Arc Fault Containment

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

Challenges in specifying and safely operating medium voltage switchgear

ABB

Globally, there is an increasing concern for health and safety of people. In New Zealand, the government has legislated that all employers must identify hazards and where these are significant, a control plan must be in place to minimise the risk of harm to people. (The health and safety in employment act 1992). ABB knows well that good safety is good business. This is very relevant in our industry and internal arc faults are indeed a hazard. Today we hope to assist you with assessing and controlling this hazard. All specialists are in basic agreement that manufacturers and users must make every effort to prevent, under all circumstances, faults in switchgear installations in which internal arcing occurs. However, it is acknowledged that such faults cannot be prevented in all cases. For this reason it is expected that current switchgear designs are tested for response to internal arcing. ABB invest heavily in development and research into the effects of internal arc faults and some of the ABB global feeder factories in Europe have their own high power laboratories within a close proximity to the manufacturing plants e.g. SACE, Italy (Unigear 11kV indoor switchgear), Ratingen, Germany (ZX 33 kV indoor switchgear) and Skein, Norway (24-33kV SafeRing RMU switchgear). The ABB New Zealand factory at Henderson, Auckland is fortunate to be relatively close to the Testing and Certification Australia ASTA accredited testing laboratory located in Lane Cove, Sydney. ABB NZ has had an association with this laboratory since the early 1980s and both the SafeLink and SD products have been certified there. More recent testing has included arc fault tests on the SafeLink product. During this presentation we will be showing footage of tests performed at Lane Cove; and it is rare for us to show this footage outside of ABB. High speed cameras were used to record the progress of the arc fault events. The effects of the arc fault on the switchgear installation and possible consequences for personnel depend not only on the fault level, its duration and the enclosed volume, but also the design detail of the compartment and the installation conditions.

Scope of Presentation

Understanding internal arc fault phenomena Design techniques for arc fault compartments Specify using IEC 62271-200 Installation and operational safety considerations

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

20kA, 1 Second, Cablebox Arc Fault

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

Internal short circuit arcs during operation can occur by over-voltage, faulty insulation, mechanical failure or fuse failure. The IEC standard 62271-200 includes a table showing typical locations and causes of internal arcs and examples of measures to reduce the probability of internal arcs. When entering the world of internal arc fault events, your normal perception of 1 second is seriously challenged. Have a look at the life of an internal arc fault. The test consists of inducing the arc with an ignition wire connected across all three phases. The arc has temperatures around 4000 K in the area of its rooting points and around 10,000 K or more in the arc column.

Pressure During Arc Fault

1. 2. 3. 4. Compression phase (pressure build-up) Expansion phase (pressure relief) Emission phase (hot gases released) Thermal phase (ejection of glowing particles)

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

This slide shows an extract from the ABB switchgear manual 10th edition. Immediately after the arc has been ignited, the gas in the immediate vicinity of the arc heats up, causing a very steep rise in pressure in the compartment under test. This pressure rise would continue to the load limit of the complete enclosure if pressure relief were not provided. The sealing covers or membranes of the pressure relief vents respond in around 5 to 15 ms and open the path to allow the heated gases to vent. This characteristic process is determined not only by the response time of the pressure relief valves but also as a result of the mechanical inertia of the heated gas mass. The maximum pressure reached is dependent on the volume of the compartment where the fault occurs and on the magnitude of the short-circuit current. The greatest quantity of heated gas is given off into the area around the switchboard during the expansion phase. The pressure stress on the panel exceeds its high point as early as about 15 ms, and that of the building has reached its maximum stress after 40 ms at the latest. A powerful ejection of still heated gas of low density and glowing particles occurs in the subsequent emission phase and in the thermal phase. The pictures shown in the presentation show the situation for a SafeLink unit at 0, 5, 100, 500 and 900ms following arc ignition.

20kA, 1 Second, Cablebox Arc Fault

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

A high speed camera record allows us to look at the 1 second arc fault event in slow motion. Also note that to achieve a successful test, the peak factor must reach 2.5 on at least one phase. For a 20kA fault current this means a 50 kA peak is reached. This is arranged by an inductive offset in the test circuit that peaks in the first cycles; this affects the maximum pressure rise rather than thermal effects.

UniGear Circuit Breaker Test

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

This video shows the result of an arc fault test on the ABB UniGear product. Note the pressure shock wave that is shown by the movement of the indicator panels. As an extension of the basic test, UniGear has recently passed internal arc fault tests with the low voltage compartment door open.

