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SwitchgearWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Switchgear
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Inanelectricpowersystem,switchgearisthecombinationofelectrical
disconnectswitches,fusesorcircuitbreakersusedtocontrol,protectand
isolateelectricalequipment.Switchgearisusedbothtodeenergizeequipment
toallowworktobedoneandtoclearfaultsdownstream.Thistypeof
equipmentisdirectlylinkedtothereliabilityoftheelectricitysupply.
Theveryearliestcentralpowerstationsusedsimpleopenknifeswitch,
mountedoninsulatingpanelsofmarbleorasbestos.Powerlevelsandvoltages
rapidlyescalated,makingopeningmanuallyoperatedswitchestoodangerous
foranythingotherthanisolationofadeenergizedcircuit.Oilfilledequipment
allowedarcenergytobecontainedandsafelycontrolled.Bytheearly20th
century,aswitchgearlineupwouldbeametalenclosedstructurewith
electricallyoperatedswitchingelements,usingoilcircuitbreakers.Today,oil
filledequipmenthaslargelybeenreplacedbyairblast,vacuum,orSF6

Highvoltageswitchgear

equipment,allowinglargecurrentsandpowerlevelstobesafelycontrolledby
automaticequipment.
Highvoltageswitchgearwasinventedattheendofthe19thcenturyfor
operatingmotorsandotherelectricmachines.[1]Thetechnologyhasbeen
improvedovertimeandcannowbeusedwithvoltagesupto1,100kV.[2]
Typically,switchgearsinsubstationsarelocatedonboththehighandlow
voltagesidesoflargepowertransformers.Theswitchgearonthelowvoltage
sideofthetransformersmaybelocatedinabuilding,withmediumvoltage
circuitbreakersfordistributioncircuits,alongwithmetering,control,and
protectionequipment.Forindustrialapplications,atransformerandswitchgear
lineupmaybecombinedinonehousing,calledaunitizedsubstation(USS).

Asectionofalargeswitchgearpanel,
inthiscase,usedtocontrolonboard
casinoboatpowergeneration.

Contents
1History
2Housing
3Types
3.1Oil
3.2Air
3.3Gas
3.4Hybrid
3.5Vacuum
3.6Carbondioxide(CO2)
4Classification
5Functions
6Safety
7Seealso
8References
9Externallinks

Tramswitchgear

History
Switchgearisasoldaselectricitygeneration.Thefirstmodelswereveryprimitive:allcomponentsweresimplyfixed
toawall.Latertheyweremountedonwoodenpanels.Forreasonsoffireprotection,thewoodwasreplacedbyslate
ormarble.Thisledtoafurtherimprovement,becausetheswitchingandmeasuringdevicescouldbeattachedtothe
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front,whilethewiringwasontheback.[3]

Housing
Switchgearforlowervoltagesmaybeentirelyenclosedwithinabuilding.Forhighervoltages(overabout66kV),
switchgearistypicallymountedoutdoorsandinsulatedbyair,althoughthis
requiresalargeamountofspace.Gasinsulatedswitchgearsavesspace
comparedwithairinsulatedequipment,althoughtheequipmentcostishigher.
Oilinsulatedswitchgearpresentsanoilspillhazard.
Switchesmaybemanuallyoperatedorhavemotordrivestoallowforremote
control.

Types
Aswitchgearmaybeasimpleopenairisolatorswitchoritmaybeinsulated
bysomeothersubstance.Aneffectivealthoughmorecostlyformof
switchgearisthegasinsulatedswitchgear(GIS),wheretheconductorsand
contactsareinsulatedbypressurizedsulfurhexafluoridegas(SF6).Other
commontypesareoilorvacuuminsulatedswitchgear.

ThiscircuitbreakerusesbothSF6
andairasinsulation.

