IEEEPESHoustonSection

AutoTransferSchemes
Presentedby:VincentW.WedelichP.E.MBA
May16,2013
Presentationwastakenfromthe
paperbelow.
 PresentationOutline
BusTransferConfigurations
AutomaticBusTransferSchemes
SpinDownCharacteristicsofaMotorBus
CriterionforSuccessfulTransfer
BusTransferMethods
 BusTransferConfigurations
Busconfigurationsvarywithrequirementsindifferentplants.

Themostwidelyusedthreeconfigurationswillbeexplainedin
thispresentation.

Theseconfigurationsareusedinthermalpowerplants,process
plantsandinnuclearpowerplants..
TypeIbusconfiguration
 TypeIbusconfiguration
Thistypeofconfigurationisalso
knownasMainMainbus
configuration.

Thistypeofconfigurationis
employedtoserviceasinglemotor
busfromtwodifferentsources.

Thenormalsource(NS)feedsthe
motorbusthroughthenormal
sourcebreaker(NSB),whilethe
alternatesource(AS)feedsthe
motorbusthroughthealternate
sourcebreaker(ASB).
 TypeIbusconfiguration
Startupandshutdownpowerisprovided
fromthealternatesourcewhenthemain
generatorisoffline.

Thestationserviceloadisconnectedtothe
alternatesourceduringtheseconditions.

Theloadsincludetheboilerfeedpumps,
forceddraftfans,induceddraftfans,cooling
waterpumpsetc.

Oncethegeneratorisconnectedtothe
system,thestationserviceloadsare
transferredtotheunitauxiliarytransformer
(UAT),whichisconnectedtothenormal
source.
 TypeIbusconfiguration
Whentheunitisshutdown,theloadspreviously
transferredtothenormalsourcemustbetransferredto
thealternatesource.

Thistransfercanbedoneeithermanuallyor
automatically.

Manualtransfersaredoneduringplannedstartupsand
shutdowns.

Theautomaticbustransferscheme(ABTS)ispreferred
becauseitkeepsthedeadtimeofthemotorstoa
minimum.

Deadtimeisthetimethemotorisindeenergized
condition.

Thistypeoftransferisalsoknownasstationtounit
transferinthermalpowerplants.
TypeIIbusconfiguration
 TypeIIbusconfiguration
Atypicalbusconfigurationusedinprocess
plantslikechemical,petroleum,papermills
andsteelrollingmillsareshowninthistype
ofbusconfigurationtherearetwosources,
S1andS2eachfeedingtotheirrespective
motorloads.

Thetwosourcesaretiedbymeansofatie
breaker(TB),whichisnormallyopen.
Source1isconnectedtoitsmotorload
throughastationtransformer(ST1)and
stationbreaker(SB1)andsimilarlySource2
isconnectedtoitsmotorloadthrougha
stationtransformer(ST2)andstation
breaker(SB2).
 TypeIIbusconfiguration
Dependingonthetiebreakerposition
differentoperatingscenarioispossible.

Thenormaloperationisperformedby
keepingthetiebreakeropenwhereeach
sourcefeedsitsrespectiveloads.

Underemergencycondition,whichmight
beduetoafaultintheST1orintheutility
incomer,theloadsaretransferredtothe
othersourcebyclosingthetiebreakerand
openingSB1andviceversa.
 TypeIIbusconfiguration
Inprocessplantsalso,bothmanualand
automatictransferschemesareperformed.

Manualtransferschemesareemployed
duringplannedstartupandshutdownof
theprocess.

Thebustransfercanbeaccomplishedin
eitherbreakthenmake(opentransition)or
makethenbreak(closedtransition)mode.
TypeIIIbusconfiguration
 TypeIIIbusconfiguration
Nuclearpowerplantsemployfourdifferent
busconfigurations.

Twoofthemostwidelyusedbus
configurationsinNorthAmericaare
explainedhere.

Therearetwotypesofloadsbeingserviced
innuclearpowerplants,theclass1Eloads
andthebalanceofplantloads.
 TypeIIIbusconfiguration
Theclass1Eloadsaretheloadsessential
forreactorshutdown,containment
isolation,reactorcorecoolingand
containmentheatremoval.

Therestoftheloadsarecalledthebalance
ofplantloads.

Dependingonhowtheseloadsarefed,the
busconfigurationchanges.
 TypeIIIbusconfiguration
Inthefirstconfiguration,boththeclass1E
andbalanceofplant(BOP)loadsare
normallyfedfromthemaingenerator
throughtheunitauxiliarytransformer
(UAT).

