1.32.1 A NEW, INTELLIGENT DIGITAL ARC DETECTION SYSTEM FOR AIR- AND GAS-INSULATE! SWITCHGEAR K, Jakob, W. Schels AEG Sachsenwerk GmbH, Germany SUMMARY ‘Type-tested medium-voltage switchgear according to IEC 298 have achieved a high level of protection from Internal faults as the result of various passive measures, In spite of these high passive safety measures, internal faults - with their damaging reactions for the environment - cannot be ruled out completely, as the VDEW's incident and damage statistics indi- cate for Germany by way of example. ‘The aim must now be to minimize the impact of ‘such faults by switching them off as quickly as possible, which wil in turn enhance the degree of Safety for persons, buildings end the environment, while improving switchgear availabilty at the same time. A.completely new, intelligent juC-controlled arc detection system for air- and gas-insulated switchgear has been developed for this very pur- pose, ‘This systern's main features include high sensitivi- ty, high operational reliabilty, high availabilty, zero maintenance, fauit location with indication, along with self-monitoring (also covering the signal transmission route). High sensitivity is achieved by detecting the most striking and the fastest of physi- cal variables Indicative of an ate, Le. its light. The light is detected by specially developed light sensor spheres facing each cladded compartment of the switchgear panel, These light sensor sphe- res display uniform sensitivity in all directions of the hemisphere. The light is conveyed by fribre-optics light conductor to an evaluator and converted into a digital signel by photodiodes end AID converters. ‘The signal is evaluated using an algorithm that incorporates auxiliary signals so as to permit unambiguous differentiation between an arc and any interference signals in order to achieve maxi- mum reliability even where light interference si- gnels are involved, ‘The new arc detection system for type-tested me- diurn-voltage switchgear makes it possible to ri- nimize the potential duration of an are and hence its destructive effect, resulting in enhanced safety for the switchgear environment, INTRODUCTION ‘Typectested medium-voltage switchgear according to IEC 298 provide a sufficient staff safety level as regards internal faults whiich represent the most serious type of incident. ‘The ocourrence of internal faults has been minimi- zed by the continuous and consistent further deve- lopment of switchgear and switching devices and by measures involving the distribution network, However, internal faults cannot be ruled out com- pletely, as the VDEW's incident and damage stati stios indicate for Germany (1) by way of example. In 1993, the total number of incidents which occur- red in substations amounted to: - 0.37 incidents per 1000 panels in the 10 kV network, -0.42 incidents per 1000 panels in the 20 kV network. Public acceptance of the impacts of incidents, e, of the internal faults on the environment, continue to diminish in the future, even if these are occur- fences which have proved to be rare. After exhaustive implementation of all economically reasonable passive measures, the active, rainten- ance-free safety system ILIS (Intelligent Light in formation System) represents the consistent further development of safety against fault arcs. It mini zes the impacts of fault arcs by reducing the arcing times for GIS (gas-insulated switchgear) and AIS (air-insulated switchgear). Considering the advantages of minimizing fauit arc times rakes it obvious why an active safely sy- stem is necessary, given the existing high passive safely level at the present state of development of medium-voltage switchgear and the low interfe- rence rates. MINIMIZING THE IMPACT OF INTERNAL FAULTS Internal faults in electrical switchgear used for po- ‘wer distribution can have diverse effects on the operators, the switchgear, its availabilty, the buil ding and the environment with a lesser or greater degree of danger. Depending on the protective system and setting, the maximum duration of an internal fault in Euro- pean (medium-voltage) power distribution systerns CIRED 97, 2-5 June 1987, Conference Publication No, 438, © IEE, 1997‘amounts to one second. In a 20 kV system with short time current of 25 kA and an are voltage of approx. 600 Y, this results in an energy release of 40.5 MJ. (This energy could be used to evaporate 18.6 | of water or to melt 42 kg of iron within one second.) ‘The increased emission of hot gases and potential: ly hazardous substances from the switchgeer unit and burning-through of the enclosure and the con- sequences thereof (impact of radiation and direct emission of hot gases) may endanger the opera- tors ‘Sources of fre may develop due to the increasing build-up of heat in the insulating material, which continues to bur after the are has been interrup- ted. The switchgear compartment may suffer da- mage due fo gaseous decomposition products being released, and by the pressure increase fol- lowing the emission of the hot gases. The longer the arcing time, the more the operating safety and the availabilty of the switchgear are impaired, as the increased development of fumes and any other hazardous substances prevent ac- cess to the swilchgear for an extended period of time, Thero is an increasing risk of partitions bur- ning through, which may affect the adjacent com- partments by soot deposits, which in