Second International Symposium on Standards

For
Ultra High Voltage Transmission
Paper X.Y
Standardization Aspects of UHV Networks

Denis Dufournet
Areva T&D
France

SUMMARY

Following a recommendation made by IEC Sector Board 1 in February 2006; the IEC Standardization
Board has requested the relevant Technical Committees in IEC to produce or revise their standards for
UHV transmission. During a first Symposium on UHV organized in Beijing in July 2007, it was
concluded that the technology is mature enough so that standardization can be done urgently to
coincide with starting projects in China and India. This was confirmed the following year, in January
2008, during a workshop on UHV that was organized in New Delhi by the Powergrid Corporation of
India.
In order to prepare the revision of its standards for switchgear, IEC TC17 asked CIGRE Study
Committee A3 to provide by the end of 2008 the technical requirements for switchgear with rated
voltages exceeding 800 kV. In parallel, IEC TC8 and TC28 have defined respectively the rated
voltages and insulations levels for UHV.
The work done by CIGRE WG A3-22 have shown that the technical requirements for UHV
switchgear in a.c. networks will not be simply an extrapolation of those already defined in IEC
standards for rated voltages up to 800 kV. For example, differences in requirements will have to be
introduced in the standard for circuit breakers. They are due to the particular characteristics of UHV
systems: large power generators, large capacity power transformers that contribute greatly to the short-
circuit current in substations, multi-bundle conductors of such dimensions that bundle contraction
cannot occur before fault current interruption. As a consequence, several standard values will differ
from those used for lower rated voltages. In particular for circuit breakers: it is the case for the d.c.
component of short-circuit current during asymmetrical current interruption, the first-pole-to-clear
factor for single-phase testing, the line characteristics specified for short-line-fault interruption.

denis.dufournet@areva-td.com
IEC SC17A (High-Voltage Switchgear and Controlgear) and SC17C (Assemblies of High-Voltage
Switchgear and Controlgear) will start the revision of their standards for UHV beginning of 2009. Five
standards under the responsibility of SC17A will be revised: IEC 62271-1 (Common specifications),
IEC 62271-100 (Circuit-breakers), IEC 62271-101 (Synthetic testing), IEC 62271-102 (A.C.
Disconnectors and earthing switches) and IEC 62271-110 (Inductive load switching). In addition it
will be necessary to standardize requirements for high-speed grounding switches and to update the
Application Guide for IEC 62271-100 and IEC 62271-1. It will represent a significant amount of work
that will be done by seven maintenance teams (MT) or working groups (WG), with the objective of
having the revised documents before end of 2012. In order to do a fast and efficient work, the present
memberships of MT’s or WG’s in SC17A should be completed by additional experts from countries
having UHV projects or experience.

KEYWORDS

UHV – IEC – Standardization – Switchgear – Circuit Breaker

2
Introduction
Following a recommendation made by IEC Sector Board 1 in February 2006; the IEC Standardization
Board has requested the relevant Technical Committees in IEC to produce or revise their standards for
UHV transmission. This decision was made after a Symposium was organized in Beijing in July 2007
by IEC, CIGRE and State Grid Company of China. During this Symposium, it was concluded that the
technology is mature enough so that standardization can be done urgently to coincide with starting
projects in China and India. This was confirmed the following year, in January 2008, during a
workshop on UHV that was organized in New Delhi by Powergrid Corporation of India.
IEC TC17 asked CIGRE Study Committee A3 to provide the technical requirements for switchgear
with rated voltages exceeding 800 kV. The CIGRE Working Group A3-22 provided the technical
information at the end of 2008. IEC SC17A (high-voltage switchgear and controlgear) and SC17C
(assemblies of high-voltage switchgear and controlgear) will start the revision of their standards for
UHV beginning of 2009.
The progress made in CIGRE working group A3-22 is presented in this document as well as the
proposal for the standardization of TRVs for circuit breakers in UHV networks.

