ASCE Substation Structure Design Guide 2
ASCE Substation Structure Design Guide 2
ABSTRACT
The electric utility industry has been without uniform guidelines for the
design of substation structures. An American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Substation Structure Subcommittee, of the Electrical Transmission Structures
(CETS) Committee, has completed a document to address this issue. The primary
purpose of this design guide is to document electrical substation structural
engineering practice and to give guidance and recommendations for the design of
outdoor electrical substation structures. The design guide, Manual 113 (2009),
provides guidance for analysis methods, loading and deflection criteria, member and
connection design, structure testing, quality control and quality assurance, structural
members used in foundations, detailing and fabrication, construction and
maintenance issues. A summary of some of the content presented in the substation
design guide is presented in this paper.
INTRODUCTION
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IEEE 693 (2006) addresses electrical equipment and its "first" support requirements.
First support could be an equipment pedestal for a current transformer or a support
beam for a capacitor bank. Manual 113 reference’s IEEE 693 (2006) and only
provide seismic requirements for structures not covered by IEEE 693 (2006).
Substation structures and the electrical equipment they support are considered
as a system. Excessive structure movement could cause the electrical equipment to
experience mechanical damage, operational difficulties, and electrical faults. Newly
developed recommended deflection limits and structure classes are defined within the
guide.
Analysis techniques and structural modeling concepts as they relate to
substation structures are discussed. Both static and dynamic analyses are covered.
Guidelines are given for selecting the appropriate analysis method for different
structural behavior, such as large (flexible structures) versus small displacements
(rigid structures).
Recommendations on when it is appropriate to test a unique substation
structure design concept or perform individual component testing are given.
Requirements for seismic testing are referenced to IEEE 693 (2006).
Foundation design is not discussed in Manual 113, however, the following
information should be considered for substation structure foundation design. A
variety of structure types are used in electrical substations and these structures have a
wide range of ground-line reactions. Typical substation structure foundation types
can be slabs on grade, spread footings, drilled shafts, and piling with and without
pile caps. Substation foundations should be designed such that they do not adversely
impact the required deflection criteria. The effects of soil-structure interaction from
earthquakes are important, especially for large loads, such as that caused by power
transformers. Foundation design should, where applicable, consider the effect of
ground frost heave and the effect of buoyancy of the ground water table.
Foundations in substations should be designed according to accepted practice, the
same as foundations designed for other structures.
The design of substation structure anchorage to the foundation is presented in
the Manual. Different types of anchorages are used to connect substation structures
to their foundations. The most common anchorage is anchor bolts cast in concrete.
Special design considerations for seismic anchorage are covered.
Substation and switchyard structures are used to support the above-grade
components and electrical equipment such as cable bus, rigid bus, strain bus,
switches, surge arresters, insulators, and other equipment. Substation and switchyard
structures can be fabricated from latticed angles forming chords and trusses, wide
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flanges, tubes (round, square, and rectangular), pipes, polygonal tubes (straight or
tapered). Common materials utilized are concrete, steel, aluminum, and wood.
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The vertical ground acceleration used in combination with the horizontal base
shear is 80 percent of the design horizontal ground acceleration. This is consistent
with the IEEE 693 (2006) criteria. Friction forces due to gravity loads shall not be
considered to provide resistance to seismic forces. Electrical connections to
equipment should have adequate slack in the connections between equipment.
Guidance for the amount of electrical connection slack is referenced to IEEE 693
(2006) and IEEE 1527 (2006).
