WhatciscacSwitchyard?

The switchyard is a junction connecting the Transmission & Distribution system to the power p ant.

WhatciscacSubstation?c
An e ectrica substation is a subsidiary station of an e ectricity generation, transmission and distribution system where vo tage is transformed from high to ow or the reverse using transformers.

WhatciscthecdifferencecbetweencSwitchyardcandc Substation?c
The function of substation is to stepping up or down thevo tages as per requirements. It receives e ectrica power via incoming transmission ines and de ivers e ectrica power via the outgoing transmission ines. The function of Switchyards is to de iver the generated power from power p ant at desired vo tage eve to the nearest grid.

 Parts/Eiementscofcacsubstationc
1. Incoming Lines. 2. Outgoing Lines. 3. Substation Equipments.
Ga vanized stee structures for towers, gantries and equipment support. Bus Bar Insu ators Lightning Arrestor Circuit Breaker Iso ator Earthing Switch Current Transformer Vo tage transformer Power transformer Shunt reactor/Capacitor Power Cab es Contro Cab es for protection and contro . Contro and Protection Pane . PLCC Equipments. LV AC switchgear. DC Battery and Charging Equipment.

4. Station Earthing Systems. 5. Station Lighting System. 6. Fire Fighting System. 7. Air Conditioning System.

GaivanizedcSteeicStructurec
Ga vanized Stee Structures are made of bo ted/we ded structures of ang es/channe s/pipes. These are genera y used for fo owing purposes :. Towers of incoming and outgoing transmission ines. Towers and beams for supporting strain insu ators and f exib e bus bars. Support Structure for mounting the substation equipment such as CT, CVT, LA etc., Lightning Mast. Support structure for Post insu ators which support the tubu ar rigid busbars.

Busbarcc

! Busbar is used to interconnect the oads and sourcesof e ectrica power. It connects theincoming and outgoingtransmission ines. It a so connectsgenerator and maintransformer in power p ant. ! Busbars are either f exib e or rigid. F exib e busbars are made of ACSR conductors and are supported by disc insu ator strings on both sides with the gantries. Rigid busbars are made up of A uminum tubes and are supported on post insu ators. ! AndaicSitec cc Maincbusc cJackcBusc

c c

RigidTypec(4"cdiacAictube)c FiexibiecTypec(ACSRcMoosecconductor).c

! The design of bus bar isdoneon the basis of the fo owing points The maximum amount ofcurrent to be carried. Short circuit forces E ectrica c earances ! Ratings of Bus bar The rating of Busbar is defined by the fo owing parameters Ratedc Currentc The rms va ue of current which the bus bar can carry continuous y with temperature rise within specified imit. RatedcVoitagec The rms va ue of vo tage between ines for which the bus bar is intended for. Standard va ue 6.6, 11, 33, 66, 132, 220, 400 and 765 kV. Ratedcfrequencyc 50Hz for Indian System. Ratedc Shortc timec Currentc It is defined as the rms va ue of the current which the bus bar can carry with temperature rise within specified imits for specified duration (usua y for 1 second). Ratedc Insuiationc Leveic The insu ation eve is characterized by Norma rated vo tage, Power-frequency withstand vo tage, Lightning impu se withstand vo tage and switching impu se vo tage.

! BusbarcLayoutc c SingiecBusbarcSystemc
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MaincandcTransfercBuscsystemc
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DoubiecMaincBusbarcsystemc
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DoubiecMaincandcTransfercBuscsystemc
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Onecandchaifcbreakercsystemc c AndaiSitec ccWechavecusedcOnecandcHaifcBreakercSystemc

OnecandcHaifcBreakercSystemc
c Meritsc Demerits Remarks 1. One and ha f breaker Used for 400kV and 1. F exib e Operation 2. Any Breaker can be per circuit; hence 220kV system. removed for higher cost. maintenance without 2. Protection and auto interruption of oad. rec osing more 3. Requires one and ha f comp ex since the tie breaker for each breaker must be circuit. responsive to both 4. Each Circuit fed by associated circuits. two breakers 5. A switching by breakers. 6. Se ective trippingc

