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Sf6 Properties
Sf6 Properties
D.Koch
Fore wor d
The author disclaims all responsibility further to incorrect use of information
or diagrams reproduced in this document, and cannot be held responsible
for any errors or oversights, or for the consequences of using information
and diagrams contained in this document.
D. KOCH
CT 188 / p.1
SF6 properties, and use
in MV and HV switchgear
The general properties of SF6 gas and its SF6 by-products are presented.
A brief history of the use of SF6 in switchgear is given. The effects of SF6
on the environment are discussed. Guidance is given for working with SF6
gas and SF6 filled equipment under normal and abnormal conditions of
service.
The content of the present document is based on the technical report
IEC 1634, entitled « the use and handling of SF6 HV Switchgear and
controlgear ».
Contents
1 Introduction 1.1 A brief history of use of SF6 p.4
1.2 SF6 manufacture p.5
1.3 Other uses of SF6 p.5
2 Physical and chemical properties of SF6 2.1 Physical properties p.6
2.2 Chemical properties p.8
3 Overview on SF6 switchgear 3.1 MV and HV switchgear p.11
3.2 SF6 consumption and switchgear quantities p.12
3.3 EDF experience: 20 years of SF6 in MV p.13
3.4 Future trends p.13
4 Use and handling of SF6 in switchgear 4.1 Filling with new SF6 p.14
4.2 Leakage from SF6 - filled equipment p.15
4.3 Maintenance of SF6 - filled equipment p.15
4.4 End of life of SF6 - filled equipment p.16
4.5 Abnormal situations p.16
4.6 SF6 and the global environment p.19
5 Conclusions p.21
Appendix 1: bibliography p.22
CT 188 / p.3
1 Introduction
water rincing
alcaline rincing
cracking fumace
drying towers
QÀ@¢¢QÀ@¢QÀ@¢QÀ@
fluor
incoming
combustion
¢QÀ@ yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy
yy yy
yy
reactor
melted
suffer
compressor
flow alcaline storing storing
pump solution gazometer 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.
CT 188 / p.4
1.2 SF6 manufacture
The only industrial process currently in use is During this reaction, a certain number of other
the synthesis of sulphur hexafluoride by fluorides of sulphur are formed, such as SF4,
allowing fluorine obtained by electrolysis to SF2, S2F2, S2F10, as well as impurities due to the
react with sulphur according to the exothermic presence of moisture, air and the carbon anodes
reaction: used for the fluorine electrolysis. These by-
products are removed by various purification
S + 3F2 → SF6 + 262 kcal process (see fig. 1 ).
CT 188 / p.5
2 Physical and chemical properties of SF6
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 +30 +50 +70 +90 +110 +130
Temperature in °C
fig. 3 : vapour pressure curve and lines of equivalent gas density of SF6.
CT 188 / p.6
Specific heat
The volumetric specific heat of SF6 is 3.7 times Breakdown voltage
that of air. This has important consequences for (kV)
reducing the effects of heating within electrical
equipment.
pd
1 2 3 4 5
Thermal conductivity
(W cm-1 K-1) pd product:
p: pressure (MPa)
d: distance between the electrodes (10-3 m)
009
fig. 5 : breakdown voltage as a function of the pd
008 product between two spheres of 5 cm diameter.
007
006 N2
Breakdown voltage
(kV)
005
004 SF6
003
200
002
001 160
SF6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 120
Temperature 103 K
N2
40
Electrical Properties
The excellent dielectric properties of SF6 are due
0 p
to the electronegative character of its molecule.
It has a pronounced tendency to capture free 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 (MPa)
electrons forming heavy ions with low mobility
making the development of electron avalanches fig. 6 : breakdown voltage as a function of the
very difficult. pressure for a non-uniform electrical field.
The dielectric strength of SF6 is about 2.5 times
higher than that of air under the same conditions. For non-uniform fields (see fig. 6 ) a maximum
The advantage of SF6 over nitrogen as a dielectric breakdown voltage is obtained at a pressure of
is clearly illustrated by the curve (see fig. 5 ). about 0,2 MPa.
