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Controlled Switching of Power Transformer and Shunt Reactors for

Minimization of Switching Transients: A Review

Article in Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series B · October 2021

DOI: 10.1007/s40031-021-00683-6

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40031-021-00683-6

REVIEW PAPER

Controlled Switching of Power Transformer and Shunt Reactors

for Minimization of Switching Transients: A Review
Ajay Kumar1 • Rehana Perveen1 • Urmil Parikh2

Received: 2 January 2021 / Accepted: 27 September 2021

Ó The Institution of Engineers (India) 2021

Abstract Switching transients arises due to random Introduction

switching of power apparatus results in degradation of
thermal and dielectric health of equipment and system as a Switching of transformers and reactors is carried out due to
whole. Controlled switching or point on wave control has intentional (maintenance) and un-intentional (fault) causes.
emerged as excellent solution for minimizing the charging Uncontrolled switching due to any of the above issues
transients and can aid the better condition monitoring of imposes thermic and dielectric stress on equipment and
circuit breaker. Different switching strategies are in place degrades its useful life span. Besides thermal and dielectric
based on different design and connection configurations. degradation, switching transients also cause power quality
Each methodology has certain advantages and dis-advan- issues and may mal-operate the associated protection sys-
tages. The performance of control switching is dependent tems [1–4]. Various methods were devised in past to
on the dielectric performance of insulating medium and address the degradation issues and is an active area of
circuit breaker performance. The effect of variations in research. In this context, controlled switching has emerged
insulation dielectric properties and breaker mechanical as an effective measure to minimize the switching tran-
performance has been discussed in depth in this paper. sients. Different charging strategies are in place based on
Selection and performance of feedbacks used in controlled different design and connection configurations [5–7]. In the
switching also play a major role in target evaluation and initial stage, control switching operation was done to pre-
needs proper assessment. Review of different controlled vent re-ignition/re-strike during the random opening of
switching methodologies in respect of transformer and shunt reactors. However, with the advancement of fast
shunt reactor have been discussed in paper augmented with controller and sensors, it is now being used to switch other
field cases. Based on the review of available controlled power apparatus also. Controlled Switching Device (CSD)
switching methodologies and field experience, the accep- is designed to function in line with the IEC-61850 protocol
tance criteria have been proposed. and allows inter-operability. In addition, CSD helps in
better condition monitoring of CB thereby increase the
Keywords Inrush current  Residual flux  committed life time.
Shunt reactor opening  Rate of rise of dielectric strength  During the controlled switching (CS) action, the com-
Rate of decrease of dielectric strength  mands to CB are sent in such a manner that final conduc-
Transient recovery voltage tion or interruption takes place at a suitable point on
the reference phasor. CS is a coordinated activity wherein
the performance of CB is equally important. CS will not
give the desired results with the associated CB is having
& Ajay Kumar
large operating time variations or less dielectric recovery
[email protected] characteristics. Further, the performance of feedback sys-
tem and reference signal can vary the efficacy of CS. The
1
Chandigarh University, Mohali, India connection configuration of CS is shown in Fig. 1.
2
Hitachi ABB Power Grids, Vadodara, India

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 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

