Switchgear

Switchgear
The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the
electrical circuits and equipment is known as switchgear.
The switchgear equipment is essentially concerned with
switching and interrupting currents either under normal or
abnormal operating conditions.

Essential Features of Switchgear

(i) Complete reliability.
(ii) Absolutely certain discrimination.
(iii) Quick operation.
(iv) Provision for manual control.
(v) Provision for instruments.
 Switchgear Equipments
1. Switches. A switch is a device which is used to open or close an electrical circuit in a
convenient way. It can be used under full-load or no-load conditions but it cannot
interrupt the fault currents.
(ii) Isolator or disconnecting switch
(i) Air-break switch.

(iii) Oil switches.

2. Fuses. A fuse is a short piece of wire or thin strip which melts when
excessive current flows through it for sufficient time.
3. Circuit breakers. A circuit breaker is an equipment which can open or close a
circuit under all conditions viz. no load, full load and fault conditions.

4. Relays. A relay is a device which detects the fault and supplies information to the
breaker for circuit interruption.
 Fuses
A fuse is a short piece of metal, inserted in the circuit, which melts when excessive current
flows through it and thus breaks the circuit.
The fuse element is generally made of materials having low melting point, high
conductivity and least deterioration due to oxidation e.g., silver, copper etc. It is inserted in
series with the circuit to be protected.

A fuse has inverse time-current characteristics

Advantages
(i) It is the cheapest form of protection available.
(ii) It requires no maintenance.
(iii) Its operation is inherently completely automatic unlike a
circuit breaker which requires an elaborate equipment for
automatic action.
(iv) The inverse time-current characteristic of a fuse makes it
suitable for overcurrent protection.

Disadvantages
(i) Considerable time is lost in rewiring or replacing a fuse after
operation.
(ii) On heavy short-circuits, discrimination between fuses in series
cannot be obtained unless there is sufficient difference in the
sizes of the fuses concerned.
(iii) The current-time characteristic of a fuse cannot always be co-
related with that of the protected apparatus.
 Types of Fuses
Low Voltage Fuses

1. Semi-enclosed rewireable fuse.

Advantages.
(a) The detachable fuse carrier permits the
replacement of fuse element without any
danger of coming in contact with live parts.
(b) The cost of replacement is negligible.

Disadvantages
(i) There is a possibility of renewal by the fuse wire of wrong size or by improper
material.
(ii) This type of fuse has a low-breaking capacity and hence cannot be used in circuits of
high fault level.
(iii) The fuse element is subjected to deterioration due to oxidation through the
continuous heating up of the element. Therefore, after some time, the current rating of
the fuse is decreased i.e., the fuse operates at a lower current than originally rated.
2. High-Rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge fuse.

Advantages
(i) They do not deteriorate with age.
(ii) They provide reliable discrimination.
(v) They require no maintenance.
(vii) They permit consistent performance.

Disadvantage
(i) They have to be replaced after each operation.
High Voltage Fuses
(i) Cartridge type.
In some designs fuse elements is wound in the form of a helix
so as to avoid corona effects at higher voltages.
In some designs, there are two fuse elements in parallel ; one
of low resistance (silver wire) and the other of high resistance
(tungsten wire).
Used upto 33 kV with breaking capacity of about 8700 A at that
voltage.
(ii) Liquid type.
These fuses are filled with carbon tetrachloride. They may be
used for circuits upto about 100 A rated current on systems upto
132 kV and may have breaking capacities of the order of 6100 A.

(iii) Metal clad fuses.

Metal clad oil-immersed fuses have been developed with the
object of providing a substitute for the oil circuit breaker. Such
fuses can be used for very high voltage circuits and operate
most satisfactorily under short-circuit conditions approaching
their rated capacity.
Underground Cables
An underground cable essentially consists of one or more conductors
covered with suitable insulation and surrounded by a protecting cover.

An underground cable must fulfil the following necessary requirements :

(i) The conductor used in cables should be tinned stranded copper or
aluminium of high conductivity. Stranding is done so that conductor may
become flexible and carry more current.
(ii) The conductor size should be such that the cable carries the desired
load current without overheating and causes voltage drop within
permissible limits.
(iii) The cable must have proper thickness of insulation in order to give
high degree of safety and reliability at the voltage for which it is designed.
(iv) The cable must be provided with suitable mechanical protection so
that it may withstand the rough use in laying it.
(v) The materials used in the manufacture of cables should be such that
there is complete chemical and physical stability throughout.
 Construction of Cables
(i) Cores or Conductors. A cable
may have one or more than one
core (conductor) depending upon
the type of service for which it is
intended. The conductors are made
of tinned copper or aluminium and
are usually stranded in order to
provide flexibility to the cable.
(ii) Insulation. The thickness of insulation layer depends upon the voltage to be withstood by
the cable. The commonly used materials for insulation are impregnated paper, varnished
cambric or rubber mineral compound.
(iii) Metallic sheath. A metallic sheath of lead or aluminium is provided over the insulation in
order to protect the cable from moisture, gases or other damaging liquids (acids or alkalies) in
the soil and atmosphere.
(iv) Bedding. Over the metallic sheath is applied a layer of bedding which consists of a fibrous
material like jute or hessian tape. The purpose of bedding is to protect the metallic sheath
against corrosion and from mechanical injury due to armouring.
(v) Armouring. Over the bedding, armouring is provided which consists of one or two layers
of galvanised steel wire or steel tape. Its purpose is to protect the cable from mechanical
injury while laying it and during the course of handling.
(vi) Serving. for protecting armouring from atmospheric conditions, a layer of fibrous
material (like jute) similar to bedding is provided over the armouring. This is known as
serving.
 Insulating Materials for Cables
The insulating materials used in cables should have the following properties :

