A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHAMBAL GRID SUBSTATION

 Grid Substation (G.S.S.) is the means of connection between Generating Station and
Consumers (Industrial, domestic etc.) by providing safety and reliability of whole system
in case of fault.

 Chambal is a 132kV GSS under the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam
(R.R.V.P.N.) Ltd. established in 1962.

 Ideally located at Hawa Sarak, Jaipur.

 Connected to 3 incoming lines from three different substations and 28 outgoing lines or
feeders, 9 to 33kV and 19 to 11kV.

 Incoming 132 kV is step down to 33 kV and 11 kV and then supplied to consumers’

feeders from this GSS.

INCOMING OUTGOING

HEERAPURA G.S.S. (directly)

HEERAPURA via CHAMBAL TO 28

NALLAH POWER SUBSTATION
HOUSE (N.P.H.) FEEDERS

SANGANER G.S.S. via

MANSAROVAR G.S.S.
 SUBSTATION
COMPONENTS

OUTDOOR CONTROL AND

AUXILIARY SYSTEM
SWITCHYARD MONITORING

 INCOMING LINES  D.C. LEAD ACID  PROTECTIVE

BATTERIES AND RELAYS
 OUTGOING LINES CHARGING
EQUIPMENTS  CONTROL PANEL
 BUSBAR
 D.C. DISTRIBUTION
 INSULATORS SYSTEM

 POWER  FIRE
TRANSFORMER EXTINGUISHERS

 CIRCUIT BREAKER  LIGHTING SYSTEM

 CURRENT  OIL PURIFICATION

TRANSFORMER SYSTEM

 VOLTAGE  TELEPHONE
TRANSFORMER SYSTEM

 ISOLATOR

 PLCC EQUIPMENT
(WAVE TRAP etc.)

 LIGHTNING
ARRESTOR

 CAPACITOR BANK

 SERIES REACTOR

 RESIDUAL VOLTAGE
TRANSFORMER
SWITCHYARD EQUIPMENT
1. BUSBAR: The term is used for main bar or conductor carrying an electric current to which
many connections may be made. One bus is usually called MAIN BUS and the other is
called AUXILIARY BUS.

2. INSULATORS: In order to prevent the flow of current to earth from supply, the
transmission and distribution lines are secured to supporting towers and poles using
insulators. The requirements for insulators are-

 High mechanical strength

 High dielectric strength
 Large insulation resistance to leakage currents
 No internal impurities
 Non-porous
 Should not allow entrance of gases or liquids
 Ineffective to change in temperature
 High ratio of puncture strength of flesh over voltage

The three types of insulators mainly used for extra high voltage transmission are-

a) Pin type insulator (up to 33 kV)

b) Suspension type or Disc type insulator (above 33 kV)
c) Post type insulator (for supporting busbar and disconnecting switches in substations)

3. ISOLATOR: An isolator or disconnecting switch is used to open some given part of a

power circuit after switching off the load by means of a Circuit Breaker (C.B.). They are of
two types-

a) Single Pole
b) Three Pole

4. CIRCUIT BREAKER: A C.B. is a mechanical device designed to close or open contact

members, thus closing or opening an electrical circuit under normal or abnormal conditions
and in addition performs the function of a ‘switch’.

The automatic circuit breakers are equipped with a trip coil connected to relay or other
means to open breaker under abnormal conditions such as overcurrent. The C.B. performs
the following duties-

a) It carries the full-load current continuously without overheating or damage.

b) It opens and closes the circuit on no load.
c) It makes and breaks the normal operating and short circuit currents.
The basic construction of breaker requires the separation of fixed and moving contact in an
insulating medium which not only helps in extinguishing the arc drawn between the
contacts, but also insulates the contact from each other to earth. The insulating fluids must
have the following properties-

 High dielectric strength

 Noninflammability
 High thermal stability
 Arc extinguishing ability
 Chemical stability
 Commercial availability at moderate cost

The insulating fluids or quenching mediums used are air at atmospheric pressure,
compressed air, oil, vacuum and sulphor hexafluoride. SF6 is preferred over all other
mediums because of its outstanding arc quenching properties and good dielectric strength.

