2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN POWER SYSTEMS MPS 2008, 12-14 NOVEMBER 2008, CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA

Improvement of the Medium and High Voltage Circuit Breaker Maintenance Process by Means of the Off-Line Diagnosis Techniques
Irina Racovitan #1, I. Ionescu #2
#

SC ICEMENERG SA Bucharest, Romania

iracovita@icemenerg.ro

AbstractThe paper presents the Diacom installation utilized for the off-line diagnosis of the medium and high voltage breakers. The off-line diagnosis methods and a case study consisting of the diagrams obtained during the tests on two breaker types and the respective comments are presented

I. INTRODUCTION During the high voltage substation retrofitting the primary switching equipment has been replaced by highly efficient equipment, most of them manufactured abroad. The switching device manufacturing companies do not provide information on the test methods, the utilized installations and the recorded values for each device, the characteristics provided being general and only for orientation. The principles of reliability-based maintenance, that are under implementation in the National Power System (NPS), require that the verification/repair works should be performed in relationship with the modification of the main characteristics of the equipment, the time from the last check, importance of the equipment in its mounting place, importance of the substation within the NPS. Drawing the depreciation curves of the functional characteristics of the switching equipment can performed by means of the continuous supervision methods (on-line monitoring), diagnosis methods at pre-established terms (offline methods) or extreme interventions (failure, breakdown of the ancillary equipment, short-circuit tripping (disconnection) surpassing the guaranteed number. In order to assess the level of the equipment wear at a certain moment it is necessary to record some initial data according to a unitary (consistent) methodology. This reference represents the initial fingerprint of the equipment condition. II. OFF-LINE DIAGNOSIS METHODS The off-line circuit-breaker diagnosis concept represents a compromise solution between costs and availability indicating the best ratio costs/usage or costs/checked parameter. The transducers utilized for the off-line determinations are common ones and the installation is conceived as a four-pole system, as a black bottle system. The correlation between the input and output quantities is performed by means of a specialized software with analog-digital conversion and realtime acquisition.

In comparison with on-line diagnosis, the measurements are performed with the equipment taken out of operation, but the test time of a cycle does not surpass 3 hours for a 400kV three phase unit. The methodology utilized for operating the off-line diagnosis installation consists in applying three methods enabling the assessment of the breaker wear level from the electric and mechanical points of view, as well as of its driving (operating) mechanism. The contact resistance method is probably the most frequently utilized method for assessing the current carrying capability of switching equipment. Based on the electric resistance analysis the equipment condition can be assessed in relationship with: The value of the electric resistance of the main current path (resistance is evaluated as a mean of the electric resistance for a certain time interval, for example 0,1 s, in a stabilized resistance area); The duration of the electric discontinuities ; The duration of the arcing contact determined through the simultaneous recording of the moving contact travel. The method of kinematic characteristics is based on the determination of the moving contact travel during simple operations, or operation cycles. By numerical derivation of the travel the velocity, acceleration, respectively, of the moving contact, is determined. The characteristics of the travel contain important that information on the way the travel is performed from the mechanical point of view. An attentive analysis provides information on the quality of the operating mechanism lubrication, the available driving energy, quality of the system damping, etc. The simultaneous recording of the travel with other parameters enables the correct identification of the events place, providing useful information on: own operating times, duration of the arc contact, the travel in contact, etc. An important parameter is the moving contact velocity. Usually, the velocity of the moving contact when touching, separating, respectively, the contacts, is of interest. Fig. 3 presents some typical examples of characteristics obtained in the case of systems with abnormal operation. The significance of the symbols in Fig. 3 is the following:

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2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN POWER SYSTEMS MPS 2008, 12-14 NOVEMBER 2008, CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA

Release mechanism delay due to poorly lubricated release latches ; Low speed due to reduced energy in the operating mechanism; Poor damping due to, for example, a defective dash pot; Too low insulation distance due to, for example, incorrect assembly.

