TP-135-0

IEEE TUTORIAL ON THE

VACUUM SWITCHGEAR
IEEE TUTORIAL ON
THE VACUUM SWITCHGEAR

Sponsored by
The Power Engineering Education Committee
The Switchgear Committee
IEEE Tutorial on the Vacuum Switchgear

Abstracting is permitted with credit to the source. For other copying, reprint, or republication permission, write to the IEEE
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by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

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 VACUUM SWITCHGEAR TUTORIAL
INTRODUCTION
The history of vacuum switchgear starts in mid
1920's but commercial vacuum switching
equipment did not appear until the late 1950.
Since then the power industry, electric utility
companies and commercial customers alike,
applied vacuum switchgear in an increasing
array of system configurations and schemes.
Although about 40 years passed from the
historical moment of the first vacuum circuit
breaker the vacuum technology is still considered
to be "new" and often misunderstood or
misapplied. Numerous technical papers and a
few valuable books have been published on the
subject of vacuum arcs and vacuum switchgear
but we still have a way to go. For example, we
still receive questions on how the electrical
current can be interrupted in a vacuum "bottle"
where there is nothing to extinguish the arc.
It was an intention of the contributors to this
Tutorial to assemble a review of the most
important and most practical information on the
subject starting from conceptual designs and
construction of vacuum interrupters to field
application and system aspects of the vacuum
switching equipment. This tutorial intends to
provide such a comprehensive review of the
vacuum technology but due to the natural
limitation of time and space does not address all
the details one would need to learn to be
considered proficient in this technology. We
hope that this tutorial will be a useful reference
for engineers and others involved in this field and
spark even more interest in applying this
attractive technology in power systems.
This document is divided into several sections
covering a broad range of subjects such as:
manufacturing and quality control of vacuum
interrupters, fundamentals of vacuum arcs,
system applications of vacuum switching
equipment, transients associated with the
interaction of vacuum devices and power
systems, testing of vacuum switchgear, modeling
and simulation of vacuum switching devices,
prediction and mitigation of switching transients,
maintenance of vacuum switchgear equipment.
The contributors to this document have
generously donated their time to prepare this
tutorial, which, in the present industry climate, is
an activity over and above the normal, already
hectic schedules of all engineers. I believe that
the document we produced will be of value to
our professional community.
The three tutorial instructors have a combined
experience of approximately seventy years in
vacuum technology. Dr. Paul Slade is an
Engineering Manager for Cutler-
HammerIWestinghouse Products vacuum
interrupters manufacturing facility in
Horseheads, N.Y. He is responsible for all
aspects of vacuum interrupter manufacturing for
Cutler-Hammer. Dr. Rene Smeets is managing
the R&D activities of KEMA High-Power
Laboratory in Arnhem, the Netherlands. He has
been involved in research, testing and
certification of vacuum switchgear products. Dr.
Mietek Glinkowski is an Advisory Engineer at
ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute,
Raleigh, NC, an R&D arm of ABB Power T&D
Company. He is a Technology Team Leader for
Switchgear and Insulation Systems. He has been
active in research, development, and application
of vacuum switching equipment for over 18
years.
Mietek T. Glinkowski
Editor
Tutorial Coordinator
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1. General Introduction to Vacuum Switchgear

by M.T. Glinkowski 3

Chapter 2. Design and Manufacture of the Vacuum Interrupter through Understanding

the Vacuum Arc, Continued Materials Development, and Advanced
Vacuum Processing
by P.G. Slade 9

Chapter 3. System Applications of Reclosers, Circuit Breakers, Contactors, and

Switches.
Mechanical Design of Drives.
by M. T. Glinkowski 19

Chapter 4. Switching of Capacitive Current with Vacuum Switchgear

by R.P.P. Smeets 29

Chapter 5. Switching Inductive Current with Vacuum Switchgear

by R.P.P. Smeets 35

Chapter 6. Testing and Certification of Vacuum Switchgear.

by R.P.P. Smeets 43

Chapter 7. Prediction, Modeling, Simulation, and Mitigation of Switching Transients

in Vacuum Switchgear.
Maintenance and Safety of Vacuum Switchgear.
by M. T. Glinkowski 55

2
 General Introduction to Vacuum Switchgear
M.T. Glinkowski
ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute
Raleigh, NC
Abstract- This introductory section of the
Vacuum Switchgear tutorial provides a
brief history of the vacuum switchgear, an
overview of the material covered by this
publication and highlights some of the
fundamental prerequisites leading to the
knowledge of the vacuum arc, current
interruption in vacuum, vacuum switchgear
devices, and their application in power
systems.
INTRODUCTION
The history of vacuum switchgear starts in
mid 1920's when Sorensen and Mendenhall
at California Institute of Technology
conducted their first experiments in vacuum
by encapsulating two fixed contacts and a
movable C bridge in the glass envelope [1].
Although more than 70 years passed there
are striking similarities of the original
design with the present, state-of-the art
commercial switchgear products. The
original switch was tested at -15 kV, the
most popular and widely used voltage level
in today's vacuum devices. The Sorensen's
device used a magnetic actuator (a crude
one) that drove the bridge contact apart
from the two stationary contacts. Today the
advances in drive technology allowed
several manufacturers to introduce low
maintenance, low energy magnetic
actuators to operate vacuum reclosers,
switches, and even circuit breakers. This
seemingly is providing an impression that
little changed from then to now in this field.
However, this statement is far from being
4
correct. The early design of the switch had
several drawbacks primarily due to the
deficiencies of the vacuum technology. For
the next 30 years, from 1926 to
approximately 1956 vacuum switchgear
was waiting for the vacuum technology to
improve so a commercial production of the
devices could begin. The main obstacle was
in the area of vacuum-pure materials and
processing of the vacuum components. The
early switches used common copper,
tungsten, and aluminum, the materials not
suitable for high quality vacuum. The glass
envelope was continuously pumped since
the glass to metal seals were not tight
enough and the materials were constantly
degassing. To be commercially attractive
the interrupters would have to be
permanently sealed and good for
maintaining the vacuum for approximately
20 years or so. Much had to be improved in
vacuum technology alone.
After the vacuum arc attracted significant
research interest of the academic and
commercial R&D communities it has been
discovered that pure contact materials, such
as copper and tungsten, were not the best
performers for the power switching
applications. When the contacts from these
oxygen free materials were manufactured
they either welded together, due to the
diffusion between atomically clean surfaces
touching each other, or would exhibit
excessive current chop when the arc current
was approaching its natural current zero.
There was also a question of the contact
surface conditions after arcing. Much of the
research assumed clean and smooth
surfaces of the electrodes where in fact the
first arc drawn under current would leave
behind tracking and traces of small craters
(associated with the cathode spots) on the
otherwise pristine surfaces. These would
disturb all the calculations and analytical
predictions.
Several companies at that time, notably
General Electric and Westinghouse in the
United States, invested significant R&D
manpower and finances into building the
knowledge and expertise in vacuum arcs,
vacuum contacts, and vacuum interrupters.
These efforts resulted in successful
deployment of commercial vacuum circuit
breakers for medium voltage distribution
systems. The companies were also very
enthusiastic to continue the main research
in extending the applicability of vacuum
into higher voltage, sub-transmission and
transmission systems. Soon they were to be
faced with big disappointment. It turns out
that the vacuum interrupters are not easily
scalable to higher voltages. Particularly, the
electric field breakdown between two
contacts in vacuum is not proportional to
the contact distance. Although a 0.5 mm
contact gap can withstand approximately 15
kV the gap of 50 mm will not handle 1500
kV, or 1.5 MV. The scaling law is not
linear and other physical processes stand on
the way of using long contact gaps for
higher voltages.
The initial excitement diminished and the
vacuum switch production companies
concentrated on the distribution products
with additional applications of low voltage
vacuum contactors. Today only a handful of
companies maintain production line of
commercial vacuum switching products
above 36 kV primarily by employing a
5
series combination of interrupters each
rated in the 15-36 kV range.
This situation might be changing. The last
several years of advances provide more
understanding of the practical issues
associated with vacuum switchgear. Also,
the economics of the vacuum interrupter
manufacturing changed dramatically, the
devices being less expensive, smaller, and
more efficient. The traditional boundary
between the applications of SF6 and
vacuum technologies is changing and the
recent inquiries of the environmental
impact of SF6 also play a role in this
process.
All said, the vacuum switchgear is a mature
technology and still an active industry with
dynamically increasing shares of the world
markets, production volumes, and more
efficient, smaller and better products.
SCOPE OF THE TUTORIAL
This tutorial covers most of the practical
aspects related to the vacuum switchgear as
is used by the power utilities and industry.
It is not intended to provide the complete
and thorough scientific knowledge of all the
aspects related to the vacuum interrupters
(see [2]-[4] for further study) but it is
directed more to practicing engineers who
design; procure, install, use, maintain and
troubleshoot the vacuum switchgear. The
tutorial is organized in 5 sections:
General Introduction
Design and manufacturing of vacuum
interrupters
System applications of vacuum
switching products with mechanical
design concepts of drives
 Capacitive and inductive current

switching; standards, and testing of

vacuum interrupters
Prediction, modeling and simulation of
t\f\/V I St." A

switching transients.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF
CIRCUIT CLOSING AND
INTERRUPTION Transient

This section is divided into several topics :

1. Fundamental definition of transients

2. Closing transients
3. Opening transients
4. Three phase systems and concept of the
first-pole-to-clear State B

1. Fundamental definition of transients

Any electrical switching equipment is

design to close and open an electrical
circuit. This, by definition, requires change
of state of the circuit from one steady-state
condition to another. The change is related
to the change of the energy in the circuit
components which in tum produces a
transient manifested by surge voltages,
surge currents or both. This is illustrated
schematically in Figure 1. All transients
involve energy that, in normal course of
events, has to be dissipated safely in the
resistive components of the system (losses).
However, depending on the circuit
conditions, even small amounts of transient
energy can be large enough to develop
sufficiently high transients to impact or
destroy the adjoining equipment. It is the
function of properly designed and applied
switchgear to provide the circuit switching
functions without generating the transients
levels that cannot be safely managed by the
system components .
Figure 1. Definition of switching transient.
2. Closing transients
Normal closing transients are initiated
when a new current path is established in a
circuit. For example, closing on an inductor
in a simple circuit shown in Figure 2 will
cause a transient current
R
- -I
iTR (t ) = - sin(8 - q7)e L
which is sometimes called a DC offset.
This is in addition to the steady-state,
power frequency current equal to
where the power source voltage is defined
as V = Vm sin(wt + 8)
and the impedance of the circuit

6
 current zero, is not significantly modified
by the arcing voltage. The exception to this
rule are the current limiting devices.

After the natural current zero the electrical

system imposes the voltage across the
breaker (Transient Recovery Voltage,
v TRV). For a circuit example of opening of
a capacitor bank refer to Figure 3.

Figure 2. Closing on an inductor.

Depending on the angle of the source e the

transient current iTR can vary from 0 to v R
maximum value of Vrr/Z. This fact already
suggests an opportunity for the
management of the closing transients (on an
inductor at least) to synchronize the instant Figure 3. Opening of a capacitor.
of closing with the power frequency voltage
waveform. Since the voltage across the capacitance C
is "trapped" at the current zero and it is
In practical switching devices ideal almost at its peak value due to the 90
transients shown in Figure 2 are most likely lagging with respect to this current the
modified by the prestrikes when the switch transient recovery voltage across the
contacts come close together. The transients breaker is a superposition of voltage of the
associated with prestrikes depend on the source (V) and the capacitor voltage (Vm)
particular switching technology (vacuum, and can reach up to 2*V m-
SF6, ...). The switching prestrikes in TRV = Vm(cos(mt)-l)
vacuum are characterized by short duration,
high frequency currents and successive Circuits similar to Figure 3 can be drawn
voltage collapses. for other opening situations including
inductor switching (Figure 4). In this case
the voltage is leading the current by 90 and
3. Opening transients it is peaking with opposite polarity at the
current zero.
Opening of a switch typically occurs at
random with respect to the power frequency After current zero when the dielectric
current, i.e. the contacts can separate at any strength of the switch during the opening
instant. However, the current interruption operation is below the instantaneous
takes place at the current zero. In typical transient recovery voltage caused by the
medium voltage and high voltage
switchgear the current waveform during the
arcing phase of the switch, after the
physical contact parting and before the

7
 TABLE 1
STRESSES FOR THE FIRST POLE TO CLEAR
R
Type of Grounded Ungnded
v L Stress systems systems
peak current 0.816 pu 0.816 pu
to interrupt
Figure 4. Switching off an inductive current peakTRV 1.633 pu 2.45 pu
second and the same as current
system the switch will restrike. In the third phases above 0.707 pu
power systems the restrike events create a TRV 1.41 pu
lot of controversy and there is a great deal
of misconception about them. The terms
restrikes, reignitions, multiple restrikes, etc.
are also confused. All these phenomena are REFERENCES
technology specific, i.e. the vacuum
restriking characteristics are fundamentally [1] R.W. Sorensen, H.E. Mendenhall,
different than SF6, air, etc. The other Vacuum Switching Experiments at the
sections of this tutorial address these issues California Institute of Technology,
specifically for vacuum switchgear. Transactions ofAlEE, 1926, No. 45,
pp.1102-1105.
4. Three phase systems and concept of [2] Allan Greenwood, Vacuum Switchgear,
the first-pole-to-clear lEE Power Series 18, Short Run Press Ltd.,
Exter, UK, 1994.
In three phase systems the three poles of the [3] Vacuum Arcs. Theory and Application,
circuit breaker or a switch do not open ed. J.M. Lafferty, John Wiley and Sones,
simultaneously due to simple mechanical New York, 1980.
reasons. Even if they did the three line [4] Circuit Interruption. Theory and
currents are 1200 apart so the interruption in Techniques, ed. T. E. Browne, Jr., Marcel
the three phases is not instantaneous. In Dekker, Inc. New York, 1984.
ungrounded or impedance grounded three
phase systems the switch's pole that
experiences the first current zero after its
contacts opened (first-pole-to-clear) is
stressed the most. The stress levels for the
first pole are summarized in the table

8
Design And Manufacture Of TIle Vacuum Interrupter Through Understanding The
Vacuum Arc, Continued Materials Development, And Advanced Vacuum Processing

Paul G. Slade

Cutler-Hammer
Horseheads, NY 14845

This paper presents a brief overview on the design and manufacture of vacuum interrupters. It is intended to
accompany an IEEE Tutorial on Vacuum Switchgear that will be presented at the 1998 Summer Power Meeting and
the 1999 Winter Power Meeting. The paper shows how an understanding of the vacuum arc leads to contact designs
that permit the use of the vacuum interrupter over a wide range of application. It briefly reviews the development of
suitable contact materials and establishes the link between contact design, material, and application. Finite element
analysis is discussed and its use to develop high voltage designs and magnetic field structures is presented. Finally,
the development of designs for efficient and reliable manufacture is presented. Here emphasis is placed on vacuum
interrupter quality, long service life, and vacuum integrity.