 Insuiatorsc
! A the currentcarrying parts in a substation are supported on insu ators. The insu ators provide mechanica support to the conductors and are subject to norma operating vo tage and transient over vo tages. The insu ators shou dn't fai due to mechanica oad or over vo tages. The insu ators shou d have sufficient mechanica strength to withstand the maximum wind oading, ice oading, dead oad etc. and shou d not f ash over under any conditions of humidity, dirt, sa t contaminates etc., ! Materia used for Insu ators : Porce ain G ass ! TypescofcInsuiatorc c Discc insuiator - It is used for transmission ines and in substations for supporting f exib e ACSR conductors. Required no. of disc insu ator units are assemb ed together to form a string. Therefore these insu ators are a so ca ed 'string insu ators'. The number of units in a string is decided by rated vo tage, creepage requirements and insu ation eve s. For higher mechanica oads, doub e/trip e/quadrup e strings are used. The disc insu ators are used for two app ication : --- Suspension String. --- Tension String. c AndaiSitec c TensioncStringc-cDoubiecStringc(2cxc30cnos.)c SuspensioncString-cSingiecstringc(lcxc30cnos.)c

 Soiidc Corec Insuiatorc -c So id core insu ators have higher mechanica strength and are used for supporting iso ators, bus bar, circuit breaker etc., Hoiiowc Porceiainc - the ho ow porce ains are used for chambers of circuit breakers, CTs, CVTs, Bushings, Surge Arrestor. For oi fi ed and nitrogen fi ed porce ain housings, interna surfaces are provided with anti-tracking g azed surface ike externa g azing. For SF6 fi ed housing specia epoxy coating may be considered for interna surfaces.
Surge Arrestor/Lightning Arrestor The surge arrestors are connected between phase and earth on the incoming side of the transmission ine. They are a so connected between the transformer termina and earth. The function of surge arrester is to divert the ightning and switching overvo tage surges to earth without causing drop in residua vo tage. When the transient over vo tage disappears, the norma power frequency vo tage and the norma hea thy state is reached. A standard ightning impu se wave is 1/50 micro seconds and a standard switching impu se wave is of 250/2500 micro seconds. Surge Arresters have two different types 1. Conventiona Gapped Arrester having si icon-carbide resistor discs in series with the spark gaps. 2. Meta Oxide (ZnO) Arrester having zinc-oxide discs and no gaps. SurgecArrestercusedcatcAndaiSitec ObiumcmakecMETOVER,cMetaicOxidecgapiessctype.c IsoiatorcandcEarthcSwitchc Iso ators are disconnecting switches which are used for disconnecting of the circuit under no oad conditions, that is when no current is f owing through the circuit. An Iso ator can be opened on y after opening the circuit breaker. An Iso ator shou d be c osed before c osing the circuit breaker. Circuit Breaker can make or break e ectric circuit under norma and fau t condition. Iso ators p ay an important ro e in substation maintenance. They are insta ed in such a way that a part of substation circuit can be iso ated from other ive parts for the purpose of maintenance. Earthc Switchc is connected between the ine conductor and earth. Norma y it is open. When the ine is disconnected, the earthing switch is c osed so as to discharge the vo tage trapped on the ine.

Though the ine is disconnected, there is some vo tage on the ine to which the capacitance between ine and earth is charged. This vo tage is significant in high vo tage system. Before proceeding with the maintenance work the vo tage is discharged to earth, by c osing the earthing switch. NormaiiycthecearthingcswitchciscmountedconcthecframecofcancIsoiator.c c To prevent ma operation, the iso ator is provided with the fo owing inter ocks : InteriockingcwithcEarthcSwitchc InteriockingcwithcCircuitcBreaker.c c Iso ators cannot be opened un ess the circuit breaker is opened. Circuit breaker cannot be c osed un ess the iso ator is c osed. Simi ar y the iso ator cannot be c osed un ess the earth switch is opened. Iso ators can be of fo owing type : Vertica Break Type (pantograph iso ator). Horizonta Centre Break Type. Horizonta Doub e Break Type. IsoiatorscusedcatcAndaicSitec c cHorizontaicCentrecBreakcType.cc

Circuit Breaker Circuit Breakers are switching devices which open during fau t conditions and interrupt the short circuit currents automatica y within few mi iseconds. Basica y a circuit breaker comprises a set of fixed and movab e contacts. The contacts can be separated by means of an operating mechanism. The separation of current carrying contacts produces an arc. The arc is extinguished by a suitab e medium such as die ectric oi , vacuum and SF6 gas. The circuit breakers are c assified on the basis of the medium used for arc extinction : SF6 circuit breaker Air b ast circuit breaker Air Break circuit breaker Vacuum circuit breaker Minimum Oi circuit breaker Bu k Oi circuit breaker Miniature circuit breaker

SF6 Circuit Breakers are now used universa y for a EHV App ications. Advantages of using SF6Circuit breaker Are : Very short arcing time. Can interrupt much arger currents. Noise ess operation due to its c osed gas circuit. No moisture prob em.

