Abstract This paper presents the study of deformations and Von-Misses stresses of the main shaft system during opening and closing operations of a rotary SF6 load break switch (LBS). The shaft consists of three axially connected parts made of steel where components are on ground potential and of plastic material, which is on high potential. The insulating shaft carries three rotating knife-blade contacts for the three phases. Static deformation of the insulating shaft is calculated by applying a defined torque between the two ends of the shaft. The results allow deducing the dynamic deformation. Maximum values of Von-Misses stresses are located at the geared connection between the plastic and the steel shaft. The rotation of the shaft system is measured synchronously by two optical rotary encoders in the front and rear sides of the LBS. The results confirm the twisting of the shaft system and provide its elastic deformation values. Travel curves obtained on both side of the LBS show different courses with respect to overtravel and rebound. Discrepancies can be explained by the deformation of the main shaft due to the acting forces, whereas manufacturing tolerances resulting in loose have a certain contribution.

Abstract The breaking capacity of a medium voltage (MV) rotary SF6 load break switch (LBS) can be improved by incorporating permanent magnets into the stationary contacts. The magnetic field is intended to blow the switching arc root towards a recessed space at the stationary contacts thereby preventing reignition of the arc after current zero. Making and breaking tests of load current 630 A were performed comparing the switching performance of load break switches equipped without a permanent magnet, with a ferrite and with a neodymium magnet. The impact of different polarity arrangements of the magnets in the three phases is also considered and analysed. In order to understand the arc behaviour caused by the effect of permanent magnet, arcing times and arc voltage were measured and evaluated. The results show that the arc voltage depends on the direction of the electromagnetic force, which is determined by the phase current direction but also by the polarity of the magnets. When the force is directed towards the recessed space at the stationary contacts, the arc voltage is notably higher than in the case where the arc is blown in the opposite direction. The higher arc voltage is a reliable indication that the length of the arc is increased, which significantly reduces the risk of both thermal and dielectric breakdowns after the first current zero. The consequences are noticed first in the reduction of the number of missed current zeroes and second in shorter minimum arcing times. An adverse arrangement of the magnet polarity in the three phases increases the number of missed current zeroes.

Abstract This paper presents the design and development of a distributed measurement system for measuring pressure in high voltage circuit breakers (HV CB) and other switching apparatuses, during no-load operations. Instead of using traditional pressure transducers which require significant installation space, additional data acquisition cards and often demand for complex wiring, an in-house solution of pressure measurement is proposed. The system consists of miniature sensors, accompanied with a suitable amplifier, microcontroller unit and communication module, which may be distributed inside the interrupter unit in convenient locations. Due to the fact that the measurement values are transmitted digitally, measurement noise is significantly reduced while the wiring of the system is additionally simplified. The proposed measurement system is tested using two different interrupters (HV CB and a load break switch). The experimental results have demonstrated that the developed system is applicable, accurate, cost-effective, flexible and simple to use.

The breakdown voltage during interruption of capacitive currents is defined by two physical quantities: the electric field and the gas density field, which are calculated in different calculation domains and using different mashes. In order to calculate the breakdown voltage, it is necessary to map these two mashes and calculate the ratio density/electric field in every calculation point. The straightforward solution is to pair each density cell with the nearest cell from the electric field mesh, based on their coordinates. Although this solution gives good results, it is very time consuming. Therefore, this paper presents a new approach for mapping of two meshes based on the algebra of fractal vector, so called Bosnian algebra. This approach does not search the meshes for the closest pair based on the coordinates of each point, but instead uses only the assigned cell indexes and simple fractal operations to determine the neighboring cells. This way, the search for the nearest pair is much more efficient and faster.

High reliability of HV SF6 switchgear makes an internal arc fault an extremely rare event. However, its occurrence cannot be completely avoided, and therefore must be considered in the design process. Internal arc testing in SF6 is not recommended due to its harmful environmental impact, but if necessary, tests should be performed only inside special containers, that will prevent the release of SF6 into the atmosphere. Having in mind that tests in SF6 and air are not yet fully comparable, accurate modeling of pressure rise due to internal arc faults is still the main means to evaluate required design parameters of SF6 switchgear in respect of safety from internal arc faults. A simulation tool, which calculates the pressure rise due to an internal arc inside a metal-enclosed SF6 compartment, was developed and used in the design of a new HV GIS. The calculation procedure and obtained results were described and discussed. Validation of the tool was performed using experimental data from SF6 internal arc tests, dating back several decades ago, when internal arc tests in SF6 were not questionable as today.