1. INTRODUCTION life of the vacuum interrupter. The shield shown in

Figure 1 shows a schematic cross section of a
typical vacuum interrupter. The fixed contact
assembly consists of a contact which is attached to a
copper electrode, this, in turn is brazed to an end
plate. The moving contact assembly is attached to
an end plate by a bellows. When a mechanism is
attached to the moving electrode, the contacts can be
opened and closed while maintaining a high vacuum
inside the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber
is made from cylinders of high alumina ceramic.
The ends of the ceramic cylinders are metallized.
This allows the end plates to be brazed to the
ceramics with a high temperature braze. When the
contacts are parted, an arc forms and burns in metal
vapor from the contacts. In order to prevent the
inside of the ceramic envelope from being coated
with metal, a shield is positioned around the contacts
to capture the metal vapor evaporated from the
contacts. This shield prevents the inside surfaces of
the ceramic from becoming coated with metal vapor,
thus, maintaining their insulating character for the
Bellows Electric Contacts
Metal Vapor Insulating
Condensation Shield Envelope
Figure 1, Cross Section of a Vacuum Interrupter
11
Figure 1 is floating, i.e. it is not electrically attached
to either the fixed or moving contact assemblies.
Table I gives the parameters that must be taken into
account when designing a vacuum interrupter:
Table I. VaCUU11l Interrupter Design Parameters
Application: Circuit voltage, short
circuit current, continuous current,
electrical and mechanical life, ambient
The Vacuum Arc Mode
The Contact Material
High Voltage Requirements
Vacuum Processing Technique
2. THE VACUUM ARC
2.1 Formation of the Vacuum Arc between
Opening Contact
Figure 2 shows the contact opening sequence leading
to arc formation. This sequence is similar for all
contacts opening in any medium for circuit voltages
greater than a few volts. As the closed contact force
is released, the real area of contact decreases. As the
real area of contact becomes small, so the contact
resistance increases, i.e. the heat input into the
contact spot increases. Eventually this spot melts and
a molten metal bridge is drawn between the contacts.
This bridge becomes unstable and ruptures. When
this happens, an arc is formed between the contacts in
the metal vapor from the ruptured molten metal
bridge. Initially, the arc that forms is confined to the
region of the bridge rupture and is called the "bridge

Contact Molten Bridge Vacuum
Metal Bridge Column
v
t the surface spots moving away from the cathode
20
15 .
10
5 cosine law (5). For higher current levels, the ion flux
Figure 2, VaCUU11l Arc Initiation Between Opening
Contacts
column". The confined arc then forms the true
vacuum arc (1). There are three vacuum arc modes:
1. The diffuse vacuum arc, which always occurs at
currents of less than SOOOA and can be maintained at
higher currents with the application of an axial
magnetic field (see 2.4).
2. The transition vacuum arc (2), which occurs for
currents between SOOOA and 8000A.
3. The high current columnar vacuum arc, which
occurs at currents greater than 8000A.
2.2 The Low Current Diffuse
Vacuum Arc
For currents up to approximately 5 kA, the vacuum
arc is diffuse (2) and can be characterized by a
multiplicity of rapidly moving cathode spots (the
number of spots being approximately proportional to
the current and dependent on the contact material), a
diffuse interelectrode plasma, and a diffuse
collection of current at the anode; see Figure 3.
These cathode spots are essential to the maintenance
of the discharge. Most of the arc voltage drop
occurs across a space-charge sheath at the cathode.
The maximum current conducted by each of the
multiple cathode spots varies with the electrode
material. The current density at the cathode surface
of an individual cathode spot is extremely high, and
this region is therefore one of high power density.
For arcs on copper electrodes, the cathode fall is
approximately 18V, the maximum current per
cathode spot is approximately 100A, and the cathode
spot current density at the surface based on crater
sizes, is 108A/cm2 (3,4).
All the material required to maintain the arc comes
from the cathode spots. Of particular importance is
the fact that the cathode spots are regions of intense
Arc ionization (4), with most of the material emitted from
region in ionized form. For current levels of several
hundred amperes, the ion flux leaves the cathode
spots with a spatial distribution approximating a
more closely approximates an isotropic distribution
6). Metal particles also stream away from the cathode
spot regions, primarily in a direction primarily in a
direction parallel to the cathode surface(7). For
copper arcs the erosion rate is about10Ag/coulomb
.CATHODE SPOTS, 108 A/cm 2
PRODUCE ELECTRONS & IONS
NEUTRAL PLASMA MID-GAP
DIFFUSE CURRENT COLLECTION
AT ANODE
rl
ION VELOCITY tv 106 em/sec
C A ION ENERGY 20 eV - 40 eV
10% ION CURRENT
v CATHODE EROSION tv 10-4 gm/C
tv 100 A/CATHODE SPOT
Figure 3, Low Current, Diffuse VaCUU111 Arc
and, in common with most materials, the magnitude
of the ion current leaving the cathode spot region is
about 10% of the arc current (5.6). The ions possess
an energy (in eV) which exceeds the arc voltage and
can be considered to migrate away from a localized
potential maximum (8) within the cathode spot. For
copper, the ions are multiply charged (6) and possess
a mean energy approximately 20 to 40 eV (with
velocities about 106 cm/s) , whereas, the mean energy
of the neutral metal vapor is less than 1 eV.
The primary cathode spot parameters that influence
successful interruption at current zero are (1) the high
velocity of the ionized metal vapor away from the
cathode surface, which leads to a rapid decrease in
the interelectrode plasma density, and (2) the absence
of a cathode spot at the new cathode.
For certain . arcing conditions, there may be
significant evaporation from the anode due to the
formation of a single, grossly evaporating anode spot
(9), see Figure 4.
12
 2.3 The High Current Columnar
Vacuum Arc
INCREASE GAP WITH ION
STARVATION & FORMATION If the current at the instant of contact separation is
A
ANODE SPACE CHARGE + greater than about SIcA, the bridge rupture leads to

. .-
metal
JOULE HEATING formation of a single, high-vapor-pressure arc
npor
"""'-plume ANODE MELTING column. This arc is a high pressure arc and is similar
to the arc in air. The appearance of the high-current

n
BUNCHING CATHODE SPOTS
bunchinl
Capots CATHODE MELTING
COLUMNAR ARC
I C
(SIMILAR TO ARC IN AIR)
Figure 4, Anode Spot Formation
This anode spot operates near the normal boiling
temperature of the anode material and can
significantly increase the intercontact plasma
density. Furthermore, since the erosion is not
distributed, anode spot formation can cause gross
melting of the contact. Finally, a plasma jet from
the anode spot can cause the cathode spots to bunch
together (10), with resulting gross erosion on the
cathode.
Anode spots can form from an initially diffuse
vacuum arc. The probability of anode spot
formation increases with increasing contact
separation, with increasing circuit current and arc
duration, and with decreasing anode area.
Furthermore, the probability of spot formation
increases with a decrease in the anode thermal
parameter Tm(KpCo) 1/2 where Tm is the melting
temperature of the anode material and K, p, and C 0
are the thermal conductivity, density, and specific
heat respectively. For small anode areas and long
contact spacing, when most of the ions in the plasma
stream from the cathode spots are no longer incident
on the anode, the arc voltage increases as a result of
the formation of an anode sheath and the heating of
anode surface.
A ARC COLUMN WITH
GROSSLY EVAPORATING
ANODE AND CATHODE
WELL DEFINED
ARC COLUrv1N
c electrons are confined by the magnetic field lines in
Figure S, The High Current, ColuIIInar, Vacuum
Arc
vacuum arc has been extensively studied (11, 12). It
has been shown that, depending on the current level
and contact spacing, the diffuse arc can also form an
anode spot and a columnar arc before going diffuse
again close to current zero. It is possible, however,
to form a constricted column (Figure 5) from the
initial bridge arc, which will stay constricted until
just before current zero. At the highest currents, the
electrode regions of this constricted column exhibit
intense activity, with jets of material being ejected
from the contact faces (11). In spite of this severe
contact activity, even this arc mode can return to the
diffuse mode just before current zero. Figure 6
shows an example of an arc appearance diagram
developed by Schulman (12).
a ----------~--
. \
7 \
\
E
5 4
0..
~ J
2
O.......---""'"""""'...........""'"--l"--J............~..a..-..I....A..J.......L......,
o 5 10 15 20 zs JO 35 40 45 50 ss SO 65 70
CURRENT (kA)
Figure 6, Vacuum Arc Appearance Diagram
2.4 The High Current Vacuum Arc in
the Presence of an Axial Magnetic Field
One method of creating a diffuse arc at high currents
is to apply an axial magnetic field (13). For a
sufficiently high axial field, the vacuum arc can be
maintained in the diffuse mode to very high currents.
After the rupture of the molten metal bridge, a bridge
column forms, and this arc slowly expands into a
diffuse arc. Once the arc has gone diffuse, the axial
magnetic field allows the arc to remain diffuse. The
the intercontact region and, because of the associated
creation of radial electric field, the ions are also
confined to the intercontact region, Figure 7.

13
During this high-current arcing the diffuse arc
distributes the arc energy over the whole contact
surface and thus prevents gross erosion of the
contacts.
Magnetic
Field
-Lines
~--+---""~oft---4----4-I1
Magnetic
Field
Coli
Figure 7, The High Current, Diffuse Vacuum Arc
Maintainedby all Axial Magnetic Field
2.5 Vacuum Arc Interruption in
Alternating Circuits
All successful vacuum interrupter designs have
contacts that force the vacuum arc to go diffuse
before the current reaches zero (14). At current
zero, the vapor-producing cathode spots extinguish.
The residual vapor and plasma within the
intercontact region rapidly condense and recombine
on both the shield and contact surfaces, and the
original vacuum condition is rapidly approached.
Analysis of the recovery processes directly
following current zero is complicated by the
nonuniform distribution of the reapplied voltage in
the recovering arc gap. In the presence of residual
plasma, the circuit voltage is impressed across a
narrow space-charge sheath at the new cathode (15).
The ac circuit is successfully interrupted if the
instantaneous dielectric strength of the recovering
intercontact gap always exceeds the circuit reapplied
voltage. Full recovery can be attained within
microseconds of current zero. This ultimate
breakdown voltage depends on both the spacing and
geometry of the internal shields, and also on the
electric field stress on the external envelope of the
interrupter. Further, the ultimate breakdown
voltage is critically dependent on the spacing of the
contacts, the condition of the arced contact surfaces,
and the magnitude and duration of the recovery
voltage.
14
The presence of stationary anode spots during the
arcing half cycle can adversely affect dielectric
recovery due to (1) associated increases in the
intercontact plasma and vapor densities, (2) continued
evaporation from the localized hot spot following
current zero, and (3) for the case of refractory
materials such as carbon and tungsten, continued
thermionic emission of electrons following contact
polarity reversal.
3. CONTACT DESIGN
The factors that influence the design of the vacuum
contact that is used for a specific application are
given in Table II.
Table II. Contact Design Parameters
Current and voltage values to be interrupted
The initial molten metal bridge stage forces an
initial columnar arc
Need to minimize the contact erosion, while at
the same time providing enough metal vapor to
sustain the arc to a natural current zero
The erosion should be uniform across the contact
face
Need to minimize local contact heating
Need to ensure a diffuse vacuum arc at current
zero
Figure 8 shows the three major contact structures that
have been designed for the vacuum interrupter (14),
these are:
1. Butt contact (low current, diffuse arc)
2. Spiral or transverse magnetic field
(TMF) contact, (high current arc)
3. Axial magnetic field (AMF) contact
(high current arc)
The butt contact has a straight forward design, but is
only really effective with low current diffuse arcs (I
less than about SOOOA). It has, however been used
with moderate success for switching currents in the
transition arc range. It is widely used for load break
vacuum interrupters and for contactor interrupters
where the maximum interruption current is 4000A.
For high voltage applications, this contact design has
the advantage that its surface can be machined to a
smooth finish. It can also be profiled to give a
uniform electric field between the contacts.
 for high current interruption? The answer is, "It
depends". Figure 9 compares the interruption
performance of TMF and AMF contacts as a function
of contact diameter. For a given contact diameter,
the TMF contact can interrupt a higher current.
This, in turn, means that for a given short circuit
current, a vacuum interrupter using a TMF contact
will have a smaller diameter than one using an AMF
contact. The AMF contact has a more uniform
erosion and the smoother contact gives a better high
voltage performance for vacuum interrupters used in
circuits with voltages greater than 34kV. The more
uniform erosion also gives the AMF contact a
Butt Contact
somewhat longer electrical life. Both contact
Spiral (TMF) Contact structures, however, give an adequate electrical life
Axial Magnetic for the majority of vacuum interrupter applications.
Field (AMF) Contact

Figure 8, The Three Major Contact Structures

.A. CutIer~ Spbl ConIM.t (Tl.IF)
70
GEC-Aklhom Contmo Cup (TMF)
The spiral contact uses the TMF generated by the '" CutIer~(AMF)
current flowing in the spiral arms to force the 'iii' 60 o Toshtle ( " ' - ' I AMF)

rotation of a high current, columnar, vacuum arc E o T _ SAOE(AMF) estimate

around the contact's periphery. By doing this, all ~ 50

design parameters shown in Table II are satisfied . C 40

a>
L-
L-
::l
1. The fact that a columnar arc is initiated at the 0 30
OJ AMF Contact
time of bridge rupture and is maintained through C
+:l
most of the arcing period, is required for this 0. 20

contact structure to work.

2
L-
a> 10
C
2. The rapid motion of the columnar arc around 0
the circumference of the contact ensures that : 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
uniform erosion occurs Total Contact Diameter [mm]
erosion is minimized
heating is spread over the whole outer contact Figure 9, Comparison of the Interrupting Ability
region Of TMF and AMF Contacts in a 12kV
Circuit
3. The lack of localized contact heating and
rapid arc motion also causes the columnar arc to 4. CONTACT MATERIAL
break up as the current goes to zero and this results
in a diffuse arc at current zero. The contact material must operate in the vacuum
environment even in the presence of a high current
The AMF contact has a coil located behind the arc. One of the characteristics of the material is that
contact face. The AMF across the contacts is it should be relatively pure with a low gas content.
created when the circuit current flows through this This requires a special manufacturing environment
coil. The AMF forces the initial bridge column to which is generally proprietary to most vacuum
become a diffuse vacuum arc even at very high interrupter manufacturers. The contact material must
currents (13). Many designs of the coil structure be able to:
have been proposed (14). The strength and
distribution of the AMF is also important design (a) Interrupt the vacuum arc at I = 0
criteria (13). Once the vacuum arc has gone into the with 100% reliability
diffuse mode, it remains in this mode all the way to (b) Have a good dielectric recovery
current zero. Performance
(c) Maintain its high voltage capability for the
Which contact design, the TMF or AMF, is better vacuum interrupter's life

15
(d) Maintain its mechanical strength
(e) Have good electrical endurance
(t) Have an acceptably low chopping
current
(g) Resist welding even under (i) the
prestrike are , (ii) the bouncing arc when
closing and (iii) when closed , the short
circuit current which can flow through the
contacts for a time up to 3 seconds
dura tion.
poss ible to easil y perform thre e dimens ional analysis,
this is espec ially important when designin g AMF
contact structures . Figure 11 shows such an anal ysis.
This type of analysis has been instrumental in
optimizing the spac ing between the vacuum
interrupters components so that the development of
vacuum interrupters capable of operating in
transmission circuit s (14 5 kV) becomes poss ible (18).

Three classes of contact material have been

considered for vacuum application ( 17) , these are
shown together with their expected per formance and
the applications where they are used in Table III.

5. IDGH VOLTAGE DESIGN

The development of VI designs has been greatly

assisted by the advent of powerful, comparatively
low cost , personal computers, and user-friendly
finite element analysis (FEA) softwar e. This has
enabled the design engineer to routinely perform Figure 10, Two Dimenson FEA for High Voltage
FEA on both electrical and magnetic fields, with the Design
result that changes in design can be rapidly analyzed
and compared to design rules establ ished over the 6. MANUFACTURING
years by empirical methods. Figure 10 shows a
typical two-dimensional potential plot for an The use of the vacuum furnace and the development
experimental vacuum interrupter. As the compu ters of the vacuum exhaust and braze technique (19) are
have become more powerful, it has now become

Table III. Expected Performance of Vacuum Interrupter Contact Materials and Their Potential Application

Circuit EncIunillC.
IllterruptllMl & Curred
1 DI.lectrlc Ral.t._ DI.lectrlc Carry I"ll Choppl"ll 1.ldlftg
R-wer)' to &oelon Streft;tb Capec:lt, Curr-t Reelet._ ~llcat.IOft

~ Wedl_ woltage pclftf

circuit. b....k.r nd a.lte'-

Cr-Cu. addlt.l ...

g . 81 or $II
.. Wed I_ YO Itage cOfttac:tora

IC-Ag
... lAw wolt.ge contac:tor nd
_It.c'-, curl'Wlt. <5500 A

w.cu Wedl_ wolt.ge, low cvrl'Wlt

Tap Changera, S.It.eMa

I-Cu
addlt.l ...
.... .. ... ... .... Cofttactora .1 til curr-ta
( 5500 A

Cu al101
g., Cu-Bl
.. . ./ .. ... Day.loped for Mdl .. yoltage
circuit. br..kera. The uterl.1
h.. no. been auperceded by Cr-Cu

poor adequate lood + exce1lent

16
 Bzlarb . units] at mid-gap for
1.5-in . unslotted cont acts. 2-arm AM coils
floating shield interrupter has decreased from 9 to 5.
Finally vacuum interru pter designs are being
developed that allow for a single cycle evacuation and
braze of all components, thus eliminating the time
consuming sub-assembly braze cycle .