CT 188 / p.7
Because of its low dissociation temperature and
high dissociation energy, SF6 is an excellent arc
quenching gas. Breakdown field relative to pressure 89 V m-1 Pa-1
When an electric arc cools in SF6, it remains Relative dielectric constant 1.00204
conductive to a relatively low temperature, thus at 25°C and 1 bar absolute
minimising current chopping before current zero, Loss factor (tan δ) < 2 x10-7
and thereby avoiding high overvoltages. at 25°C and 1 bar absolute
For more information, consult Merlin Gerin Ionisation coefficient α=A p E/(p - B)
Cahier Technique n°145. α: (m-1)
Figure 7 lists the main electrical characteristics E: (V m-1)
of SF6. p: (Pa)
A=2.8 x10-2 V2
Sonic characteristics B=89 V m-1 Pa-1
The speed of sound in SF6 is one third of that in fig.7 : main electrical characteristics of SF6.
air, making SF6 a good phonic insulator.
CT 188 / p.8
Analysis of gas taken from equipment
Numerous aspects can be studied through
Gas No adsorbent With absorbent
analysis of the gas and its decomposition
(%) (molecular sieve)
products. Here we will consider only the influence
(%)
of adsorbents, specifically a molecular sieve.
Chromatogram a in figure 8 shows the results of Air 0.17 0.03
analysis of gas taken from a prototype pole CF4 2.83 2.80
without any adsorbent.
SiF4 2.88 0.25
Chromatogram b in figure 8 shows the results of
analysis of gas from an identical pole, subjected CO2 0.24 —
to the same electrical stresses, but with a SF6 remainder remainder
molecular sieve fitted. SO2F2 0.12 —
SOF2 3.95 trace
H2O + HF 0.20 0.05
a - Chromatogram without absorbent
SO2 2.90 trace
SO2F2
H2O
concentration of 1,000 ppmv (6,000 mg/m3)
SOF4 has been established for places of work in
which personnel spend up to eight hours per
day, five days per week.
This TLV (Threshold Limit Value) is that
commonly used for harmless gases not normally
present in the atmosphere.
b - Chromatogram with absorbent (molecular sieve) Pure SF6 has no ecotoxic, mutagenic, or
carcinogenic (neither genotoxic nor epigenetic)
effects on health.
SF6
When handling new SF6, therefore, it is
necessary only to adopt procedures which
air
ensure that the specified maximum
CF4 CO2 concentration is not exceeded.
Owing to the manufacturing process,
commercially available SF6 is not perfectly pure.
Injection
CT 188 / p.9
Assessment of risk to health posed by SOF2 may further react with water, leading to
arced SF6 the generation of sulphur dioxide SO2 and
The level of risk to health due to exposure to hydrofluoric acid HF: however due to similar
used SF6 depends on a number of factors: concentration and TLV values, the overall
c the degree of decomposition of the SF6 and toxicity effect is similar, for SOF2 or the products
the types of decomposition products present, of its hydrolisis.
c the of dilution of used SF6 in the local Table of figure 11 compares the three
atmosphere, decomposition products:
c the time during which an individual is exposed c Thionyl fluoride SOF2
to the atmosphere containing used SF6.
c Sulphuryl fluoride SO2F2
Definition of TLV – Threshold Limit Value – c Disulphur decafluoride S2F10
Potentially toxic gases are assigned a value The first two are the most abundant decompo-
known as TLV, which is expressed as a concen- sition products of arcing in SF6 whereas the
tration in the air, normally in parts per million by latter is estimated to be the most toxic.
volume (ppmv). The TLV is a time-weighted
To have a toxic effect, a chemical agent must be
average concentration at which no adverse
present in sufficient quantity relative to its TLV.
health effects are expected, for exposure during
The “risk index” in the table gives an indication
8 hours per day, for up to 40 hours per week.
of the relative contributions of the three decom-
Assessment of toxicity using SOF2 position products to overall toxicity. In a typical
concentration sample of arced SF6 , the contribution to toxicity
due to SOF2 outweighs that due SO2F2 by about
Although used SF6 contains a multi-component
200 times, and that due to S2F10 by about
mixture of chemical agents, one particular
10,000 times. S2F10 can clearly be neglected, as
constituent has been shown to dominate in
can SO2F2.
determining the toxicity. This is the gaseous
decomposition product thionyl fluoride SOF2. In section 4, the quantities of SOF2 produced
The dominance of this component results from under various circumstances will be calculated
its high production rate (formed volume in l per and used to assess the levels of risk to
arc energy in kJ) relative to those of the other personnel, taking into account the degree of
decomposition products, combined with its dilution of the used SF6 in the local atmosphere
toxicity rate. The TLV for SOF2 is 1.6 ppmv. and the likely exposure time.
