Thesis (M. S.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Meliopoulos, A. P. Sakis; Committee Member: Divan, Deepakraj M.; Committee Member: Harley, Ronald G.; Committee Member: Johnson, Ellis L.; Committee Member: Taylor, David G.

The objective of the proposed research is to quantify the limits of overstressed and aging circuit breakers in terms of probability of failure and to provide guidelines to determine network reconfigurations, generator commitment, and economic dispatch strategies that account for these limits. The proposed temporary power system operating strategies address circuit breaker adequacy issues and allow overstressed breakers to be operated longer and more reliably until they are replaced with adequate equipment. The expansion of electric networks with new power sources (nuclear plants, distributed generation) results in increased short-circuit or fault currents levels. As fault currents increase, they will eventually exceed circuit breaker ratings. Circuit breakers exposed to fault currents in excess of their ratings are said to be overstressed, underrated, or inadequate. Insufficient ratings expose overstressed breakers to increased failure probabilities. Extensive common-mode outages caused by circuit breaker failures reduce the reliability of power systems. To durably avoid outages and system unreliability, overstressed breakers must eventually be replaced. Large-scale replacements of overstressed breakers cannot be completed in a short time because of budgetary limits, capital improvement schedules, and manufacturer-imposed constraints. Meanwhile, to preserve the ability of old and overstressed breakers to safely interrupt faults, short-circuit currents must be kept within the limits imposed by the ratings and the age of these breakers by using the substation reconfiguration and generator commitment strategies described in this study. The immediate benefit of the above-mentioned operating strategies is a reduction of the failure probability of overstressed breakers obtained by avoiding the interruption of currents in excess of breaker ratings. Other benefits include (i) increased network reliability, (ii) restored operating margins with respect to existing equipment, and (iii) prioritized equipment upgrades that enhance the long-term planning of power systems.

Nesta dissertação, discorre-se sobre manobra sincronizada de disjuntores. Entre as atividades desenvolvidas para a sua elaboração estão a análise de transitórios causados por manobras em capacitores, reatores e linhas de transmissão, estudos de sobretensão e estudos para a determinação de instantes favoráveis às manobras, sob o ponto de vista de diminuição de sobretensões. Completa a dissertação a especificação de equipamento de sincronismo que, a partir de medições em tempo real de variáveis elétricas - que interferem nas sobretensões - e de variáveis climáticas - que interferem no tempo de acionamento dos contatos dos disjuntores - calculam o tempo de atraso necessário para o fechamento elétrico em instantes mais convenientes. / The scope of this dissertation is the study of synchronized switching of circuit breakers. The transients caused by capacitor, reactor and transmission line switching are analyzed, for overvoltage evaluation and to determined the favorable time in the wave that leads to smallest overvoltages. Finally the specification of an equipment is produced. The equipment acquire, in real time, the values of electrical variables (current and voltages) the ambient temperature and oil pressure in the circuit breaker operating mechanism, voltage in the auxiliary system and assign a delay in the breaker switching time in order to control overvoltages.

Nesta dissertação, discorre-se sobre manobra sincronizada de disjuntores. Entre as atividades desenvolvidas para a sua elaboração estão a análise de transitórios causados por manobras em capacitores, reatores e linhas de transmissão, estudos de sobretensão e estudos para a determinação de instantes favoráveis às manobras, sob o ponto de vista de diminuição de sobretensões. Completa a dissertação a especificação de equipamento de sincronismo que, a partir de medições em tempo real de variáveis elétricas - que interferem nas sobretensões - e de variáveis climáticas - que interferem no tempo de acionamento dos contatos dos disjuntores - calculam o tempo de atraso necessário para o fechamento elétrico em instantes mais convenientes. / The scope of this dissertation is the study of synchronized switching of circuit breakers. The transients caused by capacitor, reactor and transmission line switching are analyzed, for overvoltage evaluation and to determined the favorable time in the wave that leads to smallest overvoltages. Finally the specification of an equipment is produced. The equipment acquire, in real time, the values of electrical variables (current and voltages) the ambient temperature and oil pressure in the circuit breaker operating mechanism, voltage in the auxiliary system and assign a delay in the breaker switching time in order to control overvoltages.

