11/12/2015

ManitobaHydroTestsSurgeArrestersatDelivery

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HOME > SUBSTATIONS > TESTING PREVENTS SURGE IN ARRESTER FAILURES

TestingPreventsSurgeinArresterFailures

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Formorethan30years,ManitobaHydrohasbeentestingsurgearresterson
delivery,atinstallationandduringoperation.
RegGamblin,ManitobaHydro,andKeithHill,DobleEngineeringCo.|T&DWorldMagazine
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Dec1,2009

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SURGEARRESTERSAREOFTENOVERLOOKEDWHENPERFORMING
POWERFACTORTESTSontransformers,breakersandotherapparatusina
substation.Oftentimes,thetestersareawareofhowatransformerorabreakerfunctions
butunawareoftheintendedpurposeofthesurgearresters.Becausetherearenomoving
partstomaintainoranoilsampletopull,itisoftenpolicynottoperformanyarrester
testing.
ManitobaHydro(MHManitoba,Canada)hasbeenfollowingasurgearrestertesting
programformorethan30years.Undertheprogram,typically30to40arrestersare
identifiedeachyearasrequiringreplacement.Thiscanbeduetoanincreasein10kV,
60Hzwattslossesadecreasedvoltagetoproduce1mAand2mAofresistivecurrenta
reducedsparkoverwithstandvoltageoranincreasedsparkoveroperatingvoltage.MH's
arrestertestingprogramhasbeenespeciallysuccessfulinidentifyingmoistureingress
concernsbecauseofdesigninadequaciesspecificallyrelatedtothenewergenerationof
polymerhousedmetaloxidearresters.
MHpurchasesanaverageofseveralhundredsurgearrestersperyear.Thesearemainly
distributionandstationclassbutalsoincludesomespecialtyunitsforinstallationat
generationandconverterstations.Thearrestertestprogramrequiresthatarrestersbe
acceptancetestedpriortothesupplierbeingpaid.MH'sacceptancetestincludesthe
Doble(Boston,Massachusetts,U.S.)wattslosstest,apartialdischargetestanda
characterizationofthevoltagecurrent(VI)responseofeachunit.Themaintenancetests
arelimitedtotheDoblewattslosstestand,whenpractical,theVIcharacterizationor
sparkovertest.Whenreviewingtestresults,limitsareappliedasspecifiedinstandards
IEC60099andIEEEC62.Also,themethodologyforthequalificationoftestresults
requiresthatresultsforsimilarmodelsandsisterunitsbecomparable.
ACCEPTANCETESTPROGRAM

AllnewstationclassandspecialtyarrestersareacceptancetestedbyMHupondelivery.
Typically,onnewordersofboththestationanddistributionclassesofarresters,MH
experiencesfailureratesbelow0.1%,althoughproblemordershavebeendiscoveredat
times.Anexampleofthiswasforanorderof54polymerhousedstationclassarresters
forinstallationatsystemvoltagesof115kV,138kVand230kV.Thearrestersoriginally
passedacceptancetests,butseveralofthemfailedtheDoblewattslosstestonsiteprior
toenergization.Theproblemwasrevealedtobemoistureingressduetoavulnerable
weatherseal.Themanufacturerreplacedtheentireorderwithporcelainhousedunits
andaddressedthecauseofthevulnerability.
Inanotherinstance,anunusualnumberofpolymerhouseddistributionclassarresters
werefailingacceptancetests.Thesesuspectunitsshowedincreasedwattslosses,low
voltagesatthe1mAresistivecurrentandexcessivepartialdischarge.Theentireorder
wasreturnedtothemanufacturer,whichidentifiedthecauseofthefailuresashaving
beenrelatedtotheassemblyoftheunits.

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MAINTENANCETESTPROGRAM

AllserviceagedarrestersarefieldtestedbyMHstaffeitheronan8or10yearcycle,
dependingonthearrester'smakeandhistory.The10kV,60Hzwattslosstestis
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ManitobaHydroTestsSurgeArrestersatDelivery

performedand,whenpracticable,eithertheVIresponseischaracterizedorasparkover
testisperformed.TheVIcharacterizationisperformedonmetaloxidearresters,while
sparkovertestsareperformedongappedarresters.TheVIandsparkovertestsconfirm
anarrester'sprotectivecharacteristicsareatacceptablevalues.Itisimportanttonotethat
gappedarrestersmorethan25yearsoldaregenerallyrecommendedforreplacement
becauseoftheirage.Also,allarrestersundergoaninfraredscanbiannually.Arresters
withtemperaturevariationsbetweenadjacentunitsabove5C(41F)areinvestigated.
Allarresterskeptinstockforunplannedreplacementpurposesaretestedeveryfiveyears,
whilesalvagedstationclassarrestersarereacceptancetestedandreturnedtostock.
RELIABILITYIMPROVEMENT

