UNIT 5

CABLES
Requirements of cable
Properties of Insulating Material

High resistivity.
High dielectric strength.
Low water absorption.
Non – inflammable.
Chemical stability.
High mechanical strength.
Capability to with stand high rupturing voltage.
High tensile strength.

4
Major insulating materials for a cable

1. Rubber :

Rubber may be obtained from milky sap of tropical trees or it may be

produced from oil products.
It has relative permittivity varying between 2 and 3, dielectric strength is about 30
kV/mm and resistivity of insulation is 1017Ω cm.
Although pure rubber has reasonably high insulating properties, it suffers form
some major drawbacks viz., readily absorbs moisture, maximum
safe temperature is low (about 38ºC), soft and liable to damage due to rough
handling and ages when exposed to light.
Therefore, pure rubber cannot be used as an insulating material in underground
cables.
2. Vulcanised India Rubber (V.I.R.) :
It is prepared by mixing pure rubber with mineral matter such as zine oxide, red
lead etc., and 3 to 5% of sulphur.
The compound so formed is rolled into thin sheets and cut into strips.The rubber
compound is then applied to the conductor and is heated to a temperature of
about 150ºC.
The whole process is called vulcanisation and the product obtained is known as
vulcanised India rubber.
3. Impregnated paper :
It consists of chemically pulped paper made from wood chippings and
impregnated with some compound such as paraffinic or napthenic material.
This type of insulation has almost superseded the rubber insulation.It is because
it has the advantages of low cost, low capacitance, high dielectric strength and
high insulation resistance.
The only disadvantage is that paper is hygroscopic and even if it is impregnated
with suitable compound, it absorbs moisture and thus lowers the insulation
resistance of the cable.
4. Varnished cambric :
It is a cotton cloth impregnated and coated with varnish.
This type of insulation is also known as empire tape.
The cambric is lapped on to the conductor in the form of a tape and its surfaces
are coated with petroleum jelly compound to allow for the sliding of one turn over
another as the cable is bent.
As the varnished cambric is hygroscopic, therefore, such underground cables
are always provided with metallic sheath.
Its dielectric strength is about 4 kV/mm and permittivity is 2.5 to 3.8.
5. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) :
This insulating material is a synthetic compound. It is obtained from the
polymerisation of acetylene and is in the form of white powder.
For obtaining this insulating material as a underground insulation, it is
compounded with certain materials known as plasticizers which are liquids with
high boiling point.
Construction of cable
Grading of cables
Switchgear

What is Switchgear?
: The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the electrical
circuits and equipment is known as switchgear.
The term ‘switchgear’ is a generic term that includes a wide range of switching
devices like circuit breakers, switches, switch fuse units, off-load isolators, HRC
fuses, contactors, miniature circuit breakers, ELCBs, GFCIs etc.
Some types of equipment are designed to operate under both normal and
abnormal conditions. Some equipment is meant for switching and not sensing
the fault.
The circuit breaker, along with associated devices for protection, metering, and
control regulation, is called switchgear.
During normal operation, switchgear permits to switch on or off generators,
transmission lines, distributors and other electrical equipment. On the other
hand, when a failure (e.g. short circuit) occurs on any part of the power system, a
heavy current flows through the equipment, threatening damage to the
equipment and interruption of service to the customers.

However, the switchgear detects the fault and disconnects the unhealthy section
from the system. (For more details visit working of a circuit breaker and
protective relays.)