In this paper, different controlled switching method- (RDDS) of CB, breakdown of the dielectric medium take
ologies for transformer and reactor have been discussed. place earlier than mechanical contact touch of CB contacts
Review of present practices and their effectives have been which leads to pre-arcing [11]. The rated mechanical
elaborated in depth. operating time of CB is stored in CSD and the required pre-
Dielectric property of insulating medium and CB arcing time can be either fed to controlled or it can be
mechanical properties play a major role in the effective evaluated by CSD as per network conditions. Therefore,
implementation of CS and the influence of same have been the objective of CS is to initiate electrical closing rather
elaborated for different cases. Further, the selection of than mechanical closing; the difference between electrical
suitable voltage slope (rising or falling) also impacts the and mechanical closing influences the efficacy of CS.
effectiveness of controlled switching and has been dis- Figure 2 depicts the working principle of controlled
cussed in the paper. switching operation of three phase independent pole
operated CB. Electrical closing (Telect) refers to the total
operating time taken by CB after release of latch from
Controlled Closing Operation closing coil till current initiation as given in relation
Eq. (1). Further, the target instant (angle) for all the three
Closing of CB at unfavourable time instant causes phases of CB shall be different due to phase displacement
switching transients and affects the dielectric thermic life among phases.
of system. In case of transformers, the inrush current is Telect ¼ Toperating  Tarc ð1Þ
generated during random charging due to possible core
saturation and reduction in inductance (due to doubling Peak voltage charging is the optimum strategy for
effect). The effect will be aggravated in the presence of transformers having independent magnetic circuits
residual flux remains in the core [8, 9]. The inrush current however there exists diversity in connections
generated during random charging can exceed 3–4 pu level configurations and magnetic coupling. The charging
with considerable DC content [10]. Damping of such angles recommended by CIGRE dis-regarding residual
asymmetric inrush current takes longer time due to the high flux are shown in Table 1, wherein R-phase is selected as
system X/R ratio. Further, the random charging in weak a lead phase and balance two phases shall be charged
grid systems poses additional power quality issues and a quarter cycle later (for coupled case). The individual
voltage dip may exceed the specific Grid Code require- phase can be switched at peak of the voltage for
ments. Due to inductive nature of transformer, its switching independent magnetic circuits. The selection of lead
at zero voltage poses worst inrush current. phase can be R-phase or other based on user decision.
Controlled closing refers to the release of control volt- For a coupled transformer with neutral earthed, the
age to closing coil of CB such that switching i.e electrical
conduction could take place at optimum instant. Intentional
delay is added to random command received from Bay
control unit. CSD during this period evaluate zero crossing
for the purpose of synchronization of closing command.
Due to specific rate of decrease of dielectric strength

Fig. 1 Connection philosophy of CS Fig. 2 Controlled closing principle

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

Table 1 Charging targets dis-regarding residual flux [5]

Winding connections Design philosophy Closing targets (R–Y–B sequence at 50 Hz in absence of residual flux
Winding 1 (side of charging) Winding 2 R Y B

Yg D 1-U bank VRg Peak R target ? 90°

3-limb
5-limb
Yg Yg/Y 3-limb
D Yg/D 1-U bank VRY peak R target ? 90°
3-limb
5-limb
Y Yg/Y/D 1-U bank
3-limb
5-limb
Yg Yg 1-U bank VRg peak VYg peak VBg peak

physically positioned center phase (possibly Y-phase) can   pffiffiffi  

 3 
be selected from magnetic symmetry point of view a ¼ arccos ;r pffiffiffi   x ð2Þ
V 2
[12]. Peak voltage charging is suitable in the cases
having unknown residual flux information and further, Targets mentioned in Table 1 and Fig. 3 results in
the residual flux is rarely zero in EHV transformers. charging of all the phases with one power frequency
Therefore, complete mitigation of inrush currents cannot be period time. This methodology is known as rapid
achieved in peak voltage cases. Moreover, the peak controlled closing. The rapid controlled is most effective
charging involves application of step voltage to method if information about residual flux is available to
transformer windings and imposes more dielectric stress CSD controller. However, in most of the cases, a voltage
on the end turns of winding/bushing. measurement facility is not available with the transformer
Residual flux retains in the transformer core largely and residual flux quantum remains unknown. In this aspect,
affect the performance of charging strategy and can worsen flux locking can be achieved by way of the controlled de-
the situation if charged on same polarity. The charging energization process of transformer, wherein opening of all
angles alongwith corrections for residual flux are shown in three poles shall be done at pre-determined instants and
Fig. 3. accordingly the flux is evaluated at opening instant. Unless
The correction for a phase having residual flux (;r ) for any disturbance occurred in the respective phase, the flux
angular frequency x is given by Eq. (2): remains in core shall be unaltered and can be used during