Whenthenormalpowerfails,theclass1E
loadsandtheBOPloadsaretransferredto
analternatesourceofpowerthrougha
stationstartuptransformer(SST).
 TypeIIIbusconfiguration
Intheothertypeofconfigurationthe
class1Eloadsarefedfroman
alternatesourceofpowerthrough
thestationservicetransformers
(SSTs)withaprovisiontotransfer
themtoyetanotheralternatesource
ofpowerincaseofemergencies.

TheBOPloadsarenormallyfed
throughmaingeneratorthroughthe
UAT.
 AutomaticBusTransferSchemes
Eachoftheaboveconfigurationsposesitsowncomplexitywhenthebusesareto
betransferredunderemergencyconditionstoanalternatesourceofpower.

Theimportantrequirementofanyautomaticbustransferschemeisthereliable
andfasterrecoveryofpowertotheloadskeepingthedeadtimeaslowas
possible.

Butthebustransferpracticesarecompoundedbytheuniquevoltagedecayand
phaseanglecharacteristicsassociatedwitheachmotorbus.

Thisisduetodifferentmotorsofvariousratingsandinertiaconstants,motors
fedfromstartersandfromdifferentgroundingpracticesemployed
 AutomaticBusTransferSchemes
Eachoftheaboveconfigurationsposesitsowncomplexitywhenthebusesareto
betransferredunderemergencyconditionstoanalternatesourceofpower.

Theimportantrequirementofanyautomaticbustransferschemeisthereliable
andfasterrecoveryofpowertotheloadskeepingthedeadtimeaslowas
possible.

Butthebustransferpracticesarecompoundedbytheuniquevoltagedecayand
phaseanglecharacteristicsassociatedwitheachmotorbus.

Thisisduetodifferentmotorsofvariousratingsandinertiaconstants,motors
fedfromstartersandfromdifferentgroundingpracticesemployed
SpinDownCharacteristicsofaMotorBus
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Onanauxiliarysystemtheloadsare
mainlyinductionmotors.

Whenaninductionmotoris
disconnectedfromthesourceaself
generatedvoltageknownasresidual
voltageappearsattheterminalsofthe
motor.

Threeimportantparameters,which
arecrucialfromabustransferpointof
view,arethe:

1. magnitudeoftheresidualvoltage,
2. decaytimeandthe
3. associatedphaseangleoftheresidual
voltage.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Themagnitudeoftheresidualvoltage
decaysduetothedecayofthetrapped
fluxesintheairgapoftheinduction
motor.

Thedecaytimeisgovernedbythe
rotoropencircuittimeconstant,which
canbeobtainedfromtheequivalent
circuitofaninductionmotor.

Basicallythemotorbecomesa
generatordueforabout5to8cycles.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Thephaseangleoftheresidualvoltage
changeswithrespecttothenominal
frequencyoftheincomingsource(50
Hzor60Hz).

Thephaseanglechangeisdictatedby
theinitialloadonthemotorandby
thecombinedinertiaofthemotorand
thedrivenload.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Inatypicalbussystem,theremaybe
severalmotorsofwidelydifferentratings.
Whenthebusisdisconnected;thelarge
motorswithhighinertialoadswillactas
inductiongeneratorssupplyingpowerto
smallmotors.

Thetotalbusvoltagewillhaveacomplex
averageresponsesuchthatthevoltagewill
decayfasterthanthevoltageofthelargest
individualmotorandslowerthanfora
singlesmallmotor.

Animportantchallengeistheestimationof
theopencircuittimeconstant(orthedecay
constant)ofthemotorbusterminalvoltage
forthecombinedmotors.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Themotorbus,whichcomprisesof
fivedifferentinductionmotorsof
differentratingsandloads,was
disconnectedatfiveseconds.

Thespindowncharacteristicsshow
thevoltagedecayandthephaseangle
slipwithrespecttothealternatebus.

Themotorbusvoltagecompletely
decaystozeroataround6second.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Thetypeoftransferdependsonthe
pointonthedecaycurvewherethe
motorbusistransferredtoan
alternatesourcepower.

Eachtypeofbustransferhasits
uniquemeritsanddemeritsand
presentsitsownlevelofcomplexity
whileimplementingit.

Asuccessfulimplementationofabus
transferschemedependsonthe
properanalysisofthespindown
characteristicsassociatedwitheach
plantfordifferentloadingconditions.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Whenthemotorbusisreclosedonto
analternatesourceofpoweritis
importanttostudythetransient
torquesanditsimpactonthemotors
duetoreacceleration.

Therotatingmassesofamotor/load
system,connectedbyelasticshafts,
constituteatorsionalresponsive
mechanicalsystemthatisexcitedby
thetransientmotortorqueproduced
duringreclosure.
 SpinDownCharacteristicsofa
MotorBus
Thistorquecontainscomponentsat
severalfrequencies,includingpower
systemfrequencyandslipfrequency.