No risk of fire since SF6 gas is non-inf ammab e. Low maintenance cost. No carbon deposits so that tracking and insu ation prob ems are e iminated.

CurrentcTransfornerc Current Transformers are used for reducing/stepping down ac current from higher va ue to ower va ue for measurement / protection / contro . The current transformer is used to measure the very high current passing through the bus. It step downs the current and measurements are taken in the contro room the ratings of CT is based on the ampere.These CTs are connected to the contro room through cab es. VoitagecTransformerc c Vo tage transformers are used for measurement and protection. The primary of of vo tage transformer is connected direct y to power circuit between phase and ground. There are three types of constructions : E ectromagnetic vo tage transformer. Capacitor Vo tage Transformer. Coup ing Capacitor Vo tage Transformer. CVT consists of the capacitor vo tage divider and E ectro Magnetic unit. The primary vo tage is app ied to a series capacitor group. The vo tage across one of the capacitor is taken to auxi iary vo tage transformer. The secondary of the auxi iary vo tage transformer is taken for measurement and protection.

Power and Contro Cab e The function of power cab es in the substation is to transfer power from auxi iary transformer to various auxi iary oads. The power cab es are used for various vo tage upto 11kV. The power cab es are aid on cab e racks. The cab e racks are supported in the cab e trenches. There are severa types of power cab es depending upon type of insu ation and configuration of conductors, shie d, insu ation ete.,

Contro cab es are used for protection circuits, communication circuits. They are genera y at ow vo tage such as 220V, 110V, 48V etc. Contro cab es are wired between the contro pane s in the contro room, and the various equipment in the switchyard. The various measurements, protection, contro communication functions are dependent on contro cab es Contro and Re ay Pane s Contro pane most y consists of meters and protective re ays. The meters inc ude ammeter, vo tmeter, wattmeter, energy meter etc. The re ays inc ude fuse fai ure re ay, auto rec ose re ay, check synchronizing re ay, auxi iary re ay and transformer re ays ike OLTC out of step, winding temperature a arm, oi temperature a arm.

The trip indicators inc uded are CB SF6 gas density ow, CB Oi pressure ow, VT fuse fai a arm, CB po e discrepancy trip, carrier signa received, back up protection, auto rec ose ock out, contro DC supp y fai s, distance protection inoperative, carrier out of service, distance protection trip etc.

Auxi iary Supp y and Battery System The auxi iary ac system in a substation supp ies to various e ectrica auxi iaries ike ighting system, pumped motors, compressor motors, workshop and other e ectrica oads. Auxi iary system is at two or three ac vo tages such as 415V, 6.6kV, 11kV. The auxi iary ac system comprises the fo owing : Auxi iary step down transformer High vo tage switchgear LV switchgear Power Cab es Auxi iary Distribution Board. The ow vo tage dc source is essentia in a substation for the fo owing purposes : The protective re aying, re ays and trip circuit Remote position contro Remote indication Signa ing Operation of some of the operating mechanism of circuit breakers. Te e metering and communications Inter- ocking of equipments Emeregency Lighting system The dc for the above purposes is usua y supp ied at 220V, 110V, 48V. The dc power genera y obtained from ead-acid or Nicke -cadmium storage battery and rectifiers. A the dc distribution systems are genera y designed with doub e redundancy to ensure avai abi ity and maintainabi ity. Each battery system inc udes two separate battery banks with chargers. The capacity of battery system is specified in terms of ampere-hours. It is ampere hours which can be obtained from the charged batteries before reaching minimum vo tage. Batteryc Roomc The storage batteries are insta ed in a specia room. The battery room shou d have adequate venti ation and ighting. The f oors and wa s shou d have acid resistance ti es. The battery ce s are p aced on racks.

