Computer simulation of HV circuit breaker

interruption
>> HV CB Simulation <<
by

EnergoBos ILJIN d.o.o. Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina

www.energobos.com

Sarajevo, September 2020.

EnergoBos ILJIN d.o.o. Sarajevo

Contents

❑ Introduction

❑ Main application diagram

❑ The Main mask of HV CB Simulation

❑ Modules

❑ Input data

❑ Gas flow - universal model

❑ Automatic calculations

❑ Breakdown withstand voltage calculation

❑ The travel measurement system and control
❑ KEMA oscillogram viewer
❑ Help files
❑ Results & verification
❑ Prediction of thermal breakdown
❑ Conclusion

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Introduction

❑ Computer simulation is an economic way in research and development of modern SF6 circuit breakers.

❑ Work on computer simulations started on early 80’s – used first available PCs and simple Basic programming
language.

❑ With limited number of short circuit tests and results of those tests, program can help us with:
• prediction of interruptions for other arcing times and other values of short circuit currents,
• prediction of breakdown withstand voltage after capacitive current interruption,
• calculation of interaction between interrupting unit and driving mechanism,
• optimization of an existing interrupting unit and driving mechanism,
• calculate influence of any design changes on circuit breaker performance,
• calculation of state of gas in circuit breaker chambers,
• electric arc influence on gas mass flow,
• pressure build up calculation,
• nozzle ablation,
• contact erosion,
• driving mechanism behavior during interruption of high short circuit currents.

❑ The program can not predict result of interruption in advance, but program results combined with other calculations can
help us in this.

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Main application diagram

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The main mask of HV CB Simulation

The program consists the following modules: m =  cs  Acs  cs  vcs  t

❑ Exit-Open-Save module,
❑ Interrupter unit, Qel +  min  (hin − u ) −  mout  (h − u )
❑ Driving mechanism-Travel, u =
m
❑ Gas, m(t ) = m(t -1) + m
❑ Electrical current, h2 p2
dp
❑ Data analysis,  dh =   u(t ) = u(t -1) + u
❑ Calculation-Automatic calculation, h1 p1 cs

❑ Vbd- Breakdown voltage estimation m(t )

❑ EB measurement system control vcs = 2  (h1 − hcs )  (t ) =
V (t )
❑ KEMA oscillogram viewer
❑ Help.  R  E (t )  ( t ,n ) − r ( t ,n ) 
ER ( t , n ) =  ka + (1 − ka )  e
− a 
R
n  

 (i )  dt
tluka
c c +1
mc =  c  + kc  i
2  Es ( t )
0

Es ( t ) = Eo (t ) − Ekomp (t ) − Etr (t ) − Eabs (t ) v1k ( t ) =

M red  h1 ( t ) 
HV CB Simulation Version 4.1.0.

Main mask
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Modules

❑ Exit – Open – Save module (close - open - save all input data about circuit breaker)
❑ Interrupter unit (interrupter unit geometry, nozzle ablation, contact erosion, heating of interrupter unit chambers)
❑ Driving mechanism – Travel (coordinates, lengths, angles, masses and moments of inertia of mechanical parts,
kinematic calculations, compression force calculation, data about spring(s), calculation of opening, single or three
phase operated, using experimental travel instead mechanism simulation, model of shock absorber, double speed
model)
❑ Gas (selection of used gas, arc model, iteration accuracy)
❑ Electrical current (analytical presentation of single or three phase short circuit currents, model of synthetic circuit:
serial and parallel with current injection, data from experiment used as input data in calculation)
❑ Data Analysis (graphical representation of program results and experimental results, open & save results, comparison
between calculated i measured results)
❑ Calculation – Automatic calculation
❑ Vbd – (breakdown voltage estimation, visualization of dielectric stresses inside a circuit breaker nozzle)
❑ Measure – Travel measurement system and control is being used to control the measurement process including the
tripping of the test object's opening and closing coils, measurement data acquisition from several linear and rotary
encoders, digital processing, filtering and fitting of raw measurement data, as well as determining of the corresponding
velocity and acceleration curves for every travel record.
❑ KEMA Osc - KEMA Oscillogram viewer allows the user to import experimental data from KEMA type tests.
❑ Help – Help files.