Similarly, switching and current interrupting devices play a significant role in the
modern electrical network, right from generating stations, transmission
substations at different voltages, distribution substations, and load centers. The
switching device here is called a circuit breaker.
The essential features of switchgear are :
Complete Reliability
Absolutely certain discrimination
Quick operation
Provision for manual control
1. Complete reliability
With the continued trend of interconnection and the increasing capacity of generating
stations, the need for reliable switchgear has become of paramount importance.
This is not surprising because it is added to the power system to improve reliability.
When a fault occurs on any part of the power system, they must operate to isolate the
faulty section from the remainder circuit.
2. Absolutely certain discrimination
When a fault occurs on any section of the power system, the switchgear must be able
to discriminate between the faulty section and the healthy section.
It should isolate the faulty section from the system without affecting the healthy section.
This will ensure continuity of supply.
3. Quick operation
When a fault occurs on any part of the power system, the switchgear must operate
quickly so that no damage is done to generators, transformers and other equipment by
the short-circuit currents.
If the fault is not cleared quickly, it is likely to spread into healthy parts, thus
endangering complete shut down of the system
4. Provision for manual control
Switchgear must have provision for manual control. In case the electrical (or
electronics) control fails, the necessary operation can be carried out through manual
control.

Classification of Switchgear
Switchgear can be classified on the basis of the voltage level into the following
Low voltage (LV) Switchgear
Medium voltage (MV) Switchgear
High voltage (HV) Switchgear
Faults in power system

There are only four possible failures that can take place in an electrical system.
These are the
open circuit,
high resistance,
short-to-ground and
short-to-power
 Circuit
breaker

A circuit breaker is a piece of equipment which can

1.make or break a circuit either manually or by remote control
under normal conditions.
2.break a circuit automatically under fault conditions 3.make

a circuit either manually or by remote control under

fault conditions Thus a circuit breaker incorporates manual (or

remote control) as well as automatic control for switching
functions. The latter control employs relays and operates only
under fault conditions.
 Oil circuit
breaker
• Mineral oil has better insulating property than air.

• Due to this reason it is mainly employed in many electrical

equipment .
• Cooling property.

• When arc is formed it decompose oil into gases;hence the arc

energy is absorbed in decomposing the oil.

• They are used on low voltage dc circuit and low voltage ac

distribution circuits.

• It requires large amount of transformer oil

.
• They can used upto 11kV.
Plain Break Oil Circuit
Breakers
process of separating the contacts under the whole of
the oil in the tank
The arc extinction occurs when a certain critical
gapbetween the contacts is reached.
earliest type
 (i)The hydrogen gas bubble generated around the arc cools the arc
column and aids the deionisation of the medium between the
contacts.
(ii)The gas sets up turbulence in the oil and helps in eliminating the
arcing products from the arc path.
(iii)As the arc lengthens due to the separating contacts, the dielectric
strength of the medium is increased. The result of these actions is
that at some critical gap length, the arc is extinguished and the
circuit current is interrupted.
Disadvantages
(i)There is no special control over the arc other than the increase in
length by separating the moving contacts. Therefore, for successful
interruption, long arc length is necessary.
(ii) These breakers have long and inconsistent arcing times.
(iii)These breakers do not permit high speed interruption. Due to these
disadvantages, plain-break oil circuit breakers are used only for
low-voltage applications where high breaking-capacities are not
important. It is a usual practice to use such breakers for low
When a fault occurs, the moving contact and fixed contact
are get separated as current is flowing through the circuit,
an arc is struck between them.The oil in arcing chamber
attains a high temperature and vaporizes.

The gases (mostly Hydrogen) are generated due to

vaporization of oil. Due to the cooling effect of hydrogen arc
cools down and its pressure splits it into small arcs.
As oil between the contacts gets vaporized in this process
some fresh oil is filled between the contacts. This fresh oil
also gets vaporized and generates gases and again fresh
oil is filled. This cycle continues until the arc is extinguished
near current zero instant.
The arcing chamber contains a separator which fills fresh oil
in it, by centrifugal action, when breaker operates under a
fault condition.
An oil filling valve is also fitted in the top casting of the arc-control
device. This valve, lightly spring-loaded, closes when the pressure is
set up within the device, but as the pressure vanishes due to arc
extinction, the valve opens to allow the inrush of oil.

