GAS INSULATED SUBSTATION

A SEMINAR REPORT
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree
of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

by
VISHAL NIGAM
Under the guidance of

Mr. SATYENDRA SINGH

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,

LUCKNOW, 226021

CANDIDATES DECLARATION

I hereby, declare that the work which is being presented in this seminar
report entitled Gas Insulated Substation submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Technology to the Department
of Electrical Engineering, Institute of Engineering and Technology Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh, INDIA, under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Satyendra
Singh ,Department of Electrical Engineering, IET LUCKNOW.
To the best of my knowledge, the matter embodied in this seminar report
has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any
other Institute/University.
Date:
Place: Lucknow

(VISHAL NIGAM)

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the
best of my knowledge.
Date:
Place: Lucknow

(SATYENDRA SINGH)
Department of Electrical Engineering.
IET LUCKNOW

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and deep sense of
gratitude to all those who helped me in preparing this report
directly or indirectly. I would like to express my sincere thanks
to my respected
sir SATYENDRA SINGH for his expert
guidance and suggestion which helped me to make this report.
It gives me immense pleasure in conveying thanks to my
faculties who helped a lot in completing this seminar report. I
would also like to express my thanks to my friends.
I am extremely indebted to them for providing valuable support
and co-operation.

VISHAL NIGAM
1205220051
EE 3rd YEAR

CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. FEATURES OF GAS INSULATED SUBSTATION

2. INTRODUCTION TO SF6
3. COMPONENTS OF GIS.
3.1 DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS OF GIS
3.1.1 SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKER.
3.1.2 DISCONNECTOR.
3.1.3 EARTHING SWITCH.
3.1.4 INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMER.
3.1.5 LIGHTINING ARRESTORS.

4. ADVANTAGES OF GAS INSULATED SUBSTATION (GIS) OVER AIR

INSULATED SUBSTATION (AIS).

5. DISADVANTAGE OF GIS.

6. APPLICATION OF GIS.

7. CONCLUSION

8. REFERENCE

1.0 INTRODUCTION
A gas insulated substation (GIS) is a high voltage
substation in which the major structures are contained in a
sealed environment with sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF 6)as the
insulating medium. GIS technology originated in Japan, where
there was a substantial need to develop technology to make
substations as compact as possible. The clearance required for
phase to phase and phase to ground for all equipment is much
lower than that required in an air insulated substation; the total
space required for a GIS is 10% of that needed for a
conventional substation.

Gas insulated substations offer other advantages in addition to

the reduced space requirements. Because the substation is
enclosed in a building, a GIS is less sensitive to pollution, as
well as salt, sand or large amounts of snow. Although the initial
cost of building a GIS is higher than building an Air insulated
substation(AIS), the operation and maintenance costs of a GIS
are less.

Fig.1.0 An illustration of High Voltage Gas Insulated Substation.

Gas insulated substations (GIS) have been used in power

systems
Over the last three decades because of their high reliability,
easy
Maintenance, small ground space requirement etc. In India also,
a few
GIS units are under various stages of installation.
The basic insulation level (BIL) required for a gas insulated
substation
(GIS) is different from that of the conventional substation
because of
certain unique properties of the former. Gas insulated bus has a
surge

impedance (70) more than that of the conventional oil filled

cables, but
much less than that of an over head line (300 - 400).
Further, the
average bus run for a compact GIS is much less than that for
the
conventional station. In addition, the GIS is totally enclosed and
therefore is free from any atmospheric contamination. Hence,
in general
the GIS permit lower BIL rating than the conventional one.
However the
life of GIS is affected by several factors such as: conductive
particles,
particle discharges and contamination (decomposition
products,
moisture, etc.). Conductive particles inside the enclosure are
known to
reduce the breakdown level of Gas insulated systems. Partial
discharges
can develop from conductive particles, contamination, and
defects during
the manufacturing process, etc.
The GIS require less number of lightning arresters than a
conventional one. This is mainly because of its compactness.
The basic
consideration for insulation coordination is V-T characteristic.
The V-T
characteristic of SF6 is considerably flat compared to that of air.
Air can
withstand to very high voltages for very short time. However,
as the
duration of voltage increases, the withstand voltage falls off
considerably.
On the other hand, SF6 exhibits a flat characteristic, thus the
ratio of
basic lightning impulse level is close to unity for GIS, whereas
for the
conventional substations this ratio varies between 0.6 and
0.86.
Although GIS has been in operation for several years, a lot of
problems encountered in practice need further understanding.

Some of the problems studied are:

Switching operations generate very fast transient over
voltages (VFTOS).
VFTOS may cause secondary breakdowns inside a GIS and
Transient Enclosure Voltages (TEV) outside the GIS.
Prolonged arcing may produce corrosive / toxic Byproducts.
Support spacers can be weak points when arc Byproducts
and metallic particles are present.
From the reliability point of view, partial discharge
detection
is important.The methods of detection are of acoustic
system and electric systems etc. These methods lack
quality
control.

