High Voltage Circuit Breakers

for applications up to 800 kV

Tomorrows technology is based on todays experiences

ABB has all the experience necessary for successful development of power transmission technology. We introduced our first innovations over a hundred years ago. We see our greatest challenge in maintaining our world-leading position in research and development of high voltage technology. This brochure concerns one of our true specialty areas high voltage circuit breakers an area in which we are constantly striving to improve product performance that delivers real customer value. What has pushed development forward has been the capability to increase availability at our customers installations by supplying reliable high voltage equipment. To attain this, we have worked to simplify our products as much as possible. One way of doing this has been to reduce the number of moving parts in our circuit breakers. Simplicity entails reliability; fewer parts mean lower risk for failures. The best example of this is our new operating mechanism, Motor Drive. The number of moving parts has been reduced to just one, while performance and precision have been improved.

Even if we are world-leading with todays technology, we are going to make tomorrows high voltage circuit breakers even better, to ensure the best performance, reliability and value for our customers.
2000 1990 1980 1970 1960 1950 1940 SwitchsyncTM Controller Composite insulators Motor DriveTM Disconnecting circuit breaker Withdrawable circuit breaker

SF6-technology World's first 800 kV air-blast circuit breaker Oil minimum circuit breaker Circuit breakers for 420 kV Circuit breakers for 245 kV

Milestones in ABBs advances in high voltage circuit breakers.

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We like customers who make tough demands

Todays ABB circuit breakers have been refined for decades through innovative development at ABBs high voltage center in Ludvika, Sweden. When it comes to interrupting media, compressed air and oil have been replaced by SF6 gas, which was introduced back in the 1960s. SF6 gass isolating and heat conducting properties have, among other things, enabled reduction in the total number of breaking units in comparison to air and oil circuit breakers. While a compressed air circuit breaker needed ten breaking units per phase for 400 kV, and an oil minimum circuit breaker needed four, it is now enough with two breaker units on an SF6 circuit breaker. This means that operational reliability and availability have increased at the same time as the circuit breaker design has become more compact and hence requiring less installation space and materials. Even when it comes to operating mechanisms, development has taken tremendous steps forward. To reduce both failure rates and maintenance requirements, spring operating mechanisms are used instead of compressed air or hydraulic technology on our SF6 circuit breakers. The latest step in development is Motor Drive, a digitally controlled unit that can already be supplied for our LTB circuit breakers. Motor Drive entails major improvements in controlling circuit breakers opening and closing operations, and in monitoring circuit breaker status. environmental impact of products and processes are naturally routine considerations for us. Through goal-oriented efforts in protecting the environment, we are attaining good results. The environmental approach is apparent throughout the life cycle of our circuit breakers from the earliest design stages, through our product development processes, all the way to being taken out of service or being replaced. In our efforts to develop simple products, material demands are reduced and the materials used are recyclable. Examples of this are our innovative withdrawable and disconnecting circuit breakers. These provide opportunities for compact substation solutions that require less space, fewer foundation elements and less amount of material. ABB supports programs for reducing the release of SF6 gas. We actively participate in international organizations such as CIGR, which develop guidelines for the use of SF6.

New technology requires careful testing

ABBs high power lab in Ludvika, Sweden is one of the worlds most modern and best equipped labs for switchgear technology, with facilities for testing circuit breakers with rated voltages of up to 800 kV and breaking currents of up to 80 kA. We constantly improve measurement methods and equipment for meeting the demands of tomorrow. The lab is accredited by SWEDAC and is a part of the collaborative organizations SATS and STL. Also STRI, specialized in high voltage testing, is situated in Ludvika. These two labs can perform all standardized type tests for circuit breakers.

Development is a team effort

Our development team consists of highly qualified and experienced technicians with expert knowledge in, for example, plasma physics, materials physics, gas dynamics, mechanics and high voltage technology. We also collaborate with others with expert knowledge and skills, both at ABB and externally. An important aspect of development work is our close dialog with customers, which enables us to find out about their experiences. Customers who demand more of our products give us the best platforms to realize new innovations.

The environment is becoming more important

A large portion of development work is presently guided by environmental aspects, and ABB has a carefully prepared environmental policy for minimizing all negative effects on the environment. Demands from the world at large and our customers for reducing the

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Circuit breakers are key components in all power networks

High voltage circuit breakers must comply with extremely high demands for operational reliability to be able to contribute to safe power transmission. To attain good operating economy and maximum availability, long intervals without maintenance are required. For this reason, statebased maintenance is replacing periodic service to an ever-increasing degree. The long-term objective is to develop entirely maintenance-free solutions. Todays modern SF6 circuit breaker equipped with the latest generation of spring operating mechanism entails a big step towards that objective. The interval before maintenance for these circuit breakers is about 15 years and the failure rate is very low. With our newly developed control unit Motor Drive, the failure rate will be further reduced.

A complete range of circuit breakers

ABBs range of high voltage circuit breakers consists of the LTB auto-puffer and HPL puffer circuit breakers. Together, they cover voltages up to 800 kV. In the present generations, the circuit breakers have been supplied in more than 40,000 units to installations all over the world. Both the LTB and HPL are well-suited for safe and reliable operation in all kinds of climates, from tropical heat with extreme humidity to arctic cold. With special gas mixtures, safe operation can be guaranteed to 55 C. As standard, the circuit breakers are designed to withstand earthquake stresses, and can for extreme requirements be supplied in specially adapted configurations.

Electrical energy instead of spring power

Motor Drive is a digitally controlled servomotor system that precisely controls circuit breakers contact operations when opening and closing. As opposed to a spring operated mechanism, where the requisite control energy is stored in springs, Motor Drive utilizes electrical energy stored in capacitors. The only moving part in the control unit is the motors rotor.