Fig. 3 Charging targets considering residual flux [11]

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 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

closed when dynamic flux matched prospective flux. Core

flux equilization effect works quite satisfactorily in coupled
circuits. There shall be not any transient changes in flux
and hence the transformer shall be put into steady state
position [16, 17]. Figure 5 depicts the voltage of all three
phases with delayed CS having 0.2 pu residual flux.
The delay between closing between lead phase and
balances phases is evaluated considering inter-pole dis-
crepancy limits and resonance issues. Delay of more than
two power cycles can lead to the flow of continuous
unbalance currents in the circuit that may active zero
Fig. 4 Rapid controlled switching methodology
sequence-based protection systems. It is a compromise
solution where complete mitigation of inrush is not
subsequent closing operations. Hence controlled de-
achieved but resulting transients are within
energization is an effective methodology for evaluating
acceptable conditions.
residual flux in cases where dedicated VT/CVT is not
From the above discussion, controlled closing strategies
available [13–15]. Figure 4 depicts the voltage of all the
for transformer shall be:
three phases with delayed CS having 0.2 pu residual
flux. Rapid controlled closing with consideration of a) Rapid CS without considering residual flux
residual flux shall be most effective in mitigating inrush b) Rapid CS with considering residual flux
transient and dielectric stress. Since the consideration of c) Delayed CS without considering residual flux
residual flux requires target correction and final target shall d) Delayed CS with considering residual flux
be deviated from ideal voltage peak, this deviation from
Methodology at serial number (b) and (d) is most
peak reduces the amount of voltage applied upon charging
effective in mitigating the inrush currents [18]. Table 2
and lead to lesser dielectric stress as compared to peak
indicates the methodologies adopted by various authors
charging case.
and resulting inrush currents during charging of unloaded
transformer.
Delayed Controlled Switching
RDDS and Mechanical Scatter Consideration
In delayed closing, the lead phase is closed near the peak
of phase neutral voltage and balance phases are closed with
During the closing operation, CB movable contacts change
a delay of 1–2 cycle period. This methodology is most
their position with certain velocity to contact with fixed
effective in cases where the transformers are magnetically
contacts. Current shall be initiated at the instant of contact
or electrically coupled. With the energization of first pole,
touch if the dielectric strength of medium is infinite.
the majority of flux will be established in the respective
However, in actual CBs the insulating medium has certain
core limb and due to magnetic/electrical coupling, the
dielectric strength. During the actual closing operation, the
majority of flux shall be established in the complete core.
arc is established between the CB contacts due to dielectric
With the core flux equalization, the residual flux of
breakdown of the insulation medium prior to physical
remaining two phases will be reduced and then they can be
touch of contacts. The pre-arcing occurred due to dielectric
breakdown of insulation medium is a function of its rate of
decrease of dielectric strength (RDDS). RDDS is a manu-
facturer specific parameter and its characteristic is slightly
away from straight line however for simplicity it is
assumed to be a straight line for both positive and negative
polarity [23]. The maximum rate of change in system
voltage for 400 kV, 50 Hz system shall be:
dv Vo x 327  314
¼ ¼ ¼ 102:5 kV/ms
dt 1000 1000

Fig. 5 Delayed controlled switching

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

Table 2 Comparison of efficacy of different methodologies

References Methodology Transformer rating Inrush current (pu)

Chandrasena et al. [16] Delayed closing with residual flux measurement 1200MVA 500/230/46 kV 0.013 pu
Mercier et al. [19] Rapid closing with residual flux measurement 465MVA 18/315 kV 0.01 pu
Goldsworthy and Roseburg [11] Delayed closing 1008MVA, 525/241/34 kV Magnetization current
Li et al. [20] Rapid closing with residual flux 750MVA, 500/230/33 kV 0.3 pu
Parikh and Bhalja [14] Rapid closing with flux locking 1500 MVA, 765/400/33 kV Magnetization current
CIGRE Guidelines [5] Delayed closing 375MVA, 315 kV Magnetization current
Bronzeado et al. [21] Rapid closing with residual flux 100MVA, 230/138 kV Magnetization current
Prikler and Bánfai [22] Rapid closing with residual flux 155MVA, 132/15 kV 0.35 pu

