FUNDAMENTALS OF

ELECTRICAL SWITCH GEARS

FUNDAMENTALS OF AWITCH
GEAR
 BASIC FUNCTIONS OF SWITCH GEAR

 TYPES OF SWITCH GEAR BASED ON

 MEDIA
 OIL FILD CIRCUIT BRAKER
 VACCUM
 AIR
FUNDAMENTALS OF SWITCH
GEAR
 BASIC OPERATION OF CIRCUIT
BRAKER
 CHALLENGES FOR EXTINGUISHING
OF ARC.
 BASIC OPERATION OF AIR CIRCUIT
 BREAKER
 BASIC OPERATION OF VACCUM
CIRCUIT BREAKER.
 TRANSFORMER PROTECTION
 BUCHHOLZ RELAY
FUNDAMENTALS OF
SWITCHGEAR
 TYPES OF FUSES
 CHARACTERISTICS OF FUSE
 SELECTION OF FUSE
 HRC FUSE
 GLASS FUSE
 DISADVANTAGES
 I2T VALUE
 COORDINATION OF POWER SYSTEM
Primary Equipment &
Components
• Transformers - to step up or step down voltage level
• Breakers - to energize equipment and interrupt fault current
to isolate faulted equipment
• Insulators - to insulate equipment from ground and other
phases
• Isolators (switches) - to create a visible and permanent
isolation of primary equipment for maintenance purposes and
route power flow over certain buses.
• Bus - to allow multiple connections (feeders) to the same
source of power (transformer).
Primary Equipment &
Components
• Grounding - to operate and maintain equipment safely
• Arrester - to protect primary equipment of sudden
overvoltage (lightning strike).
• Switchgear – integrated components to switch, protect,
meter and control power flow
• Reactors - to limit fault current (series) or compensate for
charge current (shunt)
• VT and CT - to measure primary current and voltage and
supply scaled down values to P&C, metering, SCADA, etc.
• Regulators - voltage, current, VAR, phase angle, etc.
Types of Protection
Overcurrent
 Uses current to determine magnitude of fault
◦ Simple
◦ May employ definite time or inverse time curves
◦ May be slow
◦ Selectivity at the cost of speed (coordination stacks)
◦ Inexpensive
◦ May use various polarizing voltages or ground current
for directionality
◦ Communication aided schemes make more selective
Instantaneous Overcurrent Protection
(IOC) & Definite Time Overcurrent

CTI
Relay closest to fault operates first
Relays closer to source operate slower
t Time between operating for same
current is called CTI (Clearing Time
Interval

CTI
50 50
+2 +2
 (TOC) Coordination
Relay closest to fault operates first
Relays closer to source operate slower
Time between operating for same
t current is called CTI

CTI
Time Overcurrent Protection
(TOC)
• Selection of the curves uses

what is termed as a “ time

multiplier” or “time dial” to

effectively shift the curve up or

down on the time axis

• Operate region lies above

selected curve, while no-

operate region lies below it

• Inverse curves can

approximate fuse curve

shapes
 Classic Directional
Overcurrent Scheme for
Looped System Protection
Bus X
t
Bus Y
a b c d e
A a E D C B A
1 e 5
E

L L

B b
2 4
d D

L c L I
3
C
Types of Protection
Voltage
 Uses voltage to infer fault or abnormal
condition
 May employ definite time or inverse time curves
 May also be used for undervoltage load shedding
◦ Simple
◦ May be slow
◦ Selectivity at the cost of speed (coordination stacks)
◦ Inexpensive
Current Transformers

Current transformers are used to step primary

system currents to values usable by relays, meters,
SCADA, transducers, etc.
CT ratios are expressed as primary to secondary;
2000:5, 1200:5, 600:5, 300:5
A 2000:5 CT has a “CTR” of 400
Standard IEEE CT Relay Accuracy

• IEEE relay class is defined in terms of the voltage a CT can

deliver at 20 times the nominal current rating without
exceeding a 10% composite ratio error.

For example, a relay class of C100 on a 1200:5 CT means that the

CT can develop 100 volts at 24,000 primary amps (1200*20)
without exceeding a 10% ratio error. Maximum burden = 1 ohm.