1- CIGRE WG A3-22 : Technical requirements for substation equipment

WG A3.22 was set up in October 2006 to review the present state-of-the-art of technical specifications
for substation equipment: switchgear and controlgear, power transformer, VT/CT, and MOSA in
relation with switching phenomena.
A first Technical Brochure covers state-of-art specifications of substation equipment exceeding
800 kV, including field experience of various projects [1].

A second Technical Brochure will summarize all technical specifications of substation equipment, in
particular: insulation levels, TRV for various duties (terminal faults, short-line-faults, capacitive
current interruptions, out-of-phase), effect of MOSA on TRV, secondary arc extinction scheme,
technical requirements for disconnectors and earthing switches, specifications of MOSA, technical
comparisons of VTs and CTs.

The main findings of CIGRE A3-22 for UHV circuit-breakers are summarized here-after.

TRV for terminal fault test duties

The representation of TRVs will be as presently in IEC 62271-100 for rated voltages higher than
100 kV and up to and including 800 kV i.e. with 2 parameters for test duties T10 and T30
(respectively with 10 % and 30 % of rated short-circuit breaking current) and 4 parameters for test
duties T60 and T100 (respectively with 60 % and 100 % of rated short-circuit breaking current) [2].
The first-pole-to-clear factor is given by equation (1):
3
k pp = (1)
X
2+ 1
X0
where X0 and X1 are respectively the zero-sequence reactance and the positive-sequence of the system
In the case of UHV transmission systems, the ratio X1/X0 is largely influenced by the characteristics of
large power transformers for which the ratio X1/X0 is equal to or larger than 0.5. As a consequence, for
terminal fault test duty T100, a first-pole-to-clear factor less than 1.2 is normally sufficient.
High TRV peaks can be obtained during long line faults with relatively low short-circuit currents.
They can be covered by specifying a test duty T10 with an amplitude factor of 1.76, as done in the
present IEC 62271-100.

3
Characteristics for short-line faults
The critical parameters for SLF interruption, by SF6 circuit-breakers, are the time derivative of current
(di/dt) at the instant of interruption and the rate-of-rise-of recovery-voltage (RRRV). The RRRV of the
line side contribution to TRV is given by:
di
RRRV = Z × (2)
dt
where Z is the line surge impedance
Up to now, the standardized value of the surge impedance is 450 Ώ in IEC and IEEE standards. The
surge impedance value, considered to be valid for all rated voltages, is based on the assumption that
bundle contraction is possible before the instant of current interruption. In the case of ultra-high
voltage systems, bundle contraction cannot actually happen in less than 3 cycles due to the large cross
section and the heavy weight of conductors. It follows that a value of 330 Ώ could be adopted for the
line surge impedance. This value would be then close to the surge impedance of a bus in AIS or HIS
substations. As a consequence of this choice, it could be necessary to perform terminal fault test duty
T100 with ITRV, for non-GIS applications, even if SLF tests are performed.

DC component and network time constant

According to edition 2.0 of IEC 62271-100, it is possible to compare asymmetrical current breaking
capabilities (test duty T100a) with different time constants of networks if the duration and the peak
value of the major loop of current to be interrupted do not differ by more than 10%. Table 1 shows
that the loop duration and peak value of asymmetrical currents with time constants of 100 ms and
150 ms do not differ significantly from the values obtained with a time constant of 120 ms.

Network time Loop duration* Peak value* Peak x duration

constant

(ms) (ms) relative (p.u.) relative relative

value value value
100 14,15 95% 1,61 97% 92,7%

120 14,8 100% 1,66 100% 100%

150 15,1 102% 1,72 103,6% 105,7%

Table 1: Duration, peak value of current and their product for three time constants of network
(values are for the third major loop)

According to the criteria introduced in edition 2.0 of IEC 62271-100, a test performed with the
parameters of the major loop specified for L/R =120 ms would be acceptable for the demonstration of
T100a with L/R = 150 ms. Therefore, it is recommended to choose 120 ms as the time constant for
networks with rated voltages higher than 800 kV. This value covers the time constant of 100 ms that is
considered in some specifications.