Fig. 6 CB scatter characteristics [5]

RDDSðabsolute of CBÞ Fig. 8 Peak energization with 1.0 pu RDDS and ± 1.0 ms CB
RDDSpu ¼ pu ð3Þ scatter
System voltage max dv/dt
Value of maximum voltage derivative shall be energy). This small variation is statistical in nature and
considered as 1pu and actual RDDS of CB shall be cannot be compensated. This mechanical time variation of
expressed with its relative. Pre-arcing time based on RDDS CB is called CB scatter and is usually approximated by
can be evaluated by the following expression: Eq. (5):
Voltage DTstatistic ¼ 3rmech ðmsÞ ð5Þ
Tprearc ¼  ðmsÞ ð4Þ
RDDS kVms The CB scatter for controlled switching purpose is
intended to fit in 99.8% values as shown in Fig. 6. The
The CB due to its inertial and mechanical linkage has EHV AC CBs has typical CB scatter of ± 0.5
different operating time even in same environmental
conditions (including control voltage, pressure, drive

Fig. 7 Peak energization with 1.0 pu RDDS and ± 0.5 ms CB Fig. 9 Peak energization with 0.75 pu RDDS and ± 1.0 ms CB
scatter scatter

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 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

and ± 1.0 ms value and the CB with small scatter is more

suitable for controlled switching [5].
A pre-arcing time for a 400 kV, 50 Hz voltage with 1pu
RDDS and ± 0.5 ms CB scatter is shown in Fig. 7 with
peak target angle. Pre-arcing time of 3.18 ms shall be
occured with respect to mechanical contact touch. With the
presence of CB scatter the deviation ranges to
2.68–3.68 ms delay from a peak of the reference volt-
age. The effect of same RDDS with increased CB scatter
of ± 1.0 ms is depicted in Fig. 8. From Fig. 8, it can be
observed that pre-arcing including CB scatter reaches to
3.18 ms ± 1.0 ms (2.18–4.18 ms) and the extreme point
i.e. 4.18 ms is adjacent to zero next zero crossing of the Fig. 11 Pre-arcing characteristics with 0.6 pu RDDS and ± 1.0 ms
reference voltage waveform. However, the peak target can scatter with shifted target
be achieved with a maximum CB scatter of 1 ms with 1pu
RDDS. the pre-arcing can prevail upto 5.31 ms peak i.e. next half
CB has a low closing speed as compared to the opening cycle. The CB scatter outer line is always beyond the
process, and therefore, the RDDS of actual CB is lower voltage curve can forces the target to hit at the next cycle
than 1.0pu. Pre-arcing characteristics of 400 kV 50Hz CB (near to zero). During this closing operation following two
were demonstrated in [24] and a pre-arcing time of 5.0 ms effects can be observed:
has been observed. The pre-arcing time of 4.25 ms corre-
a) High inrush current despite peak target
sponds to 0.75 pu RDDS without considering scatter. Pre-
b) Delay in current initiation
arcing characteristics of CB having 0.75pu RDDS with ±
1.0 ms scatter are plotted in Fig. 9 and it ranges to In order to prevent current initiation at the next half
3.25–5.25 ms. From Fig. 9, it can be appreciated that CB cycle, a maximum angle approach can be applied. In
shall be able to meet the target neglecting scatter and the the maximum angle approach, the peak target is shifted to
outer scatter line breaches the voltage curve. If CB closing such extend that CB scatter outer line restricts the peak
operation is done with 0.75pu RDDS then the pre-arcing voltage [5]. Figure 11 shows the revised target with
may prevail till next half cycle. a maximum angle approach with 0.6pu RDDS and ± 1.0
Considering the dielectric strength of SF6 as 20 kV/cm ms scatter. In this case, a target shift of 18° electrical
and CB closing speed of 5 m/s, the resulting RDDS comes (1.0 ms) is done and the mechanical touch resides within
to 100 kV/ms. However, taking into account the contact the positive half cycle results in the successful achieve-
roughness, the dielectric strength arrives at 15 kV/ms. ment of current initiation.
Therefore, the RDDS value comes out to 75 kV/mm i.e. Further, simulations were carried out in the PSCAD/
0.73 pu [25, 26]. Figure 10 shows the pre-arcing charac- EMTDC software package for studying the variation in
teristics with RDDS of 0.6 pu with ± 1.0 ms scatter. It can inrush current of 315MVA 400/220/33 kV Yya0d11
be appreciated that with the intended peak closing target, transformer operated on a 50 Hz system. The charging
target is varied within the range of ± 1.0 ms from peak i.e.
from 4.0 ms till 6.0 ms for first phase to close. Since the
optimum instant for charging balance two phases is 5.0 ms
later, the respective targets are varied in 4.0–6.0 ms time

