TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

Short-circuit current limitation by series reactors

by Oswald Mendrock, Trench, Austria Safe and reliable supply of electric power is a prerequisite for continuation and growth of prosperity in any country. As shown in the past there are circumstances which require a substantial adaptation of the power systems to new conditions. For example, changes in the political conditions in Europe at the end of the 1980s have resulted in a massive restructuring of the power systems in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the liberalisation of the power industr y, which started globally in the nineties of the last century, caused substantial changes to the power systems because of new reference conditions, in particular by intensifying electric power trading. A further important factor influencing extension of power grids is the growing imperatives for electric power which is increasingly being met by renewable energy sources. The integration of new energy sources, e.g. wind energy with large block units into the grid, or the connection of distributed small power producers into the distribution network, will lead to major changes in the infrastructure of power systems. Changes of sites for large power production and consumption may result in the need to completely change the original grid plans. These new system conditions result in the need to extend the existing network and coordinatenew networks withexisting ones. Management and control of increased short-circuit currents resulting from these conditions is a major requirement. In many cases the use of series reactors to limit the short-circuit power is not only economical, but the only possible technical solution to the problem for a given plant design, as this allows the use of existing equipment without modification and without replacement of switchgear. Grid planning has to integrate the networks of low-power consumers with high-power networks. It is not economical to design the equipment of such consumers to cater for the short-circuit current of the high power network, but the use of current-limiting reactors allows the equipment to be rated for nominal current and this is usually the best and most economical solution. The function of a current-limiting reactor is to increase the impedance in a possible short-circuit loop. The short-circuit current driven by the voltage source in the faulty circuit is reduced by the reactance of the coil. During normal operation, any increase in reactance results in an increase of the

Fig. 1: Relationship between system voltage drop, reactor short circuit voltage, and power factor.

voltage drop in the network. In general, this does not represent a particular problem for the grid operation since the voltage drop at the reactor is geometrically subtracted from the supply voltage, and is therefore a function of the power factor. The system voltage drop as the result of a series reactor is calculated as a function of cos as follows:


with time, and it decays due to the armature reaction of the generators. The AC component reduces towards the end of the short-circuit duration to become: Steady-state short-circuit current: I KD T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n I K" a n d I KD depends (among other factors) on the type of the fault, the location of the fault, and the type of generator. The steady-state short-circuit current determines the thermal loading of the system components in the event of a short circuit. Peak short-circuit current: l KS If the short-circuit begins at an instant near to the voltage zero crossing, a DC component is present in addition to the AC current. This,together with the initial symmetrical short-circuit current form the peak short-circuit current, which is reached at the first maximum of the AC current after the short-circuit has occurred. The peak short-circuit current determines the dynamic loading of the system components through which the short-circuit current passes. Peak factor: k This is the ratio between IKS and 2.IK" and is called the peak factor. It depends on the ratio of the reactance to the resistance in the short-circuit loop and is usually

where U k is the short-circuit voltage of the reactor For example, a short-circuit voltage of a reactor of 5% and a power factor of 0,9 leads to a drop insystem voltage of only 2,23%. Fig. 1 shows the relationship between the system voltage drop, the short-circuit voltage of the reactor, and the power factor. Main parameters of short-circuit current and of the current-limiting reactor Short-circuit current parameters are given in national and international standards (e.g. IEC 60909-0 or DIN EN 60909-0) and are listed briefly here Initial symmetrical short-circuit current: IK" The AC component of the current flowing at the beginning of a short-circuit is called the initial symmetrical short-circuit current. The AC component is not constant energize - October 2009 - Page 45

    

(1)

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the short-circuit and the generators, the armature reaction is not significant This situation is refered to as a far-fromgenerator short-circuit. Single or multiple fault In contrast to single faults, multiple faults have at least two fault locations which result in a short circuit. One type of multiple fault is the double earth fault. As long as both fault locations are on the same side of the current-limiting reactor the short-circuit currents can be expected to be smaller than for the three-phase short-circuits (at the same location). If the two fault locations are at different sides of the reactor, the short-circuit current of the double earth fault can exceed that for a three-phase fault. Reactor parameters for current-limiting The three-phase short-circuit is usually the only case considered in the specification of parameters for a current-limiting reactor. The starting point for the specification is the initial short-circuit current I K". With the exception of reactors installed in the immediate vicinity of a generator, the initial short-circuit current is considered to be equal to the steady-state shortcircuit current for practical purposes. The short-circuit duration depends mainly on the protection system and the type of switchgear. In most standards the maximum duration is assumed to be two seconds. Peak current is determined from the initial symmetrical short-circuit current by applying the peak factor k , usually assumed to be 1,8. The peak short-circuit current is then calculated by: phase AC systems Part 0, Calculation of currents" . For this calculation the relevant components of the network, including all power sources, are modeled in the form of impedances. At the fault location an equivalent voltage source c.U N/ 3 is inserted. The voltage factor which covers various uncertainties in the calculation is usually assumed to be 1,1. Using this the short-circuit current is determined from the equivalent voltage and the impedances of the equivalent system. A problem with this method is the necessity of converting the impedances to a reference voltage level (usually the voltage at the fault location). This is avoided in a more simple procedure, called the "Method of calculation with reduced percentage short-circuit voltages" [1]. This method uses the network voltage drops of the impedances, i.e. the short-circuit voltages which are arbitrarily related to a rated transmission power of 1 MVA . The formulae used for this method are:

Fig. 2: Example calculation.