5. VOLTAGE OR POTENTIAL TRANSFORMER: It makes the ordinary low voltage

instruments like relays, suitable for measurements of high voltage and keeps them isolated
from high voltage.
  The primary winding of potential transformer is connected to the main bus bar of
switchgear installation and to the secondary winding, various indicating and metering
instruments and relays are connected.
 When the rated high voltage is applied to the primary of P.T. the voltage of 110 volts
appears across the secondary.

6. CURRENT TRANSFORMER: It is connected in a.c. power circuit to feed the current coils
of indicating and metering instruments (ammeters, watt meters, watt-hour meters) and
protective relays.
  The primary is directly connected in the power circuit (the circuit in which current is to
be measured) and to the secondary winding the indicating and metering instruments
and relays are connected.
 When rated current flows in its primary, 5 amperes of current flows in the secondary.

7. POWER LINE CARRIER COMMUNICATION (PLCC) EQUIPMENT: There is no use of

telephone system in the exchange of important information between different GSS. This
information is received and sent from the PLCC room.

 The communication system is worked by main line only with the help of important
components of PLCC namely, Wave trap, Line Matching Unit (LMU), and coupling
capacitor.
 The main work of wave trap is interchange of electrical wave into sound waves and
vice-versa.
 When information is sent from one GSS, the wave trap receives the sound waves,
converts them to electrical waves and they travel to other GSS through main line.

8. LIGHTNING ARRESTOR: The ground wire or earthing screen doesn’t provide protection
against the high voltage waves reaching the terminal equipment. Thus there is a need of
‘diverter’ to protect the power system against high voltage surges connected between the
line and earth so that incoming high voltage wave is diverted to earth. Such a diverter is
also called Lightning Arrestor.

9. CAPACITOR BANK: The power factor depends on the nature of load which is supplied. In
case of purely resistive load, it is unity, for pure inductive load, it is lagging and in case of
purely capacitive load, it is leading.
But in power circuit, the load is mostly inductive thus making power factor lagging and
hence affecting the system from regulation point of view. Thus to improve the power factor,
capacitor bank is erected or used at 132 kV GSS. It is a group of several capacitors of same
rating which may be connected in series or parallel.

 They are divided into 2 categories viz. series and shunt of which Shunt capacitor bank
(SCB) is mostly used in power system of all voltage levels.
 A capacitor unit is the building block of capacitor bank. The capacitor unit is made up of
individual capacitor elements, arranged in parallel/ series connected groups, within a
steel enclosure.
 The optimum connection for a SCB depends on the best utilization of the available
voltage ratings of capacitor units, fusing, and protective relaying. The different
configurations are namely wye, delta and H.

The equipments used in capacitor bank are –

 Lightning arrestor
 Isolator with earthing blade
 Circuit breaker
 Residual voltage transformer
 Series reactor
 Cell
 Fuses
 Unbalance protection scheme to provide alarm/ trip
 Overcurrent elements for bank fault protection
 Current transformer

10. SERIES REACTOR: Switchyard reactors are connected either at the line terminals or the
middle of the power circuit to offset the capacitive effect of the transmission line and to
regulate the voltage and reactive power of the power system, thereby improving the voltage
profile of transmission line. They are coils of number of turns to have large inductance as
compared to its resistance. A series reactor is connected in series between the load and
source. It is also used for neutral earthing.

The series reactor is also an important component of capacitor bank as it helps in

suppressing the switches transients to a permissible value. With series reactor, the
capacitor banks are used at full rating because if the rating is less, there are chances of
resonance occurring between the two.

11. RESIDUAL VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER (RVT): It is used to measure the residual voltage
of a three phase system during a single phase fault.
  The primary of transformer is connected to the three phases of the system and
secondary in broken delta, thus the residual voltage appears across these terminals
during a single phase to earth fault.
 This residual voltage obtained is equal to three times the zero sequence voltage.
 RVTs are also used in three phase capacitor banks to detect the displacement of
neutral in case of failure of one capacitor of three.
 They also serve the purpose of discharging of capacitor in capacitor bank.

12. POWER TRANSFORMER: It is a static device used in transmission and distribution

system to step up and step down A.C. voltage.