In this paper, the impact of several 145 kV 40 kA GIS (Gas Insulated Switchgear) circuit breaker design parameters, such as length of the main nozzle throat, contact travel and average opening speed, on the estimated breakdown voltage of the contact gap of an interrupter during capacitive current breaking is analyzed. A new approach for breakdown voltage estimation, which provides full correlation between all circuit breaker design parameters and dielectric characteristics of the contact gap and the criterion for breakdown occurrence, was used for this purpose. The estimated capacitive current breaking capability of the circuit breaker was verified by type testing in KEMA High Power Laboratory, the Netherlands.

High voltage SF6 circuit breaker simulations based on an integral-physical enthalpy flow arc model are very powerful tool in designing and optimization of high voltage SF6 circuit breakers. This is especially important in case when full correlation between the electric arc, interrupter unit and operating mechanism parameters is needed. This paper presents computer simulations of an improved operating mechanism proven on a 123/145kV 31.5/40 kA GIS circuit breaker and verified using experimentally obtained data. The optimum value of the opening energy for rated short-circuit current interruption of the analyzed circuit breaker is estimated by using an improved operating mechanism model. In addition, several analyses have been made in order to investigate how some interrupter parameters affect the contact travel and breaking performance.

The density and SF6 gas pressure distribution along the nozzle of a HV circuit breaker plays an important role in the process of current interruption. Therefore, the analysis of the pressure distribution is essential for researchers and designers of HV SF6 circuit breakers. In this paper, simulation software for HV SF6 circuit breakers, which is based on an integral-physical enthalpy flow arc model, and CFD simulation software were used for determination of the pressures inside the interrupter chambers and pressure distribution along the nozzle. The calculated results are verified by comparison with the experimentally measured transient gas pressures for several positions inside the puffer cylinder, nozzle throat, upstream and downstream of the nozzle in a 252 kV puffer type SF6 circuit breaker during no-load operations and breaking of short-circuit currents. Comparison of the calculation results with the measurements revealed very good matching. In addition, the same simulation method is applied to some other types of HV circuit breakers and the obtained results are analyzed and discussed.

This paper focuses on the optimization of the design of high voltage transmission lines in order to reduce the negative impact of electric and magnetic fields. Within this paper the results of measurements of electric and magnetic fields near 400 kV transmission line were presented. Measurements were performed in the middle of the range between two towers, because at this point transmission lines are closest to the ground. In order to make better validation of the used calculation models of electric and magnetic fields, measurement of temperature, pressure, humidity and height of particular transmission lines in the middle range, were performed simultaneously. The values of current and voltage on the transmission line, at the time of measurement of the fields, are also given. Based on the measured values of electric and magnetic fields, validation of calculation was performed. This paper also contains a brief comparative analysis of regulations on non-ionizing radiation of power facilities that are in use in some European countries, as well as recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Calculation of electric and magnetic fields of different configurations of 400 kV transmission line, were performed in order to find optimal solution in terms of reducing the negative impact of electric and magnetic fields of high voltage transmission

Energy released by electric arc during short circuit switching is mostly absorbed by the surrounding cold SF6 gas. However, a considerable part of this energy is also transferred and absorbed by other elements of the circuit breaker interrupter which are located near the electric arc. The most important parts are the transfer of energy to the arcing contacts and to the nozzles, absorption of the energy by these elements and the resulting effects. The absorption of the energy causes heating, melting and finally the vaporization of structural material and it is the main cause of wearing of arcing contacts and nozzles, where the latter is commonly referred to as the nozzle ablation. The nozzle ablation causes an increase in the nozzle throat diameter which generally has a negative effect on the circuit breakers breaking performance. The other significant effect is the mixing of SF6 gas and the nozzle vaporized material in the nozzle space and in the surrounding chambers. It is obvious that the ablation process has a considerable influence on the state of SF6 gas in the contact gap but also in the adjacent interrupting chambers, in particular on the state of gas in the thermal chamber in case of self-blast interrupting units. In this paper, a method of calculation of intensity of nozzle ablation is presented as well as a variety of calculation results. The calculated nozzle ablation intensity is verified by comparing the calculated results of the nozzle diameter increase and mass losses, with experimentally obtained data. In addition to the nozzle ablation intensity, the influence of the ablated nozzle material on the state of SF6 gas in the thermal chamber is also analyzed and discussed. The model is incorporated into a computer application for high voltage circuit breaker interruption simulation.