International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

Design & Manufacturing of 33kV GCB for Seismic

Evaluation in Power Substation
Sagar Shirsat, Department of mechanical Engineering, Savitribai Phule Pune University
Prof. S.P.Mogal, Department of mechanical Engineering, Savitribai Phule Pune University

Abstract - The performance of substation equipment during an performance features, performance objectives of substations
earthquake depends on their configuration, strength of structures are oriented toward protection of equipment rather
construction, ductility and dynamic properties. Substation than protection of structures. According to these objectives,
equipments are lightly damped structures having one or more the structures supporting equipment may be scarified to
natural modes within the frequency band of ground excitation.
prevent the equipment to be damaged, under seismic effects.
The satisfactory operation of substation during and after an
earthquake depends on the survival, without malfunction, of About the assessment of equipment seismic vulnerability,
many diverse type of equipment. Porcelain components are the injury studies and similar structures during past
identified as most vulnerable parts against earthquake vibrations earthquakes will always be checked, as a starting point
than any other components of the substation. Electrical perfectly reasonable and logical is desired. Equipment such as
equipment is mounted on support structure. Support structure current transformer, power transformer, and the circuit
and porcelain insulator amplify the ground acceleration at the breaker, is fixed components and critical component of every
base of porcelain components. Dynamic characteristics of single process. The failure rate of theses equipment have a
substation equipment are considered by carrying out finite direct connection with operating voltage, and Failure patterns
element analysis. In the present work, maximum response
each of them is nearly equal. The effect of the earthquake
spectral accelerations & displacements of supporting structures,
equipment and for both equipment placed on support structures occurred because of high vulnerability of substation
are evaluated with respect to the zone factors. Furthermore, equipment such as use of brittle materials in the core and
dynamic amplification factor (DAF) of substation support critical part of equipment (including ceramic materials)
structures and along with its electrical equipment are obtained inadequate lateral strength and stiffness. Low levels of
and effect of different parameters (e.g. support mass, height and equipment damping, interactions between adjacent equipment,
stiffness) are discussed along with the recommendations available interactions with the internal components of equipment,
in International standards. excessive equipment load, Inadequate and irregular
distribution of load on height, inappropriate installation and
Index terms - Circuit Breaker, Porcelain Components, Seismic
maintenance [1][2].
Qualification, Substation Equipment.
Experiences from past earthquake records showed that large
magnitude earthquakes could cause severe damage to
I. INTRODUCTION substations and result in major service disruption of a power
The electric power industry cascades at three levels, in the system. High-voltage substation components that have been
chain between power supply and power generation. designed without full consideration of the site seismicity
Considerable damage to the power systems is occurred due to and/or designed before the introduction of modern seismic
occurrence of even an elementary fault in substation design codes are the most vulnerable. The commonly observed
equipment may disrupt power supply. Besides collateral failure modes could be listed as failures in transformer oil
losses, direct losses could be humongous besides loss of leakage from bushings and Circuit breaker etc. Given diverse
precious human life. The experience of past earthquakes classes of assets exposed to seismic hazard, consistency in the
shows that damages of the Electrical network installation are process of risk assessment and management becomes a
very extensive in length and area but they are infrequent. challenging task. A key component of a substation is the
Power transmission and sub transmission substations must circuit breaker which is one of the single largest capital
considered as the most vulnerable and also the most risky investments (60% of the total investment). Hence, replacing a
nodes of power network experienced at the time of damaged circuit breaker with a new one or keeping a spare
earthquakes . The higher number of consumers of substation, circuit breaker in a substation is expensive.
higher the voltage of substation, then the higher the This research uses seismic vulnerability and risk in an
consequents and risk of malfunction of substation hence alternative way as the definition of the vulnerability follows
seismic vulnerability of equipment increases with substations the same logic as that of risk. Risk is related to future events
voltage due to the fact that higher voltage in substation leads (i.e., a seismic event) and their consequences (i.e., failure of
to higher isolation distances and then higher height of substation components), and vulnerability is related to the
substations equipment. Higher performances must be expected combination of consequences (i.e., failure of substation
from higher voltage substation structures. Unlikely to components) and associated uncertainty (i.e., uncertainty of
performance objectives of general structures that are the consequences). Risk assessments are crucial as they reduce
concentrated essentially on the structures and nonstructural the risks of unwanted events, which could be very costly both
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