Because the earthquake load addressed in this Manual are applied to non-
equipment supporting structures the extreme wind, ice, and defection limits will
typically control the design. Therefore, a simplified method is provided for
determining the seismic design loads for a first level check with the assumed
controlling loads (extreme wind, ice, and defection limits). The simplified procedure
is based on the NEHRP Provisions in FEMA 450 (2003). The simplified method is
an equivalent lateral force procedure used for calculation of the Seismic Design
Force, FE, using the following equation: FE = (Sa/R)*W*IFE*IMV. The terms in this
equation are defined as: FE = Seismic Design Force (Lateral Force applied at the
Center of Gravity of the structure/component), R = Structure Response Modification
Factor, IFE = Importance Factor applied to Earthquake Loads, W = Dead Load
(Including all rigidly attached equipment and/or 50% of the weight of attached wire),
Sa = Design Spectral Response Acceleration, IMV = 1.0 for dominant single mode
behavior or 1.5 when multiple vibration modes are considered important by the
designer. The Earthquake Importance Factors, IFE, recommended by the design guide
are:
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Wind
Earthquake Y Y Y Y
Short Circuit N Y Y N
Construction & Y Y Y Y
Maintenance
Operational N Y N Y
Deflection Y Y Y Y
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The Importance Factor for Ice (IFI) is applied to the ice thickness. The load
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factor of 1.1 on D is replaced with 0.9 for cases in which dead load is counted on to
resist other applied loads. For Allowable Stress Design (ASD) the Load Factors
should equal 1.0.
DEFLECTION CRITERIA
Deflection and rotation of substation structures and members can affect the
mechanical operation of supported electrical equipment, reduce electrical clearances,
and cause unpredicted stress in structures, insulators, connectors, and rigid bus. For
these reasons, structural deflections should be limited to magnitudes that are not
detrimental to the mechanical and electrical operation of the substation.
The sensitivity of equipment to deflection of supporting structures varies
considerably. Disconnect switches, with complex mechanical operating mechanisms,
are highly susceptible to binding if the structure distorts from the installed geometry.
Conversely, structures supporting only stranded conductor bus or overhead line dead-
ends can withstand structure deflections without any impact on operation. Therefore,
structures are classified for the purpose of applying deflection limitations that reflect
the sensitivity of supported equipment.
Deflection Limitations: For determination of maximum horizontal deflections,
the span of a horizontal member is the clear distance between connections to vertical
supporting members, or for cantilever members, the distance from the point of
investigation to the vertical supporting member, Figure 1. For horizontal members,
the deflection is the maximum net displacement, horizontal or vertical, of the
member relative to the member connection points. Deflection analysis typically does
not include the foundation displacement or rotation. For determination of maximum
vertical deflections, the span of a vertical member is the vertical distance from the
foundation support to the point of investigation on the structure. The deflection to be
limited is the gross horizontal displacement of the member relative to the foundation
support.
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HORIZONTAL
MEMBER
SPAN
VERTICAL
MEMBER
SPAN
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equipment at or above the location being analyzed, then the analysis of that location
is governed by Class B limits. If there is only Class C equipment at or above the
location being analyzed, then the analysis of that location is governed by Class C
limits.
Some equipment and rigid bus designs may be sensitive to rotation of
supporting members in addition to the deflection of the member. Equipment
manufacturers should be consulted as to any rotational limits which may be
necessary to ensure reliable operation. Where an analysis is performed of the rigid
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bus and support system, the sensitivity of the system to support rotation should be
investigated and limits determined if necessary.
Seismic events can interrupt the delivery of power in several ways. Low-level
ground shaking may trip equipment relays, without any long-term damage, and
require remote or manual re-energizing of switches. Moderate-level ground shaking
may cause minor repairable equipment damage. Major-level ground shaking may
cause equipment damage and/or destruction. Each electrical installation (substation
or switchyard) should be evaluated based on its relative criticality to the owner's
power system. Installations or specific equipment defined as critical or essential are
those which are vital to power delivery and cannot be bypassed in the system or are
undesirable to lose due to economic impacts. Equipment which can be bypassed for
short term emergency operations is considered nonessential.
The design of structures should consider the functional equipment needs with
respect to calculated elastic displacements, material stresses, and plastic deformation.
Functional needs include mechanical operations, such as opening/closing linkages, in
addition to electrical functions, such as power circuit breaker internal operation.
