Capacitor Switching Transient Improvement on an
Electrical System Using Synchronous Closing
Breaker and Pre-Insertion Inductor
Hartono11,, Rimunarto21and J.Rachmat31
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Cilegon 42435, Indonesia 1.
sallam.hartono@yahoo.com
AbstractSynchronous Closing Breaker and Preinsertion
inductor can reduce the capacitor-switching transient
considerably. The first peak of the transient is usually the most
damaging. The idea is to set the switching time and insert a
inductor into the circuit briefly so that the first peak is damped
significantly. This is old technology but is still quite effective.
Figure 4.25 shows one example of a capacitor switch with
preinsertion inductor to reduce transients. The preinsertion is
accomplished by the movable contacts sliding past the inductor
contacts first before mating with the main contacts. This results
in a preinsertion time of approximately one-fourth of a cycle at
50 hertz (Hz). The effectiveness of the resistors is dependent on
capacitor size and available short-circuit current at the capacitor
location. Table 4.1 shows expected maximum transient
overvoltages upon energization for various conditions, both with
and without the preinsertion inductor. These are the maximum
values expected; average values are typically 1.5 to 1.8 pu without
inductor and 1.2 to 1.4 pu with inductor. Switches with
preinsertion inductor have also been developed for this purpose.
The inductor is helpful in limiting the higher-frequency
components of the transient. In some designs, the reactors are
intentionally built with high resistance so that they appear lossy
to the energization transient. This helps the transient damp out
quickly.
Index TermsTransient Overvoltage, Transient improvement,
Synchronous Closing Breaker, Pre-Insertion
I. INTRODUCTION
Large-capacity induction motors, electric arc furnaces, and
power electronics equipment will generate great reactive
power. To compensate this reactive power in order to improve
the system power factor and reduce the losses, using of shunt
capacitor in the electrical system is one of the solutions.
Despite the benefits of the system, we should not
underestimate the energizing conditions of capacitor bank will
be produce transient oscillations in the power system. In some
cases in an electrical industry indicating the existence of
switching operations in the capacitor bank is considered as the
main source of transient overvoltage. On connecting to a
power source, a capacitor is a sudden short-circuit, because the
voltage across the capacitor cannot change suddenly. The
voltage of the bus to which the capacitor is connected will dip
severely. This voltage dip and the transient step change is a
function of the source impedance behind the bus. The voltage
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will then recover through a high frequency oscillation. In the
initial oscillation the transient voltage can approach 2 per unit
of the bus voltage.
On variable speed drives (VSD) can be seriously damaged
when transients occur due to capacitor bank switching even
without transient magnification. This is because VSD contains
semiconductor devices that have low Peak Inverse Voltage
(PIV) and low Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) rating that used
to protect power electronics equipment.
In this papper will be analyzed the effect of capacitor bank
switching on electrical system unit HSM (Hot Strip Mill)
Krakatau Steel Company Cilegon Banten by using MATLAB
Simulink software. From the simulation results will be seen
switching capacitor bank can generate transient overvoltage on
the system. In this research will also be compared 2 methods
to reduce transient effect due to capacitor bank switching there
are preinsertion inductor and synchronous closing breaker.
Then it will be concluded which method is most effective to
reduce the transient effect on the electrical system.
II. OBJECTIVES
This research aim to knowing how much reduction transient
overvoltage effect due to capacitor bank switching in electrical
system used syncronous closing breaker and pre insertion
inductor.
III. RESEARCH METODOLOGY
Generally the research metodology in this papper are:
Literary studies the process of transient occurrence caused
by switching capacior bank and several methods to reduce the
effect. The study was conducted by studying related references
in the form of research journals, final project reports and
books.
Taking data in the HSM unit in the form of single line
diagrams, equipment specifications, and calculate the number
of loads installed on the electrical system.
Modeling the data obtained into the MATLAB simulink
block and fill in the required parameters in the block. Models
are source, transformer, bank capacitor, and lump load.
Simulate the HSM unit electrical system with the condition
the operation of single bank switching, and after installation of
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Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering

pre insertion inductor and synchronous closing breaker. synchronous closing breaker. And choose the most effective
Analysis of simulation results by calculating the amount of method to reduce the transient effect on electrical system of
peak voltage reduction and peak current that occurs on the HSM.
system before and after the pre-installed insertion inductor and