Fig. 3: Short-circuit current-limiting reactor.

assumed to have a value of 1,8. Short-circuit power: N K The short-circuit power in a network is calculated by:

Short-circuit voltage of a reactor U K The short-circuit voltage of a reactor, which is usually given as a percentage is calculated by:

  

(2)


where

X is the reactance of the reactor. UN is the rated voltage of the network (see IEC 60038: IEC Standard voltages). IN is the rated continuous current of the coil. Types of fault For the calculation of short-circuit currents, information on the type of the fault is required in addition to the network parameters. Faults are classified into various types: Symmetrical or asymmetrical fault An asymmetrical fault is present when the symmetrical short-circuit current is of a different magnitude in the three phases. All single and two-phase faults a r e a s y m m e t r i c a l f a u l t s, w h e r e a s a three-phase short-circuit is a symmetrical fault. This is the most easily calculated case and is specifically considered for network planning and dimensioning of the current-limiting reactor. For networks with an isolated or resonance grounded neutral the three-phase short-circuit results in the highest short-circuit current (except for special cases of double line-to-ground faults.) Neartogenerator or farfromgenerator short-circuit Armature reaction of the generators results in a reduction of the AC current provided by the generator. If there is sufficient impedance between the location of

    

(3)

Once the inductance L , the initial or the steady-state short-circuit current, I K" or I KD, the short-circuit duration and the peak short-circuit current l KS are set, the design of the series reactor is fully determined. Reactors are designed according to IEC 60076-6: "Reactors" and they must withstand the rated short-circuit currents. If the short-circuit power of the supply network is large compared to the shortcircuit power after the coil, the symmetrical short-circuit current is solely determined by the reactance of the coil and is calculated by:

       4)

where

(6)

(7)

u' = reduced, percentage voltage drop U K =short-circuit voltage in percent Nn =rated transmission power in MVA N K =short-circuit power in MVA Values of the reduced percentage voltage drop in series are summed, values in par al l el are cal cu l ated l i ke parallel connected resistors. Series connection

If the short-circuit power of the supply network is of the same order of magnitude as that of the network to be protected, the short-circuit impedance of the supply network may be taken into consideration for dimensioning the reactor. Precise calculation of short-circuit currents is not particularly easy because of several system parameters which may have an influence, and for this reason simplified c a l c u l a t i o n m e t h o d s a r e u s e d. T h e approximate calculation of the shortcircuit current is described in detail in IEC 60909-0: " Short-circuit currents in threeenergize - October 2009 - Page 46

(5)

Parallel connection

 


(8)

(9)

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Fig. 5a and Fig. 5b Reactor in the supply feeder.

Applying equation (6) for the transformer:

For calculation of the short-circuit power at the 30 kV busbar u'1 and u'2 are added:
 using equation (7)

Fig. 4: Stacked three-phase reactor.

Fig. 6: Feeder reactors.

The following example illustrates the calculation of the design parameters of a current-limiting reactor by this method. (See Fig. 2). The short-circuit power of a 30 kV feeder at a 30 kV busbar (Fig. 2) must not exceed 200 MVA. The short-circuit power of the 220 kV system is 1000 MVA, the transformer has a rated power of 40 MVA and a short-circuit voltage of 10%. The required short-circuit voltage of the reactor is unknown, the rated current of the feeder is 400 A corresponding to 20,8 MVA . The following symbols are used: U n = nominal voltage, in kV NK1 220 kV network short-circuit power, in MVA N nT rated power of the transformer, in MVA U K T transformer short-circuit voltage, in percent NK2 short-circuit power at the 30 kV busbar, in MVA UKD short-circuit voltage of the reactor, in percent NnD rated through-put power of the reactor, in MVA N K3 short-circuit power after the reactor, in MVA u' 1 ...u' 5 reduced percentage voltage drop at the corresponding locations, in percent Applying equation (7) for the 220 kV network:

The short-circuit power at the feeder after of the reactor must not exceed 200 MVA; thus:

winding which can withstand the forces occurring during a short-circuit. Fig. 3 shows the layout of a typical air-core dry-type current-limiting reactor. The main advantages of an air-core reactor are as follows:
l

The percentage voltage drop of the reactor is:

u'4 (coil) = U' 5 - U'3 = 0,55 - 0,36 = 0,19%

The required short-circuit voltage for the reactor, using equation (6) is:

Constant inductance, even for the short-circuit current, with no saturation effects No insulating oil and therefore no risk of a possible contamination of the ground, and negligible fire hazard when compared to oil immersed reactors Simple insulation to ground, provided by support insulators

UKD =U'4 NnD= 0.19

20,8=3,95%

A 4 % c o i l i s u s e d. T h e s y m m e t r i c a l short-circuit current I KD of the reactor is calculated by equation (2):