turn reduces the insulation level. This prejudices the option of using emergency mode (to terminate technical processes) after the fault has been switched off, ‘The emission of hazardous or polluting substances info the environment might be considered as a nuisance by the public, especially in densely popu- tated areas. All these hazards, damages and nuisances are ‘caused in direct conjunction with the arc - which cannot be ruled out completely - and especially with its duration, Some of these effects could be reduced by passive measures, e.g, reinforced partitions, which, howe- Ver, would be cost-intensive, ‘A reduction of the arc duration is the only solution Which permits minimisation of the potential risk and the extent of damage in all the areas mentioned above. With ILIS, GIS can be kept completely emission- free, Le. the cladded compartments remain closed. Minimization of emissions increases the “ecological acceptance” of medium-voltage switchgear and consequently of the entire electrical power distribu- tion system. ‘This gives rise to the conclusion thet a safety sy- stem which minimizes the arcing time in the case of an internal fault should be integrated into medium- voltage switchgear. 1.32.2 DESIGN AND METHOD OF OPERATION ‘The electronic safety system ILIS consists of three system modules: Tha sensors, the evalvator and the power supply. Sensors ‘The sensors follow the optical principle, so that the most striking and fastest physical variable indicati- ve of an arg, i.e. its fight, can be used for arc de- tection, The sensor consists mainly of an opaque light sensor sphere and an encapsulated double fribre-optics light conductor (Fig. 1). This specific design helps achieve a uniform and non-directional launching of fight into the fibres of the optical light ‘conductor. Fig. 2 shows the measured directional characteristic of the sensors. Besides, this fibre-optical sensing principte is in- sensitive fo electromagnetic interference from switchgear units Power supply ‘The power supply serves to provide the ILIS sy- stem voltage of 24 V DC at various switchgear auxiliary voltages. Alter failure of the power supply, the system remains functional for another 200 ms. ILIS evaluator Up to 4 sensors can be connected to the ILIS eva- luator (Fig. 3). It comprises 3 potential-iree con- tacts for tripping switches via their shunt releases, and a potential-free contact for fault indication, Linkage with other evaluators to establish a com- plete system for monitoring the switchgear is ef- fected via appropriate outputs and inputs. Moreo- Ver, messages emitted by overcurrent protection relays and switching devices can be fed into the evaluator for further processing. Display: LEDs (lightemitting diodes) located on the evaluator (Fig. 2) signal the operating mode (ready, not ready), sensor circuits under fault conditions and the fault location (in the case of an incident involving an arc), The Test/Reset key Is used to test the LEDs on the display, to initiate the self-test manually, to indicate sensor circuits in fault condition and to reset messages (LED). Self-monitoring: The ILIS evaluator is a digital system controlled by microcontroller which features high retabiity. The digital electronics enable comprehensive self- ‘monitoring functions for the electronics end the sensor circuits. The automatic message ernitted in the event of a fault occurring in the ILIS system4.323 increases the availabilty of ILIS and ensures zero maintenance. Cyclic self-monitoring of the sensor circuits is ensu- red by the double fibre-optics design. The light from ‘an LED in the evaluator is launched into a optical fibre and fed to the light sensor sphere. There, part of the fight is scattered and launched into the se- ‘cond optical fibre leading to the measuring circuit of the evaluator. If the monitoring signal’ limits saved in the evaluator are no longer reached (e.g. due to a cable break of an optical fibre), the evaluator ‘emits a fault indication and the faulty sensor circuit is switched off, The other sensor circuits of the evaluator remain fully operational. The digital electronics are comprehensively monito- red with the typical routines specifically developed for microcontrollers (e.g. Watchdog). Even if an ILIS evaluator fails completely (e.9. fa re of the supply voltage), system faults will be in cated If various evaluators are used within one switchge- ar unit, the failure of one ILIS evaluator does not affect the subsequent functioning of the other ILIS evaluators within the system, High sensitivity and safety as regards false tripping. The ILIS system offers two additional advantages, je. high sensitivity and very high safety against false tipping. Thanks to its sensitivity, ILIS enables the extremely safe and fast detection of high-intensity and low- intensity arcs, Atthe same time, ILIS is insensitive to light from. external sources, such as halogen hand lamps, room lighting, photo flashes and electro welding ares which are produced a certain distance away. ‘The clear distinction between the useful signal {fault arc) and light from external source Is Im- Portant, as this dramatically reduces the risk of false tripping. Within ILIS, distinction is based on the evaliation of two criteria which must be satis- fied at the same time. The light’ rate of rise and the exposure value over a preset period must ‘exceed one threshold value in each case. ‘As with protective devices, evaluation of the expo- sure value serves to reach an excitation time which depends on the arc current and is consequently adjusted to the intensity of the fault. This means that high-intensity arcs are detected safely in an extremely short time (approx. 