Table 3 Variation of inrush current due to scatter

Nos. of simulations Min. inrush current Max. inrush current
(pu) (pu)

Statistical variation
1331 0.05 1.19
Continuous
variation
1000 0.03 1.05
Fig. 10 Pre-arcing characteristics with 0.6 pu RDDS and ± 1.0 ms
scatter

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

from first phase. Following two sets of simulations were reactors can be charged with rapid charging method.
carried out:- Generally, shunt reactors are energized at peak voltage to
avoid asymmetry [5]. As discussed above, peak charging
a) Fixed variations of targets within set range
imposes sudden voltage on windings and can weaken the
b) Random variations of targets within set range
dielectric characteristics. Therefore, considering CB scatter
For the first category, the charging targets for varied and dielectric consideration, maximum angle approach is
with 0.1 ms step for 2.0 ms for three phases and a total of the best suited approach for reactor charging.
1331 (11 9 11 9 11) simulations were carried out. For
the second category, the CB is modeled as a statistical
function and the individual pole peak target is varied in Selection of Feedback System for Confirmation
a range of 4.0–6.0 ms (1st pole) randomly. A set of 1000 of Closing Operation
simulations were carried out. The simulation results are
depicted in Table 3. CSD works in a close loop manner wherein the actual
The inrush currents from transformer are in the range of switching (closing/opening) time of CB is measured and
no-load current values when charging is done at an opti- compared to rated/intended targets. The difference in
mum angle. From the above results, it can be appreciated actual and rated timing is stored in CSD and used as
that inrush currents vary from no load values to 1.19 pu an adaption for the next switching operation. Hence, this
level (approx) considering scatter at peak of reference error is based on the accuracy of the feedback system and
phasor. The variations shall be increased if the intended plays important role in the effective operation of CSD.
target lies in falling slope. Therefore, the objective of Following are the feedback systems used in CS [5]:
optimum controlled switching is to attain a target within
a) Current feedback
the persisting scatter range and not a single absolute angle.
b) Voltage feedback
For evaluating the consistency of CS, the series of tests
c) Auxiliary contact feedback
needs to be done whether they falls within 1 pu range
considering scatter or not. One successful closing operation Among the above methods, voltage feedback is the most
with no load values can mislead the efficacy of method- suited system for observing the actual switching point,
ology. Peak voltage charging is optimum for the reduction however, in most cases the load voltage is not avail-
in inrush currents (thermic stress) however the sudden able. The voltage threshold are required for evaluating
application of step voltage may impose dielectric stress to actual voltage start viz-a-viz small leakage voltage.
the transformer. Winding turns near to the HV end may In the case of shunt reactors, the saturation point is
experience dielectric more stress. The maximum angle higher than the transformer and therefore currents shall
approach entails charging at reduced voltage as compared initiate alongwith electrical closing. Hence, current starting
to peak and is also helpful in managing the dielectric instant can be considered as a charging point in the case of
health. reactors. However, time to saturation in case of the trans-
With the increase in capacity of a transformer, the former varies depending upon flux dynamics and current
capacitance value increases considerably, and hence, the flow may start after a lapse of few milli second period.
residual flux that resides in the core reduces to 0.1–0.3 pu Therefore, the current initiation detection method is not
values. If we consider the target correction for residual flux an optimal method for use as feedback to the CSD con-
0.3 pu, it will reside near the extreme points of CB scatter. troller in case of a transformer. Moreover, the current
Therefore, the effect of residual is partially accounted in
CB scatter.

