CESC Ltd.

Switchgear –
selection & maintenance

Sanjay Kar Chowdhury

Introduction
 What is Switchgear
 "Switch" means a device that energizes or de-
energizes an electrical equipment / circuit from an
electrical system.
 "Gear" means a device that couples or decouples a
mechanical load.
 "Switchgear" means a combination of equipment
that couples or decouples electrical load with power
network.
 Combination of equipment - Circuit Breaker +
(Isolating Contacts + CTs + PTs + Mechanism +
Busbars + Cable Termination Arrangement).
Requirements of Circuit Breaker
 Conducts rated current continuously.
 Opens & closes in shortest possible time.
 Withstands thermally & mechanically any short
circuit.
 Maintains the voltage difference between the
open contacts, when switched OFF.
 Does not create overvoltage during opening.
 Easy to maintain.
 Not very expensive.
Development of
Circuit Breakers
 Arc Quenching Medium
 The type of the Circuit Breaker is usually
identified according to the medium of arc
extinction. The classification of the Circuit
Breakers based on the medium of arc
extinction is as follows:
• (1) Air break Circuit Breaker.
• (2) Bulk Oil Circuit Breaker.
• (3) Minimum oil Circuit Breaker.
• (4) Air blast Circuit Breaker.
• (5) Vacuum Circuit Breaker.
• (6) Sulphur Hexafluoride Circuit Breaker.
 Mechanism
Closing & Tripping time reduction

1) Spring
a) Manually / Solenoid Operated
b) Motor / Spring Operated
c) Hydraulic Operated
2) Pneumatic
Development History
 Type Medium Voltage, Breaking Capacity

1 – Air break Circuit Air at atmospheric (430 – 600) V– (5-15)MVA

Breaker pressure (3.6-12) KV - 500 MVA

2 – Miniature CB. Air at atmospheric (430-600 ) V

pressure

3 – Bulk Oil CB. Dielectric oil (3.6 – 12) KV

4 – Minimum Oil CB. Dielectric oil (3.6 - 145 )KV

5 – Air Blast CB. Compressed Air 245 KV, 35000 MVA

(20 – 40 ) bar up to 1100 KV, 50000 MVA

6 – SF6 CB. SF6 Gas 12 KV, 1000 MVA

36 KV , 2000 MVA
145 KV, 7500 MVA
245 KV , 10000 MVA
7 – Vacuum CB. Vacuum 36 KV, 750 MVA

8 – H.V. DC CB. Vacuum , SF6 Gas 500 KV DC

Bulk Oil Circuit Breakers
 Application: Medium and High Voltage

 Principle: Self-blast, for small or often

forced flows.

 Function of Oil : (1) to provide

insulation, (2) to assist arc
interruption.
 Dead Tank Circuit Breaker

 Interrupters of
all 3 phases are
enclosed in an
oil filled tank
Arcing & Oil expansion inside BOCB
 Bulk Oil Circuit Breakers

 Advantages: Low noise emissions, robust,

low manufacturing requirements,
high thermal extinction capability (no
short-line fault problem)

 Disadvantages: Fire hazard, Limited

capacity for interruption, Frequent
maintenance required due to aging effect
Some BOCBs in CESC
Inside of a BOCB
 Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker
 After improvements were made in the technique
of ceramics, the function of oil as insulating
medium in the Bulk Oil Breakers was transferred
to the porcelain containers.

 In MOCBs oil has only one function namely to

assist arc interruption.

 Each phase has separate Insulated tank (Live

tank)
 Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker
 The arc is elongated vertically in the explosion
pot until the distance traveled is sufficient to
withstand the voltage between contacts.
 Oil vaporisation increases the internal pressure
causing rapid movement of oil & as a result
rapid cooling of ionised column.
 Rapid dielectric recovery prevents restriking of
arc after a natural current zero.
 Arc itself supplies the energy for its extinction.
To improve breaker performance, oil is
injected into the arc.
 Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker
 Advantages: Low oil volume (10% of
BOCB) so low fire hazard,
Reduced size of CB

 Disadvantages: Fire hazard cannot

be avoided, Limited interruption
capacity, high aging effect of oil
Some MOCBs in CESC
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker

 Each phase has separate vacuum interrupter with a vacuum

level of 10-8 Torr (1 Torr= 1 mm of Hg) (Live tank)

 During current interruption metal vapor arc generates and

flows through this plasma until the next current zero.

