ANALYSIS OF MODERN HIGH VOLTAGE CIRCUIT BREAKER FAILURE DURING SHUNT REACTOR SWITCHING OPERATIONS AND CORRECTIVE MEASURES

J. LOPEZ-ROLDAN, Powerlink Queensland, Australia, jlopez-roldan@powerlink.com.au M. BLUNDELL, Powerlink Queensland, Australia, mblundell@powerlink.com.au D.WING, Powerlink Queensland, Australia, dwing@powerlink.com.au D.BIRTWHISTLE, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, d.birtwhistle@qut.edu.au M. RAMLI, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, ms.ramli@student.qut.edu.au T.TANG, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, t.tang@qut.edu.au

ABSTRACT
Powerlink Queensland recently experienced a circuit breaker failure during shunt reactor switching operations in the 275kV network. The circuit breaker failed to clear the current, and this resulted in internal destruction of a pole. After internal visual inspection of the interrupter chamber in the three poles, it was found that the interrupter nozzles have been perforated by repetitive re-strikes. The degradation effect of this re-striking behavior lead to catastrophic nozzle failure. Reasons for the occurrence of re-strikes in modern circuit breakers are explained in the paper. Several parameters affecting this phenomena, such as the arcing time, switching transient overvoltages and the dielectric coordination of the interrupter chamber are discussed. Possible solutions to reduce the re-striking probability are investigated by the results of Transient Analysis. Finally, an innovative method to monitor circuit breaker restriking behavior in the field is presented.

Figure 1: Schematic of 275kV Network with Position of Line Reactor CB One example of a failure was the breakdown of the CB switching a line reactor with a neutral earthing reactor (NER) at the 275kV substation shown in Figure 1. This CB had been in service for over four years and had been operated almost daily. During a routine opening operation under command from the network switching centre, the dead-tank circuit breaker failed to clear on phase A and subsequently faulted internally to ground. During the fault investigation and breaker disassembly, clear marks of severe arcing puncture in the nozzle of the interrupter were found. This nozzle damage occurred prior to failure most likely due to re-striking during opening operations. Evidence of severe nozzle puncture was also found in phase C. The hypothesis of the interrupter failure is that during the final opening, a re-strike punctured right through the nozzle between the moving main contact and the fixed arcing contact of the interrupter. The current within the nozzle was extinguished but ionized gases forced though the puncture by the action of the puffer allowed power frequency current to restart between the main contacts outside the nozzle, out of the effective area of arc interruption.

KEYWORDS
High voltage circuit breakers, shunt reactors, switching overvoltages, controlled switching, voltage sensors.

INTRODUCTION
Switching of shunt reactors is recognized as a duty that causes a very high rate-of-rise of transient recovery voltage (TRV) across the circuit breaker contacts. Shunt reactors are switched frequently, even daily. Overvoltages may occur due to current chopping, reignitions or both [3]. Catastrophic faillures of modern SF6 circuit breaker have been reported [1] when disconnecting 420kV shunt reactors. Evidence of restriking was obtained by measurement of the reactor voltage waveform for 25% of 68 three-phase switching operations. Such restrikes have been also observed by Spencer [4] who suggested that the PTFE nozzels of some circuit breakers can be slowly degraded by occasional restrikes and that eventually failure of the interrupter can occur.

CALCULATION OF TRANSIENT RECOVERY VOLTAGES FROM REACTOR SWITCHING

The approach involved an attempt to reproduce and compare results, which have been determined from two different techniques for a basic reactor switching model. These techniques were used to calculate the apparent TRV parameters either by applying the classically proven IEC standards [2] or by determining values by the EMTP-RV system modeling method. Once an understanding of the TRVs and apparent values were calculated, a preliminary model was realised within EMTP-RV to be applied against a number of theoretical

CIRCUIT BREAKER SWITCHING REACTOR FAILURE AT POWERLINK QUEENSLAND

In recent years Powerlink Queensland has experienced several failures of modern SF6 circuit breakers used in Shunt Reactor switching operations in the 275kV network.

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The conclusion of the calculations is that removing the NER reduces the TRV, and the use of passive overvoltage protection devices, such as surge arresters, also considerably decreases the TRV.

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In addition to the level of TRV at the current interruption, the dielectric design of the interrupter chamber plays a fundamental role in the breaker performance. Experience shows that most CB failures during reactor de-energization are of a dielectric nature [1] [4]. After arc interruption, a reignition occurs because the TRV exceeds the dielectric strength of the contact gap. It is a race between the rise of the TRV and the Rate of Rise of Dielectric Strength (RRDS) of the interrupter. It is of utmost importance that, in the event of a reignition, the arc remains confined between the arcing contacts inside the nozzle area (Figure 3). Then the reignition will be extinguished even though it may contribute to damage to the nozzle. However, if the arc escapes outside the nozzle containment, either by establishing itself between the main contacts or by puncturing the wall of the nozzle, it is likely that the interrupter will not be able to clear the arc. Therefore, it is necessary that the breakdown voltage of the main contacts exceeds the level between the arcing contacts for all separations of the contact gap up to the maximum arcing gap. An example of an analysis of a contact gap can be seen in the graph of Figure 4. In this figure, the breakdown voltage between the arcing contacts exceeds that of the main contacts beyond a certain point along the contact travel path. If the arcing gap exceeds this point, and the TRV exceeds the breakdown voltage value, then a reignition outside of the nozzle will occur. The presence of surface charge on the nozzle is another important factor to consider in the dielectric coordination analysis. Static charge on the nozzle will distort the voltage distribution across the contacts (Figure 3(b)) and enhance locally the electric field [6] [4]. The nozzle is made of a PTFE material. Due to the high volumetric and surface resistance of this insulating material, any surface charge that occurs may remain in place for a very long time. The charge can be as a result of corona discharges, contact or mechanical friction. The former is especially important in the case of self-compression interrupters [6].