1.1 FEATURES OF GAS INSULATED SUBSTATION

The modular of design of GIS offers a high degree of flexibility
to meet
layout requirements of both substations, as well as power
station
switchgear, making efficient use of available space. GIS
technology has
reached a stage of application and a wide range of GIS
equipment up to
highest voltage of 800 kV is available with many unique
features. They
are:
Wide spread application of aluminum enclosure materials
for
standardized component models for all voltage ranges.
The light weight enclosures have good conductivity, low
eddy-current losses and a high resistance to corrosion.

 Easy handling, as well as reduced stresses on foundation

and support structure are additional features.
Standard arrangements can be easily modified and
extended
with good co-ordination between the manufacturer and
the
user.
A gas- tight barrier insulator in switchgear serve for the
separation of gas compartments and prevents
neighbouring
switchgear parts from being affected during maintenance.

2. INTRODUCTION TO SULPHUR
HEXAFLUORIDE(SF6)
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is an Inorganic, colorless, odorless,
non-flammable, extremely potent greenhouse gas which is an
excellent electrical insulator.[3]
SF6 has an octahedral geometry, consisting of
six fluorine atoms attached to a central sulfur atom. It is
a hypervalent molecule. Typical for a nonpolar gas, it is
poorly soluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents.
It is generally transported as a liquefied compressed gas. It

has a density of 6.12 g/L at sea level conditions, which is

considerably higher than the density of air (1.225 g/L).

Fig.2.0 Molecular view of SF6

Characterstics of SF6 :
SF6 is colorlessly, odorless
and a
chemical neutral (inerted) gas.
SF6 is 5x heavier than air, is
not toxic and
has no dangerous components
inside.
SF6 is no hazardous material.
SF6 has no eco-toxic potential.
SF6 has no impact for the ozonosphere.
SF6 is a potent greenhouse gas ( GWP*
CO2).

22,800** x

(* Global Warming Potential; ** according to EU-F-Gas regulation )

Copyright Siemens AG(

SF6 has excellent electrical characteristics.
SF6 has been used as an insulating medium inelectronic
devices, power apparatus, and HVDC converter stations.
Its excellent properties make it ideally suited both as an
insulating and as an arc-quenching agent.

 Its dielectric strength is greatly superior to that of air, and

it is close to 100 times as effective as air in quenching
an electric arc.

SF6 is used in the electrical industry as a gaseous dielectric

medium for high-voltage circuit breakers, switchgear, and
other electrical equipment, often replacing oil filled circuit
breakers (OCBs) that can contain harmful PCBs.
SF6 gas under pressure is used as an insulator in gas insulated
switchgear (GIS) because it has a much higher dielectric
strength than air or dry nitrogen. This property makes it
possible to significantly reduce the size of electrical gear. This
makes GIS more suitable for certain purposes such as indoor
placement, as opposed to air-insulated electrical gear, which
takes up considerably more room.
Copyright Siemens AG

Fig.3.0 SF6-emission in the lifecycle process of switchgear.

3.0 COMPONENTS OF GIS

Fig. 4.0 structure of GIS

Gas Insulated Substations(GIS) is a compact, multicomponent

assembly enclosed in a ground metallic housing which the
primary insulating medium is compressed sulphur
hexaflouride(SF6) gas. It generally consists components Of:

Bus bar
Circuit Breakers
Disconnecting switches
Earthing switches
Current transformers
Voltage transformers
Cable and boxes
Gas supply and gas monitoring equipment and
Local control

The figure4.0 illustrates the structure of GIS with some of the

marked components like.
BB refers to BUS BAR.
CB refers to CIRCUIT BREAKER
VT refers to VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER
CT refers to CURRENT TRANSFORMER

Fig. 5.0 sectional

view of GIS

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS OF GIS

3.1.1 SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKERSThere are mainly three types of SF6 CB depending upon
the voltage level of application1. Single interrupter SF6 CB applied for up to 245 KV(220 KV)
system.
2. Two interrupter SF6 CB applied for up to 420 KV(400 KV)
system.
3. Four interrupter SF6 CB applied for up to 800 KV(715 KV)
system.
Working of SF6 Circuit Breaker :

The working of SF6 CB of first generation was quite simple it is

some extent similar to air blast circuit breaker. Here SF 6 gas
was compressed and stored in a high pressure reservoir.
During operation of SF6 circuit breaker this highly compressed
gas is released through the arc in breaker and collected to
relatively low pressure reservoir and then it pumped back to
the high pressure reservoir for re utilize.
The working of SF6 circuit breaker is little bit different in modern
time. Innovation of puffer type design makes operation of
SF6 CB much easier. In buffer type design, the arc energy is
utilized to develop pressure in the arcing chamber for arc
quenching.

