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D. Koch
Foreword
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n 188
SF6 properties, and use
in MV and HV switchgear
D. KOCH
Graduate Engineer IEG Grenoble in 1979.
He joined the same year Merlin Gerin Group, in HV transmission: first
as technical manager of MV circuit breakers and, later, as product
manager.
Since 1995, within the T & D organisation, he is in charge, inside the
strategic marketing team, of standardisation, technology and
environment related with T & D offer.
He is also in charge of geographic development in Eastern Europe.
Contents
1 Introduction
p.4
p.5
p.5
p.6
p.8
p.11
p.12
p.13
p.13
p.14
p.15
p.15
p.16
p.16
p.19
5 Conclusions
p.21
Appendix 1: bibliography
p.22
1 Introduction
water rincing
alcaline rincing
cracking fumace
drying towers
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fluor
incoming
combustion
reactor
melted
suffer
flow
pump
yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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yy
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;; yy
yy
alcaline
solution
storing
gazometer
compressor
storing
bottle
fig. 1 : process of SF6 production by direct combination. The purification chain is necessary to obtain high purity
gas. The quality of SF6 for delivery is defined by IEC publication 376 which specifies the admissible concentrations
of impurities.
Density
Thermal conductivity
Critical point:
c Temperature
c Density
c Pressure
Sound velocity
Refractive index
Formation heat
6.14 kg m-3
0.0136 W m-1 K-1
Specific heat
45.55C
730 kg m-3
3.78 MPa
136 m s-1
1.000783
-1221.66 kJ mol-1
Pressure in MPa
Density in kg/l
0.13
2.6
0.12
2.4
0.11
2.2
0.10
2.0
0.09
1.8
0.08
1.6
0.07
1.4
0.06
1.2
0.05
1.0
0.04
0.8
0.03
0.6
0.02
0.4
0.01
0.2
0
50 30 10 +10
Temperature in C
+30
+50
+70
fig. 3 : vapour pressure curve and lines of equivalent gas density of SF6.
+90
+110 +130
Specific heat
The volumetric specific heat of SF6 is 3.7 times
that of air. This has important consequences for
reducing the effects of heating within electrical
equipment.
Breakdown voltage
(kV)
Thermal conductivity
The thermal conductivity of SF6 is below that of
air but its overall heat transfer capability, in
particular when convection is taken into account,
is excellent, being similar to that of gases such as
hydrogen and helium and higher than that of air.
At high temperatures, the thermal conductivity
curve of SF6 (see fig. 4 ) reveals one of the exceptional qualities of the gas, which allows it to be
used for extinguishing arcs by thermal transport.
The peak of the thermal conductivity corresponds
to the dissociation temperature of the SF6 molecule at 2100 to 2500 K. The dissociation process
absorbs a considerable amount of heat which is
released when the molecules reform at the
periphery of the arc, facilitating a rapid exchange
of heat between the hot and cooler regions.
300
250
200
150
SF6
100
N2
50
pd
1
Thermal conductivity
(W cm-1 K-1)
pd product:
p: pressure (MPa)
d: distance between the electrodes (10-3 m)
009
008
007
N2
006
Breakdown voltage
(kV)
005
SF6
004
003
200
002
001
160
SF6
10 12 14 16
Temperature 103 K
Electrical Properties
The excellent dielectric properties of SF6 are due
to the electronegative character of its molecule.
It has a pronounced tendency to capture free
electrons forming heavy ions with low mobility
making the development of electron avalanches
very difficult.
The dielectric strength of SF6 is about 2.5 times
higher than that of air under the same conditions.
The advantage of SF6 over nitrogen as a dielectric
is clearly illustrated by the curve (see fig. 5 ).
120
80
N2
40
0
0
p
(MPa)
89 V m-1 Pa-1
1.00204
< 2 x10-7
Ionisation coefficient
=A p E/(p - B)
: (m-1)
E: (V m-1)
p: (Pa)
A=2.8 x10-2 V2
B=89 V m-1 Pa-1
CO2
SOF2
SO2F2
H2O
SOF4
SF6
air
Injection
CF4
With absorbent
(molecular sieve)
(%)
Air
0.17
0.03
CF4
2.83
2.80
SiF4
2.88
0.25
CO2
0.24
SF6
remainder
remainder
SO2F2
0.12
SOF2
3.95
trace
H2O + HF
0.20
0.05
SO2
2.90
trace
SO2
SiF4
Injection
air
No adsorbent
(%)
SF6
CF4
Gas
CO2
SOF2
SO2
Maximum permitted
CF4
O 2, N 2
Water
15 ppm weight
HF
Hydrolysable fluorides
Thionyl Fluoride
SOF2
Sulphuryl Fluoride
SO2F2
Disulphur decafluoride
S2F10
3.7 x 10-3
0.06 x 10-3
2.4 x 10-9
TLV (ppmv)
1.6
0.01
Production rate
relative to SOF2: Pr
0.016
0.65 x 10-6
Toxicity
relative to SOF2: Tr
0.32
160
Risk index: Pr x Tr
5.12 x 10-3
0.104 x 10-3
Purpose
Switchgear
MV
( 52 kV)
HV
(> 52 kV)
Insulation
GIS
RMU
+++
+++
+++
NA
Breaking
CB
LBS
++
++
+++
+++
+
++
+++
GIS
RMU
CB
LBS
a - MV switchgear
SF6 mass
per unit
Annual additional
installed switchgear
(kg)
quantity
SF6 mass
(tons)
quantity
RMU/
switches
0.6
3,000,000
1,850
240,000 RMU
140
+ 70,000 switches 8
GIS
50,000
300
7,000
42
CB
0.3
500,000
150
40,000
17
Total
2,000 - 2,500
200
SF6 mass
(tons)
b - HV switchgear
SF6 mass
per unit
Annual additional
installed switchgear
(kg)
quantity
SF6 mass
(tons)
quantity
SF6 mass
(tons)
500
20,000
10,000
3,000
1,500
100,000
5,000
8,000
400
Gas insulated
cables
Total
30,000 m
1,000
3,000 m
100
2,0000
2,000
GIS
0.5
0.5
No of CBs
31.5
500
FxGxH
236.25
9xI
2,126
KxJ
7.87
ExL
55.07
M x N/100
0.55
P/A x 103
0.79
700
BxC
0.015
3.7 x 10-3
0.25
120
45 x 10-3
0.3
SF6/CB
(m3)
13.5 x 10-3
Volume of
BxC
No of CBs
15
31.5
200
FxGxH
94.5
9xI
850.5
0.015
3.7 x 10-3
KxJ
ExL
3.147
47.2
0.1
M x N/100
P/A x
103
0.0472
0.39
Low decomposition:
No special action is required.