physically and financially. It is essential for Governments and Fig.1 Seismic Qualification Process
decision makers to evaluate the seismic risk of substations. It Follow the right branch of the flow chart to find the first
directly contributes to the improvement of safety and security step in the process which is to select the seismic
in a power system against seismic hazard of varying qualification level of low, moderate or high. The 2007
magnitudes. version of the standard has qualification levels in Clause 8.
You will likely already know which seismic qualification
II. BACKGROUND level applies to region. Generally, the high level is required
A. Seismic Qualification Process out west and the moderate level applies to active seismic
The IEEE 693 standard, Recommended Practice for zones in the eastern and central states.
Seismic Design of Substations, would be more descriptive as Move down to the next box to find the Annex for your
the Seismic Qualification of High Voltage Power specific equipment type. The qualifications procedure for
Equipment which is the primary content and purpose of the your equipment is given according to the voltage rating.
document. The document focuses on the high voltage power
equipment such as the breakers, transformers, disconnect B. Seismic Qualification Levels
switches, instrument transformers, reactors, circuit switchers Earthquakes events are generally defined by intensity and
and arresters. magnitude. Intensity, such as the Modified Mercalli scale is
The large high voltage equipment has been the most used to give a subjective description of the earthquakes
problematic in seismic events and is the most difficult to affect. The Magnitude scale gives a quantitative measure of
replace when damaged. The standard is not so much a guide seismic events based on the amplitude of motion recorded by a
on how to design the equipment to resist the earthquake but seismograph. For design and test purposes we need a more
instead defines the qualification process for seismic test or specific definition of the seismic event which can be related to
analysis to insure they survive a seismic event and maintain the dynamic acceleration that the ground applies to our
function. The standard depends more on shake table tests than equipment.
analysis to most reliably insure that a piece of equipment will The highest intensity and magnitude seismic events have
have acceptable seismic withstand capability [1]. peak ground accelerations over 0.5g and some may reach 1g.
The direct way to get started with applying IEEE 693 is to These accelerations can be applied horizontally as well as
go first to figure 1 in the standard, Using this vertically to the equipment and may cause even higher
recommended practice, for a flow chart or quick overview dynamic response accelerations in the equipment. The
of the document. problem arises because high voltage equipment may have
resonant or natural frequencies close to the frequency of the
seismic waves traveling through the ground during an
earthquake. Repeated cycles of the resonant frequency can
cause the equipment accelerations to build up to 2 or 3 g.
effectively this means that up to three times the weight maybe
applied horizontally to center of mass of the equipment or to
parts of the equipment. For tall, heavy high voltage
equipment, this may cause failure of the foundations,
supporting structures or high voltage insulators. A careful
study of stresses along the load path from the foundation to the
top of the equipment is needed to insure the equipment can
resist high seismic accelerations.
The most important tool that we have for seismic design and
qualification is the response spectrum. The response spectrum
is a graph of the response acceleration of single degree of
freedom oscillators, all with the same damping, to the same
ground acceleration. For the high seismic qualification level,
which has a peak input ground acceleration of 0.5g, the
required response spectrum (RRS) for is given in Fig 2 [3].
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