This corresponds to 3850/400 = 9,65 times the rated current. Design of current-limiting reactors Air-core, dry-type current-limiting reactors, being robust and having a simple design have been used almost exclusively for decades. Compared to oil-immersed coils with an iron-core, an air-core reactor requires considerably lower investment costs. An air-core reactor is a cylindrical winding mounted on a number of insulators. Since windings made of copper are heavier and more expensive and do not offer any technical advantages vs. aluminum windings, aluminum is used almost exclusively as the material for the windings. The turn's insulation consists of a combination of insulation film and glass cloth tape. Impregnation with epoxy resin results in a compact, self-supporting energize - October 2009 - Page 48

 3,85 A  

Since dry type reactors do not have an ironcore or an iron screen, the magnetic field spreads into the surrounding environment. This must be taken into account particularly for three-phase air-core reactance coils with stacked phase windings. Three-phase stacked reactors will exhibit time var ying axial forces between the phase coils during a two-phase or threephase short-circuit. As the short-circuit force depends on the distance between the coils, the force from the center to the outward coils is much higher than between the two outward coils. Reversing the winding direction of the center coil with respect to the outward coils, causes the neighboring coils to be attracted to each other when the time varying force reaches its maximum during a threephase short-circuit. This contraction force is absorbed by the supporting insulators between the coils. Further, the magnetic coupling between the coils results in an increase of the effective inductance of the center coil. This

 

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are loaded symmetrically, the magnetic coupling in the two half coils will reduce the effective reactance and therefore the voltage drop. In the event of a shortcircuit the full reactance of the half coil is effective.
Fig. 7a: Bus tie reactors. Fig. 7b: Duplex reactor.

can be compensated for by a reduction of the self inductance of the center phase by reducing the number of turns accordingly. Examples of application of current-limiting reactors The application of current-limiting reactors is illustrated in a simple circuit. Three arrangements of the reactor are shown (Fig. 5a, 5b, 6, 7a, 7b). The short-circuit power at the outgoing feeders of the simple circuit consisting of a feeder transformer and a busbar with eight outgoing feeders should be reduced accordingly. Depending on the location of the reactor, the following cases are classified: The reactor in the supply feeder This has the lowest investment cost, as a large unit is cheaper than several smaller units. Further advantages are a lower space requirement and thus less installation cost. A disadvantage compared to the other options is higher losses and larger voltage variations at the busbar between full load and reduced load. This option should not be employed if a large power consumer with strongly varying load is connected at one of outgoing lines, which would reduce the voltage quality for all other consumers. The options shown in Fig. 5a and Fig. 5b only differ in the location of the reactor, either upstream or downstream of the transformer. If a possible fault between the coil and the transformer is considered and the transformer is not short-circuit-proof (e.g. autotransformer), the reactor has to be installed upstream of the transformer. If the transformer is short-circuit-proof the choice of location of the coil is open and be may be made according to space or best price conditions. Reactors in outgoing feeders (Fig. 6) The possible impact on the quality of the busbar voltage can be avoided by providing reactors in the individual outgoing feeders. However, it must be ensured that the equipment before the feeder reactors is short-circuit-proof. Further it may be noted that the unit power of all feeder reactors together is less than the unit power rating of one single reactor at the incoming line. If the short-circuit power should be the same at any outgoing

feeder, the same reactance (not the same short-circuit voltage) must be provided in each short-circuit path, i.e. the inductance of the reactor in the incoming feeder and that of each outgoing feeder must be the same. As the unit power rating of a reactor is proportional to the square of the current (N = X IN2), the total power of n reactors (of identical power) is only the nth part of the unit power rating of a single reactor applied in the incoming feeder. Furthermore, splitting into several reactors with lower current but the same reactance leads to lower voltage variations at the consumers, and less impact by one feeder on the voltage of other feeders. Coils in busbars (Fig. 7a and 7b). A further option for reducing the shortcircuit power in the sample circuit is the installation of bus tie reactors (Fig. 7a). If the two coils are combined to form a joint reactor with the center terminal connected to the supply transformer, one obtains a socalled duplex-coil. If the busbar sections

If each busbar is supplied by a separate transformer, the reliability of voltage supply may be improved by coupling the two busbars with a bus tie reactor. Assuming that the two busbars are loaded symmetrically, no current flows in the bus tie reactor and therefore no losses and voltage drops occur. If one of the transformers fails, the associated busbar is still live but it is supplied at reduced power through the bus tie reactor. The short-circuit power of each busbar is of course higher due the connection via the bus tie reactor as compared to fully separated busbars. It is, however, less than the short-circuit power of firmly connected busbars. Usually the specified current rating of the bus tie reactors is approx. 50% of the rated current of the transformers. References
[1] P Steglich, "Kurzschlussberechnung mit Hilfe von reduzierten prozentualen Spannung-sabfllen" (Short-circuit calculation by means of reduced percentage voltage drops), in German, ETZ Nr. 63, Heft 43/44

Contact Oswald Mendrock, Trench Austria, oswald.mendrock@trench-group.com v

energize - October 2009 - Page 49