Protection,cControicandcAutomationcincSubstationc The fo contro owing functions of protection, contro , monitoring and operation are performed by the devices in the room automatica y or semi-automatica y : Contro Monitoring Protection SCADA

The re ay and contro pane s are ocated main y in the contro room of the substation bui ding from where it is possib e to supervise and monitor the substation. The contro room is ocated at one end of the substation area. Protective system in a substation comprises the fo owings : Protection of high vo tage incoming and outgoing ines Protection of bus bars. Protection of Power Transformers. The protective re ays are mounted on the protection panes housed in the contro room. The protective re ay coi s or measuring circuits are connected to the secondary circuits of current transformers and vo tage transformers in the main switchyard. The contro cab es run between the contro room and the switchyard. The abnorma conditions such as short circuits in the protected zone resu ts in increase in current in the primary circuit of the CT. Thereby the secondary current a so increases and the actuating current of the re ay increases. If the actuating current is above thresho d va ue, the re ay acts and trips the circuit breaker.

The primary contro in substation is of two categories : Norma routine operation by operators command Automatic operation by action of protective re ays and contro system. The tasks of contro system in a substation inc ude data co ection, event reporting and recording, vo tage contro , power contro , frequency contro etc. The tasks of protective system inc ude sensing abnorma condition, annunciation of abnorma condition , a arm, automatic tripping, back up protection, protective signa ing etc. The two systems work in c ose co-operation. PLCC Each end of the transmission ine is provided with identica carrier current equipment. Carrier current in the frequency range of 30 to 500 kHz are used for the communication between the two substations connected by transmission ines. Power ine carrier equipment is used for the fo owing app ications Carrier communication Carrier Protective Re aying.

SubstationcEquipmentsc A circuit breaker is an automatica y- operated e ectrica switch designed to protect an e ectrica circuit from damage caused by over oad or short circuit. Its function is to interrupt continuity, to immediate y discontinue e ectrica f ow. In 400/220KV substation there is SF6 circuit breaker system The SF6 is an e ectro-negative gas and has a strong tendency to absorb free e ectrons. The contacts of the breaker are opened in a high pressure f ow of SF6 gas and an arc is struck between them. The conducting free e ectrons in the arc are rapid y captured by the gas to form re ative y immobi e negative ions.

Transmissioncsubstationc
A transmission substation connects two or more transmission ines. The simp est case is where a transmission ines have the same vo tage. In such cases, the substation contains high-vo tage switches that a ow ines to be connected or iso ated for maintenance. A transmission station may have transformers to convert between two transmission vo tages, or equipment such as phase ang e regu ators to contro power f ow between two adjacent power systems. Transmission substations can range from simp e to comp ex. A sma "switching station" may be itt e more than a bus p us some circuit breakers. The argest transmission substations can cover a arge area (severa acres/hectares) with mu tip e vo tage eve s, and a arge amount of protection and contro equipment (capacitors, re ays, switches, breakers, vo tage and current transformers). [edit] Distribution substation

A distribution substation in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada disguised as a house, comp ete with a driveway, front wa k and a mown awn and shrubs in the front yard. A warning notice can be c ear y seen on the "front door". A distribution substation transfers power from the transmission system to the distribution system of an area. It is uneconomica to direct y connect e ectricity consumers to the high-vo tage main transmission network, un ess they use arge amounts of energy; so the distribution station reduces vo tage to a va ue suitab e for oca distribution. The input for a distribution substation is typica y at east two transmission or subtransmission ines. Input vo tage may be, for examp e, 115 kV, or whatever is common in the area. The output is a number of feeders. Distribution vo tages are typica y medium vo tage, between 2.4 and 33 kV depending on the size of the area served and the practices of the oca uti ity. The feeders wi then run overhead, a ong streets (or under streets, in a city) and eventua y power the distribution transformers at or near the customer premises. Besides changing the vo tage, the job of the distribution substation is to iso ate fau ts in either the transmission or distribution systems. Distribution substations may a so be the points of vo tage regu ation, a though on ong distribution circuits (severa km/mi es), vo tage regu ation equipment may a so be insta ed a ong the ine. Comp icated distribution substations can be found in the downtown areas of arge cities, with high-vo tage switching, and switching and backup systems on the ow-vo tage side. More typica distribution substations have a switch, one transformer, and minima faci ities on the ow-vo tage side. [edit] Co ector substation