7. CONCLUSION
o
For the last 30 years there has been a continued
expansion of our knowledge of the vacuum arc ,
vacuum materials and vacuum processing . This has
led to a continuous improvement in vacuum
interrupter performance. Figure 13 is a good
example of how the envelo pe diameter for the 15 kV,
12kA function has decreased from 182 mm to 50 mm
over this time period. Not only has the vacuum
Figure 11, Three Dimension FEA For Magnetic interrupter performance improved, but also its range
Field Design of application has expanded (23) . The research and
development by leading manufacturers of this product
rapidly becoming the industry standard, replacing has not slowed, and thus , I would expect the
the older tubulation pumping system . The new performance and the application of the vacuum
technique permits the vacuum interrupter to be interrupter to grow (24) .
pumped at braze temperatures (- 800C) which, in
turn, results in more efficient outgassing and
cleaning of the vacuum interrupter's components.
200
The result is a more robust design . The batch 182
process has been greatly assisted by the advent of
the more compact vacuum interrupter designs which 150
E
E
allow a large number of devices to be processed for .:
1Il
a given volume of furnace (20) Lower cost and OJ 100
easier to use mass spectrometers can now routinely .~
c
monitor the vacuum furnace . They can also be used 5
50
to measure the residual gas remaining in the
interrupter after processing (21, 22). As innovation
O-t---r----r----,----.----....----!
in the design of the vacuum interrupter has 1967 1972 1976 1982 1967 1992 1997
continued, the reliability of the vacuum vessel has Year of Introduction
increased. One example is shown in Figurel2,
where the number of critical braze joints for a

Figure 13, Reduction in Size of the 15kV, 12kA

Function

REFERENCES:

1. P.G. Slade and M.F. Hoyaux, "The Effect of

Electrode Material on the Initial Expansion of an Arc
in Vacuum, " IEEE Trans Parts Hyhrids Package.
Vol. PHP-8, p.35, March 1992.
2. M.B. Schulmanand P.G. Slade, "Sequential Modes of
Drawn Vacuum Arcs Between BUll Contacts for
Currents in the Range 1 kA to 16 kA," IEEE Trans.
Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Tech.,
Vol. 18, No. I, pp. 417-422, March 1995 .
3. LE . Daalder, "Cathode-erosion of Metal Vapor Arcs
Figure 12, Reduction in Braze Joints Leads to in Vacuum , Thesis, University of Eindhoven, The
Greater Vacuum Interrupter Reliability Netherland, 1978.

17
4. C..W. Kimblin, Erosion and Ionization in the 20. L.T. Falkingham and G.J. Rushton, "Trends in
Cathode Spot Regions of Vacuum Arcs," J. Appl. Vacuum Switching Technology", Proc. 4th Int'l.
Phys. Vol. 44, pp. 3074-3081, July 1973. Conf. Trends in Distribution Switchgear, (lEE
5. J.V.R. Heberlein and D.R. Porto, "The Interaction Publication No. 400, pp. 1-3, Nov. 1994).
of Vacuum Arc Ion Currents with Axial Magnetic 21. D. Gentsch, E. Dullni, "Degassing of Materials
Fields, " IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. Vol. PS-l1, pp. Inside a Vacuum Interrupter, Measurements by
152-159, September 1983. Residual Gas Analysis and Calculation," Proc. 17th
6. C.W. Kimblin, Vacuum Arc Ion Currents and ISDEIV, IEEE Catalog No. 96CH35939) pp. 300-304,
Electrode Phenomena," Proc. IEEE Vol. 59, pp. July 1996.
5465-555, April 1971. 22. W.P. Li, R.L. Thomas, and P.G. Slade, "Residual
7. D.T. Tuma, C.L. Chen, and D.K. Davies, '''Erosion Gas Analysis of Vacuum Interrupters," Proc. 3rd
Products from the Cathode Spot Region of a Copper International Conference on Electrical Contacts,
Vacuum Arc," J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 49, pp. 3821- Arcs,Apparatus, and their Applications (IC-ECAA),
3821, 1978. Xi'an, P.R. China, pp. 491-498, May, 19-22, 1997.
8. W. D. Davies and H.C. Miller, "Analysis of the 23. P.G. Slade, "Vacuum Interrupters: The New
Electrode Products Emitted by de Arcs in a Vacuum Technology for Switching and Protecting Distribution
Ambient," J. App!. Phys. Vol. 40 pp. 2212-2221, Circuits," IEEE Trans. lAS, Vol. 33, No.6., pp.
April 1969. 1501-1511, Nov.lDec. 1997.
9. H.C. Miller, "A Review of Anode Phenomena in 24. P.G. Slade, "Growth of Vacuum Interrupter
Vacuum Arcs," Contrib. Plasma Phy., Vol. 29, No. Application in Distribution Switchgear" to be
3, pp. 223-249, 1989. presented at the 5th lEE Conference on Trends in
10. C.W. Kimblin, "Anode Voltage Drop and Anode Distribution Switchgear, London, 9-12 Nov. 1998.
Spot Formation in de Vacuum Arcs," J. Appl.
Phys. Vol. 40, pp. 1744-1752, March 1969. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
11. J.V.R. Heberlein and J.G. Gorman, "The High
Current Metal Vapor Arc Column Between I wish to thank Mary Lou Ruvolo for preparing the
Separating Electrodes", IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. PS- manuscript, and Steve Mayo, Bruce Schulman, and Mike
8; 283-289, 1980. Hursh for producing the figures.
12. M.B. Schulman, "Separation of .Spiral Contacts and
the Motion of Vacuum Arcs at High AC Currents,"
IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., Vol. 21, No.5, pp. 484-
488, October 1993.
13. M. B. Schulman, P.G. Slade, and J.V.R. Heberlein,
"Effect of an Axial Magnetic Field Upon the
Development of the Vacuum Arc Between Opening
Electric Contacts, " IEEE Trans. Components,
Hybrids and Manufacturing Tech., Vol. 16, No.1,
pp. 180-189, March 1993.
14. P.G. Slade, "The Vacuum Interrupter Contact,"
IEEE rans Components, Packaging and
Manufacturing Tech., Vol. 7, No.1, pp. 25-32,
March 1984.
15. A. Greenwood, Vacuum Switchgear, (pub. lEE,
U.K.), 1994.
16. M. Honma, K. Watanabe, M. Nishihara, and
I. Ohshima, "new Vacuum Arc Control Technology;
SADE," CIRED 97, (lEE Publication No. 438), pp.
1.2.1-1.2.5, June 1997.
17. P. G. Slade, "Advances in Material Development for
High Power Vacuum Interrupter Contact, "IEEE
Trans Components, Packaging and Manufacturing
Technology-Part A, Vol. 17, No.1, pp. 96-106,
March 1994.
18. Wang Zhongyi, Wang Jimei, "Theoretic Research
and Design on High Voltage Bacuum Interrupter
with Long Electrode Distance," Proc. 17th ISDEIV,
(IEEE Catalog No. 96CH35939), pp. 258-262, July
1996.
19. A. Bereza, "Method of Sealing and Evacuating
Vacuum Envelopes," U.S. Patent 3,656,225, April
18, 1972, and Re 27,773, August 14, 1973.

18
 System Applications of Reclosers, Circuit Breakers,
Contactors, and Switches. Mechanical Design of Drives.
M.T. Glinkowski
ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute
Raleigh, NC

Vacuum switchgear is a technology that

Abstract- This section addresses the power combines low cost with the high technical
system applications of vacuum switchgear
devices and their functionality. Second part
of this section discusses mechanical designs
ofdrives and drive systems that are integral
parts of the switchgear. New concepts and
future trends in mechanical design are also
discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Vacuum switching products have become
the major technology of the choice in the
distribution systems. Vacuum products are
primarily medium voltage (1.5-38 kV) with
substantial contribution in the low voltage
sector. There are several reasons for this
particular place in the market (see Figure
1).
technical
requirements
requirements for switching. In low voltage
applications the cost of the switch is the
major driving factor for selecting the right
technology. Air based technology is very
suitable for these kinds of applications. In
high voltage transmission systems the
performance requirements are high. SF6
technology meets these requirements well.
At present, the optimum position for the
vacuum based products are in between the
other two.
This situation has been changing in the
recent years and the switchgear industry
witnesses more and more attempts to
expand the vacuum technology to both the
higher voltage (and current) ratings as well
as reduce the cost of the vacuum
interrupters. It is the belief of this author
that the vacuum technology has not finished
its growth and that new devices will be
becoming available on the commercial
market with both higher ratings and lower
prices.

TYPES OF VACUUM SWITCHGEAR

cost DEVICES

Low Medium High The existing commercial vacuum

Voltage Voltage Voltage
switchgear can be classified into several
categories:
Figure 1. Application of vacuum technology in the
power systems market place. circuit breakers
reclosers
sectionalizers

21
 load switches
contactors

The list is arranged from the most complex

and highest ratings to the simplest and
smallest. The following photographs
(Figures 2-5) illustrate the typical
realization of the different equipment
categories.
3

Figure 4. Example of a single-phase vacuum load

switch. l-tank housing vacuum interrupter and
mechanism, 2- HV bushings, 3-mounting bracket
and control connections, 4-main terminals.

Figure 2. Example of an indoor metal-clad vacuum

circuit breaker. I-vacuum interrupters, 2-mechanical
drive, 3-track mounting, 4-current carrying
disconnects, 5-insulating pushrod.

Figure 5. Example of a vacuum contactor. (Courtesy

ofAlstorn)

The next two diagrams (Figure 6, 7 and 8)

attempt to illustrate two typical examples of
distribution power systems where vacuum
equipment would be likely used. Figure 6
represents an industrial distribution
network where Figure 7 shows a portion of
a utility radial feeder configuration. Figure
Figure 3. Example of an outdoor vacuum recloser
8 is an example of the generator circuit

22
breaker application. One has to bear in
mind that although these are representative area substation
examples of power system applications
there is almost an infinite variety of
connections, configurations, and VCBs VCB
voltage/current ratings. Also many utilities r-; cable
have their own, standard, traditional capacitor
vacuum
practices how they connect their systems. banks
recloser
Therefore these examples should be treated radial
as illustrative but not as recommended feeder
practices.

Let's look at Figure 6. The main distribution distribution

vacuum
bus (13.8 kV for example) is fed from the transformers
high voltage grid via a transformer. --. sectionalizer

138kV/13.8kV
vacuum vacuum
recloser / sectionalizer
disconnect
for larger
VCB tap load

Figure 7. Example of a utility overhead distribution

disconnect feeder indicating possible uses of vacuum
switchgear devices.

13.8kV/480V

transfer breaker

VCB
1M SM
r _ __ _._~:::~: ._ 1 MCC

L66-e5~.?~~~~~.J GSU

induction
motors
Figure 6. Example of industrial distribution network. HV switchyard
VCB- vacuum circuit breaker, IM- induction motor,
SM- synchronous motor, MCC-motor control
center. Figure 8. Example of a vacuum circuit breaker used
as a generator breaker for smaller size synchronous
generators. GSU- generator step-up transformer.

23
The vacuum breaker on top of the diagram
protects the large distribution bus (13.8 kV)
and all the loads downstream including the
two transformers 13.8/4.16 kV and 13.8
kV/480V . The 13.8/41.6 kV transformer is
connected to another vacuum breaker that
supplies and protects the 4.16 kV bus. In
this example the 4.16 kV bus is made out of
two sections, which, under normal
operating conditions, are each fed from its
own transformer (the second transformer
supply is not shown for clarity). There is a
transfer breaker, also vacuum type, that,
under emergency conditions can tie the two
4.16 kV bus sections together in the event
when one of the supply chains is lost.
The 4.16 kV bus feeds a variety of loads, all
of them through vacuum circuit breakers or
vacuum load break switches depending on
number of factors. In our eample, the VCB
on the left supplies the power to a motor
control center (MCC) which then provides
the individual power commands to the
various induction motors. The motor
control center utilizes vacuum based
contactors. As can be seen from that
example all the switchgear needs, with an
exception of the disconnectors, are met
with the vacuum based products.
Figure 7 represents a possible configuration
of a utility overhead system that may serve
a mixed customer base, residential and/or
industrial. A transformer in an area
substation (outdoor) supplies the power to
the 15 kV bus which in tum connects to
four vacuum circuit breakers. In the
example two of the breakers are used for
capacitor bank switching for power factor
correction and voltage support. The other
two breakers will feed the radial
distribution feeders. Long feeders, like the
one shown in Figure 7 will likely be broken
into sections and might contain up to 100
24
taps. In this case the vacuum recloser
protects the feeder from temporary faults
that typically originate from tree limbs,
animal infestation, and lightning. Since
these faults do not last the recloser is
programmed to operate up to three times in
an attempt to re-energize the circuit.
Reclosing intervals can be varied and have
to be coordinated with the rest of the
protection devices. Vacuum sectionalizers
are also utilized for sectionalizing a long
line. Function of a sectionalizer is to lock
out and isolate the section of the line if a
fault is down stream from the sectionalizer.
The diagram in Figure 7 also illustrates
another use of vacuum reclosers (1 phase)
that can be used for protecting a longer tap
(lower left), which by itself might be
feeding a few minor taps. Reclosers and
sectionalizers could be either 3 phase or
single phase devices, typically (in case of
the overhead system) mounted on the pole
tops. Vacuum circuit breakers are all three
phase units.
Figure 8 is another example of utilizing the
durability and reliability of vacuum
switchgear. In this case, a vacuum breaker
is used for generator switching as a
generator circuit breaker. For smaller
generating units vacuum devices can handle
both the system fed and transformer fed
faults thus providing a good protection for
the machine and the system. Often for
larger units where the cost of the
installation is of concern and the machines
are switched on and off frequently (such as
in the cases of pumped storage stations or
for load peaking units) the vacuum breakers
can serve as load switch devices. Although
in those cases the VCB will not be able to
protect the network from the faults (this
would have to be done by a separate
breaker on the HV side of the GSU) it can
provide a convenient way of switching the
normal load currents. The excellent Contact travel is primarily determined by
longevity of vacuum interrupters matches the dielectric withstand capability of the
well the requirements in these cases. breaker. Vacuum has a very high critical
electric field value approaching -30
MECHANICAL DESIGN OF VACUUM kV/mm for gaps of the order of few
SWITCHING DEVICES millimeters. For comparison, the critical
electric field in normal air is an order of
Vacuum interrupters differ significantly in magnitude lower, that is, -3 kV/mm.
their mechanical requirements from the air- Vacuum interrupters require contact gaps of
magnetic or SF6 counterparts. As a result, the order of several millimeters to
most of the mechanical parameters for the withstand 95 kVl1lO kV BlL requirement
mechanical drives for these breakers are for standard 15 kV devices (IEEE C37).
also different. Table 1 lists typical Experimental devices with shorter contact
parameters of distribution circuit breakers gaps, of the order of 3 mm, have been
using vacuum interrupters and compares shown to work satisfactory in 15 kV
them with the SF6 and air magnetic applications.
breakers.

TABLE 1
Mechanical characteristics of vacuum circuit
b
rea
kers as compared to t h e ot h er tee hnolozi
no ogles
Mechanical VCB SF6 and air-
parameter magnetic
CB
contact travel small 8-12 mm larger (20-50
mm)
opening speed moderate -I mls higher -2m1s or
more
closing speed moderate -Lm/s higher -2m1s or
more
energy required low, only a higher energy
for opening function of the required to move
moving contact the contact and
mass and other develop or
1
DESCRI'TION
VN:.l/o INTERRUPTER

12
DESCRIPTlON
MAlNSHAFT
moving parts, to overcome a gas STATIONARY COIfrACT
2 13 CHARGING PAWL
overcome pressure build-
3 MOVING COIfrACT 14 CHARGING IWDLE
vacuum pressure, up
4 COIfrACT SPRINGS 15 AUXILIARY SHAFT
additional small
5 PUSH ROD 16 AUXlLIARY COIfrACT
wipe spring
6 OPENING SPRING 17 MOTOR LIMITSWITCH
required
7 ROCKER ARM 18 ClOSE PUSHlUTTON
energy required low, only low, only
8 CAM 19 HAlF SHAFT
for closing function of the function of the
9 STOP DISK 20 ClOSINGTRIGGER
moving contact moving contact
10 MOTOR DISCONNECT SWITCH 21 OPENING TRIGGER
mass and other mass and other
moving parts moving parts 11 ClOSING SPRING

contact force required to small, to provide

overcome low R
Figure 9. Example of the operating mechanism of
contact popping, connection
wipe spring vacuum circuit breaker
provides this (Courtesy ofABB Power T&D,/nc.)
function

25
Vacuum contacts are characterized by
relatively low weight therefore relatively
low energy is required to move the contacts
open and close. This simplifies the design
of the mechanism and allows for smaller
and lighter opening and closing springs and
smaller and lighter charging motors (see
Figure 9).
Indirectly, other linkages and levers can
also be manufactured with less materials
and using simpler tooling. The low energy
requirement is also beneficial for increasing
the reliability of the drive and prolonging
its useful mechanical drive. The experience
shows that the vacuum circuit breaker
drives require less maintenance and have
significantly fewer parts than other breaker
types. Typically the total energy per
operation is of the order of 300-400 J.
Since the vacuum interrupter contacts are
typically flat, disc shaped elements the
electrical contact between them is secured
by the contact force produced by a separate
spring, called either a wipe spring or a
contact spring. The physical phenomena of
electrical contacts indicate that two flat
parallel surfaces typically contain only 3-5
actual microscopic points that are able to
conduct electrical current. The current
flowing between the contacts in the closed
state will create heat due to the contact
resistance (I2R losses). This resistance is an
inverse square root function of the contact
force. The relationship for the contact
resistance also includes material hardness
and electrical resistivity of the contact
material,
R = P ~S1rH (1)
c 2 F
where Rc is contact resistance, p is
electrical resistivity of the material, Sis an
26
empirical factor between 0.1 and 0.3, H is a
material hardness, and F is a contact force.
Note that the contact resistance does not
depend on the total surface of the contact so
larger contacts do not necessarily perform
better under thermal considerations than the
smaller ones, a common misconception.
Typical values for contact resistance of
vacuum interrupters used for circuit
breakers are between 2 JlQ to 20 f.l Q .
In summary, in order to assure good contact
for power vacuum interrupters contact
forces should be of the order of 3000 N-
6000 N depending on the continuous
current rating of the equipment.
Another important consideration for the
mechanical design of vacuum switching
devices is welding. The contacts of the
interrupter are extremely clean to the last
several hundreds of atomic layers! This is
in contrast to the metal surfaces in air, for
example, where all surfaces are
immediately coated with numerous layers
of oxides and other gases from the ambient.
This means that in vacuum the actual
crystal structures of the contact faces are
exposed and when the two such contacts
mate on closing the diffusion of particles
takes place and the contacts weld. This
"cold" weld has to be broken in order to
open the switch. The wipe spring, which
also provides the contact force mentioned
above, assists very well in this task (Figure
10).
 to vacuum interrupter interrupters are of the order of 30-40
(mass Ml, vel. vl=O) kg*m/s.