 After arc extinction, metal vapor condenses within

microseconds causing rapid build up of dielectric strength.
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker

 Self generated field causes the arc root to travel, thereby

preventing local overheating when large currents are being
interrupted.

 Arc voltage developed is low (20 to 200 V) due to high

conductivity of metal vapor plasma. So the arc energy
developed is very small & switching life is high.

 Pollution free because of hermetically sealed interrupters.

Diffused Arcing
Diffused Arcing
Diffused Arcing
Contracted Arc
Contracted Arc
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker

 Advantages: Each phase has

separate vacuum interrupter, No
fire Hazard, Light mechanism & less
wear & tear

 Disadvantages: Vacuum cannot be

monitored on line, Interrupters
cannot be repaired
Some VCBs in CESC
 SF6 Circuit Breaker
 SF6 is one of the most popular insulating
gases (next to air). It has a number of nice
properties:
 it's not flammable & non-toxic
 it's (moderately) inexpensive,
 it's a good insulator (electronegative gas);
breakdown strength of about 3 times that of air.
 At normal temperatures, it is non-corrosive, and
is fairly inert.
 Several characteristics of SF6 circuit
breakers can explain their success:

 Simplicity of the interrupting chamber which does

not need an auxiliary breaking chamber;

 Autonomy provided by the puffer technique;

 The possibility to obtain the highest performance,

up to 63 kA, with a reduced number of
interrupting chambers;
 High electrical endurance, allowing at least 25 years
of operation without reconditioning;

 Short break time of 2 to 2.5 cycles;

 Possible compact solutions when used for GIS or

hybrid switchgear;

 Reliability and availability;

 Low noise levels.

 SF6 Circuit Breaker

New types of SF6 breaking chambers, which

implement innovative interrupting principles,
have been developed over the past 25 years,
with the objective of reducing the operating
energy of the circuit-breaker.

One aim of this evolution was to further

increase the reliability by reducing the
dynamic forces in the pole.
 Modern Techniques of Arc
Quenching

 Puffer Technology
Animation

 Auto Puffer Technology

 Double Motion of Contacts Animation

 SF6 Puffer Circuit Breaker

 Puffer Action – Pressurisation to produce

sufficient flow by piston movement for arc
extinction
SF6 Puffer Circuit Breaker
 Auto Puffer Circuit Breaker
 The operation of the Auto puffer circuit breaker
relies on he pressurisation of gas by a combina-
tion of piston compression, nozzle blocking and
gas heating.

 The auto-puffer circuit breaker operates as

a pure puffer device when interrupting
currents up to 30% of the maximum rated
breaking capacity and as a self-blast
interrupter at higher levels.
Auto Puffer Circuit Breaker - Interrupter
Auto Puffer Circuit Breaker - Operation
Double Motion Circuit Breaker
Double Motion of Contacts
 SF6 Circuit Breaker

 Advantages: Each phase has

separate interrupter, No fire
Hazard, Gas pressure can be
monitored on line, Interrupters
can be repaired

 Disadvantages: Mechanism heavier

& higher wear & tear than vacuum,
Possibility of gas leakage.
Some SF6 CBs in CESC
Interrupter of ‘ABB’ make, 12 kV, 1250A, SF6 CB

(Open) (Close)
Condition Based Maintenance:
 STATUS MONITORING
Non-intrusive visual inspection of Assets

 CONDITION MONITORING
Non-intrusive health monitoring of Assets
using instruments

 PREVENTIVE MAINTENENCE
Intrusive routine maintenance of Assets