals detected by the AA is low compared to arcing signals detected during shunt reactor opening. Figure 7.7 shows the pulses detected by the AA during capacitor bank opening as described in Section 4.8. The arrows indicate the current interruptions which are in line with the inflection points mentioned in Chapter 5 (Section 5.7)
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Figure 7.7 Waveforms recorded by Active antenna on capacitor bank opening Shunt reactor opening produces more arcing signals from the AA than capacitor bank opening. Figure 7.8 shows the arcing signals detected by the AA during controlled shunt reactor opening as described in Chapter 6. It is hypothesised that the increase of arcing signals detected indicates the presence of instability oscillations in switching arcs prior to current interruption during shunt reactor opening. The regions of instability are indicated by the three dotted ellipses in Figure 7.8. The arcing signals from the AA consist of three clearly-discernible groups of pulses with different magnitudes in each group. The density of pulses in the groups appears to increase towards the point of final current interruption in each phase. The points of interruption determined from PA waveforms are indicated by arrows in Figure 7.8.
2 ms/div 200mV/div B phase current interruption C phase current interruption A phase current interruption B phase current interruption A phase current interruption C phase current interruption Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 131 Figure 7.8 Waveforms recorded by Active antenna on shunt reactor opening during Test 7 The waveforms above were recorded in digital form and stored as time and voltage arrays. This data was then analysed in MATLAB. The low level signals (noise) and the low- frequency load oscillations (to the right in Figure 7.8) were first removed from the waveform. By graphical inspection, the noise level was estimated to be between -0.03 V and 0.03 V. The final current interruption occurs at 32.62 ms. Figure 7.9 shows the AA waveform with the noise and load oscillations removed.
Figure. 7.9 Test 7 - AA signals without noise and load oscillation
The cumulative energy of the pulses within a sliding window is plotted against time. The cumulative energy of the signal is defined by 2 V . A sliding window with a width of 0.5 ms, stepped at 0.1 ms interval, was used. Figure 7.10 shows a plot of cumulative energy against time for the waveforms in Figure 7.9. It is, however, difficult to interpret the plot. Hence another method was used to analyse the HF pulses.
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Figure. 7.10 Test 7 - Cumulative energy against time
The second approach was to look at the number of pulses with respect to time. This approach gives the pulse density. It is done by converting the signals into pulses with equal magnitude. The pulses are then plotted against time as shown in Figure 7.11. From Figure 7.11, it can be seen qualitatively that the pulse density is high at each current interruption (Refer Figure 7.8).
Cumulative pulse counts within a sliding window are then plotted with respect to time. The cumulative pulses is given by pulses . A sliding window with a time width of 0.5 ms stepped at 0.1 ms interval was used to show the cumulative pulses with time. Figure 7.12 shows plot of cumulative pulses against time. The plot indicates the high pulses concentration area has a similar shape to the results shown in Figure 7.9. These areas appear to correspond to the three current interruption events.
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Figure 7.11 Test 7 - Density of Pulses with respect to time
Figure 7.12 Test 7 - Cumulative pulses against time B phase arcing area B phase current interruption A phase current interruption C phase current interruption A phase arcing area C phase arcing area B phase current interruption A phase current interruption C phase current interruption Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 134 Figure 7.12 shows the current interruption of pole C has the highest pulse density. Pulses before current interruptions could be due to arc instability oscillations prior to chopping and the smaller blocks of pulses appearing after each opening could be due to transient oscillations in the network produced by the current interruptions.
Shunt Reactor Opening Test 5 In order to verify the technique used earlier, similar analysis was done on results from Test 5 shunt reactor opening. The opening sequence is B-C-A and the instants at which current interruption occur in Figure 7.13 are 25 ms, 28.2 ms and 31.7 ms respectively.
Figure 7.13 Test 5 - AA signals without noise and load oscillation Figure 7.13 shows the HF pulses recorded by the AA. The waveform is similar to that in Figure 7.8. The regions of instability are indicated by the three areas. The arcing signals consist of random pulses with different magnitudes and the density of pulses is high in the three areas.
Noise and load oscillations were then filtered out from the waveform as described in Test 7 earlier. The cumulative pulses with respect to time is then plotted in Figure 7.14. The plot indicates the areas of energy concentration are in line with those in Figure 7.13.