Figure1: Single Line Diagram HSM

Figure2: Simulink Model of Single Line Diagram HSM

IV. THEORY
A. Capacitor Switching
Capacitor switching is one of the most common switching
events on utility systems. Capacitors are used to provide
reactive power (in units of vars) to correct the power factor,
which reduces losses and supports the voltage on the system.
They are a very economical and generally trouble-free means
of accomplishing these goals. Alternative methods such as the
use of rotating machines and electronic var compensators are
much more costly or have high maintenance costs. Thus, the
use of capacitors on power systems is quite common and will
continue to be.
One drawback to the use of capacitors is that they yield
oscillatory transients when switched. Some capacitors are
energized all the time (a fixed bank), while others are switched
according to load levels. Various control means, including
time, temperature, voltage, current, and reactive power, are
used to determine when the capacitors are switched. It is
common for controls to combine two or more of these
functions, such as temperature with voltage override.
Figure 3 shows the one-line diagram of a typical utility
feeder capacitor-switching situation. When the switch is
closed, a transient similar to the one in Figure 4 may be
observed upline from the capacitor at the monitor location. In
this particular case, the capacitor switch contacts close at a

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point near the system voltage peak. This is a common
occurrence for many types of switches because the insulation
across the switch contacts tends to break down when the
voltage across the switch is at a maximum value. The voltage
across the capacitor at this instant is zero. Since the capacitor
voltage cannot change instantaneously, the system voltage at
the capacitor location is briefly pulled down to zero and rises
as the capacitor begins to charge toward the system voltage.
Because the power system source is inductive, the capacitor
voltage overshoots and rings at the natural frequency of the
system. At the monitoring location shown, the initial change in
voltage will not go completely to zero because of the
impedance between the observation point and the switched
capacitor. However, the initial drop and subsequent ringing
transient that is indicative of a capacitor-switching event will
be observable to some degree.
The overshoot will generate a transient between 1.0 and 2.0
pu depending on system damping. In this case the transient
observed at the monitoring location is about 1.34 pu. Utility
capacitor-switching transients are commonly in the 1.3- to 1.4-
pu range but have also been observed near the theoretical
maximum. The transient shown in the oscillogram propagates
into the local power system and will generally pass through
distribution transformers into customer load facilities by
nearly the amount related to the turns ratio of the transformer.
If there are capacitors on the secondary system, the voltage
may actually be magnified on the load side of the transformer
if the natural frequencies of the systems are properly aligned
(see Sec. 4.1.2). While such brief transients up to 2.0 pu are
not generally damaging to the system insulation, they can
often cause misoperation of electronic power conversion
devices. Controllers may interpret the high voltage as a sign
that there is an impending dangerous situation and
subsequently disconnect the load to be safe. The transient may
also interfere with the gating of thyristors.
Figure3: One-line diagram of a capacitor-switching
operation corresponding to the waveform in Fig. 4.
Figure4: Typical utility capacitor-switching transient
reaching 134 percent voltage, observed upline from the
capacitor.
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Manuscript Title
B. Transient Magnification
Fig.5 depicts the impacts of switched shunt capacitor size
and low voltage capacitor size on the peak transient magnitude
in per unit. It's obvious that the higher the differences between
the size of switched shunt capacitor and the size of low
voltage capaci.tor, the higher the magnitude of magnified
transients. Moreover, as the size of the switched capacitor gets
larger, the potential for magnification occurs over a wide
range of low voltage capacitor sizes.
Figure5: Transient voltage magnitude at the low voltage bus
as a function of switched shunt capacitor and low voltage
capacitor sizes.
Fig.6 shows the effect of both resistive and motor load on
the magnified transient magnitude. Notified tom the curves,
resistive load provides good damping while motor load
provides only small damping for the system to reduce transient
voltages. Unfortunately, it is inevitable for many industrial
customers to have their loads dominated by motors.
Figure6 : Transient voltage magnitude at the low voltage bus
as afin'ction of customer load characteristics.
Other factors that can affect transient magnification include
the source strength at the switched shunt capacitor, the
connection of shunt capacitor bank to the system, and the
capacitor placement. shunt capacitor bank connected in
ungrounded-wye are likely to produce higher phase-to-phase
transient voltages than those produced by switched shunt
capacitor banks connected in grounded-wye. Additionally, if
the capacitors are more distributed on the distribution feeder,
transients can be lowered.
C. Transient Reduction Technique
1. Synchronous Closing Breaker
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Another popular strategy for reducing transients on capacitor

