660

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER APPARATUS AND

SYSTEMS,

VOL.

PAS-90, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL

1971

THE EFFECT OF CAPACITORS ON THE SHORT-LINE FAULT COMPONENT OF TRANSIENT RECOVERY VOLTAGE
R. G. Colclaser, Jr.
Senior Member IEEE

L. E. Berkebile
Member IEEE

ABSTRACT

The use of a capacitor to modify the line-side component of

transient recovery voltage following a short-line fault is investigated.
A method is presented based on traveling wave theory to show the
modifying influence of capacitance. Empirical data is included to
show the effect of the capacitance on interrupting capability. The
effects of size, location, and the possibility of using carrier components are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
The interruption of a current by a circuit breaker produces a
transient recovery voltage (TRV) across the opening contacts as each
side of the breaker adjusts to its new operating state. The actual shape
of the transient is determined by the connected lumped and distributed parameters. The decision to attempt interruption at a given current zero is based on an energy balance 1,2 between the system and
the recently conducting arc space. Once this decision has been favorably made, the dielectric strength across the contacts must still increase at a faster rate than the circuit TRV to insure successful clearing of the arc.
It is generally recognized that the most severe recovery voltage
conditions are imposed by faults occurring on a transmission line relatively close to the breaker.3 These faults are characterized by currents close to rating, coupled with a sawtooth-shaped component of
recovery voltage contributed by the short segment of faulted line.
Figure I shows a schematic diagram of this type of fault. The amplitude of the sawtooth-shaped component is dependent on the distance
to the fault and the magnitude of the fault current. Its frequency is
determined by the distance to the fault and the travel time of the
transmission line. A typical recovery transient is shown in Figure 2.
To assign an interrupting rating to a breaker design, tests are required which stress the interrupter under simulated service conditions4. Once this limit has been reached, the designer has several options available in an effort to obtain higher capabilities. Either the
inherent interrupting ability can be increased, or elements can be
incorporated in the design to control the severity of the transient recovery voltage.

CIRCUIT CONTROL CONSIDERATIONS

Since the process of arc interruption includes two distinct phases
energy balance and dielectric recovery - it is possible to assign two
"ratings" dependent on the type of fault. Of course, the lower limit
is the usual rating assigned to the breaker, but if the correct control
methods are used, a significant increase in interrupting ability can
sometimes be obtained.
-

D. E. Buettner
Member IEEE

To demonstrate the principles involved, a prototype sulfurhexafluoride (SF6) interrupter was tested to determine the interrupting limits under both short-line and bus fault recovery voltages.
Energy balance failures associated with short-line faults occurred at
lower currents than dielectric failures under bus fault conditions.
Some method of control is indicated for the line-side component of
recovery voltage to take full advantage of the inherent interrupting
capabilities of the design.
A resistor has been used in other designs3 to control the initial
rate-of-rise of recovery voltage. The ohmic value used is a trade-off
between interrupter capability and resister cost. The resister is effectively in parallel with the surge impedance of the faulted line. The
use of a resister equal to the value of the surge impedance thus cuts
the initial rate-of-rise (proportional to total resistive impedance) in
half. This is shown schematically in Figure 3. This solution is best
implemented by incorporating the resister as an integral part of the
breaker design. Additional interrupting capability can usually be obtained by using a lower ohmic-value resister at the expense of greater
duty on the resister interrupter contacts and a more expensive
resister.
An alternative method of control is the inclusion of a capacitor5
to ground on the line side of the breaker as shown in Figure 4. This
also is in parallel with the surge impedance of the line and acts to reduce the severity of the line-side component as discussed in the
following section. A feature of this approach is that the capacitor is
not an integral part of the breaker, permitting uprating of the design
if margin exists on bus fault capability.