Controlled Closing of Shunt Reactor

The saturation level of shunt reactor is higher than

a transformer and they are always charged on loaded
conditions. Therefore the possibility of saturation and
inrush current is less severe as compared to transformer
charging. Random charging results in the flow of DC
current which can saturate the protection CT cores and can
result in protection mal-operation. Independent core reac-
tors are charged at voltage peak (all phases) and coupled Fig. 12 Asymmetry due to in accurate auxiliary feedback

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 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

was released by CSD considering the rated closing time.

However, over time, the auxiliary contact of CB R-phase
measure closing time of 81 ms instead of rated time. As a
result, the CB did not energize the reactor at desired target
and results in large asymmetry. Therefore, auxiliary con-
tact feedback systems need careful monitoring for its
response during closing operation.

Controlled Opening Operation

Controlled opening operation refers to release of

the opening command such that current interruption shall
take place at an optimum time of voltage phasor. Opening
of shunt reactor is more stringent as compared to
the transformer due to possible re-ignition inside CB
interrupter. Figure 13 depicts the controlled opening
methodology for three phase CB with an independently
pole operated mechanism.
During the opening operation, the CB contacts start
separating from each other at a certain velocity. During the
parting process, there is a race between recovery of
dielectric strength (insulation) and dielectric stress imposed
Fig. 13 Controlled opening operation
by recovery voltage. The insulating medium has a certain
recovery rate and did not built up instantaneously; there-
thresholds are difficult to define in case of no load charging fore; the arc will be established between CB contacts due to
due to limited accuracy of CT at low current values. dielectric breakdown. With the generation of arc, the cur-
Circuit breakers have an auxiliary contacts 52 A and B rent will continue to flow even after contacts were physi-
which change their position with CB main shaft. If the cally separated till the dielectric strength of the insulating
auxiliary contacts are coupled to the main contacts shaft of medium got higher than system voltage derivative. The
CB, then the co-relation of CB timings can be established arcing current ceased to zero at subsequent zero crossing
with fair accuracy. And auxiliary contact feedback can after a buildup of sufficient dielectric strength. Electrical
give the actual closing/opening operation. Auxiliary con- opening time (Telect) is defined as the time taken by CB
tact co-relation is required to be checked on a continuous after the release of latch till current zero takes place and it
manner for avoiding wrong feedback [27, 28]. is the summation of mechanical opening time (Tmech) and
Figure 12 shows the disturbance record of the closing arcing time (Tarc) as given in expression Eq. (6). The shunt
operation of a 400 kV CB having rated mechanical closing reactor opening targets for diverse configurations recom-
time of 100–105 ms. Accordingly, the closing command mended by CIGRE are shown in Table 4

Table 4 Shunt reactor opening targets [5]

Magnetic configuration Electrical configuration A B C
Ref Ref - 120° Ref ? 120°

Bank of single reactors Yn 90° A ? 120° A ? 60°

Y or Delta 90° A ? 90° A ? 90°
Y NGR 90° A ? 120° A ? D0
Three-phase reactor 3 limbs Yn 90° A ? 120° A ? 60°
Y 90° A ? 90° A ? 90°
Y NGR 90° A ? 120° A ? D0
Three-phase reactor 4 or 5 limbs Yn 90° A ? 120° A ? 60°
Y or Delta 90° A ? 90° A ? 90°
Y NGR 90° A ? 120° A ? D0