PARTS AND FITTINGS OF TRANSFORMER

I. CORE: It is used to provide closed magnetic coupling between low and high voltage
coils to reduce leakage flux and to provide low reactance path. It is made of
laminations of silicon steel as silicon increases permeability, reduces hysteresis loss
and eddy current loss. The laminations are coated with layer of insulation warmish.
II. WINDING: Transformer windings made of copper are high and low voltage windings
attached on its limbs.
III. MAIN TANK: The main tank acts as a reservoir for oil and the core is placed inside it to
provide insulation. It is covered to prevent entry of dust particles and other impurities.
IV. BUSHINGS: Bushings comprise a central conductor surrounded by graded insulation. A
bushing is necessary when a conductor is taken out through a metallic tank.
V. TAP CHANGER: Adjustment of voltage is done by changing the effective turns ratio of
the system transformer by proper selections of tapping on the winding. It is provided
 on the outer winding or high voltage side as it has more number of turns.The two
types of tap changers are –
a. OFF LOAD TAP CHANGER
b. ON LOAD TAP CHANGER

In the first form as the name implies, it is essential to switch off the transformer before
changing the tap while, the latter is employed to regulate voltage while transformer is
delivering normal load.

VI. CONSERVATOR TANK: As the temperature of oil increases or decreases during

operation, there is a corresponding rise or fall in the level of oil. To account for this,
an expansion vessel (conservator) is connected to transformer tank. The tank has a
capacity of oil level equal to 75% of the total oil in main tank. This is provided with
magnetic oil gauge on one of the end covers which is a low oil level alarm.
VII. RADIATOR: It is used for cooling purpose of the insulating oil.
VIII. PRESSURE RELIEF OR VENT PIPE: It is a cylindrical pipe whose one end is connected to
the main tank through bolts and other end is connected to diaphragm (thin glass
plate). It prevents the tank from bursting when excessive gas collects in it.
IX. BREATHER: If moisture enters the transformer, the dielectric strength of oil reduces.
The breather is connected to conservator and absorbs moisture from it. It consists of
silica gel crystals which are blue when dry and turn pink when absorb moisture. They
can be dried and used again.
X. ARCING HORN: To prevent the transformer from lightning and excessive voltage and to
send the current obtained from this to earth, two rods of horn shape are mounted on
the voltage bushings.
XI. OIL GAUGE: It is used to note the oil level in conservator tank.
XII. PRESSURE GAUGE: It is used to keep a record of the pressure inside the main tank.
XIII. OIL TEMPERATURE INDICATOR: It indicates the temperature of oil inside the main tank.
XIV. WINDING TEMPERATURE INDICATOR: It indicates the temperature of windings of
transformer.
XV. BUCHHOLZ’S RELAY: The transformer is mounted with double float buchholz’s relay. It
is attached to the feed pipe from conservator to main tank and is provided with two
set of mercury contacts. The device comprises of a cast iron housing containing the
hinged floats, one on upper part and other on lower. Each float actuates a mercury
switch whose leads are connected to the external alarm circuit.
 The alarm operates whenever fault occurs inside transformer. These faults are –
a. Overheating of oil and parts of winding
b. Impulse breakdown between adjacent turns at the end turns of winding
c. Poor initial contacts
d. Collection of gas generated by decomposition of oil at high temperature

TRANSFORMER PROTECTION

While the transformer is provided protection with the help of pressure relief pipes and
buchholz’s relay as specified above, there are also other protection schemes –

 Overcurrent protection: When the load on transformer increases, the current drawn will
also increase. This condition of transformer is called overcurrent position and if it
persists for longer period, it can be hazard to the transformer and may further damage
the lines. Thus an Overcurrent relay is used to cut off the transformer from mains with
the help of circuit breaker when excess current flows through it. The relay is energized
by 110 V d.c. from battery room.

 Earth fault protection: When from any reason, the winding insulation or conductor
insulation breaks down, then bare conductor touches metallic part spreading current
throughout. This fault is called earth fault in which the potential difference between
phase and earth becomes zero. Earthing is done as a result by connecting a pointed
copper strip from body to earth and plate earthing is used.

