Modeling and simulation of thermal behavior within

typical GIS busduct using ATP-EMTP program

Mariusz Stosur Starowislna 13A Str., 31-038 Krakow, Poland

Pawel Dawidowski [email protected]
Marcin Szewczyk [email protected]
Przemyslaw Balcerek [email protected]
ABB Corporate Research Center, Poland [email protected]

Kacper Sowa Mickiewicza 30 Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland

AGH University of Science and Technology, [email protected]
Krakow, Poland

Abstract – In electric power products development, thermal aspects are becoming very
important due to the fact that they guarantee the correct operation of product. The specified
temperature limits cannot be exceeded. Thus, knowledge of temperature behavior is very
important factor in order to predict reliability and performance in its working environment. In
this paper some bases of Thermal Network Method (TNM) modeling in application to transient
rating calculations of typical GIS compartment arrangements are presented. Thermal network
composed of heat sources, thermal resistances and capacitances can be easily represented and
calculated by means of ATP-EMTP program (also OrCAD Capture environment).

Keywords: Thermal Network Method, thermal parameters, GIS busduct, ATP-EMTP,

modeling, simulation

1 Introduction
Thermal analysis is a very important issue in electrical devices and apparatus design especially
for high current ratings. According to the international IEC 62271-203 standard [2], a
temperature rise type test has to be performed, in order to ensure that the allowed temperature
limits are not exceeded. To optimize the number of needed design tests, it is important to predict
the temperature rise with a simulation tool. Different approaches are available to thermal
simulation, selection of which is always a matter of balance between the modeling complexity,
accuracy, and computational cost [7]. Among them, the thermal network method (TNM) [3]
has extremely low computational cost at decent accuracy. The basic idea of TNM is to describe
a thermal problem by an equivalent circuit network and solve the network. If one uses the
OrCAD software a thermal library is available (created and built at ABB [7]), that provides the
needed circuit element symbols and the corresponding thermal models for, e.g. power loss,
thermal conduction, convective heat transfer, radiation, and more. Alternative solution is to use
the ATP-EMTP program to simulate the thermal behavior [5] by setting up an equivalent
electrical circuit.
This paper addresses on thermal behavior of a typical ELK-3 GIS compartment using OrCAD
Capture environment and ATP-EMTP program. Modeling and simulation results were built and
compared. These analyses are a fundament for more advanced ATP-EMTP application in
Thermal Network Modeling.

2 Thermal Network Method – general

Thermal Network Method (TNM) utilizes the analogy between electric and thermal field
problems (Table 1),

Table 1: Thermal-electrical analogies [7]

Electrical Thermal
Quantity
System System
Potential U [V] T [K]
Flow I [A] Q [W]
Resistance R [Ω] R [K/W]
Conductance 1 / R [S] G [W/K]
Capacitance C [F] C [J/K]
Ohm’s Law I=E/R Q= T · G

where heat flow and temperature correspond to current flow and voltage, respectively. Similar

difference ΔQ, thermal resistance R and the transferred thermal output P is presented by
to the Ohms law for electric streaming fields, the following relation results between temperature

formula (1)

∆Θ=P⋅R (2-1)

where: voltage (U) and current (I) corresponds to temperature (Q) and heat transfer rate (P),
sources in thermal network mean power losses and are equivalent to current sources in electrical
circuit [5], [8].
Thermal conduction, radiation and convection are represented by thermal resistors.

· resistance of conductors,
There are four mechanisms of changing electric energy into heat:

· magnetic hysteresis of
materials in magnetic

· eddy currents,
field,

· selected phenomena in
dielectric materials.
There are also three ways of heat

· conduction,
transfer in electric devices:

· radiation,
· convection.

Fig. 1: Thermal Network Method (TNM) – analogy

between electrical and thermal problem [4]
Fig. 2: Typical diagram of Thermal Network Model in OrCAD program for two connected
conductors inside an enclosure [3]

It is commonly known, that differential equations for heat transfer are similar to equations,
which describe electric current flow. This fact enables simplification of thermal simulations by
using thermal network method. Main aspect of this method is replacement of real geometrical
elements and thermal phenomena by electrical elements such as resistors, current sources and
capacitances.
The network model for a thermal problem could be created and solved using a circuit simulator.
The full set of thermal – electrical system’s analogies is presented in Fig. 1 [4]. The heat sources
of a switchgear device are the temperature dependent ohmic losses of current carrying
conductors, contacts, and connections. Heat is conducted along the current path and dissipated
to the gas and enclosure through convection and radiation. The heated enclosure is cooled down
through convection and radiation to the ambient. Using TNM, the power loss of a conductor is
calculated by its geometrical dimensions and material properties. Heat dissipations via radiation
and convection are described by thermal resistances, which are calculated based on the surface
areas, emissivity numbers and the installation conditions. An iterative solver is necessary due
to the dependency of the conductor resistivity, the convective heat transfer coefficient and
radiation coefficient on the temperature. Fig. 2 shows an example of a thermal network model
for two pieces of conductors connected by a screw joint within a cubical, as a rudiment
illustration of a switchgear model [3].