B phase current interruption A phase current interruption C phase current interruption Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 135
Figure 7.14 Test5 - Cumulative energy against time
The signals were then converted into pulses with equal magnitude. The pulses were plotted against time as shown in Figure 7.15. From Figure 7.15, it can be seen that the density of pulses is high at each current interruption. Windowed cumulative pulse counts was plotted next using the technique described earlier. Figure 7.16 shows plot of cumulative pulses against time. The plot indicates the pulses concentration which visually agrees with Figure 7.13. Figure 7.16 also shows three areas with high pulse density and these areas correspond with the three current interruption events.
Comparing Figure 7.12 and Figure 7.16, it can be seen that both figures have similar features e.g. three arcing areas. The pattern in each corresponding arcing area is similar although the magnitudes are different. The steep negative slope after each peak indicates the end of arcing and probably the point of current interruption as the slope ends at a time which is very close to the given opening time. The width of the arcing time for each phase is comparable. In Figure 7.16, the widths of B, A, C and overall arcing duration are approximately 3.2 ms, 3.2 ms, 3.5 ms and 11.9 ms respectively. In Figure 7.12, the widths of B, A, C and overall arcing duration are approximately 3.8 ms, 3.5 ms, 3.4 ms and 13.1 ms respectively. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 136
Figure 7.15 Test 5 - Density of Pulses with time
Figure 7.16 Test 5 - Cummulative pulses against time A phase current interruption C phase current interruption B phase current interruption B phase arcing area A phase arcing area C phase arcing area Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 137
Figure 7.17 RF Measurement showing arc signal U D , switch voltage Us and current Is (from[50]) Chapman [50] reported measurement of arcing time using RF frequency. Figure 7.17 shows the result on arcing measurement carried out by Chapman. The rising edge of the sensor voltage indicates a sudden increase of RF energy due to ignition at contact separation. The signal level increase again before current zero probably due to the cooling of the arc by the auto puffer[50]. The moment of current zero can be identified by an increase of signal level followed by abrupt disappearance of the RF signal [50].
The pattern oI Chapman`s waveIorm shown in Figure 7.17 is similar to the pattern of our measured windowed cumulative pulse counts in Figure 7.12 and Figure 7.16. The arcing area in Figure 7.12 and Figure 7.16 may indicate contact separation, auto puffer cooling action of the arc and current zero interruption.
Chapman in his paper said that his method does not easily identify two simultaneous switching-arc durations if the sensor is coupled to the signal of both arcs. He also said that his method is not suited to distinguish between the simultaneous arcing signals of a three pole circuit breaker without shielding of the radio-frequency electric field.
From the measured active antenna waveform, it is relatively easy to identify three areas of arcing corresponding to the three poles. However, it is difficult to identify the point at which the circuit breaker contact separates. This is due to the fact that the active antenna picked up all HF pulses generated by all 3 phases during the contacts parting, arcing and current interruption. Pulses from contact separation of the subsequent two poles are masked by the arcing pulses.
This figure is not available online. Please consult the hardcopy thesis available from the QUT Library Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 138
7.3 ANALYSIS IN TIME-FREQUENCY DOMAIN
In Chapters 4,5 and 6, observations and discussions were made on waveforms measured in voltage-time domain. Information about inter-pole closing times, opening times and closing/opening pole sequence can be obtained by analysing the voltage-time waveforms.
To obtain further information from the recorded results, the recorded waveforms were analysed in the time-frequency domain. Data recorded during Test 7 for shunt reactor opening at Braemar substation was used as an example for analysis in time-frequency domain.
The analysis was carried out to examine into the frequency content at opening event. In Chapter 2 it was mentioned that a reignition during opening of a shunt reactor bank will cause an oscillation with higher frequencies than the load oscillation. This frequency changes could be more easily seen in the time-frequency domain. During shunt reactor opening, there were a lot of HF spikes prior to current interruption as shown in Figure 7.8. These HF spikes may indicate contact parting, HF arcing and/or reignition.
7.3.1 Analysing using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) FFT is commonly used to find the frequency components of a signal buried in a noisy time domain signal. Waveform recorded during shunt reactor opening for PA1 was analysed by applying FFT to give the frequency spectrum. Figure 7.18 shows (a) the opening waveform from 20ms to 50ms and (b) the frequency spectrum. The frequency spectrum in Figure 7.18 (b) indicates that the opening waveform recorded is swamped by the 1 kHz signal which is the load oscillation after the opening of the circuit breaker.
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(a)
(b) Figure 7.18 Reactor Opening Test 7 (a)Time domain plot of PA1 waveform for opening from 20 ms to 50 ms (b) Frequency content of waveform in (a).