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Input data – Chamber and Connections

Defining interrupter unit chambers and connections between them

V14 V15 V8 V9 V11 V17
Chamber data

❑ Easy scheme drawing for any type of interrupter

❑ Calculation of state of gas (pressure, temperature, density...) in all interrupter chambers
❑ Calculation of gas flow for every interrupter with a known geometry configuration
7 ❑ Simulation of SF6 and other gases
❑ Simulations of O-CO and O-CO-CO operating sequences EnergoBos ILJIN d.o.o. Sarajevo
Input data – interrupter unit – nozzle and arcing contact geometry

Nozzle geometry - input data

Arcing contacts geometry - input data

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Graphical representation of Nozzle(s) and contact(s) system geometry

Nozzle(s) and contact(s) system geometry Nozzle(s) and contact(s) system geometry
– before test – after test

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Input data – Chamber and Connections

There are four types of connections that can be chosen:

❑ Valve
❑ Nozzle
❑ Variable
❑ Constant.

Connection data – Type Constant

Connection data – Type Valve

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Input data – driving mechanism

Absorber – input data

Spring - input data

Mechanism – input data

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Mechanism geometry – input data EnergoBos ILJIN d.o.o. Sarajevo
Input data – electrical current

Electrical current

The arc model

❑ The arc model - simple integral arc model: modified Frost Lieberman’s enthalpy flow arc model, system of equations,
thermodynamic characteristics of plasma, arc voltage and arc diameter, input of data from experiments.

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Automatic calculations

❑ The program module for Automatic

calculation of opening operations
provides multiple calculations where one
input parameter varies in a defined range
with predefined number of steps.

❑ The program module for Test duty

calculation offers the possibility of
automatic calculation of test duty
operations or calculation of sequence of
operation tests during one shift in the
laboratory.

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HV CB Simulation results combined with other calculations (CFD, Electrical field
calculation...) - Breakdown voltage estimation procedure
HV CB Simulation
HV CB Simulation results
Circuit as initial conditions for
breaker
design CFD (p0, T0, ρ0)

CFD

E field calculation results (E) CFD Results (p, T, ρ)

Breakdown voltage
Ubd=f(E, ρ)

NO NO
Uapplied > U bd
BREAKDOWN
Electric field
calculation YES
Next project
14 phase
BREAKDOWN
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Breakdown withstand voltage estimation procedure

 CFD

 E field

Recovery voltage in time (capacitive current interruption):

Breakdown voltage in time:

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The travel measurement system and control module implemented in HV CB Simulation

❑ This form is used to prepare, initialize, activate and to control EB’s travel
measurement system and the test object.

❑ Loading, digital post-processing and filtering of raw measurement data is

also implemented. Additionally, information about specific travel-related
parameters are being calculated and displayed for each travel record.

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KEMA oscillogram viewer

❑ The form KEMA Oscillogram viewer allows the user to import experimental data from KEMA type tests in three different
frequency ranges (low, middle and high).
❑ After selecting one of these frequency ranges, available oscillograms in the chosen range are automatically detected in
the folder KEMA and are ready to be imported. This can be done by selecting the name from the Osc. number dropdown
combo box.
❑ The next step is to add channels from the chosen oscillogram that will be displayed on the Analysis form: Mode 4: KEMA
type-testing results.