 Differential protection: The operation of the relay used in this scheme is dependent on
the difference in magnitude or phase of current or voltage. For this purpose two current
transformers having same transformation ratio are used at both ends of system to be
protected. Their secondary are inter-connected.
 The relay is connected in parallel and operates when there is a difference between the
magnitude or phase of either current or voltage. It in turn gives a signal to the C.B. to
remove the faulty part from the remaining circuit.

 Temperature over rise protection: This scheme protects the transformer from the
overheating of transformer winding and oil resulting from flow of current during
overloading. If overheating is not compensated by any source, then there may be failure
of insulation further leading to short circuit between winding turns.
Thus transformer can be protected by different types of cooling –
a. OIL NATURAL AIR NATURAL (ONAN): Cooling is provided by radiators on outer part and
conservator tank over transformer. When insulation oil heats up, the volume
increases and spreads through them and oil is cooled by external air blowing. No
relay is used in this type of cooling.
b. OIL NATURAL AIR FORCED (ONAF): A number of fans are provided to radiators for
cooling purpose. When heating exceeds a permissible temperature, the fans are
automatically operated by relay.
c. OIL FORCED AIR FORCED (OFAF): This type of protection is provided by a centrifugal
pump which operates automatically when there is temperature over rise. It churns the
oil and brings its temperature down.

SPECIFICATIONS OF POWER TRANSFORMERS

TRANSFORMER NO. 1

MAKE: NATIONAL ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. (N.E.I.)

VOLTAGE RATIO (V.A.) 132/11 kV

SERIAL NO. RY/2590/2
CAPACITY 10/12.5 MVA
HIGH VOLTAGE (HV) LOAD 43.74/54.68 amp
LOW VOLTAGE (LV) LOAD 524.86/656.10 amp
PERCENTAGE (%) IMPEDANCE 9.71
WEIGHT OF OIL 124 TONNES
TOTAL WEIGHT 440 TONNES
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE 1978
DATE OF COMMISSIONING 19-09-2000
OIL QUANTITY 14000 L

TRANSFORMER NO. 2

MAKE: TELK

VOLTAGE RATIO 132/11 kV

SERIAL NO. 120281.1
CAPACITY 10/12.5 MVA
HV LOAD 54.7 amp
LV LOAD 657 amp
% IMPEDANCE VOLTS 9.11
 WEIGHT OF OIL 8650 Kg (9610 L)
TOTAL WEIGHT 37000 Kg
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE 1989
DATE OF COMMISSIONING 10-11-2001

TRANSFORMER NO. 3

MAKE: GEC ALSTOM

VOLTAGE RATIO 132/11 kV

SERIAL NO. B – 2937.2
CAPACITY 16/20 MVA
HV LOAD 87.5 amp
LV LOAD 1049.7 amp
% IMPEDANCE VOLTS 10.534
WEIGHT OF OIL 11.3 TONNES
TOTAL WEIGHT 440 TONNES
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE 1997
DATE OF COMMISSIONING 14-08-1999
OIL QUANTITY 13000 L

TRANSFORMER NO. 4

MAKE: CROMPTON

VOLTAGE RATIO 132/11 kV

SERIAL NO. T – 8543/1
CAPACITY 16/20 MVA
HV LOAD 69.0/87.5 amp
LV LOAD 830/1049.7
TOTAL MASS 46 MT
OIL QUANTITY 13000 L
% IMPEDANCE VOLTS 9.58
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE 1999 TN – 2414
DATE OF COMMISSIONING 29-09-1995

TRANSFORMER NO. 5

MAKE: NGEF

VOLTAGE RATIO 132/33 kV

SERIAL NO. 28 . 0001 . 6829
CAPACITY 14.6/20 MVA
HV LOAD 63.9/87.5 amp
LV LOAD 255/350 amp
% IMPEDANCE VOLTS 13.92
WEIGHT OF OIL 15 TONNES
TOTAL WEIGHT 52 TONNES
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE 1975
DATE OF COMMISSIONING 21-02-1975
OIL QUANTITY 1725 L
DATE OF CHANGE OF OIL JAN 2001
TRANSFORMER NO. 6