7.3.2 Analysing using Short Time Fast Fourier Transform (ST FFT) Analysis It was observed that there were a lot of HF activities at each current interruption recorded. In order to analyse these HF activities, a ST FFT with sliding window was used. This technique takes successive windowed of fast Fourier transforms to represent the time-changing frequency characteristics of the waveforms. A Matlab program was developed to analyse the opening waveforms using ST FFT. It gives a basic time-frequency domain representation. Below are the parameters used in implementing ST FFT : Duration of event to be analysed : 5 ms Data sampling rate : 40 ns Sliding window width : 0.1 ms Interval time between windows : 0.05ms No. of time bin : 100
1.03 kHz Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 140 The analysis was carried out at each individual opening. Each opening waveform recorded by the passive antennas and active antenna was analysed. The duration of each opening event analysed was 5ms. The first 3 ms looks into activities prior to interruption while the remaining 2 ms looks into activities after interruption. The time-frequency relationship is then shown on a contour plot. The contour plot for the PA used 200 frequency points while the contour plot for the AA used 200 and 1000 frequency points. As the sliding window width was 0.1 ms, the frequency observed for this ST FFT analysis was 10 kHz and above. Limits were introduced inside the Matlab programme to suppress the very low signals from being shown on the ST FFT contour plot.
The analysis was focused on the passive antenna waveforms and active antenna waveform during the phase opening. For example for the 1 st opening, phase B was the opening phase and occurred at 26 ms after the waveform was recorded (see Figure 6.15 in Chapter 6). Hence, the ST FFT analysis focused on waveforms of PA2 and active antenna for times between 23 ms and 28 ms. The analysis for ST FFT was carried out for the 1 st opening.
Figure 7.19 (a) shows the opening waveform and (b) the ST FFT contour plot for waveforms from PA2 during the 1 st opening. At current interruption there was a significant change on the frequency content. The oscillation after the current interruption is represented by a high concentration of lower-frequency components.
Figure 7.20 (a) shows opening an waveform and (b) and (c) the corresponding ST FFT contour plot for AA for 1 st opening of Test 7. The HF spikes occurring in (a) can be observed in (b) and (c). Both (b) and (c) indicate that the HF spikes in Figure 7.20 (a) have significant high frequency components. In (c), some of the HF spikes contain strong 2 MHz and 8 MHz component. This is probably due to some local parallel capacitance at the circuit breaker discharging during the arcing process. At the instant of opening, no significant changes in the frequency content was observed. In (b), the active antenna picked up a faint continuous 850 kHz signal which probably comes from a local AM radio station.
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(a)
(b) Figure 7.19 (a) Voltage-Time domain plot of waveforms from PA2 (b) ST FFT contour plot of PA2 waveforms for opening- from 23 ms to 28 ms
An analysis of 2 nd opening and 3 rd opening also gave similar findings as in the 1 st
opening. The instant of opening could be easily determined by the sudden changes in the low frequency content of the time-frequency plot for the passive antenna. This is similar to determining the instant of opening from the sudden changes in the voltage magnitude of the time domain plot.
In all opening events, it was observed from the ST FFT contour plots that the AA detected HF spikes with frequency contents ranging from 2 MHz to 8 MHz. It also detected the 850 kHz signal in all the opening events. The PAs detected the low frequency component (1 kHz) strongly compared to the HF spikes. current interruption High concentration of lower frequency current interruption Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 142 Test 7 - 1 st opening AA
(a)
(b)
(c) Figure 7.20 (a) Voltage-Time domain plot of AA (b) ST FFT contour plot of AA (from 0-2MHz) (c) ST FFT contour plot of AA (from 0-10MHz) for opening from 23 ms to 28 ms
HF spikes containing 8MHz and 2MHz. current interruption Clipped spikes The AA picked up 800kHz current interruption Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 7: Analysis of Results M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 143
The technique used in carrying out the time-frequency domain analysis using ST FFT is a simple technique. A fixed width sliding window was used to perform the ST FFT which restricts flexibility when analysing high frequency and low frequency interchangeably. For example, a 0.1 ms sliding window will look at frequencies higher than 10 kHz while a 1 ms sliding window will give inaccuracy in giving the time-changing characteristics of the waveform. The analysis of experimental results did not detect any reignition event as there were no indications of corresponding frequency changes through out the opening sequence.
Using a more advanced technique, it may be able to differentiate the phase producing the HF spikes. This could be achieved by comparing the magnitude of HF spike on each PA. The highest magnitude of HF spike present on the PA should indicate the phase. Then, the HF signal containing the HF spike for each phase could be reconstructed. However, problems would arise when two spikes from different phases occur at the same time causing the PAs to pick up the resultant signals in which case may be misleading.
