SINGRAULI SUPER THERMAL POWER PLANT SHAKTINAGAR

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
(Electrical Engineering)
AT

AZAD INST. OF ENGG. AND TECHNOLOGY,

LUCKNOW

SUBMITTED BY :
NAME : Deepak kr Singh
ROLL NO. : 1005320022
TRAINING INCHARGE :
Mr. CH SATYNARAYAN
DGM (ELECTRICAL)

NTPC , SHAKTINAGAR
SESSION 2013-2014
Department of Electrical Engineering

(Affiliated by GBTU)

DECLARATION
I, Mr. Deepak kr Singh ,hereby declare that this
industrial training report is the record of authentic
work carried out by me during the period from 10
june 2013 to 10 july 2013 in NTPC SHAKTINAGAR
under the super vision of my training incharge Mr.
CH Satynarayan (DGM , ELECTRICAL ,NTPC
SHAKTINAGAR).
Signature
Name of the student : Deepak Kr SINGH

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr.Deepak Kr Singh
of
Azad Inst. OF Engg. And Technology has
successfully completed the training work
in partial fulfillment of requirement for the
completion of B.Tech course as prescribed by the
AZAD INST.
OF ENGG. AND TECHNOLOGY. This training report is the
record of
authentic work carried out by him during the period from
10 june 2013
to 10 july 2013
He has worked under my guidance.
Signature
Training incharge (Internal)
Counter signed by

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided
me the possibility to complete my industrial training. A special gratitude I
give to our Training incharge , Mr. CH Satynarayan(DGM,Electrical,NTPC),
whose contribution in stimulating suggestions and encouragement, helped
me to coordinate in my training period.
Furthermore I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the
crucial role of the employee of Other sections who gave the permission to
use all required equipment and the necessary materials to complete the
task . A special thanks goes to my team mate, who help me to assemble
the parts and gave suggestion about the task . . I have to appreciate the
guidance given by other supervisor as well as the panels especially in our
training period that has improved our presentation skills and knowledge.
A special thanks to Mr. H.K. Verma ( DGM, C & I ) For his guidance and
care in NTPC.

Last but not least, many thanks to NTPC ,

who give me opportunity to complete my industrial training in such
wonderful working environment,in achieving my goal.

Deepak Kr Singh

CONTENT
ABOUT NTPC
INTRODUCTION TO THERMAL POWER PLANT
BOILER THEORY
TURBINE THEORY
GENERATOR THEORY
GENERATOR TRANSFORMER
SWITCHGEAR
SWITCHYARD AND ITS ELMENTS
FUTURE CAPACITY ADDITION IN NTPC , AWARDS
, AND RANKING
REFERENCES

ABOUT NTPC SHAKTINAGAR

SINGRAULI SUPER THERMAL POWER PLANT

Singrauli Super Thermal Power Plant is located at Shaktinagar in Sonebhadra district in

Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The power plant is the first power plant of NTPC. It sources coal
from Jayant and Bina mines and water from Rihand Reservoir. The states benefitting from this
power plant are Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu &
Kashmir andHimachal Pradesh and the Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh. An
investment worth 1,190.69 crore (US$200 million) has already been cleared. It even gets
international assistance from IDA.
The unit wise capacity and other details are as follows.
Stage

Unit Number

Installed Capacity (MW)

Date of Commissioning

1st

200

1982 February

1st

200

1982 November

1st

200

1983 March

1st

200

1983 November

1st

200

1984 February

2nd

500

1986 December

2nd

500

1987 November

Total

Seven

2000

NTPC ROLE IN DIFFERENT AREAS AND

FUTURE SCOPE
Power Generation
Presently, NTPC generates power from Coal and Gas. With an installed
capacity of 41,184 MW, NTPC is the largest power generating major in
the country. It has also diversified into hydro power, coal mining, power
equipment manufacturing, oil & gas exploration, power trading &
distribution. With an increasing presence in the power value

Installed Capacity
Present installed capacity of NTPC is 41,184 MW (including 5,364 MW
through JVs) comprising of 23 NTPC Stations (16 Coal based stations, 7
combined cycle gas/liquid fuel based stations), 7 Joint Venture stations (6
coal based and one gas based) and 2 renewable energy projects.
NO. OF PLANTS

NTPC Owned
Coal
Gas/Liquid Fuel
Renewable energy projects
Total
Owned By JVs
Coal & Gas
Total

CAPACITY (MW)

16
7
23

31,855
3,955
10
35,820

7
30

5,364
41,184

Regional Spread of Generating Facilities

REGION

Northern
Western
Southern
Eastern
JVs
Total

COAL

8,515
10,840
4,600
7,900
3,424
35,279

GAS

Renewable

2,312
1,293
350
1,940
5,895

TOTAL

5
5
10

10,832
12,133
4,955
7,900
4,864
41,184

Operat
ions
In terms of operations, NTPC has always been considerably above
the national average.

The table below shows the detailed operational performance of coal based
stations over the years.
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF COAL BASED NTPC STATIONS

Generation(BU)

PLF(%)

Availability Factor(%)

2011-12

222.07

85.00

89.73

2010-11

220.54

88.29

91.62

2009-10

218.84

90.81

91.76

2008-09

206.94

91.14

92.47

2007-08

200.86

92.24

92.12

2006-07

188.67

89.43

90.09

2005-06

170.88

87.52

89.91

2004-05

159.11

87.51

91.20

2003-04

149.16

84.40

88.79

2002-03

140.86

83.57

88.70

2001-02

133.20

81.11

89.09

2000-01

130.10

81.80

88.54

1999-00

118.70

80.39

90.06

1998-99

109.50

76.60

89.36

Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation

Renewable Energy
Renewable energy (RE) is being perceived as an alternative source of energy for
Energy Security and subsequently Energy Independence by 2020. Renewable
energy technologies provide not only electricity but offer an environmentally clean
and low noise source of power.

Objectives
NTPC plans to broad base generation mix by evaluating conventional and
alternate sources of energy to ensure long run competitiveness and mitigate
fuel risks.

Vision
To provide green power through locally available resources at affordable
price, promoting clean energy

Portfolio of Renewable Power

NTPC has also formulated its business plan of capacity addition of about
1,000 MW thru renewable resources by 2017.
In this endeavour, NTPC has already commissioned 10 MW Solar PV Projects
and another 30 MW Solar PV and 8 MW Small Hydro Projects are under
implementation. Further, 70 MW Solar Projects are under tendering.

Renewable Energy Projects

Solar Energy:

Projects Commissioned (10 MW)

o

5 MW Solar PV based project at NTPC-Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

5 MW Solar PV based project at Portblair in Andaman & Nicobar

Island.

Projects under Implementation (35 MW)

o

10 MW (Phase-1) Solar PV based project at NTPC-Ramagundam

in Andhra Pradesh.

10 MW Solar PV based project at NTPC-Unchahar in Uttar

Pradesh.

10 MW Solar PV based project at NTPC-Talcher Kaniha in Orissa.

5 MW Solar PV based project at NTPC-Faridabad in Haryana.

Projects under Tendering (65 MW)

o

15 MW Solar PV based project at NTPC-Singrauli in Uttar

Pradesh.

50 MW Solar PV based project at Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh.

Wind Energy :

Projects under Consideration (80 MW)

o

40 MW Wind energy projects in Karnataka.

40 MW Wind energy projects in Maharashtra.

Hydro Energy:

Projects under Implementation (8 MW)

o

8 MW hydro energy based project at NTPC-Singrauli in Uttar

Pradesh.

Projects under Consideration (3 MW)

o

3 MW hydro energy based project at NTPC-Rihand in Uttar

Pradesh.

Geothermal Energy:

Tattapani Geothermal Project in Chhattisgarh: MoU Signed with Govt.

of Chhattisgarh.

Technology Development:

Two Stage Gasifier: This gasifier is being developed in association with

SDC, TERI and Denmark Technical University (DTU).Prototype model
testing completed at Gual Pahari, Gurgaon.

DPR under preparation for integration of Solar Energy with existing

thermal projects of NTPC.

Distributed Generation
Indias ambitious growth plans require inclusion of all sectors, especially the
rural sector where two third of our population lives. Such economic
development cannot be achieved without availability of energy and
subsequently efficient energy management which is crucial for rural
development. As per census 2001, about 44% of the rural households do not
have access to electricity. Some of the villages are located in remote &
inaccessible areas where it would be either impossible or extremely
expensive to extend the power transmission network. Total 16 DG projects
commissioned by NTPC so far with total capacity of 340 kW and 2233
households electrified.

Awards:

IEEMA Power award-2009 in the category of Excellence in Distributed

Generation.

NTPC Distributed Generation film Energizing villages has been

awarded in category development venture by Public Society of India,
Hyderabad

Environment
While leading the nations power generation league, NTPC has remained
committed to the environment. It continues to take various pro-active
measures for protection of the environment and ecology around its projects.

NTPC was the first among power utilities in India to startEnvironment

Impact Assessment (EIA) studies and reinforced it with Periodic
Environmental Audits and

Enviroment Policy & Management

Environment Policy & Environment Management System
For NTPC, the journey extends much beyond generating power. Right from
its inception, the company had a well defined environment policy. More than
just generating power, it is committed to sustainable growth of power.
NTPC has evolved sound environment practices.

National Environment Policy

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Power and NTPC
were involved in preparing the draft Environment Policy (NEP) which was
later approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2006.

NTPC Environment Policy

Since its inception NTPC has been at the forefront of Environment

management. In November 1995, NTPC brought out a comprehensive
document entitled NTPC Environment Policy and Environment Management
System. Amongst the guiding principles adopted in the document are the
company's pro-active approach to environment, optimum utilisation of
equipment, adoption of latest technologies and continual environment
improvement. The policy also envisages efficient utilisation of resources,
thereby minimising waste, maximising ash utilisation and ensuring a green
belt all around the plant for maintaining ecological balance .

Environment Management, Occupational Health and Safety

Systems
NTPC has actively gone for adoption of the best international practices on
environment, occupational health and safety areas. The organisation has
pursued the Environmental Management System (EMS) ISO 14001 and the
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment System OHSAS 18001 at its
different establishments. As a result of pursuing these practices, all NTPC
power stations have been certified for ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001 by
reputed national and international certifying agencies .

Pollution Control Systems

While deciding the appropriate technology for its projects, NTPC integrates
many environmental provisions into the plant design. In order to ensure that
NTPC complies with all the stipulated environment norms, following state-ofthe-art pollution control systems / devices have been installed to control air
and water pollution:

Electrostatic Precipitators

Flue Gas Stacks

Low-NOX Burners

Neutralisation Pits

Coal Settling Pits / Oil Settling Pits

DE & DS Systems Cooling Tower

Ash Dykes & Ash Disposal Systems

Ash Water Recycling System

Dry Ash Extraction System (DAES)

Liquid Waste Treatment Plants & Management

System

Sewage Treatment Plants & Facilities

Environmental Institutional Set-up

Following are the additional measures taken by NTPC in the area of Environment
Management:

Environment Management During Operation Phase

Monitoring of Environmental Parameters

On-Line Data Base Management

Environment Review

Upgradation & Retrofitting of Pollution Control Systems

Resources Conservation

Waste Management

Municipal Waste Management

Hazardous Waste Management

Bio-Medical Waste Management

Land Use / Bio-diversity

Reclamation of Abandoned Ash Green Belts, Afforestation & Energy Plantations

Introduction

A power station (also referred to as a generating station,power plant,

or powerhouse) is an industrial facility for the generation ofelectric power.
Almost all coal, nuclear,geothermal, solar thermal electric, and waste incineration
plants, as well as many natural gas power plants are thermal. Natural gas is
frequentlycombusted in gas turbines as well asboilers. The waste heat from a gas
turbine can be used to raise steam, in a combined cycle plant that improves overall
efficiency. Power plants burning coal, oil, or natural gas are often referred to
collectively as fossil-fuel power plants. Some biomass-fueled thermal power plants
have appeared also. Non-nuclear thermal power plants, particularly fossil-fueled
plants, which do not usecogeneration, are sometimes referred to as conventional
power plants.
A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime
mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins asteam
turbine which either drives anelectrical generator or does some other work, like ship
propulsion. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in
acondenser and recycled to where it was heated; this is known as aRankine cycle.
The greatest variation in the design of thermal power stations is due to the different
fuel sources. Some prefer to use the termenergy center because such facilities
convert forms of heat energy into electrical energy.
In thermal power stations, mechanical power is produced by aheat engine that
transforms thermal energy, often from combustion of afuel, into rotational energy.
Most thermal power stations produce steam, and these are sometimes called steam
power stations. Not all thermal energy can be transformed into mechanical power,
according to the second law of thermodynamics. Therefore, there is always heat lost
to the environment. If this loss is employed as useful heat, for industrial processes
or district heating, the power plant is referred to as acogeneration power plant or
CHP (combined heat-and-power) plant. In countries where district heating is
common, there are dedicated heat plants called heat-only boiler stations. An
important class of power stations in the Middle East uses by-product heat for
the desalination of water.