By correctly interpreting such an oscillogram the values of the contact resistance (dynamic), duration of electric discontinuities, duration of the arcing contact values can be determined. B. Kinematic Tests 1) The position of the main contacts : The position of the main contacts is important for determining the total travel and the contact travel, the distance between the arcing contact and the steady-state contact being determined for a type of equipment. By establishing and adjusting the position of the main contacts the heating of the contact area is eliminated, and in open position ensures the necessary insulation space at the set recovery voltage. 2) The operation characteristics : The form of the operation characteristics is crucial in assessing the condition of the breaker. The presence of vibrations at closing can generate a pre-arcing current that wears the contacts and generates great overvoltages. The opening speed directly influences the duration of arcing and the increased acceleration when the contacts separate (generating supplementary Lorentz force) help in breaking the low current electric arc. Consequently, determination of acceleration, velocity and vibration during opening and closing are characteristics that should be evaluated in a diagnosis activity. C. Measurement of Switching Times and Lacks of Synchronism Measurement of the switching duration and of the currents absorbed by the coils of the driving mechanism are very important for evaluating the wear of the moving elements, wear that increases the arcing duration requiring supplementary measurements of the contact wear. The operation times are determined as the time that passes since the occurrence of current through the trip coil and the moment the contact touch/separate. The moment the contacts touch/separate can be estimated from the oscillogram obtained by means of the contact resistance method, and the occurrence of current through the trip coil can be determined by means of an oscillogram similar to that in Fig. 5. The lack of synchronism will be determined as the lack of synchronism between the switching times of the 3 phases. D. Measurement of the Currents through the Trip Coils The current through the trip coils will be determined by means of an oscillogram similar to that in Fig. 5. These quantities can be used for analyzing the level of the equipment driving system wear.

Fig. 3. Examples of normal (cn) and abnormal travels at an opening operation

The method of the operating times and lack of synchronism is based on the determination of the operating times, as well as on the phase or chamber lack of synchronism during simple operati Level-1 Heading: ons, such as closing, and opening, respectively. In the electric circuit of the equipment a 1 12 V c.c. voltage is injected and the voltage drops on phases or chambers of the same phase are simultaneously recorded. In order to determine the operating times the supplementary recording of the current through the trip coil is necessary. The operating times are determined as the time between the occurrence of current through the trip coils and the contact touching/separation. III. TESTS PERFORMED BY MEANS OF THE OFF-LINE METHOD The tests and measurements carried out by means of the off-line method for the high voltage breaker diagnosis are: Resistance measurement in dynamic regime ; Kinematic tests Measurement of times and lacks of synchronism ; Measurement of vibrations in operation. A. Measurement of Contact Resistance in Steady-State Operation and of Contact Arcing Resistance (Dynamic Resistance) This method requires the measurement by a high current source (500-800 A) at low voltage, during an entire ClosingOpening cycle. The measurement is carried out by means of an automatic installation. Fig. 4 presents an example of oscillogram obtained during an opening/closing operation of a medium voltage circuit breaker:

Fig. 4. Oscillogram obtained by means of the contact resistance method

Fig. 5: Oscillogram utilized for determining the moment of current occurrence through the trip coils

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2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN POWER SYSTEMS MPS 2008, 12-14 NOVEMBER 2008, CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA

IV. DIACOM DIAGNOSIS INSTALLATION ICEMENERG Bucharest (the High Power Lab Team) has developed an installation for the off-line diagnosis of the medium and high voltage switching equipment at the manufacturers and in operation within the power system, for establishing the equipment performances and the right time for applying the maintenance program. The installation that was used for: Recording the current and the voltage drop in the main current path; the current through the trip coil; the moving contact travel; Determining, in operating conditions, the electric resistance of the main current path and the speed of the moving contact; Determining the own operation times and the lacks of synchronism at connection and disconnection ; Description and operation principle: The diagnosis installation is a portable type one, designed for the off-line diagnosis of the high voltage breakers through contact resistance methods and kinematic characteristics. It comprises two main modules: The acquisition and transmission control module (execution); Control module. Fig. 6 presents the block diagram of the installation where: 1- Control module; 2- Execution module; 3- Acquisition module; 4- Travel transducer; 5- Accumulator , 12V/88Ah; Sh5 Shunt for the current passing through the trip coil In=10A; Sh700 Shunt for the current through the main circuit: In=1000A; RBI Relay switching/controlling the closing coil; RBD Relay controlling the opening coil; RCP Relay controlling the main circuit contactor; CP Main circuit contactor; MIz Galvanic insulator module; SAIz- Power supply of the galvanic insulator module; PB Terminal box. The installation includes linear and rotation travel transducers, travel transducer fixing devices, and power, measurement and control cables.
2 Icp Ib TRG IIT IIT 12 Vcc 88Ah + +12V RBD RCP CP -12V +BD +BI +S LD1 LI LD 2 KD1 KI KD 2 BP 4 3 PB 1 MIz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SA Iz SA NB 5 CALCULATOR

The installation is connected in parallel to the operative control circuit of the breaker. The type of operation to be carried out is selected by means of the control module. The program corresponding to the diagnosis method to be used is launched and the data for the acquisition initialization are entered (the acquisition rate, number of samples, order of acquisition channels), as well as for defining the test characteristics (type of operation, phase, pole, quenching chamber). By operating the main button of the control module the voltage signals are simultaneously sent to: The contactor relay of the main current path circuit; For initiating data acquisition. A voltage signal for operating the relay from the closing/opening coil circuit is sent with a delay depending on the type of operation that is to be performed. While the breaker is carrying out the selected type of operation, the data corresponding to the electric signals applied to the input of the channels specified during the acquisition program setting stage are acquired. The analog signals from the travel, voltage and current transducers are connected to an amplifier module with galvanic insulation in order to eliminate the electromagnetic disturbances characteristic of the high voltage substations. From the amplifier module with galvanic insulation the electric signals are sent to the input into the digital acquisition board and then into the computer for digital processing and storage in files whose names indicate the test characteristics. V. DIAGNOSIS TESTS By means of the Diacom installation more than 2000 tests on medium and high voltage breakers have been performed, and a database representing the main source of information for optimizing the maintenance of this equipment has been developed. For exemplification we will present the tests performed on one type of breakers and the corresponding interpretations. A. H 14 P Type Breaker

Variation of contact resistance (dynamic) with time. Diagram used for the determination of the contact resistance under steady-state conditions

Sh 5

Sh 700

RBI

Fig. 6. Block diagram of the installation for breaker diagnosis

Variation of the currents through the driving coil with time. Diagram used for determining the value of the currents

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2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN POWER SYSTEMS MPS 2008, 12-14 NOVEMBER 2008, CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA

Variation of the moving contact with time Variation of the moving contact travel during opening (tripping) with time

Variation of the moving contact speed with time during tripping Variation of the contact resistance (dynamic) with time. Diagram utilized for determining the resistance of the arcing contacts and of the closing time

Variation of current through the trip coil with time. Diagram utilized for determining the tripping time. Variation of the moving contact travels with time at closing

The more detailed presentation of the contact separation zone pointed out (along the travel curve) the contact oscillations. It was recommended to check the support and the breaker fixing on the support.

Variation of the moving contact with time at closing

Variation of current through the closing coil with time. Diagram utilized for determining the closing time

VI. CONCLUSION Maintenance can be efficiently scheduled and cost less if the actual status of the investigated equipment is known ; The installation developed by SC Filiala ICEMENERG SA can detect both the nonconformity in operation of the switching equipment, and the causes that have generated them; Initial and cyclic usage (fingerprint) of the off-line diagnosis installation enables the replacement of the scheduled maintenance with predictive maintenance greatly influencing the maintenance and taking out of operation costs of the monitored switching equipment. REFERENCES
[1] C. Baudart, W. J. Bergman, J. Cobett, s.a., User guide for the application of monitoring and diagnostic techniques for switching equipament, CIGRE 2002.

Variation of the contact resistance (dynamic) with time. Diagram utilized for determining the duration of vibrations and the opening time

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