Transformer limited faults (TLF)

Severe TRV conditions may occur when a terminal fault is fed through a transformer without
any appreciable capacitance between the transformer and the circuit breaker. In such cases,
the rate-of-rise of transient recovery voltage (RRRV) may exceed the values specified in the
standards for terminal fault test duty T10.

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The system TRV can be modified by a capacitance and then be within the standard TRV capability
envelope. As an alternative, the user can choose to specify a circuit breaker having a TLF breaking
capability. Taking into account the actual characteristics of power transformers for rated voltages
800 kV and higher, i.e. its short-circuit reactance and power, the fault current for transformer limited
faults is usually between 10 % and 16 % of the rated short-circuit current of the circuit breaker.
As the TLF current varies in a wide range, depending on the characteristics of the transformers, it is
recommended to choose a TLF breaking current value in the R10 series, the closest to the actual value
calculated for the application.
As in a draft IEEE standard C37.06 [3], the following relation can be used between time t3, the rated
voltage (Ur) and the TLF current (I):

k × Ur
t3 = (3)
I 0.21
Based on the information available on the surge capacitance of transformers, a factor k equal to 6.0
(with Ur in kV and I in kA) has been suggested by CIGRE WG A3-22. The TRV parameters can be
calculated from (3), assuming that there is 90% voltage drop across the transformer and taking an
amplitude factor of 1.7 (as in IEC 62271-100).

Out-of-phase
The out-of-phase making or breaking capacity is specified for conditions with loss or lack of
synchronism between the parts of an electrical system on either side of the circuit-breaker. As
already the case in the standards for effectively earthed systems, an out-of-phase factor of 2.0
covers a very large majority of cases.

Capacitive current switching

As capacitive current switching type tests are necessarily performed single-phase for UHV
applications, it is necessary to define the voltage factor (k) that has to be applied to the phase to earth
voltage in order to reproduce the voltage stress of a three-phase breaking operation. A voltage factor
of 1.4 normally covers the cases where verification of capacitive current switching in the presence of
single or two-phase earth faults is required.

2- Standardization work in IEC SC 17A

During their plenary meeting that took place in Berlin in December 2008, IEC SC17A (High-voltage
switchgear and controlgear) and SC17C (Assemblies of high-voltage switchgear and controlgear) will
start the revision of their standards for UHV at the beginning of 2009. The standards to be revised are
mainly:
- IEC 62271-1 (Common specifications),
- IEC 62271-100 (Circuit-breaker),
- IEC 62271-101 (Synthetic testing),
- IEC 62271-102 (A.C. Disconnectors and earthing switches)
- IEC 62271-110 (Inductive load switching).
In addition it will be necessary to standardize requirements for high-speed grounding switches. This
may be done by adding a dedicated annex in IEC 62271-102.
The explanations that may be needed for the specification of these new requirements will be given in a
revised version of the Application Guide for IEC 62271-100 and IEC 62271-1.
The revision of IEC documents will be made using the technical data and recommendations by CIGRE
WG A3-22 and the insulation levels standardized by IEC TC28.

5
The following Tables give some indication on the items that will have to be revised. Other items may
be added during the revision work.

HV Switchgear & Controlgear - Part 1 : Common Specifications - IEC 62271-1 Ed. 1.0
N° Item Sub-clause
1 Rated voltage 4.1 Introduce 1100 kV and 1200 kV
Introduce values from TC28 and add values of voltage withstand in open
2 Rated insulation level 4.2
position
Factor is 2.7, corresponding to a time constant of 120 ms recommended
3 Rated peak withstand current 4.6
by CIGRE A3-22.