1.2 Classification of Thermal Power Plants

Thermal power plants are classified by the type of fuel and the type of prime mover
installed.

1.2.1 By Fuel

Nuclear power plants use anuclear reactor's heat to operate a steam

turbine generator.

Fossil fuelled power plants may also use a steam turbine generator or in
the case of natural gas fired plants may use a combustion turbine.

Geothermal power plants use steam extracted from hot underground

rocks.

Renewable energy plants may be fuelled by waste from sugar

cane, municipal solid waste, landfill methane, or other forms
of biomass.

In integrated steel mills, blast furnace exhaust gas is a low-cost,

although low-energy-density, fuel.

Waste heat from industrial processes is occasionally concentrated

enough to use for power generation, usually in a steam boiler and
turbine.

Solar thermal electric plants use sunlight to boil water, which turns the
generator.

1.2.2 By Prime Mover

Steam turbine plants use the dynamic pressure generated by

expanding steam to turn the blades of a turbine. Almost all large nonhydro plants use this system.

Gas turbine plants use the dynamic pressure from flowing gases to
directly operate the turbine. Natural-gas fuelled turbine plants can
start rapidly and so are used to supply "peak" energy during periods of
high demand, though at higher cost than base-loaded plants. These
may be comparatively small units, and sometimes completely
unmanned, being remotely operated. This type was pioneered by the
UK, Prince town being the world's first, commissioned in 1959.

Combined cycle plants have both a gas turbine fired by natural gas,
and a steam boiler and steam turbine which use the exhaust gas from
the gas turbine to produce electricity. This greatly increases the overall
efficiency of the plant, and many new base load power plants are
combined cycle plants fired by natural gas.

Internal combustionReciprocating engines are used to provide power

for isolated communities and are frequently used for small
cogeneration plants. Hospitals, office buildings, industrial plants, and
other critical facilities also use them to provide backup power in case
of a power outage. These are usually fuelled by diesel oil, heavy oil,
natural gas and landfill gas.

Micro turbines, Stirling engine and internal combustion reciprocating

engines are low cost solutions for using opportunity fuels, such as
landfill gas, digester gas from water treatment plants and waste gas
from oil production.

1.3 Efficiency
temperatures of the steam at turbine input and output, efficiency improvements require use of
higher temperature, and therefore higher pressure, steam. Historically, other working fluids such
asmercury have been experimentally used in a mercury vapour turbine power plant, since these
can attain higher temperatures than water at lower working pressures. However, the obvious
hazards of toxicity, and poor heat transfer properties, have ruled out mercury as a working fluid.

THERMAL POWER PLANT

We are well aware that electricity is a form of energy. There are number of methods by
which electricity can be produced, but most common method of production of electrical energy is
to rotate a conductor in a magnetic field continuously cutting of magnetic lines will cause E.M.F.
to be generated at the ends of conductor. If these terminals are connected through load then
electricity will start flowing through that conductor.
Now let us see what we are doing in Thermal Power Station for the purpose of production
of Electricity. Actually speaking we are doing conversion of energies from form to another form,
and our ultimate aim is to get Electrical energy.
For this purpose the rotation movement is required to rotate the magnetic field so that it
may cut the stationery conductors of the machine. To be more precise this rotational or
mechanical energy is derived from a machine to which we call Turbine which is actually capable
enough to convert heat energy to rotational energy.
For obtaining heat energy we have to make use of the chemical energy, to which we call
fossil fuel i.e. coal, oil, gas etc. This is achieved in a plant to which we call furnace or sometimes
Boiler.
For transportation of heat energy from furnace to turbine inlet, we require a medium and
we have chosen water as media. This water is converted into steam in furnace. Quality of steam
is always monitored properly process of Electrical generation.
So we see that the rotational movement required to rotate the magnetic field of the
electric generator is produced by the steam turbine. The power to the steam turbine is given by
steam generator in the form of high pressure and high temperature steam.
The steam after doing work on the turbine shaft is condensed and condensate is pumped
back into Boiler as high pressure and low temperature water, by means of Boiler feed pump. So
if we represent whole process in a block diagram this will look like as given below.

2.1 How Electricity is generated

The complete and complex process of electricity generation in TPS can be divided into
four major cycles for the sake of simplicity. The main systems are discussed in these cycles in
a step by step manner and some useful drawings are also enclosed. The four cycles are

1. Coal Cycle

2. Oil Cycle
3. Air and Flue Gas Cycle
4. Steam Water Cycle

2.1.1 Coal Cycle

The simplest of the above four cycles is the coal cycle. In this cycle as explained earlier
crushed coal of about 20mm is transported by conveyor belts to the coal mill bunkers. From
here the coal goes to coal mills through raw coal feeders. In the coal mills the coal is further
pulverized (crushed) to powder form. The temperature of the coal mills are maintained at 180200 degree centigrade by a suitable mixture of hot & cold air.
The air comes from Primary Air fans (P.A FANS) which are 2 in Nos. - A&B. The
outlet duct after combining gets divided into two. One duct goes to the Air Heaters (A.HA&B) where primary air is heated by the hot flue gases in a Heat Exchanger. This duct
provides hot air & the other one provides cold primary air. A suitable mixture of this hot &
cold air is fed to the coal mills to maintain their temperature. This is done to remove moisture
of coal. More over this primary air is also used for transportation of powdered coal from coal
mills to the four corners of the boiler by a set of four pipes. There are six coal mills A, B, C,
D, E&F and their outlets in the Boiler are at different elevations. The high
Temperature of the primary air does not allow the air coal mixture to choke the duct
from mill to boilers. A portion of the primary air is further pumped to high pressure and is
known as seal air. It is used to protect certain parts of mills like bearings etc. where powered
coal may pose certain problems in the functioning of the mill. When the air coal mixture enters
the boiler it catches fire in the firing zone and some ash along with clinkers settles down. This
is removed periodically by mixing it with water to make slurry.

2.1.2 Oil Cycle

In the oil cycle the oil is pumped and enters the boiler from four corners at three
elevations. Oil guns are used which sprays the oil in atomized form along with steam so that it
catches fire instantly. At each elevation and each corner there are separate igniters which ignite
the fuel oil. There are flame sensors which sense the flame and send the information to the
control roam.

2.1.3 Air & Flue Gas Cycle

For the proper combustion to take place in the boiler right amount of Oxygen or air
is needed in the boiler. The air is provided to the furnace in two ways - Primary Air &
Secondary Air. Primary air is provided by P.A. fans and enters the boiler along with powdered
coal from the mills. While the secondary air is pumped through Forced Draft fans better known
as F.D Fans which are also two in numbers A&B. The outlet of F.D fans combine and are again
divided into two which goes to Steam coiled Air pre heaters (S.C.A.P.H) A&B where its

temperature is raised by utilizing the heat of waste steam. Then it goes to Air Pre heater-A&B
where secondary air is heated further utilizing the heat of flue gases. The temperature of air is
raised to improve the efficiency of the unit & for proper combustion in the furnace. Then this
air is fed to the furnace.
From the combustion chamber the fuel gases travel to the upper portion of the boiler and
give a portion of heat to the Platen Super Heater. Further up it comes in contact with the
Reheater and heats the steam which is inside the tubes of reheater. Then it travels horizontally
and comes in contact with Final Super Heater. After imparting the heat to the steam in super
heater flue gases go downward to the Economizer to heat the cold water pumped by the Boiler
Feed Pumps (B.F.P.) these all are enclosed in the furnace. After leaving the furnace the fuel gases
go to the Air Heaters where more heat of the flue gases is extracted to heat primary and
secondary air. Then it goes to the Electrostatic Precipitators (E.S.P.) Stage A&B where the
suspended ash from the flue gases is removed by passing the fuel gas between charged plates.
Then comes the induced draft fan (I.D Fan) which sucks air from E.S.P. and releases it to the
atmosphere through chimney. The pressure inside the boiler is kept suitably below the
atmospheric pressure with the help of 1.0. Fans so that the flame does not spread out of the
openings of boiler and cause explosion. Further very low pressure in the boiler is also not
desirable because it will lead to the quenching of flame.

2.1.4 Steam Water Cycle

The most complex of all the cycles is the steam & water cycle. Steam is the working
substance in the turbines in all the thermal and nuclear power plants. As there is very high
temperature and pressure inside the boiler, initially water has to be pumped to a very high
pressure. Water has also to be heated to a suitably high temperature before putting it inside
the boiler so that cold water does not cause any problem. Initially cold water is slightly
heated in low pressure heaters. Then it is pumped to a very high pressure of about 200
Kg/Cm2 by boiler feed pumps A & B. After this it is further heated in high pressure heaters
by taking the heat from the high pressure steam coming from various auxiliaries and / or
turbines. Then this water goes to the economizer where its temperature is further raised by
the flue gases.
This hot water then goes to the boiler drum. In the boiler drum there is very high
temperature and pressure. It contains a saturated mixture of boiling water and steam which are in
equilibrium. The water level in the boiler
is maintained between certain limit. From here
relatively cold water goes down to the water header situated at the bottom, due to difference in
density. Then this cold water rises gradually in the tubes of the boiler on being heated. The tubes

are in the form of water walls. These tubes combine at the top in the hot water header. From here
the hot water and steam mixture comes back to the boiler drum completing the small loop.
From the boiler drum hot steam goes to platen super heater situated in the upper portion of
the boiler. Here the temperature of the steam is increased. Then it goes to final super heater.
Here its temperature is further increased.
The turbine is a three cylinder machine with high pressure (H.P), intermediate pressure
(I.P) & low pressure (L.P) casings taking efficiency into account the .The turbine speed is
controlled by hydro dynamic governing system. The three turbines are on the same shaft which is
coupled with generator. The generator is equipped with D.C excitation system. The steam from
the final super heater comes by main steam line to the H.P turbine. After doing work in the H.P
turbine its temperature is reduced. It is sent back to the boiler by cold reheat line to the reheater.
Here its temperature is increased and is sent to the I.P turbine through hot reheat line. After doing
work in the I.P turbine steam directly enters L.P turbine.
The pressure of L.P turbine is maintained very low in order to reduce the condensation
point of steam. The outlet of L.P turbine is connected with condenser. In the condenser,
arrangement is made to cool the steam to water. This is done by using cold water which is made
to flow in tubes. This secondary water which is not very pure gains heat from steam & becomes
hot. This secondary water is sent to the cooling towers to cool it down so that it may be reused
for cooling. The water thus formed in the condenser is sucked by condensate water pumps (C.W.
PUMPS) and is sent to deaerator. A suitable water level is maintained in the hot well of
condenser.
Water or steam leakages from the system are compensated by the make up water, line
from storage tanks which are connected to the condenser. The pressure in side condenser is
automatically maintained less then atmospheric pressure and large volume of steam condense
here to form small volume of water. In the deaerator the water is sprayed to small droplets & the
air dissolved in it is removed so that it may not cause trouble at high temperatures in the Boiler.
Moreover, the water level which is maintained constant in the deaerator also acts as a constant
water head for the boiler feed pumps. Water from deaerator goes to the Boiler feed pumps after
the heated by L.P. Heaters. Thus the water cycle in the boiler is completed and water is ready for
another new cycle. This is a continuous and repetitive process.

2.2 Elements of Thermal Power Station

D.M. Plant

For the generation of steam De-mineralize water prepared removing minerals & impurities
to remove the minerals several chemicals are used.

Deaerator

Deaerator is placed at the height of 26 m to provide the appropriate suction pressure for
boiler feed pump. The main function of deaerator is:1. To remove the air bubbles from the water entered into boiler feed pump.
2. To provide the suction head to the boiler feed pump.

Boiler feed pump

Boiler feed pump pumps the water coming from deaerator to the H.P. heater. Boiler feed pump
consists of a motor coupled with the pump through hydraulic coupling. On passing through the boiler feed
pump the pressure of the water becomes about ten times of the suction pressure

Economizer

It consists of a large number of closely spaced parallel tubes of thin walls and smaller diameter.
The feed water is passed through the economizer before supplying it to boiler. The heat of flue gases
which would be lost is used to raise the temperature of the feed water due to which the efficiency of the
boiler increases.

Air Pre-Heater

In the second path of flue gases, just below the economizer Air pre-heater is placed. It raise the
temperature of the atmospheric air, coming from the PA and FD fans , for the dryness of the

coal , which confirms the proper combustion of coal used. To raise the temperature of the air
heat of flue gases is used , hence the efficiency of the plant is increased.

Boiler

Boiler is used for the generation of steam from the feed water. After passing through economizer
feed water enters into the boiler drum. From drum, with the help of down commers it enters into the water
walls where the heat coming from the furnace converts water into the steam.

Super heater

A number of super heaters are used to make a super- heat steam coming from the boiler drum. There
are ten super heaters, one de-super heat one Platon and a final super heater to convert the wet steam into
the super heated steam. Heat of flue gases is used to dry the wet steam.