Fig. 6.0

Fig 6.1 shows working

of SF6 CIRCUIT BREAKER.

Here the breaker is filled with SF6 gas at rated pressure. There
are two fixed contact fitted with a specific contact gap. A sliding
cylinder bridges these to fixed contacts. The cylinder can
axially slide upward and downward along the contacts. There is
one stationary piston inside the cylinder which is fixed with
other stationary parts of the SF6 circuit breaker, in such a way
that it can not change its position during the movement of the
cylinder. As the piston is fixed and cylinder is movable or
sliding, the internal volume of the cylinder changes when the
cylinder slides.
During opening of the breaker the cylinder moves downwards
against position of the fixed piston hence the volume inside the
cylinder is reduced which produces compressed SF 6gas inside
the cylinder. The cylinder has numbers of side vents which were
blocked by upper fixed contact body during closed position. As
the cylinder move further downwards, these vent openings
cross the upper fixed contact, and become unblocked and then

compressed SF6 gas inside the cylinder will come out through
this vents in high speed towards the arc and passes through
the axial hole of the both fixed contacts. The arc is quenched
during this flow of SF6 gas.
During closing of the circuit breaker, the sliding cylinder moves
upwards and as the position of piston remains at fixed height,
the volume of the cylinder increases which introduces low
pressure inside the cylinder compared to the surrounding. Due
to this pressure difference SF6 gas from surrounding will try to
enter in the cylinder. The higher pressure gas will come through
the axial hole of both fixed contact and enters into cylinder via
vent and during this flow; the gas will quench the arc.

3.1.2 DISCONNECTOR :
The basic element of the device is a moving contact performing
both the disconnector and earthing switch functions. The
design prevents simultaneous closing of both switches. Three
positions are available for
the contacts:
Disconnector closed and earthing switch open.
Disconnector open and earthing switch open.
Disconnector open and earthing switch closed.
The disconnectors are able to switch the capacitive charging
currents of the busbars and bus transfer currents in double
busbar substations.
The disconnectors/earthing switches are operated by an
electrical operating mechanism directly attached to the
equipment.

3.1.3 EARTHING SWITCH

As no arc quenching technique is provided in isolator it must be
operated when there is no chance current flowing through the
circuit. No live circuit should be closed or open by isolator
operation. A complete live closed circuit must not be opened by
isolator operation and also a live circuit must not be closed and
completed by isolator operation to avoid huge arcing in
between isolator contacts. That is why isolators must be open
after circuit breaker is open and these must be closed
before circuit breaker is closed. Isolator can be operated by
hand locally as well as by motorized mechanism from remote
position. Motorized operation arrangement costs more
compared to hand operation; hence decision must be taken
before choosing an isolator for system whether hand operated
or motor operated economically optimum for the system. For
voltages up to 145KV system hand operated isolators are used
whereas for higher voltage systems like 245 KV or 420 KV and
above motorized isolators are used.

3.1.4 CURRENT AND VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER

Current transformer
The current transformers are of the single-phase inductive type
with one or more cores and preferably located on the outgoing
side of the circuit breaker. They can, however, be located at
any point within the bay or substation. he high-voltage
conductor forms the primary winding.
The cores with the secondary windings are located on a
grounded electrode and are designed to comply with the
requirements in terms of accuracy, class, and power rating.
Different ratios can be achieved via taps in the secondary
winding accessible in a terminal box. The pressurized SF6
gas between the high-voltage conductor and electrode serves
as the primary insulation. The cores are completely metalenclosed which makes for very high reliability in terms of
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

Fig7.0

Fig7.1

Voltage transformer/RC-voltage divider

Each single-phase inductive voltage transformer is
encapsulated in its own housing and thus forms a separate
gastight module. Each voltage transformer consists of the
following main components:
The primary winding
One or more secondary windings (forming one coil)
An iron core
The pressurized gas inside the enclosure in combination with
the film insulation provides insulation against high voltage. The
high-voltage connection to the switchgear is established via the
primary conductor, which is supported by a gastight bushing.
The secondary connections are routed via a gastight bushing
plate to the terminal box.