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Figure 2: Schematic of Preliminary EMTP-RV CB Reactor Switching Model solutions that may alleviate the reactive switching issues at the site shown in Figure 1. From the IEC standard [2], the following initial TRV values were calculated for the reactor switching bay primary plant: TRV peak without NER = 745.735kV TRV Peak with NER = 813.180kV These results show about a 10% difference when calculating the respective reactor switching TRVs with either the NER connected or not connected. A linear EMTP-RV model was developed to represent the reactor switching situation at hand. The schematic of Figure 2 was initially used to generate TRV values for comparison between different operating conditions. From the EMTP-RV waveforms produced, the following values of krv and kp were calculated for each of the different types of potential solutions being evaluated. Theoretical Solution/s Description Base EMTP Case Rated Surge Arrester 10nF Grading Capacitance 30nF Grading Capacitance NER Removed krv Transient Recovery Voltage 1,050 655 840 820 795 kp ReIgnition Overvoltage 1,040 650

2 3

860 825 720 (a) (b)

Table 1: Calculations of TRVs for Proposed Solutions

Figure 3: (a): Typical schematic of SF6 CB showing main contacts (1), arcing contacts (2) and nozzle (3). (b): voltage distribution in interrupter chamber (axissymmetric)

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0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

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2.0

1.5

1.0

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0.5

established methods would possibly provide information about the magnitude and frequency of small reignitions and restrikes in circuit breakers that could be a precursor to interrupter failure. However, waveform measurements at a moderately high frequency require plant outages to connect equipment and this is difficult and costly in todays operating environment. Moore [8] has used radiometric methods to measure closing times of circuit breakers during capacitor bank energisation with some success and it appears that this technique can be adapted to detection of restiking. Moore used four anntena with a frequency range of 0.1 1.0GHz and therefore obtained no data about the lower-frequency transient phenomena occurring during switching. The lower-frequency transients contain a great deal of information about the sequence of events which could help localise the time of occurrence of restrikes with respect to other important phenomena such as, for example, 50Hz current interruptions. We therefore have extended Moores technique with the inclusion of an antenna with a bandwidth of DC to GHz.

Breakdown Voltage (pu)

Main contact
0.0

Separation Distance (pu)

Figure 4: Example of analysis of voltage breakdown for main and arcing contacts along the contact gap In the example of the interrupter diagram of Figure 3, the charge on the nozzle produced by the friction with the fixed arcing contact may produce a critical local electric field enhancement where the charge is of opposite polarity to the contact voltage. The field distortion also produces a change in the discharge direction from the arc contacts across the nozzle.

CONTROLLED SWITCHING
Controlled switching or Point-on-Wave relays are widely used on reactor de-energization to reduce the transient overvoltages and the reignition probability [5]. This last is achieved by controlling the timing of the breaker opening to guarantee a minimum arcing time inside a defined window of the power frequency current. When the arc is interrupted, the separation of the contacts is enough to guarantee the dielectric strength of the interrupter is sufficient to withstand the subsequent TRV. Controlled switching requires independent pole operation and mechanically consistent circuit breakers with appropriate minimum arcing times. The minimum arcing time depends on the amplitude and rise time of the TRV and the RRDS of the interrupter chamber. In addition, it is important to consider the whole dielectric coordination of the interrupter chamber as discussed above. The selection of the controlled switching settings is fundamental for the proper operation of the relay otherwise the function of controlled switching could have negative effects. For instance, a controlled switching function was installed in the reactor breaker, the failure of which has been described above. The initial settings given by the circuit breaker manufacturer did not achieve the minimum arcing time required for its particular application. Subsequently, the relay was forcing the interrupter to clear the current at a dielectrically sensitive position of the contact path along the nozzle. Repetitive reignitions in the same area caused compounding damage in the nozzle and the final puncturing which lead to the catastrophic failure. After the fault investigation and discussion with the manufacturer, a decision was taken to increase the arcing time by modifying the setting in the relay.