Turbine

Turbine converts the heat energy of the steam into mechanical energy. The super heated steam works
on the blades of the turbine and hence the blades starts rotating to produce the mechanical energy .
The mechanical energy then converted into the electrical energy with the help of generator. A series of
three turbines is used to convert the heat energy into mechanical energy.
1) High pressure turbine
2) Intermediate Pressure turbine
3) Low pressure turbine

Condensor

The function of condenser is to create suction at very low pressure to the

exhaust
of turbine thereby it permits the expansion of steam in
primary to a very low pressure. The exhaust steam is condensed in the
condenser and then again fed into the boiler.

Typical diagram of a coal-fired thermal power station

Elements of a coal fired thermal power plant

1. Cooling tower

10. SteamControl valve

19.Superheater

2. Cooling water pump

11. High pressuresteam

turbine

20. Forced draught (draft)fan

3. transmission line (3-phase) 12. Deaerator

21. Reheater

4. Step-uptransformer (3phase)

13. Feedwater heater

22.Combustion air intake

5. Electrical generator (3phase)

14.Coal conveyor

23.Economiser

6. Low pressure steam turbine 15.Coal hopper

24. Air preheater

7. Condensate pump

16. Coal pulverizer

25.Precipitator

8. Surface condenser

17. Boiler steam drum

26. Induced draught

(draft)fan

9. Intermediate
pressure steam turbine

18. Bottom ash hopper

27. Flue gas stack

PROCESS: COAL TO ELECTRICITY

We will see how the whole process of generation of electricity from the initial stage i.e.
when coal burns. For burning the coal we require three Ts as shown in diagram

below.

Unless until these three Ts are well in proportion fire or combustion of source of
chemical energy cannot take place. For providing a suitable atmosphere for combustion we take
help of well designed furnace for given fuel in which after combustion of fuel heat is released.
And this heat energy is transported through a medium i.e. steam.

The essential components of the plant are:

1.

Boiler

2.

Steam turbine couples with electric generator

3.

The condenser

4.

The pump to send back condensed water to boiler

Now let us have close look of the working of each equipments of thermal power plant.

1.

Feed water enters the boiler at the high pressure and low temperature and it
is converted into high pressure and high temperature. Steam in the boiler. The
heat required to convert feed water to steam is obtained from the heat released
from the combustion of fuels burned in the furnace.

2.

High pressure and high temperature steam from the boiler passes through
the turbine blades and expands from boiler pressure, to the condenser pressure.
The work performed in this process is transmitted through the shaft to the shaft
of the electric generator, where the mechanical energy is converted to electrical
energy.

3.

The low pressure and low temperature exhaust steam from turbine is
condensed into water in a condenser. The heat removal for condensation is done
by cooling water through circulating water pumps.

4.

The condensate from the condenser is pumped, by the boiler feed pump
(B.F.P) as high pressure and low temperature water which is feed to boiler.

And this cycle goes on.

The following medium for thermal power plant cycle is steam and before we go into the
details of the steam power cycle, we should know about steam.
The use of steam can be traced back as far 56 AD when it provided the mysteriousmotive-power of Greek temple after the sacred fires had been lit. It may have been used even
earlier for the same purpose by Egyptians but it was not until 1712 that any development of an
industrial nature took place.
In those pioneer days of boiler development the life of an operator was not without
dangers because explosions were frequent.
This led to the development of steam generators and also the establishment of the
excellent codes of safety which we know today.
We used coals as fuel for the generation of heat energy. As the water in the Boiler
evaporated due to the intense heat, it becomes high-pressurized steams.
And the steams are passing through a conduit (there is a turbine at the other end of the
tunnel), it forces its way through the Turbine, thus rotating the Turbine. (As the steams are highpressurized, the Turbine will rotate very fast.)
The Turbine is connected to a Generator via a coupler. As the Turbine is rotating (from
the force of the steams), electrical energy is being produced.

After the steams have passed through the turbine, it enters a Condenser. The Condenser
has got a cooling agent (namely seawater) and the steam will go through the cooling agent via a
pipe. The steam thus changes back to its liquid form and returns to the Boiler.
And the whole process repeats.

Diagram of the Basic Operation of a Thermal Power Station

BOILER THEORY

Boiler systems are classified in a variety of ways. They can be

classified according to the end use, such as foe heating, power
generation or process requirements. Or they can be classified
according to pressure, materials of construction, size tube contents
(for example, waterside or fireside), firing, heat source or
circulation. Boilers are also distinguished by their method of
fabrication. Accordingly, a boiler can be pack aged or field erected.
Sometimes boilers are classified by their heat source. For example,
they are often referred to as oil-fired, gas-fired, coal-fired, or solid
fuel fired boilers.

Types of boilers:
Fire tube boilers :

Fire tube boilers consist of a series of straight tubes that are

housed inside a water-filled outer shell. The tubes are arranged so
that hot combustion gases flow through the tubes. As the hot gases
flow through the tubes, they heat the water surrounding the tubes.
The water is confined by the outer shell of boiler. To avoid the need
for a thick outer shell fire tube boilers are used for lower pressure
applications. Generally, the heat input capacities for fire tube
boilers are limited to 50 mbtu per hour or less, but in recent years
the size of firetube boilers has increased.
Most modern fire tube boilers have cylindrical outer shells with
a small round combustion chamber located inside the bottom of the
shell. Depending on the construction details, these boilers have
tubes configured in either one, two, three, or four pass
arrangements. Because the design of fire tube boilers is simple,
they are easy to construct in a shop and can be shipped fully
assembled as a package unit.
These boilers contain long steel tubes through which the hot
gases from the furnace pass and around which the hot gases from
the furnace pass and around which the water circulates. Fire tube
boilers typically have a lower initial cost, are more fuel efficient and
are easier to operate, but they are limited generally to capacities of
25 tonnes per hour and pressures of 17.5 kg per cm2.

Water tube boilers:

Water tube boilers are designed to circulate hot
combustion gases around the outside of a large number of water
filled tubes. The tubes extend between an upper header, called a
steam drum, and one or more lower headers or drums. In the older
designs, the tubes were either straight or bent into simple shapes.
Newer boilers have tubes with complex and diverse bends. Because
the pressure is confined inside the tubes, water tube boilers can be
fabricated
in
larger sizes and used for
higher-pressure
applications.Small water tube boilers, which have one and
sometimes two burners, are generally fabricated and supplied as
packaged units. Because of their size and weight, large water tube
boilers are often fabricated in pieces and assembled in the field.
In water tube or water in tube boilers, the
conditions are reversed with the water passing through the tubes
and the hot gases passing outside the tubes. These boilers can be of
a single- or multiple-drum type. They can be built to any steam
capacity and pressures, and have higher efficiencies than fire tube
boilers.
Almost any solid, liquid or gaseous fuel can be burnt in a water
tube boiler. The common fuels are coal, oil, natural gas, biomass and
solid fuels such as municipal solid waste (MSW), tire-derived fuel
(TDF) and RDF. Designs of water tube boilers that burn these fuels
can be significantly different.
Coal-fired water tube boilers are classified into three major
categories: stoker fired units, PC fired units and FBC boilers.
Package water tube boilers come in three basic designs: A, D
and O type. The names are derived from the general shapes of the
tube and drum arrangements. All have steam drums for the
separation of the steam from the water, and one or more mud drums
for the removal of sludge. Fuel oil-fired and natural gas-fired water
tube package boilers are subdivided into three classes based on the
geometry of the tubes.
The A design has two small lower drums and a larger upper
drum for steam-water separation. In the D design, which is the
most common, the unit has two drums and a large-volume

combustion chamber. The orientation of the tubes in a D boiler

creates either a left or right-handed configuration. For the O
design, the boiler tube configuration exposes the least amount of
tube surface to radiant heat. Rental units are often O boilers
because their symmetry is a benefit in transportation

D Type boilers
This design has the most flexible design. They have a single
steam drum and a single mud drum, vertically aligned. The boiler
tubes extend to one side of each drum. D type boilers generally
have more tube surface exposed to the radiant heat than do other
designs. Package boilers as opposed to field-erected units
generally have significantly shorter fireboxes and frequently have
very high heat transfer rates (250,000 btu per hour per sq foot). For
this reason it is important to ensure high-quality boiler feedwater
and to chemically treat the systems properly. Maintenance of
burners and diffuser plates to minimize the potential for flame
impingement
is
critical.

A type boilers:
This design is more susceptible to tube starvation if bottom
blows are not performed properly because A type boilers have two
mud drums symmetrically below the steam drum. Drums are each
smaller than the single mud drums of the D or O type boilers.
Bottom blows should not be undertaken at more than 80 per cent of
the rated steam load in these boilers. Bottom blow refers to the
required regular blow down from the boiler mud drums to remove
sludge and suspended solids.

TURBINE THEORY

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION AND DESIGN:An ideal steam turbine is considered to be an isentropic process, or constant
entropy process, in which the entropy of the steam entering the turbine is equal to the
entropy of the steam leaving the turbine. No steam turbine is truly isentropic, however,
with typical isentropic efficiencies ranging from 2090% based on the application of the
turbine. The interior of a turbine comprises several sets of blades, or buckets as they are
more commonly referred to. One set of stationary blades is connected to the casing and
one set of rotating blades is connected to the shaft. The sets intermesh with certain
minimum clearances, with the size and configuration of sets varying to efficiently exploit

the

expansion

of

steam

at

each

stage.

Impulse turbines:
An impulse turbine has fixed nozzles that orient the steam flow into high speed
jets. These jets contain significant kinetic energy, which the rotor blades, shaped like
buckets, convert into shaft rotation as the steam jet changes direction. A pressure drop
occurs across only the stationary blades, with a net increase in steam velocity across the
stage.
As the steam flows through the nozzle its pressure falls from inlet pressure to the
exit pressure (atmospheric pressure, or more usually, the condenser vacuum). Due to
this higher ratio of expansion of steam in the nozzle the steam leaves the nozzle with a
very high velocity. The steam leaving the moving blades has a large portion of the
maximum velocity of the steam when leaving the nozzle. The loss of energy due to this
higher exit velocity is commonly called the carry over velocity or leaving loss.

Reaction turbines:
In the reaction turbine, the rotor blades themselves are arranged to
form convergent nozzles. This type of turbine makes use of the reaction
force produced as the steam accelerates through the nozzles formed by the
rotor. Steam is directed onto the rotor by the fixed vanes of the stator. It
leaves the stator as a jet that fills the entire circumference of the rotor. The
steam then changes direction and increases its speed relative to the speed
of the blades. A pressure drop occurs across both the stator and the rotor,
with steam accelerating through the stator and decelerating through the
rotor, with no net change in steam velocity across the stage but with a
decrease in both pressure and temperature, reflecting the work performed
in the driving of the rotor.

Operation and maintenance:

When warming up a steam turbine for use, the main steam stop valves (after the
boiler) have a bypass line to allow superheated steam to slowly bypass the valve and
proceed to heat up the lines in the system along with the steam turbine. Also, a turning
gear is engaged when there is no steam to the turbine to slowly rotate the turbine to
ensure even heating to prevent uneven expansion. After first rotating the turbine by the
turning gear, allowing time for the rotor to assume a straight plane (no bowing), then
the turning gear is disengaged and steam is admitted to the turbine, first to the astern

blades then to the ahead blades slowly rotating the turbine at 1015 RPM (0.17
0.25 Hz) to slowly warm the turbine.
Any imbalance of the rotor can lead to vibration, which in extreme cases can lead
to a blade breaking away from the rotor at high velocity and being ejected directly
through the casing. To minimize risk it is essential that the turbine be very well balanced
and turned with dry steam - that is, superheated steam with a minimal liquid water
content. If water gets into the steam and is blasted onto the blades (moisture carry
over), rapid impingement and erosion of the blades can occur leading to imbalance and
catastrophic failure. Also, water entering the blades will result in the destruction of the
thrust bearing for the turbine shaft. To prevent this, along with controls and baffles in
the boilers to ensure high quality steam, condensate drains are installed in the steam
piping leading to the turbine. Modern designs are sufficiently refined that problems with
turbines are rare and maintenance requirements are relatively small

Speed regulation:
The control of a turbine with a governor is essential, as turbines need to be run up
slowly, to prevent damage while some applications (such as the generation of alternating
current electricity) require precise speed control.Uncontrolled acceleration of the
turbine rotor can lead to an overspeed trip, which causes the nozzle valves that control
the flow of steam to the turbine to close. If this fails then the turbine may continue
accelerating until it breaks apart, often spectacularly. Turbines are expensive to make,
requiring precision manufacture and special quality materials.
During normal operation in synchronization with the electricity network, power
plants are governed with a five percent droop speed control. This means the full load
speed is 100% and the no-load speed is 105%. This is required for the stable operation of
the network without hunting and drop-outs of power plants. Normally the changes in
speed are minor. Adjustments in power output are made by slowly raising the droop
curve by increasing the spring pressure on a centrifugal governor. Generally this is a
basic system requirement for all power plants because the older and newer plants have
to be compatible in response to the instantaneous changes in frequency without
depending on outside communication.

GENERATOR THEORY

FARADAY'S LAW:
IN

THE YEARS OF

18311832, MICHAEL FARADAY

DISCOVERED THE

OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC GENERATORS .