Table 2: Items to revise in IEC 62271-1

HV Switchgear & Controlgear - Part 100 : Circuit breaker - IEC 62271-100 Ed. 2.0
N° Item Sub-clause Observation
Rated peak withstand current and rated short-circuit UHV : 2.7 times the a.c. component of the rated short-circuit breaking
1 4.6 and 4.103
making current current

2 DC component of the rated short-circuit breaking current 4.101.2 Introduce time constant of 120 ms for UHV

3 Transient recovery voltage for short-circuit breaking
Revise text and Tables to introduce TRVs for UHV, with relevant first-
pole to clear factors and amplitude factors for TF, SLF and out-of-phase.
Revise Table 7 to introduce ITRV values for UHV
4.102 and 6.104.5 Note 1 : requirements for transformer limted faults are covered
separately
Note 2 : add standard multipliers for the 2nd and 3rd pole to clear in
Table 6 if kpp= 1.2 is introduced.

Revise Table 8 with values of the surge impedance and number of

4 Characteristics for short-line faults 4.105
conductor per phase for UHV (other parameters unchanged)

5 Preferred values of rated capacitive switching currents
6 Voltage test as a condition check
7 Transformer limited faults
Revise Table 9 with values for UHV (line charging breaking current)
Table 9 and 6.111
Introduce the test voltage for UHV (see 6.111.7)
6.2.11 Introduce test value for UHV
Introduce TRV for transformer limted faults fro UHV by revising Annex M
Annex M
(currently limited to rated voltages less than 100 kV)

Table 3: Items to revise in IEC 62271-100

HV Switchgear & Controlgear - Part 101 : Synthetic testing : IEC 62271-101 Ed. 1.0
N° Item Sub-clause
Introduce a new Annex to cover the case of circuit-breakers with
1 Testing of circuit-breakers with opening resistors new Annex opening resistors (detailed information belong to the Application Guide to
IEC 62271-100 and -1)

Table 4: Items to revise in IEC 62271-101

HV Switchgear & Controlgear - Part 102 : A.C. Disconnectors and earthing switches : IEC 62271-102
N° Item Sub-clause

1 Induced current switching by earthing switches 4.105 Complete Tables C.1 and C.2

2 Bus transfer current switching by disconnectors 4.104 & Annex B Amend Annex B for UHV

Bus charging current switching by gas insulated

3 Annex F Add values for UHV in Table F.2
disconnectors
Standard requirements for high-speed grounding
4 New Add a dedicated annex
switches (HSGS)

Table 5: Items to revise in IEC 62271-102

These revisions will represent a significant amount of work that will be done by seven maintenance
teams (MT) or working groups (WG), with the objective of having the revised documents before the
end of 2012.

3- Proposed standardized TRVs for UHV circuit breakers

The following is based on the recommendation made by CIGRE WG A3-22 in November 2008.
Calculation of TRV parameters are presented hereafter, based on a maximum system voltage of
1100 kV. Proposed TRV parameters are also given for circuit breakers with a rated voltage of

6
1200 kV. As far as possible, factors from the present edition 2.0 of IEC 62271-100 are used in order to
ease the future standardization work by IEC SC17A.

TRV for terminal fault test duty T100

- First pole to clear factor

Calculated values of X0/X1 lead to values less of kpp than 1.2, therefore kpp = 1.2 could be standardized
for T100.
- Parameters u1, t1 and t2
Simulations performed by Japanese experts show that time to peak values of about 1600 µs are
obtained with lines of about 200 km.
TRV parameters that would be derived with existing relations in IEC 62271-100, adapted with
kpp = 1.2, are as follows:
1100
u1 = 2 × 1.2 × 0.75 = 808 kV
3
u1
t1 = = 404 µs t 2 = 4 × t1 = 1616 µs
2
The t2 value of 1616 µs compares well the value obtained by simulations if an equivalent line length of
200 km is assumed.
However adopting this high value of time t2 would not cover applications with equivalent line lengths
shorter than 200 km. In addition, large capacitors would be needed in high-power laboratories to
perform tests with these high values of time t2, with little benefit as the TRV withstand of circuit
breakers is not significantly influenced when the time to peak exceeds 1000 µs.
Based on these considerations, it is proposed to lower the value of time t2 by adopting the following
relation between t2 and t1.
t 2 = 3 × t1 = 1212 µs
For the same reasons, this definition of time t2 could be adopted for rated voltage 800 kV.