Due to the oil filling valve, vaporized oil is quickly replaced by fresh
oil when the arc is extinguished.

A spring-loaded vent valve, a breather to prevent moisture from

entering the circuit breaker is made in the upper arcing chamber. To
protect circuit breaker from damage if excessive pressure arises in
arcing chamber, a safety diaphragm under the domed cover is
designed to lift.

The low oil circuit breakers have smaller tank size, require a lesser
quantity of oil, smaller weight, lower cost, reduced risk of fire and
reduced maintenance problems than bulk oil circuit breakers.
 Arc quenching medium

Electro negative gas ,high tendency of absorbing free

electrons.
• So it become immobile negative ions.

This loss of conducting electrons in the arc builds up

enough insulating property in the medium and arc is
extinguished.

Due to high degree of arc quenching capability it is widely

used in high voltage and high power circuit .

To prevent leakage it is built in air tight mechanism.

• In the closed position of the breaker, the contacts remain
surrounded by SF6 gas at a pressure of about 2·8 kg/cm2.
• When the breaker operates, the moving contact is pulled apart and
an
• arc is struck between the contacts.
• The movement of the moving contact is synchronised with the
• opening of a valve which permits SF6 gas at 14 kg/cm2 pressure
from the reservoir to the arc interruption chamber.
• The high pressure flow of SF6 rapidly absorbs the free electrons
in the arc path to form immobile negative ions which are
ineffective as charge carriers.
• The result is that the medium between the contacts quickly
builds up high dielectric strength and causes the extinction of
the arc.
• After the breaker operation (i.e., after arc extinction), the valve is
closed by the action of a set of spings.
 Advantage
s.
• Due to the superior arc quenching properties of SF6 gas,
the SF6 circuit breakers have many advantages over oil or
air circuit breakers. Some of them are listed below :
• (i) Due to the superior arc quenching property of SF6, such
circuit breakers have very short arcing time.
• (ii) Since the dielectric strength of SF6 gas is 2 to 3 times
that of air, such breakers can interrupt much larger
currents.
• (iii) The SF6 circuit breaker gives noiselss operation due
to its closed gas circuit and no exhaust to atmosphere
unlike the air blast circuit breaker.
 Applicatio
ns.
• A typical SF6 circuit breaker consists of interrupter
units each capable of dealing with currents upto 60 kA
and voltages in the range of 50—80 kV.
• A number of units are connected in series according to the
system voltage.
• SF6 circuit breakers have been developed for voltages 115
kV
to 230 kV, power ratings 10 MVA to 20 MVA and interrupting
time less than 3 cycles.
 Vaccum circuit
•
breaker
When the breaker operates, the moving contact
separates from the fixed contact and an arc is struck
between the contacts.
• The production of arc is due to the ionisation of metal
ions and depends very much upon the material of
contacts.
• The arc is quickly extinguished because the
metallic vapours, electrons and ions produced
during arc are diffused in a short time and
seized by the surfaces of moving and fixed
members and shields.
• Since vacuum has very fast rate of recovery of
dielectric strength, the arc extinction in a vacuum
breaker occurs with a short contact separation
(say 0·625 cm).
 Advantag
(i)esThey are compact, reliable and have longer life.
(ii) There are no fire hazards.
(iii) There is no generation of gas during and after operation.
(iv) They can interrupt any fault current. The outstanding feature of a VCB is that
it can break
any heavy fault current perfectly just before the contacts reach the definite open
position.
(v) They require little maintenance and are quiet in operation.
(vi) They can successfully withstand lightning surges.
(vii) They have low arc energy.
(viii) They have low inertia and hence require smaller power for control
mechanism.
Applications.
• For a country like India, where distances are quite large and accessibility to
remote areas difficult, the installation of such outdoor, maintenance free circuit
breakers should prove a definite advantage. Vacuum circuit breakers are being
employed for outdoor applications ranging from 22 kV to 66 kV.
• Even with limited rating of say 60 to 100 MVA, they are suitable for a
majority of applications in rural areas.
Circuit Breaker
Ratings
Under fault conditions, a circuit breaker is required to perform
the following three duties :
(i) Itmust be capable of opening the faulty circuit and breaking
the fault current.

