Extending the Application Field of Vacuum Circuit Breakers to Generators for Capacities up to 400 MW

The progress that has been achieved in the development and manufacture of vacuum circuit breakers opens the possibility of using them for a wider range of applications at power plants, including as generator circuit breakers. Such characteristics of modern vacuum circuit breakers as increased breaking capacity and high switching life are factors that make them closer in competitiveness to SF6 circuit breakers for generators with capacities up to 400 MW. The article considers problem aspects relating to clearing of short-circuit faults in the generator voltage circuits and interruption of out-of-phase making currents and no-load currents of generator transformers. Conditions leading to a longer period of time to the moment at which the switched current crosses zero are considered. It is pointed out that, unlike the IEC/IEEE Standard 62271-37-013, GOST (State Standard) R 52565-2006 does not specify the requirements for generator circuit breakers in full. The article gives the voltage drop values across the arc for different design versions of vacuum circuit breaker contacts and shows the effect the arc in a vacuum circuit breaker has on the time delay to the moment at which the current crosses zero. The standardized parameters of transient recovery voltage across the generator circuit breaker contacts are estimated along with the contact gap electric strength recovery rates ensured by modern arc quenching chambers. The switching overvoltages arising when vacuum circuit breakers interrupt short-circuit currents and no-load currents of generator transformers are analyzed. The article considers the most probable factors causing the occurrence of switching overvoltages, including current chopping, repeated breakdowns of the circuit breaker contact gap, and virtual current chopping. It is found that, unlike repeated breakdowns and virtual current chopping, an actual current chopping does not give rise to dangerous switching overvoltages. The article also determines the vacuum circuit breaker application field boundaries in which dangerous switching overvoltages may occur that would require additional measures for limiting them.     

A simple evaluation method of the thermal interruption limit of power circuit breakers

In this paper, a simplified test method has been proposed and implemented for evaluating the thermal interruption capability of the power circuit breakers. In this method, the influences of the arc voltage of the auxiliary breaker on the evaluation of the thermal interruption limit of the circuit breaker can be eliminated. To validate the proposed test circuit, a series of experiments have been carried out on a 24-kV SF6 gas circuit breaker with rated short circuit of 25 kA and the successful interruption zone in terms of the time derivative of the current before current zero (di/dt) and rate of increase in recovery voltage (dv/dt) has been determined.     

新型灭弧系统对背后击穿现象的抑制作用

传统观点认为低压限流断路器的开断电弧进入灭弧室后,电弧就熄灭。近年来通过现代测试设备发现了开断电弧在灭弧室内外的多次转移,即背后击穿现象,降低了开断性能。本文介绍了一种应用于限流断路器的新型混合式灭弧系统,进一步对影响开断性能的不同材料、不同窄缝宽度进行试验。实验证明,新型的灭弧系统不仅有效地抑制了背后击穿现象的发生,而且进入灭弧室的电弧始终具有平稳的较高电弧电压,有效地提高了限流断路器的开断性能     

基于相关分析的同步断路器可控开断故障选相研究

可控开断故障电流能有效提高断路器的开断能力和延长其电寿命。断路器可控开断多相故障电流的关键是快速、可靠识别故障类型和故障相。笔者采用相关分析法获得特殊相的正、负序故障分量的相位关系,从而根据相位关系快速、可靠实现确定故障类型和相应故障相;采用MATLAB建立高压断路器开断故障电流模型,对提出的故障选相算法的性能进行了测试验证。测试结果表明,提出算法能够在故障发生后半个周期内准确识别出特定条件下的故障类型和故障相,为同步断路器可控开断故障电流实现提供了理论依据和实现基础。     

直流开断技术的进展与新型直流断路器

提出了直流系统对直流开断的新要求,分析了直流开断与交流分断的区别。同时介绍了几种直流开断新技术与新型直流断路器,包括无极性直流断路器、由交流派生直流断路器、密封充气式直流开关、自励振荡人工零点直流断路器,理清了直流开断技术的进展。     

低压断路器中空气电弧重击穿现象的仿真与实验研究

低压断路器用于接通和分断电路中的电流。当故障电流产生时，动触头和静触头打开，在触头间产生电弧，随后在电磁场和气流场的作用下向灭弧栅片运动。在运动过程中会出现电弧的停滞和后退的重击穿现象，严重降低了断路器的开断性能。该文以磁流体动力学(MHD)为基础建立了三维空气电弧等离子体在外部磁场作用下运动的数学模型，此模型可以预测电弧的重击穿现象，并发现当灭弧室的出口面积为60%时，电弧在3mT磁场的作用下运动时出现了重击穿现象，而当磁场增大到5mT时重击穿现象消失。此外，还发现当磁场为10mT时，在出口面积分别为20%、60%和100% 3种情况下电弧均可以顺利到达栅片，在运动的过程中没有电弧重击穿现象的发生。     