- TRV peak value uc

In IEC 62271-100, the peak value of TRV is defined by (4)

2
uc = U r × × k pp × k af (4)
3
where uc = peak value of TRV
Ur = rated voltage
kpp = first pole to clear factor
kaf = amplitude factor

CIGRE WG A3-22 has recommended a value of 1.2 for the first pole to clear factor. For the amplitude
factor, a range of possible values, from 1.4 to 1.5, has been defined due to the limited data available so
far. However, taking into account the criticality of the short-circuit breaking performance in UHV
systems that will transmit huge amount of electrical power and the fact that values as high as 1.46
have been calculated by Powergrid Corp. of India, it is the author’s belief that a conservative value of
1.5 should be adopted for kaf.
The product of kpp multiplied by kaf is in this case approximately the same as in the IEC standard for
rated voltages 245 kV to 800 kV i.e. with kpp = 1.3 and kaf. = 1.4. It follows that an alternative way to

7
specify the rated TRV for T100 could be to specify a first pole to clear factor of 1.3 and an amplitude
factor of 1.4.

TRV for terminal fault test duty T60

Following the work done by CIGRE WG A3-19, it is recommended to divide by 2 the time t2 of T100
in order to better cover the TRV obtained during line faults with 60% of rated short-circuit breaking
current. TRV parameters for a 1100 kV system are then:
1100
u1 = 2 × 1.2 × 0.75 = 808 kV
3
u1
t1 = = 269 µs t 2 = 3 × t1 = 808 µs
3

1100 2
uc = × 1.2 × 1.5 = 1616 kV
3
TRV for terminal fault test duty T30

Test duty T30 covers terminal faults and long line faults in the range of 30 % of rated short-circuit
current. It has a two parameter TRV with a RRRV of 5 kV/µs that covers the need, according to the
simulations performed so far.
A simplified calculation of the TRV for a long line fault with 30 % of rated a short-circuit current of
50 kA leads to a peak TRV equal to 1357 + 369 = 1726 kV, taking into account respectively the line
side and supply side contributions to TRV. The corresponding amplitude factor is 1.60.
Taking into account the approximation in the previous calculation that tends to under-estimate the
damping, the amplitude factor 1.54 used in IEC 62271-100 can be used to cover the TRV peaks
obtained during the interruption of long line faults with 30% of rated short-circuit current.
1100 2
uc = × 1.2 × 1.54 = 1659 kV
3
TRV for terminal fault test duty T10

In IEC 62271-100, the terminal fault test duty T10 covers terminal faults and long line faults in the
range of 10 % of rated short-circuit current. It has a two parameter TRV with a RRRV of 7 kV/µs and
an amplitude factor of 1.76. This amplitude factor allows to cover the TRV peaks obtained during long
line faults. As the TRV is the difference of voltages on the line side and the supply side of the circuit
breaker, its high value is not limited by MOSA.
1100 2
uc = × 1.2 × 1.76 = 1897 kV
3
Transformer limited faults (TLF)

As reported earlier, the TRV for TLF can be characterized by a time t3 defined by:

6 × Ur
t3 = (5)
I 0.21
The TRV parameters can be calculated from (5), assuming that there is a 90% voltage drop across the
transformer and taking an amplitude factor of 1.7.
In the case of a 3000 MVA transformer in a 1100 kV 50 Hz network, the rated TLF breaking current is
10 kA. From (5), time t3 is equal to 123 µs.
Neglecting the voltage variation on the source side, the peak TRV in 1100 kV systems is given by:

8
 Ur
uc = 2 × 0.9 × 1.7 × 1.3 = 1786 kV (6)
3
A first-pole-to-clear factor of 1.3 is taken in the calculation of uc because systems with rated voltages
of 800 kV and above are effectively earthed and transformers and with a grounded neutral.
uc 1786
The RRRV is then given by: = = 14.5 kV / µs (7)
t3 123
The breaking unit of a UHV circuit breaker with N units in series (N ≥ 2) has inherently a
RRRV withstand capability of 7 kV/µ s, as demonstrated by the T10 test duty performed when
the unit is tested as a single break pole with rated voltage U r/N. Therefore, the RRRV
withstand of a TLF should not a problem for modern circuit breakers and does not normally
need to be reduced by additional capacitors or resistors.
As the current is usually close to the values specified for test duty T10 (or T30), in some
cases it should be possible to cover by a single test the TLF test duty and one of the terminal
fault test duty.
Summary of proposed TRV parameters