EFFECTIVENESS OF CAPACITOR
The transient recovery rate of the line-side component is given
by the surge impedance of the line multiplied by the slope of the current at current zero6.
de
dtor

e(t) =\/ wIf Zt x 10-6

Paper 70 TP 176-PWR, recommended and approved by the Switchgear

Committee of the IEEE Power Group for presentation at the IEEE Summer
Power Meeting and EHV Conference, Los Angeles, Calif., July 12-17, 1970.
Manuscript submitted September 15, 1969; made available for printing
May 20, 1970.

(2)

With time (t) in microseconds (see glossary for symbols), and

using a travel time of 5.35 microseconds/mile, the voltage as a function of time can be determined using equation (2) and the system
configuration. This approach assumes no damping.
Influence of Additional Capacitance
The current injection method7, the concept of input impedance,
and the traveling wave approach8 can be used to calculate the capacitor-controlled line-side component. The equivalent circuit and corresponding lattice diagram are shown in Figure 5. The reflection coefficients are given by

R. G. Colclaser, Jr., and D. E. Buettner are with the Westinghouse Electric

Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa.

E. E. Berkebile is with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Trafford, Pa.

-6

V/2WIf Zx 10(1

Z Terminal - Z

KR = Z Terminal + Z

(3)

in Laplace notation,

ZCs

KB (s) =l+C

(4)

I-i0

0
4

<

LA w_
A

~ ~ ~ ~J

c-

Fig. 2. Components and Resultant TR V.

