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SURGE ARRESTERS AND TESTING ‘Keith Hi Doble Bngineering Company Surge aresters are ofen “overlooked” when performing Power Factor tests on tankers, teakers and ether apparatus ina substation. Often times, the esters are avate of how aransrmer o 8 beaker fedons, but are not avare of the intended purpse of the sarge asters. Since thre are 20 “rnving” pars maintain oa ol sample to pul, often thee poy not to perform any tering of the are ‘Surge nesters ar devies that help prevent damage to appt det igh voltages, The reste provides al-ipedance path to ground fr th eueveat oma ighning ske - tansient volage andthe restores fo a aormal operating conditions. & surge mest may be compared tale valve ons boiler or hot water heater, Tt wll eles high pressure unt nonnal operating condition is reached, When the pressures retuned to nora, te safety valves ready forthe next operation. When ‘high voltage (greater than the normal line voltage) exists onthe line, the reste mnedteyTumishes ‘path o ground and thus nis and drains oT the excess voltage. The arester must provide this relief tnd then prevent any farther low of cureat to ground. The aester as two function, it mist provide & point in the cit at which an over-votae pls can pss to grand und second to prevent an fallow {tp curent fom flowing to ground ‘The technology of surge anestes has undergone major changes in the lst 100 years. Ta the ealy 1900's, spark gaps were used supross ovr voltages. In the 1930", the silicon cache replaced the spark gaps. In the mid 1970's, zine oxide gaplesarestes, which posessed superior protection characteris, replaced he siion carb ester. A great number of silicone carbide arrester ar sil inservice. The silicone curbde sexe hss some unas electrical characterises. Itas avery high ressance to low vllage, but very low ‘sistance to high-voltage, When ighning tikes or a ansient voltage occurs onthe system thee ssn ae in volingeandcucent. The silcaneexbie resisteace beaks down allowing the cues to be ‘conducted wo ground, After te surge has passed, the esistnce ofthe silicone eubide blocks increases allowing nota opeation. The silicone carbide antstr uses nonlinear rexstors made of bonded silicone ‘abide placed in eres with gps. The function ofthe gape iso kala the resistors fom he noel steady-state system voltage. One major drawback isthe gaps require elaborate design to ensure consistent spark-over level and positive clearing (eseatng afer a surge pases. I should be recognized tha over period of operations tat melted particles of copper might farm which could lead 10 aredtion ofthe breakdown voltage duet the pinpoint effect. Over a period of tine, the arestr gap will break down at sul over voliages or even at normal operating vliages, Extreme cre shold be taken om arrester tt have filed but the overpressure rele valve did not opeate, This presse may eause the axe ‘This design is not as popular duc to the emergence ofthe Metal Oxide Varstor (MOV) arester. Silicon carbide atesters are vulerable fo moisture ingress that leads o fire du to redution in Spark ‘over. Contamination ca also upsat voltage datbution resting in spark over reduton. Overs period ‘ot time, excessive energy inputs can destroy the ability ofthe blocks and gaps to inter fllow eurent, Tending ofa ofthe aes. In an Octobe 1996 sue ofthe IEEE Transaction on Power Delivery, Dr. MDarveniza recommended that all silicon carbide arestrs hat hao ben inservice fer ove 13 years be epliced de to moistare ingress. His tests revealed that degradation was evident in 75% of svesters tested. 