LATER CALLED

FARADAY 'S

THE

PRINCIPLE ,

LAW , IS THAT AN ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE IS

GENERATED IN AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR THAT ENCIRCLES A

VARYING MAGNETIC FLUX.
GENERATOR , CALLED THE

HE ALSO BUILT THE FIRST

FARADAY DISK, A TYPE OF

ELECTROMAGNETIC
HOMO POLAR GENERATOR,

USING A COPPER DISC ROTATING BETWEEN THE POLES OF A

HORSESHOE MAGNET . IT PRODUCED A SMALL

THIS

DC

VOLTAGE.

DESIGN WAS INEFFICIENT DUE TO SELF- CANCELLING COUNTER FLOWS OF

CURRENT IN REGIONS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD.

WHILE

CURRENT WAS INDUCED DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THE MAGNET , THE

CURRENT WOULD CIRCULATE BACKWARDS IN REGIONS OUTSIDE THE INFLUENCE

OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD .

THIS

COUNTER FLOW LIMITS THE POWER OUTPUT TO

THE PICKUP WIRES AND INDUCES WASTE HEATING OF THE COPPER DISC .

LATER

HOMO POLAR GENERATORS WOULD SOLVE THIS PROBLEM BY USING AN ARRAY

OF MAGNETS ARRANGED AROUND THE DISC PERIMETER TO MAINTAIN A STEADY
FIELD EFFECT IN ONE CURRENT - FLOW DIRECTION .

ANOTHER

DISADVANTAGE WAS THAT THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE WAS VERY LOW , DUE

TO THE SINGLE CURRENT PATH THROUGH THE MAGNETIC FLUX .

EXPERIMENTERS

FOUND THAT USING MULTIPLE TURNS OF WIRE IN A COIL COULD PRODUCE

HIGHER MORE USEFUL VOLTAGES .

SINCE

THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE IS

PROPORTIONAL TO THE NUMBER OF TURNS , GENERATORS COULD BE EASILY

DESIGNED TO PRODUCE ANY DESIRED VOLTAGE BY VARYING THE NUMBER OF
TURNS .

WIRE

WINDINGS BECAME A BASIC FEATURE OF ALL SUBSEQUENT

GENERATOR DESIGNS .

DYNAMO:
DYNAMOS

ARE NO LONGER USED FOR POWER GENERATION DUE TO THE SIZE

AND COMPLEXITY OF THE COMMUTATOR NEEDED FOR HIGH POWER

APPLICATIONS .

THIS LARGE
AT 7 VOLTS ,

BELT- DRIVEN HIGH - CURRENT DYNAMO PRODUCED

310

AMPERES

THE

DYNAMO WAS THE FIRST ELECTRICAL GENERATOR CAPABLE OF DELIVERING

POWER FOR INDUSTRY .

THE

OR

2,170

WATTS , WHEN SPINNING AT

DYNAMO USES ELECTROMAGNETIC PRINCIPLES TO

CONVERT MECHANICAL ROTATION INTO PULSED

A COMMUTATOR .

THROUGH

THE

DC

FIRST DYNAMO WAS BUILT BY

THROUGH THE USE OF

HIPPOLYTE PIXII

IN

1832.

A SERIES OF ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES , THE DYNAMO BECAME THE

SOURCE OF MANY LATER INVENTIONS ,INCLUDING THE

AC

1400 RPM.

ALTERNATOR , THE

AC

DCELECTRIC

MOTOR, THE

SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR , AND THE ROTARY

CONVERTER .

DYNAMO MACHINE CONSISTS OF A STATIONARY STRUCTURE , WHICH PROVIDES

A CONSTANT MAGNETIC FIELD, AND A SET OF ROTATING WINDINGS WHICH TURN

WITHIN THAT FIELD.

ON

SMALL MACHINES THE CONSTANT MAGNETIC FIELD MAY

BE PROVIDED BY ONE OR MORE PERMANENT MAGNETS ; LARGER MACHINES HAVE

THE CONSTANT MAGNETIC FIELD PROVIDED BY ONE OR MORE ELECTROMAGNETS ,
WHICH ARE USUALLY CALLED FIELD COILS .

LARGE

POWER GENERATION DYNAMOS ARE NOW RARELY SEEN DUE TO THE NOW

NEARLY UNIVERSAL USE OF ALTERNATING CURRENT FOR POWER DISTRIBUTION

AND SOLID STATE ELECTRONIC
THE PRINCIPLES OF

AC

AC

TO

DC

POWER CONVERSION .

WERE DISCOVERED , VERY LARGE

BUT BEFORE
DIRECT - CURRENT

DYNAMOS WERE THE ONLY MEANS OF POWER GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION .

NOW

POWER GENERATION DYNAMOS ARE MOSTLY A CURIOSITY .

ALTERNATOR:
WITHOUT A COMMUTATOR, A DYNAMO BECOMES AN ALTERNATOR, WHICH IS
A SYNCHRONOUS SINGLY FED GENERATOR . W HEN USED TO FEED AN ELECTRIC POWER
GRID, AN ALTERNATOR MUST ALWAYS OPERATE AT A CONSTANT SPEED THAT IS
PRECISELY SYNCHRONIZED TO THE ELECTRICAL FREQUENCY OF THE POWER GRID. A DC
GENERATOR CAN OPERATE AT ANY SPEED WITHIN MECHANICAL LIMITS , BUT ALWAYS
OUTPUTS DIRECT CURRENT .

TYPICAL ALTERNATORS USE A ROTATING FIELD WINDING EXCITED WITH DIRECT

CURRENT, AND A STATIONARY ( STATOR) WINDING THAT PRODUCES ALTERNATING
CURRENT. S INCE THE ROTOR FIELD ONLY REQUIRES A TINY FRACTION OF THE POWER
GENERATED BY THE MACHINE , THE BRUSHES FOR THE FIELD CONTACT CAN BE
RELATIVELY SMALL . I N THE CASE OF A BRUSHLESS EXCITER , NO BRUSHES ARE USED AT
ALL AND THE ROTOR SHAFT CARRIES RECTIFIERS TO EXCITE THE MAIN FIELD WINDING .

THE

TWO MAIN PARTS OF A GENERATOR OR MOTOR CAN BE DESCRIBED IN

EITHER MECHANICAL OR ELECTRICAL TERMS.

MECHANICAL:
ROTOR : THE

ROTATING PART OF AN ELECTRICAL MACHINE

STATOR: THE

STATIONARY PART OF AN ELECTRICAL MACHINE

ELECTRICAL

ARMATURE: THE

POWER- PRODUCING COMPONENT OF AN ELECTRICAL

MACHINE . IN A GENERATOR, ALTERNATOR , OR DYNAMO THE ARMATURE

WINDINGS GENERATE THE ELECTRIC CURRENT .

THE

ARMATURE CAN BE ON

EITHER THE ROTOR OR THE STATOR .

FIELD : THE

MAGNETIC FIELD COMPONENT OF AN ELECTRICAL MACHINE .

THE

MAGNETIC FIELD OF THE DYNAMO OR ALTERNATOR CAN BE PROVIDED BY EITHER

ELECTROMAGNETS OR PERMANENT MAGNETS MOUNTED ON EITHER THE ROTOR
OR THE STATOR .

BECAUSE

POWER TRANSFERRED INTO THE FIELD CIRCUIT IS MUCH LESS THAN IN

THE ARMATURE CIRCUIT ,

AC

GENERATORS NEARLY ALWAYS HAVE THE FIELD

WINDING ON THE ROTOR AND THE STATOR AS THE ARMATURE WINDING.

ONLY

SMALL AMOUNT OF FIELD CURRENT MUST BE TRANSFERRED TO THE MOVING

ROTOR, USING SLIP RINGS .DIRECT CURRENT MACHINES

(DYNAMOS)

REQUIRE

A COMMUTATOR ON THE ROTATING SHAFT TO CONVERT THE ALTERNATING

CURRENT PRODUCED BY THE ARMATURE TODIRECT CURRENT ,SO THE ARMATURE
WINDING IS ON THE ROTOR OF THE MACHINE .

EXCITATION:
AN

ELECTRIC GENERATOR OR ELECTRIC MOTOR THAT USES FIELD COILS RATHER

THAN PERMANENT MAGNETS REQUIRES A CURRENT TO BE PRESENT IN THE FIELD

COILS FOR THE DEVICE TO BE ABLE TO WORK . IF THE FIELD COILS ARE NOT
POWERED , THE ROTOR IN A GENERATOR CAN SPIN WITHOUT PRODUCING ANY
USABLE ELECTRICAL ENERGY , WHILE THE ROTOR OF A MOTOR MAY NOT SPIN AT
ALL .

SMALLER

GENERATORS ARE SOMETIMES SELF- EXCITED , WHICH MEANS THE

FIELD COILS ARE POWERED BY THE CURRENT PRODUCED BY THE GENERATOR

ITSELF .T HE FIELD COILS ARE CONNECTED IN SERIES OR PARALLEL WITH THE
ARMATURE WINDING.

WHEN

THE GENERATOR FIRST STARTS TO TURN , THE

SMALL AMOUNT OF REMANENT MAGNETISM PRESENT IN THE IRON CORE

PROVIDES A MAGNETIC FIELD TO GET IT STARTED, GENERATING A SMALL
CURRENT IN THE ARMATURE .T HIS FLOWS THROUGH THE FIELD COILS , CREATING
A LARGER MAGNETIC FIELD WHICH GENERATES A LARGER ARMATURE
CURRENT .

THIS "BOOTSTRAP"

PROCESS CONTINUES UNTIL THE MAGNETIC FIELD

IN THE CORE LEVELS OFF DUE TOSATURATION AND THE GENERATOR REACHES A
STEADY STATE POWER OUTPUT .

VERY LARGE POWER STATION GENERATORS OFTEN UTILIZE A SEPARATE

SMALLER GENERATOR TO EXCITE THE FIELD COILS OF THE LARGER . I N THE EVENT OF A
SEVERE WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGE WHEREISLANDING OF POWER STATIONS HAS
OCCURRED, THE STATIONS MAY NEED TO PERFORM A BLACK START TO EXCITE THE
FIELDS OF THEIR LARGEST GENERATORS , IN ORDER TO RESTORE CUSTOMER POWER
SERVICE .

30

SWITCHGEAR

In an electric power system, switchgear is the combination of electrical disconnect

switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical
equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to be done
and to clear faultsdownstream. This type of equipment is important because it is directly
linked to the reliability of the electricity supply.
The very earliest central power stations used simple open knife switches, mounted on
insulating panels of marble or asbestos. Power levels and voltages rapidly escalated,
making opening manually operated switches too dangerous for anything other
than isolation of a de-energized circuit. Oil-filled equipment allowed arc energy to be
contained and safely controlled. By the early 20th century, a switchgear line-up would
be a metal-enclosed structure with electrically operated switching elements, using oil
circuit breakers. Today, oil-filled equipment has largely been replaced by air-blast,
vacuum, or SF6 equipment, allowing large currents and power levels to be safely
controlled by automatic equipment incorporating digital controls, protection, metering
and communications.
High voltage switchgear was invented at the end of the 19th century for
operating motors and other electric machines. The technology has been improved over
time and can be used with voltages up to 1,100 kV.[2]
Typically, the switchgear in substations is located on both the high voltage and the low
voltage side of large power transformers. The switchgear on the low voltage side of the
transformers may be located in a building, with medium-voltage circuit breakers for
distribution circuits, along with metering, control, and protection equipment. For
industrial applications, a transformer and switchgear line-up may be combined in one
housing, called a unitized substation or USS.

SWITHYARD
Swithyard is a pat of power palant , where generated votage comes from
generator transformer.Switchyard system transform voltage from high to low, or
the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the
generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations
at different voltage levels.Switchyard include transformers to change voltage levels
between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the
interconnection of two different transmission voltages.

ELEMENTS OF SWITCHYARD :

TRANSFORMERS
CIRCUIT BREAKER
ISOLATOR
CURRENT TRANSFORMER
CAPACITOR VOTAGE
TRANSFORMER
SHUNT REACTOR
WAVE TRAP
LIGHTNING ARRESTOR
INTER CONNECTING
TRANSFORMER
BUSBAR

TRANSFORMER

A transformer is a static electrical device that transfers energy by inductive

coupling between its winding circuits. A varying current in the primary winding creates a
varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic flux through
the secondarywinding. This varying magnetic flux induces a varying electromotive force
(emf) or voltage in the secondary winding.

Transformers range in size from thumbnail-sized used in microphones to units weighing

hundreds of tons interconnecting the power grid. A wide range of transformer designs
are used in electronic and electric power applications. Transformers are essential for
thetransmission, distribution, and utilization of electrical energy.