The highest intensity and magnitude seismic events have

peak ground accelerations over 0.5g and some may reach 1g.
These accelerations can be applied horizontally as well as
vertically to the equipment and may cause even higher
dynamic response accelerations in the equipment. The
problem arises because high voltage equipment may have
resonant or natural frequencies close to the frequency of the
seismic waves traveling through the ground during an
earthquake. Repeated cycles of the resonant frequency can
cause the equipment accelerations to build up to 2 or 3 g.
effectively this means that up to three times the weight maybe
Fig.2 High Required Response Spectrum, 0.5g applied horizontally to center of mass of the equipment or to
The response spectrum is the theoretical response of the parts of the equipment. For tall, heavy high voltage
equipment and its components which have the resonant equipment, this may cause failure of the foundations,
frequencies and damping given in the curve. In dynamic supporting structures or high voltage insulators. A careful
analysis, the response spectrum can be used to calculate the study of stresses along the load path from the foundation to the
response accelerations of equipment. In testing, the shake top of the equipment is needed to insure the equipment can
table acceleration (not the equipment response acceleration) is resist high seismic accelerations.
converted into a test response spectrum (TRS) which can be
compared to the RRS to ensure that an acceptable magnitude III. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
and frequency content of the input motion was applied. A. 33kV GCB Design
The Fig 2, RRS, has a broadband (1 to 8 Hz) response of Design of 33kV GCB for seismic evaluation in power
1.6g (at 2% damping), to the 0.5g peak ground acceleration, substation is shown in fig.3 and dimensions are shown in table
due to the amplification from multiple ground oscillations I. Table II and III contains seismic qualification details and
which can occur within this frequency range. The broadband wind details respectively.
RRS is intended to cover a wide range of earthquakes rather
than just to represent a single recorded event for a major
earthquake. If the equipment has no resonant frequencies
below 33 Hz, then it is effectively a rigid body without
increased response acceleration, and experiences only 0.5g
(the zero period acceleration).
The standard has simplified the qualification process by
condensing the requirements into three levels. The first level is
basically for very low seismic zones and has no specific
analysis or test requirements. The other two have very detailed
analysis and test requirements to meet the qualification level.
The three seismic qualification levels are:
Low - 0.1g or less. This value roughly corresponds to the
0.2 G static horizontal seismic load in ANSI C37.09 for
design and test of high voltage insulators and bushings.
Moderate - 0.25g. This value has generally been applied to
lower acceleration and the less active seismic zones of the
eastern and central US. The moderate required response Fig.3 33kV GCB
spectrum is 50% of the RRS given in Figure 2.
High 0.5g. This level has been generally applied to the TABLE I
very active and high seismic areas of the west coast. 33KV GCB DETAILS
The 33kV circuit breaker with steel supporting structure 33 kV GCB Details
considered in this study was also a typical model as per the No Particulars Value
specification of Power utility. This equipment was an outdoor 1 Rated current 40 kA
gas circuit breaker. Earthquakes are caused by sudden rupture 2 Dynamic break current (Peak) 100 kA
of a geologic fault. Shock waves radiate from the fault fracture 3 Phase spacing 750 mm
zone & arrive at the earths surface as a complex 4 Interrupter length till support 650 mm
multifrequency vibratory ground motion having both 5 Total length (support porcelain + 1200 mm
horizontal & vibration components. The relative displacement, interrupter porcelain)
forces may be given to that design aspect so that the level of 6 Total length (interrupter porcelain) 650 mm
forces is minimized. However, provisions should also be taken
in equipment design to take such forces into account. TABLE II
SEISMIC QUALIFICATION DETAILS
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

Seismic Qualification Details Where is air density and is wind velocity

No Particulars Value Projected Area
1 Maximum seismic level 0.5g Where is shed diameter and is total length
(PGA/ZPA)
2 Damping ratio 0.02 (assumption) 4) For seismic force and bending moment
3 Spectral acceleration (Peak 1.94g
of RRS)
4 Static coefficient 1.0 (as per IEEE
693 - 2005) = Total Mass
5 Spectral acceleration 1.94g = Spectral acceleration (horizontal)
(Horizontal) = Spectral acceleration (vertical)
6 Spectral acceleration 1.55g = Acceleration due to gravity 10m/s2
(Vertical) = Static coefficient (1.0 as pe IEEE 693-2005)
= Bending moment due to horizontal seismic force
= Total length
TABLE III
WIND DETAILS
The seismic force in the horizontal direction is considered as
Wind Details bending force while the seismic force in vertical direction is
No Particulars Value considered as compressive force. The seismic force in
horizontal direction is considered for calculating bending
1 Wind velocity 75 km/hr
moment.
(assumption)
2 Air density 1.28 kg/m3
5) For short circuit force and bending moment
3 Wind pressure 277.78 N/m2
4 Drag factor 1.0 (for cylinder,
as per IEC 61463)
5 Projected area (support 0.22 m2
porcelain) = Permeability of free space = 410-7NA-2
6 Projected area (interrupter 0.16 m2 = Dynamic break current (peak) = 2.5Rated current
porcelain) = Interrupter length till support
= Phase spacing
B. Design Calculation = Bending moment due to short circuit force
Seismic analytical calculation on 33 kV GCB is performed
as per IEEE 693 with Maximum seismic level of 0.5g. 6) For wind force and bending moment
1) For section modulus and area of cross section: Fw=Wind pressure Projected area
Mw=FWl
Section Module ( ) Mw = Bending moment due to wind force
Where d0 is outer diameter and di is inner diameter
Area of cross section
IV. SEISMIC QUALIFICATION OF 33 KV GCB
Circuit Breaker is one of the most important units in the
2) For spectral acceleration (peak of RRS) electrical power system. The protection, stability and
In this case, required response spectrum (RRS) is assumed continuity of the system depend on the circuit breakers ability
to be linearly extrapolated from available RRS at high to switch line, load and existing currents and to interrupt fault
seismic qualification level of IEEE 693 - 2005. The spectral currents. The SF6 gas circuit breaker assures the high level of
acceleration in horizontal direction is assumed to be 100% of performance required for the reliable operation of the
the calculated spectral acceleration while the spectral electrical system by making full use of the exceptionally good
acceleration in vertical direction is assumed to be 80% of the electrical insulating characteristics and excellent are
calculated spectral acceleration [1]. quenching properties of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas. The
The equation of line in RRS of 0.5g at peak level is given reliability of the system is further increased by the use of a
by: SF6 gas insulating system and a single pressure dual flow SF6
gas puffer interrupter which reduces the number of moving
cylinder and auxiliary system in the circuit breaker. The
Where d is percent damping (2,5,10etc) and d20% pressure required to blast the SF6 gas against the arc and
for 2% damping interrupt the current is generated by the compression of the
gas between the moving cylinder and the stationary position of
the interrupter during the opening operation.
3) For wind pressure and projected area
Wind Pressure A. Finite Element Analysis
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