~ The modem trend in the mechanical drives

contact spring
~ the drives will be in the intelligent control
from the drive (mass M2, vel. v2)
Figure 10. Schematics of the contact (wipe) spring
for vacuum interrupters during opening (shown
during early stage of opening).
for vacuum switchgear is to utilize the
magnetic actuators that can directly (with
no or minimum mechanical linkages)
provide the required motion characteristics
to the vacuum interrupter contacts. Some
products based on this technology m:e
already commercially available. It IS
predicted that the long term development in
of the magnetic actuators to modify or
customize the mechanical characteristics of
a given drive design for various vacuum
switchgear applications in power systems.

THERMAL DESIGN OF VACUUM

During the early phase of opening the
SWITCHES AND BREAKERS
tension of the contact spring helps
accelerate the drive shaft (lower shaft in
Vacuum devices have also unique thermal
Figure 10). At the same time the spring
characteristics. The devices are carefully
elongates until finally the cup-shaped end
designed to meet the requirements of the
of the drive shaft hits the flat end of the
continuous current. Figure 11 illustrates an
interrupter shaft (upper shaft). During the
example of a main current carrying path of
impact the momentum will be exchanged as
a draw-out type metal-clad circuit breaker.
a consequence of the conservation
The main current leads (2a) connect to the
principle. If we denote the mass of the total
bushings of the VCB enclosure (not shown)
lower moving parts as M 2 with the
via spring-loaded tulip contacts (3) that
respective velocity at the instant of the
provide convenient connection to the MV
impact as V2 and the upper moving parts
bus. The fixed contact (1a) is clamped to
(including the interrupter moving contact)
the lead via copper members (2b). The
as M I (with VI equal to zero) the final
moving contact (1b) is connected to the
velocity after impact, which is the initial
flexible connector (shunt) (4). The flex
opening velocity of the contact, can be
connector is sometimes made out of a
determined as
number of thin flat sheets of cooper
sandwiched together and bolted.
M 2v2
v=-- -- (2)
(M] +M 2 ) The elements (2a) and (2b) also play an
important role acting as heat sinks for the
Contact welds are sometimes defined as the thermal 12R losses incurred inside the
product of M and v required to break them. interrupter from the contact resistance R e.
The typical numbers for power vacuum The absence of gas inside the bottle
eliminates convection as a possible

27

la
Ib
Figure 11. Vacuumcircuit breaker pole assembly
showingmain current carryingparts. 1a-stationary forced air fans are often mounted at the
contact of vacuuminterrupter, 1b- movingcontact of
vacuuminterrupter, 2a,b- current carrying support
members, 3- disconnects, 4- flexibleconnection.
mechanism for heat removal. Instead, the
heat is removed from the electrode area
only by radiation or conduction. Since the
radiation heat is proportional to - T4 (T-
temperature) this means of cooling is not
effective for moderate temperatures of
-100C or so found in the practical power
switchgear apparatus. What remains is the
conduction of heat via contact stems to the
outside of the interrupter. For higher
continuous current ratings (3000 A, 4000
A, and more) additional heat sinks and
ends.
28
 SWITCHING OF CAPACITIVE CURRENT WITH VACUUM SWITCHGEAR

R.P.P. Smeets, Member, IEEE

KEMA High -Power Laboratory
Arnhem , the Netherlands
breaker-voltage (U AB) are shown.
1. INTRODUCTION
2. REIGNITION AND RESTRIKE
Capacitive current arises in a number of situations:
1. Current that is drawn by overhead lines the load of Because the interruption of (the small) capacitive current is
which is not connected (unloaded lines). This current not a severe duty in itself, the current can easily be inter-
is usually very small (in the order of 10 A). rupted when the contact distance is small , or in other
2. Current that is drawn by unloaded cables. The value of words , at short arcing times. This is in contrast to the inter-
this current depends much on the length of the con- ruption of short-circuit current, in which case a (sometimes
nected cable circuits. As an order of magnitude values considerable) minimum contact distance (or minimum
of several tens of amperes are normally encountered. arcing time) is necessary to accomplish the interruption.
3. Current drawn by capacitor banks used for voltage A small contact distance at interruption of current implies
stability reasons and/or power factor correction. This that the full contact distance in open position is not yet
current is usually much higher than in the situations reached when the maximum of recovery voltage is stress-
above (a few hundred of amperes). ing the circuit breaker. Therefore, a breakdown of the
contact gap can occur. Such a breakdown - due to the full 2
pu recovery voltage over the not yet fully opened contact
gap - is commonly called "restrike", provided that the
breakdown occurs later than 1/4 of the power frequency
period. In case the breakdown occurs earlier than 1/4
period, the breakdown is called "reignition".

Restrikes are highly unwanted, because they can generate

overvoltages and produce steep voltage fronts that can
influence secondary parts of the installation , if not properly
designed from an EMC point of view . Also, damage to the
Fig. 1: Circuit for capacitive switch ing. breaker is not excluded, although SF 6 breakers (puncture of
the nozzle) are more prone to damage by restrike events
than vacuum breakers.
In all these cases, after interruption of the current (which in
all cases is a very easy duty thanks to the low value of
It is the occurrence of such restrikes, that makes capacitive
current to be interrupted), the capacitive load is left isolated
switching a topic that deserves attention, and all capacitive
with a trapped voltage of the maximum system voltage
switching tests are mainly aimed at verifying the ability of
peak value (l pu = per unit = ..J2/..J3*system voltage). After
switchgear to switch off a capacitive current without pro-
one loop of power system frequency , the load side still
ducing restrikes. The issue of restrike has gained more
remains at this 1 pu voltage, while the source side of the
weight recently, since the revised version of the important
breaker exactly reversed its polarity. This adds up to 2 pu
international standard IEC 56 will prescribe a more severe
of recovery voltage over the breaker.
verification of the absence of restrikes than in the past (see
ch. 3) . Also, a breaker can no longer be claimed to be
Fig. 1 gives the single-phase diagram. Herein, roLg
restrike-free after having passed a (limited) number of tests
1/(roCg) because the nature of the load is capacitive. In fig.
- as is the case in the present IEC 56 standard.
2, the basic waveshapes of load- (U BN) , sourrce- (U AN) and
3. CAPACITIVE VOLTAGE ESCALATION
i (=-<)

In the case of a restrike, high -frequency currents result , due

to the discharge of the capacitive load (Cg in fig. I) over
the equivalent circuit inductance Lk. Also current
components of higher frequency are present Since vacuum
interrupters have an excellent capability to interrupt such a
high-frequency current, it is probable that after only a few
loops this current is interrupted, giving rise to the situation
as depicted in fig. 3. Does the vacuum interrupter interrupt
the high-frequency current after an odd number of loops,
Fig. 2: Interruption of capacitive current.

31
than the trapped voltage on the capacrtrve load
augmented to 3 pu (see fig. 3) yielding a voltage of 4 pu
IS The action of the arc that follows at the opening of the
contact is beneficial, as it burns away or remelts (parts) of
these protrusions. In cases though of no arc at all (cold
opening) or small current interruption, such an electric
smoothening or polishing of the contacts fails to appear
degrading the insulation of the gap due to the presence of
remnants of the energizing operation.

Important factors thus are:

rate of rise (or frequency) of current
magnitude of inrush current
duration of pre-arcing period (depending on system
Interruption of 60 restrike Inlefr\lPtionol
voltage and state of the vacuum interrupters'
Hzcurrent Hf current
contacts) . By applying synchronous switching
Fig. 3: ResIrike at capacitiveswitching. (closing the interrupter at sufficient velocity and at
system voltage minimum) the prestrike can be
over the interrupter one loop of power frequency current greatly reduced.
later. New restrike near this instant causes a new reignition interrupted current
current, but now with twice the amplitude, leaving now 5 frequency of operation
pu trapped on the load capacitor when again interrupted
after an odd number of loops . In fig. 4, a comparison is made of various current
In theory, very large overvoltages can be generated, but waveshapes that stress the contact system during the pre-
thanks to damping and leakage of charge the situation is strike period .
less dramatic in real networks.
This scenario of "voltage escalation", though very impro- 35
SYrm1etrical
short-circuit current (25kA)
bable to occur exactly along the line of sequences as 30
-,
sketched above, is more likely to occur in the application of 25
vacuum interrupters than with interrupters based on other 20
pre-strike
region
technologies (oil, SF 6) , due to the vacuum interrupters'
15 "-
excellent ability to interrupt high-frequency current. asyrrrretrcal
short-<:ircutt current
_10
For this reason, "vacuum" is often termed a hard inter- ~
rupter, in contrast to the "softer" SF6 and oil interrupters. "~ 5
<l

~
4. SWITCHING OF CAPACITOR BANKS -5 t
single bank
-10 nrush current

Switching of capacitor banks is the most severe capacitive -15 back-to-bac

switching duty for distribution systems . Unlike the -20
inrush curren

switching of cables and overhead lines, the switching of 0 2 time(ms)

capacitor banks is often a daily duty, because of the rapid

varying need of reactive power. This is confirmed in a
recent world-wide enquiry of CIGRE WGI3.04, showing a
90 percentile at 700 operations per year. Another result of
the enquiry is that the 90 percentile of capacitor bank
current is 420 A.
a. Energizing capacitor banks
Fig. 4: Current during pre-strike in variouscases.
A realistic case (of a US utility) is treated with an example
of a 14.4 MVAr capacitor bank connected to a 60 Hz
system of 34.5 kV at a location of 1 GVA of short-circuit
power.

Energizing a capacitor bank will cause large transient This situation is characterized by the following quantities:
current - the so called inrush current - to flow starting at the Q = 14.4 MVAr
moment of breakdown (pre-strike) of the approaching con- U = 34.5 kV
tacts. This current will flow until galvanic touch of the Ps = 1 GVA
contacts causing a thermal stress of the contacts in vacuum f= 60 Hz
that is depending on the rate of change (dildt) of this and the derived quantities:
current. At low values of di/dt the inrush current will not
reach a high value during the relatively short period of capacitive current I, =241 A
restrike (order of a ms normally in vacuum) . Is the value capacitance of bank C = 32.1 uF
of dildt high, then a high current corresponding to a high short-circuit current Ik = 16.7 kA
arcing energy is present between the closing contacts, short-circuit inductance L k =3.2 mH, that are derived with
easily leading to welding of the (very clean) vacuum con- the following equations:
tacts. I =_Q-
In most cases the opening mechanism is designed to break c U.J3
such a weld, but sharp metallic protrusions, always remain.
32
 u l with Or the peak value of the phase voltage (in grounded
I=~ L =---- systems).
k U.Jj k 2 '1r .j .P,
This maximum value will occur at energizing of the bank at
voltage maximum, the most unfavourable situation. This
busbar
will result in a voltage sag on the main busbar because the
low impedance of the capacitor bank during the switching
to load temporarily lowers the bus voltage. The amount of this
voltage sag (M can be estimated with:

. P777A. IL__ capacitor banks

S2~~ For the same reason, an overvoltage arises (of 1.97 pu in

Fig. 5: Equivalent diagram for capacitor bank switching.
the undamped case) that propagates through the system and
can cause undesired effects, such as the excitation of
natural frequencies formed by (cable) capacitances and
Further, we assume that the inherent inductance of the bank transformer inductance (the inductance associated with the
La = lOOIlH. leakage flux).
Two situations are analysed now: the energizing of a single The associated waveshapes (simulated) are shown in fig. 7.
bank ("single bank" situation) and the situation where two The application of synchronous switching (energizing all
identical banks are present, and one bank is energized phases on system voltage zero crossing) can reduce the
while the other is in service ("back-to-back" situation). effects of the inrush current greatly . For distribution
These situations are outlined in fig. 5. application, this solution is not wide spread yet, but with
the advent of magnetic actuators for vacuum switchgear,
i. Single bank situation (St is closed while Sz remains open , this situation may change.
see fig. 5).
The maximum peak value of the inrush current (Iin) and the ii. Back-to-back situation (S, is closed with closed Sz; see
frequency (fin) is now given by (no damping assumed): fig. 5).
In this situation, one bank is energized while one (or more)
I, =U f A ~ '
L, +Lo
=2.78kA pk
banks are in service already . Now , at energizing, the inrush
current is almost totally supplied by the neighbouring
1 bank(s), since Lk La.
f = = 489Hz
r 2'1r ' ~C . (Lk + Lo )
Inrush current s ingle bank.

Inrush current back-to-back .

1; V
V

C> 10 20 30 40
tme (rro)
C> ' 0 20 30 40
time (rns )

restrike

r/\----~
1 ,
e nerglzaUon ,

C> 10 20 30 40
- bus - - -bank
tiTe(ms }

C> "16 24 32 4C
time (ms) Fig. 7: Inrush current (top) and voltages (bottom) at switching of
single capacitors banks .
Fig. 6: Inrush current (top) and voltages (bottom) at back-to-back
switching of capacitor banks .