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

Fig. 14 Re-ignition free window

Fig. 16 Error amplification on different voltage slope

process, wherein the intended opening target shall be at the

centre of this window as shown in Fig. 15. The minimum
arcing time for the evaluation of re-ignition free window
needs to be derived from CB reactor switching type tests
[29]. A safety margin of 1–2 ms is kept for meeting vari-
ations in CB scatter & RRDS scatter [30, 31]. The objec-
tive of CS during reactor opening is to dispatch opening
commands such that predicted arcing time should never be
less than minimum arcing time of CB derived from reactor
switching tests.
Re - ignition free window ¼ Half cycle time
Fig. 15 Reactor opening with short arcing time  Tarc CB scatter
Telect ¼ Tarc þ Tmech ðmsÞ ð6Þ  Safety margin ð7Þ

Reactors installed with a neutral grounding reactor The centre of re-ignition free window for reactors above
(NGR) require additional correction as per the above 63MVAR 420 kV rating is generally more than 7.0 ms [5].
table depending on the ratio of reactor inductance to Further, the effect of scatter is less pre-dominant during
NGR inductance. opening due to high speed. The disturbance record as
The opening operation of CB is done at high speed as shown in Fig. 15 depicts the controlled opening of shunt
compared to closing operation; thus, the CB scatter is less reactor having a rated CB opening time of 21 ms. The
predominant. However, evaluation of arcing time is opening process has been carried out considering arcing
a critical parameter in efficient implementation of con- time of 5.0 ms and the opening did not
trolled opening of the reactor. A highly inductive current happened effectively. The dark black vertical line
of the shunt reactor can result in re-ignition/re-strike if the indicates the time of release of trip command and blue
dielectric property of insulation medium is not properly dotted line indicates the actual opening occured, all the
accessed. The rate of built of dielectric strength of insu- three phases didnot complete the half cycle period during
lation medium during the opening process is termed as last cycle which indicates harmful TRV and possible re-
Rate of Rise of Dielectric Strength (RRDS). The maximum ignition.
rate of change in voltage for 400 kV, 50 Hz system shall be
102.5 kV/ms (1 pu). The current shall be successfully
interrupted if the RRDS is higher than the system voltage Selection of Voltage Slope for Switching Operation
derivative. High voltage transient recovery voltage (TRV)
developed across CB terminals due to current chopping as It is always preferable to energize/de-energize a trans-
shown in Fig. 14. former or reactor on rising slope rather than falling slope.
The concept of re-ignition free window [5] is useful in The objective behind this selection is consideration of error
the proper assessment of arcing time for reactor opening magnification.

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 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. B

Table 5 Variations in timing of CB due to variables

Circuit breaker type SF6 circuit breakers
Mechanism type Pneumatic Hydraulic Spring
Operation type Open Close Open Close Open Close

Control temperature - 40C to ? 40C ± 10 ms ± 1.5 ms 30 ls/C 70 ls/C 30 ls/C 70 ls/C

Control voltage ± 10 ms ± 1.5 ms ± 0.5 ms ± 1.5 ms ± 0.5 ms ± 0.5 ms
Stored energy available - 5% to ? 5% Not available Not available ± 0.5 ms - 3 to ? 2.5 ms ± 0.5 ms - 3 to ? 2.5 ms
Accumulated number of operations ? 1.5 ms ? 1.0 ms ± 1.0 ms ± 2.5 ms ± 1.0 ms ± 1.0 ms
Infrequent operation (over 10 year life) Not available Not available Not available ± 10 ms Not available ± 10 ms