COMPONENTS

SOURCE SIDE
COMPONENT

Fig. 1. Schematic of Short-Line Fault

XL- LINE REACTANCE

--o

RESULTANT

TIME

LI NE
~~~~~~~\t

XS -.EQUIVALENT SOURCE REACTANCE

XS

XL
XS
.f'T'W 1w,

I-

4c

tz

I_ w-CAPACITOR

Fig. 3. Effect ofParelling Resistor

TIME

ca

020

old

02

02
02C:

02

0to

02p

/--LINE

Fig. 4. Location of Line-Side Capacitor.

BKR

XL

0
0
r

5.35p SEC./MILE

KR2 KB2 e(t)

Fig. 5. Equivalent Circuit and Lattice Diagram Showing Two

Reflections.

e (t)

A A

_- e (t)

:00l

_TC

f2 IF wt

I"
-J
0

FIRST

J*

\ REFLECTION

\""

/
RESULTANT
VOLTAGE
/

Fig. 6. Line Side Component Showing Effect ofAdded Capacitance.

TWICE
LINE
TRAVEL
TIME

WITHOUT
/
CAPACITANCE ,

TIME

/
/SE COND
/ REEFLECTION

//TRANSMITTED

/ VOLTAGE

t~

00It

0,

02

z
;p
0,

663

COLCLASER et al.: FAULT COMPONENT OF TRANSIENT RECOVERY VOLTAGE

2(Z Terminal)
Z Terminal + Z

2
+ ZCs

(5)

A prototype SF6 interrupter was used to demonstrate the influence of added line side capacitance on interrupting capability.
Preliminary tests using bus fault recovery voltages indicated the interrupter could be rated at 138 kV, 15000 MVA if this was the only
criteria. However, as discussed previously, tests under short-line fault
conditions are also required to verify an interrupter design.

2
KTKR = -1 + ZCs

then

and
and

+ ZCs)2
=2(1(1-

ZCs)

K2K

KTKR2B

A test program was executed at the High Power Laboratory to

evaluate the performance of the interrupter under short-line fault recovery voltage conditions. Tests through 10000 MVA levels were
satisfactory. An oscillogram of the transient recovery voltage is shown
in Figure 8 for a fault with the current reduced to 80 per cent of the
10000 MVA rating by line impedance. This interrupter failed during
an equivalent 80 per cent test with a bus rating of 138 kV, 15000
MVA. As shown in Figure 9, energy balance failures occurred, with
the interrupted arc reigniting before the first crest of the line-side
component of recovery voltage was reached. Successful tests were
obtained when a 6000 picofarad capacitor was inserted on the lineside terminal of the breaker. As shown in Figure 10, the frequency of
the line-side component was reduced to 65.8 KHZ by the addition of
the capacitor. This agrees well with the calculated value of 67.5 KHZ
using the equations previously developed.

The transform of the transmitted voltage is given by

E (s)= Ze(s) I (s)
with

I(s) =

A/2 If

co

Ze(s)=

and

_z
making

E(s) = V/TIfw 2

-S (I1+ ZCs)-

In the time domain,9

e(t) = V/2If Z

t - ZC+ZC exp

(- t/ZC)]

(12)

The transform of the first reflection which is initiated at twice the

travel time of the line is
KTKR E(s)

./2 If Z co2

-2
2

s2 (I1 +ZCs)2

(13)

KTKR e(t) =

or

N/ Ifo Z [4ZC- 2t- 2(t+2ZC) exp (- t/ZC)]

(14)

In a similar fashion, it can be shown that the expression for the

second reflection which starts at four travel times of the line can be
written

KTKR2KB e(t) =

\./-2If

Test Verification

F[2-8C(8C+tC)x(-/)2t21
Z L2t 8ZC+(8ZC+6t+ z-) exp(- t/ZC)J

(15)

Successive reflections would be handled in a like manner. The total

line-side component is thus composed of the initial voltage and reflected voltages added at multiples of twice line travel times. This is
schematically shown in Figure 6.

As an aid to rapid calculations, dimensionless curves for the

transmitted, first reflection, and second reflection waves are included
in Figure 7. Knowing the system constants, a quick estimate of the
components of the line side TRV can be made. The abscissa, tau (T),
is a function of time, line surge impedance, and capacitor size. For
each value of tau the voltage can be found by dividing the corresponding ordinate value by the constant Q. Q is dependent on the
fault current magnitude, power frequency, surge impedance, and
capacitor size. As can be seen from the figure, the second reflection
has no appreciable amplitude until tau becomes greater than 2.5. A
study of the characteristics of the component waves indicates that
the shape of the line side component to the first crest can be obtained
using the transmitted and first reflection voltage waves only. The
composite curve is obtained by adding the first and second reflections to the transmitted curve using time delays equal to two and four
travel times, respectively.

ALTERNATE CAPACITOR APPLICATIONS

Many different bus arrangements are in use on power systems.

These schemes allow the bus to be isolated or sectionalized while
maintaining various degrees of service continuity. Depending on the