6 ms), and lower- intensity arcs within max. 200 ms. ‘The light from arcs with a considerable current intensity (e.g. of switch disconnectors) near sen- sors, which would exceed the two light evaluation criteria "ight's rate of rise" and "exposure", can be blanked out within the ILIS evaluator by means of an operating signal issued by the switch. To ensure maximum safely against false tripping, the signals from the overcurrent protection relay can be supplied additionally into the evaluator. In this case, ILIS only trips after an arc has been de- tected in the light evaluation circuit, and if an overcurrent signal is "on ILIS IN SWITCHGEAR UNITS The safety system ILIS has been designed for application in air-insulated and gas-insulated medi- um-voltage switchgear units, ‘Thanks to the sensor system's high degree of sensitivity and the fact that itis non-directional, it can be mounted on switchgear panels easily and in an accessible position. In this context, the sensor may not be in the direct range of vision of the potential arc. However, the high sensitivity of ILIS enables it to detect low- intensity single-phase arcs reliably via their scatte- ted light. Fig. 4 shows the oscillogram of a test with a single-phase arc (1 kA). The diagram shows the are current, the arc voltage, the illuminance at the sensor and a tripping contact of ILIS. High-intensity ares can be detected within a very short time (see oscillogram, Fig. 5). In this case, the arc currents, are voltages and an ILIS trip contact were recorded inthe scope of a test with three-phase arc (25 kA) inthe air-insuleted switchgear panel type WBA. The trip contact is operated only 5.8 ms after arcing commences. The GIS is equipped with gas-tight optical windows (Fig. 6) through which the sensors “look into the function compartments. The sensors’ fiore-optics light conductor are shea- thed to protect them against mechanical influences vp to the low-voltage cabinet, and are connected to the evaluator, As four sensors can be connected to and monito- ted by each evaluator, up to three adjacent switchgear panels can be monitored with ane single device in the case of single-bus switchgear - depending on the number of cladded compart- ments. Double-bus switchgear units are equipped with one evaluator per switchgear panel. Ifa ‘switchgear panel comprises cladded compartments with switch disconnectors, an auxiliary switch of the switch disconnector is connected to the evaluator, to initiate the blanking of an arc caused by opening of the switch disconnector in the ILIS light evaluati- on circuit. Asa standard feature all ILIS evaluators of a gear unit are interconnected, Thus, al crcult- breakers in the incorning and outgoing feeder units of the switchgear unit are tripped when an arc oc- curs, The shut-off of the entire switchgear unit isthe appropriate response to these faults, as fault arcs occur extremely rarely, but may have serious consequences. For switchgear units which have to satisfy maxi- mum availabilty requirements, ILIS also permits implementation of a selective shut-off of switchgear sections under fault condition, The protection of incoming feeder switchgear pa- nels is ensured by integrating the higher-level in- coming feeder switch into the ILIS protection con- cept, In the case of GIS, the pressure retief of the com- partment under fault condition, which is required in ‘case of accidental arcs, is effected by means of relief devices which open es the specified opera- ting pressure is reached. The operating pressure is reached after short or longer arcing times, depen- ding especially on the are current and the volume of the gas compartment in question. The quick interruption of the arc by ILIS - suiting the type of switchgear panel in question (GIS) - cen prevent pressure relief and the consequent emission of gas, The gas system can remain closed by means Of ILIS in case of faults, and can thus be kept free {from emissions, ‘SUMMARY {n the event of internal faults - fault arcs - the safety system ILIS (Intelligent Light Information System) reduces their duration and thus the extent of da~ mage reliably and to a considerable degree, ‘The reduced emissions in case of incidents (with LIS) and the possible zero emissions (with GIS) ensure an enhanced compatibility with the envi- ronment, and thus a higher ecological acceptance of electric energy distribution within the population. Enhancement of compatibily with the environment. - also for switchgear used for energy distribution - will remain a topical issue in future, Switchgear comprising systems like ILIS to reduce or to pre~ vent the impacts of fault arcs will therefore become the technical standard, 1. “Incident and damage statistics 1992 and 1993 of VDEW', 1996, publishing house: VWEW 1.324 Fig. 2: Directional characteristic of sensors bi‘(syun Avenue = "n’e) souewiwoo Gurue eye GeaByoums payemsurseB) ‘SW QO} e/a @ AlaJes sjoeer yoRIUOD 1 STI ayy, “sjaued seeByoyns SI9 Ut Suosuas S17] SuRUNOW 0} MopullA jeondo IYBN-SeD) :9 “BI ‘adh ul Wo | Jo Tue eseyd-o|6us Yj sel B JO WeIBOILIOSO “py “Bl 1.32.6 Jaye sw g'g aust ® syoeas yoRIUOO Bur adk-VEM Ul yx GZ Jo cue eseyd-eauu) Sunes