CT 188 / p.10
3 Overview on SF6 switchgear
Purpose Switchgear MV HV
(≤ 52 kV) (> 52 kV)
Insulation GIS +++ +++
RMU +++ NA
Breaking CB ++ +++
LBS ++ +++
CT 188 / p.11
fig. 15 : equipment for MV distribution for ring main
distribution system ; the output, protected by the circuit
breaker is placed in the centre (RM6 - Merlin Gerin).
a - MV switchgear
b - HV switchgear
CT 188 / p.12
It clearly shown in these tables that the use of and only 10 % for MV. In MV, SF6 consumption
SF6 is predominant in HV: 90 % of the concerns mainly RMU/switches and GIS, the
total SF6 volume in switchgear is for HV use, part of MV CBs being almost negligeable.
CT 188 / p.13
4 Use and handling of SF6 in switchgear
This section has been included to respond products to personnel safety or environment.
to user’s concerns regarding the possible For more details, please refer to the IEC 1634
effect with SF6 gas and its decomposition technical report.
CT 188 / p.14
4.2 Leakage from SF6 - filled equipment
This section examines the implications of c the circuit-breakers (CBs) have each interrupted
leakage of SF6 gas and gaseous decomposition their rated fault current three times,
products into an indoor environment. The c SOF2 is produced at a rate of 3.7x10-3 litres
potential toxicity of the atmosphere is per kJ of arc energy, (value most frequently
calculated using the concentration of thionyl cited by the scientific press).
fluoride SOF2.
Tables of figures 19 and 20 summarise the data
Two case studies (one high voltage and one and the calculations in each case.
medium voltage) are presented. In both cases,
The results show that in both cases, the TLV for
the following worst case assumptions are made:
SOF2 (1.6 ppmv) is not exceeded after 1 year of
c the switchgear room is sealed from the leakage at the maximum leak rates into a sealed
external atmosphere, ie there is no ventilation, volume. In reality, normal ventilation would further
c the switchgear room contains dilute the SOF2 leading to a negligible SOF2
respectively 7 and 15 circuit breakers, concentration.
c the effects of adsorbents in switching There is hence no health risk associated with
enclosures are neglected, normal leakage of used SF6 from switchgear.
CT 188 / p.15
or nitrogen is recommended prior to opening prior to and during their removal. Fine powders
them. In any case, workers should be aware of can remain suspended in the air for long periods
the presence of residual SF6 when enclosures of time ; where powders are present respirators
are first opened and should wear respirators at fitted with sub-micron range powder filters should
that time. Ventilation of the work area should be be used. Particular attention should be paid to
adequate to remove rapidly any gas released protecting the eyes.
into it. c Components, metal fluoride powders and
c Metal fluoride powders are more chemically adsorbents removed from equipment in service
active in the presence of moisture so efforts should be packed in sealed containers for
should be made to keep these in a dry condition subsequent neutralisation.
CT 188 / p.16
equipment” which deals with normal leakage. to the CBs. These normally operate around 80%
The same case study data will be used for high of normal filling pressure, and at this point in time,
and medium voltage situations. In the calculations only 20% of the available SF6 would be in the
that follow it is assumed that all of the SF6 in one atmosphere, leading to an SOF2 concentration
circuit-breaker escapes suddenly and it is again of 1,8 ppmv.
assumed that the switchroom is sealed and that In the case of abnormal leakage of SF6 in a
ventilation is inoperative. (see fig. 22 ). medium voltage indoor substation (see fig. 23 ),
Thus if all of the SF6 were to escape into the the SOF2 related to complete escape of SF6 from
switchroom, the concentration of SOF2 would one CB would reach 17,5 ppmv.
reach 9.0 ppmv, or about 6 times the TLV. The concentration of SOF2 in the switchroom at
In practice, attention would be drawn to an 20% relative pressure loss (commonly the alarm
abnormal leak by underpressure detectors fitted level) would be 3.5 ppmv.
fig. 22 : abnormal leakage of SF6 in a high voltage (145 kV) indoor substation.
fig. 23 : abnormal leakage of SF6 in a medium voltage (12 kV) indoor substation.
