ABB AG - EPDS Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch UFES active internal arc protection
Agenda Arc fault Protection concepts Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Principle Components Differentiation of protection concepts Portfolio Benefit Slide 2
Internal arc faults Fault characteristics An arc arises when at least part of the current passes through a dielectric, usually air Maximum peak power up to 40 MW Arc plasma temperature up to five times the surface temperature of the sun (20,000 C) Light intensity more than 2,000 times that of normal office light Energy ka 2 s 0.2 s: Steel fire 0.15 s: Copper fire 0.1 s: Cable fire 0 100 150 200 700 800 900 1000 Time/ms Slide 3
Internal arc faults Causes for arc formation Human-related errors Technical causes Environmental causes Work in a wrong cubicle Operation of a wrong isolator Forgetting to ground the working area Forgetting to test the presence of voltage in the working area Installation errors Faults in equipment and false operation of equipment Ageing of insulation and mechanical wear Overvoltage, Overheating Bad cable terminations and loose busbar joints Corrosion Moisture, dirt Foreign objects (e.g. tools) or small animals in the switchgear Slide 4
Internal arc faults Impacts Rapid temperature rise (up to 20,000 C) Rapid pressure rise Release of material fragments and hot gases Burning and vaporization of metal and insulation material Heavy damages possible inside of the switchgear, for the integrated devices and for the building Heavy injuries of the personnel possible for switchgear systems without internal arc classification Slide 5
Internal arc faults Impacts Circuit-breaker compartment Cable connection compartment Substation Slide 6
Agenda Arc fault Protection concepts Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Principle Components Differentiation of protection concepts Portfolio Benefit Slide 7
Protection concepts Medium Voltage Switchgear with passive protection Passive arc protection with pressure relief duct Relief into external areas Passive arc protection with Top Chimney Relief into switchgear room Slide 8
Protection concepts Active arc shutdown Example: ABB REA System Fast arc detection using light and current criteria Adjustable thresholds Min. time to arc shutdown ~ 60 80 ms (REA time + switching time CB + arcing time CB) Fast arc detection relay Detection element Slide 9
Protection concepts Active arc extinction Example: Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch Fast arc detection using light and current criteria Adjustable thresholds Ultra-fast extinction using primary switching elements Max. time for arc extinction ~ 4 ms after detection! Detection element Primary switching element Fast arc detection relay Short-circuit earthing bar Slide 10
Agenda Arc fault Protection concepts Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Principle Components Differentiation of protection concepts Portfolio Benefit Slide 11
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch The basis for effective protection 3 UFES primary switching elements Ultra-fast initiation of a 3-phase short-circuit earthing after detection of a fault by the electronic Elimination of the arc by resulting breakdown of the internal arc voltage UFES electronics Fast and reliable electronics devices for the detection of arc faults or simply as interface to external arc detection systems (e.g. ABB REA) Tripping of the UFES PSE Primary switching elements type U1 Electronic detection and tripping unit type QRU1 Electronic tripping unit type QRU100 Slide 12
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch Sequence of tripping operation Slide 13
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch Ultra-fast reaction time Effective limitation of damage Effective limitation of damage requires fastest intervention Extinction time of the Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch: < 4 ms after fault detection i(t) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 t TC + 4 ms Short-circuit current I k DC component Arcing time with UFES Time [ms] Final clearing by upstream circuit-breaker 80 ms + time x Reaching time for tripping criteria Slide 14
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch UFES electronic type QRU1 Features Electronic detection and tripping unit 9 optical inputs for light detection 3 current inputs for monitoring of the instantaneous current value Up to 5 x 30 additional optical inputs with ABB arc guard type TVOC-2 Completely in fast analogue technology Fast fault localization by use of single lens sensors Self monitoring Testing mode for functional check Simple DIP-switch configuration Electronic detection and tripping unit type QRU1 Lens sensor for optical detection ABB arc guard type TVOC-2 Slide 15
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch UFES electronic type QRU100 Features Electronic tripping unit Ideal for extension of ABB arc protection system type REA 2 Optolink inputs for connection of the REA101 relay 2 high-speed inputs (HSI) for connection of external arc detection systems Self monitoring including the Optolink connection to the REA system Logical combination of the external detection units by use of DIP-switches Testing mode for functional check Functions in combination with REA: optical detection with line or lens sensors; overcurrent detection; selective protection; CB failure protection Electronic tripping unit type QRU100 Combinable arc protection by ABB UFES + REA Slide 16
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch Primary switching element Primary switching element type U1 Vacuum interrupter and operating system integrated in one compact unit Fast and reliable micro gas generator operating mechanism Fast switching time of ~ 1.5 ms Easy handling Low-maintenance Flexible installation Epoxy insulator Fixed contact Ceramic insulator Moving contact pin Rupture joint Piston Cylinder Moving contact system Micro gas generator Slide 17
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch Switching principle Service position Position after tripping Vacuum interrupter Moving direction Drive Current flow after tripping Slide 18
Agenda Arc fault Protection concepts Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Principle Components Differentiation of protection concepts Portfolio Benefit Slide 19