3.1.5 SURGE ARRESTOR OR LIGHTINING ARRESTOR

the electrical surge also can be generated from the system
itself. Actually during switching operation there may be a
chance of current chopping. If during normal operation,
if electrical isolator is opened on load. Sudden open circuit is
occurred in the system.
In addition to these, the basic arc-quenching
techniques of SF6 circuit breaker and vacuum circuit
breaker may give rise to current chopping and multiple reignition sometimes.
As we know that sudden current chopping give rise to the di/dt.
[di/dt = rate of change of current with respect to time]. As the
electrical load is generally inductive, there is a transient
voltage, expressed by L(di/dt) where L is the inductance of load
of system. This voltage is induced across the opening contacts,
and travels towards load and reflects in similar manner of
lightning impulse. lightning arrestor or surge arrester are
provided at the end of the transmission line to withstand the
surge voltage.

4. ADVANTAGES OF GIS OVER CONVENTIONAL AIR

INSULATED
SUBSTATION(AIS)
The application of GIS during the last fifteen years has been
very
rapid. The rapid growth in GIS application is due to the
following special
advantages:
Area and volume saving in construction for over or
underground
applications. Therefore they offer saving in land area and
construction costs.

 Insensitivity to external influences because of grounded

metal
enclosures.
Greatly improved safety and reliability due to earthed
metal housing of all high voltage parts and much higher
intrinsic strength of SF6 gas as insulation.
Short on site erection times, based on large factory
assembled and
tested shipping units.
Fulfillment of aesthetic requirements with indoor
applications
High service reliability due to non-exposure of the use of
high voltage parts to atmosphere influences
Reduction in radio interference with the use of earthed
metal
enclosures.
Use as mobile substations for transportation to load
centers on
standard tracks. These substations can be located closer
to load
centers thereby reducing transmission losses and
expenditure in the distribution network.
More optimal life cycle costs because of lesser
maintenance, down
time and repair costs.
It is not necessary that high voltage or extra high voltage
switchgear has to be installed out doors.
5. DISADVANTAGES OF GIS
Although GIS has been in operation for several years, a lot of
problems encountered in practice need fuller understanding.
Some of the
problems being studied are:
Excessive damage in case of internal fault. Long outage
periods as the repair of damaged part at site may be
difficult.
Requirement of cleanliness is very stringent. Dust or
moisture can cause internal flashovers.
Such substations are generally indoor, so they need a
separate building. This is generally not required for
conventional outdoor substations.

 Procurement of gas and supply of gas to site is

problematic, adequate stock of gas must be maintained.
Project needs almost total imports including SF6 Gas.
Spares conventional substation is totally indigenous up to
400 kV.

6. APPLICATION OF GAS INSULATED SUBSTATION

The primary applications for gas insulated substations include:
High voltage installations
The higher the voltage, the more favorable gas insulated
technology becomes. The footprint of 765kV conventional
substation is enormous, and GIS technology allows a significant
size reduction.
Urban Installations
GIS technology can be used for installations in areas where the
cost of real estate or aesthetic appeal is a significant
consideration.
Indoor Installations
Building an air insulated substation indoors is usually
impractical, but a GIS can easily go inside buildings.
Environmentally Sensitive Installations
GIS technology is popular in desert and arctic areas because it
can be enclosed in a building with environmental control. Gas
insulated substations also contain the electrical components
within a Faraday cage and are therefore totally shielded from
lightning.

7. CONCLUSION
Gas insulated Substations have found a broad range
applications in power systems over the last three decades
because of their high reliability Easy maintenance, small
ground space requirements etc.,.
In our country also few
GIS units have been in operation and a large number of units
are under various stages of installation.
GIS are some important areas to be studied include more
conservative designs better particle control and improved gas
handling and decomposition product management techniques
Achieving and maintaining high levels of availability requires a
more integrated approach to quality control by both users and
manufactures.

8. REFERENCE
1. GAS INSULATED SUBSTATION by P.S NAIDU ,

I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd (8

September 2008).
2. P Glaubitz, C Wallner - EPA's 2012 Workshop on SF6emission reduction , 2012 - epa.gov.
3. http://electrical4u.com/gis-or-gas-insulated-switchgear
4. http://electrical4u.com/sulfur-hexafluoride-sf6-gasproperties/
5. www.alstom.com/.../GIS%20Global
%20Offer/F35%2072.5%20-%20145..
6. http://betaengineering.com/enus/areasofexpertise/gasinsulatedsubstations.aspx

8.1 IEEE REFERENCES

1. Bolin, P.; Koch, H., "Gas insulated substation
GIS," Power Engineering Society General Meeting,
2006. IEEE , vol., no., pp.3 pp.,, 0-0 0
doi: 10.1109/PES.2006.1709113
U.R.L - http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?
tp=&arnumber=1709113&isnumber=36065
2. Meinecke, H., "High voltage gas insulated switchgear:
an overview," GIS (Gas-Insulated Switchgear) at
Transmission and Distribution Voltages, IEE
Colloquium on (Digest No.1995/203) , vol., no.,
pp.3/1,3/8, 14 Nov 1995
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?
tp=&arnumber=494815&isnumber=10737