The UK is facing two major challenges in the development of its electricity network. First, two thirds of the existing power stations are expected to close by 2030. Second, is the requirement to reduce its CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050. Both of these challenges are significant in their own right. The fact that they are occurring at the same time, generates a significant amount of threats to the existing power system, but also provides many new opportunities. In order to meet both these challenges, significant amounts of offshore wind generation has been installed in the UK. For the wind generation with the longest connections to land, Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission has to be used. Due to the high power rating of the offshore wind farms, compared to the limited transmission capacity of the links, a large number of point-to-point connections are required. This has lead to the concept of HVDC grids being proposed, in order to reduce the amount of installed assets required. HVDC grids are a new transmission environment and the fundamental question of how they will protect themselves must be answered. Several new technologies are under consideration to provide this protection, one of which is the HVDC circuit breaker. As HVDC circuit breakers are a new technology, they must be tested in a laboratory environment to prove their operation and improve their Technology Readiness Level (TRL). This thesis is concerned with how such HVDC circuit breakers are operated, rated, and tested in a laboratory environment. A review of the existing circuit breaker technologies is given, along with descriptions of several novel circuit breakers developed in this thesis. A standardized method of rating DC circuit breaker and their associated test circuit is developed. Mathematical analysis of several circuit breakers is derived from first principles and low power prototypes are developed to validate these design concepts. A high power test circuit is then constructed and a semiconductor circuit breaker is tested. The key learning outcomes from this testing are provided.

No description available.

The UK Government has identified that nearly 15% of the UK’s electricity generation must come from offshore wind by 2020. The reliability of the offshore windfarms and their electrical transmission systems is critical for their feasibility. Offshore windfarms located more than 50-100km from shore, including most Round 3 offshore windfarms, are likely to employ Voltage Source Converter (VSC) High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission schemes. This thesis studies factors which affect the reliability of VSC-HVDC transmission schemes, in respect to availability, protection, and system modelling. The expected availability of VSC-HVDC systems is a key factor in determining if Round 3 offshore windfarms are technically and economically viable. Due to the lack of publications in this area, this thesis analyses the energy availability of a radial and a Multi-Terminal (MT) VSC-HVDC system, using component reliability indices derived from academic and industrial documentation, and examining the influence of each component on the system’s energy availability. An economic assessment of different VSC-HVDC schemes is undertaken, highlighting the overall potential cost savings of HVDC grids. The connection of offshore windfarms to a MT HVDC system offers other potential benefits, in comparison to an equivalent radial system, including a reduction in the volume of assets and enhanced operational flexibility. However, without suitable HVDC circuit breakers, a large MT HVDC system would be unviable. In this thesis, a review of potential HVDC circuit breaker topologies and HVDC protection strategies is conducted. A HVDC circuit breaker topology, which addresses some of the limitations of the existing designs, was developed in this thesis, for which a UK patent application was filed. Accurate simulation models are required to give a high degree of confidence in the expected system behaviour. Modular Multi-level Converters (MMCs) are the preferred HVDC converter topology, however modelling MMCs in Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) simulation programs has presented a number of challenges. This has resulted in the development of new modelling techniques, for which the published validating literature is limited. In this thesis these techniques are compared in terms of accuracy and simulation speed and a set of modelling recommendations are presented. Cable models are the other main DC component which, upon analysis, is found to have a significant impact on the overall model’s simulation results and simulation time. A set of modelling recommendations are also presented for the leading cable models. Using the modelling recommendations to select suitable MMC models, radial and MT EMT MMC-HVDC models for the connection of typical Round 3 windfarms are developed in this thesis. These models are used to analyse the steady-state and transient performance of the connections, including their compliance to the GB grid code for AC disturbances and reactive power requirements. Furthermore, the MT model is used to investigate the effect of MT control strategies on the internal MMC quantities.

No description available.