Medium and high decomposition:
The internal surfaces of gas enclosures should be
neutralised using a solution of lime (calcium
hydroxide) prepared by diluting 1 kg of lime
in 100 litres of water. The enclosure to be treated
should, if possible, be filled with the lime solution
for a period of 8 hours before emptying. If it is
subsequently necessary to work on the enclosure,
it should first be rinsed with clean water.
For larger enclosures where filling is impractical,
powders should be removed, using a vacuum
cleaner equipped with a suitable filter, for
neutralisation separately. The internal surfaces
should then be washed with the lime solution
which should be left in place for at least one hour
followed by rinsing with clean water.
Application
medium:
c up to a few percent
c light powder deposits
high:
c could exceed 10%
c medium to heavy powder deposits
700
0.5
0.5
(m3)
Volume of SF6/CB
No of CBs
BxC
0.25
7
31.5
500
0.015
FxGxH
236.2
9xI
2,126
3.7 x 10-3
KxJ
7.87
C - 0,1
0.4
L x M/C
6.3
N/A
9.0
fig. 22 : abnormal leakage of SF6 in a high voltage (145 kV) indoor substation.
MV Case studied, conditions and calculations
A
120
(m3)
45 x 10-3
Volume of CB enclosure
No of CBs
15
31.5
200
0.015
FxGxH
94.5
9xI
850.5
KxJ
3.147
C - 0,1
0.2
L x M/C
2,098
N/A
17.5
0.3
BxC
13.5 x 10-3
3.7 x 10-3
fig. 23 : abnormal leakage of SF6 in a medium voltage (12 kV) indoor substation.
Internal fault
An internal fault can develop when an arc is
formed abnormally between the main conductors
of an item of switchgear, or between a main
conductor and an earthed conducting part. Such
faults occur very rarely. Abnormal arcing gives
rise to a rapid increase in pressure which can
cause hot gases and other materials to be
expelled. Whilst an internal fault could develop in
any high-voltage enclosure, this section is
concerned with internal faults within enclosures
filled with SF6. There are three possibilities for
such faults:
1 - Internal fault which does not lead to an
abnormal release of SF6. This can occur when
the energy delivered to the fault is insufficient to
lead to burn-through or pressure relief of the
enclosure.
2 - Internal fault where heat from the arc causes
the enclosure wall (usually metallic and forming
one arc electrode) to melt or vapourise such that
a hole is formed. This type of fault is associated
mainly with high-voltage GIS equipment.
3 - Internal fault where the pressure-rise within
the enclosure is sufficient to lead to operation of
pressure relief devices. This is controlled by a
pressure-relief valve or by a well-defined, stress
releasing zone of the enclosure, allowing hot
exhaust to be directed.
700
31.5
1,000
G
H
0.1
BxCxD
6,300
ExF
94.5
G/A
135
10 x 15-3
fig. 24 : internal fault in a high voltage (145 kV) indoor GIS substation.
120
31.5
1,000
ExF
5.83
G/A
48.6
0.5
BxCxD
1,575
3.7 x 10-3
UV
Cl + CFC remainder
(reaction 1)
Gas
Concentration
(ppbv)
Contribution
CO2
353 x 103
60
CH4
1.7 x
103
N2O
310
15
5
O3
10-50
Cl + O3 UV
ClO + O2
(reaction 2)
CFC-11
0.28
ClO + O UV
Cl + O2
(reaction 3)
CFC-12
0.48
SF6
0.002
10-2
O + O3
UV
2O2
(reaction 4)
5 Conclusions
Appendix 1: bibliography
Standards
c IEC TR 1634: High-Voltage Switchgear and
Controlgear-Use and Handling of Sulphur
Hexafluoride (SF6) in High-Voltage Switchgear
and Controlgear First Edition.
c IEC 376: Specification and Acceptance of New
Sulphur Hexafluoride First Edition ; (Supplement
A-1973) (Supplement B-1974).
Cahiers Techniques Merlin Gerin
c Etude thermique des tableaux lectriques BT,
Cahier Technique N145, january 1990 C. KILINDJIAN
c Breaking by auto-expansion,
Cahier Technique N171, december 1993 G. BERNARD
Other publications
c CIGRE WG 23-01 Task force 01 (08.96):
SF6 recycling guide.
c CIRED (1995):
Developpement et suivi du palier technique EDF
utilisant de lappareillage moyenne tension SF6 B. JOYEUX, G. PERRISSIN, M. REBOUL
c ELECTRA N164 (02.96):
SF6 and the global atmosphere (Task force 01 of
WG 23.10).
c IEE (1994):
MV switchgear breaking in SF6: the situation
after 20 years in service.
Schneider Electric
- 100 FF 02-03