Breakers
Agenda
Breaker fundamentals
– Types of Breakers
– Ratings
– Design Tests
Application & Operations
– Application Considerations
– Operation Considerations
1
Introduction
2
Power Circuit Breakers
Interrupters
Arcing Contacts and medium (oil or gas)
flow
3
Oil Interrupters:
Recovery
voltage
I
t
Types of Breakers:
Oil
Air blast
Air magnetic
SF6 gas
Vacuum
Others
4
Circuit Breaker Year of Manufacture
140
120
100
airblast
N um b e r
80 vacuum
airmag
60 SF6
OCB
40
20
0
1923
1949
1954
1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
Year
9
Interrupting Mediums
Oil
– Mineral oil is used to extinguish the arc and to
insulate the live parts to ground
– Generally free breathing
– May use a single tank or multiple tanks
Air Blast
– Stored air is used to blow out the arc and cool
contacts
– Very loud operation
10
5
Interrupters
Oil
11
Interrupters
Oil
12
6
Oil Breaker (Westinghouse 345G)
13
Oil Breaker
(McGraw Edison CG38)
14
7
Interrupting Mediums
Air Magnetic
– A magnetic field is place perpendicular to the
plane of the arc which drives the arc into insulating
fins
– Sensitive to moisture
– Compact
Interrupters
Air Magnetic Magnetic
Field
Insulating
Fins
Arcing Contacts
16
8
Interrupters
SF6 Gas
17
Puffer Interrupter
18
9
Self-Blast Interrupter
19
20
10
Gas Breaker (Westinghouse SP)
21
22
11
Interrupting Mediums
Vacuum
– Contacts incased in a sealed bottle which is under
vacuum
– Compact
Others
– Gas mixtures (N2, SF6 etc.)
– Water
– Solid State
– Super-conductor???
23
Vacuum
24
12
Vacuum (GE PVDB-1)
25
Ratings
Continuous
Interrupting
Close & latch – momentary
Voltage ratings
Switching scenarios
26
13
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
27
28
14
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
29
15
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
31
32
16
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
Close and Latch rating is expressed as
a multiple of the rated short-circuit
current.
The maximum current for which the
breaker will close and latch….stay
closed.
2.6 x rated short circuit current
(Interrupting not Momentary).
33
34
17
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
Basic Impulse Level (BIL) ,expressed in kV, is
the maximum electrical impulse level
(lightning strike) that the breaker can be
exposed to and not flashover either internally
or externally.
Actual design BIL does not reflect the
maximum impulse that can be generated
because the magnitude of the impulse
depends on the location of the strike.
The designed BIL reflects the insulation
coordination practices used in the design of
electrical systems (Source: High Voltage
Circuit Breakers: Design and Applications) 35
Source Load
Source Load
TRV 36
18
TRV
Fault: fault
z
V=0
Transient Recovery
2 per unit Voltage
Fault
v
i
t
37
Breaker opens
38
19
Transient
Recovery TRV
fault
Initial Rate
of rise
Crest recovery
voltage
V Total TRV = bus - line
40
20
41
21
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
TRV
Vbus
TRV= Vbus - Vline Vline
44
22
TRV
Fault i
Fault i
23
Insert bushing
Short Line Fault: shunt capacitance
on line side
Vbus Vline
TRV
47
Bushing shunt
capacitance
48
24
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
49
50
25
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
51
26
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
A derating factor R is applied to OCBs
based on their reclosing duty.
This does not apply to SF6 breakers.
53
54
27
Power Circuit Breaker Ratings
Momentary Rating:
– Short time current rating
– The current, equal to the rated symmetrical
short circuit current, that the breaker is
required to carry for a specified time.
– Time = Allowable Tripping Delay
55
Application of Circuit
Breakers
56
28
Switching Voltage doubles when closing in on an
open line = 2 P.U. at open line terminal
Surges:
Z0= L/C
Assume that High Speed Re-closing traps a negative 1 P.U. charge on the
line. Then when the breaker re-closes the maximum voltage at the open end
can approach a maximum of 3.5 - 4.0 P.U. for multiple reflections depending
on damping (R):
3.5 P.U.
57
Trapped charge = -1.0 P.U.
Breaker Applications
29
Closing resistors:
bypass
Rc
Z0= L/C
Rc
Z0
VS Z0 V0 V0 = VS
(Rc + Z0)
59
Rc
Rc > Z0
Z0 V0
V0R first close
2.0 P.U.
V0B second close
V0 = VS Z0
(Rc + Z0)
Rc < Z0
30
Breaker Applications
Grading capacitors.
– Applied on circuit breakers with more than one
gap per pole
– Grading capacitors are applied across the
contacts of each interrupter to divide the recovery
voltage during interruption
– Insures that the first gap to interrupt does not see
the whole TRV
61
Grading capacitors
500kv PM breaker
62
31