3 GIS busduct – model for analysis

The purpose of this section is to establish the dimensions and technical parameters of GIS
busduct element that will be used for calculation of thermal behavior of a typical ELK-3 GIS
compartment. The object of these analyses is typical ELK-3 GIS busduct. The simplified GIS
busduct for analysis is shown in Fig. 3.
A
f 820
f 160

A
2570
 A-A

f 160

f 820
Fig. 3: Typical dimension of GIS ELK-3 type compartment

Fig. 4: Typical compartment of GIS ELK-3 type [6]

Nominal parameters of the GIS ELK-3 for which the solution is intended are indicated. Typical

· conductor length (full), 2570 mm;

GIS busduct dimensions for analysis (Fig. 3, Fig. 4):

· conductor diameter (outer), 160 mm;

· conductor diameter (inner), 150 mm.

· Aluminum alloy (Al), not painted,

Main physical properties for simulation

· Thermal conductivity (Al) – 220 W/(m·K);

· Electrical resistivity (Al) – 2.63 ´ 10-8 Ω×m

· rated current: 6300 A (and values corresponding to Table 2);

Boundary conditions using to simulation:

· frequency: 50 Hz;
· SF6 absolute pressure: 5 bar (SF6 pressure influence on the thermal convection

· surrounding air pressure: 1.013 bar;

capacity);

· ambient temperature: 25°C.

4 Thermal analyses description and simulation results

First step in tool building was to prepare thermal library (OrCAD Capture), which allows
constructing electric diagrams and solving them with PSpice solver. After solving, all potentials
represent temperatures and current values represent heat fluxes.
In the following an example of TNM simulation for GIS compartment is presented. The purpose
of this analysis was to estimate the temperature rise for a different ratings current of single GIS
busbar. TNM method of simplified GIS conductor model was built using OrCAD Capture
program (solved by PSpice solver) and ATP-EMTP (by ATPDraw/ MODELS). Modeling and
calculations were made for approaches:
(1) GIS busduct without enclosure – surrounding air pressure (model 1, acc. to Fig. 3);
(2) GIS busduct with enclosure – SF6 pressure inside (model 2, acc. to Fig. 3).
Studies were carried out for typical GIS compartment with aluminum conductor/pipe,
enclosure, surrounding air environment and pressured SF6 gas.
Based on EEUG Technical Paper [5] thermal network components (thermal resistance, heat
source, thermal capacitance) in MODELS were created and built in ATP-EMTP program.
MODELS were created following typical procedure in ATP-EMTP environment [1]. The
voltages taken from the circuit are used to determine a non-linear resistance R. In this equivalent
mode the voltages represents temperatures of different components. Thermal capacitances of
inner pipe, SF6 gas and GIS enclosure (15.06 kJ/K, 0.92 kJ/K and 157.47 kJ/K, respectively)
are taken into account. This kind of MODELS usage together with type91 element R(t) [5] will
be widely applied in dynamic TNM modeling. Cross section of analyzed cases (1) and (2) were
presented in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.

Fig. 5: Cross-section of analyzed case and equivalent thermal network (model 1); main
conductor with surrounding air pressure, R1 - thermal resistance for radiation, R2 – thermal
resistance for convection to air, C1 – conductor thermal capacitance (15.06 kJ/K)

Fig. 6: Cross-section of analyzed case and equivalent thermal network (model 2); main
conductor in enclosure; R1 - thermal resistance for radiation, R2 – thermal resistance for
convection to SF6, R3 - thermal resistance for convection from SF6 to enclosure, R4 – thermal
resistance for radiation to air, R5 – thermal resistance for convection to air, C1 – conductor
thermal capacitance (15.06 kJ/K), C2 – SF6 thermal capacitance (0.92 kJ/K), C3 – enclosure
thermal capacitance (157.47 kJ/K)
The OrCAD capture and ATP-EMTP simulation results for steady state final temperature were
compared in Table 2. Drawings, diagrams and simulation results are presented in Figures 7÷12.

Fig. 7: Thermal network diagram for model (1) – OrCAD program (acc.to Fig. 5)

I = 4kA / 6.3kA as a joul heat source

Pipe radiation
to air
MODEL
hradiati

Pipe temp
V T
I I
MODEL
heatsrc
U(0)
+

Pipe convection
to air
M
Recalculate current [A] MODEL
into joule heat source [W] hconv

Amb ient Temp

Fig. 8: Thermal network diagram for model (1) – ATP-EMTP program (acc.to Fig. 5, Fig. 7)

a) b)
80 160

70 140

120
60
temperature [C]

tem perature [C ]

100
50
80

40
60

30
40

20 20
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
time [min] time [min]

Fig. 9: ATP-EMTP simulation dynamic results for conductor in air (without enclosure
element) for rated currents 6300 A (a) and 4000 (b)
 Fig. 10: Thermal network diagram for model (2) – OrCAD program (acc.to Fig. 6)