RRRV
Test duty kpp kaf
kV/µs
T10 1.2 1.76 7
T30 1.2 1.54 5
T60 1.2 1.5 3
T100 1.2 1.5 2
TLF 1.3 1.7 x 0.9 *

u1 = 0.75 x kpp x Ur x sqrt (2/3) for T60 and T100

Ur = rated voltage
t1 = u1 / RRRV for T60 and T100
t2 = 3 t1 for T60 and T100
td = 2 µs for T60 and T100
td = 0.15 t3 for T10, T30 and TLF
uc= kpp x kaf x Ur x sqrt (2/3)
t3 = uc / RRRV for T10 and T30
* depending on I and Ur, RRRV= uc/t3 with t3= 6 Ur**0.5 /I**0.21

Table 6: TRV parameters for circuit breakers with rated voltages 1100 kV and 1200 kV

The following Tables gives the proposed terminal fault TRV parameters for circuit breakers of rated
voltages 1100 kV and 1200 kV. Figure 1 shows the TRV envelopes for circuit breakers with rated
voltage 1200 kV.

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 uc t2 or t3 U1 t1 RRRV
Test duty kpp kaf
kV µs kV µs kV/µs
T10 1.2 1.76 1897 271 - - 7

T30 1.2 1.54 1660 332 - - 5

T60 1.2 1.5 1617 808 808 269 3

T100 1.2 1.5 1617 1212 808 404 2

TLF 1.3 1.7 x 0.9 1786 *

Table 7: TRV parameters for terminal fault test duties of circuit breakers with rated voltage 1100 kV

Uc t2 or t3 U1 t1 RRRV
Test duty kpp kaf
kV µs kV µs kV/µs
T10 1.2 1.76 2069 296 - - 7

T30 1.2 1.54 1811 362 - - 5

T60 1.2 1.5 1764 882 882 294 3

T100 1.2 1.5 1764 1323 882 441 2

TLF 1.3 1.7 x 0.9 1949 * - - *

Table 8: TRV parameters for terminal fault test duties of circuit breakers with rated voltage 1200 kV

6 × Ur
*: depending on I and Ur, RRRV= uc/t3 with t 3 =
I 0.21

TRV - Ur=1200 kV
2400

T10
2000

T30
1600
T60
TRV (kV)

1200
T100
800

400

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
Time (µs)

Figure 1: TRV parameters for terminal fault test duties of circuit breakers with rated voltage 1200 kV

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 4- Conclusion
Extensive work has been done over the past two years in CIGRE SC A3 to study the technical
requirements for substation equipment with rated voltages exceeding 800 kV. Based on the result of
these studies, the paper has presented proposals for the standardization of TRVs for the terminal fault
test duties of circuit breakers with rated voltages 1100 kV and 1200 kV.
Standardization work for UHV has started in IEC with the definition of insulation levels by TC28. The
revision of switchgear standards starts beginning of 2009 with the objective of having the revised
documents before end of 2012. In order to do a fast and efficient work, the present memberships of
Maintenance Teams or Working Groups of IEC SC17A should be completed by additional experts
from countries having projects or experience in UHV.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Working Group SC A3-22 CIGRE. “Technical requirements for substation equipment exceeding
800 kV AC”. Will be published as a CIGRE Technical Brochure.
[2] IEC 62271-100, High-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 100: High-voltage alternating-
current circuit-breakers (Edition 2.0, 2008-04).
[3] Draft IEEE C37.06-200x. “Standard AC High-Voltage Circuit Breakers Rated on a Symmetrical
Current Basis - Preferred Ratings and Related Required Capabilities for Voltages above 1000
Volts”.

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