For future works, more sophisticated digital signal processing techniques could be applied to extract further information from the acquired waveforms and to provide automatic recognition and quantification of features indicative of impeding circuit breaker failures. Wavelet Transform has been used widely in the power community in recent years. Fernandez et al [59] mentioned that wavelet transform is better suited for the analysis of certain types of transient waveforms in power systems applications. It is also better than windowed ST FFT because it does not have fixed width window function which is a limitation of ST FFT. Wavelet Transform has been reported to have been used in assessing the condition of power transformer OLTC [60] and in the diagnostics of circuit breaker condition [61]. In both reports Wavelet Transform was used to analyse the vibration signals which have characteristics similar to CB switching transients.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 8: Conclusion M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 144 8Chapter 8: Conclusion Non-contact measurement techniques have been developed using capacitive coupling antennas and active broadband antenna to monitor the electrical transients produced during capacitor bank and shunt reactor bank switching. A capacitive coupling model was developed for both for single and three phase measurements. The model indicated that the passive antenna characteristics rely on the capacitances between phase conductors and the passive antenna, and the resistance of the measuring devices. The capacitances between the passive antennas and earth are also an important factor for high frequency signals.
Field measurements were carried out for capacitor bank switching at Blackwall substation and shunt reactor bank switching at Braemar substation. Both substations are air insulated substations. Switching transients were measured and recorded for analysis. High frequency signals from the active antenna act as timing markers for the slow frequency transient oscillations recorded by the passive antennas. The combined signals detected by both types of antenna give a more complete picture of the switching events.
Results of field measurements showed that it is relatively easy to measure oscillatory switching transients. The monitoring system can provide: inter-pole closing times and the pole sequence for circuit breakers switching capacitor banks and shunt reactor banks, inter-pole current interruption times during shunt reactor switchings, information on the accuracy of point-on-wave control switching equipment, and information on pre-strike during CB closing.
The technique developed in this project is thought to be superior to Moore`s method |6|. Moore`s method relies on detecting HF impulses which can be aIIected by the presence oI multiple HF pulses during opening of three-phase CB and potential interference from other sources. By contrast, the technique used in this research uses the HF impulses as HF markers and any information on a switching event is obtained from the low-frequecny transient recorded by the passive antennas.
The significant advantages of the proposed measurement technique are that measurements can be taken while the CB is energised. No physical connection to the high- Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 8: Conclusion M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 145 voltage system is required during site installation. The equipment is portable and can be easily moved between different AIS circuit breakers. It is easy to set up and is not restricted to any particular manufacturer of AIS circuit breakers.
Analysis on the arcing signals detected by the active antenna during shunt reactor opening was carried out. The proposed 'sliding-window pulse density method demonstrated that the cumulative pulse count with time could be used to indicate the arcing area during current interruption. The duration of each arcing area may indicate the arcing duration of each phase and the negative slope at the end of each arcing area indicates the point of current interruption. The pattern of the arcing area is comparable to works done by other researchers.
The results from field measurements have demonstrated the usefulness of the technique where CB switching transients can be measured and valuable information can be extracted from the measurement.
F urther Work Further work is planned to improve the measuring equipment. Improvements for the measuring system are given below: Depending on measurement objective, the passive antenna transfer function should be adjusted to give a suitable voltage gain and frequency response when measuring the desired event. This is to ensure that signals level is measured within limits. This is achieved by adjusting the resistance value of the measuring equipment and/or the value of the capacitance parallel to the resistance.
Currently only one active antenna (AA) is used for the measuring system. Results from measurement carried out suggest that having an AA located for each phase would give more information on HF signals produced by circuit breakers during switching.
The recording equipment could be improved by using a 4 channel digitiser or PC- based data acquisition system. These equipments are smaller in size compared to the oscilloscopes used. Provision should also be made for remote monitoring function.
In this research, the effect of capacitive coupling between the PAs was not observed in great detail. Capacitive coupling between the PAs also affects the Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 8: Conclusion M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 146 accuracy of the measurement. Better accuracy could be achieved by reducing capacitive coupling between PA to conductors of other phases and between PA to PA. An improved shape of capacitive coupling antenna possibly with shielding could be developed to reduce capacitive coupling between other phases and PA.
Further investigations are also planned to increase the utility of this measurement method and explore the potential of its technique. The following investigations will be looked into:-
1) Measurement of circuit breaker inter-pole current interruption time during capacitor bank opening: Currently, the interruption instant is determined graphically by the voltage inflection on the passive antenna waveform. An improved identification technique using DSP e.g. wavelet analysis on digitised waveforms would be able to identify the inflection point accurately indicating the point of current interruption.