Model of equipment is designed in Unigraphics (NX-10) same boundary conditions to calculate natural frequency
based on all data which is required for FEM analysis. (resonance).
Functioning behavior of porcelain components used in circuit It is to be noted that sufficient modes should be included to
breaker with a supporting structure under damped condition ensure an adequate representation of the equipments
identified. Results will be obtained using finite element dynamic response. The acceptance criteria for establishing
analysis. Seismic qualification of the 33kV Circuit breaker by sufficiency in a particular direction should be that the
analysis will be carried out using Finite element analysis cumulative participating mass of the modes considered
software ANSYS 12.1. should be at least 90% of the sum of effective masses of all
modes (Ref: IEEE Std 693-2005). In this case, 10 modes
1) Structural modifications have been extracted in the frequency range of 0 Hz to 35 Hz.
The design of support structure is modified where The calculated mass participation in both horizontal
thickness and cross section of the main legs are changed directions (x&y) is nearly 95%.
from 65 x 65 x 6 to 75 x 75 x 8. In 3rd stage, the model is analyzed using response spectrum
The row of horizontal bracings is increased from 1 to 2. analysis where results from modal analysis have been used.
Additional support angles are added between the main legs The model is simulated under following inputs:
and the horizontal bracings. Constant damping ratio (Global damping) of 0.02 (2%) is
used for all modes.
The base excitations are given in the form of response
spectrum. RS accelerations are defined using required
response spectrum (RRS) for 2% damping and for zero
period acceleration (ZPA) value of 0.5g as per IEEE Std
693-2005. In this case, the available RRS of 0.25g is
extrapolated in order to get RRS at 0.5g. For each
horizontal direction, the RS acceleration is defined using
RRS with scale factor as 1.0 while for vertical direction,
the RS acceleration is defined using same RRS with scale
factor as 0.8.
For each component, a static force equals to the mass of the
component times the
percentage of mass missing
times the ZPA is applied.
The missing mass ZPA is
defined as 3 m/s2.
The total response in each
direction is determined by
applying the complete
quadratic combination
(CQC) technique to all
modal response
Fig.4Isomatric View of FEM Based GCB
components acting in that
The 'L' profile between the support structure and the direction.
housing is changed to 'C' profile keeping cross section and
thickness same. The support plate (gussets) inside this 3) Result and observations
profile are increased from 2 to 4. The additional 2 plates The maximum deformation
are placed such that the outer face of these plates align at top is reduced nearly by 40% due to modification in the
with the outer wall of the housing. The thickness is 12 mm support structure. This shows that this change is worked
which is same as the existing plates. positively.Due to reduction in the deformation the normal
The 2 angle ribs are added at both sides from inside of the stresses in the interrupter and in the support porcelains reduce
housing. They are aligned with the back face of the 'C' profile further which gives more safety margin.The stress levels on
and their thickness is kept as 6 mm. the support structure are significantly reduced and there are
hardly any locations where the stresses are beyond yield limit
2) Loading & boundary conditions of the material. The maximum equivalent stress is reduced
A static structural stress analysis is done in 1 st stage under from 730 MPa to 417 MPa.
the effect of standard earth gravity. In this case, base of the
support structure is fixed in all directions for translations and
rotations. The results of this analysis are linked to modal
analysis. Pre-stressed modal analysis is done in 2nd stage under
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