33
The disadvantage is that the inrush current is much larger occurs in an oscillatory manner, because of parasitic
and has a higher frequency : capacitances at the source side (C s in fig. I) . The
occurrence of the jump is important, because it constitutes

A ~
I =U . --=8 .0kA.
r f 4 .L pk
o interrupted after very short arcing times. In this way, reco-
I very voltage stress at small gap length is avoided too,
valid for a grounded network and only two banks available.
This high value leads to a considerable stress on the circuit
breakers. Vacuum interrupters should be qualified for this
special switching duty, and special tests are designed to
verify the back-to-back switching capability.
The advantage of the back-to-back configuration is that
only a small portion (proportional to the ratio LoILk) is
supplied by the source circuit, reducing the voltage trans-
ient on the bus considerably, with respect to the single bank
case. Representative wave shapes are illustrated in fig . 6.
The situation is even worse, when energizing occurs in
trapped voltage condition remaining after disconnecting the
bank . Therefore, methods to automatically discharge the
bank within a reasonable time are normally applied.
In both cases (single bank and back-to-back) the vacuum
interrupter may interrupt the inrush current. In the above
situation, the di/dt to be interrupted has a maximum value
of di/dt = 2 frIr = 140 NilS, a value within the range of the
interrupting capability of many vacuum interrupters (under
high-frequency current conditions).
This is of less concern, since the maximum resulting
overvoltage can never be higher than the system voltage.
the initial part of the (power frequency) 1 - cosine transient
recovery voltage (see fig. 8) and prevents that current is
making clear that voltage jump has a beneficial effect in or-
der to reduce the risk of restrike.
This is illustrated in fig. 8, where the (theoretical recovery)
of the dotted line would lead to restrike (at the point
marked 'restrike' ) if the voltage jump would not prevent
the recovery curve to intersect with the I-cos TRVat a
higher and hazardous voltage. The presence of the voltage
jump causes merely a reignition (see fig . 8) causing one
more loop of power frequency current to flow allowing the
contacts to reach a sufficient distance to withstand the
recovery voltage .
The voltage jump ( D) is directly related to the local short-
circuit power (P.) and the reactive power of the load (Q) in
the following way:
Q
5U=-
P,
From this, it is clear that in weak locations of the network -
low values of P s - where capacitor banks are installed
usually, the voltage jump can play an important role in
reducing restrikes.
For vacuum interrupters, having an inherent very fast re-
covery during the period that the voltage jumps exists, the
effect of a considerable voltage jump is less advantageous
then for gas filled circuit breakers.

restrike / /....
b. De-energizing capacitor banks.
~ /

Due to the relatively high capacitive current - but still far l

/ I
lower than the rated short-circuit current - de-energizing a
capacitor bank is generally without problems. Generally,
the very fast recoveries of voltage withstand of vacuum ,/
./ 1i
interrupters leads to a low probability of restrikes. On the
theoretical recovery curve ,'~/ i
other hand , when a restrike occurs, the capability of
<,
~/ I
/1 i
:
interrupting high di/dt currents generally leads to voltage // I
escalation. In addition, the arc resistance is very low and / / i
little damping is introduced in the system by the /" : / i
,

interrupter. Therefore, it is of great importance for a / / !

vacuum breaking device to have a very low probability of /" I/ i:
restrike. / /
In the case of a restrike, the situation is equal as described / /
above for the energizing, with the ' notable difference that ./ / 1 cos TRV
the peak value of the restrike current is considerably higher ./ /
/
due to the higher (up to 2 times) voltage that drives the reignnion --..,..( /

inrush current (see figs . 6 and 7) . ./ I~!:': ---- vonage jump

5. THE ROLE OF THE FEEDING CIRCUIT

At shedding a capacitive load, the voltage at source side of Fig. 8: Capacitive recovery voltage and voltage jump.
the circuit breaker (DAN, see fig . 1) jumps to a slightly
lower value than under load conditions. This is usually
called 'voltage regulation' or 'voltage jump' . This jump

34
 SWITCillNG INDUCTIVE CURRENT WITH VACUUM SWITCHGEAR
R.P.P. Smeets , Member, IEEE
KEMA High-Power Laboratory
Arnhem, the Netherlands

1. SINGLEPHASE CURRENT CHOPPING

After interruption, the energies stored in Land C start to
Current chopping is the interruption of an AC current shortly oscillate causing in a certain moment the total energy E, to be
before natural (sinusoidal) current zero . As a result, current present in the capacitance only, leading to a voltage 0, over
will be not interrupted at i = 0 but at i = 10 with 10 the the load:
chopping current.
0 ~
2 2 2
E r =.!.C.U
2 (=.!.
2 C U +.!..L/
2
For the circuit to be interrupted, under certain conditions
current chopping can cause overvoltages. This can easily be
~Ut=
~ ~U~ 2 + CL '/ o2 = ~~U 2 + ( Zo'/o)\2
understood by realising that in the circuit to be interrupted, a
magnetic energy Y2LI0 2 will remain trapped, with L the with Zo the surge impedance of the load characterising the
inductance of that circuit. circuit's response to switching transients.
The essential equivalent circuit is given in fig. 1.
Thi s allows a simple estimation of the overvoltage produced
by a chopping vacuum interrupter.
After interruption of the current the residual energy (E, )
stored in the load (RLC circuit in fig. I ) is present in the load
u,+ U ~
_
inductance (L) and in the (parasitic) capacitance (C), charged u,
to the crest voltage 0 of the source u(t) in the (worst) case the
interrupted current is purely inductive.

Fig. 2: Transient voltages due to current chopping .

Fig. 2 shows the wave shapes of the transient recovery voltage
(TRV) over the interrupter (UAB of fig. 2), and the voltage
over the load (UBN of fig. 2).
Fig. I : Basic circuit for switching .
As can be seen, the maximum load voltage 0, is determined
both by the circuit's surge impedance as well as by the
interrupter's chopping level 10 , This is a good example of how
both circuit and interrupter (thus the arc) determine essential
switching phenomena like overvoltage generation that the
user of switching material is directly aware of.

Current chopping has raised great concern in the past,

because in the early days of vacuum interrupters, the
interrupter contacts were made of pure copper. This material
can produce fairly high chopping levels (order 20 A).
Nowadays, the mostly used CuCr contacts produce chopping
current values in the order of 3 A. Specially designed "low
surge" materials further reduce these value down to I A or
less.
It must be realised, however, that the chopping current has a
strongly statistical nature, so that in applications with high

37
switching frequency (notably contactors) the incidental
occurrence of much higher chopping currents than the
'nominal' ones is likely.
Fig. 3: Transient recovery voltages after Inductive load
switching with (drawn) and without current chopping .
In fig. 3 two realistic cases are drawn, the dotted TRV with a
negligible chopping level and the drawn line with a 6 A
chopping level. Note that due to current chopping, the
polarity of the initial voltage that arises over the vacuum gap
just following interruption has the same polarity as the
current. The first peak of TRV - with the same polarity as the
arc voltage is called "suppression peak" .
From a practical point of view, current chopping is relevant
at the interruption of small inductive current such as:
magnetising current of transformers (approx . 0.2 % of
the rated current). Though chopping might occur at
maximum current, problems normally do not occur. The
unlikely event of interrupting a transformer inrush
current may be hazardous
inductively loaded transformers. This is a special case
where shunt reactors are connected to the tertiary
windings of HV transformers.
starting current of motors. In this case, current is
interrupted during the starting of a motor, when the
current is inductive. In some cases (see further) this case
needs special attention.
Detailed information on these switching duties can be
obtained from a series of extensive reports of Study
Committee 13.02 of CIGRE [1], though a large part of the
study is on high-voltage circuit breakers .
Under normal operation, with a high power factor, current
chopping also occurs , but the chopping overvoltage is not
added to the maximum source voltage (at current zero, source
voltage UAN is also small), and creates no difficulty at all.
2. PHYSICAL EXPLANATION OF CURRENT CHOP-
PING
In the low current range (few tens of A) near AC current zero
when current chopping is relevant , the vacuum arc consists of
'l! ~ r
:):::[.;;;; i ~
o '00 200
',:D:il JiJ
=;jr . : ;
i.~
o . ,I
: "looP
I: :
j
0 '00 200
Fig. 4: Current chopping . Upper trace: current (A), lower: arc voltage
(V); time in us .
a single cathode spot carrying all the current. The anode
merely functions as a charge collector, while the
interelectrode zone is essentially free of net charge .
The cathode spot moves erratically over the cathode surface,
thereby creating small (order 10 urn) craters in its path.
Experiments clearly show that the formation time of craters is
in the ns region and in a very rapid succession. These craters
have to produce the metal vapour, essential to the arc's
existence .
Because only one single cathode spot has to maintain the arc
by producing sufficient "arcing medium", the efficiency of
producing the successive series of emission craters is crucial
for the survival of the arc as a whole. Lack of being able to
create craters at a sufficient rate causes instability of the arc,
manifesting through steep (few kv/us) and high (order
several 100 V) voltage spikes in the arc voltage (few tens of
V in stable condition) due to space charges in the plasma.
Observation of the arc voltage during such a period of low
current shows a large number of such voltage spikes, the
frequency of occurrence of which drastically increases as
current is reduced further (see fig. 4). It is assumed that these
voltage spikes are manifestations of the cathode spot's
inability to create emission craters at a sufficient rate [2]. The
occurrence, amplitude and rise time of these spikes are
depending on the contact material and arc current; the
duration depends primarily on the gap length .
The value of the chopping current is not a constant, but
depends on the circuit and on the contact material. The
addition of capacitance over the interrupter limits the
steepness of the arc voltage spikes. Since these spikes may
probably be considered as a restoring mechanism after
instability in the process of crater formation and renewal,
capacitance over the arc increases the chopping level, which
is confirmed experimentally [3]. On the other hand, added
capacitance reduces the circuit's surge impedance, thus
reducing the overvoltage generating effect of current
chopping .
Series inductance has an opposite effect: it allows a steeper
rise of voltage at discontinuity of the arc current. A tendency
of the arc to chop is reacted upon by the circuit by a higher
38
voltage (L dildt), that may help to overcome arc instability or
may even reignite the arc.
From the material point of view, CuCr has been very
successful in reducing the chopping level to acceptable
values for normal applications. The precise effect of this
material on chopping current is not clarified yet in a
satisfactory way. At present, CuCr is an excellent
compromise between the requirements of high current
interruption capability, low chopping level and low contact
welding tendency (eg. after energizing capacitor banks).
For special purposes low-surge vacuum interrupters have
been developed that have been optimised to an extremely low
chopping current lA). In such class of interrupters, contact
material is used that is able to keep the low-current arc's
thermal energy concentrated in a small area. This is done by
using compound materials in which highly conducting
material (like Ag) is embedded in poorly conducting frame
(like WC). By this, less thermal energy is lost through heat
conduction, since the poorly conducting material acts as a
heat barrier around the electrically active zone where the
(last) cathode spot is active. At increasing content of the
poor-thermal conductive component, the chopping current is
reduced further. The disadvantage of these special materials
is the (much) lower recovery voltage characteristic.
3. VIRTUAL CURRENT CHOPPING (THREE PHASE
CURRENT CHOPPING)
Generally, the use of vacuum switchgear is without any
problem related to overvoltage generation. Only with special
circuit conditions, overvoltages can not be excluded
completely. Such overvoltages may become hazardous when
switching off inductive loads - most notably locked motors or
unloaded transformers - combined with unfavourable circuit
conditions.
In such conditions, usually following a very short arcing
time, the transient recovery voltage (TRV) that stresses the
gap immediately after interruption exceeds the momentary
breakdown voltage of the opening gap.
Reignition follows, causing a high- frequency current
(typically several hundreds of kHz) to flow - see fig. 6 middle
oscillogram. This current arises due to the discharge of the
local capacitances (mostly cables) at both sides of the
interrupter (Ck and C g in fig. 5) over the parasitic inductance
(Lp) .
N influential are motor power, bus bar configuration, cable type
Fig. 5: Basic circuit diagram of multiple reignition and virtual
current chopping.
39
Due to the excellent interrupting capacity of vacuum
interrupters, this current is likely to be interrupted (already at
the first current zero in the case of the first two reignitions in
fig. 6 middle), causing a higher and steeper TRV to appear.
This steadily increasing voltage is called "voltage esca-
lation". By this mechanism, a higher voltage than without
reignition can be built up.
Once set in motion, the repetition of ever higher voltage-rise
and -breakdown stresses the insulation of windings near the
terminals by initiating steep fronted surges in power
distribution systems, unnoticed by the user [4]. This is
because steep voltage surges do not distribute over the
winding uniformly, but tend to stress the turns most closely
to the terminal where the voltage surge enters the winding.
This train of events, called "multiple reignition" (MR) - see
fig. 6, upper oscillogram - is especially hazardous for motors
in the voltage range of few kV [5].
Transformers, having the requirement to be able to withstand
lightning impulse voltages, are much less at risk.
Although the interruption of the power frequency current in
such case is successful, the interruption can be termed being
of a low quality due to the stresses it puts to the system as a
whole. Also, at energizing of equipment, steep fronted surges
naturally arise. These surges, though smaller in steepness,
occur at every closing operation [6].
The associated reignition current - see fig. 6 middle oscillo-
gram - is partly coupled - both inductively and capacitively -
into neighbouring phases, where interruption of the power
frequency current far from the natural zero can result - see
fig. 6 lower oscillogram. In this case, the overvoltage magni-
tude can be estimated as in the case of "conventional" current
chopping, but now the chopping current level (10) has a value
of several tens to hundred of A. This is called "virtual
current chopping" and often leads to unacceptably high
overvoltages, practically always leading to damage provided
no proper protection measures are taken.
In figure 6, measured examples of multiple reignition and
virtual current chopping are shown.
Figure 7 shows a more realistic situation in the high-power
laboratory, of a vacuum interrupter interrupting 20 A as-
sociated with virtual current chopping in two phases. In this
case, the small gap length of these phases works fortunate in
limiting the overvoltages. A number of high-frequency cur-
rent interruptions, accompanied by steep-fronted reignitions
are the consequence.
It is important to realize that, in contrast to "conventional"
current chopping, multiple reignition and virtual current
chopping only occur in rare cases.
The probability of occurrence of both multiple reignition and
virtual current chopping is strongly dependent on parameters
of circuit and interrupter. Circuit parameters that are
and -length, system voltage and number of connected cables.
The relevant interrupter parameters are contact separation
velocity, dielectric recovery, current chopping level and high-
frequency current interruption ability.

4. REFERENCES

[1] Literature on small inductive current switching can be found in Electra

under the general title "Interruption of small inductive currents":
chapters 1 and 2, Electra 72, 1980, pp.73-103
chapter 3A, Electra 75, 1981
chapter 3B, Electra 95, 1984, pp.31-45
chapter 4A, "Reactor switching, general and specific theory", Electra
101, 1985,pp. 13-39
chapter 4A, "Reactor switching, limitation of overvoltage and testing",
Electra 113, 1987, pp. 52-74
chapter 5.1, "Switching of unloaded transformers, basic theory and
single phase transformer interruption without reignitions", Electra 133,
1989, pp 79-107
chapter 5.2, "Switching of unloaded transformers, three-phase
transformer interruption, reignition phenomena, test results and
conclusions', Electra 134, 1989, pp 23-44
chapter 6, "switching of reactor loaded transformers", Electra 138,
1991, pp. 51-64

[2] R.P.P. Smeets, "The origin of current chopping", IEEE Trans. on Plasma
Sci., Vol. 17, No.2, 1989

[3] M. Murano, S. Yanabu, H.. Ohashi, Current-chopping phenomena of

medium voltage circuit-breakers", IEEE Trans. Pow. App. Syst.,Vol. 96, pp.
243, 1977

[4] M. Carabok, R. Jackson, "An investigation into plant insulation failures

associated with frequent operated vacuum circuit-breakers", CIRED 1.09.1,
1995

[5] J.P. Eichenberg, H. Hennenfent, L. Liljestrand, "Multiple Re-Strikes

Phenomenon when Using Vacuum Circuit Breakers to Strat Refiner Motors",
Annual Pulp and Paper Techn.Conf., 1998, pp. 266-273

[6] E. Colombo, G. Costa, L. Picaretta, "Results of an investigation on the

overvoltages due to a vacuum circuit-breaker when switching an HV motor",
IEEE Trans. on Power. Del., vol. PWD-3 no. 1, (1988), pp. 205

40
Voltage escalation: Ka'r---.----'!..--""!"""----_-.....-_--r---r---'!..-........,.
transient recovery
! ! I
voltage over the ~~--.-t~~-.
vacuum interrupter I : I I .
:

---~-i---t-t
Note the three
reignitions.
: :

22e2le24e2se2M218 .... _ISa ....

u .. C.'ONAOJ

Multiple reignition: i i

reignition current
through the I

I

I



I I

1-1

! I


interrupter. Note
the increasing
see
.....1!.. ji-----l------j---"--r-j------j--
f------~.--

I I

I I: :::

amplitude due to
..... !Ie
:: I :::

.. I -T----r---
the increasing c ----Ir---1------ ---r----- -,------1--
.. . ..
breakdown voltage
-
~
I

-. .. i .... J
I

I

:

i

I .. ...L-......J.-...
..
I f .... I ---.---
I
I ---

-- ---~

I
"

!
.._.----.--
..

!!
reignition
,

I
I I
..
. . . I I I
current
. I -......
'. " .
,
I ........
~
.
. . . _ISa
. I ....