1 20 tbe ageing Compe 1 ‘At Righasened| ‘To determine ia silicon eatbide aroster warants replacement, ld-esting must be performed. ‘The ideal method isto determine the prseative evel ofthe arestr, this isnot practical since an impale generator is require. An eflective and moe practical method ito determine the wats-loss of the reste and compare tke aresters. Testing methods wil be reviewed later ‘The MOV anrestris the arester unl installed tea. Doble documentation reveal that MOV ‘ype restr entered the martin the United Sats around 1976, The metal oxide atesters ae Without {ore ltr tr SIC srrtr The“ deg siminates te high hes seit ith he ing discharges. The MOV areste as twe-volage ating: duty eyle and maximum continuous operating ‘voltage, unlike the silicone carbide that jus as tho duty eee ating, A metal-oxide surge arrestor uilizing zine-oxide blocks provides the est perfomance, as surge veltge conduction stats and ops prompily a precise voltage lve, thechy improving system protection, Faire is reduced as there is oat gap contamination possibility but theres ava. small vale of leakage earent preset at porting roquency Silicon Carbide Metal Oxide Shunt Resistor Valve Blement Gop ee Daign (COV & MOV) Newer esien ts important forthe test personnel tobe aware tha wen a metal oxide arrester is disconnected fom an energie lines sal aun of static charg canbe rained by the aeatr, AS ay peceuton, the tester sould ins a temporsry ground to discharge any stored energy. Dury yee rating The silicon carbide and MOV aerestor have a duty eel ating in KV, which is detemined by diy eyel esting. Duty eye testing of wn arrester is performed by subjecting an arester ‘oan AC ims voltage equa tis ating fr 24 minutes. During which the aester ust be able to withstand ightaing surges at L-minue intervals, Fr sation class aeses, the magnitude of his surge is {oka (10,000 amperes). For Itennedlate and dsrbuton class areser, hs surge is 3 KA (S000 Ampere). The surge wave hope isan 820 which means the current wave reaches acest in 8 rilisecos and diminishes to alte erest value in 20 millisecond Maximum contimons operating voltage rating ~ MCOV. The MCOV rating it wssly 80 to 90% ofthe dy eet sing. ANSVIEBE C62.1 (IEEE Standard for Gapped-Carbon Surge Amesters for AC Power Citi a (C6211 (IEEE Standard fr Meta Oxide Surge Avesters foe Atemating Coeat Pover Crus) Separates lighting aescs int fur clases sation, intermediate, dstibution, and secondary ‘©2004 Dele Engosing Conny 2 ‘AU Rigs Reseed ‘sone may guess, cach clas offers diferent loves of potion and energy diversion. The station lass arestr offers the best level of protection apis capable of diverting the most eneray. ‘Tae interme class has de next est eve, witha lower energy divesion capability than the station cast este. The distelouton cass ames offers the lowest level of pratction with he lowes energy ‘iverson epablty. The scondary cas reser dase not ovelap with any of the oer clases that rakes it fet te compare with he ober lasses. Tae sation eas reser offers the mos proestion, ‘bur the higher protection lo ess higher cost per unt PolymeriPorcdain Arresters: Polymer arses are pining a populaity ver the porelan anesters, When relose operation ‘ceurs d he falas not lee, the ester is subjected toa secon felt cureat. This second ‘operation often least reser explosion since the porcelain had already been Weakened by the fist ful. Ifthe pressure rei rating ofthe aretr i exceaded th reste may fil wont sine it eannot vont te exces gasses. This ype of failure oan eed to other equipment bing datnaged of injury to petsoael who my bein he vicinity ofthe fire, Due othe ability ofthe polymer sation neste 0 ‘vent ct the side, he housing isnot weakened when expesed tothe alt cre Therefore a polymer amestr canbe reclosd on multiple times without the feu of violent fare. The polymer arrester sce Jess expensive than the poreelain arrester and appear o avoid some of he in servic robles, such ae noistare ingress that often oseur in porelan restr. One manufetrer reports that moisture ingress is the dest eatie of ire in 86% of failures. nding Suspect Amesters: ‘+A daged seal-gappod aester shouldbe handled with ene, Duct nereased pressure cased by the detuction of internal elements, a defective arestr may become an explosive hazard ‘+ 1Ftho decision made to een a internal napton ofthe failed arrester, be esd tha the _aneser bs vented properly + Donot “throw avay” &defestiveaester~ te ameter shouldbe properly vented before disposing ‘Note ht the ester is basically ntact The sie ait, but no pices are blown away fom eater. 0 204 Dale ageing Company 3 ‘Agnes

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