The ideal transformer

Ideal transformer circuit diagram

Consider the ideal, lossless, perfectly-coupled transformer shown in the circuit diagram
at right having primary and secondary windings with N P and NS turns, respectively.
The ideal transformer induces secondary voltage ES =VS as a proportion of the primary
voltage VP = EP and respective winding turns as given by the equation
,
where,
- VP/VS = EP/ES = a is the voltage ratio and NP/NS = a is the winding turns ratio,
the value of these ratios being respectively higher and lower than unity for stepdown and step-up transformers,[
- VP designates source impressed voltage,
- VS designates output voltage, and,
- EP & ES designate respective emf induced voltages.[c]
Any load impedance
connected to the ideal transformer's
secondary winding causes current to flow without losses from primary
to secondary circuits, the resulting input and output apparent
power therefore being equal as given by the equation

.
Combining the two equations yields the following ideal transformer
identity
.
This formula is a reasonable approximation for the typical
commercial transformer, with voltage ratio and winding turns
ratio both being inversely proportional to the corresponding
current ratio.
The load impedance
is defined in terms of secondary
circuit voltage and current as follows
.
The apparent impedance
of this secondary circuit
load referred to the primary winding circuit is governed by
a squared turns ratio multiplication factor relationship
derived as follows[6][7]
.

Induction law
The transformer is based on two principles: first, that an electric current can produce
a magnetic field and second that a changing magnetic field within a coil of wire induces
a voltage across the ends of the coil (electromagnetic induction). Changing the current
in the primary coil changes the magnetic flux that is developed. The changing magnetic
flux induces a voltage in the secondary coil.

Referring to the two figures here, current passing through the primary coil creates a
magnetic field. The primary and secondary coils are wrapped around a core of very
highmagnetic permeability, usually iron,[d] so that most of the magnetic flux passes
through both the primary and secondary coils. Any secondary winding connected load
causes current and voltage induction from primary to secondary circuits in indicated
directions.

Ideal transformer and induction law

The voltage induced across the secondary coil may be calculated from Faraday's law of
induction, which states that:

where Vs = Es is the instantaneous voltage, Ns is the number of turns in the secondary

coil, and d/dt is the derivative[e] of the magnetic flux through one turn of the coil. If
the turns of the coil are oriented perpendicularly to the magnetic field lines, the flux is
the product of the magnetic flux density B and the area A through which it cuts. The
area is constant, being equal to the cross-sectional area of the transformer core,
whereas the magnetic field varies with time according to the excitation of the primary.
Since the same magnetic flux passes through both the primary and secondary coils in
an ideal transformer,[6] the instantaneous voltage across the primary winding equals

Taking the ratio of the above two equations gives the same voltage ratio and turns ratio
relationship shown above, that is,

.
The changing magnetic field induces an emf across each winding. The primary emf,
acting as it does in opposition to the primary voltage, is sometimes termed the counter
emf.[9] This is in accordance with Lenz's law, which states that induction of emf always
opposes development of any such change in magnetic field.
As still lossless and perfectly-coupled, the transformer still behaves as described above
in the ideal transformer.
Polarity

Instrument transformer, with polarity dot and X1 markings on LV side terminal

A dot convention is often used in transformer circuit diagrams, nameplates or terminal
markings to define the relative polarity of transformer windings. Positively-increasing
instantaneous current entering the primary winding's dot end induces positive polarity
voltage at the secondary winding's dot end.

The real transformer

Real transformer deviations from ideal
The ideal model neglects the following basic linear aspects in real transformers:

Core losses collectively called magnetizing current losses consisting of:

Hysteresis losses due to nonlinear application of the voltage applied in the

transformer core

Eddy current losses due to joule heating in core proportional to the square of
the transformer's applied voltage.

Whereas the ideal windings have no impedance, the windings in a real

transformer have finite non-zero impedances in the form of:

Joule losses due to resistance in the primary and secondary windings [15]

Leakage flux that escapes from the core and passes through one winding
only resulting in primary and secondary reactive impedance.

Leakage flux

Leakage flux of a transformer

The ideal transformer model assumes that all flux generated by the primary winding
links all the turns of every winding, including itself. In practice, some flux traverses paths
that take it outside the windings.Such flux is termed leakage flux, and results in leakage
inductance in series with the mutually coupled transformer windings. Leakage flux
results in energy being alternately stored in and discharged from the magnetic fields
with each cycle of the power supply. It is not directly a power loss (see Stray
losses below), but results in inferior voltage regulation, causing the secondary voltage to
not be directly proportional to the primary voltage, particularly under heavy

load.Transformers are therefore normally designed to have very low leakage

inductance. Nevertheless, it is impossible to eliminate all leakage flux because it plays
an essential part in the operation of the transformer. The combined effect of the leakage
flux and the electric field around the windings is what transfers energy from the primary
to the secondary.
In some applications increased leakage is desired, and long magnetic paths, air gaps,
or magnetic bypass shunts may deliberately be introduced in a transformer design to
limit the short-circuit current it will supply..Leaky transformers may be used to supply
loads that exhibit negative resistance, such as electric arcs, mercury vapor lamps,
and neon signs or for safely handling loads that become periodically short-circuited
such as electric arc welders.
Air gaps are also used to keep a transformer from saturating, especially audiofrequency transformers in circuits that have a DC component flowing through the
windings.
Knowledge of leakage inductance is for example useful when transformers are operated
in parallel. It can be shown that if the percent impedance (Z) and associated winding
leakage reactance-to-resistance (X/R) ratio of two transformers were hypothetically
exactly the same, the transformers would share power in proportion to their respective
volt-ampere ratings (e.g. 500 kVA unit in parallel with 1,000 kVA unit, the larger unit
would carry twice the current). However, the impedance tolerances of commercial
transformers are significant. Also, the Z impedance and X/R ratio of different capacity
transformers tends to vary, corresponding 1,000 kVA and 500 kVA units' values being, to
illustrate, respectively, Z ~ 5.75%, X/R ~ 3.75 and Z ~ 5%, X/R ~ 4.75.

Equivalent circuit
Referring to the diagram, a practical transformer's physical behavior may be
represented by an equivalent circuit model, which can incorporate an ideal
transformer.Winding joule losses and leakage reactances are represented by the
following series loop impedances of the model:
Primary winding: RP, XP
Secondary winding: RS, XS.
In normal course of circuit equivalence transformation, RS and XS are in practice usually
referred to the primary side by multiplying these impedances by the turns ratio squared,
(NP/NS) 2 = a2.

Real transformer equivalent circuit

Core loss and reactance is represented by the following shunt leg impedances of the
model:
Core or iron losses: RC
Magnetizing reactance: XM.
RC and XM are collectively termed the magnetizing branch of the model.
Core losses are caused mostly by hysteresis and eddy current effects in the core and
are proportional to the square of the core flux for operation at a given frequency.[23] The
finite permeability core requires a magnetizing current IM to maintain mutual flux in the
core. Magnetizing current is in phase with the flux, the relationship between the two
being non-linear due to saturation effects. However, all impedances of the equivalent
circuit shown are by definition linear and such non-linearity effects are not typically
reflected in transformer equivalent circuits. With sinusoidal supply, core flux lags the
induced emf by 90. With open-circuited secondary winding, magnetizing branch
current I0 equals transformer no-load current. The resulting model, though sometimes
termed 'exact' equivalent circuit based on linearity assumptions, retains a number of
approximations. Analysis may be simplified by assuming that magnetizing branch
impedance is relatively high and relocating the branch to the left of the primary
impedances. This introduces error but allows combination of primary and referred
secondary resistances and reactances by simple summation as two series impedances.
Transformer equivalent circuit impedance and transformer ratio parameters can be
derived from the following tests: Open-circuit test, short-circuit test, winding resistance
test, and transformer ratio test.

Basic transformer parameters and construction

Effect of frequency

Transformer universal emf equation

If the flux in the core is purely sinusoidal, the relationship for either winding between
its rmsvoltage Erms of the winding, and the supply frequency f, number of turns N, core
cross-sectional area a in m2 and peak magnetic flux density Bpeakin Wb/m2 or T (tesla) is
given by the universal emf equation:

If the flux does not contain even harmonics the following equation can be used for halfcycle average voltage Eavg of any waveshape:

The time-derivative term in Faraday's Law shows that the flux in the core is
the integral with respect to time of the applied voltage. Hypothetically an ideal
transformer would work with direct-current excitation, with the core flux increasing
linearly with time. In practice, the flux rises to the point where magnetic saturation of the
core occurs, causing a large increase in the magnetizing current and overheating the
transformer. All practical transformers must therefore operate with alternating (or pulsed
direct) current.
The emf of a transformer at a given flux density increases with frequency. By operating
at higher frequencies, transformers can be physically more compact because a given
core is able to transfer more power without reaching saturation and fewer turns are
needed to achieve the same impedance. However, properties such as core loss and
conductor skin effect also increase with frequency. Aircraft and military equipment
employ 400 Hz power supplies which reduce core and winding weight. Conversely,
frequencies used for some railway electrification systems were much lower (e.g.
16.7 Hz and 25 Hz) than normal utility frequencies (50 60 Hz) for historical reasons
concerned mainly with the limitations of early electric traction motors. As such, the
transformers used to step-down the high over-head line voltages (e.g. 15 kV) were
much heavier for the same power rating than those designed only for the higher
frequencies.

Power transformer over-excitation condition caused by decreased frequency; flux

(green), iron core's magnetic characteristics (red) and magnetizing current (blue).
Operation of a transformer at its designed voltage but at a higher frequency than
intended will lead to reduced magnetizing current. At a lower frequency, the magnetizing
current will increase. Operation of a transformer at other than its design frequency may
require assessment of voltages, losses, and cooling to establish if safe operation is
practical. For example, transformers may need to be equipped with 'volts per hertz'
over-excitation relays to protect the transformer from overvoltage at higher than rated
frequency.
One example of state-of-the-art design is traction transformers used for electric multiple
unit and high speed train service operating across the,country border and using different
electrical standards, such transformers' being restricted to be positioned below the
passenger compartment. The power supply to, and converter equipment being supply
by, such traction transformers have to accommodate different input frequencies and
voltage (ranging from as high as 50 Hz down to 16.7 Hz and rated up to 25 kV) while
being suitable for multiple AC asynchronous motor and DC converters & motors with
varying harmonics mitigation filtering requirements.
Large power transformers are vulnerable to insulation failure due to transient voltages
with high-frequency components, such as caused in switching or by lightning.

Energy losses
An ideal transformer would have no energy losses, and would be 100% efficient. In
practical transformers, energy is dissipated in the windings, core, and surrounding
structures. Larger transformers are generally more efficient, and those rated for
electricity distribution usually perform better than 98%.Experimental transformers
using superconducting windings achieve efficiencies of 99.85%.[ The increase in
efficiency can save considerable energy, and hence money, in a large heavily loaded
transformer; the trade-off is in the additional initial and running cost of the
superconducting design.
As transformer losses vary with load, it is often useful to express these losses in terms
of no-load loss, full-load loss, half-load loss, and so on. Hysteresis and eddy
current losses are constant at all loads and dominate overwhelmingly at no-load,
variable winding joule losses dominating increasingly as load increases. The no-load
loss can be significant, so that even an idle transformer constitutes a drain on the
electrical supply and a running cost. Designing transformers for lower loss requires a
larger core, good-quality silicon steel, or even amorphous steel for the core and thicker
wire, increasing initial cost so that there is a trade-off between initial cost and running
cost (also see energy efficient transformer).[31]
Transformer losses arise from:

Winding joule losses

Current flowing through winding conductors causes joule heating. As frequency
increases, skin effect and proximity effect causes winding resistance and, hence, losses
to increase.

Core losses
Hysteresis losses
Each time the magnetic field is reversed, a small amount of energy is lost due to
hysteresis within the core. According to Steinmetz's formula, the heat energy due to
hysteresis is given by
, and,
hysteresis loss is thus given bY
where, f is the frequency, is the hysteresis coefficient
and max is the maximum flux density, the empirical exponent of which varies from
about 1.4 to 1 .8 but is often given as 1.6 for iron.

Eddy current losses

Ferromagnetic materials are also good conductors and a core made from such a
material also constitutes a single short-circuited turn throughout its entire length. Eddy
currents therefore circulate within the core in a plane normal to the flux, and are
responsible for resistive heating of the core material. The eddy current loss is a complex
function of the square of supply frequency and inverse square of the material thickness.
Eddy current losses can be reduced by making the core of a stack of plates electrically
insulated from each other, rather than a solid block; all transformers operating at low
frequencies use laminated or similar cores.

Magnetostriction related transformer hum

Magnetic flux in a ferromagnetic material, such as the core, causes it to physically
expand and contract slightly with each cycle of the magnetic field, an effect known
asmagnetostriction, the frictional energy of which produces an audible noise known
as mains hum or transformer hum. This transformer hum is especially objectionable in
transformers supplied at power frequencies and in high-frequency flyback
transformers associated with PAL system CRTs

Stray losses
Leakage inductance is by itself largely lossless, since energy supplied to its magnetic
fields is returned to the supply with the next half-cycle. However, any leakage flux that
intercepts nearby conductive materials such as the transformer's support structure will
give rise to eddy currents and be converted to heat.There are also radiative losses due
to the oscillating magnetic field but these are usually small.