(i) High insulation resistance to avoid leakage current.

(ii) High dielectric strength to avoid electrical breakdown of the cable.

(iii) High mechanical strength to withstand the mechanical handling of cables.

(iv) Non-hygroscopic i.e., it should not absorb moisture from air or soil.

(v) Non-inflammable.

(vi) Low cost so as to make the underground system a viable proposition.

(vii) Unaffected by acids and alkalies to avoid any chemical action.

cont
The principal insulating materials used in cables are rubber, vulcanised India
rubber, impregnated paper, varnished cambric and polyvinyl chloride.
1. Rubber. It has relative permittivity varying between 2 and 3, dielectric
strength is about 30 kV/mm and resistivity of insulation is 1017 cm.
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.
Vulcanised India rubber has greater mechanical strength, durability and wear
resistant property
than pure 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.
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.
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. Polyvinyl chloride has high insulation resistance, good dielectric
strength and mechanical toughness over a wide range of temperatures.
Classification of Cables
(i) Low-tension (L.T.) cables upto 1000 V
(ii) High-tension (H.T.) cables upto 11,000 V
(iii) Super-tension (S.T.) cables from 22 kV to 33 kV
(iv) Extra high-tension (E.H.T.) cables from 33 kV to 66 kV
(v) Extra super voltage cables beyond 132 kV
Types of cables used for 3-phase service :
1. Belted cables upto 11 kV
2. Screened cables from 22 kV to 66 kV
3. Pressure cables beyond 66 kV.
Laying of Underground Cables
Three main methods of laying
underground cables
1. direct laying,
2. draw-in system and
3. solid system.
Direct laying
Advantages
(i) It is a simple and less costly method.
(ii) It gives the best conditions for dissipating the heat generated in the cables.
(iii) It is a clean and safe method as the cable is invisible and free from external
disturbances.
Disadvantages
(i) The extension of load is possible only by a completely new excavation which may
cost as much as the original work.
(ii) The alterations in the cable netwok cannot be made easily.
(iii) The maintenance cost is very high.
(iv) Localisation of fault is difficult.
(v) It cannot be used in congested areas where excavation is expensive and
inconvenient.
 Draw-in system
Advantages
(i) Repairs, alterations or additions
to the cable network can be made
without opening the ground.
(ii) As the cables are not armoured,
therefore, joints become simpler
and maintenance cost is reduced
considerably.
(iii) There are very less chances of fault occurrence due to strong
mechanical protection provided by the system.

Disadvantages
(i) The initial cost is very high.
(ii) The current carrying capacity of the cables is reduced due to the close
grouping of cables and unfavourable conditions for dissipation of heat.
Solid system.
In this method of laying, the cable is laid in open pipes or troughs
dug out in earth along the cable route. The troughing is of cast
iron, stoneware, asphalt or treated wood. After the cable is laid in
position, the troughing is filled with a bituminous or asphaltic
compound and covered over. Cables laid in this manner are
usually plain lead covered because troughing affords good
mechanical protection.

Disadvantages
(i) It is more expensive than direct laid system.
(ii) It requires skilled labour and favourable weather conditions.
(iii) Due to poor heat dissipation facilities, the current carrying
capacity of the cable is reduced.
Alternators
 An alternator (synchronous
generator) operates on the same
fundamental principle of electromagnetic
induction as a d.c. generator i.e., when the
flux linking a conductor changes, an e.m.f. Is
induced in the conductor. Like a d.c.
generator, an alternator also has an armature
winding and a field winding. But there is one
important difference between the two. In a
d.c. generator, the armature winding is
placed on the rotor in order to provide a way
of converting alternating voltage generated
in the winding to a direct voltage at the
terminals through the use of a rotating
commutator. The field poles are placed on
the stationary part of the machine. Since no
commutator is required in an alternator, it is
usually more convenient and advantageous
to place the field winding on the rotating part
(i.e., rotor) and armature winding on the
stationary part (i.e., stator)
Synchronous generator (alternators) converts
mechanical power to ac electric power. The source of
mechanical power, the prime mover, may be a diesel
engine, a steam turbine, a water turbine, or any
similar device.

For high-speed machines, the prime movers are

usually steam turbines employing fossil or nuclear
energy resources.

Low-speed machines are often driven by hydro-

turbines that employ water power for generation.
Construction of Alternator