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Switchgear
Switchgear
A section of a large switchgear panel, in this case, used to control on-board casino boat power
generation.
Tram switchgear
Contents
1Components
2Functions
3History
4Housing
5Circuit breaker types
o 5.1Oil
o 5.2Air
o 5.3Gas
o 5.4Hybrid
o 5.5Vacuum
o 5.6Carbon dioxide (CO2)
6Protective circuitry
o 6.1Circuit breakers and fuses
o 6.2Merz-Price circulating current scheme
o 6.3Distance relays
7Classification
8Safety
9See also
10References
11External links
Components[edit]
A switchgear assembly has two types of components:
Power conducting components, such as switches, circuit breakers, fuses, and lightning
arrestors, that conduct or interrupt the flow of electrical power.
Control systems such as control panels, current transformers, potential transformers, protective
relays, and associated circuitry, that monitor, control, and protect the power conducting
components.
Functions[edit]
One of the basic functions of switchgear is protection, which is interruption of short-circuit and
overload fault currents while maintaining service to unaffected circuits. Switchgear also provides
isolation of circuits from power supplies. Switchgear is also used to enhance system availability by
allowing more than one source to feed a load.
History[edit]
Switchgears are as old as electricity generation. The first models were very primitive: all components
were simply fixed to a wall. Later they were mounted on wooden panels. For reasons of fire
protection, the wood was replaced by slate or marble. This led to a further improvement, because
the switching and measuring devices could be attached to the front, while the wiring was on the
back.[4]. The tumbler switch with ordinary fuse is the simplest form of switchgear and was used to
control and protect lights and other equipment in homes, offices etc. For circuits of a higher rating, a
high-rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) fuse in conjunction with a switch may serve the purpose of
controlling and protecting the circuit. However, such switchgear cannot be used profitably on a high
voltage system.[5]
Housing[edit]
Switchgear for lower voltages may be entirely enclosed within a building. For higher voltages (over
about 66 kV), switchgear is typically mounted outdoors and insulated by air, although this requires a
large amount of space. Gas-insulated switchgear saves space compared with air-insulated
equipment, although the equipment cost is higher. Oil insulated switchgear presents an oil spill
hazard.
Switches may be manually operated or have motor drives to allow for remote control.
Circuit breaker types[edit]
A switchgear may be a simple open-air isolator switch or it may be insulated by some other
substance. An effective although more costly form of switchgear is the gas-insulated switchgear
(GIS), where the conductors and contacts are insulated by pressurized sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF6).
Other common types are oil or vacuum insulated switchgear.
The combination of equipment within the switchgear enclosure allows them to interrupt fault currents
of thousands of amps. A circuit breaker (within a switchgear enclosure) is the primary component
that interrupts fault currents. The quenching of the arc when the circuit breaker pulls apart the
contacts (disconnects the circuit) requires careful design. Circuit breakers fall into these six types:
Oil[edit]
Oil circuit breakers rely upon vaporization of some of the oil to blast a jet of oil along the path of the
arc. The vapor released by the arcing consists of hydrogen gas. Mineral oil has better insulating
property than air. Whenever there is a separation of current carrying contacts in the oil, the arc in
circuit breaker is initialized at the moment of separation of contacts, and due to this arc the oil is
vaporized and decomposed in mostly hydrogen gas and ultimately creates a hydrogen bubble
around the electric arc. This highly compressed gas bubble around the arc prevents re-striking of the
arc after current reaches zero crossing of the cycle. The oil circuit breaker is one of the oldest type of
circuit breakers.
Air[edit]
Air circuit breakers may use compressed air (puff) or the magnetic force of the arc itself to elongate
the arc. As the length of the sustainable arc is dependent on the available voltage, the elongated arc
will eventually exhaust itself. Alternatively, the contacts are rapidly swung into a small sealed
chamber, the escaping of the displaced air thus blowing out the arc.
Circuit breakers are usually able to terminate all current flow very quickly: typically between 30 ms
and 150 ms depending upon the age and construction of the device.
Gas[edit]
Main article: Sulfur hexafluoride circuit breaker
Gas (SF6) circuit breakers sometimes stretch the arc using a magnetic field, and then rely upon the
dielectric strength of the SF6 gas to quench the stretched arc.
Hybrid[edit]
Main article: Hybrid switchgear modules
Hybrid switchgear is a type which combines the components of traditional air-insulated switchgear
(AIS) and SF6 gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) technologies. It is characterized by a compact and
modular design, which encompasses several different functions in one module.
Vacuum[edit]
Circuit breakers with vacuum interrupters have minimal arcing characteristics (as there is nothing to
ionize other than the contact material), so the arc quenches when it is stretched by a small amount
(<2–8 mm). Near zero current the arc is not hot enough to maintain a plasma, and current ceases;
the gap can then withstand the rise of voltage. Vacuum circuit breakers are frequently used in
modern medium-voltage switchgear to 40,500 volts. Unlike the other types, they are inherently
unsuitable for interrupting DC faults. The reason vacuum circuit breakers are unsuitable for breaking
high DC voltages is that with DC there is no "current zero" period. The plasma arc can feed itself by
continuing to gasify the contact material.