Mechanical vibration and audible noise transmission

In addition to magnetostriction, the alternating magnetic field causes fluctuating forces
between the primary and secondary windings. This energy incites vibration transmission
in interconnected metalwork, thus amplifying audible transformer hum.

Core form and shell form transformers

Core form = core type; shell form = shell type

Closed-core transformers are constructed in 'core form' or 'shell form'. When windings
surround the core, the transformer is core form; when windings are surrounded by the
core, the transformer is shell form.Shell form design may be more prevalent than core
form design for distribution transformer applications due to the relative ease in stacking
the core around winding coils. Core form design tends to, as a general rule, be more
economical, and therefore more prevalent, than shell form design for high voltage power
transformer applications at the lower end of their voltage and power rating ranges (less
than or equal to, nominally, 230 kV or 75 MVA). At higher voltage and power ratings,
shell form transformers tend to be more prevalent. Shell form design tends to be
preferred for extra high voltage and higher MVA applications because, though more
labor intensive to manufacture, shell form transformers are characterized as having
inherently better kVA-to-weight ratio, better short-circuit strength characteristics and
higher immunity to transit damage.

CONSTRUCTION
Cores
Laminated steel cores

Laminated core transformer showing edge of laminations at top of photo

Power transformer inrush current caused by residual flux at switching instant; flux
(green), iron core's magnetic characteristics (red) and magnetizing current (blue).
Transformers for use at power or audio frequencies typically have cores made of high
permeability silicon steel. The steel has a permeability many times that of free
space and the core thus serves to greatly reduce the magnetizing current and confine
the flux to a path which closely couples the windings. Early transformer developers soon
realized that cores constructed from solid iron resulted in prohibitive eddy current
losses, and their designs mitigated this effect with cores consisting of bundles of
insulated iron wires. Later designs constructed the core by stacking layers of thin steel
laminations, a principle that has remained in use. Each lamination is insulated from its
neighbors by a thin non-conducting layer of insulation. The universal transformer
equation indicates a minimum cross-sectional area for the core to avoid saturation.

The effect of laminations is to confine eddy currents to highly elliptical paths that
enclose little flux, and so reduce their magnitude. Thinner laminations reduce losses,
but are more laborious and expensive to construct. Thin laminations are generally used
on high-frequency transformers, with some of very thin steel laminations able to operate
up to 10 kHz.

Laminating the core greatly reduces eddy-current losses

One common design of laminated core is made from interleaved stacks of Eshaped steel sheets capped with I-shaped pieces, leading to its name of 'E-I
transformer'. Such a design tends to exhibit more losses, but is very economical to
manufacture. The cut-core or C-core type is made by winding a steel strip around a
rectangular form and then bonding the layers together. It is then cut in two, forming two
C shapes, and the core assembled by binding the two C halves together with a steel
strap. They have the advantage that the flux is always oriented parallel to the metal
grains, reducing reluctance.
A steel core's remanence means that it retains a static magnetic field when power is
removed. When power is then reapplied, the residual field will cause a high inrush
current until the effect of the remaining magnetism is reduced, usually after a few cycles
of the applied AC waveform.Overcurrent protection devices such as fuses must be
selected to allow this harmless inrush to pass. On transformers connected to long,
overhead power transmission lines, induced currents due togeomagnetic
disturbances during solar storms can cause saturation of the core and operation of
transformer protection devices.Distribution transformers can achieve low no-load losses
by using cores made with low-loss high-permeability silicon steel or amorphous (noncrystalline) metal alloy. The higher initial cost of the core material is offset over the life of
the transformer by its lower losses at light load.

Solid cores
Powdered iron cores are used in circuits such as switch-mode power supplies that
operate above mains frequencies and up to a few tens of kilohertz. These materials
combine high magnetic permeability with high bulk electrical resistivity. For frequencies
extending beyond the VHF band, cores made from non-conductive
magnetic ceramic materials calledferrites are common.[46] Some radio-frequency
transformers also have movable cores (sometimes called 'slugs') which allow
adjustment of the coupling coefficient (and bandwidth) of tuned radio-frequency circuits.

Toroidal cores

Small toroidal core transformer

Toroidal transformers are built around a ring-shaped core, which, depending on
operating frequency, is made from a long strip of silicon steel or permalloy wound into a
coil, powdered iron, or ferrite. A strip construction ensures that the grain boundaries are
optimally aligned, improving the transformer's efficiency by reducing the
core's reluctance. The closed ring shape eliminates air gaps inherent in the construction
of an E-I core. The cross-section of the ring is usually square or rectangular, but more
expensive cores with circular cross-sections are also available. The primary and
secondary coils are often wound concentrically to cover the entire surface of the core.
This minimizes the length of wire needed, and also provides screening to minimize the
core's magnetic field from generatingelectromagnetic interference.
Toroidal transformers are more efficient than the cheaper laminated E-I types for a
similar power level. Other advantages compared to E-I types, include smaller size
(about half), lower weight (about half), less mechanical hum (making them superior in
audio amplifiers), lower exterior magnetic field (about one tenth), low off-load losses
(making them more efficient in standby circuits), single-bolt mounting, and greater
choice of shapes. The main disadvantages are higher cost and limited power capacity
(see Classification parameters below). Because of the lack of a residual gap in the
magnetic path, toroidal transformers also tend to exhibit higher inrush current,
compared to laminated E-I types.

Ferrite toroidal cores are used at higher frequencies, typically between a few tens of
kilohertz to hundreds of megahertz, to reduce losses, physical size, and weight of
inductive components. A drawback of toroidal transformer construction is the higher
labor cost of winding. This is because it is necessary to pass the entire length of a coil
winding through the core aperture each time a single turn is added to the coil. As a
consequence, toroidal transformers rated more than a few kVA are uncommon. Small
distribution transformers may achieve some of the benefits of a toroidal core by splitting
it and forcing it open, then inserting a bobbin containing primary and secondary
windings.

Air cores
A physical core is not an absolute requisite and a functioning transformer can be
produced simply by placing the windings near each other, an arrangement termed an
'air-core' transformer. The air which comprises the magnetic circuit is essentially
lossless, and so an air-core transformer eliminates loss due to hysteresis in the core
material. The leakage inductance is inevitably high, resulting in very poor regulation,
and so such designs are unsuitable for use in power distribution. They have however
very high bandwidth, and are frequently employed in radio-frequency applications, ] for
which a satisfactory coupling coefficient is maintained by carefully overlapping the
primary and secondary windings. They're also used for resonant transformers such as
Tesla coils where they can achieve reasonably low loss in spite of the high leakage
inductance

Windings

Windings are usually arranged concentrically to minimize flux leakage.

The conducting material used for the windings depends upon the application, but in all
cases the individual turns must be electrically insulated from each other to ensure that
the current travels throughout every turn. For small power and signal transformers, in
which currents are low and the potential difference between adjacent turns is small, the
coils are often wound fromenamelled magnet wire, such as Formvar wire. Larger power
transformers operating at high voltages may be wound with copper rectangular strip
conductors insulated by oil-impregnated paper and blocks of pressboard.[53]

Cut view through transformer windings. White: insulator. Green spiral: Grain oriented
silicon steel. Black: Primary winding made of oxygen-free copper. Red: Secondary
winding. Top left: Toroidal transformer. Right: C-core, but E-core would be similar. The
black windings are made of film. Top: Equally low capacitance between all ends of both

windings. Since most cores are at least moderately conductive they also need
insulation. Bottom: Lowest capacitance for one end of the secondary winding needed
for low-power high-voltage transformers. Bottom left: Reduction ofleakage
inductance would lead to increase of capacitance.
High-frequency transformers operating in the tens to hundreds of kilohertz often have
windings made of braided Litz wire to minimize the skin-effect and proximity effect
losses. Large power transformers use multiple-stranded conductors as well, since even
at low power frequencies non-uniform distribution of current would otherwise exist in
high-current windings. Each strand is individually insulated, and the strands are
arranged so that at certain points in the winding, or throughout the whole winding, each
portion occupies different relative positions in the complete conductor. The transposition
equalizes the current flowing in each strand of the conductor, and reduces eddy current
losses in the winding itself. The stranded conductor is also more flexible than a solid
conductor of similar size, aiding manufacture. The windings of signal transformers
minimize leakage inductance and stray capacitance to improve high-frequency
response. Coils are split into sections, and those sections interleaved between the
sections of the other winding.
Power-frequency transformers may have taps at intermediate points on the winding,
usually on the higher voltage winding side, for voltage adjustment. Taps may be
manually reconnected, or a manual or automatic switch may be provided for changing
taps. Automatic on-load tap changers are used in electric power transmission or
distribution, on equipment such as arc furnacetransformers, or for automatic voltage
regulators for sensitive loads. Audio-frequency transformers, used for the distribution of
audio to public address loudspeakers, have taps to allow adjustment of impedance to
each speaker. A center-tapped transformer is often used in the output stage of an audio
power amplifier in a push-pull circuit. Modulation transformers in AM transmitters are
very similar.
Dry-type transformer winding insulation systems can be either of standard open-wound
'dip-and-bake' construction or of higher quality designs that include vacuum pressure
impregnation (VPI), vacuum pressure encapsulation (VPE), and cast coil
encapsulation processes.[54] In the VPI process, a combination of heat, vacuum and
pressure is used to thoroughly seal, bind, and eliminate entrained air voids in the
winding polyester resin insulation coat layer, thus increasing resistance to corona. VPE
windings are similar to VPI windings but provide more protection against environmental
effects, such as from water, dirt or corrosive ambients, by multiple dips including
typically in terms of final epoxy coat.

Cooling

Cutaway view of liquid-immersed construction transformer. The conservator (reservoir)

at top provides liquid-to-atmosphere isolation as coolant level and temperature
changes. The walls and fins provide required heat dissipation balance.
To place the cooling problem in perspective, the accepted rule of thumb is that the life
expectancy of insulation in all electric machines including all transformers is halved for
about every 7C to 10C increase in operating temperature, this life expectancy halving
rule holding more narrowly when the increase is between about 7C to 8C in the case
of transformer winding cellulose insulation.
Small dry-type and liquid-immersed transformers are often self-cooled by natural
convection and radiation heat dissipation. As power ratings increase, transformers are
often cooled by forced-air cooling, forced-oil cooling, water-cooling, or combinations of
these. Large transformers are filled with transformer oil that both cools and insulates the
windings. Transformer oil is a highly refined mineral oil that cools the windings and
insulation by circulating within the transformer tank. The mineral oil and paper insulation
system has been extensively studied and used for more than 100 years. It is estimated
that 50% of power transformers will survive 50 years of use, that the average age of
failure of power transformers is about 10 to 15 years, and that about 30% of power
transformer failures are due to insulation and overloading failures. Prolonged operation
at elevated temperature degrades insulating properties of winding insulation and
dielectric coolant, which not only shortens transformer life but can ultimately lead to

catastrophic transformer failure. With a great body of empirical study as a

guide, transformer oil testing including dissolved gas analysis provides valuable
maintenance information. This can translate in a need to monitor, model, forecast and
manage oil and winding conductor insulation temperature conditions under varying,
possibly difficult, power loading conditions. Building regulations in many jurisdictions
require indoor liquid-filled transformers to either use dielectric fluids that are less
flammable than oil, or be installed in fire-resistant rooms. Air-cooled dry transformers
can be more economical where they eliminate the cost of a fire-resistant transformer
room.
The tank of liquid filled transformers often has radiators through which the liquid coolant
circulates by natural convection or fins. Some large transformers employ electric fans
for forced-air cooling, pumps for forced-liquid cooling, or have heat exchangers for
water-cooling.An oil-immersed transformer may be equipped with a Buchholz relay,
which, depending on severity of gas accumulation due to internal arcing, is used to
either alarm or de-energize the transformer. Oil-immersed transformer installations
usually include fire protection measures such as walls, oil containment, and firesuppression sprinkler systems.
Polychlorinated biphenyls have properties that once favored their use as a dielectric
coolant, though concerns over their environmental persistence led to a widespread ban
on their use.[66] Today, non-toxic, stable silicone-based oils, or fluorinated
hydrocarbons may be used where the expense of a fire-resistant liquid offsets additional
building cost for a transformer vault. PCBs for new equipment was banned in 1981 and
in 2000 for use in existing equipment in United KingdomLegislation enacted in Canada
between 1977 and 1985 essentially bans PCB use in transformers manufactured in or
imported into the country after 1980, the maximum allowable level of PCB
contamination in existing mineral oil transformers being 50 ppm .Some transformers,
instead of being liquid-filled, have their windings enclosed in sealed, pressurized tanks
and cooled by nitrogen or sulfur hexafluoride gas.[67]
Experimental power transformers in the 500-to-1,000 kVA range have been built
with liquid nitrogen or helium cooled superconducting windings, which, compared to
usual transformer losses, eliminates winding losses without affecting core losses. [70][71]

Insulation drying
Construction of oil-filled transformers requires that the insulation covering the windings
be thoroughly dried of residual moisture before the oil is introduced. Drying is carried
out at the factory, and may also be required as a field service. Drying may be done by
circulating hot air around the core, or by vapor-phase drying (VPD) where an
evaporated solvent transfers heat by condensation on the coil and core.
For small transformers, resistance heating by injection of current into the windings is
used. The heating can be controlled very well, and it is energy efficient. The method is
called low-frequency heating (LFH) since the current is injected at a much lower
frequency than the nominal of the power grid, which is normally 50 or 60 Hz. A lower
frequency reduces the effect of the inductance in the transformer, so the voltage needed

to induce the current can be reduced.The LFH drying method is also used for service of
older transformers.