Disconnecting and withdrawable circuit breakers

As a complement to the basic versions of our circuit breakers, which are primarily designed for conventional substation solutions, there is a disconnecting circuit breaker configuration with the disconnecting function integrated into the breaking chamber. A safe interlocking system, composite insulators and a motor-driven grounding switch provide personal safety. We have also developed modules with

Switchsync Controller increases power quality

Switching transients, which for instance occur when switching capacitor banks, shunt reactors, power transformers and lines, degrade power quality in the network. The transients can damage high voltage equipment and cause disturbances in, for example, substation control, protective systems, computers, processors and telecommunications. To minimize these problems, ABBs circuit breakers can be equipped with the Switchsync Controller. In this way, circuit breaker contacts can be controlled so that they open or close at the exact moment to give the lowest voltage transient levels.

withdrawable circuit breakers with the disconnecting function attained by the circuit breaker being moved.
Both of these configurations replace the conventional combination circuit breaker and separate disconnectors. A complete bay of our modules consists of a steel frame work, busbar and disconnecting or withdrawable circuit breaker. The bay can be complemented with other high voltage devices and is type-tested in its entirety.

Composite insulators
All ABB circuit breakers can be delivered with composite insulators. The composite insulators have superior performance in comparison with porcelain. The Composite insulators increases overall safety with its non fragile and explosion proof designs. The leakage currents along the insulator surface are suppressed by the hydrophobic surface of the silicon sheds and thereby the risk of flashovers will be reduced.

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LTB Auto-puffer utilizes arc energy in switching

Alongside refinements of puffer technology during the 1980s, ABBs well-known Autopuffer technology was developed. The difference with auto-puffer technology, as compared to conventional puffer technology, is that at higher currents, the circuit breaker

utilizes the overpressure from the arc for the interruption process. At lower currents, an Auto-puffer works in principle like a conventional puffer circuit breaker.
Auto-puffer technology entails, among other things, that lower mechanical energy is required for contact movement during the switching process. This thereby reduces stress on the circuit breaker, as well as on the frame work and foundation. Even wear on the circuit breaker is reduced while reliability increases.

For maximum operational reliability, the LTB circuit breakers have either the BLK, FSA or BLG spring operating mechanisms, or the latest innovation, Motor Drive. The LTB is supplied for applications in voltage ranges up to 800 kV for conventional substation layouts with disconnectors. For substation solutions without conventional disconnectors, disconnecting circuit breakers or withdrawable circuit breakers are used. These three alternatives enable an optimal solution to be chosen, based on specific demands for data, substation layout and availability. The LTB can be delivered with porcelain or composite insulators. The LTB has been installed for line, transformer, reactor and capacitor switching in thousands of substations.

LTB D1 72.5 170

Standards Rated voltage Rated current Circuit-breaking capacity Ambient temperature IEC, IEEE 72.5 170 kV up to 3150 A up to 40 kA -30 +40 C

LTB E1 72.5 245

IEC, IEEE 72.5 245 kV up to 4000 A up to 50 kA -30 +40 C

LTB E2 362 550

IEC, IEEE 362 550 kV up to 4000 A up to 50 kA -30 +40 C

LTB E4 800
IEC, IEEE 800 kV up to 4000 A up to 50 kA -30 +40 C

The circuit breakers can also be supplied for ambient temperatures down to -60 or up to +70 C.

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HPL a circuit breaker with unbeatable performance

In many users opinions, the HPL is the worlds best SF6 puffer circuit breaker and it has been installed for line, transformer, reactor and capacitor switching at installations all over the world. The puffer chamber in the HPL has been continually refined since the technology was first introduced by ABB at the beginning of the 1970s. The HPL now provides unbeatable switching performance for all network data, and effectively switches everything from small inductive currents to 80 kA short-circuit currents with a maximum break time of two cycles. The HPL has recently been verified, by type tests, to handle 420 and 550 kV without grading capacitors. The bennefit is a reliable circuit breaker with less components and less required maintenance.

The BLG spring operating mechanism has been constantly refined for more than 30 years and significantly contributes to the circuit breakers high operational reliability and availability. The minimal maintenance requirements with intervals of 15 years entail low maintenance costs, which also reduces total life-cycle costs. The HPL is supplied for applications in voltage range 72.5 kV 800 kV for conventional substation layouts with disconnectors. For substation layouts without conventional disconnectors, there are disconnecting circuit breakers and withdrawable circuit breakers. This enables an optimal solution to be chosen, based on specific demands for data, substation layout and availability. The HPL can be delivered with porcelain or composite insulators.

ON

ON

ON

HPL 72.5 300

Standards Rated voltage Rated current Circuit-breaking capacity Ambient temperature IEC, IEEE 72.5 300 kV up to 4000 A up to 80 kA -30 +40 C

HPL 362 550

IEC, IEEE 362 550 kV up to 4000 A up to 80 kA -30 +40 C

HPL 800
IEC, IEEE 800 kV up to 4000 A up to 80 kA -30 +40 C

The circuit breakers can also be supplied for ambient temperatures down to -60 or up to +70 C.

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ABB AB High Voltage Products SE-771 80 LUDVIKA, Sweden Phone +46 240 78 20 00 Fax +46 240 78 36 50 E-mail: circuit breaker@se.abb.com Internet: http://www.abb.com

NOTE: ABB AB is working continuously to improve the products.We therefore reserve the right to change designs, dimensions and data without prior notice.

Copyright 2008 ABB. All rights reserved. Publication 1HSM 9543 21-01en High voltage circuit breakers for applications up to 800 kV, Edition 2, 2008-08. Print: Henningsons Tryckeri AB, Sweden