Thecombinationofequipmentwithintheswitchgearenclosureallowsthemto
interruptfaultcurrentsofthousandsofamps.Acircuitbreaker(withina
switchgearenclosure)istheprimarycomponentthatinterruptsfaultcurrents.
Thequenchingofthearcwhenthecircuitbreakerpullsapartthecontactsopen
(disconnectsthecircuit)requirescarefuldesign.Circuitbreakersfallintothese
fivetypes:

Oil
Oilcircuitbreakersrelyuponvaporizationofsomeoftheoiltoblastajetof
oilalongthepathofthearc.Thevaporreleasedbythearcingconsistsof
hydrogengas.Mineraloilhasbetterinsulatingpropertythanair.Whenever
thereisaseparationofcurrentcarryingcontactsintheoil,thearcincircuit
breakerisinitializedatthemomentofseparationofcontacts,andduetothis
arctheoilisvaporizedanddecomposedinmostlyhydrogengasandultimately
createsahydrogenbubblearoundtheelectricarc.Thishighlycompressedgas
bubblearoundthearcpreventsrestrikingofthearcaftercurrentreacheszero
crossingofthecycle.Theoilcircuitbreakeristheoneoftheoldesttypeof
circuitbreakers.[4]

Earlyswitchgear(about1910)

Air
Aircircuitbreakersmayusecompressedair(puff)orthemagneticforceofthe
arcitselftoelongatethearc.Asthelengthofthesustainablearcisdependent
ontheavailablevoltage,theelongatedarcwilleventuallyexhaustitself.
Alternatively,thecontactsarerapidlyswungintoasmallsealedchamber,the
escapingofthedisplacedairthusblowingoutthearc.
Circuitbreakersareusuallyabletoterminateallcurrentflowveryquickly:
typicallybetween30msand150msdependingupontheageandconstruction
ofthedevice.

Gas
Mainarticle:Sulfurhexafluoridecircuitbreaker
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Gas(SF6)circuitbreakerssometimesstretchthearcusingamagneticfield,andthenrelyuponthedielectricstrength
oftheSF6gastoquenchthestretchedarc.

Hybrid
Mainarticle:Hybridswitchgearmodules
Hybridswitchgearisatypewhichcombinesthecomponentsoftraditionalairinsulatedswitchgear(AIS)andSF6gas
insulatedswitchgear(GIS)technologies.Itischaracterizedbyacompactandmodulardesign,whichencompasses
severaldifferentfunctionsinonemodule.

Vacuum
Circuitbreakerswithvacuuminterruptershaveminimalarcingcharacteristics(asthereisnothingtoionizeotherthan
thecontactmaterial),sothearcquencheswhenitisstretchedbyasmallamount(<28mm).Nearzerocurrentthearc
isnothotenoughtomaintainaplasma,andcurrentceasesthegapcanthenwithstandtheriseofvoltage.Vacuum
circuitbreakersarefrequentlyusedinmodernmediumvoltageswitchgearto40,500volts.Unliketheothertypes,
theyareinherentlyunsuitableforinterruptingDCfaults.Thereasonvacuumcircuitbreakersareunsuitablefor
breakinghighDCvoltagesisthatwithDCthereisno"currentzero"period.Theplasmaarccanfeeditselfby
continuingtogasifythecontactmaterial.

Carbondioxide(CO2)
Breakersthatusecarbondioxideastheinsulatingandarcextinguishingmediumworkonthesameprinciplesasa
sulfurhexafluoride(SF6)breaker.BecauseSF6isagreenhousegasmorepotentthanCO2,byswitchingfromSF6to
CO2itispossibletoreducethegreenhousegasemissionsby10tonsduringtheproductlifecycle.[5]