Understanding Internal Arc Fault Phenomena

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

The effects and consequences of an arc fault event are highly dependent on the fault level, duration and location of the fault within the switchgear. In addition, the installation conditions of the switchgear will impact the effects of the arc fault, and if the equipment is badly sited will magnify the effects of the fault.

Design Techniques for Arc Fault Compartments

Pressure relief Double skin panels Arc venting Minimising arc duration

Pressure shunt control Pressure operated earth switch Optic arc sensing

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

Design techniques to minimise the effect on personnel include: pressure relief double skin panels or sacrificial panels to protect the outer panels from burn through in the thermal phase arc venting to areas that protect personneleither externally to the building or internally via an absorber. There are also options used to minimise the duration of the arc to less than 100 ms. These techniques are used for indoor substation switchboards and include: pressure shunt control which operates at approximately 0.6 bar overpressure and shunts the feeder breaker pressure operated earth switches within the compartment that have fault make capability to effectively short out the fault optical arc sensing in non-switching compartments such as busbar chambers and cable compartments.

Arc Venting on ZX1.2 Panel

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

UniGear ZS1 Test Setup

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

This picture shows a UniGear 11kV indoor circuit breaker switchboard under test complete with an arc venting duct to the exterior to the switchroom.

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SafeLink Pressure Relief

Vented arc product

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

This slide shows the back of a SafeLink switch enclosure with the arc vent cover removed. The top photo shows the unit as built, while the bottom photo shows the result of a 20kA, 1sec internal arc test within the switching area of the unit.

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Double Skin Protects Outer Panels

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

The photos show the result on the SafeLink cablebox doors of a 20kA, 1sec arc fault test. This was a successful cablebox test for Internal Arc Classification AF 20kA, 1sec. The pictures show the effectiveness of the double skin on the front door and side panels which prevents any burn through in the thermal phase. The inside skin is 1.5mm thick aluzinc, standard on all Safelink RMUs. The left hand photo also shows the condition of the bushing stem after the internal arc fault; where the 25mm diameter x 60mm copper stems within the cable bushings of all 3 phases have has been vaporised in 1 second.

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IEC 62271-200 / IEC 62271-202

Accessibility

Type A: restricted to authorized personnel Type B: unrestricted accessibility F for front side L for lateral side R for rear side

Room simulation

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

The room shall be represented by a floor, ceiling and two walls perpendicular to each other.

IAC Classification Internal arc

AF 20kA, 1s

ABB

The relevant IEC standard for the equipment type we have been discussing is IEC 62271-200. This standard has the title: AC metal enclosed switchgear and control gear for rated voltage above 1 kV and up to and including 52 kV. It was released in 2003 and replaced IEC 60298 which had the same name. Annex A of the standard provides a test method for assessing the performance of equipment suffering an internal arc fault. From this assessment the equipment may be given an Internal Arc Classification (IAC). This allows manufacturers to offer, and indeed customers to specify, a tested level of protection to persons in the vicinity of equipment in the event of an internal arc fault. The standard covers metal enclosed switchgear that may be used in indoor and outdoor applications. For internal arc tests equipment passing the test for indoor application is considered to be valid for outdoor applications with the same accessibility requirements. There are two levels of accessibility provided by the standard. A for authorised personnel who are considered to be adequately dressed with protective equipment and B for equipment accessible at any time and including by the general public. In addition to the level of access the equipment is assessed for its performance with regard to access directions which are specified as front, lateral and rear. For the test, cotton indicator panels are placed on the sides of the equipment that are accessible. Accessibility A is tested with a 150g/m indicator cloth placed 300mm from the face of the equipment whilst accessibility B indicators are placed 100mm from the unit and use a cloth weight of only 40g/m. Indicators are also placed horizontally at a height of 2m.

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The test method will also vary depending on whether the equipment is to be used indoors or outdoors. Indoor equipment is tested with a room having ceiling, walls and floor. Outdoor equipment is tested without walls and ceiling if accessibility applies to all sides. Where pressure relieves into a duct arrangement this must also be included in the test setup and the opening of the ducting placed at least 2m from the equipment being tested. Following a successful test the equipment will be given a an IAC rating. This includes the type of access, which sides are accessible and the level of the fault current. In addition to the tests for the equipment covered by IEC 62271-200 there is another relevant standard, which is IEC 62271-202 High voltage/low voltage prefabricated substation. This was released in 2006. It covers internal arc fault testing of prefabricated substations and includes tests on both the HV switchgear and the HV interconnections. A prefabricated substation can have classification of IAC-A (for authorised personnel, with door open) IAC-B (Unrestricted access to all sides with doors closed) or IAC-AB for substations that comply with both of the ratings. The pass criteria make the same consideration to personnel safety as IEC 62271-200.