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HV CB Simulation – User Manual, Technical Manual and Input Data Description

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Results

List of output diagrams:

013 - Arc voltage [V]

014 - Arc energy [J]

015 - Minimal flow cross-section

in main nozzle [mm2]

056 - Total nozzle ablation mass

in segment 1 [g]

108 - Temperature of SF6 gas in

heating chamber [K]

114 - Pressure of SF6 gas in

heating chamber [Pa]

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Results for O-CO-CO operating sequence

O O O
C
C

1st O 2nd O 3rd O

room temperature higher temperature
filling pressure

higher pressure

Time s

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Results & verification

Comparison (on load – three phase – 40 kA)

between experimental and calculated travel and speed
(puffer type)

Comparison (no load) between experimental and

calculated travel and speed (puffer type)

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Results & verification

Comparison between experimental and calculated pressure Pressure rise in thermal chamber, L90 test No 4,
(peak value) in thermal chamber experiment versus calculation

GCB 245 kV 40 kA, SLF tests

Max Max
Breaking Arc
Test No: pressure pressure
current, duration
Experiment Calculation
rms [kA] [ms]
[MPa] [MPa]
1. 31.9 11.6 - 3.952
2. 31.9 11.6 3.89 3.888
3. 32.3 10.6 3.98 3.694
4. 35.5 10.4 4.06 4.090

Total mass loss [g]

Calculation Mass loss of stationary and

moving contact [g]
Calculation
Shortening of stationary contact
length [mm]
Calculation

Measured

Measured

Measured
Comparison between experimental and calculated mass loss of
22 contacts and decreasing length of stationary contact
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Results & verification

Main nozzle cross section, calculation

and experiment, T100s phase C Calculated (vertical) and measured (horizontal)
mass loss of main nozzle

Calculated (vertical) and measured (horizontal) increase in

Calculated (vertical) and measured (horizontal) increase in main
auxiliary nozzle throat diameter
nozzle throat diameter

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Program results combined with other calculations
Prediction of thermal breakdown

Model verification
1. Computer simulation 2. Calculation of parameters 3. Composite black box
model

P1, t1
P, l, Mg P2. t2
P3, t3
Characteristic Parameters
quantities black box
model

5. Results of MatLAB simulation

4. MatLAB simulation and CZ measurement

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Source: “Correlation of Black Box and Integral Physical Arc Model Parameters for a Real SF6 Circuit-Breaker”,
Doctoral disertation, Almir Ahmethodžić, Faculty of electrical engeering Sarajevo EnergoBos ILJIN d.o.o. Sarajevo
Program results combined with other calculations
Prediction of thermal breakdown - puffer

Quantitatively :The accuracy of prediction of success of the interruption

18

90

Correct prediction in 18 out of 20 cases

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Source: “Correlation of Black Box and Integral Physical Arc Model Parameters for a Real SF6 Circuit-Breaker”,
Doctoral disertation, Almir Ahmethodžić, Faculty of electrical engeering Sarajevo EnergoBos ILJIN d.o.o. Sarajevo
Program results combined with other calculations
Prediction of thermal breakdown – self blast

No: Pol Test No. Struja [kA] t luka [ms] Ispitivanje/Simulacija

1 A 4021 36.1 13.8 R*
2 A 4022 36 14.9 R/I**
3 A 4029 36.4 16.6 I/I
4 A 4033 35.8 25.3 R/I
1 C 4003 36.2 15.2 I/I
2 C 4004 35.8 14.2 I/I
3 C 4005 36 23.1 I/I
4 C 4006 36 18.6 I/I
5 C 4008 36 18.4 I/I
6 C 4012 36 27.6 I/R
7 C 4013 36 18.2 R/R

8
2

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Conclusion

❑ General lack of knowledge and experts for arc modeling and the simulation of high voltage SF6 circuit breakers is
already evident.

❑ A team for arc modeling and the simulation of high voltage SF6 circuit breakers consisting of some dozen experts is
very expensive for any company in the world.

❑ The idea is to organize a team which will continuously work on arc modeling and the simulation of high voltage SF6
circuit breakers with the support of several companies interested in the project.

❑ The Team will treat fairly all companies and we do commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional codes.

❑ Our goal is a universal software to provide calculations and simulations of high voltage circuit breaker interruption for
different companies in the world,

and why not even for YOUR COMPANY?

All we need is:

kinematic chain data (coordinates, angles, lengths, masses and moments of inertia),
spring and absorber characteristics,
volumes of interrupter unit chambers and cross sections between them,
nozzle and arcing contact geometry ...

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