Displacements caused by the seismic events, either temporary or permanent, between
components of different seismic response potential, should not impair the
performance of the mounted equipment, cause secondary induced stress, reduce the
required electrical clearance, or cause other safety hazards. Connection between
equipment and components and their effect on one another requires specific
attention. Rigid electrical bus connections between equipment, that restricts seismic
induced displacements, may cause equipment damage.
For flexible structures a dynamic analysis using the response spectrum
analysis method should be performed. A damping value of 2% should be used, unless
a higher value is justified. The maximum modal response can be determined either
by using the response spectrum shown in Figure 2 adjusted for the selected ground
acceleration. Figure 2 shows the recommended normalized response spectrum that
presents "maximum amplitude" for a single degree-of-freedom resonance response.
This response spectrum is the IEEE 693 (2006) response spectrum normalized to
1.0g. A site-specific response spectrum can also be developed and used for a
response spectrum analysis.
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the top of the insulator with the insulator base fixed. Manufacturers typically
recommend multiplying the cantilever rating by a strength resistance factor of 0.4,
for working or allowable loads. The moment capacity at the base of the insulator is
equal to the product of the strength resistance factor, the cantilever rating, and the
insulator height. The strength resistance factor of 0.4 should be increased to provide
similar insulator selections between ultimate strength and working strength
(allowable stress) designs. A strength resistance factor of 0.5 is recommended for
Ultimate Strength Design. This factor is 25 percent higher than the 0.4 strength
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resistance factor and when used with recommended load factors should provide
similar insulator selections.
The materials that provide the structural strength of composite insulators are
much different from porcelain, but more importantly, the failure mechanism is
different for composite and porcelain insulators. Therefore, the design criteria for
composite station posts are different from porcelain. The two major reasons for this
are: composite insulators are much more ductile than porcelain insulators and
composite insulators have a fiberglass core and elastomeric sheds. The strength is
provided by the fiberglass core. Porcelain insulators have a porcelain core and
porcelain sheds. The strength of porcelain is isotropic while composite’s strength is
dependent on the orientation of the glass fibers in the fiberglass. The glass fibers may
be longitudinal or a woven pattern.
There are two major ratings provided for composites. They are the specified
mechanical load (SML) and the maximum mechanical load (MML). For rigid bus
station post insulators these ratings are based on a cantilever load. The SML is the
value at which failure begins and no damage is observed. The SML is used in
conjunction with short term ultimate loads. The MML is the value at which the
fiberglass remains in the elastic range and can sustain this value for long duration
loads. Fifty percent of the SML is used for Allowable Stress Design (ASD). For
Ultimate Strength Design (USD), Fifty percent of the SML value is also used but
with a strength resistance factor of 1.0.
Rigid bus design should consider the following seismic design issue.
Expansion fittings may create impact loads, because the thermal expansion fitting
gap is too small to allow for relative displacements. Cast bus fittings may be brittle
and lack sufficient strength to resist earthquake loads. Forged fittings should be
considered. Depending on boundary conditions at the top of the insulator and the
direction of the earthquake loads, moments may be developed at the top of the
insulator. If a segment of conductor is supported with fixed and slip fittings and the
ground acceleration is parallel to the conductor, the insulators and supports
connected to the fixed fittings require sufficient strength to resist the force created by
the mass of the conductor segment. Additional porcelain strength can be obtained by
increasing the cross-section size. High strength insulators have a corresponding
increase in weight, which for earthquake loads may offset the increase in strength.
Flexible connections between rigid bus and electrical equipment should be
considered to reduce the transfer of seismic forces. Catenary hung flexible
conductors (strain bus or jumper), used in place of rigid bus, can generate significant
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dynamic loads during an earthquake. These dynamic loads can exceed the static
loads. Additional rigid bus design information is available in IEEE 605 (2006).
CONCLUSIONS
ASCE Manual 113 will help the transmission line industry to further develop
uniform guidelines for the design of substations structures. This document should
generate discussion within the transmission line industry concerning the guide’s
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recommendations. After the industry has obtained experience using this document
the ASCE Substation Structures Subcommittee will be reconvened for the purpose of
revising the guidelines.
REFERENCE
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