Classification
Severaldifferentclassificationsofswitchgearcanbemade:[6]
Bythecurrentrating.
Byinterruptingrating(maximumshortcircuitcurrentkAICthatthedevicecansafelyinterrupt)
Circuitbreakerscanopenandcloseonfaultcurrents
Loadbreak/Loadmakeswitchescanswitchnormalsystemloadcurrents
IsolatorsareoffloaddisconnectorswhicharetobeoperatedafterCircuitBreakers,orelseiftheload
currentisverysmall
Byvoltageclass:
Lowvoltage(lessthan1kVAC)
Mediumvoltage(1kVACthroughtoapproximately75kVAC)
Highvoltage(75kVtoabout230kVAC)
Extrahighvoltage,ultrahighvoltage(morethan230kV)
Byinsulatingmedium:
Air
Gas(SF6ormixtures)
Oil
Vacuum
Carbondioxide(CO2)
Byconstructiontype:
Indoor(furtherclassifiedbyIP(IngressProtection)classorNEMAenclosuretype)
Outdoor
Industrial
Utility
Marine
Drawoutelements(removablewithoutmanytools)
Fixedelements(boltedfasteners)
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Livefront
Deadfront
Open
Metalenclosed(ME)Aswitchgearassemblycompletelyenclosedonallsidesandthetopwithsheet
metal.[7]
Metalclad(MC)Avarietyofmetalenclosedswitchgearthathasthefollowingcharacteristics:the
mainswitchingandinterruptingdeviceofremovabletypegroundedmetalbarrierstoseparate
compartmentsandencloseallmajorcircuitsandpartsmechanicalinterlocksinsulatedbusconductors
andotherfeatures.[8]
Arcresistant
ByIECdegreeofinternalseparation[9]
NoSeparation(Form1)
Busbarsseparatedfromfunctionalunits(Form2a,2b,3a,3b,4a,4b)
Terminalsforexternalconductorsseparatedfrombusbars(Form2b,3b,4a,4b)
Terminalsforexternalconductorsseparatedfromfunctionalunitsbutnotfromeachother(Form3a,3b)
Functionalunitsseparatedfromeachother(Form3a,3b,4a,4b)
Terminalsforexternalconductorsseparatedfromeachother(Form4a,4b)
Terminalsforexternalconductorsseparatefromtheirassociatedfunctionalunit(Form4b)
Byinterruptingdevice:
Fuses
AirCircuitBreaker
MinimumOilCircuitBreaker
OilCircuitBreaker
VacuumCircuitBreaker
Gas(SF6)Circuitbreaker
CO2CircuitBreaker
Byoperatingmethod:
Manuallyoperated
Motor/storedenergyoperated
Solenoidoperated
Bytypeofcurrent:
Alternatingcurrent
Directcurrent
Byapplication:
Transmissionsystem
Distribution
Bypurpose
Isolatingswitches(disconnectors)
Loadbreakswitches.[10][11]
Grounding(earthing)switches
Asinglelineupmayincorporateseveraldifferenttypesofdevices,forexample,airinsulatedbus,vacuumcircuit
breakers,andmanuallyoperatedswitchesmayallexistinthesamerowofcubicles.
Ratings,design,specificationsanddetailsofswitchgeararesetbyamultitudeofstandards.InNorthAmericamostly
IEEEandANSIstandardsareused,muchoftherestoftheworldusesIECstandards,sometimeswithlocalnational
derivativesorvariations.

Functions
Oneofthebasicfunctionsofswitchgearisprotection,whichisinterruptionofshortcircuitandoverloadfaultcurrents
whilemaintainingservicetounaffectedcircuits.Switchgearalsoprovidesisolationofcircuitsfrompowersupplies.
Switchgearisalsousedtoenhancesystemavailabilitybyallowingmorethanonesourcetofeedaload.