type of scheme, the capacitors used to control the line-side transient
may not be required at every circuit breaker. Stations using a single
bus scheme as in Figure 11 require one capacitor for each breaker. A
station utilizing a ring bus, as in Figure 12, would also need one
capacitor for every breaker. However, the breaker-and-a-half scheme
of Figure 13 requires only two capacitors for every three breakers. A
double bus scheme as in Figure 14 would need only one capacitor for
every two circuit breakers. In general, one capacitor is required for
every line but not necessarily for every circuit breaker.

Capacitor Size and Location

Traveling wave theory was used to determine the effect of
capacitor size and location on the short-line TRV component. Calculations were made on the simple 230 kV system shown in Figure
15. For purposes of comparison, a three-phase grounded fault was
placed 2500 feet from the circuit breaker. Line constants were as
follows:
Inductance
Capacitance
Resistance

0.951 Millihenry
7.57 Nanofarads
0.02 Ohm

The source inductance was 8.62 millihenries, corresponding to a bus

short-circuit current of 43 kA.
Three capacitance values were used to determine the relative
effect of capacitor size on the line-side component of the TRV. The
results are shown in Figure 16 for capacitors located at the circuit
breaker terminals. Without a capacitor the, saw-tooth wave oscillates
with a frequency of 87.8 kHz. A 4500 pico-farad capacitor reduces
the frequency to 58.5 kHz; 9000 pico-farads reduces the frequency
to 45.7 kHz; and 20000 pico-farads reduces the frequency to 33.6 kHz.
As the capacitor size increased, the frequency and therefore rate-ofrise of the short-line component was reduced. No appreciable change
in voltage magnitude occurred when.the capacitors were applied.

e(t)
Q

12

-8

-4

12

8
10

FIRST REFLECTION

Fig. 7. Dimensionless Curves for Calculating Effect of Added

Capacitance.

QO/n ZfW*2C

TRANSMITTED;
WAVE

48-

tx2

20

TIME

(IL SEC.)

40

Fig. 9. TR V for Energy Balance Failure at 80 Percent Line Fault,

15000 MVA Bus.

'<24

CD

Co

Co

Co

_ 48

REIGNIT ION

Fig. 8. TR Vfor 80 Percent Line Fault, 10000 MVA Bus.

2020
40
TIME Io SEC.)

0
0

G 24

.-

COLCLASER et al.: FAULT COMPONENT OF TRANSIENT RECOVERY

665

VOLTAGE6

I-J
o

20

60
40
TIME (O SEC.)

Fig. 10. TR V for 80 Percent Line Fault, 15000 MVA Bus with 6000
Pf Capacitance Added to Line-Side Terminal.

.4

bI

(I
I=

i (-n
Fig. 11. Single Bus Scheme.

Y 3u

Fig. 13. Breaker-And-A-Half Scheme.

Fig. 14. Double Bus Scheme.

Fig. 12. Ring Bus Scheme.

SOURCE

TRANSMISSION LINE

.f'A

COUPLING CAPACITOR

Fig. 15. 230 kV System Used for Short-Line Fault Calculations.

FAULT

666

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS,

There may be some instances when it is necessary or desirable

to locate the capacitor at a position other than at the breaker terminals. For example, there may not be sufficient space in the switchyard to install the capacitors near the breaker. Calculations on the
230 kV system were made with a 4500 pf capacitor located at different distances from the breaker. Figure 17 shows the short-line recovery voltage component for capacitors located at the breaker, for
capacitors located 250 ft. from the breaker and for capacitors located 500 ft. from the breaker. As shown, when the capacitor is
moved away from the breaker, the short-line recovery voltage waveform has two frequencies.
The linearly-rising component is produced by the wave traveling
from the breaker to the capacitor. This initial rate-of-rise is identical
to that obtained without a capacitor. The crest of this component is
determined by the travel time out to the capacitor and back to the
breaker. As can be seen in Figure 17, the larger the distance to the
capacitor, the higher the amplitude of the linear component. After
the wave reaches the capacitor the portion that is transmitted is
affected by the capacitor in the usual manner. Depending on the
breaker, this may or may not be a problem. Some designs are more
sensitive to the initial transients following current zero. For maximum
effect, the capacitor should be located at the breaker terminal.
Carrier Equipment and Short-Line Faults
Power line carrier is used to transmit relay intelligence from
one point to another. The carrier system is composed of transmitters
and receivers, operating in the frequency range of 30 to 200 kHz;
line traps to block carrier signals; and a coupling capacitor to superimpose the signal on a transmission line. These signals are usually applied on only one phase of a poly-phase transmission line. A typical