CT 188 / p.17
In both cases above, the TLV for SOF2 (1.6 ppmv) The risks to personnel associated with faults of
may be exceeded, but by a relatively small types 2 and 3 will be considered here. The risks
factor. Under these circumstances exposure for associated with the use of SF6 are evaluated
a short period would present negligible risk. The based on the quantity of SOF2 released into the
pungent, unpleasant odour of SOF2 is noticeable atmoshere. The potentially harmful effects of
from concentrations of around 1 ppmv and this other toxic vapours not related to the use of SF6
would mean that, for most people, attention are also considered ; it will be seen that these
would be drawn immediately to concentrations other by-products, which are also present during
approaching the TLV. Smell is however not an internal fault in any type of equipment, can be
recommended as a detection method. the dominant contributors to toxicity.
fig. 24 : internal fault in a high voltage (145 kV) indoor GIS substation.
CT 188 / p.18
products, which are not related to the use of SF6, view that the use of SF6 in switchgear does
can dominate when the overall toxicity of the not significantly add to the risks associated
atmosphere is considered. This applies to any with an internal fault.
type of switchgear, SF6 filled or otherwise (see
section C 4.7.2. and C 4.7.3 of IEC 1634 -1995). External fire
If, for example during a busbar fault, only Fires in outdoor installations rarely cause
10 grammes of copper were evapourated into problems because of the relative absence of
the example medium voltage switchroom flammable material in the vicinity of the
atmosphere, the concentration (neglecting the switchgear. In indoor installations, particularly in
effects of oxidation) would be (mass of Cu / room the case of medium voltage consumer
volume) = 83 mg/m3. The TLV for copper vapour substations, there is a greater risk of fire in the
is 0.2 mg/m3. This means that the copper vapour proximity of the switchgear.
concentration could reach 400 times the TLV. Research has shown that fire temperatures
Similarly, the full vaporisation of only 32 grammes rarely exceed 800°C and the temperatures in the
of PVC (equivalent to the insulation from 1.2 m region of SF6 enclosures which are protected by
of standard 1 mm2 wire) could give rise to an metal cladding, are likely to be much lower than
atmospheric concentration of 100 times the TLV this. A release of SF6 is very unlikely to be
(2.6 mg/m3) of vinyl chloride. provoked by a fire; if it should occur, average
temperatures are likely to be too low (because
It can be therefore concluded that in any SF6 will be rapidly dissipated by convection to
internal fault situation, corrosive and/or toxic lower temperature regions) to lead to significant
fumes are produced whether or not SF6 is decomposition, which requires at least 500°C.
present. In cases where these fumes enter SF6 is non-flammable and will have an
the switchroom atmosphere, it has been extinguishing effect.
shown that non SF6 related products are Personnel engaged in fighting a fire will be
likely to be the dominant contributors to adequately protected by precautions normally
overall toxicity. This further strengthens the used against vapours from burning plastics.
CT 188 / p.19
to help people use electricity safely: actions are react with ozone to producing ClO, which in turn
taken in order to protect the environment and reacts with free oxygen, liberating the chlorine
promote its care, not only inside the group, but atom which can go once more through reaction 2.
also outside, by providing appropriate This is termed the catalytic cycle. A single atom
information to our customers, suppliers and of chlorine can participate in this cycle ten
partners. thousand times before it is neutralised by a
As far as SF6 handling is concerned, regulations reaction not involving ozone.