presented in [33] as shown in Table 5. From the available

literature, it is inferred that the possibility of low control
voltage at sub-station is very low and the variation of
timing is less sensitive therefore, the error introduced due
to variations in DC control voltage is less (upto 0.5ms for
spring mechanism). Further, the temperature corrections
are quite less in spring operated mechanism as compared to
hydraulic systems.
The effect of each variable during controlled switching
operation needs to be evaluated carefully and in any case,
the quantum of total compensation should not exceed the
half cycle period. In case, the compensation is found to be
Fig. 17 Reference voltage with large harmonics abnormally high, re-tuning or calibration of sensors is
required.
Figure 16 depicts the error magnification when charging
the same electrical target on a rising and filling voltage
slope. The magnitude of D2 i.e. falling slope error is Distorted Reference Signal
greater than the rising slope error D1. If the switching is
done at falling slope instead of rising slope, then target may It is the minimum requirement that reference phasor
deviate to large extend and the required response will not (voltage or current) should not contain a large quantum of
be obtained [15]. harmonic content. The basic purpose of reference in con-
Therefore, any of the targets for controlled switching trolled switching is the detection of zero crossing and
activity should be done with rising slope of reference synchronization. Figure 17 shows the reference voltage
phasor. signal containing substantial 3rd harmonics (more than
10%) and the peak of the voltage arrived not exactly at mid
of half cycle. Therefore, the desired results will not be
Effect of Control Voltage and Pressure obtained.

The closing/opening command received from CSD/BCU is

fed to closing/opening coils and they produce displacement Conclusion
of plunger results in the release of CB mechanism for
closing or opening operation. These coils produce rated In this paper, different methodologies for controlled
displacement on rated DC control voltage and variation in switching operation of transformers and reactors have been
control voltage can result in displacement deviation. The discussed and brought out that rapid or delayed controlled
control voltage compensation laws can be well established switching schemes are more effective when the residual
during type tests of CB in line with IEC/TR 62271-302 flux is taken into consideration. The dielectric behaviour of
[32]. Temperature and voltage dependence characteristics insulating medium plays a vital role in the effective oper-
of spring operated 145 kV CB were presented in [26]. The ation of controlled switching and needs to be properly
comparative analysis of control variables for SF6 CB was evaluated before implementation. Also, CB being a

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mechanical device have considerable inertia and mechan- Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers, 1–3 Apr
ical linkages therefore there are unavoidable statistical 2008, College Station, TX, USA (2008)
12. H. Ito, A. Mercier, M. Waldron, Controlled switching, in
variations in mechanical operating time. CB with low Switching Equipment. ed. by H. Ito (CIGRE Green Books.
scatter and high RRDS/RDDS are preferable for CS Springer, Cham, 2019)
applications. Close coordination of CB and CSD is 13. U. Parikh, B. Bhajla, Challenges in field implementation of
required for achieving the desired performance. In addition controlled energization for various equipment loads with circuit
breakers considering diversified dielectric and mechanical char-
to above, the feedbacks used in CS plays a vital role in acteristics. Electr. Power Energy Syst. 87, 99–108 (2017)
deciding corrections for subsequent switching operation 14. K.A. Bhatt, B.R. Bhalja, U. Parikh, Evaluation of controlled
and needs calibration during routine maintenance. Field energization of an unloaded power transformer for minimizing
examples have been discussed and proved that absence of the level of inrush current and transient voltage distortions using
PIR-CBs. IET Gener. Transm. Distrib. 12(11), 2788–2798 (2018)
proper assessment of arcing time setting & auxiliary con- 15. K.A. Bhatt, B.R. Bhalja, U. Parikh, Evaluation of controlled
tact feedback results in an undesirable responses from CS. energization of shunt reactors for minimizing asymmetric DC
component of charging current with circuit breaker having pre-
insertion resistors. Electr. Power Energy Syst. 93, 340–351
Funding This study and all authors have received no funding. (2017)
16. W. Chandrasena, D. Jacobin, P. Wang, Controlled Switching of
Declarations 1200MVA Transformer in Manitoba. IEEE Trans. Power Deliv.
31(5), 2390–2400 (2016)
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of 17. P. Wang, et. al., Application of converter transformer controlled
interest. switching in Nelson River Bipole III HVDC system. In Session
Papers & Proceedings B4-110, CIGRE 2018, Paris France
18. R. Gonzalez, A. Soler, J. Macias, G. Cordero, Controlled
switching strategies for transformer inrush current reduction: a
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