Throughthisarrestertestphilosophy,MHhasfoundmanyunitsthateitherhavehad
designvulnerabilitiesorsufferedfromtheeffectsofdeterioration.Bothofthesesituations
generallyleadtounintentionalarresteroperation,which,becauseoftheproximityofthe
arrester,cancausedamagetoimportantequipment.Thistestprogramhastheadded
benefitofimprovingMH'selectricalsystemsreliabilityaswellasreducingthecosts
associatedwithforcedoutages.Additionally,theacceptancetestprogramhasenabled
MHtoextendthetimebetweenoutagesformaintenancetestsonarresters.This
acceptancetestprogramalsohastheaddedbenefitoffosteringthedevelopmentofin
houseexpertisebymakingavailablethenecessarytestequipmenttothoroughly
investigateproblemarresters.
RegJ.Gamblin(rgamblin@hydro.mb.ca)isatechnicalofficerintheInsulation
Engineering&TestingdepartmentofManitobaHydro,whereheisresponsibleforthe
conditionassessmentofgenerators,transformers,insulatingoil,surgearresters,bushings
andinstrumenttransformers.In1998,heearnedadiplomainelectricalengineering
technologyfromRedRiverCollege.Hehasauthoredandcoauthoredseveralpapersfor
industryconferencesonconditionassessmentandhighvoltagetesting.
KeithHill(khill@doble.com)hasbeenemployedatDobleEngineeringsince2001and
currentlyworksasaprincipalengineerintheClientServicedepartment.Heissecretary
oftheDobleClientCommitteeonArresters,Capacitors,CablesandAccessories.Priorto
joiningDoble,Hillhadover25yearsoftestingexperience,withthelast18yearsasthe
electricalsupervisorofengineeringservicesatLyondellCITGORefining(formerly
ARCO).AtARCO,Hillstartedthetestinggroupthatwasresponsiblefortheplantpower
distributionsystem,electricaltesting,powerquality,plantwideelectricalreliabilityand
infrared.Hillreceivedhisbachelor'sdegree,withamajorinpower,fromtheUniversityof
Houston.HillisamemberofIEEE,aLevelIandIIthermographer,andaformerNETA
certifiedtechnician.
pleasesendadditionalreviewpdftoLiisaColbylcolby@doble.com
SurgeArresters

Surgearrestershelppreventdamagetoapparatusduetotransientovervoltages.The
arresterprovidesalowimpedancepathtogroundforthecurrentfromalightningstrike
orswitchingovervoltageandthenrestorestoanormaloperatingcondition.Asurge
arrestermaybecomparedtoareliefvalveonaboilerorhotwaterheater.Itreleaseshigh
pressureuntilanormaloperatingconditionisreached.Whenthepressureisreturnedto
normal,thesafetyvalveisreadyforthenextoperation.Whenahighvoltage(greater
thanthenormallinevoltage)existsontheline,thearresterimmediatelyfurnishesapath
togroundandthuslimitsanddrainsofftheexcessvoltage.Thearrestermustprovidethis
reliefandthenpreventanyfurtherflowofcurrenttoground.Thearresterhastwo
functions:itmustprovideapointinthecircuitatwhichanovervoltagepulsecanpassto
ground,anditmustpreventanyfollowupcurrentfromflowingtoground.
Thetechnologyofsurgearrestershasundergonemajorchangesinthelast100years.In
theearly1900s,sparkgapswereusedtosuppressovervoltages.Inthe1930s,silicon
carbidearrestersreplacedthesparkgaps.Inthemid1970s,zincoxidegaplessarresters,
whichpossessedsuperiorprotectioncharacteristics,replacedsiliconcarbidearresters.

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Siliconcarbidearrestersarecurrentlylesspopularthanthemetaloxidevaristor(MOV),
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11/12/2015

ManitobaHydroTestsSurgeArrestersatDelivery

recommendedallsiliconcarbidearrestersthathavebeeninserviceformorethan13years
bereplacedbecauseofmoistureingress.Histestsrevealedthatdegradationwasevident
in75%ofarresterstested.
Todetermineifasiliconcarbidearresterwarrantsreplacement,fieldtestingmustbe
performed.Theidealmethodistodeterminetheprotectivelevelofthearresterthisisnot
practicalsinceanimpulsegeneratorisrequired.Aneffectiveandmorepracticalmethod
istodeterminethewattslossofthearresterandcomparetolikearresters.