I

I
22e2le24e25e2A218 ....
" .. C . ' _ J

Virtual current chopping:

induced high-frequency ! I
----lI----I----r- -.~----~.
I
current in neighbour ___l......... .. ._.l__...l...__.
-phase forces power
frequency current (40A) -i------ .-+----.~---.
to zero, and interrupts
-
;
--t---t--
-. ..--.i------
: :
--lr-----,------
. I
--lI-----ii-----

..
Fig. 6: Measured example of multiple reignition , voltage escalation and virtual current chopping In laboratory conditions

41
Voltage over phase I of
a vacuum interrupter KEMA::b 98 02 17 -5 00 9
showing virtual current
chopping. The small gap
inherently limits the
overvoltage

OlTO
xv

n '--_~ __ ~ ~ __ ~ __ """:"_~~ ~ _ _....J

Voltage over phase 2 of 40

a vacuum interrupter
showing virtual current
chopping .The small gap
inherently limits the
overvoltage
_
~
m
~
' 40 L - _ - - ' -_ _--'- ~ __ ~ __ ~ _ ~ ~ __'__ _....J

72

Voltage over phase 3 of

a vacuum interrupter
showing multiple reignition
and voltage escalation.
Note the suppression peak
of reverse polarity
due to current chopping

Fig. 7: Measured example of multiple reignition, voltage escalation and virtual current chopping in realistic conditions in a high-power test (voltage 38 kV).
The interrupted current was 20 A

42
 TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OF VACUUM SWITCHGEAR
R.P.P. Smeets, Member, IEEE
KEMA High-Power Laboratory
Amhem, the Netherlands
1. INTRODUCTION
In spite of the great progress in the understanding of the
essential processes during vacuum arc switching, the pos-
sibilities to develop vacuum circuit-breakers based on
theoretical concepts are very limited. Therefore, testing of
circuit-breakers from the design phase up to the fmal
product is essential.
In the design phase, development tests, mostly carried out
by the manufacturer, lead to a gradual improvement of
prototypes. The final product will then be subjected to a
series of type-tests, the aim of which is to prove that the
product complies with the requirements that are laid down
in the standards. The most important of these standards are
those of lEC (International Electrotechnica1 Commission)
and ANSI (American National Standard Institute).
For many years, circuit-breakers applied in the US were
built to ANSI/IEEE standards and no utility would consider
buying a circuit-breaker that did not pass ANSI test
requirements. Conversely, circuit-breakers applied in
Europe were built to meet the lEe standards. Other
countries in the world have used one or the other of the two
standards according to geographical and colonial factors
and how their electrical networks were developed.
Today, most countries outside the US use IEC standards.
Frequently, utilities refer to one standard, while requiring
certain features of the other. The major manufacturers
produce both IEe and ANSI equipment. The vast majority
of the circuit breakers that are offered for certification in
the leading short-circuit testing laboratories are tested
according to IEC. Generally speaking, for circuit breakers,
the IEC standard is more in line with the latest
developments in switchgear technology than ANSI.
Presently, there is a strong tendency for harmonizing both
standards, because of cost reduction and flexibility in
international trade.
2. REQUIREMENTS
Circuit breakers must meet requirements in four major
areas:
1. Mechanical capabilities. These are essential to circuit
breaker reliability and lifetime.
2. Thermal requirements. The value and stability of
temperature rise at rated condition. Especially for
vacuum interrupters, temperature rise is of more
concern than for its competitor in the medium voltage
market, SF6 switchgear. Due to the vacuum
interrupter's basic butt-contact configuration, contact
resistance is difficult to keep at a very low value,
limiting the nominal current. Besides, in the vacuum
environment, heat loss can only result from heat
conduction through the contact stem.
45
A'
Uc 1 - - - - -_ _- - - - - -
U' ~--r---..s'
Fig. 1: me two-parameter TRV.
3. Dielectric withstand. This defmes how a circuit
breaker must be built to withstand voltage surges that
it may expect as a result of lightning or switching.
4. Short-circuit interrupting capability. The principle
concern here is whether the circuit breaker withstands
the transient recovery voltage (TRV) that appears
across the contacts when it interrupts a short circuit
current.
In the following, attention will be focussed to the switching
requirements (4) of vacuum circuit breakers according to
the two different standards.
IEC requirements.
IEC has a general standard (IEC 694) that provides
common requirements for all types of switchgear. IEC 56
sets standards specifically for high-voltage circuit breakers
- where vacuum circuit breakers are part of - since IEC
does not use the term medium voltage.
lEe standards are developed by representatives from
utilities, manufacturers and certification bodies for
different countries (including USA). Scientific support is
provided through CIGRE (the international conference on
large high voltage networks) and CENELEC (the standards
group for the EC).
1RV requirements with short circuit-current switching.
For the voltage range in which vacuum circuit breakers
operate, IEC 56 prescribes the TRY waveshape envelope
by two parameters (see fig. 1). This offers the possibility to
make the testing independent of the test circuit, without
causing too much difficulties for testing laboratories.
The parameters are:
U; the maximum value of the TRY.
t3: the time (after current zero) that this maximum is
reached.
Besides, a delay line (~- S'iffig. 1) is defmed by the three
parameters u', td, and t'.
Prior to testing, it must be verified that the envelope of the
inherent TR V of the test circuit is located to the left side of
the line from the origin to the point A', while the TR V itself
should not intersect the delay line.
The function of the delay line is to exclude the possibility
of application of a TRV waveshape that is too slow in its
initial period (eg. by parasitic capacitance). Especially in
this period immediately following current zero, the circuit
breaker is prone to reignition, although this is much less the
case for vacuum circuit breakers than for other types.
In line with practice of electrical networks, the required
TRV stress is depending on the value of the short-circuit
current to be interrupted. Generally, the highest short
circuit current arises in a situation where different parts of
the circuit contribute to this current. In such a situation, the
equivalent capacitance as seen from the breaker is not very
small, limiting the rate of rise of the TRV. The transient
recovery voltage of both IEe and ANSI refer to a single
frequency. They are in fact based on the interruption of a
short-circuit current mainly fed via one or more
transformers, In situations where short circuit current is
supplied by a single source, such as a transformer, current
Capacitor bank switching is generally more severe than the
other capacitive switching duties: the switching of the
capacitive current of no-load cables and overhead lines.
In the switching of capacitor banks, high inrush current can
arise when such banks are energized, since the capacitors
form a very low impedance at the moment of energizing.
The inrush current is only limited by the (stray) inductance
of the circuit Especially in the so called back-to-back
configuration (energizing capacitor banks when other
banks are already in service) high inrush current can arise.
Due to pre-striking (the formation of an arc before the
galvanic touch of the contacts) the inrush current mostly
runs during this pre-striking period.
Vacuum circuit breakers required to fulfil this duty have to
be designed in such a way that the contact system does not
degrade dielectrically due to the remainders of broken
(minor) welding at opening of the contacts following
capacitor bank energizing. For vacuum breakers this
requirement is more difficult to meet than for SF6 circuit

Testduty testcurrent Asymmetry Max. arcing Max. TRV (Ue) TRV rate
0/0 current of rise
(0/0) (kA) (kAPad (pu) (kV) (kV/J.LS)
1 10 3.15 0 4.5 2.25 66 2.88

2 30 9.45 0 13.3 2.25 66 2.88

3 60 18.9 0 26.7 2.25 66 1.44

4 100 31.5 0 44.6 2.10 62 0.57

5 100 31.5 30 58.0 2.10 62 0.57

is relatively low but TRV relatively steep. breakers.

Such considerations have led to 5 short circuit test duties
(see table), the parameters of which are specified in the In the next (revised) version of IEC 56, the following
table below for an example-vacuum circuit breaker with a typical values are specified:
rated voltage of 36 kV (peak phase voltage (-J2/~3)*36 kV
= 29.4 kV == 1 pu) and a rated short circuit breaking current back-to-back inrush current peak: 20kA
of 31.5 kA and a rated asymmetry' of 30%. back-to-back inrush current frequency: 4.25 kHz

Every test must be conducted in a precise series of
close/open operations with delays that are precisely spelled
out in the standards.
Capacitor bank current switching
Apart from short-circuit current interruption, another duty
that can be required is the switching of capacitor banks.
asymmetry is the transient behaviour of short circuit current during
the first several tens of ms after initiation of the fault in a circuit.
This causes higher current peak values (up to. 2.5 times the RMS
value of the short-circuit current) than based on short circuit
impedance alone. IEC specifies a time constant of 45 ms for the
exponential decay time of this transient, but this value is generally
considered toolow. Recommedations from CIGRE call for a time
constant of up to 150 ms for cases where circuit breakers are
connected to a busbar which itself is supplied so/ely by one or two
transformers (see Bectra, 173, 1997, pp 19- 31).
In the existing IEe 56 standard, a circuit breaker could be
claimed to be restrike free if during the capacitive
switching test in the high power laboratory, no restrikes
were detected in a limited number of tests. This concept is
dropped in the revised lEe 56 standard Instead, two
categories are defined:
- Class A circuit breaker (very low restrike probability).
In order to obtain this attribute, the vacuum circuit breaker
has to undergo capacitive switching tests in two test
circuits with a diffent value of the voltage jump in (totally)
104 three phase or 168 single phase tests. Before the
capacitive tests, a pre-stress of 60% of rated short circuit
breaking current is mandatory.
- Class B circuit breaker (low restrike probability).
Hereby, no restrikes are allowed during 48 single - or three

46
phase test. This class is modelled after the existing ANSI establishing a set of preferred Tz values. Accordingly,

90 ,---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---, 90 ,----------'-------~

ANSI
80 r: 80
: \
I \
: \
! '.
70
~-+--- I EC
/ 70

/'
../'.----~~,
ANSI
/~--- I
80 80 ./
/ IEC
/ Test-duty 4
50 /
~ /
>
~40
./

30 30

20 20

10% rated short circuit current

10 10
100% short-circuit curren!

0 1.LL_J -_ ----L_ -----l_ _. l - _- ' -_ --L_ -----.J

o
o 20 40 80 80 100 120 140 o 20 40 80 80 100 120 140

time after current zero (us) time after current zero (us)

Fig, 2: Comparison ofTRV waveshapes in ANSI and lEe for test with minimum (left) and maximum (right) short circuit current,

requirements the Tz value for 15 kV circuit breakers has been

ANSI requirements proposed as:

While IEC provides a method of measuring and defining Tz = 75 us, which is consistent with past testing
the test-wave severity, ANSI specifies the test TRV wave practice for development and certification as well as
directly. For vacuum interrupters (ie. for all interrupters with Tz times specified in the mc 56 standard in the
same voltage range, The preferred TRV values apply
having a rated voltage below 72.5 kV) , a 1 - cosine at the condition of rated voltage and rated short circuit
waveshape is prescribed .that is characterized by the current. TRVs at other than these short circuit
parameters: conditions are determined with Ez and T z multipliers
that are defined as functions of the percentage of rated
~: peak value of TR V waveshape. This value is (in short circuit current.
ANSI C37.06) specified as: E z = 1.88 U, where U is
the rated maximum line-to-line system voltage. The range of interest for ANSI indoor circuit breakers
Tz: time to peak value. This parameter has until extends to KI where K is the rated voltage range
recently been left unspecified. Manufacturers have factor. Such circuit breakers can be applied not only
developed and certified their circuit breakers by testing at rated voltage and short-circuit current, but also at
under conditions readily available in most short circuit currents up to KI when the voltage is reduced to UIK
laboratories where long cable runs and machine Due to the difference in describing the ANSI and IEC
windings usually add considerable capacitance to the waveshape, the relation between (lEC) h (time-to-
test circuit and result in relatively slowly rising TRVs. peak of envelope) to (ANSI) T z is taken in KEMA's
Since most applications of indoor circuit breakers are testing practice:
in heavily cable connected systems with slow TR V
rates of rise , equipment developed to meet these lower T z = U5 t3,IDh with t3,1D4 the t3 value belonging to
stresses has performed well . lEC's test-duty 4 (l08 JiS for the example 36 kV
circuit breaker).
A task force' was set up to propose a clearly defined
standard TR V stress for indoor circuit breakers by Comparing the severity of TRV waveshapes for a 36 kV
circuit breaker undergoing short-circuit tests according to
2)Eg. see : Smith R.K ., "Tests show ability of vacuum circuit breaker to
IEC and ANSI, the test-duties with minimum and
interrupt fast transient recovery voltage rates of rise oftransformer maximum symmetrical short-circuit current are compared
secondary faults ", IEEE Tans . Pow. Del. , Vol. 10, No , I, (1995) in the table below.

47
The values are visualised in fig. 2. As can be seen, the TRV Such discharges are considered as NSDDs if they occur
severity in both standards is not the same . later than 1/4 cycle of power frequency after current

test current (% of maximum) peak ofTRV (kV) time to peak (us)

lEC56 ANSI C37.06 lEC (Uc) ANSI (Ez) lEC (t3) ANSI (Tz)

Minimum 10 7 66 79.4 23 50

Maximum 100 100 62 67.7 108 124

interruption in the last two poles to clear. Earlier discharges

Special requirements for vacuum circuit breakers.
Neither lEC, nor ANSI distiguishes between different
technologies of circuit breakers. This causes problems in
the application of the standards in several cases .
Since vacuum circuit breakers operate on very different
principles (compared to SF 6 interruption and the old oil
technology) special clauses and procedures are necessary in
order to include specific "vacuum peculiarities" into the
are considered to form part of the arc-extinguishing
process. The presence of such discharges can be recognized
by inspection of the test oscillogram (see fig. 3). In testing,
one should be aware that recognition of NSDDs from
oscillograms is not trivial, especially in the case of an even
number of reignition current loops and the grounding of the
, ~,- , ---

existing standards. ._._ .J

/\

Standards are not always defined unambiguously, and since ' -l"'" ~ .... _ - - - -
; \ ' \
the standanls are not always up to date with respect to the !\ /\ (\ ,. \ i ; .
r \1 '1 \,/
.!
i / \ ~:
latest technology, in the practice of testing of high-power - - - \ , . \ / \" / , ~. ~
laboratories frequently use is made of interpretation -J \J

guidelines. The most authoritative of these are the - - .. - oJ' --r- .

guidelines of STL (Short-Circuit Testing Liaison) in which f\
,. \ 1
the leading high-power laboratories participate. Based of ;- ; ,.
~ ;' .
the STL-guide added to lEC 56, the following points - \j I
typical to vacuum interrupters - are always considered in
KEMA's testing and certification practice, not only when 1/
testing according to IEC, but also to ANSI. ,
!! r ., ., I

Condition ofcontacts. r ,
'/\-A \
A typical example is the standard IEC requirement to check
the condition of the circuit breaker after test . In the case of
vacuum interrupters, that do not allow visual inspection of
:;-e - _.-
:.~ \I
,J
.+n .l
"',
~'\ ~ ~

:' /
t:_v_ - _ \)
! ". '

the contact system after short-circuit testing, the contact

resistance is taken as a measure. It is compared before and
after the short-circuit current tests . If the contact resistance
(of each interrupter-bottle) is not increased by more than
200%, this part of the inspection is satisfactory.
- Insulation of the interrupter after test.
In order to check the insulation integrity after short circuit
tests a one minute power frequency voltage at a value of
80% of the rated withstand voltage or at least 110% of the
full open contact breakdown voltage for that vacuum
interrupter with internal atmospheric air pressure
(whichever value is the highest) shall be applied.
NSSD (non-sustained disruptive discharges)
On occasions, one or more NSSD may occur during the
recovery voltage period following a breaking operation. An
NSDD is defined as a disruptive discharge between the
contacts during the recovery voltage period resulting in a
high-frequency current flow which is related to stray
capacitance local to the interrupter. The occurrence of
NSDD is interpreted as showing some sign of distress.
Discharges during the transient recovery voltage period are
not considered to be an NSDD.
48
_._ - ---- -
Fig. 3: Oscillogram ofNSDD in high power laboratory. Voltages
are phase voltages to ground.
circuit is at the source.
In single phase tests , NSDD's are easily distinguished from
restrikes, since the latter are followed by one half cycle of
power frequency current. In three phase testing (with
isolated neutral) such a distinction can not be made.
For the acceptance of a vacuum circuit breaker for
certification, the following procedure is followed STL
towards NSDD:
power frequency voltage has to be maintained at least
300 ms after current interruption
certification will not be possible if there are four or
more occurrences of NSDD during the entire series of
test duties. Multiple occurrences are counted
individually.
resumption of power frequency current is not allowed.
 Occurrence of (up to three NSDDs) has to be
mentioned in the certificate, issued by the certifying
body.
3. TEST-CIRCUITS
The choice of test-eircuits is not trivial, when dealing with
vacuum interrupters.
In test-laboratories, two methods are used for providing
adequate damping of the lRV, parallel- and series damping
(see fig. 4a). By adjusting the ratio of surge impedance to
ohmic resistance, the lRV waveshape can be chosen as
prescribed in the standards.
1.50 , - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - --
1.CXl
0 .50
0 .00 _ __'__ __ _ _ . J ' _ __
~ _
o 40 80 time (us) 120
Fig. 4a: Series and parallel damped TRY's .
a-periodical reignilion current (series damped TRV)
r-. ..:- . . . ...,
! \'" //// \.~'~ s-
/
,"\. ,!'\
" . ,' periodical reignition current (parallel damped)
\ interruption of HF reignilion current
Fig. 4b : Reignition current in series and parralel damped circuits
Usually, the parallel damped circuit is used, because it's
lRV is in line with the delay line concept of lEe and the
"I - cos" shape of ANSI. Since the resistor bank dissipates
a considerable amount of energy, a hybrid solution can be
adopted by using a series damped circuit with a delay
capacitance in parallel.
As mentioned in ch. I, after reignition of a vacuum inter-
rupter, a high-frequency current starts to flow that can be
interrupted; a process that can lead to voltage escalation.
The waveshape of such reignition current is oscillatory in
real circuits and therefore this current can be interrupted by
a vacuum interrupter (generally not by interrupters with
other media), see fig. 4b.
The choice for the lRV circuit clearly dictates the wave-
shape of the transient current after reignition: a series
damped TRV circuit can cause an a-periodic reignition
current (unlike the reality), thus causing a failure of
interruption, but without overvoltage generation.
This is another example of the importance of high-
frequency phenomena that are especially relevant when
dealing with vacuum equipment
4. CERTIFICAnON
-
As an appendix, KEMA's certification rules (in line with
STL) for vacuum circuit breakers are added These give a
good impression of the procedure of type test certification,
types of certificates, required identification and the test
program.
4.1 Type test certification procedure
Introduction
A Certificate contains a record of a series of type test
carried out strictly in accordance with a recognized
standard. The equipment tested has fulfilled the
parallel damping requirements of this standard and the relevant ratings
_ _ l ._ _____.J
_ _ ' __ _
assigned by the manufacturer are endorsed by KEMA. The
160 200
Certificate is only applicable to the equipment tested
KEMA is responsible for the validity and the contents of
the Certificate.
The responsibility for conformity of any apparatus having
the same designation as the one tested rests with the
manufacturer.
The Certificate contains the essential drawings and a
description of the equipment tested.
-::
/
1-'
Certification Procedure
If a client wishes to obtain a Certificate, this has to be
current
announced in writing before the start of the tests. Since the
testing authority is responsible for the correct execution of
the tests, KEMA will decide on matters such as test
procedure, test parameters, the sequence of the tests,
interpretations of results, etc., all within the limits of the
relevant standard
In case of irregularities due to the test sample, KEMA may
decide that the complete procedure has to be repeated
Furthermore, it may require the test duty, during which the
irregularity occurred, to be repeated twice. The client has to
investigate the cause of the irregularity and provide a
statement in this effect.
Preparation of the test sample before tests, maintenance
between test duties and preparation for inspection after
tests have to be carried out by the client's representative(s)
after consultation with the KEMA test engineer.
In principle the certification tests on a test object should be
terminated within one test period If this is not possible, the
test sample with spare parts will be stored at KEMA and
the tests have to be resumed and finished within three
months.
49