100 V = 20 * 5 * (1ohm)
200 V = 20 * 5 * (2 ohms)
400 V = 20 * 5 * (4 ohms)
800 V = 20 * 5 * (8 ohms)
Voltage Transformers
• Voltage (potential) transformers are used to isolate
and step down and accurately reproduce the scaled
voltage for the protective device or relay
• VT ratios are typically expressed as primary to
secondary; 14400:120, 7200:120
• A 4160:120 VT has a “VTR” of 34.66
Switchgear Defined
 Assemblies containing electrical switching,
protection, metering and management devices
 Used in three-phase, high-power industrial,
commercial and utility applications
 Covers a variety of actual uses, including motor
control, distribution panels and outdoor
switchyards
 The term "switchgear" is plural, even when
referring to a single switchgear assembly (never
say, "switchgears“)
Switchgear Examples
Switchgear:
MetalClad vs. Metal-Enclosed
 Metal-clad switchgear (C37.20.2)
◦ Breakers or switches must be draw-out design
◦ Breakers must be electrically operated, with anti-
pump feature
◦ All bus must be insulated
◦ Completely enclosed on all side and top with
grounded metal
◦ Breaker, bus and cable compartments isolated by
metal barriers, with no intentional openings
◦ Automatic shutters over primary breaker stabs.
 Metal-enclosed switchgear
◦ Bus not insulated
◦ Breakers or switches not required to be draw-out
◦ No compartment barriering required
Switchgear Basics
 All Switchgear has a metal
enclosure
 Metalclad construction
requires 11 gauge steel
between sections and main
compartments
 Prevents contact with live
circuits and propagation of
ionized gases in the unlikely
event of an internal fault.
 Enclosures are also rated as
weather-tight for outdoor
use
 Metalclad gear will include
shutters to ensure that
powered buses are covered
at all times, even when a
circuit breaker is removed.
Switchgear Basics
 Devices such as circuit breakers or fused
switches provide protection against short
circuits and ground faults
 Interrupting devices (other than fuses) are
non-automatic. They require control signals
instructing them to open or close.
 Monitoring and control circuitry work
together with the switching and interrupting
devices to turn circuits on and off, and guard
circuits from degradation or fluctuations in
power supply that could affect or damage
equipment
 Routine metering functions include
operating amperes and voltage, watts,
kilowatt hours, frequency, power factor.
Switchgear Basics
 Power to switchgear is
connected via Cables or Bus
Duct
 The main internal bus carries
power between elements
within the switchgear
 Power within the switchgear
moves from compartment to
compartment on horizontal
bus, and within
compartments on vertical
bus
 Instrument Transformers
(CTs & PTs) are used to step
down current and voltage
from the primary circuits or
use in lower-energy
monitoring and control
circuitry.
SF6 and Vacuum Breakers
A Good Day in System
Protection……
◦ CTs and VTs bring electrical info to relays
◦ Relays sense current and voltage and declare
fault
◦ Relays send signals through control circuits to
circuit breakers
◦ Circuit breaker(s) correctly trip

◦ What Could Go Wrong Here????

A Bad Day in System Protection
◦ CTs or VTs are shorted, opened, or their
wiring is
◦ Relays do not declare fault due to setting
errors, faulty relay, CT saturation
◦ Control wires cut or batteries dead so no
signal is sent from relay to circuit breaker
◦ Circuit breakers do not have power, burnt
trip coil or otherwise fail to trip
Contribution to Faults
Fault Types (Shunt)
FUNCTION OF A SWITCH GEAR
Switchgear forms a critical part of the power system. They are
used throughout the system to control the flow of
electricity by connecting/isolating the generators, transformers
and lines that supply the electricity to the transmission
and distribution networks. They are also used within the
transmission and distribution networks to control the flow
of electricity and to connect/isolate different lines within the
networks and to connect and isolate the loads to the
transmission and distribution networks
FUNCTION OF
SWITCHGEAR
the role of switchgear is that of:
c electrical protection;
c safe isolation from live parts;
c local or remote switching.
electrical protection

electrical protection assures:

C protection of circuit elements
against the thermal and mechanical
stresses of short-circuit currents;
C protection of persons in the event
of insulation failure;
c protection of appliances and
apparatus being supplied (e.g
motors, etc.).
fundamental characteristics of
a circuit breaker
 rated current (In)
 This is the maximum value of current that a
 circuit breaker, fitted with a specified
overcurrent
 tripping relay, can carry indefinitely at
 an ambient temperature stated by the
 manufacturer, without exceeding the
 specified temperature limits of the
currentcarrying
 parts.
TRIP CURRENT SETTING
The trip-current setting Ir or Irth (both
designations are in common use) is the
current above which the circuit breaker will
trip. It also represents the maximum current
that the circuit breaker can carry without
tripping. Example a circuit breaker
equipped with a 320 A overcurrent trip relay,
set at 0.9, will have a trip-current setting:
Ir = 320 x 0.9 = 288 A
short-circuit relay trip-current
setting (Im)

short-circuit relay trip-current

setting (Im)
Short-circuit tripping relays (instantaneous or
slightly time-delayed) are intended to trip the
circuit breaker rapidly on the occurrence of
high values of fault current.
Their tripping threshold Im is:
RATING OF SWITCHGEARS
 Nominal voltage –
 Rated maximum voltage –
 Rated continuous current –
 Rated fault current –
SWITCHGEAR SELECTION
 The power factor of the load
 Transformer inrush can exceed the rating
of switchgear or cause it to operate
unnecessarily
Vacuum switchgear
 In a vacuum breaker, there is a set of contacts contained in a
sealed cylinder and a vacuum is applied to the cylinder.
 The vacuum cylinder is commonly referred to as a vacuum
bottle. One of the contacts in the cylinder will be fixed, the
 other is able to move and is attached to the operating
mechanism via bellows to allow the contact to be opened or
 closed. When the circuit breaker is opened, the operating
mechanism will draw the moving contact away from the
 fixed contact
Vacuum circuit breaker
Stored energy devices

 The drive mechanism on a circuit breaker is

usually supplied via a stored energy device.
Stored energy devices are
 used to ensure that no matter what happens
to the control supply, the circuit breaker can
always be opened or closed. It
 also ensures that the circuit breaker does
not stop halfway through its operation and
always has the correct amount of
 energy to operate the breaker contacts at
the correct speed
SPRING