应用PTC限流元件的低压断路器

传统的低压断路器由于依靠电弧来消耗电弧分断能量,所以分断能力受到约束。本文介绍一种新型的PTC限流元件,它与传统断路器组合后,能吸收大部分的分断能量,从而大大提高断路器的分断能力。     

利用电弧动态数学模型的低压断路器开断过程仿真分析

低压断路器开断过程仿真的关键内容是如何建立开断过程的电弧数学模型,并将其与其它开断过程的物理现象相耦合。通过对虚拟样机软件ADAMS进行二次开发,将电弧动态数学模型应用到低压断路器的开断过程仿真,并结合有限元软件ANSYS,建立了耦合复杂机械运动﹑电路﹑磁场和电弧数学模型的低压断路器开断过程仿真模型。通过将建立的仿真模型应用到一带双向斥开触头系统的塑壳断路器,研究了静触头压力大小对该塑壳断路器开断性能的影响。实验结果表明,利用所提出的仿真模型研究低压断路器的开断过程是可行的。     

分离极板法对开断电弧动态信息的测量研究

为更好地了解电弧的特性,对断路器进行改进,提出了使用分离极板法对低压断路器开断电弧的动态信息进行测量,并对新型强限流断路器的分断特性进行了研究。该研究有助于深入了触电弧特性,改进断路器的分断性能。     

新型混合式灭弧系统在限流断路器中的研究

低压限流断路器是广泛应用于工业与民用的低压电器,它采用多个栅片的灭弧室,利用近极压降将进入到灭弧室中的电弧电压提升到一个较高的值,从而在开断电路的同时还起到对短路电流的限制。目前背后击穿现象降低了开断性能。本文研究了一种将窄缩与栅片配合应用于限流断路器的新型混合式灭弧系统。控制了栅片间金属短弧的金属蒸气喷流,同时削弱灭弧室中热气体的回流。实验证明,新型的混合式灭弧系统不仅有效地抑制了背后击穿现象的     

Clearing faults near shunt capacitor banks

Fault interrupting tests on high-voltage circuit breakers confirmed the problems of breaking a short-circuit current, which can occur in substations with shunt capacitor banks. Research was conducted on the behavior of different extinguishing media. Tests show that all types of circuit breakers (including the restrike-free breakers) have reignitions after the interruption of faults in the vicinity of a shunt capacitor bank. This is caused by the low rate of rise of the recovery voltage which gives the circuit breaker an opportunity to clear at short arcing times. Reignitions occur because of the low dielectric withstand capability of the small contact gap. Both tests and computer calculations show high overvoltages when the circuit breaker interrupts at one of the superimposed high-frequency current zeros which are created after reignition. Some breakers interrupt at a high-frequency current zero and thus create overvoltages. Other breakers do not interrupt at a high-frequency current zero and wait for a current zero of the power-frequency current, thus prolonging the arcing time. The overvoltages in three-phase circuits are higher than in single-phase circuits     

特高压断路器几种开断试验回路比较

特高压断路器开断试验方法的研究是特高压输电技术发展需要解决的关键问题之一。根据开断过程中的电弧特性,基于Mayr电弧方程理论,建立参数化的PSCAD电弧电阻模型,通过对几种适用于特高压断路器开断试验的合成回路进行系统仿真分析,模拟了直接试验回路、Hitachi四参数试验回路和ABB的EPIC试验回路的开断过程,以直接试验回路为基准,对Hitachi回路和EPIC回路开断前后的电弧过程和恢复电压进行了比较。     

Current Interruption in Low-Voltage Circuit Breakers

Low-voltage current interruption is studied in this paper in order to develop a suitable blackbox model for low-voltage circuit breakers. The electric arc will be modeled by means of electrical quantities. Accurate post-arc current measurements by a high sensitivity current probe and signal analysis techniques (Savitsky-Golay filtering) are adopted to extract information. A set of interrupting performance evaluators is proposed, and the best performing indicators are selected. Theoretical explanations provide insight in the physical processes of low-voltage interruption. The difference with the classical context of blackbox modeling in medium- and high-voltage circuit breakers is explained, based on the different relative weight of the arc voltage and voltage supply.     