If certification is requiredto an lEe Standardfor which an
STL Guide bas been issued, STL Procedures will be
followed.
Identification Drawings
A complete set of identification drawings and a description
of the test object has to be available to the test engineer
before the tests.
The identification drawings shall show the test sample as it
is submitted for the tests. The drawings shall show the
essential components of the object tested in sufficient
detail The manufacturer will be requested to list the
drawings on a special form containing the following
statement: "The manufacturer guarantees that the
equipment submitted for testing has been manufactured in
accordance with the following drawings".
The drawings will be compared with the test object. In
general this will be done in an assembly bay at a time
chosen by the laboratory staff and in presence of the
client's representative(s). The form will be signed by the
manufacturer's representative and the KEMA inspector for
correctness.
If a drawing has to be modified, the equipment will be
stored at KEMA for a maximum timeof one month. Within
this period the revised drawings, now correct, have to be
supplied for inspection Otherwise, a Report of
Performance will be issued instead of a Certificate.
A sufficient number of drawings will be reduced in size
and incorporated in the Certificate, or alternatively, be
incorporated in a separate folder forming a second part to
the Certificate.
4.2 Types of certif'lCate
When an equipment has satisfied the specified require-
ments, KEMA will, upon request, issue one of the
following types of Certificates:
a). Certificate with respect to Type Test
This Certificate provides the verification of all the rated
characteristics of an equipment as assigned by the
manufacturer. It comprises all the type tests on the circuit
breaker. Special type tests subject to agreement between
manufacturer and userare not included.
b). Certificate with respectto Short-circuit Performance
This Certificate provides the verification of the rated
characteristics related to short-circuit making and breaking
perfonnance and the short-time current withstand
perfonnance.
Other individual type tests, not special type tests, may be
included if so requested by the client.
c). Certificate with respect to Switching Performance
This certificate provides the verification of some or all of
the optional lilted characteristics related to switching line-
50
charging currents, cable-eharging currents, single capacitor
bank currents and back-to-back capacitor bank currents.
A Certificate of Switching Performance can only be issued
in addition to a Certificate of Short-Circuit Performance or
Type Test.
The manufacturer of the circuit breaker is responsible for
the identification of the components.
4.3 Information to be supplied by the client
The following information shall be supplied to the testing
laboratory prior to test and shall be included in the
Certificate.
Drawings
The drawings listed below, together with the
manufacturer's description, are deemed sufficient to
establish a satisfactory relationship between the circuit
breaker presented for test and the drawings purporting to
represent that type.
Description
The manufacturer's description of the circuit breaker shall
contain at least the following items of infonnation:
a) Designation and Serial Number
b) Outline of the vacuum interrupter
c) Outline of the operating mechanism (springs,
compressed air etc.)
d) Rated characteristics
e) Multi-unit circuit breakers
- the number of units and their duty
- make, type, number and value of shunt impedance
(where applicable)
- the results of calwlation or measurements of voltage
distribution (where applicable) taking into account the
tolerances of shunt impedances (see also sub-elause
6.102.3.2.2 of me 56)
t) Vacuum interrupter
- make, type and serial numbers of the interrupters
- test report of temperature-rise tests carried out (if not
available,this test will be carried out at KEMA after the
short-circuit tests)
- open gap dimension of new interrupter for the rating
being tested
- the value of breakdown voltage with the vacuum
replaced by air at atmosphericpressure (Paschen-curve)
- contact pressure during the tests
g) List of renewable parts
4.4 Test program
Certificate ofshort-circuitperformance
Program:
a. Verification of the condition before the tests.
b. No-load operations at 1100/0, 100% and 85/700A. of the
supplyvoltage.
c. Short-time current tests.
d. Basic short-circuit test duties 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
e. Single-phase test
f. No-loadoperationsat 11()O/o, 100% and 85/70010.
g. Verification of the conditionafter tests.
h. Comparison of drawings with test object
Remarks:
a. and g: Because of the particular construction of a
vacuum interrupter inspection of the contacts and assess-
ment of the condition of the main insulation is not possible
visually. Therefore the following procedure is adopted:
i. Dielectric test on the vacuum interrupters:
before tests: At 100% of the rated power frequency
withstand voltage.
after tests: At least 80% of the rated power :frequency
withstand voltage of the circuit-breaker or, at least
110% of the full open contact breakdown voltage for
that vacuum interrupter with internal atmospheric air
pressure. Whichever value is the higher shall be used
for this test (according to STL).
suitability for systems with effectively earthed neutral have
not been carried out
During the tests the recovery voltage will be maintained for
0.3 seconds.
General remarks:
A certificate cannot be issued if:
during the tests d, e four or more non-sustained
disruptive discharges occur (accordingto STL).
resumption of the power frequency current occurs after
the contacts are in full open position (according to
STL).
during the dielectric test after the short-circuit tests
twice a momentary internal breakdown within an
interrupter occurs after which the test voltage
innnediately recovers (accordingto STL).

ii. Measurement of the contact resistance:

The result of the tempernture-rise test should be
submitted by the manufacturer before the tests. The
contact resistance measured before the tests shall not
exceed 120% of the highest resistance value recorded
for the vacuum interrupter submitted to the
temperature-rise test (according to STL).
A temperature-rise test will be carried out at one of the
KEMA-Iaborntories if the contact resistance for one
the interrupters after the tests is higher than 200% of
the resistance of the interrupter measured at the
temperature-rise tests (according to STL) or if no
temperature-risetest was carried out before the tests.
The manufacturer may submit extra results of
additional tempernture-rise test with differentvalues of
contact resistance. In that case the temperature-rise test
after the short-circuit tests may be omitted, provided
that the value of the contact resistance after test does
not exceed 120% of the highest resistance value
measured at the temperature-rise test submitted.
For SF6 insulated vacuum interrupters the manu-
facturer shall submit the contact resistance values of
the vacuum interrupter before the tests. After the tests
the breaker will be dismantled and the contact
resistance of the vacuum interrupters will be measured
and compared with the values submitted.

iii. Measurement of the contact gap in open position.

c. A no-load operation at 100% of the supply voltage with

registration of contact separation will be carried out after
the short-time currenttest (according to STL).

d. At test duty No. 4 the making current can be limited to

2.6 times the rated breaking current by introducing an
additional reactor in the circuit during the make operation.
For test duty No. 5 in general more than 3 tests are
necessary to meet the latest lEe requirements, however,
not more than 6.

e. In general a single-phase test is carried out. If not, the

certificate will mention that the tests for verification of the

51
DRAWING ITEMS AND DETAILS CHECK BY TESTINGSTATION
(as applicable)
Completely If relevant
In all cases
General layout Overall dimensions x*
(assemblydrawing)

Supporting structure, as for service

x+
Metal enclosed-unit, as for service
x+
Electrical clearances:
- to earth X
- between poles x
Location and size of coolers and
e~ X

Location and size of barriers X

between poles

Cross-sectional view Travel of moving contacts x

through the axis of the
interruptersetc.
Electrical clearance between open
contacts x
Distance between point of contact
separationand end of travel
x
Details of isulators (material,
creepagedistance) x

Details of fittings x

Chamcteristics of springs x
Operating and Normal operating devices x
coupling mechanism 1-------~ ~---_+_--------___fo
of complete circuit Emergency operntingdevices X
. . . . . . - ------___1
breaker
Chamcteristics of main springs X

Latching device x

+ In some case circuit breakers are submittedfor type tests with provisional supporting structures (or metal-enclosures).
This procedure is accepted provided this does not affect the behaviour of the circuit breaker and it shall be recorded in the
test documents.
* For interrupters, only the external dimensionsneed to be checked.

52
Where a certificate is granted for a circuit-breaker based
on a series of tests during which a non-sustained
disruptive discharge occurred, the following statement
will be made on sheet No.1 of the certificate:
Remark:
During the tests forming this certificate (a) non-sustained
disruptive discharge(s} occurred during the recovery
voltage period on test duty(ies) ..... It
Certain types of vacuum interrupters show a very low
withstand voltageacrossthe open contacts after a closing
on short-circuit followed by an opening operation in
no-load. It bas been observed that in such situations a
vacuum interrupter was not able to withstand the normal
switching voltages at the application of the rated voltage
with the interrupter in openposition. The same behaviour
was observed during a series of CO-operations when
switching capacitor bank currents. Due to inrush the
making current is considerably higher than the breaking
current in such circuits.
The above phenomenon is not recognized in me
Publication 56.
The basic short-circuit test duties consist of O-operntions
and CO-operations: consequently the behaviour of a
circuit-breaker as described above is not verifiedduringa
normalshort-circuit test series.
53
For the time being, where the above phenomenon is also
not in contradiction to the requirements of lEe
Publication 56, KEMA will issue certificates with respect
to short-circuit performance of vacuumcircuit-breakers.
If the above-mentioned phenomenon, which is typical for
the principle of vacuum interrupters, is observed the
following statement will be made on sheet No. 1 of the
certificate:
Remark:
Test No - : at the instant that the voltage was
applied, the test circuit-breaker spontaneously carried
currentduring one loop with the contacts stationary in the
openposition.
This kind of phenomena is occasionally recorded during
testing of vacuum circuit-breakers and has not yet been
considered in IEe Publication 56.
 Prediction, modeling, simulation, and mitigation of switching
transients in vacuum switchgear
M.T. Glinkowski
ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute
Raleigh, NC

It is this awareness that prompts the

Abstract- This section addresses the more question of what kind of transients one
advanced subjects related to prediction, could expect in his/her system.
modeling, and simulation of switching
transients associated with vacuum Generally there are several ways of
switchgear devices. The last section also obtaining the answer to this inquiry. One
presents various methods and practices possible option is to run field tests in the
related to transient surge suppression, if actual system and instrument it with the
required. voltage and current sensors connected to
the oscillographic/data recording equipment
INTRODUCTION to capture the switching events. This is not
always practical and even impossible if the
Design of modem power equipment aims at system does not exist yet such as during the
reducing the cost of the devices and design stage. Also, during the tests, trying
increase the efficiency. Minimizing losses, to induce the transients by deliberate
weight, physical dimensions, and at the switching events will cause unnecessary
same time maximizing the voltage and stress to the equipment and, if indeed the
current ratings are the primary targets for system surge protection is not adequate,
the equipment manufacturers. Although in might result in the equipment damage. This
many instances the equipment can be is an expensive way of transients
redesigned to meet these requirements it management.
also means that the design margins over
and above the requirements are lower or Another approach is to set up a small scale
even approaching zero. These seemingly laboratory experiment equivalent to the
conflicting trends prompt the power system system in question in order to reproduce
engineers pay more attention to the stresses and record the switching events and
their equipment is subjected to. Also, the correlate this to the real system. Often not
advent of the new technologies, such as all the necessary equipment is available (for
power electronics, efficient motors, example, has not been built yet) and trying
intelligent process controls of power to test different solutions to the transient
equipment, etc. make the system more problems is also limited. This approach,
sensitive to the electrical transients caused although very attractive and valid, does not
by switching. In summary the power system allows testing "what if' scenarios.
is more sensitive to the transient surge
phenomena and the power engineers are An attractive alternative to the two physical
more aware of the different higher testing procedures is numerical modeling
frequency events associated with switching. and simulation of transients.

57
 calculations of transients. Figure 1
Wealth of knowledge exists on analytical illustrates both of them.
and numerical modeling of vacuum
switchgear. This part of the tutorial briefly a.
describes the methods and the models that ........
vacuum device ...... power system
can be used in prediction, simulation, and ...... circuit model
model .....
mitigation of transients associated with the
switching operations.

In the last several years vacuum switchgear b.

has received a lot of attention caused by
switching transients associated with such vacuum device I........
"""I11III(
power system
phenomena as: model circuit model

current chopping
virtual current chopping Figure 1. Two types of models of vacuum switching
devices. (a) full interactive model between the
restrikes device and the circuit;
prestrikes (b) vacuum device as a receiving element, external
multiple reignitions circuit functions not affected by the vacuum model
voltage escalation
post-arc currents In the first case (Fig. la) the device can
NSDD (non-sustained disruptive fully interact with the power system
discharges). representation. It provides full simulated
environment of the phenomena studied.
It is often misunderstood how all these Figure 1b allows prediction of the transient
phenomena are created and what are their phenomena created by the system and their
real causes. In brief, the majority of impact on the switching device but does not
transients associated with vacuum reflect the feedback from the device model
switchgear are not just results of the to the power system. Naturally the first type
switching device alone but the interaction is the desired one but not always available.
between the device and other components
of the power system. In other words, theThere are also many different vacuum
same vacuum circuit breaker can cause switch models representing different types
severe interaction with other power of physical phenomena. There is no single
equipment in one power model that describes all the processes of the
system
switchgear so the models have to be more
configuration but will have no significant
effect in another configuration. The specific to the phenomena under
problem has to be treated as a whole. investigation. In practical transient
switching studies the model of a vacuum
REPRESENTATION OF VACUUM device should include one or more of the
SWITCHING DEVICE FOR following:
TRANSIENT CALCULATIONS current chopping,
dynamic dielectric withstand capability
There are generally two types of vacuum of the device for transient recivery
device model categories used in the

58
 voltages (TRV) during either opening Dielectric Withstand Capability (nWC)
or closing operation,
current interrupting capability for Figure 2 illustrates the dielectric withstand
transient (high frequency) currents, capability of a vacuum switch.
dynamic dielectric withstand capability
of the device at high frequencies
(during ITRV, initial TRV),
Dwe
statistical distribution of dielectric
breakdowns of the device under
particular electrical conditions.
The three main characteristics that the
author used successfully in transient studies
for many years are: current chopping,
dielectric withstand capability, and high
frequency interruption capability. The
following section briefly describes the three
characteristics.
Current Chopping
Current chopping is primarily a function of
the contact material used in the interrupters.
Early materials (1960-1970s) exhibited
rather large current chopping, the new
materials cause much smaller current chop.
Current chopping does also depend on the
shunt capacitance parallel to the vacuum
interrupter and to a lesser extend on the
series inductance. However, these
dependencies are typically insignificant in
power system studies unless these shunt
capacitance and series inductance vary a
great deal from the customary values.
For representing this chopping
characteristic the knowledge of the
particular current chopping value with the
statistical distribution (standard deviation,
sigma) is sufficient in most cases. Values
such as 2 - 8 A with standard deviation of
+/- 1 - 5 A are representative.
59
in
kV
o time after contact separation
(first few ms)
Figure 2. Dielectric Withstand Capability (DWC) of
a vacuum switch. Dots illustrate measured data
points.
Notice several features that are unique to
vacuum. The dielectric withstand of
vacuum switch is measured by the
breakdown voltage taken at the different
times after contact separation during
opening. The time after contact separation
is of course related to the contact travel and
the contact material. These breakdown
voltages are statistical in nature as
illustrated by the points on the graph. In
order to quantify the statistical trend many
data points are required, typically anywhere
between few hundred and few thousand
points per graph. Using standard statistical
regression analysis a best-fit distribution
can be found. The experience indicates that
commercial vacuum switching devices are
well approximated by a straight line
function in the time frame of interest
(several milliseconds).Notice also that the
intercept of the straight line in Figure 2 is
not zero. This is not a coincidence. Vacuum
contacts exhibit instantaneous dielectric
strength of about 0.5 kV - 3 kV
immediately after contact separation (at DWC) but it is possible to obtain a best fit
t=O). The slope of the straight line and the straight line approximation for the most
degree of correlation between the points commercial devices.
and the curve depend very much on the
particular device, vacuum interrupter used,
mechanism, etc.