carrier terminal is shown in Figure 18. The line trap prevents the
carrier signal from being grounded by an external fault. The drain
coil, which is usually mounted in the base of the coupling capacitor,
is used to isolate the carrier signal from ground and to drain off the
60Hz power current flowing through the capacitor. The coil is designed to present a high impedance to the carrier frequency band,
and a low impedance to the power frequency.
If the same capacitor can be used for carrier coupling and rateof-rise control, there will be a saving in equipment cost. However,
short-line faults produce recovery voltage frequencies within the
carrier band and therefore, the drain coil presents a high impedance
to these frequencies. The coupling capacitor with carrier accessories
will thus appear as an open circuit to the short-line fault component
of TRV. Figure 19 shows the short-line component when carrier is
used. The calculations for these curves include the effects of the line.
trap and drain coil on the 230 kV model system. The line trap was
tuned for approximately 100 kHz, with an inductance of .265 millihenries and a capacitance of 9.6 nanofarads. The drain coil had an
assumed inductance of 500 millihenries. The initial fault voltage at
the breaker is higher with carrier because the line trap is an appreciable impedance when compared with the inductance of the faulted
line. The figure shows that, except for the higher fault voltage, the
carrier accessories give the appearance of no capacitor in the circuit.
The entire short-line component of recovery voltage appears across
the coil as would be expected of a high impedance or open circuit.

Coupling capacitors intended for carrier application are usually

supplied with a carrier gap connected in parallel with the drain coil.
The gap sparkover value is coordinated with the insulation strength
of the drain coil to prevent the build-up of excessive voltage. To obtain maximum benefit in the energy balance region, the capacitor
should be effective during the entire period before and after current

MARCH/APRIL 1971

zerol. This may prevent the application of the same capacitor for
carrier coupling and rate-of-rise control. This point requires further
investigation. More than three capacitors may be required: separate
capacitors for the carrier application, and one capacitor per phase
for TRV control.
It should be noted that where coupling capacitors are used as
potential devices only (no carrier), the drain coil is not used. In this
case the same device can be Psed for both a potential source and for

TRV control.

CONCLUSIONS

Capacitors may be used to reduce the rate-of-rise of the recovery

voltage associated with short-line faults and thereby increase a
breaker's interrupting capability. This permits the uprating of breakers with inherent bus fault capability as the system grows. Calculations on a simple system show that the larger the capacitor, the lower

the rate-of-rise of recovery voltage. The calculations also show that it

is preferable to locate the capacitors as close to the breaker as possible to achieve maximum reduction in the initial TRV.

The use of power line carrier interferes with the application of

the same coupling capacitors for rate-of-rise reduction. The carrier
drain coil appears as an extremely high impedance to the line-side
voltage oscillation and the maximum benefits of the coupling
capacitors are not realized. This does not limit the use of capacitors
for TRV control, however, but does require an additional capacitor
to permit coupling of the carrier signal. Where carrier is not used, the
same capacitor can be used for both a potential source and TRV
control.

GLOSSARY OF SYMBOLS

de
dt

Rate of change of voltage with respect to time; volts per

microsecond.

co

2irf, where f is the system frequency; radians per second.

If

System fault current; RMS amperes.

Line surge impedance; ohms.

Time.

e(t)

Voltage as a function of time; volts.

KR, KB

Reflection coefficients.

KT

Transmittal Coefficient.

Laplace Operator

E(s)

Laplace transform of voltage

IZe(s)

Laplace transform of input impedance.

I(S)

Laplace transform of current.

Line-side capacitor.

COLCLASER et al.: FAULT COMPONENT OF TRANSIENT RECOVERY VOLTAGE

667

-FAULT VOLTAGE

AT BREAKER
.- BREAKER OPENS
FAULT OUT 2500 FT.
NO CAPACITOR
rm m
___---mw 22 4500 PF.
.__3 9000 PF
4 20000 PF

w
4%

I-

II

Ia

10

40

il

p-SECONDS

0
w

i 2 3 4