switching is to use a synchronous closing breaker. This is a Table 1
Low Resistance Pre Insertion Inductor
relatively new technology for controlling capacitor-switching
SYSTEM VOLTAGE CAPACITOR BANK
transients. Synchronous closing prevents transients by timing RATING (KV) SIZE (MVAR)
INDUCTOR
the contact closure such that the system voltage closely 34,5 3 TO 33 10 MH 2,4 OHM
matches the capacitor voltage at the instant the contacts mate. 46 4 TO 36 10 MH 2,4 OHM
This avoids the step change in voltage that normally occurs 5 TO 50 10 MH 2,4 OHM
69
when capacitors are switched, causing the circuit to oscillate. 5 TO 50 40 MH 5,5 OHM
115 10 TO 65 40 MH 5,5 OHM
In this simulation use phase angle difference. Between the 138 13 TO 75 40 MH 5,5 OHM
phase angles A and B the difference is 30 degrees while 230 17 TO 177 10 MH 2,4 OHM
between phase B and phase C is 90 degrees. So for the
capacitor banks AY 21, AY 22, AY31-32, and AY 51-61 the V. RESULT AND ANALYS
angle switches mounted on 3 phase circuit breakers are
300 , 600 , 1500 , 3000 . Then if the angle is made into time A. Capacitor Bank Bus 30 kV
then: Operation of this capacitor bank is the operation performed
= 2. . (1) by the bank switching capacitor simultaneously at the same
time. In this simulation 3 phase breaker AY 21, AY 22, AY
= (2)
2. 31-32, and AY 51-61 at switching at 0.02 second. Then the
system is simulated for t = 0.05 second and views how the
with = 1800 dan = 50 Hz, so: voltage peak response on capacitor bank bus, load bus. The
1800
= = 0,01 simulation results are:
3600 .50
Then,
30 30
when 300 = . = . 0,01 = 1,667 103
180 180
60 60
when 600 = . = . 0,01 = 3,33 103
180 180
150 150
when 1500 = . = . 0,01 = 8,33 103
180 180
300 300
when 3000 = . = . 0,01 = 16,7 103
180 180