Thiscanresultineitherattenuationor
amplificationoftorquesatthe
motor/loadshafts.

Itistherefore,recommendedthatthe
electromechanicalinteractionsofthe
motor,thedrivenequipment,andthe
powersystembestudiedforany
systemwherefasttransferorreclosure
isused.
 CriterionforSuccessfulTransfer
Asuccessfulbustransfershouldnotsubjectauxiliarysystemcomponentstoexcessive
dutyandshouldresultinsafeshutdownorcontinuedoperationoftheplant.

Themajorityoftheelectricdrivesusedinapowergeneratingstationaresquirrelcage
inductionmotors.Importanceshouldbeattachedtotheirperformanceduringbus
transfer.Twoparameters,whichshouldbeevaluated,aretheswitchingdutyand
reacceleration.
 CriterionforSuccessfulTransfer
Whentheauxiliaryloadsaretransferredfromthenormalsourcetothealternatesource,
alargecurrentsurgethroughtheSSTsresults.Carehastobeexercisedastonotto
subjectthestationservicetransformerinrushmorethanthemanufacturerspecifiedlimit.

Thefinalcriterionimportantinevaluatingtheperformanceofabustransferschemeis
theabilityoftheauxiliarysystemtomaintainorrestoreprocessrequirementscriticalfor
safeshutdownandisthemostdifficulttodefinequantitatively.Themostimportantstep
hereistheproperselectionoftheloadstotransfertothealternatebus.
 BusTransferMethods
Inthissectionabriefoverviewofthetypeoftransferschemes
availabletotransferauxiliaryloadsisprovided.

Bustransfersareofthefollowingtypes:
residualvoltagetransfer,
slowtransfer,
inphasetransfer,
paralleltransferand
fasttransfer.
 ResidualVoltageTransfer
Thevastmajorityofthebustransfersystemsinuseareoftheresidualvoltagetype.

Inthistypeoftransfer,theauxiliaryloadsaretransferredoncethemotorresidualvoltage
reachesavalue,lowenoughnottoharmthemotorsconnectedtothebus.

Typicallyresidualvoltagetransfersaredoneat25to30%oftheratedvoltage,irrespective
ofthephaseangleofthemotorbus.
 ResidualVoltageTransfer
Advantages

Relayandcontrolequipmenttoimplementthetransferschemeisrelatively
uncomplicatedwithanaccompanyinghighdependabilityofcorrectoperations.

Mostauxiliarysystemscanbesuccessfullytransferredusingaresidualvoltagetransfer
scheme.
 ResidualVoltageTransfer
Disadvantages

Residualvoltagetransferisessentiallyriskfree,butusuallysoslow,itinterruptsplant
operations.

Also,inmajorityofthecases,motorscannotbereacceleratedsimultaneouslyfollowing
suchatransferastheirspeedshavefallensolowthatinrushcurrentsapproachmotor
lockedrotorvaluesandstallingwouldoccurduetodepressedvoltage.

Asaresultmostresidualvoltagetransferschemesprovideforreacceleratingonlythose
drivesnecessaryforasafeshutdown.

Insomecases,criticaldrivesarerestartedinstaggeredblockssothatfullplantoperations
maynotbereestablishedfor1to5minutes,usuallyresultinginsevereplantupsets.

Thistypeofschemerequiressheddingofloadsconnectedtothemotorbus.
 Slowtransfer
Avariationofthisschemeisafixedtimedelaytransferinwhichanintentionaltimedelay
isusedinsteadofvoltagesupervision.

Thismethodisnotwidelyused.

Timetakenistoolongandcanseverelyupsetplantprocess.

Thismethodwillnotselfadjusttodifferentbusdecaycharacteristicscausedbydifferent
busloading.

Generallysomemotorloadsareshedtoreduceinrushcurrents.
 Inphasetransfer
Thebasicprinciplebehindthisschemeistoclosethealternatesourcebreakerwhenthe
busresidualvoltagephaseangleisinphasewiththephaseangleofthealternatesource
voltage.

Toachievethis,aphaseanglerelay,whichcanpredicttheinphaseconditioninadvance
ofalternatesourcebreakerclosingtime,isrequired.

Therelayfunctionssimilartoasynchronizerforsynchronizingamaingeneratortothe
systemandissometimesreferredtoasasynchronoustransfer.

InphasetransferminimizestheresultantV/Hzdifferencebetweenthebusvoltageand
thestartupsource.