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Switch Enclosure Test

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

This slides shows the test set up for an internal arc fault test in the switching chamber of SafeLink. The equipment has been mounted on a concrete pad. Indicators for accessibility type A have been placed on the front side only, at a distance of 300mm from the front of the unit. In addition, horizontal indicators at 2m have been placed above and in front of the unit under test.

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IEC 62271-200
The internal arc fault tests are measured by 5 acceptance criteria as follows

Criterion No.1 Correctly secured doors and covers do not open. Deformations are accepted, provided that no part comes as far as the position of the indicators or the walls (whichever is closest) in every side. The switch gear and control gear do not need to comply with its IP code after the test.

Criterion No.2 No fragmentation of the enclosure occurs within the time specified for the test. Projections of small parts, up to an individual mass of 60g are accepted.

Criterion No.3 Arcing does not cause holes in the accessible sides up to a height of 2 m. Criterion No.4 Indicators do not ignite due to the effect of hot gases. Criterion No. 5 The enclosure remains connected to its earthing point

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

ABB

The standard provides 5 criteria for assessing the performance of the equipment. In summary these are: Doors and covers do not come off. No large items are projected from the unit. Holes are not generated in the accessible side outer panels. Indicators are not set alight. Earthing is still connected. Of these, we have found the greatest challenge to have come from not igniting the indicator panels.

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Installation and Operation Considerations

Personnel PPE Accessibility Installation type Fault level at installation

ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

21 kA, 1 sec

13 kA, 1 sec

ABB

Regardless of the type of equipment and its installation situation there will always remain the risk of something going wrong. And so operators will need to wear the appropriate protective equipment and observe safe working practices. As a manufacturer we can make things safer, but some risk will remain. In addition to improvements with dealing with arc fault events, modern equipment now has lower maintenance requirements and much, especially SF6-insulated equipment, is sealed for life. This means that there is a lower propensity for arc faults to occur. Termination choice can also help to reduce occurrence of arc faultsfor instance push-on boots require less skill to fit than heat shrink terminations. When you are specifying equipment, or comparing different equipment there are several important considerations. What accessibility is needed? Do you need to have type A (authorised personnel) or type B (unrestricted)? It may be that you need type A with some covers open as it would be for undertaking operations and type B with all covers firmly in place. Where is the equipment to be installed? As will have been appreciated the test setup of the standard may not represent real world conditions. If equipment fitted with pressure relief is installed in a compact substation or un-vented building you may find that the equipment performs as expected with its pressure relief operating in the first 10-20ms and after this time the pressure then builds up in the enclosure. If this enclosure has no relief will it be strong enough to contain the hot gases or will it be damaged? What accessibility is needed for the containing building or substation? The fault level at the installation is very significant. The switchgear is generally tested at its full short-circuit rating. But as is seen in the videos the effect of a reduced arc fault current is significant and the maximum possible fault level at an installation may affect the design of the housing for the equipment. 17

Installation and Operation Considerations

Personnel PPE Accessibility Installation type Fault level at installation Duration of protection settings

13 kA, 1 sec
ABB Ltd. NZ PTMV

20 kA, 0.2 sec

ABB

The duration of the arc is also significant. Generally the same peak pressure will be generated whether the arc lasts for 0.1 or 1 second. But the effect on the switchgear can be significant. If the realistic arc duration is 0.2 seconds the design used for the switchgear and its housing can be very different to that required if the arc duration is 1 second. These two videos show the effect of a 13kA, 1 sec test and a 20kA, 0.2 sec test for similar test conditions (SafeLink in outdoor enclosure, IAC BFLR). As is clearly seen, the shorter duration arc generates much less in the way of arc products despite the much higher fault current level.

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In this presentation we have covered the important aspects of performance of switchgear during an arc fault. We have taken you through what happens during an arc fault event and how design choices can be made to deal with the high pressures generated and prevent burn through of the outer panels. We have introduced the test method specified in the IEC standards and highlighted the need to understand how specific installation conditions might affect the performance of equipment during an arc fault event.

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