High Frequency Interruption Capability

(HFIC) dIldt for
high frq.
This is the third of the critical features that
(HFIC)
in
determines the unique behavior of the A/JlS
vacuum device during transients. Current
interruption in vacuum is controlled by
complex processes of arc plasma existing
between the contacts at the current zero.
Under normal circumstances this plasma is
a result of the activities of the so-called
cathode spot(s), which have remarkable o time after contact separation
(of the order of few ms)
ability of melting and vaporizing minute
amounts of contact metal, and turning them Figure 3. Interrupting capability (dIldt) of a ~acuum
into highly ionized, electrically charged switching device for high frequency transient
currents.
plasma particles. In the properly desig~ed
vacuum interrupters the arc plasma during
As in the case of DWC the straight line
the final passage of the current to zero is
projects to a non-zero intercept point on the
not affected by the peak magnitude of the
vertical axis suggesting that even at t=O
current. In other words, the arc memory is
(almost zero gap length) the interrupter
very short. This critical observation has an
already has some interruption capability.
important impact on the interruption
Also notice that the interruption capability
capabilities of the vacuum switch. The
is a function of time after contact separation
interruption capability of vacuum switches
(contact gap). Interestingly the slope of the
is measured by the rate of decay of the
straight line could be positive or negative
current prior to current zero, dIldt.
depending on the device.
Since during electrical transients the surge
currents are typically of high frequencies it
is the high frequency interruption capability EXAMPLES OF CALCULATED
(HFIC) that should be represented in the SWITCIDNG TRANSIENTS
mathematical model.
EMTP (Electromagnetic Transient
In Figure 3 straight line illustrates the best Program) or its sister version ATP
fit of the measured data points of high (Alternative Transient Program) are
frequency dI/dt's that a vacuum switch is excellent numerical tools that allow for in-
able to interrupt. The actual data points are depth studies of switching transients in
statistical again (as in the case with the industrial as well as utility power systems.

60
 shows two very high frequency sub-

.- I
transients both going in the negative
direction of the voltage. The second
transient ends up in a negative loop of
a.e
; - - ,.- .
.. .." -- current that changes the polarity to positive
.
'"
'"
-.BOO
at just about 460 us (a tick mark on the
.10<1 time scale is visible there). These two high
frequency transients and the voltage loop
+---f---+---,-+---,----<are associated with the current chop and the
~
immediate reignition of current. Notice,
-. "1 88 that the negative polarity of the voltage
voltage transients loop and the negative direction of the two
due to reignitions high frequency transients agree with the
negative polarity of the last half cycle of the
current interrupted in that phase (upper
graph). The remaining transient voltage
Figure 4. Example of the calculated opening
transient associated with the inductive load. The top spikes last from -465 us to -540 us. They
graph represents the current, bottom graph contains also result from the reignitions of the arc
voltage across the vacuum circuit breaker. System but with the positive polarity. In this
voltage is 13.8 kV. Time scale =200llS total, example the breaker contacts in the
Current scale = +/-800 A max, Voltage scale =
+/- 40 kV max.
reigniting phase opened about 120 us
before current chop occurred therefore the
gap at the instant of current passage to zero
Since the high frequency characteristics of was very short, of the order of fraction of
the power system equipment are dependent mm.
on stray capacitances and inductances and
they in turn depend on physical dimensions, Closing transients in vacuum switches
equipment layout, materials, cable lengths , might look similar to an example in Figure
etc. these studies are installation-specific 5. Here only one phase current (top graph)
and have to be performed on a case by case and one phase voltage (bottom graph) are
basis. Figure 4 represents an example of the shonw for clarity. The series of short
voltage and current waveforms computed in duration voltage and current surges are
the system when switching off inductive generated when the contacts come close
loads. The time scale of the graphs is quite together. Notice again the short time
fine and covers a total of 200 us window. window for the graphs of 200 us.
The middle phase current in the top part of
the graph is the first phase to clear. Notice After the initial voltage collapse due to the
small, short duration high frequency first prestrike the vacuum interrupter is able
transient pulses associated with the to interrupt the high frequency current after
reignitions of the vacuum interrupter in that which the intermediate recovery voltage
phase. The lower graph corresponds to the
voltage across the breaker pole under
restrikes. A few features of this voltage are
worth pointing out. Firs, the beginning of
the transient voltage (at around 450 us)

61
 ...

protected as possible. Minimizing straight
inductance and stray capacitance of the
connections is of the essence. The right
solution for the suppression of surges
-. 4ftM
2M depends on economics, criticality of the
l.j. . - - equipment being protected, cost of failure
I
. mmJ
e.H 1
~- !881&B .::~.-_. ~ 88172 -1 ---'-~88 17fi analysis (COF), and a probability of the
1 Secon ds i i i
~ I ........._................. . L l _ ~L _..HJ ~ L . overvoltage occurring in the given system.
-. 268 '"

metallic contact
close
ZoO arresters

Zinc-oxide arresters are commonly installed

Figure 5. Example of the calculated closing
transients due to prestrikes. Top graph-current in
on distribution equipment, particularly on
one phase, bottom graph- voltage across the breaker
transformers and motors to suppress the
in the same phase . 13.8 kV system. Time scale =
voltage magnitude below the arrester
200l1s total, Current scale = +/-40 A max, Voltage
scale =+/- 20 kV max. critical voltage value. ZnO arresters do not
modify the rate of rise of the voltage
develops as a result of the system transients.
interaction. This recovery voltage breaks
down the interrupter again and the process Surge capacitors
repeats itself. The similarity between the
nature of the transients at closing (Figure 5) Surge capacitors can modify (reduce) the
and at opening (Figure 4) are striking. The rate of rise of the surge voltages generated
same kind of high frequency currents and in the system. The are effective means of
intermediate recovery voltages are reducing the steepness of the transients
involved. The only difference is the final especially when protecting motors and
conclusion of the sequence. Since at closing transformers. It is well known that the
the contact gap is diminishing the sequence distribution of transient voltages in
in Figure 5 finishes with the final windings is not uniform and depends on the
establishing of the 60 Hz current, seen as a frequency components of the overall
straight line on the top graph. When transient waveform. The higher the
contacts establish metallic connection the frequency component (steeper the voltage
voltage becomes zero. front) the more non-uniform the
distribution of the voltage. The highest
SURGE MANAGEMENT AND stress is typically in the first few turns of
SUPPRESSION the winding or in the first section of the
coil. Surge capacitors filter out the higher
If determined that the transients generated frequency components of the transients and
as a result of the interaction of a particular therefore contribute to more uniform
breaker in a particular system application distribution of the transient voltage inside
are not acceptable various means of surge the winding.
protection or suppression can be employed.
The main rule of thumb for the placement Surge capacitors also modify the natural
of the surge protective devices is to mount frequency and the surge impedance of the
them as close to the equipment being motor (or load) circuit. A typical surge

62
capacitor of 0.2 ~ can lower the natural
frequency of the TRV and the surge
impedance by one order of magnitude. This
can also have a positive effect on
minimizing the transients and lowering the
probability of overvoltages.
The effectiveness of the surge capacitors
depend on the specific electrical parameters
of the circuit they are connected to,
particularly, its surge impedance and the
natural frequency.
R-C circuits
A combination of a resistor R and capacitor
C in series provides a way of reducing the
rate of rise of the transients and at the same a dilemma on how, where and what to
time dissipating the transient energy and
providing more significant damping for
higher frequency components of the surge.
R-C circuits however, do not insure
limiting the absolute magnitude of the
voltage transients to a certain level.
ZORC
ZORC is a combination of ZnO arrester ground loop between the cable shield,
with an R-C cicuit. Figure 6 presents one ground return path (wherever this might be,
possible realization.
R
Figure 6. ZORC circuit
Grounding and Shielding
The most neglected form of surge
management associated with any
switchgear is grounding and shielding. In
particular the surges created by the
interaction of vacuum switchgear and the
system are of the high frequency nature.
Therefore the shielding and grounding
against the high frequencies might often
prove to be sufficient to reduce the
transients to a safe level. There has been
some research performed on grounding
practices for surge protection and
propagation but to date the conclusions
from the different source are not consistent.
Application and design engineers often face
ground to have the system perform its best
when subjected to vacuum switching
transients. A common example of the
grounding dilemma is shown in Figure 7.
From the high frequency point of view
option c (Figure 7c) seems to be more
effective than options a and b but this also
introduces a danger of inducing significant
circulating currents at 60 Hz because of the
shown in the Figure as a dotted line) and
the two grounding points. The options a
and b change the pattern of the traveling
waves resulting from the high frequency
transients generated at the breaker end.
In conclusion, much effort is needed in the
area of understanding the vacuum
switchgear transients as well as
determination of the most suitable means
for transient prevention and suppression.
63
a.~ shielded cable the interrupters are subjected to prolonged
I LJ -------~
\,-)
and frequent arcing the replacement of the
interrupters can easily be performed. Most
vacuum switches are equipped with a
b. simple mechanical indicator (gauge) that
allows a quick visual estimate of the
() contact wear due to erosion.

Check of vacuum pressure and vacuum

c. integrity

~
Users familiar with the other switching
. .........
.. 2
' c. - technologies, particularly SF6, often inquire
about the pressure check or gage that would
indicate whether or not the interrupter
Figure 7. Various options for grounding of a contains sufficiently low pressure. This is
shielded cable, a. at the motor entrance, b. at the typically not done on the commercial scale
switchgear, c. on both ends of the cable.
in vacuum interrupters for two practical
reasons. First, even a simple vacuum
~ressure gauge installed on every
MAINTENANCE AND SAFETY OF
Interrupter would add cost to this
VACUUM SWITCHGEAR
competitive product. In today's competitive
market place users demand the lowest cost
Due to the excellent, unique features of
products. Such a pressure gauge would also
vacuum interrupters and vacuum arcs
be economically hard to justify considering
switchgear devices based on this
the fact that during production vacuum
technology require much less maintenance
interrupters are thoroughly checked and
and care compared to the older technologies
rechecked after several days of shelf time
such as air-magnetic or oil. Smaller
so the quality of the products leaving the
phys~cal dimensions, lower energies
factory is extremely high.
required to operate, full containment of the
contacts and the arc in the vacuum
Maintenance of the drives
enclosure make the vacuum switchgear an
attractive solution for the users. Vacuum
Mechanical drives require the same or less
interrupters have a standard shelf life of at
maintenance than the other switching
least 20 years. Field experience on many of
technologies. Since the operating
the older (1960's glass-enclosed) vacuum
mechanical energies are smaller the moving
devices indicates that they already
components of the drive (linkages, levers,
surpassed their time limitation.
shafts, springs, latches, etc.) require less
maintenance. Standard lubrication and
Maintenance of vacuum interrupters or
periodic checking is recommended. Timing
interrupter contacts
test for closing and opening times, is a good
practice and assures that the mechanism is
None. The devices are sealed for life, self-
in good shape. Typically these tests might
contained, non serviceable. Typically he
be performed every -1000 operations.
contact erosion due to arcing is minimal. If

64

The recent introduction of the magnetic
drives (actuators) and associated with it
elimination of many of the moving parts
including springs, linkages, the motor, etc.
make the vacuum switchgear virtually
maintenance free. These drives have been
tested for 100,000 operations or better and
manufacturers claims that these numbers
can be improved even further.
Operational safety
When high voltage is applied between two
electrodes in vacuum environment a small
electron emission current results. The
cathodic electrons bombarding the surface
65
of the opposite anode can generate small
amount of X-ray emission. Under normal
circumstances, i.e. within the voltage rating
of the device and at the full open gap the X-
ray emission is zero or minimal. However,
when the device is tested or operated at a
fractional gap distance the same voltage
may cause measurable X-rays. In such
special cases manufacturers of vacuum
switches warn the users of the potential
exposure and recommend that a protective
lead shield, or equivalent means, be used if
any personnel be working close to the
vacuum chamber. Normally, safety
distances for electrical reasons are
sufficient.
 BIOGRAPHIES

Mietek T. Glinkowski was born in Poland in 1956. He received his M.S.

degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Poznan Polytechnic,
Poznan, Poland, in 1980, the M.E. degree in Electric Power Engineering
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, in 1985, and his Ph.D. in
Electric Power Engineering in 1989. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 1984-
1985. Dr. Glinkowski joined ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute in
Raleigh, NC in June, 1997 as an Advisory Engineer and Technology Team
Leader for Switchgear and Insulation Systems. He is responsible for the
coordination of research and development of ABB ETI in this technology
area. Prior to joining ABB Dr. Glinkowski was an Associate Professor with
the Electric Power Engineering Department at Rensselaer. His area of
expertise includes power switchgear (especially vacuum), electrical
discharges , vacuum arcs, power systems applications of vacuum switchgear,
system protection, mathematical modeling of power system components,
electrical transients in power systems, as well as novel AI techniques
applied to power engineering . Dr. Glinkowski has also taught power
engineering courses, graduate and undergraduate, as well as core engineering courses in dynamic systems. While
with the university he has worked on several industry-sponsored projects concerning operation, design, and
analysis of power equipment. He co-authored one book and wrote number of technical papers. Mietek
Glinkowski is a Senior Member of IEEE Power Engineering Society active in the Switchgear, Power Engineering
Education , and PSRC Committees. member of CIGRE , Current Zero Club, New York Academy of Sciences, and
SEP (Society of Polish Electrical Engineers). He is also on the International Scientific Committee of the Short
Circuit Currents (SCC) Symposium. Dr. Glinkowski is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in New York and
a member of the Sigma Xi research society.

Rene Peter Paul Smeets was born in Venlo, the Netherlands in 1955.
He received the M.Sc. degree in physics from the Eindhoven Univ. of
Technology . He obtained a Ph.D. degree for research work on vacuum
arcs. Until 1995, he was an assistant professor at Eindhoven University.
During 1991 he worked with Toshiba Corporation's Heavy Apparatus
Engineering Laboratory in Japan . In 1995 he joined KEMA High Power
Laboratory , where he is coordinating the R&D activities. He is a member
of CIGRE WG 13.04 (testing techniques for switchgear), the "Current
Zero Club" and the IEEE.

66
Dr. P. G. Slade, Cutler-Hammer, Horseheads, NY, USA. Dr. Paul G. Slade
received the B.S. and Ph.D degrees from the University of Wales, Swansea,
U.K., the Diploma of Mathematical Physics from the University of Wales,
Swansea, U.K., and the M.B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA. He has 30 years of research experience covering a wide
range of problems associated with the development of new contact materials,
switching electric current , the welding of electric contacts in air and vacuum,
the properties of arcs, the effect of arcing on electrical contacts and the
development of vacuum interrupters. He has published extensively with over
75 presentations in technical conferences and with papers published in
archival technical journals. He also has 20 patents. His work in the field of
electric contacts has been recogn ized with the award of the Ragnar Holm
Scientific Achievement Award presented by the IEEE Holm Conference on
Electrical Contacts. He presently has the position of Manager, Vacuum
Interrupter Technology, Cutler-Hammer, Horseheads Operations,
Horseheads, NY where he is responsible for research, development and the
next generation of vacuum interrupter designs. Dr. Slade is a Fellow of IEEE.

67
 112

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