Differentiation of protection concepts Reduced arc energy Comparison Conventional protection device Fault detection by standard relay Clearing of the arc fault current by the upstream circuit-breaker Fast-acting protection relay with supplementary equipment Fast fault detection by special protection relay Clearing of the arc fault current by the upstream circuit-breaker Ultra Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Fast fault detection by UFES electronic or REA system Ultra-fast extinction of an internal arc by switching of the UFES primary switching element type U1 Final clearing of the fault current by the upstream circuit-breaker Slide 20
Differentiation of protection concepts Reduced arc energy 1. Conventional protection device Dramatic consequences possible Fire/Explosion hazard, heavy injuries of personnel (depending on switchgear design) W LiBo [kvas]* 2. Fast protection relay Limited consequences for equipment and personnel (depending on switchgear design) 1 Steel fire 3. Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Drastic reduction of thermal damage Drastically reduced pressure rise No consequences to be expected! 3 2 Copper fire Cable fire 1 10 100 1000 Time [ms] Slide 21 * Constant arc voltage & fault current for the complete fault time Uarc Ik t = Warc (linear function)
Overpressure [bar] Differentiation of protection concepts Reduced pressure rise in the SWG 1.6 1.4 1.2 Exemplary pressure curve, with and without UFES, in a compartment of an air insulated medium voltage switchgear, for an internal arc fault current of 130 ka (peak) / 50 ka (rms) 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 t TC Pressure rise without UFES Pressure rise with UFES Reaching time for tripping criteria 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 t TC + 4 ms Time [ms] Slide 22
Differentiation of protection concepts Internal arc test with and without UFES Without active UFES protection With active UFES protection With active UFES protection Busbar compartment after internal arc impact (50 ka / 100 ms) Busbar compartment after internal arc impact Point of fault initiation in the busbar compartment Slide 23
Pressure difference p ex [mbar] Differentiation of protection concepts Reduced pressure rise in the SWG room Simulation Object: metal-clad switchgear, 800 panel width Fault: 3-phase, 40 karms Fault location: cable connection compartment Free available room volume: 50 m³, 100 m³, 200 m³ Pressure relief flap (room): 1 m² * Present simulation is for illustration use only! It does not substitute a pressure calculation based on the real environmental facts! Installation room without UFES Installation room with UFES Type of wall Permissible room pressure [mbar / m²] Brick wall 3 10 Reinforced brick wall 30 30 25 20 15 50 m 3 100 m 3 200 m 3 3 2 Precast concrete 50 10 1 50 m 3 Cast-in-place concrete >70 Concrete room cells 130 5 0 0 20 40 60 80 Arcing time t [ms] 0 0 5 200 m 3 10 15 20 25 Arcing time t [ms] Slide 24
Agenda Arc fault Protection concepts Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Principle Components Differentiation of protection concepts Portfolio Benefit Slide 25
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Applicable for highest requirements UFES primary switching element Maximum rated voltage: Ur = 40.5 kv Ik = 40 ka (3s) Maximum rated short-time withstand current for medium voltage: Ik = 50 ka (3s), 63 ka (1s) Ur = 17.5 kv Maximum rated short-time withstand current for low voltage: Ik = 100 ka (0.5s) Ur = 1.4 kv Slide 26
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Available as loose components UFES-Kit-1 as OEM product, consisting of UFES-Kit-100 as OEM product, consisting of + + + + Electronic detection and tripping unit type QRU1 1 set (3 off) tripping cables (10 m) with special plug for PSE 3 primary switching elements (PSE) Electronic tripping unit type QRU100 1 set (3 off) tripping cables (10 m) with special plug for PSE 3 primary switching elements (PSE) Slide 27
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Available as ABB Service retrofit solution Service-Box Draw-out technology (Illustration: Side-mounted) Slide 28
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Available for ABB switchgear (AIS) UFES in UniGear Top-Box installation UFES in UniGear installation in cable compartment Slide 29
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Available for ABB dry type transformer ABB RESIBLOC with UFES protection Slide 30
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Certified protection VdS Schadenverhütung The registered trademark VdS is a well-known quality seal for products and services, which has its origin in the umbrella organization of the German insurance industry Certification available since Feb 2015 DNV GL One of the worldwide leading companies, offering technical services for the testing and certifying of components for maritime application Approval for offshore and marine application of UFES available since Nov 2011 Slide 31
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Certified protection UL Underwriters Laboratories The UL certification mark, as one of the most known quality symbols for products, represents proven conformity with the technical standards and legal safety regulations in the US and Canada UL Recognized Component certification available since January 2016 Slide 32
Agenda Arc fault Protection concepts Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Principle Components Differentiation of protection concepts Portfolio Benefit Slide 33
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Minimizing of the hazardous impacts of an internal arc fault Major effects: Rapid temperature and pressure rise Secondary effects: Strong optical and acoustic load for persons Release of hot toxic gases Slide 34
Ultra-Fast Earthing Switch type UFES Unbeatable advantages Greatly increased operator safety for personnel working at the switchgear or in the direct vicinity Drastic reduction of downtimes by lowering the impacts of an internal arc fault to an insignificant minimum Means Greatly increased system and process availability Drastic reduction of repair costs by avoidance of heavy damages inside of the switchgear, of the equipment and of the direct environment Reduction of pressure relief measures by application of active arc protection concepts Slide 35