Esta dissertação realiza uma análise comparativa de sobretensões transitórias que ocorrem durante o chaveamento de disjuntores a vácuo. Estas sobretensões podem ocasionar a falha da isolação dos equipamentos conectados aos disjuntores, conforme vários relatos da literatura. Esse fenômeno está associado às características intrínsecas dos disjuntores a vácuo, na formação do arco elétrico em seu interior e de sua interrupção, na sua capacidade de recuperação da rigidez dielétrica, na sua capacidade de interromper correntes de alta frequência, além de características do circuito protegido. Devido à natureza complexa e aleatória das sobretensões transitórias, observou-se a necessidade do desenvolvimento de ferramentas para reprodução dos fenômenos associados às características operacionais dos disjuntores a vácuo. Esse trabalho busca preencher tal lacuna, desenvolvendo um modelo que contempla o comportamento do disjuntor a vácuo tanto para a manobra de abertura quanto para de fechamento, de modo a colaborar com o entendimento dos fenômenos e no cálculo das sobretensões no domínio do tempo. O algoritmo desenvolvido foi implementado no programa Alternative Transient Program (ATP) por meio da linguagem Models. A partir da preparação desse modelo e da escolha de um experimento de referência, foi possível analisar o comportamento do modelo proposto do disjuntor e dos modelos dos principais componentes elétricos dos programas de cálculo de transitórios elétricos, como transformadores e cabos, cujos méritos e deficiências são discutidos ao longo do trabalho. A pesquisa foi orientada em buscar resultados que pudessem ser mais representativos para validação do modelo de disjuntor ao se alterar os modelos dos demais componentes elétricos do circuito, sendo o ajuste dos parâmetros dos disjuntores a vácuo realizados de forma a obter os resultados mais próximos da referência. Por fim, foram simuladas condições onde os fenômenos de sobretensão se agravam e soluções que podem ser incorporadas ao circuito para redução das sobretensões e das frequências dos transitórios. / The current dissertation project performs a comparative analysis of the transient overvoltages generated during the switching of vacuum circuit breakers. The overvoltage phenomenon for these cases can lead to the insulation failure of the equipment connected to the circuit-breakers, according to several reports in the literature. This phenomenon is associated to intrinsic characteristics of the vacuum circuit-breakers, as the formation of the electric arc in their interior and its interruption, their dielectric strength recovery, in their capacity to interrupt high frequency currents interruption, beyond characteristics from the circuit. Due to the complex and random nature of the transient overvoltage, the necessity of developing tools to reproduce such phenomenon associated to the operational features of the vacuum circuit-breaker arose. This dissertation seeks filling this gap, by developing a model that contemplates the vacuum circuitbreaker behavior for both opening and closing switching, in order to collaborate with the understanding of such phenomenon and in the calculations of overvoltages in the time domain. The developed algorithm was implemented in the software Alternative Transient Program (ATP) by means of the programming language Models. From the preparation of this model and from the choice of a reference experiment, it was possible to analyze the behavior of the proposed model and of the models from the main electrical components present in software to calculate electrical transients, e.g. transformers and cables, which merits and deficiencies are discussed along the dissertation. The research was oriented in searching for results that could be more representative to the validation of the circuit-breaker model when changing the models of the remaining electrical components of the circuit, being the parameters adjustment of the vacuum circuit-breakers performed in order to achieve the results closer to the reference. Finally, conditions to aggravate the transitory and the incorporation of solution to reduce the overvoltage and frequencies of the transients were also simulated.

Submitted by Rosivalda Pereira (mrs.pereira@ufma.br) on 2017-06-01T17:53:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MarcosCavalcanteFilho.pdf: 3427983 bytes, checksum: 5e82591a0024b1ad3cdc6916f97459c7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T17:53:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarcosCavalcanteFilho.pdf: 3427983 bytes, checksum: 5e82591a0024b1ad3cdc6916f97459c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-18 / The well-being of man, with regard to continued use of electricity, translates to energy distributors in a challenging mission. The face of adversity as weather, vandalism, human error and even robustness of the electrical system itself, great advances have been achieved over the years, especially with the adoption of failure decreased methodologies as well as the emergence of technologies more reliable. To illustrate this current scenario, this paper will address the results of the implementation of the pillar Early Management of Total Productive Management (TPM) to identify the gains in reliability of the continuous supply of electricity, this methodology implemented to protect equipment from power substations. For this, the structure will be observed in the electricity sector, substations and their protective equipment, especially the system protection equipments, and finally the implementation of the Early Management to mitigate the failures of the equipment in order to ensure the continuous supply of energy. / O bem-estar do homem, no que diz respeito ao uso contínuo da energia elétrica, traduz-se para as distribuidoras de energia em uma missão desafiadora. Diante das adversidades como condições climáticas, vandalismo, falha humana e até mesmo robustez do sistema elétrico em si, grandes avanços tem-se conseguido ao longo dos anos, principalmente com a adoção de metodologias de diminuição de falhas, bem como o surgimento de tecnologias mais confiáveis. Para ilustrar esse atual cenário, este trabalho abordará os resultados da aplicação do pilar Controle Inicial da Gestão Produtiva Total (GPT) para identificar os ganhos na confiabilidade do fornecimento contínuo da energia elétrica, metodologia essa implementada aos equipamentos de proteção das subestações de energia. Para isto, será observado a estrutura do setor elétrico, das subestações e dos equipamentos de proteção, em especial os equipamentos de proteção do sistema, e por fim, a implementação do Controle Inicial para mitigação das falhas do equipamento afim de garantir o fornecimento contínuo da energia.