MAKE: NGEF

VOLTAGE RATIO 132/33 kV

SERIAL NO. 28 . 001 . 6827
CAPACITY 14.6/20 MVA
HV LOAD 63.9/87.5 amp
LV LOAD 255/350 amp
% IMPEDANCE LOAD 13.75
WEIGHT OF OIL 15 TONNES
TOTAL WEIGHT 52 TONNES
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE 1974
DATE OF COMMISSIONING 05-02-1975
OIL QUANTITY 17250 L
DATE OF CHANGE OF OIL JAN 2001

AUXILIARY SYSTEM
BATTERY ROOM
There is a battery section of 55 batteries of 2 volt each, thus supplying a total of 110 volt
d.c. for functioning of Control Panel. The batteries are lead acid type having the following
components –
 Plates
 Separators
 Electrolyte
 Container
 Terminal port
 Vent plugs

BATTERY CHARGING
 Initial Charging: It is the first charge given to batteries by which the positive plates are
converted to lead peroxide while the negative plates to spongy lead. In a fully charged
battery, the electrolyte specific gravity is maximum i.e. 1.2 gm/cm3 and terminal voltage
equal to 24 volts.
 Discharging: When a fully charged battery delivers its energy out by meeting a load, the
lead peroxide at positive plates and spongy lead at negative plates slowly gets
converted to lead sulphate. This is accompanied by decrease in specific gravity of
electrolyte to a value around 1 gm/cm3 and the terminal voltage is also brought down to
1.85-1.80 volts.
 Recharging: It is a process by which electrical energy is passed through battery to recap
to its original value. The positive and negative plates of a discharged battery when
recharged are converted back to lead peroxide and spongy lead respectively with
simultaneous increase in specific gravity of electrolyte and terminal voltage to their
original values.
 Floating of batteries: A fully charged battery can’t be allowed to remain an open circuit
since it will undergo a continuous discharge due to internal losses. Thus in order to
retain at least the adequate energy in a battery the internal losses are continuously
compensated and this process is known as Float charging. The current flowing during
this process is called ‘Trickle Charging current’.
A lead acid cell of 2 volts can be floated anywhere between 2.15-2.20 volts.

CONTROL AND MONITORING

CONTROL ROOM
The control room has got a Control Panel to which all the connections of transformers and
feeders are made for remote operation. A ‘Control cables and Conduit system’ is required
for affecting automatic controls making use of d.c. supply equal to 110 or 220 volts. For
laying these cables, ducts run from control room basement to centrally located ‘junction box’
from where the conduits are sent to required points. The d.c. supply comes from battery
room.

The major things to understand in a control room are –

a) Control wiring
b) Control and relay panel
CONTENTS OF CONTROL AND RELAY PANEL

 W = wattmeter
 KVA = KVA meter
 VAR = VAR meter
 A = ammeter
 pf = power factor
 V = voltmeter
 VS = voltmeter selector switch
 AS = ammeter selector switch
 95 = circuit supervision
 86 = master trip
 T & C = trip and close switch
Fig: Front view of control and relay panel

 51 A = overcurrent relay
 51 N = earth fault relay
 1/6 = 6 way annunciation relay
 KWh = energy meter
 T.T.B. = test terminal block
 F = fascia 6 ways

PROTECTIVE RELAYS
The protective relay may be defined as an electrical device interposed between the main
circuit and circuit breaker in such a manner that any abnormality in the circuit acts on the
relay, which in turn, if the abnormality is of a dangerous character, causes the breaker to
open and isolate the faulty element from the remaining healthy circuit. Thus relay ensures
the safety of circuit equipment from any damage.

All relays have three essential fundamental elements –

1. Sensing Element: Also called the measuring element, it responds to the change in
actuating quantity, for instance, current in case of overcurrent relay.
2. Comparing Element: It serves to compare the action of the actuating quantity on the relay
with a preselected relay setting.
3. Control Element: On the pickup of relay, it accomplishes a sudden change in the control
quantity such as closing of operative circuit current.
DETAILS OF RELAY CONTACTS

1-2 = alarm contacts

3-4 = tripping contacts
5-6-7 = blank
8 = for negative pulse
9-10 = C.T. secondary contacts