Dielectric Recovery Characteristics after High‐Frequency Current Interruption in Vacuum Circuit Breaker

When the contacts of circuit breaker are opened just before current zero, the gap between contacts will still be very short. Therefore, it cannot withstand recovery voltage between the contacts. In such a case, multiple reignition is likely to take place. Many investigators had tried to clarify this phenomenon, and many reports have been published. However, high‐frequency current interruption and dielectric recovery characteristics are related to some parameters (value of current, arc time, and so on). In addition, arc phenomenon has also been implicated. Hence, it is difficult to understand this phenomenon accurately. In this paper, we conducted dielectric recovery test and high‐frequency current interruption test. Further, we conducted observation experiment using vacuum chamber in order to investigate the effect of small dc current. At the end, we calculated plasma density in the electrodes after high‐frequency current interruption by considering the result of observation experiment and dielectric recovery test.     

无弧限流式混合断路器

本文介绍一种名为混合限流式断路器（Ｈ－ＣＬＩＤ）的简化的直流／交流混合断路器。当主触头处于闭合位置时其两端的电压与机械式断路器为同一数量级,然而限流能力和电流分断能力却几乎与强迫换流的无触点晶闸管断路器相同。和可实现接通和分断功能的混合断路器相比,Ｈ－ＣＬＩＤ的设计却简化多了。在Ｈ－ＣＬＩＤ中使用了可更换触头,这样Ｈ－ＣＬＩＤ又相当于一个熔断器。开发了两个Ｈ－ＣＬＩＤ模型,一个为物理模型,其额定参     

核电厂发电机出口断路器失灵保护设计

核电厂发电机机端与升压变压器之间都装设发电机出口断路器,而且装设了发电机出口断路器失灵保护。文中分析核电厂发电机所配置的保护及其定值,发现发电机出口断路器失灵保护设计存在问题:某些启动跳发电机出口断路器、灭磁、关闭主汽门的电气保护,因电流判据不满足而不能直接有效地启动发电机出口断路器失灵保护;汽轮发电机组在程序跳闸过程中,发电机出口断路器发生故障而不能跳开,也不能启动发电机出口断路器失灵保护。对上述问题所造成的危害,文中提出核电厂发电机出口断路器失灵保护设计的改进措施,完善了核电厂发电机出口断路器失灵保护设计。     

1 100 kV / 1 200 kV断路器大功率试验

特高压（UHV）断路器试验本身就是一项挑战,当前,KEMA已开发了用于超高压和特高压开关设备大功率测试装置。鉴于特高压断路器一般至少由双断口灭弧室组成,需要做验证其正常电流（或故障电流）开断能力的局部试验,可以只针对断路器单断口（即断路器的1／2或1／4）来进行。例如,装有均压电容的瓷柱式断路器的情形就是这样。然而,为满足对金属封闭式开关设备的试验要求（见IEC 61633）,在带电部件和外壳之间以及在分闸过程应具备正确的电介质应力,不做断路器整极试验在技术上是不正确的。这就要求开发新的UHV断路器试验电路。关键之处在于使用一种双级合成电路,其中一级电路放置在测试对象的附近。这种做法的好处是,测试对象的外壳可以保持地电位各种800kV以及1100或1200kV断路器整极全面试验均证明这种方法是有效可行的。文章中展示了试验的例子。     

真空断路器电磁瞬态仿真模型的研究与应用

由于真空断路器具有优良的开断和绝缘恢复性能，因此，可用来开断由于电弧不稳定而产生的高频电流。在一定的电网奈件下，在开断高频电流的过程中可能引起多次重燃和严重的过电压。本文的主要目的是用PSCAD建立真空断路器模型来展现断路器的真实特性。这个模型融合了燃弧时间、截流，介质恢复强度及断路器的熄弧能力等所有本质特性。采用开断实用的电炉用变压器来检验本文所开发的三相真空断路器的模型。并提供了检验结果。     

Novel topology of DC circuit breaker and current interruption in HVDC networks

With the emerging growth of high‐voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission in modern power systems, the HVDC grid has become a hot topic in recent academic research and real projects. In the DC grid, DC faults can have very serious consequences, and so the faulty DC parts need to be rapidly isolated from the system. Compared to the full‐bridge converters for the DC grid, DC circuit breakers are preferred to deal with this problem economically. In this paper, the self‐excited resonant DC circuit breaker is reviewed. Then, a novel scheme of hybrid DC circuit breaker is introduced, and the operation principle of the proposed circuit breaker is described in detail. Finally, a four‐terminal HVDC grid based on a modular multilevel converter (MMC) is used as the DC test system in PSCAD/EMTDC to verify the validity of the proposed DC circuit breaker. From the simulation results, it is seen that the proposed DC circuit breaker has advantages on current interruption time, voltage on DC circuit breaker, investment, etc. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.