In distributed generation projects such as a wind farm, a co ector substation may be required. It somewhat resemb es a distribution substation a though power f ow is in the opposite direction, from many wind turbines up into the transmission grid. Usua y for economy of construction the co ector system operates around 35 kV, and the co ector substation steps up vo tage to a transmission vo tage for the grid. The co ector substation a so provides power factor correction, metering and contro of the wind farm. [edit] Design The main issues facing a power engineer are re iabi ity and cost. A good design attempts to strike a ba ance between these two, to achieve sufficient re iabi ity without excessive cost. The design shou d a so a ow easy expansion of the station, if required. Se ection of the ocation of a substation must consider many factors. Sufficient and area is required for insta ation of equipment with necessary c earances for e ectrica safety, and for access to maintain arge apparatus such as transformers. Where and is cost y, such as in urban areas, gas insu ated switchgear may save money overa . The site must have room for expansion due to oad growth or p anned transmission additions. Environmenta effects of the substation must be considered, such as drainage, noise and road traffic effects. Grounding (earthing) and ground potentia rise must be ca cu ated to protect passers-by during a short-circuit in the transmission system. And of course, the substation site must be reasonab y centra to the distribution area to be served. [edit] Layout

TottenhamSubstation, set in wi d park and in North London The first step in p anning a substation ayout is the preparation of a one- ine diagram which shows in simp ified form the switching and protection arrangement required, as we as the incoming supp y ines and outgoing feeders or transmission ines. It is a usua practice by many e ectrica uti ities to prepare one- ine diagrams with principa e ements ( ines, switches, circuit breakers, transformers) arranged on the page simi ar y to the way the apparatus wou d be aid out in the actua station. Incoming ines wi a most a ways have a disconnect switch and a circuit breaker. In some cases, the ines wi not have both; with either a switch or a circuit breaker being a that is considered necessary. A disconnect switch is used to provide iso ation, since it cannot interrupt oad current. A circuit breaker is used as a protection device to interrupt fau t currents automatica y, and may be used to switch oads on and off. Where a arge fau t current f ows through the circuit breaker this may be detected through the use of current transformers. The magnitude of the current transformer outputs may be used to 'trip' the circuit breaker resu ting in a disconnection of the oad supp ied by the circuit break from the feeding point. This seeks to iso ate the fau t point from the rest of the system, and a ow the rest of the system to continue operating with minima impact. Both switches and circuit breakers may be operated oca y (within the substation) or remote y from a supervisory contro center.

Once past the switching components, the ines of a given vo tage connect to one or more buses. These are sets of bus bars, usua y in mu tip es of three, since three-phase e ectrica power distribution is arge y universa around the wor d. The arrangement of switches, circuit breakers and buses used affects the cost and re iabi ity of the substation. For important substations a ring bus, doub e bus or so-ca ed "breaker and a ha f" setup can be used, so that the fai ure of any one circuit breaker does not interrupt power to branch circuits for more than a brief time, and so that parts of the substation may be de-energized for maintenance and repairs. Substations feeding on y a sing e industria oad may have minima switching provisions, especia y for sma insta ations. Once having estab ished buses for the various vo tage eve s, transformers may be connected between the vo tage eve s. These wi again have a circuit breaker, much ike transmission ines, in case a transformer has a fau t (common y ca ed a 'short circuit'). A ong with this, a substation a ways has contro circuitry needed to command the various breakers to open in case of the fai ure of some component. [edit] Switching function An important function performed by a substation is switching, which is the connecting and disconnecting of transmission ines or other components to and from the system. Switching events may be "p anned" or "unp anned". A transmission ine or other component may need to be deenergized for maintenance or for new construction; for examp e, adding or removing a transmission ine or a transformer. To maintain re iabi ity of supp y, no company ever brings down its who e system for maintenance. A work to be performed, from routine testing to adding entire y new substations, must be done whi e keeping the who e system running. Perhaps more important y, a fau t may deve op in a transmission ine or any other component. Some examp es of this: a ine is hit by ightning and deve ops an arc, or a tower is b own down by a high wind. The function of the substation is to iso ate the fau ted portion of the system in the shortest possib e time. There are two main reasons: a fau t tends to cause equipment damage; and it tends to destabi ize the who e system. For examp e, a transmission ine eft in a fau ted condition wi eventua y burn down, and simi ar y, a transformer eft in a fau ted condition wi eventua y b ow up. Whi e these are happening, the power drain makes the system more unstab e. Disconnecting the fau ted component, quick y, tends to minimize both of these prob ems. [edit] Rai ways E ectrified rai ways a so use substations which may a so inc ude rectifier equipment to change a ternating current from the uti ity power distribution network to direct current for use by traction motors.