2) Improvement in modelling the three phase capacitive divider model: complex calculations are required to accurately model the three phase capacitive divider model. The effects of capacitances on voltage magnitude, phase shift and phase difference between phases need to be established. An accurate model could be used to estimate transient voltage produced during switching or even replacing the conventional voltage transformers. Further studies are planned in this area.
3) Monitoring of circuit breaker switching over period of time: the field measurement carried out in this research was conducted as a series of tests with limited time duration. This does not reflect the actual situation where the circuit breaker is operated once or twice daily. Automatically monitoring circuit breakers switching over a period of time would give better information on the circuit breaker operations and could be readily realised using existing computer and communications technology.
4) Measurement of overall CB operating time: the overall CB operating time can be measured by taking reference signals from the circuit breaker. This can be done by either measuring the circuit breaker coil current or using precision CB auxiliary contacts. This method will require connection to the CB wiring.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Chapter 8: Conclusion M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 147 5) Measurement of restrike or reignition: The field measurement did not detect any restrike. A restrike or reignition if occur would produce sufficiently large transient voltage change and reignition oscillation which can be detected by the passive antenna. The reignition oscillation frequency could be easily extracted from the passive antenna waveforms using DSP. The active antenna would detect the high frequency pulses of the restriking current similar to during circuit breaker closing indicating the instant of restriking. Further measurement is anticipated to be carried out by Powerlink on circuit breakers identified to have problems with restriking.
6) Monitoring the accuracy of the point-on-wave control switching relay: it is known that controlled switching application require accurate control of switching times and need CB with stable operating times. The CB must also have high and stable dynamic withstand capability between contacts. One inaccurate zero voltage closing was observed during capacitor bank closing measurement. Further measurements are required to establish the effectiveness of this technique in monitoring the accuracy of the point-on-wave control switching. Measurements could also be extended to circuit breakers with single control operation on closing or opening i.e. circuit breakers with three pole operation.
7) Measurement of arc duration time: analysis of the arcing signature and arcing time during shunt reactor opening was carried out in Chapter 7. It indicates similarities with international research. The analysis could be improved by having three active antennas to monitor each phase of circuit breaker. Further work is needed to confirm the suggested improvement.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 148 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 148 References [1] "IEEE Application Guide for Capacitance Current Switching for AC High-Voltage Circuit Breakers," IEEE Std C37.012, 2005. [2] IEC62271-100, "High voltage switchgear and controlgear-Part100: High voltage alternating current circuit breakers," 2001. [3] "IEEE Application Guide for Shunt Reactor Switching," IEEE Std C37.015-1993,, 1993. [4] J. A. Bachiller, E.Cavero, F.Salamanca, and J.Rodriguez, "The operation of shunt reactors in the Spanish 400 kV network-study of the suitability of different circuit breakers and possible solutions to be observed problems," CIGRE Session 23-106, Paris, 1994. [5] J.W.Spencer, J. L. Leclerc, and G. R. Jones, "High frequency discharges and their effects on insulation in SF6 filled circuit breakers," IEE Colloquium on Surface Phenomena Affecting Insulator, London UK, pp.1-3, January 1998. [6] P. J. 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[31] M.L.Lai, S.Y.Park, and C.C.Lin, "Mechanical failure detection of circuit breakers," IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 3, pp. 1724-1731, Oct 1988. [32] L. Kanth, "Preventive maintenance of spring switchgear applying vibration diagnostic tool-a Malaysian experience," Proceedings of IEEE MELECON 2004, vol.3, pp. 923- 925, Croatia, May 2004. [33] J. P. Dupraz, A.Schiemann, and G. F. Montillet, "Design objectives of new digital control and monitoring of high voltage circuit breakers," Proceedings of IEEE/PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition,vol.2, pp.1088-1093, Atlanta,GA, USA, 2001. [34] E.Thuries, A.Girodet, and M.Collet, "Evolutionof SF6 pressure at constant volume versus temperature between liquefaction point and +20 0 C experiment by Thuries," IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 9, pp. 1451-1458, Jul 1994. [35] M.Runde, T.Aurud, L.E.Lundgaard, G.E.Ottesen, and K.Faugstad, "Acoustic diagnosis of high voltage circuit breakers," IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 7, pp. 1306- 1315, Jul 1992. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 151 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 151 [36] S.Nakano, T.Tsubaki, and S.Hironaka, "Applying a voice recognition system for SF6 gas insulated switchgear's inspection/maintenance services," IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 16, pp. 534-538, Oct 2001. [37] A.Poeltl and M.Haines, "Experiences with condition monitoring of HV circuit breakers," IEE Transmission and distribution conference and exposition distribution, vol.2 , pp.1077-1082, 2001. [38] G.D.Camps, T.A.Cumming, D.Gibson, S.Olson, and D.Walker, "An economic & technical evaluation oI condition monitoring Ior new SF6 circuit breakers, Proceedings of Int. Uni. Power Eng.Conference UPEC, UK, Sept 2004. [39] ABB Pass MO Brochure, 2005. [40] C. M. 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Bartlett and P. J. Moore, "Experimental investigation into VHF electromagnetic radiation from power system arcs," High Voltage Engineering, 1999. Eleventh International Symposium on (Conf. Publ. No. 467), pp. 47-52, 1999. [46] H. Tanae, E. Matsuzaka, I. Nishida, I. Matori, M. Tsukushi, and K. Hirasawa, "High- frequency reignition current and its influence on electrical durability of circuit breakers associated with shunt-Reactor current switching," Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 19, pp. 1105-1111, 2004. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 152 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 152 [47] C. M. Portela, S. A. Morais, and J. S. Teixeira, "Circuit-breaker behaviour in reactor switching: applicability and limitations of the concept of chopping number," Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 3, pp. 1009-1021, 1988. [48] G. R. Jones, H. M. Looe, K. J. Brazier, Y. Huang, and P. F. 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[58] J. Lopez-Roldan, H. D. Herdt, T. Sels, D. V. Dommelen, M. Popov, and L. V. D. Sluis, "Analysis, simulation and testing of transformer insulation failures related to switching transients overvoltages," presented at Session 2002 CIGRE, 12-116, 2002. [59] R. M. Fernandez and H. N. Diaz-Rojas, "An overview of wavelet transforms application in power systems," Proceedings of 14th PSCC, Sevilla, June 2002. [60] P.Kang and D.Birtwhistle, "Condition assessment of power transformer on-load tap changers using wavelet analysis," IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 16, pp. 394-400, 2001. [61] G.Fazio, F.Munzi, S.Ricci, and G.Sacerdoti, "Circuit-breaker diagnostic based on continuous wavelet transform," Proceedings of IEEE PowerTech, Bologna, vol. 4, 2003. [62] AD8351 - low distortion RF amplifier, Analog Devices Datasheet.
Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 153 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 153 Appendices Appendix A: Site Measurement Procedure
Site Measurement Step by Step Procedure Purpose: This document is to describe the procedure in carrying out measurement on background signals and transient signals in Blackwall Substation. Allowable number of close and opening operation to be finalised with Powerlink.
Related Document: Antenna Details Measuring Equipment Layout Measurement settings
Responsibility: QUT operator
General Requirement: 1. All measurement works are to be carried out with the presence of safety personnel from Powerlink. 2. All measuring equipment will be transported in the vehicle. 3. Vehicle is to be parked as close as possible to the equipment to be measured. 4. No equipment to be carry at a height more than 1.5 meter from the ground. 5. Operator to wear suitable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) e.g. safety helmet and safety shoes. 6. Insulated rubber glove to be used during setting up. 7. To ensure equipment are earthed (temporarily/permanently) during measurement set up.
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Procedures: Setting up measuring equipment 1.0 Connect the earthing connections. 1.1 From Substation grid to the car 1.2 From Car to UPS equipment. 1.3 From UPS equipment to Measuring equipment via power cord. 1.4 Connect the measuring co-ax cables to measuring equipment. 2.0 Setting up Active Antenna 2.1 Place the tripod at the measuring point. 2.2 Mount the active antenna on the tripod 2.3 Adjust the height of the tripod to give 40cm from the ground. 2.4 No grounding connection. 3.0 Setting up Passive Antenna 3.1 Carefully lift the antenna base and place it at the measuring point. 3.2 Connect the earth connection from the substation grid to the base plate. 3.3 Carefully assemble the Passive antenna assembly to the base plate. 4.0 Setting up and connecting to Measuring equipment in vehicle. 4.1 The portable power supply unit is powered through 24V DC Battery. 4.2 Connect the power supply cord of each oscilloscope to the Portable power supply unit. 4.3 Run the antenna cable from Oscilloscope and connect to the Active Antenna. 4.4 Switch on the Active Antenna. 4.5 Repeat steps 4.3-4.4 for Passive antenna. 5.0 Visual and physical inspection on connection.