Safety

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Tohelpensuresafeoperationsequencesofswitchgear,trappedkeyinterlockingprovidespredefinedscenariosof
operation.Forexample,ifonlyoneoftwosourcesofsupplyarepermittedtobeconnectedatagiventime,the
interlockschememayrequirethatthefirstswitchmustbeopenedtoreleaseakeythatwillallowclosingthesecond
switch.Complexschemesarepossible.
Indoorswitchgearcanalsobetypetestedforinternalarccontainment(e.g.,IEC62271200).Thistestisimportantfor
usersafetyasmodernswitchgeariscapableofswitchinglargecurrents.[12]
Switchgearisofteninspectedusingthermalimagingtoassessthestateofthesystemandpredictfailuresbeforethey
occur.Othermethodsincludepartialdischarge(PD)testing,usingeitherfixedorportabletesters,andacoustic
emissiontestingusingsurfacemountedtransducers(foroilequipment)orultrasonicdetectorsusedinoutdoor
switchyards.Temperaturesensorsfittedtocablestotheswitchgearcanpermanentlymonitortemperaturebuildup.
SF6equipmentisinvariablyfittedwithalarmsandinterlockstowarnoflossofpressure,andtopreventoperationif
thepressurefallstoolow.
Theincreasingawarenessofdangersassociatedwithhighfaultlevelshasresultedinnetworkoperatorsspecifying
closeddooroperationsforearthswitchesandrackingbreakers.ManyEuropeanpowercompanieshavebanned
operatorsfromswitchroomswhileoperating.Remoterackingsystemsareavailablewhichallowanoperatortorack
switchgearfromaremotelocationwithouttheneedtowearaprotectivearcflashhazardsuit.

245kVcircuitbreakerinairinsulatedsubstation 420kVgasinsulatedswitchgear
...

Seealso
Arcflash
Circuitbreaker
Disconnector
Electricalsafety
Electricarc
Highvoltage
Remoterackingsystem
Shortcircuit

References
1. BritishPatternGB20069ImprovementsinApparatusforControllingtheApplicationorUseofElectricCurrentsofHigh
TensionandGreatQuantityin1893(http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?
DB=EPODOC&IDX=GB189320069&F=0&QPN=GB189320069),onespacenet.com
2. LinJimingetal.,Transientcharacteristicsof1100kVcircuitbreakers,InternationalSymposiumonInternational
StandardsforUltraHighVoltage,Beijing,Juillet2007.
3. (German)AllgemeineElektricittsGesellschaft(ed)AEGHilfsbuchfrelektrischeLichtundKraftanlagen6thEd.,W.
Girardet,Essen1953
4. http://www.electrical4u.com/oilcircuitbreakerbulkandminimumoilcircuitbreaker/
5. "Switzerland:ABBbreaksnewgroundwithenvironmentfriendlyhighvoltagecircuitbreaker.".Retrieved9July2013.
6. RobertW.Smeaton(ed)SwitchgearandControlHandbook3rdEd.,McGrawHill,NewYork1997ISBN0070584516
7. IEEEStdC37.20.21999.IEEEStandardforMetalCladSwitchgear.
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8. IEEEStdC37.1001992.IEEEStandardDefinitionsforPowerSwitchgear.
9. IECStandardEN60439part1Table6A
10. (French) NormeCEI602651Interrupteurspourtensionassignesuprieure1kVetinfrieure52kV
(http://domino.iec.ch/preview/info_iec602651{ed3.0}b.pdf)
11. (French) NormeCEI602652Interrupteurspourtensionassignesuprieure52kV
(http://domino.iec.ch/preview/info_iec602652{ed1.0}b.img.pdf)
12. https://www.energy.siemens.com/cms/00000013/aune/Documents/Medium%20Voltage%20Arc%20Fault%20Containment.pdf

Externallinks
ThebasicfunctionsofLVswitchgear(http://www.electrical
installation.org/wiki/The_basic_functions_of_LV_switchgear)

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoSwitchgear.

(English)IECTC17:Switchgear&ControlgearTechnicalCommittee

(http://prabhatpower.com),ontc17.iec.ch
(English)IEEESwitchgearCommittee(http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/switchgear/),onewh.ieee.org
(German)CourseETHZ,handouts_2.pdf(http://www.eeh.ee.ethz.ch/downloads/academics/courses/2270122
00handouts_2.pdf),oneeh.ee.ethz.ch
ResearchonSF6SwitchgearCoronaRings
(http://lhotser.com/upfile/201503/The_Research_of_Heating_Temperature_for_Shrinkage_Fit_Corona_Ring_of
_SF6_Switchgear.pdf)
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