Fig.7 Housing
Considering all above results, it can be seen that there are
Fig.5 Support Structure
Similarly the stress concentration on top of the base frame no concerning or critical areas remain on the equipment. The
becomes less and also the magnitude of the maximum equipment and the support structure are looking completely
equivalent stress on the base frame came down nearly by safe under given seismic loading.
50%. There are very few stresses which are beyond yield
limit of the material. But considering their magnitude and the
area of concentration, they do not look concerning at all.The V. TYPE TESTING OF PRODUCT
major difference is seen on the support structure and at the Type testing is carried out in IIT Chennai for qualification
base of the housing which had shown high stress level of 0.5g. subjecting the specimen to a simulated seismic
excitation independently along the three orthogonal axis, of
magnitude 0.5g along two horizontal and one vertical
directions with a view to verify the mechanical capability of
the body frame, insulators etc. to withstand seismic forces.
The frequency range is frame 1.67-33.33 Hz (100-2000rpm)
in steps of 1.67 Hz (100 rpm) and at each frequency.
Excitation is maintained for 30 sec. strains are also to be
measured [4] [5].

A. Test setup
The specimen was mounted vertically on a rigid frame
made of steel channel fabrication and the entire frame with
the specimen was constrained to vibrate either in a vertical
plane or in a horizontal plane according to the requirements
by means of a reaction type of exciter. A double mass
unbalance exciter rigidly mounted on the framework
provided the excitation to the base of specimen. In the case of
vertical vibration, the frame was made to rest on elastic
supports namely helical springs while for the horizontal
vibration test the frame was made to rest on rollers instead.
Three acceleration pickups (seismic accelerometers) were
mounted in the direction of excitation, one at the base of the
support structure, one in middle (near the base of the
concentration areas.The overall stress levels are within yield insulator) and the other at the top of the specimen to sense
limit or are superficial and local. the corresponding acceleration levels (Fig. 8). This was done
for the longitudinal vibration mode and the transverse
Fig.6 Base Frame Profile
(bending) vibration modes of the specimen. Strain
The high stress concentration near base of the housing is measurements were carried out during horizontal modes of
also reduced and the stress results near connection between excitation by pasting strain gauges at the porcelain base.
the base profile and the housing are substantially improved.
This has mainly happened due to modification in the base
profile and the additional reinforcements provided at this
location. The stresses on the housing and on the profile are
within yield limit of the material.
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

is assumed that the Youngs Modulus of porcelain is

0.64106kgf/cm2and the stress level has been linearly
extrapolated to 0.5g base excitation level.

Fig.9 Vertical Direction Response

Fig.10 Horizontal H1 Direction Response

Fig.8 Schematic of the test setup

B. Test Procedure
The frequency of vibration of the specimen was varied
from 1.67 to 33.33 Hz (100-2000 rpm) and the accelerometer
output was monitored and recorded for the three directions. A
block diagram (Fig.8) indicates schematically the
instrumentation setup. The excitation corresponding to 0.5g
pk for the horizontal direction as well as vertical direction
was maintained for 30 seconds after which the specimen was
checked for any visible damage. The curves of magnification
factor vs. frequency of excitation were plotted (Fig 9-11).
Base acceleration is plotted for all cases. Fig.11 Horizontal H2 Direction Response

C.Results VI. CONCLUSION

After the seismic tests the specimen was checked for any Gas circuit breaker (GCB) is widely used in power
visible damage and none was found. Figure 9-11 give the substation. Based on the observed failure from the past
base acceleration levels and magnification factor vs. earthquakes,higher seismic evaluation procedure was studied.
frequency of excitation. From these forced response curve the It can be concluded that 33 kV gas circuit breaker with the
natural frequency of vibration can be arrived at. The revised design of support structure, housing and the base
maximum stress value of 128kgf/cm2occurs in the horizontal frame is safe at the seismic qualification level of 0.5gas per
direction H2 at 800cpm. These are within acceptable limits. It IEEE Std 693-2005 using static coefficient analysis method
and type testing.
This research can also be extended for higher kV gas circuit
breaker as well as for higher seismic qualification level.

REFERENCES
[1]IEEE Recommended Practices for Seismic Design of
Substations, IEEE Standard 693-2005.
[2]Hassani M., Safi M. and Hassani N., Evaluation of
Seismic Behavior of Circuit Breaker Based on Probabilistic
Approach, March 2014.
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 459-466

[3]Willie Freeman, Seismic Considerations of Circuit

Breakers, USA IEEE Tutorial 2008.
[4]Seismic Test Methods for Equipments, IEC 60068-3-3.
[5]Seismic qualification of alternating current circuit-breakers,
IEC 62271-300.
[6]Tutorial on seismic design and testing, Earthquake
engineering and vibration research center, CPRI, Bangalore.
[7]ANSYS Workbench User's Guide, Release 12.1, 2009.