2. Pre Insertion Inductor

Pre-insertion inductors furnish an impedance, which is

frequency dependent, in series with the bank capacitance
during the initial energization of the capacitor bank. This
impedance reduces the collapse in bus voltage by the amount Figure7 : Single Bank Voltage Capacitor Bus Response
of voltage developed across the inductor during the inrush of
current into the bank. Since the impedance of the pre-insertion From the simulation results in Figure7 can be seen transient
inductor is frequency-dependent, its value appears to be quite effects that occur shortly after the capacitor bank in the switch
large during initial inrush current into the bank when the at 0.02 second. The value of transient peak voltage on the
frequency is quite high. Thereafter, the effective impedance of capacitor bus is 31.44 kV at phase C or 1.57 pu from its
the pre-insertion inductor is reduced when the steady state, 60 nominal voltage then the voltage reaches steady at 22.77 kV.
Hz, current value of the bank is attained. The pre-insertion Then the resulting transient effect is reduced using
inductor like any other pre-insertion impedance gives rise to a synchronous closing breaker method by changing switching
second transient when the inductor is bypassed (after the 60 time at each 3 phase circuit breaker on each capacitor bank.
Hz current is attained). This transient, referred to as the bypass The simulation results are:
transient, is generally much smaller than the initial transient,
unless the bank is quite large.
The pre-insertion inductor is comprised of a number of
close-coupled layers of stainless-steel or aluminum wire
wound, along with resin-impregnated lament-berglass
roving, to form a hollow glass-reinforced tube. The outer
roving is nished with a coat of silicone-alkyd paint for all
weather durability. If wound with stainless-steel wire, the pre-
insertion inductor has a high inherent resistance, while a low
inherent resistance is obtained if aluminum wire is used. The
use of stainless-steel wire results in the improved damping
performance afforded by high-resistance pre-insertion
inductors.
Figure8 : Synchronous Closing Breaker Voltage Capacitor
Bus Response

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 Manuscript Title

From Figure 8 above the visible transient peak voltage of

30.66 kV at phase C or 1.53 pu of the nominal voltage before
returning to steady condition at 22.77 kV. Although the
transient overvoltage effect still exists but the value is slightly
smaller when compared to single bank operation.
Then second method is pre insertion inductor using 10 mH
impedance and 2.4 Ohm resistance series connected with each
capacitor bank. The simulation result are:

Figure11: Syncronous Closing Breaker Voltage Load Bus

Response

From Figure 11 above, shows a transient peak voltage of

Figure9 : Low Resistance Pre Insertion Inductor Voltage
Capacitor Bus Response
6.048 kV at phase C or 1.77 pu of nominal voltage before
returning to steady state at 4,437 kV.
Then second method is pre insertion inductor using 10 mH
impedance and 2.4 Ohm resistance series connected with each
capacitor bank. The simulation result are:

From Figure 9 the above shows a transient peak voltage of

25.64 kV at phase A or 1.28 pu of the nominal voltage before
returning to steady state at 22.81 kV. This method is effective
for reducing the transient voltage due to the damping supplied
by the inductor and the resistor to the system.

B. Load Bus 6 kV
Same condition with bus 30 kV, first capacitor bank
operated by single bank with switching time 0,02 second.
Then the respon of load bus are:
Figure12 : Low Resistance Pre Insertion Inductor Voltage
Load Bus Response

From Figure 12 above the visible transient peak voltage of

4.917 kV in phase A or 1.44 pu of nominal voltage before
returning to steady state at 4,444 kV. This method is effective
for reducing the transient voltage due to the damping supplied
by the inductor and the resistor to the system.

C. Precentage of Transient Reduction

Based of result simulation, the effect of transient
overvoltage can be reduced by 2 methods are synchronous
Figure10 : Single Bank Voltage Load Bus Response closing breaker and pre insertion inductor. The result of
simulation of mounting method to reduce transient voltage
From Figure 10 can be seen shortly after the capacitor bank effect can be seen in table below:
in switch at t = 0.02 second, there is an increase of transient
voltage of bus BR1.BF-2 is 6,348 kV in phase C or 1.86 pu Table 2
Differences of Transient Peak Voltage on Transient Reduction Method
from nominal voltage. Then the transient oscillation stops at a
Peak transient Voltage (pu)
steady state voltage of 4.437 kV.
Single Synchronous Pre insertion
Then the resulting transient effect is reduced using Location
bank closing inductor
synchronous closing breaker method by changing switching breaker
time at each 3 phase circuit breaker on each capacitor bank. Capacitor Bank
The simulation results are: 1.57 1.53 1.28
Bus 30 kV
Load Bus 6 kV 1.86 1.77 1.44

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Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering

The magnitude of the precentage of transient reduction REFERENCES

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