KILO VAR

BRIEFS FROM THE COOPER POWER SYSTEMS' CAPACITOR PLANT

October 1987 GREENWOOD. SOUTH CAROLINA Issue 12

Individual Capacitor Fusing

In issue #9 of the Kilovar Briefs, the general considerations and concerns regarding the protection of
capacitors through the use of fuses was discussed. lssue #10 0 covered in detail specific concerns
associated with group fusing. In this issue, the discussion of fusing capacitors with individual fusing is
elaborated on. This type of fusing is most commonly used in substation banks.

Individual protection is definedas each capacitor in a bank being protected by its own individual fuse. This
type of protection is commonly used in outdoor substation capacitor banks. Fuses are the bus mounted
type. The following considerations are used for selecting the individual fuse:

1. Continuous Current
2. Transient Current

3. Fault Current
4. Tank Rupture Current
5. Voltage on Unfailed Capacitors
6. Energy Discharge into Failed Unit
7. Outrush Current
8. Coordination with Unbalance Detection Scheme

1. Continuous Current
The fuse protecting the capacitor is chosen such that its continuous current capability is equal to or
greater than 135% of rated capacitor current. This overrating is due to 10% for allowable
overvoltage conditions, 15% for capacitor kvar rating tolerance, and 1 0% for overcurrent due to
harmonics. The minimum size link is calculated as follows:

This calculation is based on the link being 100% rated. In the case of NEMA type T and type K tin
links, which are 150% rated, this value must be divide by 1.50 .
1.35 *
1.50

Copyright 1987 Cooper Power Systems Revised June 1994 Page 1

2. Transient Current
Unlike pole mounted, distribution racks, individually fused substation banks are generally not
subject to significant high magnitude, high frequency lightning surges. This is due to good
substation shielding and utilization of sufficient fuses in parallel to share the transient current.
Transient currents due to switching are also of no significant concern unless capacitor banks are
switched back - to - back. In these applications, switch closing utilizing pre-insertion resistors or
inrush current limiting reactors generally limit the transient c u r r e n t s t o acceptable levels.

3. Fault Current
The fuse link and capacitor must be able to adequately handle the availablefault current. When
capacitors are connected grounded wye in a single series group substation application, a capacitor
failure (terminal- to - terminal) will cause fault current to flow. The capacitor must be able to
withstand the fault current until the fuse operates and successfully removes the capacitor from the
circuit. Additionally, the fuse must be able to successfully interrupt the available fault current. The
fault current limitations are the same as group fusing.

In substation banks with multiple series groups, system fault current will not flow through a failed
capacitor unit unless other units experience simultaneous failures or external flashovers occur in
other parts of the capacitor bank. For this reason, it is usually assumed that fault current will not
flow in capacitor banks of more than one series group. Consequently, expulsion fuses are
commonly used rather than current limiting fuses.

4. Tank Rupture Curve Coordination

The maximum clearing time - current characteristic (TCC) curve for the fuse link must coordinate
with the tank rupture curve of the capacitor. This coordination is necessary to insure that the fuse
will clear prior to tank rupture. The fuse maximum clear TCC must fall to the left of the tank
rupture TCC curve at and below the level of available fault current. In the case of high fault
currents,the tank rupture curve should be compensated for asymmetry.

Recent tank rupture testing of EX-7L capacitors demonstrate substantial improvement in tank
rupture performance. This testing has proven that the elimination of internal connecting tabs within
the capacitor allows the capacitor to withstand higher fault currents and I 2 tvalues.

5. Voltage On Good Capacitors

When a capacitor unit fails to a complete short, other series groups within the capacitor bank are
subject to a 60 Hz overvoltage until the fuse protecting the faulty capacitor clears. The fuse should
clear fast enough so as not to damage the unfailed units due to this overvoltage. When a capacitor
unit is shorted on phase A, the 60 Hz voltage on the other series groups in the bank are
summarized as follows:

Page 2
 TABLE 1

Per Unit Voltage on Unfailed Capacitors

The choice of the capacitor fuse should be made to insure that the duration of those overvoltages does not
exceed the limitationsdefined in ANSI/lEEE Standard 18.

6. Energy Discharge into A Failed Unit

The fuses and the capacitor must be capable of handling the available parallel stored energy of
adjacent capacitors. When a capacitorfailure occurs, all of the stored energy of the parallel
connected capacitor units can discharge through the failed capacitor and its fuse. The total
calculated parallelstored energy should not exceed the energy capability or joule rating of the
capacitor unit and fuse. Exceeding their limits would result in probablefuse failure and rupture of
the capacitor unit.

Historically, the calculated value of energy would not exceed 15,000 joules (i.e. 4650 kvar in
parallel) for all film capacitors and 10,000 joules (i.e. 3100 kvar in parallel) for paper - film
capacitors. Testing of the Cooper Power Systems EX-7L capacitor has extended this limit to
30,000 joules. When the calculated value of parallel energy exceeds the limitation of the expulsion
fuse, there are two possible solutions: reconnect the bank to reduce the amount of parallel stored
energy (i.e. double wye, increased series groups) or use current limiting fuses.

7. Outrush Current
The fuses with unfailed capacitor units should be capable of withstanding the high frequency 12t
discharge of the unfailed capacitors into the failed unit. When a capacitor failure occurs, the
remaining capacitors will discharge into the failed capacitor. The fuses on the unfailed capacitors
should be able to withstand this high frequency discharge to avoid multiple fuse operations.
Extensive analysis and testirrg has been conducted on capacitor unit and typical block
arrangementsto determine these duties.

8. Coordination With Unbalance Detection Scheme

When a fuse operates in a capacitor bank, an increase in the fundamental frequency voltage occurs
on the remaining units in that series group. An unbalance detection scheme is employed to
monitor such conditions and take action as required. These settings should be coordinated with
fuse TCC's so that the fuses will be allowed to clear failed capacitor units before the unbalance
detection scheme trips the capacitor bank. If the bank is tripped prior to fuse operation, there will
be no visible indication of the cause of the bank tripping.

Page 3
 Summary of Individual Fusing

In choosing the best fuse for a given application, it sometimes is not reasonably possible to
meet all of the above mentioned criteria. In that case, trade - offs must be made among the
criteria and some risk taken as to those conditions when the fuses and capacitors may not
operate in a desirable manner. In the following table are Cooper Power Systems' fusing
recommendations for the all film capacitor applied in outdoor substation banks for both
expulsion and current limiting fuses. These recommendations will meet most of the criteria
described above for most typical capacitor bank configurations.

Table 2

Proposed Fusing Recommendations

+ For 50 kvar capacitors, it is difficult to choose reasonably sized fuses which will withstand the I2t outrush. This
occurs due to the fact that I2t withstand goes down exponentially with fuse link rating rather than linearly.
Consequently, the 50 kvar capacitor fusing recommendations cover only those units with voltage ratings equal to
and less than 9960 volt.

Indicates 2 fuses in parallel.

Page 4