and qualified procedures have been set up for SF6 however is not photo-decomposed at ozone
internal and customer purpose: layer altitudes (32-44 km), so very little atomic
c Internal procedures specify the quality of SF6 fluorine is released. Any free fluorine which is
necessary to guarantee the switchgear released has a strong tendency to combine with
performances, either for dielectric or breaking free hydrogen rather than with ozone. Moreover,
application. the concentration of SF6 is 1,000 times less of
Criteria here are based on IEC 376 standards for that of the CFC’s.
personnel and environment safety, adequate
Greenhouse effect
procedures and qualified equipment (coupling,
pumping) have been chosen to minimize SF6 The temperature at the surface of the earth rises
release at each stage (production, site, during the day due to solar radiation and falls
maintenance, end of life). during the night as heat is lost due to infra-red
c For the user (customer) relevant information is radiation. Some of the infra-red radiation,
displayed in the switchgear leaflet, for different particularly in the range of wavelengths between
situations (normal use, maintenance…). 7 and 13 µm, is reflected back to the surface of
However, for personnel safety and environmental the earth and does not escape. The reflectivity of
care reasons, maintenance specifically heavy the atmosphere at these wavelengths is
maintenance, can be carried out by Schneider enhanced by the presence of “greenhouse”
group or under his supervision, in our facilities or gases such as CO2, H2O and O3 and is particu-
specially designed workshops. larly increased by man-made gases such as CO2
from the burning of fossil fuels, N2O from intensive
In these procedures, special operations are agriculture, CFC’s from spray propellants and
described, in terms of gas treatment ; A gas which refrigerators and CH4 from intensive cattle farming.
is not in accordance with the specified values SF6 has infra-red absorbtion characteristics and
can be locally on site treated, by using adequate is considered as a minuscule greenhouse gas,
gas cart equipment ; Gas treatment for arc having a very long life duration in the atmosphere ;
decomposed gas may also be carried out by however, its contribution to global warming is very
Schneider, a patented procedure using lime small, due to the extremely low concentration of
solution for neutralisation purpose has been SF6 in the atmosphere (see fig. 26 ).
developped in order to answer to customers
requirements, for instance for end of life disposal. The contribution of SF6 is less than one part in
This service is supported by Schneider Services. ten thousand of the total contribution of the other
agents and is thus negligible. However, very
The existing procedures are applied: long term environmental considerations make it
v in our facilities (filling, recyling), advisable to SF6 reclaim,during maintenance or
v during maintenance (rincing, refilling), end of life treatment, in order to minimize its
v for end of life disposal. accumulation in the atmosphere.
Ozone depletion
The international community has recognised the
risks, due to destruction of the ozone layer, to
health and the environment. Gas Concentration Contribution
The ozone (O3) destruction mechanism in the (ppbv)
case of CFC’s (chlorinated fluorocarbons) requires
CO2 353 x 103 60
the presence of free chlorine atoms which are
released when CFC molecules are exposed to CH4 1.7 x 103 15
ultraviolet radiation. The reactions are: N2O 310 5
UV O3 10-50 8
CFC → Cl + CFC remainder (reaction 1)
CFC-11 0.28 4
Cl + O3 UV
→ ClO + O2 (reaction 2) CFC-12 0.48 8
ClO + O UV
→ Cl + O2… (reaction 3) SF6 0.002 10-2
UV
O + O3 → 2O2… (reaction 4)
fig. 26 : estimated contribution of various gases to the
CFC molecular bonds are broken by UV irradiation greenhouse effect.
and free chlorine atoms are released (1). These
CT 188 / p.20
5 Conclusions
The adoption of SF6 in switchgear for all operating Many years of service experience have
conditions has brought advantages in performan- substantiated the assertions made in this
ce, size, weight, global cost and reliability. The document that the use of SF6 does not
cost of ownership, which includes maintenance constitute any threat to personnel or to the
costs, can be much lower than for older types of environment, as long as elementary working
switchgear: for instance, in the case of MV CBs, practices are employed.
EDF has reduced the total cumulated mainte-
nance time per CB from 350 hours to 30 hours.
CT 188 / p.21
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).
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 l’appareillage moyenne tension SF6 -
B. JOYEUX, G. PERRISSIN, M. REBOUL
c ELECTRA N°164 (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.
CT 188 / p.22
© 1997 Schneider
78616 04-97