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MOVARRESTERS

TheMOVarresteristhearresterusuallyinstalledtoday.Doble(Boston,Massachusetts,
U.S.)documentationrevealsthatMOVtypearrestersenteredthemarketintheUnited
Statesaround1976.Themetaloxidearrestersarewithoutgaps,unlikesiliconcarbide
arresters.Thisgaplessdesigneliminatesthehighheatassociatedwiththearcing
discharges.TheMOVarresterhastwovoltageratingsdutycycleandmaximum
continuousoperatingvoltageunlikethesiliconcarbidearrester,whichjusthasthe
dutycyclerating.Ametaloxidesurgearresterusingzincoxideblocksprovidesthebest
performance,assurgevoltageconductionstartsandstopspromptlyataprecisevoltage
level,therebyimprovingsystemprotection.Failureisreduced,asthereisnoairgap
contaminationpossibilityhowever,thereisalwaysasmallvalueofleakagecurrent
presentattheoperatingfrequency.
Itisimportantforthetestpersonneltobeawarethatwhenametaloxidearresteris
disconnectedfromanenergizedline,asmallamountofstaticchargecanberetainedby
thearrester.Asasafetyprecaution,thetestershouldinstallatemporarygroundto
dischargeanystoredenergy.

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POLYMER/PORCELAINARRESTERS

ProjectsinProgress(Monthly)View
Sample

Polymerarrestersaregaininginpopularityovertheporcelainarresters.Whenareclose
operationoccursandthefaulthasnotcleared,thearresterissubjectedtoasecondfault
current.Thissecondoperationcanleadtoarresterexplosion,iftheporcelainhadalready
beenweakenedbythefirstfault.Ifthepressurereliefratingofthearresterisexceeded,
thearrestermayfailviolently,sinceitcannotcontrollablyventtheexcessgasses.Thistype
offailurecanleadtootherequipmentbeingdamagedorinjurytopersonnelwhomaybe
inthevicinityofthefailure.Becauseoftheabilityofthepolymerstationarrestertovent
outtheside,thehousingisnotweakenedwhenexposedtothefaultcurrent.Therefore,a
polymerarrestercanbereclosedonmultipletimeswithoutriskingaviolentfailure.The
polymerarrestersarelessexpensivethanporcelainarrestersandappeartoavoidsomeof
theinserviceproblems,suchasmoistureingress,oftenoccurringinporcelainarresters.
Onemanufacturerreportsthatmoistureingressisthedirectcauseoffailurein86%ofall
failures.

Etrain(BiWeekly)ViewSample

TESTINGSURGEARRESTERS

TwoofthemostcommonteststoperforminthefieldonsurgearrestersaretheDoble
powerfactortestandinfraredanalysis.Somemanufacturersstatethatnosingletestwill
indicatethecompleteoperatingcharacteristicsofanarrester.Referenceserviceadvisories
fromsomemanufacturersrecommendpowerfactortestingandinfraredasmethodsto
detectpossibleproblemscausedbymoistureingress.Fieldtestingofarrestersbypower
factor,infraredorothermethodsisusedasareference.

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Differentmodelsandmakesofarresterswillhavedifferentwattslossreadings.Thetester
isattemptingtoidentifyavarianceinthepastwattslossreadings.Powerfactorisnot
calculatedbecausethecurrentissosmall.Thearrestershouldhaveavisualinspectionto
detectcracksintheporcelain,abnormalruststainingandanyabnormalphysical
conditionofthearresterthatisobserved.Incorrectfactoryinstallationofarrestergaskets
hasbeendetectedbyvisualinspectionuponreceiptofthearresters.
HANDLINGSUSPECTARRESTERS

Adamagedsealgappedarrestershouldbehandledwithcare.Becauseofincreased
pressurecausedbythedestructionofinternalelements,adefectivearrestercouldbean
explosivehazard.Ifthedecisionismadetoperformaninternalinspectionofafailed
arrester,ensurethearresterhasventedproperly.Likewise,donotthrowawayadefective
arresterthearrestershouldbeproperlyventedbeforedisposing.

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11/12/2015

ManitobaHydroTestsSurgeArrestersatDelivery
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onDec9,2013

vipinmehta(notverified)

Pleaseprovidesupportingdocumenttoestablishthattheporcelainsurgearrestersareproneto
moistureingress.
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