Sensor technology
Active antenna The active antenna designed for this application consists of a passive dipole antenna and a broadband RF amplifier. The passive dipole is 150mm long, with a diameter of 1.6mm. The RF amplifier is designed to have a frequency response from 1.5MHz to 1.5GHz, and a signal gain of 12dB. In operation, the RF amplifier acts as an impedance transformer, converting the high output impedance of the electrically short dipole at the low frequency range to a lowimpedance output. At the high frequency end, the RF amplifier merely amplifies the received signal. A picture of the self-contained active receiving antenna is shown in Figure 5(a). Passive antenna The passive antenna constructed for this application consists of a metallic cylinder enclosed at both ends. The centre pin of a BNC connector is connected to one end plate of the cylinder as shown in Figure 5(b). At the power line frequency, the passive antenna is effectively coupled to the power lines capacitively. As the coupling capacitance is small, only a fraction of a picofarad, the voltage developed across the load is linearly proportional to the load resistance. This is in effect a capacitive potential divider.

A NOVEL MONITORING TECHNIQUE FOR DETECTION OF CIRCUIT BREAKER RESTRIKING

Monitoring of voltage waveforms during switching using Figure 5: (a) Active Antenna (b) Passive Antenna

CH1 CH2 CH3

Further exploratory measurements have been carried out on a 300kV capacitor bank installation. With further improvements and developments, additional measurements will be conducted on capacitor bank and reactor bank installations in Powerlink substations.

SUMMARY
Despite important progress made in the understanding and mitigation of the dielectric stresses experienced during reactor de-energisation, modern circuit breakers are still susceptible to catastrophic failure. Modern single-interrupter circuit breakers are known to be more highly stressed than previous designs of CB with several interrupters per pole. The solution is a dielectrically well designed CB taking advantage of advanced controlled switching to obtain a reignition free window and minimise the risk of nozzle damage or puncture. In order to properly define the minimum arcing time for the controlled switching, it is necessary to calculate the TRV for the specific reactor switching, the RRDS of the breaker, and be aware of the whole dielectric coordination in the interrupter chamber to avoid the possibility of a reignition outside of the nozzle. In addition of the use of controlled switching, it is still beneficial to install surge arresters between the CB and the reactor. This measure contributes to the reduction of the TRV and affords additional passive protection to the reactor. The use of both low frequency and high frequency antennas are an interesting, non-intrusive measuring technique to detect re-strikes in the CB during deenergisation of reactor and capacitor banks.

CH1 Passive Antenna CH2 V Supply CH3 V Reactor

Figure 6(a): Waveforms during opening of Vacuum Circuit Breaker at 3kV.

Switching tests (Reactor switching)

In order to investigate the application of both antennas in detecting re-strikes in circuit breakers, an experiment was set up on Single Phase Reactor switching. Re-striking is known to be produced during interrupting inductive/reactor current in vacuum circuit breakers [7]. A step up transformer was used to raise the test voltage between 3kV and 5kV. A 12kV rated vacuum circuit breaker was chosen to switch the reactor. Figure 6(a) shows signals measured by the passive antenna. It was observed that the signal picked up by the passive antenna leads the supply voltage and reactor voltage due to the capacitive coupling nature of the passive antenna. On opening of the vacuum circuit breaker, the passive antenna picked up the high frequency restriking and the transient LC oscillation superimposed on the 50Hz component. The supply voltage indicated HF restriking followed by voltage distortion and settled to a 50Hz signal. The reactor voltage showed HF restriking followed by a decaying transient oscillation at 500Hz which was also picked up by the passive antenna. The 500Hz oscillation is a function of the L and C on the load side of the circuit breaker and corresponds with the calculated values. Fig 6(b) shows the HF re-striking pulses detected by the active antenna. The active antenna blocks out the 50Hz component and the 500Hz transient oscillation. The recorded HF pulses occurred for 1ms and were consistent with the re-striking pulses recorded by the passive antenna. The constant amplitude on the HF pulses was due to the active antenna being in saturation during re-striking.

REFERENCES [1] J.A. Bachiller, E.Cavero, F. Salamanca and J. Rodriguez, "The Operation of Shunt Reactors in the Spanish 400kV Network-Study of the Suitability of Different Circuit Breakers and Possible Solutions to Observed Problems", Conf. CIGRE 1994, report 23-106. [2] IEC 62271-110 High Voltage Switchgear and Control Gear - Part 110: Inductive Load Switching. [3] Working Group 13.02 of CIGRE, Interruption of small inductive currents. , Electra, No. 101, pp. 13-38. [4] Spencer, J.W., Leclerc, J.L. and Jones, G.R., High frequency discharges and their effects on insulation in SF6 filled circuit breakers, IEE, 1998. [5] CIGRE Working Group A3.07. Controlled Switching of HVAC Circuit Breakers, CIGRE brochure 263, December 2004. [6] E. Zielke. Occurrence and Measurement of Surface Charges in the Interrupter Units of High-Voltage Circuit-Breakers, Dielectric Materials, Measurements and Applications, Conference Publication No. 473, IEE 2000. [7] J.Lopez-Roldan, H. De Herdt, T.Sels, D.Van Dommelen, M.Popov, L.Van Der Sluis, 2002, "Analysis, Simulation and Testing of Transformer Insulation Failures Related To Switching Transients Overvoltages, Session 2002 CIGRE, 12-116. [8] P. Moore, Radiometric measurement of circuit breaker interpole switching times, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, Vol.19(3), 2004.

CH1 : 1V/DIV

Figure 6(b): Record of Active Antenna