Performing site measurement 1.0 Measuring background signal in substation 1.1 Switch on the Active antenna and oscilloscopes before carrying out any measurement. 1.2 Measurements to be carried out in the switchyard with the HV equipment live. 1.3 The operator will make the measurement from inside the vehicle. 1.4 Record the background waveform. 2.0 Measuring transient signal on 1 st - closing operation of circuit breaker 2.1 Switch on the Active antenna, oscilloscopes before carrying out any measurement. 2.2 The operator shall go into the control room. 2.3 Upon confirmation from safety personnel, Circuit Breaker shall be CLOSED. 2.4 After the closing operation and confirmation from safety personnel, the operator shall go to the measuring vehicle and check the recorded waveform data. 2.5 The operator download the data, make adjustment and then prepare for the next measurement. 3.0 Measuring transient signal on 1 st opening operation oI circuit breaker. 3.1 Repeat steps 2.1 to 2.5 for Opening operation. Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 155 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 155
Records Installation details substation single line diagram, physical dimension and layout. Waveforms data. List of waveforms Tests forms oscilloscope settings, triggering settings. Photos
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Appendix B : Sample of forms used for site measurement FORM 1 :
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%*******************************% % 3-phase Voltage Monitor % % % % % File: VoltageMonitor02.m % % % % By: S.Ramli % % with assistance by T.Tang % % 26 May 2007 % %*******************************% % This program calculates the signals picked up by 3 capacitive % sensors located at the base of each powerline phase % % The program then reconstruct the phase waveforms from the % received signals. % A user can change the following parameters: % coupling capacitances: C1, C2 and C3 ASSUME CP = 1PF AND CAPACITANCE % INVERSELY PROP TO DISTANCE. I.E LARGER DISTANCE, SMALLER CAPACITANCE % distance PA1 : s % sensor loading resistance: R1 % frequency of operation: f % system voltage: Vrms % % %**** BEGINNING OF PROGRAM *** clear; clc; % clear Command window format compact; %% % Define coupling capacitances & termination resistance Cp = 1.000e-12 % capacitance for phase directly above sensor R1 = 0.5e6; % 0.5 M-ohms % Dimension for antenna location l =4; h =3; s =2; % moving PA1, s=0 for symmetrical % Define phase voltages f = 50; % frequency is 50Hz w = 2*pi*f; % pre-calculated constant wR1 = w*R1; % pre-calculated constant Vrms = 275e3/sqrt(3) % phase voltage (Vrms) VA = 1.4142*Vrms; % phase A voltage (volts) VB = 1.4142*Vrms; % phase B voltage (volts) VC = 1.4142*Vrms; % phase C voltage (volts) phiA = 0; % phase angle of Phase A phiB = phiA-2*pi/3; % phase angle of Phase B phiC = phiA+2*pi/3; % phase angle of Phase C Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 159 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 159 %% Antenna at Location 1 % For Middle Phase B B1= sqrt(h^2+(l+s)^2); % overall distance C1b = Cp*(h/B1); % For Left Phase A A1 = sqrt(h^2+s^2); % overall distance C1a = Cp*(h/A1); % capacitance % For Right Phase C C1 = sqrt(h^2 + (2*l+s)^2); % overall distance C1c = Cp*(h/C1); % capacitance %% Antenna at Location 2 % For Middle Phase B B2=sqrt(h^2); % overall distance C2b=Cp*(h/B2); % For Left Phase A A2 = sqrt(h^2+l^2); % overall distance C2a= Cp*(h/A2); % capacitance % For Right Phase C C2 = sqrt(h^2+l^2); % overall distance C2c=Cp*(h/C2); % capacitance %% Antenna at Location 3 % For Middle Phase B B3=sqrt(h^2+l^2); % overall distance C3b=Cp*(h/B3); % For Left Phase A A3 = sqrt(h^2+(2*l)^2); % overall distance C3a= Cp*(h/A3); % capacitance % For Right Phase C C3 = sqrt(h^2); % overall distance C3c=Cp*(h/C3); % capacitance %% Generate original waveforms tstep = 0.10e-3; % step in time scale (s) tstop = 30e-3-tstep; % last point N = tstop/tstep+1 % number of points (start with 0) t = (0:tstep:tstop); % simulation time range vA = VA*exp(complex(0,w*t+phiA)); % vA(t) vB = VB*exp(complex(0,w*t+phiB)); % vB(t) vC = VC*exp(complex(0,w*t+phiC)); % vC(t) %% Calculate sensor voltages v1, v2 and v3, due to C1, C2 and C3 v1 = complex(0,wR1)*(C1a*vA+C1b*vB+C1c*vC); v2 = complex(0,wR1)*(C2a*vA+C2b*vB+C2c*vC); v3 = complex(0,wR1)*(C3a*vA+C3b*vB+C3c*vC); Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 160 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 160 %% Reconstruct phases A,B,C waveforms %***introducing errors to selected capacitance e.g. C1a, C1b, C1c C1a =C1a*0.9; C1b =C1b*0.9; C1c =C1c*0.9; C = [C1a C1b C1c; C2a C2b C2c; C3a C3b C3c] % Set up [C] matrix %Ce = C*0.95 % introducing errors to all Ci = inv(C) vAA = (Ci(1,1)*v1+Ci(1,2)*v2+Ci(1,3)*v3)/complex(0,wR1); vBB = (Ci(2,1)*v1+Ci(2,2)*v2+Ci(2,3)*v3)/complex(0,wR1); vCC = (Ci(3,1)*v1+Ci(3,2)*v2+Ci(3,3)*v3)/complex(0,wR1); %% Plotting waveforms % PLOT OVERALL USING SUBPLOT %*** Plot original waveforms of phases A,B,C subplot(3,1,1); plot(t,real(vA),'ro',t,real(vB),'bx',t,real(vC),'k*') grid %xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Original Waveforms of Phases A,B,C') %*** plot waveforms of sensors 1,2,3 (v1, v2 and v3) subplot(3,1,2); plot(t,real(v1),'ro',t,real(v2),'bx',t,real(v3),'k*') grid %xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Waveforms of Passive Antenna 1,2,3') %*** plot reconstructed waveforms of Phase A,B,C subplot(3,1,3); plot(t,real(vAA),'ro',t,real(vBB),'bx',t,real(vCC),'k*') grid xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Reconstructed Waveforms of Phases A,B,C') %% ANALYSING EFFECT OF DISTANCE FOR CAPACITANCE %*** Plot original waveforms of phases A,B,C figure subplot(2,1,1); plot(t,real(vA),'ro',t,real(vB),'bx',t,real(vC),'k*') grid %xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Original Waveforms of Phases A,B,C') %*** plot waveforms of sensors 1,2,3 (v1, v2 and v3) subplot(2,1,2); plot(t,real(v1),'ro',t,real(v2),'bx',t,real(v3),'k*') grid xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Waveforms of Passive Antenna 1,2,3 with S=2m') %% ANALYSING RECONSTRUCTION OF PHASE VOLTAGE %*** Plot original waveforms of phases A,B,C figure subplot(2,1,1); plot(t,real(vA),'ro',t,real(vB),'bx',t,real(vC),'k*') Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 161 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 161 grid %xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Original Waveforms of Phases A,B,C') %*** plot reconstructed waveforms of Phase A,B,C with 10% error on selected %capacitance subplot(2,1,2); plot(t,real(vAA),'ro',t,real(vBB),'bx',t,real(vCC),'k*') grid xlabel ('time(s)') ylabel ('volts') title ('Reconstructed Waveforms of Phases A,B,C with 5% error in capacitance') %% %*** locate zero-crossings for reconstructed voltage for i=2:N if real(vAA(i-1))<0 if real(vAA(i))>=0 ZeroA=i, real(vAA(i-1)), real(vAA(i)) end end if real(vBB(i-1))<0 if real(vBB(i))>=0 ZeroB=i, real(vBB(i-1)), real(vBB(i)) end end if real(vCC(i-1))<0 if real(vCC(i))>=0 ZeroC=i, real(vCC(i-1)), real(vCC(i)) end end end %% %*** locate zero-crossings for sensor voltage for i=2:N if real(v1(i-1))<0 if real(v1(i))>=0 Zero1P=i, real(v1(i-1)), real(v1(i)) end end if real(v1(i-1))>0 if real(v1(i))<=0 Zero1N=i, real(v1(i-1)), real(v1(i)) end end if real(v2(i-1))<0 if real(v2(i))>=0 Zero2P=i, real(v2(i-1)), real(v2(i)) end end if real(v2(i-1))>0 if real(v2(i))<=0 Zero2N=i, real(v2(i-1)), real(v2(i)) end end if real(v3(i-1))<0 if real(v3(i))>=0 Zero3P=i, real(v3(i-1)), real(v3(i)) Please purchase PDFcamp Printer on http://www.verypdf.com/ to remove this watermark. Page 162 M.Shamir Ramli, M.Eng Thesis, QUT, 2008 Page 162 end end if real(v3(i-1))>0 if real(v3(i))<=0 Zero3N=i, real(v3(i-1)), real(v3(i)) end end end
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