Carbon dioxide (CO2)[edit]
Breakers that use carbon dioxide as the insulating and arc extinguishing medium work on the same
principles as a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) breaker. Because SF6 is a greenhouse gas more potent than
CO2, by switching from SF6 to CO2 it is possible to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 10 tons
during the product lifecycle.[6]
Protective circuitry[edit]
Circuit breakers and fuses[edit]
Circuit breakers and fuses disconnect when current exceeds a predetermined safe level. However
they cannot sense other critical faults, such as unbalanced currents—for example, when a
transformer winding contacts ground. By themselves, circuit breakers and fuses cannot distinguish
between short circuits and high levels of electrical demand.
Merz-Price circulating current scheme[edit]
Differential protection depends upon Kirchhoff's current law, which states that the sum of currents
entering or leaving a circuit node must equal zero. Using this principle to implement differential
protection, any section of a conductive path may be considered a node. The conductive path could
be a transmission line, a winding of a transformer, a winding in a motor, or a winding in the stator of
an alternator. This form of protection works best when both ends of the conductive path are
physically close to each other. This scheme was invented in Great Britain by Charles Hesterman
Merz and Bernard Price.[7]
Two identical current transformers are used for each winding of a transformer, stator, or other
device. The current transformers are placed around opposite ends of a winding. The current through
both ends should be identical. A protective relay detects any imbalance in currents, and trips circuit
breakers to isolate the device. In the case of a transformer, the circuit breakers on both the primary
and secondary would open.
Distance relays[edit]
A short circuit at the end of a long transmission line appears similar to a normal load, because the
impedance of the transmission line limits the fault current. A distance relay detects a fault by
comparing the voltage and current on the transmission line. A large current along with a voltage drop
indicates a fault.
Classification[edit]
Several different classifications of switchgear can be made:[8]
By the current rating.
By interrupting rating (maximum short circuit current kAIC that the device can safely interrupt)
o Circuit breakers can open and close on fault currents
o Load-break/Load-make switches can switch normal system load currents
o Isolators are off load disconnectors which are to be operated after Circuit Breakers, or else if
the load current is very small
By voltage class:
o Low voltage (less than 1 kV AC)
o Medium voltage (1 kV AC through to approximately 75 kV AC)
o High voltage (75 kV to about 230 kV AC)
o Extra high voltage, ultra high voltage (more than 230 kV)
By insulating medium:
o Air
o Gas (SF6 or mixtures)
o Oil
o Vacuum
o Carbon dioxide (CO2)
By construction type:
o Indoor (further classified by IP (Ingress Protection) class or NEMA enclosure type)
o Outdoor
o Industrial
o Utility
o Marine
o Draw-out elements (removable without many tools)
o Fixed elements (bolted fasteners)
o Live-front
o Dead-front
o Open
o Metal-enclosed (ME) — A switchgear assembly completely enclosed on all sides and the top
with sheet metal.[9]
o Metal-clad (MC) — A more expensive variety of metal-enclosed switchgear that has the
following characteristics: the main switching and interrupting device of removable type;
grounded metal barriers to separate compartments and enclose all major circuits and parts;
mechanical interlocks; insulated bus conductors and other features.[10][11]
o Cubicle
o Arc-resistant
By IEC degree of internal separation[12]
o No Separation (Form 1)
o Busbars separated from functional units (Form 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b)
o Terminals for external conductors separated from busbars (Form 2b, 3b, 4a, 4b)
o Terminals for external conductors separated from functional units but not from each other
(Form 3a, 3b)
o Functional units separated from each other (Form 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b)
o Terminals for external conductors separated from each other (Form 4a, 4b)
o Terminals for external conductors separate from their associated functional unit (Form 4b)
By interrupting device:
o Fuses
o Air Circuit Breaker
o Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker
o Oil Circuit Breaker
o Vacuum Circuit Breaker
o Gas (SF6) Circuit breaker
o CO2 Circuit Breaker
By operating method:
o Manually operated
o Motor/stored energy operated
o Solenoid operated
By type of current:
o Alternating current
o Direct current
By application:
o Transmission system
o Distribution
By purpose
o Isolating switches (disconnectors)
o Load-break switches.[13][14]
o Grounding (earthing) switches
A single line-up may incorporate several different types of devices, for example, air-insulated bus,
vacuum circuit breakers, and manually operated switches may all exist in the same row of cubicles.
Ratings, design, specifications and details of switchgear are set by a multitude of standards. In North
America mostly IEEE and ANSI standards are used, much of the rest of the world
uses IEC standards, sometimes with local national derivatives or variations.
Safety[edit]
See also[edit]
Arc flash
Circuit breaker
Disconnector
Electrical safety
Electric arc
High voltage
Remote racking system
Short circuit