Thisisincontrasttotheresidualvoltagetransfer,whichcanallowclosureevenat180
degrees.
 Inphasetransfer
Disadvantage

Thistypeoftransfercreatesseriousproblems,whenbustransferisinitiatedduringthe
time,themainsourcetransformerexperiencesafaultonitsside.

Momentaryparallelingunderthissituationleadstothealternatesourcefeedingtothe
faultresultingintheviolationoftheshorttimewithstandratingofthebuscomponents.

Inphasetransfercanbeusedsuccessfullyonsystems,whichexhibitaslowtomoderate
rateofchangeinphaseangle.
 Fasttransfer
Thebasicphilosophybehindfasttransferistotransfertheauxiliary
busasfastaspossiblekeepingthetimetheloadsdisconnected
fromeithersourceofpowertoaminimum.

Fastbustransferisoftwotypes;

Sequentialtransferand

Simultaneoustransfer.
 Sequentialfastbustransfer
Inthistypeoftransferaborearlybcontactofthemainsource
breakerisusedtoinitiateclosingoftheincomingsourcebreaker.

Thisapproachprovidesincreasedsecurity,sincethebushasbeen
disconnectedfromthenormalsourcepriortothealternatesource
breakerclosing.

Busdeadtimeof5to10cyclesisnormallyencounteredwiththis
typeoftransfer.
 Simultaneoustransfer
Insimultaneousbustransfer,boththemainandthealternate
sourcebreakersareinitiatedatthesametime.

Thislimitsthedeadtimetooneortwocycles

Busdeadtimeof5to10cyclesisnormallyencounteredwiththis
typeoftransfer.
 Simultaneoustransfer
Disadvantage
Failureofthemainsourcebreaker
toopenwillresultinparallelingthe
twosourcesandifoutofphasewill
resultinequipmentdamage.

Thistypeoftransferisnotpossible
whenthemainsourceislostdueto
anelectricalfaultorabnormal
condition.
 ModernHighSpeedBusTransfer
Scheme
Conventionallyanautomaticbustransferschemeisdevelopedusingelectromechanical
relaysandsolidstaterelayswithalotofhardwiresconnectedbetweenthemforelectrical
interlocks.

Anewmodernhighspeedbustransferschemehasbeenusedforsometime,nowusing
thelatestIEDs,intrasubstationcommunicationfacilitiesandbythedevelopmentofa
newalgorithm,whichcanestimatetheresidualvoltagedecayconstantofthemotorbus
forautomaticallypredictingthetypeofbustransferunderemergencyconditions.

Thealgorithmscanbetestedbysimulatingbustransfersofvariousconfigurations,using
anelectromagnetictransientprogram,EMTDC/PSCAD.
 AutomaticBusTransferSchemeusingIEDs
andPeertoPeerCommunications
Anautomaticbustransferschemerequiresalotoflogicalinterconnectionsandelectrical
interlocksbetweenvariousrelays,CBs,isolators,fusesetc.

Thebustransferschemehastodeterminethetypeofbustransfermethodonthese
logicalandelectricalinterconnections.

Thebustransferrelayhastocontinuouslymonitorcertainkeysystemelementsto
determinethesafeandsecurewaytoconductabustransfer
 AutomaticBusTransferSchemeusingIEDs
andPeertoPeerCommunications
Thefollowingaresomeofthekeyelements,whichneedtobetakenintoconsideration
foratypicalbustransferscheme;

Tripcircuitsupervisionofthealternatesourcebreakerandnormalsourcebreaker.

Alternatesourcebreakerandnormalsourcebreakerstatus(52aNSB,52bNSB,52aASB,
52bASB).

Fusefailuredetectionofthepotentialtransformersofalternatesourcebus,motorbus
andmainsourcebus.

AlternatesourceandMainsourceovercurrentdetection.

Healthofthevoltageandfrequencyofthealternatesource.
 AutomaticBusTransferSchemeusingIEDs
andPeertoPeerCommunications
Withconventionalrelayingtechnologyitmeansalotofhardwiring
betweenrelaysresultingintwotothreepanelstohaveabus
transferschemewithallcontrols.

WiththedevelopmentofmodernIEDs,whichcancommunicate
withotherIEDsthroughpeerpeercommunication,therealization
hasbeen:
reducedtolesswiring,
componentcostreduction,
increasedreliability
andtheevent
andoscillographicrecordingfacilityfortransferanalysis.
Typical panel arrangement for conventional bus transfer schemes
An automatic bus transfer scheme using modern IEDs and intra-substation communication.
 Questions
VincentW.WedelichP.E.MBA
Burns&McDonnell
HoustonTexas
vwedelich@burnsmcd.com