I = 4000/ 6300A as a joul heat s ource

SF6 radiation enclosure radiation

to air
MODEL MODEL
hradiati hradiati

V T V T
I I
MODEL
heatsrc

SF6 convection SF6 convection

pipe -> gas enclosure convection
gas -> enclos ure
M
to air
MODEL MODEL MODEL
hconv hconv hconv
Recalculate current [A]
into joule heat s ource [W]

U(0)
+
T V T T
U(0)

U(0)
+

Amb ient Temp

Fig. 11: Thermal network diagram for model (2) – ATP-EMTP program (according to Fig. 6,
Fig. 10)

b) b)
60 120
conductor conductor
enclosure enclosure

100
50
te m p e ra tu re [C ]
te m p e r a tu r e [C ]

80

40

60

30
40

20 20
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
time [min] time [min]

Fig. 12: ATP-EMTP simulation result for conductor, SF6 pressured gas and enclosure
element; for rated currents 6300 A (a) and 4000 a (b)
Table 2: Simulation results – temperatures on conductor comparison
Rated
OrCAD Capture ATP-EMTP
current Setup
[A] [°C] [°C]
Model (1) 29.5 31.4
1250
Model (2) 27.0 29.0
Model (1) 45.1 46.8
2500
Model (2) 37.3 39.1
Model (1) 75.0 73.7
4000
Model (2) 56.7 57.5
Model (1) 149.5 149.7
6300
Model (2) 101.8 104.4

To validate the ATP-EMTP model several currents (untypical) levels were used as a heat
source. Results presented in Table 2 indicate the ATP-EMTP models correctly estimate the
final temperature of the whole compartment. OrCAD software is a program dedicated to the
electrical calculation – using thermal library (created and built at ABB [7-8]) can be dedicated
to the thermal network calculations. ATP-EMTP program has allowed us to achieve the
approximate value based on the initial assumptions.
The difference between OrCAD and ATP-EMTP comes from the fact that the OrCAD utilizes
more sophisticated thermal model to calculate the temperature.

5 Conclusions
Heat phenomena in working electrical apparatuses are the condition which defines their current
limits. Therefore using the computational techniques allows engineers to analyze thermal aspect
of systems in the early design stage and is a must for modern designers. Such analysis helps in
the estimation of the required cooling or alternation of the construction to meet thermal
requirements. Therefore the thermal network concept offers approach which is simple and
intuitive, especially for electric engineers. And with high speed of computations and good
precision it is worth to be considered.
The thermal networks of two models of ELK-3 GIS busduct have been built. Calculations were
made for two approaches: GIS busduct without enclosure – surrounding air pressure (model 1)
and GIS busduct with enclosure – SF6 pressure inside (model 2). All calculations were made
for simplified GIS busduct design and were simulated for operating currents (also untypical
values): 1250, 2500, 4000 and 6300 A. Both models returns relatively close solutions for the
compartment temperature. Additionally if one utilizes the ATP-EMTP software time constants
for temperature increases can be read. ATP-EMTP model overestimate the thermal value by
the several Celsius degrees. This is due to fact that ATP-EMTP utilizes only fundamental
thermal dependencies. Further expansion is possible. Important fact is that ATP-EMTP allows
for fast and easy assessment if the thermal conditions are meet or are close to their limits.

· For typical atmospheric pressure without enclosure temperature on conductor was equal
Following conclusions can be listed, based on simulation results:

· If GIS busduct with enclosure and SF6 gas pressure inside – temperatures are below
approx. 150°C (not applicable according to IEC 62271-203 [2]);

limit 105°C [2].

Generally, ATP-EMTP program with created and validated MODELS can be utilized as tool to
thermal behavior modeling and dynamic heat rise simulations during electrical devices and
apparatus design process.
6 References
[1] Dommel H.W.: Electromagnetic Transients Program, Reference Manual (EMTP)
Theory Book, BPA, Portland, Oregon, 1986
[2] IEC 62271-203 Standard: High-voltage switchgear and controlgear – Part 203: Gas-
insulated metal-enclosed switchgear for rated voltages above 52 kV, 2011
[3] Dong X., Summer R., Kaltenborn U.: Thermal network analysis in MV GIS design, 20th
International Conference on Electricity Distribution, No. 0637, 2009
[4] Grossmann S., Lobl H., Kaltenborn U.: ABB and the Technical University of Dresden
collaborate on the thermal design of power equipment, ABB Review 2/2005
[5] Kałat W.: ATP-EMTP as a Practical Tool for Thermal Network Modeling and Heat
Transfer Simulation, EEUG News Technical Paper, No. 4, Vol. 7, Nov.2001, pp. 40-53
[6] ABB official webside: http://www.abb.com/ProductGuide
[7] Platek R., Banas M.: Thermal analyses of transformers and medium voltage products
with Thermal Network Method, Electrical Review, No. 2, 2008, pp. 95-99
[8] Loebl H.: Basis of Thermal Networks, Material of High Voltage Institute, Dresden
University of Technology, 2002