Bushings
Larger transformers are provided with high-voltage insulated bushings made of
polymers or porcelain. A large bushing can be a complex structure since it must provide
careful control of the electric field gradient without letting the transformer leak oil.
Classification parameter
Transformers can be classified in many ways, such as the following:
Power capacity: From a fraction of a volt-ampere (VA) to over a thousand MVA.
Duty of a transformer: Continuous, short-time, intermittent, periodic, varying
Frequency range: Power-frequency, audio-frequency, or radio-frequency.
Voltage class: From a few volts to hundreds of kilovolts.
Cooling type: Dry and liquid-immersed - self-cooled, forced air-cooled; liquid-immersed forced oil-cooled, water-cooled.
Circuit application: Such as power supply, impedance matching, output voltage and
current stabilizer or circuit isolation.
Utilization: Pulse, power, distribution, rectifier, arc furnace, amplifier output, etc..
Basic magnetic form: Core form, shell form.
Constant-potential transformer descriptor: Step-up, step-down, isolation.
General winding configuration: By EIC vector group - various possible two-winding
combinations of the phase designations delta, wye or star, and zigzag or interconnected
star;[j]other - autotransformer, Scott-T, zigzag grounding transformer winding.[75][76][77][78]
Rectifier phase-shift winding configuration: 2-winding, 6-pulse; 3-winding, 12-pulse; . . .
n-winding, [n-1]*6-pulse; polygon; etc..Types[edit]
For more details, see Transformer types or specific main articles, as shown.
A wide variety of transformer designs are used for different applications, though they
share several common features. Important common transformer types include:
Autotransformer: Transformer in which part of the winding is common to both primary
and secondary circuits.

Capacitor voltage transformer: Transformer in which capacitor divider is used to reduce

high voltage before application to the primary winding.
Distribution transformer, power transformer: International standards make a distinction
in terms of distribution transformers being used to distribute energy from transmission
lines and networks for local consumption and power transformers being used to transfer
electric energy between the generator and distribution primary circuits.
Phase angle regulating transformer: A specialised transformer used to control the flow
of real power on three-phase electricity transmission networks.
Scott-T transformer: Transformer used for phase transformation from three-phase
to two-phase and vice versa.[79]
Polyphase transformer: Any transformer with more than one phase.
Grounding transformer: Transformer used for grounding three-phase circuits to create a
neutral in a three wire system, using a wye-delta transformer, or more commonly,
a zigzag grounding winding.
Leakage transformer: Transformer that has loosely coupled windings.
Resonant transformer: Transformer that uses resonance to generate a high secondary
voltage.
Audio transformer: Transformer used in audio equipment.
Output transformer: Transformer used to match the output of a valve amplifier to its
load.
Instrument transformer: Potential or current transformer used to accurately and safely
represent voltage, current or phase position of high voltage or high power circuits.

Applications

An electrical substation in Melbourne, Australia showing 3 of 5 220kV/66kV

transformers, each with a capacity of 150 MVA.

Transformer at the Limestone Generating Station in Manitoba, Canada

Transformers are used to increase voltage before transmitting electrical energy over
long distances through wires. Wires have resistance which loses energy through joule
heating at a rate corresponding to square of the current. By transforming power to a
higher voltage transformers enable economical transmission of power and distribution.
Consequently, transformers have shaped the electricity supply industry, permitting
generation to be located remotely from points of demand.[All but a tiny fraction of the
world's electrical power has passed through a series of transformers by the time it
reaches the consumer.

Transformers are also used extensively in electronic products to step-down the supply
voltage to a level suitable for the low voltage circuits they contain. The transformer also
electrically isolates the end user from contact with the supply voltage.
Signal and audio transformers are used to couple stages of amplifiers and to match
devices such as microphones and record players to the input of amplifiers. Audio
transformers allowed telephonecircuits to carry on a two-way conversation over a single
pair of wires. A balun transformer converts a signal that is referenced to ground to a
signal that has balanced voltages to ground, such as between external cables and
internal circuits.

History

Discovery of induction phenomenon

Faraday's experiment with induction between coils of wire

The principle behind the operation of a transformer, electromagnetic induction, was
discovered independently by Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry in 1831. However,
Faraday was the first to publish the results of his experiments and thus receive credit for
the discovery.The relationship between emf and magnetic flux is an equation now
known as Faraday's law of induction:

.
where
is the magnitude of the emf in volts and B is the magnetic flux through the
circuit in webers.[86]
Faraday performed the first experiments on induction between coils of wire, including
winding a pair of coils around an iron ring, thus creating the first toroidal closed-core
transformer.However he only applied individual pulses of current to his transformer, and
never discovered the relation between the turns ratio and emf in the windings.

Induction coils

Faraday's ring transformer

Induction coil, 1900, Bremerhavn, Germany

The first type of transformer to see wide use was the induction coil, invented by
Rev. Nicholas Callan of Maynooth College, Ireland in 1836. He was one of the first
researchers to realize the more turns the secondary winding has in relation to the
primary winding, the larger the induced secondary emf will be. Induction coils evolved
from scientists' and inventors' efforts to get higher voltages from batteries. Since
batteries produce direct current (DC) rather than AC, induction coils relied upon
vibrating electrical contacts that regularly interrupted the current in the primary to create
the flux changes necessary for induction. Between the 1830s and the 1870s, efforts to
build better induction coils, mostly by trial and error, slowly revealed the basic principles
of transformers.

CIRCUIT BREAKER
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect
an electrical circuit from damage caused byoverload or short circuit. Its basic function is
to detect a fault condition and interrupt current flow. Unlike a fuse, which operates once
and then must be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset (either manually or
automatically) to resume normal operation. Circuit breakers are made in varying sizes,
from small devices that protect an individual household appliance up to
large switchgear designed to protect high-voltage circuits feeding an entire city.

ORIGINS
An early form of circuit breaker was described by Thomas Edison in an 1879 patent
application, although his commercial power distribution system used fuses. Its purpose
was to protect lighting circuit wiring from accidental short-circuits and overloads. A
modern miniature circuit breaker similar to the ones now in use was patented by Brown,
Boveri & Cie in 1924. Hugo Stotz, an engineer who had sold his company, to BBC, was
credited as the inventor on DRP (Deutsches Reichspatent) 458329. Stotz's invention
was the forerunner of the modern thermal-magnetic breaker commonly used in
household load centers to this day.
Interconnection of multiple generator sources into an electrical grid required
development of circuit breakers with increasing voltage ratings and increased ability to
safely interrupt the increasing short circuit currents produced by networks. Simple airbreak manual switches produced hazardous arcs when interrupting high currents; these
gave way to oil-enclosed contacts, and various forms using directed flow of pressurized
air, or of pressurized oil, to cool and interrupt the arc. By 1935, the specially constructed
circuit breakers used at the Boulder Dam project use eight series breaks and
pressurized oil flow to interrupt faults of up to 2500 MVA, in three cycles of the AC
power frequency.

OPERATIONS
All circuit breakers have common features in their operation, although details vary
substantially depending on the voltage class, current rating and type of the circuit
breaker.
The circuit breaker must detect a fault condition; in low-voltage circuit breakers this is
usually done within the breaker enclosure. Circuit breakers for large currents or high
voltages are usually arranged with pilot devices to sense a fault current and to operate
the trip opening mechanism. The trip solenoid that releases the latch is usually
energized by a separate battery, although some high-voltage circuit breakers are selfcontained with current transformers, protection relays, and an internal control power
source.

Once a fault is detected, contacts within the circuit breaker must open to interrupt the
circuit; some mechanically-stored energy (using something such as springs or
compressed air) contained within the breaker is used to separate the contacts, although
some of the energy required may be obtained from the fault current itself. Small circuit
breakers may be manually operated, larger units have solenoids to trip the mechanism,
and electric motors to restore energy to the springs.
The circuit breaker contacts must carry the load current without excessive heating, and
must also withstand the heat of the arc produced when interrupting (opening) the circuit.
Contacts are made of copper or copper alloys, silver alloys, and other highly conductive
materials. Service life of the contacts is limited by the erosion of contact material due to
arcing while interrupting the current. Miniature and molded case circuit breakers are
usually discarded when the contacts have worn, but power circuit breakers and highvoltage circuit breakers have replaceable contacts.
When a current is interrupted, an arc is generated. This arc must be contained, cooled,
and extinguished in a controlled way, so that the gap between the contacts can again
withstand the voltage in the circuit. Different circuit breakers use vacuum, air, insulating
gas, or oil as the medium the arc forms in. Different techniques are used to extinguish
the arc including:

Lengthening / deflection of the arc

Intensive cooling (in jet chambers)

Division into partial arcs

Zero point quenching (Contacts open at the zero current time crossing of the AC
waveform, effectively breaking no load current at the time of opening. The zero
crossing occurs at twice the line frequency i.e. 100 times per second for 50 Hz and
120 times per second for 60 Hz AC)
Connecting capacitors in parallel with contacts in DC circuits.

Finally, once the fault condition has been cleared, the contacts must again be closed to
restore power to the interrupted circuit.

ARC INTERRUPTION
Miniature low-voltage circuit breakers use air alone to extinguish the arc. Larger ratings
have metal plates or non-metallic arc chutes to divide and cool the arc. Magnetic
blowoutcoils or permanent magnets deflect the arc into the arc chute.
In larger ratings, oil circuit breakers rely upon vaporization of some of the oil to blast a
jet of oil through the arc. Gas (usually sulfur hexafluoride) circuit breakers sometimes

stretch the arc using a magnetic field, and then rely upon the dielectric strength of the
sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) to quench the stretched arc.
Vacuum circuit breakers have minimal arcing (as there is nothing to ionize other than
the contact material), so the arc quenches when it is stretched a very small amount (<2
3 mm). Vacuum circuit breakers are frequently used in modern medium-voltage
switchgear to 35,000 volts.
Air circuit breakers may use compressed air to blow out the arc, or alternatively, the
contacts are rapidly swung into a small sealed chamber, the escaping of the displaced
air thus blowing out the arc.
Circuit breakers are usually able to terminate all current very quickly: typically the arc is
extinguished between 30 ms and 150 ms after the mechanism has been tripped,
depending upon age and construction of the device.

SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT

Circuit breakers are rated both by the normal current that they are expected to carry,
and the maximum short-circuit current that they can safely interrupt.
Under short-circuit conditions, a current many times greater than normal can exist
(see maximum prospective short circuit current). When electrical contacts open to
interrupt a large current, there is a tendency for an arc to form between the opened
contacts, which would allow the current to continue. This condition can create
conductive ionized gases and molten or vaporized metal, which can cause further
continuation of the arc, or creation of additional short circuits, potentially resulting in the
explosion of the circuit breaker and the equipment that it is installed in. Therefore, circuit
breakers must incorporate various features to divide and extinguish the arc.
In air-insulated and miniature breakers an arc chute structure consisting (often) of metal
plates or ceramic ridges cools the arc, and magnetic blowout coils deflect the arc into
the arc chute. Larger circuit breakers such as those used in electrical power
distribution may use vacuum, an inert gas such as sulphur hexafluoride or have
contacts immersed in oil to suppress the arc.
The maximum short-circuit current that a breaker can interrupt is determined by testing.
Application of a breaker in a circuit with a prospective short-circuit current higher than
the breaker's interrupting capacity rating may result in failure of the breaker to safely
interrupt a fault. In a worst-case scenario the breaker may successfully interrupt the
fault, only to explode when reset.
Miniature circuit breakers used to protect control circuits or small appliances may not
have sufficient interrupting capacity to use at a panelboard; these circuit breakers are

called "supplemental circuit protectors" to distinguish them from distribution-type circuit

breakers.

TYPES OF CIRCUIT BREAKER

Many different classifications of circuit breakers can be made, based on their features
such as voltage class, construction type, interrupting type, and structural features.

Low-voltage circuit breakers

Low-voltage (less than 1000 VAC) types are common in domestic, commercial and
industrial application, and include:

MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)rated current not more than 100 A. Trip
characteristics normally not adjustable. Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation.
Breakers illustrated above are in this category.

There are three main types of MCBs: 1. Type B - trips between 3 and 5 times full load
current; 2. Type C - trips between 5 and 10 times full load current; 3. Type D - trips
between 10 and 20 times full load current. In the UK all MCBs must be selected in
accordance with BS 7671.

MCCB (Molded Case Circuit Breaker)rated current up to 2500 A. Thermal or

thermal-magnetic operation. Trip current may be adjustable in larger ratings.

Low-voltage power circuit breakers can be mounted in multi-tiers in low-voltage

switchboards or switchgear cabinets.