(ii) It must be capable of being closed on toa fault.

(iii) It must be capable of carrying fault current for a
shorttime
while another circuit breaker (in series) is clearing
thefault.

the circuit breakers have three ratings viz.

(i) breaking capacity
(i ) making capacity and
(iii) short-time capacity.
Breaking capacity
It is current (r.m.s.) that a circuit breaker is capable of
breaking at given recovery voltage and under specified
conditions (e.g., power factor, rate of rise of restrikingvoltage).

Making Capacity
The peak value of current (including d.c. component)
during the first cycle of current wave after the closure of circuit
breaker is known asmaking capacity.

Short-time rating
It is the period for which the circuit breaker is able to carry
fault current while remainingclosed.
Fuses
Afuse is a short piece of metal, inserted in the
circuit,which
melts when excessive current flows through it and thus
breaks the circuit.
 Advantages

(i) It is the cheapest form of protection available.

(ii) It requires nomaintenance.

(iii)Its operation is inherently completely automatic unlike a circuit
breaker which requires an elaborate equipment for automaticaction.

(iv)Itcan break heavy short-circuit currents without noise or smoke.

(v)The smaller sizes of fuse element impose a current limiting effect
under short-circuit conditions.

(vi) The inverse time-current characteristic of a fuse makes it

suitable for overcurrent protection.
(vi)The minimum time of operation can be made much shorter than
with the circuit breakers.
 Disadvantag
es
(i)Considerable time is lost in rewiring or replacing a fuse after
operation.

(i)On heavy short-circuits, *discrimination between fuses in series

cannot be obtained unless there is sufficient difference in the
sizes of the fuses concerned.

(ii)The current-time characteristic of a fuse cannot always be

co- related with that of the protected apparatus.
 Characteristics of Fuse
Element
(i) low melting point e.g., tin, lead.

(ii) high conductivity e.g., silver, copper.

(iii) free from deterioration due to oxidatione.g.,

silver.

(iv) low cost e.g., lead, tin, copper.

Types of Fuses
(i) Low voltages

fuses (i ) High

voltage fuses
 Low Voltage
Fuses
(i) semi-enclosed rewireable fuse

(i) ) High rupturing capacity (H.R.C.)

cartridge fuse.

(ii) H.R.C. fuse with tripping device.

High Voltage Fuses

i. Cartridge type.

ii. Liquid type.

iii. Metal clad fuses.

High-Rupturing capacity (H.R.C.)
cartridge fuse
• It consists of a heat resisting ceramic body having metal
end-caps to which is welded silver current-carrying element.
• The space within the body surrounding the element is
completely packed with a filling powder.
• The filling material may be chalk, plaster of paris, quartz or
marble dust and acts as an arc quenching and cooling
medium. Therefore, it carries the normal current without
overheating.
• When a fault occurs, the current increases and the fuse
element melts before the fault current reaches its first
peak.
• The heat produced in the process vapourises the melted
silver element.
• The chemical reaction between the silver vapour and the
filling powder results in the formation of a high resistance
substance which helps in quenching the arc
• ADVANTAGES
• 1.Capability of clearing high fault current
• 2.Fast operation
• 3.No maintenance required
• 4.Cheaper
• 5.Consistent in performance

• Disadvantages
• 1.It requires replacement after each
operation
• 2.Inter locking is not possible
• 3.It produces overheating of adjacent
contacts
 Application of HRC
fuse
• PROTECTION OF CABLES,
• PROTECTION OF Bus bar,
• PROTECTION OF motor,,
• PROTECTION OF semiconductor
devices
• Back up protection to circuit breaker.