Fig. 16. The Effect of Capacitor Size on the Short-Line Fault
Component ofRecovery Voltage.

FAULT VOLTAGE
AT BREAKER
,-BREAKER OPENS
FAULT OUT 2500 FT.

4500 PF AT BREAKER
4500 PF AT 250 FT.
4500 PF AT 500 FT.

CD
-j

p -SECONDS

10

30

40

Fig. 17. The Effect of Capacitor Location

Component of Recovery Voltage.

on Short-Line

Fault

668

IEEE

BREAKER

TRANSACTIONS ON POWER APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS, MARCH/APRIL 1971

LINE TRAP

CAPACITOR

DRAIN COIL

Fig. 18. Power Line Carrier Terminal.

FAULT OUT 2500 FT.

w

4500 PF WITHOUT CARRIER

4500 PF WITH CARRIER

CD

0
>
w

pw- SECONDS

:
Ld
I
I

I
I

COLCLASER et al.: FAULT COMPONENT OF TRANSIENT RECOVERY VOLTAGE

REFERENCES

[1] Browne, T. E., Jr. "An Approach to Mathematical Analysis of

A-C Arc Extinction in Circuit Breakers," AIEE Transactions,
Vol. 77 Part III, 1958, pp. 1508-1516.

[2] Swanson, B. W., Roidt, R. M., and Browne, T. E., Jr. "The
Effect of Gas Dynamics and Properties on Short Line Fault
Interruption with Application to SF6 and Air," submitted for
presentation at the IEEE Winter Power Meeting, New York,
January 1970.

[3] Skeats, W. F., Titus, C. H., and Wilson, W. R., "Severe Rates of
Rise of Recovery Voltage Associated with Transmission Line
Short Circuits," AIEE Transactions, Vol. 76 Part III, 1957,
pp. 1256-1266.
[4] Naef, O., Zimmerman, C. P., and Beehler, J. E., "Proposed
Transient Recovery Voltage Ratings for Power Circuit Breakers," IEEE Transactions Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. 84,
July 1965, pp. 580-608.

[5] Colclaser, R. G., Jr. and Friedrich, R. E., "Electric Power

Distribution Systems," United States Patent 3,383,519, May 1968.
[6] Griscom, S. B., Sauter, D. M., and Ellis, H. M., "Transient Recovery Voltages on Power Systems Part II - Practical Methods
of Determination," AIEE Transactions, Vol. 77 Part III, 1958,
pp. 592-606.

[7] Gardner, M. F. and Barnes, J. L., Transients in Linear Systems

(Book), John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1961, pp.
204-206.

[8] Colclaser, R. G., Jr. and Buettner, D. E., "The Traveling Wave
Approach to Transient Recovery Voltage," IEEE Transactions
Paper 69TP 86-PWR, IEEE Winter Power Meeting, New York,
January 1969.

[9] Nixon, F. E., Handbook of Laplace Transformation (Book),

Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1960.

ff69

R.G. Colclaser, Jr. (M'57-SM'69) was born in

Wilkinsburg, Pa., on September 21, 1933. He
received the B.S.E.E. degree from the University
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the M.S.,
E.E., and D.Sc.E.E. degrees from the University
of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1956, 1961,
and 1968, respectively.
lHe joined the Power Circuit Breaker Division
of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East
Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1956 and was engaged in thi
development and testing of oil and SF6 breakers.
In 1966 he developed a Westinghouse Corporate
Design School which taught creative design to young engineers, and he
was later responsible for the training and placement of newly hired
engineering graduates in the corporation. Presently he is an Advisory
Engineer in Transmission, Power Systems Planning, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and is currently studying electrical transients on power
transmission lines. He holds 18 patents on interrupters, breakers, and
test circuits.
Dr. Colclaser is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, the
American Society for Engineering Education, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.

L. E. Berkebile (S'64-M'65), for a photograph and biography, please

see page 646of this TRANSACTIONS.

D.E. Buettner (S'64-M'65) was born in Tacoma,

Wash., on December 27, 1942. He received
the B.S.E.E. degree from Washington State
University, Pullman, in 1965. He is now working
toward the M.S.E.E. degree at the University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.
He joined the Westinghouse Electric Corpo-

ration on the Graduate Student Training Program

and became a permanent member of their Electric Utility Engineering Department, East Pittsburgh, in 1965. At that time he was Assistant
Sponsor Engineer for the electric utilities in the
Southeast. In 1967 he became a Transmission Engineer, Power Systems
Planning, responsible for working on electric utility system problems
concerning voltages of 69 kV and above. His special field of interest
lies in the control and protection of power systems, with emphasis on
transient recovery voltages.