The characteristics of low-voltage circuit breakers are given by international standards

such as IEC 947. These circuit breakers are often installed in draw-out enclosures that
allow removal and interchange without dismantling the switchgear.
Large low-voltage molded case and power circuit breakers may have electric motor
operators so they can trip (open) and close under remote control. These may form part
of an automatic transfer switch system for standby power.
Low-voltage circuit breakers are also made for direct-current (DC) applications, such as
DC for subway lines. Direct current requires special breakers because the arc is
continuousunlike an AC arc, which tends to go out on each half cycle. A direct current
circuit breaker has blow-out coils that generate a magnetic field that rapidly stretches
the arc. Small circuit breakers are either installed directly in equipment, or are arranged
in a breaker panel.
The 10 ampere DIN rail-mounted thermal-magnetic miniature circuit breaker is the most
common style in modern domestic consumer units and commercial electrical distribution
boards throughout Europe. The design includes the following components:
1. Actuator lever - used to manually trip and reset the circuit breaker. Also indicates
the status of the circuit breaker (On or Off/tripped). Most breakers are designed
so they can still trip even if the lever is held or locked in the "on" position. This is
sometimes referred to as "free trip" or "positive trip" operation.
2. Actuator mechanism - forces the contacts together or apart.
3. Contacts - Allow current when touching and break the current when moved apart.
4. Terminals
5. Bimetallic strip.
6. Calibration screw - allows the manufacturer to precisely adjust the trip current of
the device after assembly.
7. Solenoid
8. Arc divider/extinguisher

Magnetic circuit breakers

Magnetic circuit breakers use a solenoid (electromagnet) whose pulling force increases
with the current. Certain designs utilize electromagnetic forces in addition to those of the
solenoid. The circuit breaker contacts are held closed by a latch. As the current in the
solenoid increases beyond the rating of the circuit breaker, the solenoid's pull releases

the latch, which lets the contacts open by spring action. Some magnetic breakers
incorporate a hydraulic time delay feature using a viscous fluid. A spring restrains the
core until the current exceeds the breaker rating. During an overload, the speed of the
solenoid motion is restricted by the fluid. The delay permits brief current surges beyond
normal running current for motor starting, energizing equipment, etc. Short circuit
currents provide sufficient solenoid force to release the latch regardless of core position
thus bypassing the delay feature. Ambient temperature affects the time delay but does
not affect the current rating of a magnetic breaker

Thermal magnetic circuit breakers

Thermal magnetic circuit breakers, which are the type found in most distribution boards,
incorporate both techniques with the electromagnet responding instantaneously to large
surges in current (short circuits) and the bimetallic strip responding to less extreme but
longer-term over-current conditions. The thermal portion of the circuit breaker provides
an "inverse time" response feature, which provides faster or slower response for larger
or smaller over currents respectively.
Common trip breakers
When supplying a branch circuit with more than one live conductor, each live conductor
must be protected by a breaker pole. To ensure that all live conductors are interrupted
when any pole trips, a "common trip" breaker must be used. These may either contain
two or three tripping mechanisms within one case, or for small breakers, may externally
tie the poles together via their operating handles. Two-pole common trip breakers are
common on 120/240-volt systems where 240 volt loads (including major appliances or
further distribution boards) span the two live wires. Three-pole common trip breakers
are typically used to supply three-phase electric power to large motors or further
distribution boards.
Two- and four-pole breakers are used when there is a need to disconnect multiple
phase ACor to disconnect the neutral wire to ensure that no current flows through the
neutral wire from other loads connected to the same network when workers may touch
the wires during maintenance. Separate circuit breakers must never be used for live and
neutral, because if the neutral is disconnected while the live conductor stays connected,
a dangerous condition arises: the circuit appears de-energized (appliances don't work),
but wires remain live and RCDs don't trip if someone touches the live wire (because
RCDs need power to trip). This is why only common trip breakers must be used when
neutral wire switching is needed.

Medium-voltage circuit breakers

Medium-voltage circuit breakers rated between 1 and 72 kV may be assembled into
metal-enclosed switchgear line ups for indoor use, or may be individual components
installed outdoors in a substation. Air-break circuit breakers replaced oil-filled units for
indoor applications, but are now themselves being replaced by vacuum circuit breakers
(up to about 35 kV). Like the high voltage circuit breakers described below, these are
also operated by current sensing protective relays operated through current
transformers. The characteristics of MV breakers are given by international standards
such as IEC 62271. Medium-voltage circuit breakers nearly always use separate current
sensors and protective relays, instead of relying on built-in thermal or magnetic
overcurrent sensors.
Medium-voltage circuit breakers can be classified by the medium used to extinguish the
arc:

Vacuum circuit breakersWith rated current up to 3000 A, these breakers

interrupt the current by creating and extinguishing the arc in a vacuum container.
These are generally applied for voltages up to about 35,000 V,[7] which corresponds
roughly to the medium-voltage range of power systems. Vacuum circuit breakers
tend to have longer life expectancies between overhaul than do air circuit breakers.

Air circuit breakersRated current up to 10,000 A. Trip characteristics are often

fully adjustable including configurable trip thresholds and delays. Usually
electronically controlled, though some models are microprocessor controlled via an
integral electronic trip unit. Often used for main power distribution in large industrial
plant, where the breakers are arranged in draw-out enclosures for ease of
maintenance.

SF6 circuit breakers extinguish the arc in a chamber filled with sulfur hexafluoride
gas.

Medium-voltage circuit breakers may be connected into the circuit by bolted

connections to bus bars or wires, especially in outdoor switchyards. Medium-voltage
circuit breakers in switchgear line-ups are often built with draw-out construction,
allowing breaker removal without disturbing power circuit connections, using a motoroperated or hand-cranked mechanism to separate the breaker from its enclosure. Some
Important manufacturer of VCB from 3.3 kV to 36 kV are ABB,Simens,C&S Electric
Ltd.,Jyoti & BHEL.

High-voltage circuit breakers

Electrical power transmission networks are protected and controlled by high-voltage
breakers. The definition of high voltage varies but in power transmission work is usually
thought to be 72.5 kV or higher, according to a recent definition by the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). High-voltage breakers are nearly always solenoidoperated, with current sensing protective relays operated through current transformers.

In substations the protective relay scheme can be complex, protecting equipment and
buses from various types of overload or ground/earth fault.
High-voltage breakers are broadly classified by the medium used to extinguish the arc.

Bulk oil

Minimum oil

Air blast

Vacuum

SF6

CO2

Some of the manufacturers are ABB, GE (General Electric), Tavrida Electric, Alstom,
Mitsubishi Electric, Pennsylvania Breaker, Siemens, Toshiba, Konar HVS, BHEL, CGL,
Square D (Schneider Electric), Becker/SMC (SMC Electrical Products).
Due to environmental and cost concerns over insulating oil spills, most new breakers
use SF6gas to quench the arc.
Circuit breakers can be classified as live tank, where the enclosure that contains the
breaking mechanism is at line potential, or dead tank with the enclosure at earth
potential. High-voltage AC circuit breakers are routinely available with ratings up to
765 kV. 1200kV breakers were launched by Siemens in November 2011, followed by
ABB in April the following year. High-voltage circuit breakers used on transmission
systems may be arranged to allow a single pole of a three-phase line to trip, instead of
tripping all three poles; for some classes of faults this improves the system stability and
availability.

Disconnecting circuit breaker (DCB)

The disconnecting circuit breaker (DCB) was introduced in 2000 and is a high-voltage
circuit breaker modeled after the SF6-breaker. It presents a technical solution where the
disconnecting function is integrated in the breaking chamber, eliminating the need for
separate disconnectors. This increases theavailability, since open-air disconnecting
switch main contacts need maintenance every 26 years, while modern circuit breakers
have maintenance intervals of 15 years. Implementing a DCB solution also reduces the
space requirements within the substation, and increases the reliability, due to the lack of
separate disconnectors.
In order to further reduce the required space of substation, as well as simplifying the
design and engineering of the substation, a Fiber optic current sensor (FOCS) can be
integrated with the DCB. A 420 kV DCB with integrated FOCS can reduce a
substations footprint with over 50 % compared to a conventional solution of live tank

breakers withdisconnectors and current transformers, due to reduced material and no

additional insulation medium.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) high-voltage circuit-breakers

A sulfur hexafluoride circuit breaker uses contacts surrounded by sulfur hexafluoride
gas to quench the arc. They are most often used for transmission-level voltages and
may be incorporated into compact gas-insulated switchgear. In cold climates,
supplemental heating or de-rating of the circuit breakers may be required due to
liquefaction of the SF6 gas.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) high-voltage circuit breaker

In 2012 ABB presented a 72.5 kV high-voltage breaker that uses carbon dioxide as the
medium to extinguish the arc. The carbon dioxide breaker works on the same principles
as an SF6 breaker and can also be produced as a disconnecting circuit breaker. By
switching from SF6 to CO2 it is possible to reduce the CO2 emissions by 10 tons during
the products life cycle

ISOLATOR
An isolator is a two-port device that transmits microwave or radio frequency power in
one direction only. It is used to shield equipment on its input side, from the effects of

conditions on its output side; for example, to prevent a microwave source being detuned
by a mismatched load.

NON RECIPORITY
from the ferrite or absorbed. An isolator is a non-reciprocal device, with a nonsymmetric scattering matrix. An ideal isolator transmits all the power entering port 1 to
port 2, while absorbing all the power entering port 2, so that to within a phase-factor its
S-matrix is

To achieve non-reciprocity, an isolator must necessarily incorporate a non-reciprocal

material. At microwave frequencies this material is invariably a ferrite which
is biased by a static magnetic field. The ferrite is positioned within the isolator such
that the microwave signal presents it with a rotating magnetic field, with the rotation
axis aligned with the direction of the static bias field. The behaviour of the ferrite
depends on the sense of rotation with respect to the bias field, and hence is different
for microwave signals travelling in opposite directions. Depending on the exact
operating conditions, the signal travelling in one direction may either be phaseshifted, displaced

TYPES:
Resonance absorption
In this type the ferrite absorbs energy from the microwave signal travelling in one
direction. A suitable rotating magnetic field is found in the TE 10 mode of
rectangular waveguide. The rotating field exists away from the centre-line of the broad
wall, over the full height of the guide. However, to allow heat from the absorbed power
to be conducted away, the ferrite does not usually extend from one broad-wall to the
other, but is limited to a shallow strip on each face. For a given bias field, resonance
absorption occurs over a fairly narrow frequency band, but since in practice the bias
field is not perfectly uniform throughout the ferrite, the isolator functions over a
somewhat wider band.

FIELD

DISPLACEMENT

This type is superficially very similar to a resonance absorption isolator, but the
magnetic biassing differs, and the energy from the backward travelling signal is
absorbed in a resistive film or card on one face of the ferrite block rather than within the
ferrite itself. The bias field is weaker than that necessary to cause resonance at the

operating frequency, but is instead designed to give the ferrite zero permeability for one
sense of rotation of the microwave signal field. The bias polarity is such that this special
condition arises for the forward signal, while the backward signal sees the ferrite as an
ordinary permeable material. Consequently the electromagnetic field of the forward
signal tends to be excluded from the ferrite while the field of the backward wave is
concentrated within it. This results in a null of the electric field of the forward signal on
the surface of the ferrite where the resistive film is placed. Conversely for the backward
signal, the electric field is strong over this surface and so its energy is dissipated in
driving current through the film. In rectangular waveguide the ferrite block will typically
occupy the full height from one broad-wall to the other, with the resistive film on the side
facing the centre-line of the guide.

USING

A CIRCULATOR

A circulator is a non-reciprocal three- or four-port device, in which power entering any

port is transmitted to the next port in rotation (only). So to within a phase-factor,
the scattering matrix for a three-port circulator is

A two-port isolator is obtained simply by terminating one of the three ports with
a matched load, which absorbs all the power entering it. The biassed ferrite is part of
the circulator and causes a differential phase-shift for signals travelling in different
directions. The bias field is lower than that needed for resonance absorption, and so
this type of isolator does not require such a heavy permanent magnet. Because the
power is absorbed in an external load, cooling is less of a problem than with a
resonance absorption isolator.

CURRENT TRANSFORMER

A current transformer (CT) is used for measurement of alternating electric currents.

Current transformers, together with voltage transformers (VT) (potential transformers

(PT)), are known as instrument transformers. When current in a circuit is too high to
directly apply to measuring instruments, a current transformer produces a reduced
current accurately proportional to the current in the circuit, which can be conveniently
connected to measuring and recording instruments. A current transformer also isolates
the measuring instruments from what may be very high voltage in the monitored circuit.
Current transformers are commonly used in metering and protective relays in
the electrical power industry.

DESIGN
Like any other transformer, a current transformer has a primary winding, a magnetic
core, and a secondary winding. The alternating current flowing in the primary produces

an alternating magnetic field in the core, which then induces an alternating current in the
secondary winding circuit. An essential objective of current transformer design is to
ensure that the primary and secondary circuits are efficiently coupled, so that the
secondary current bears an accurate relationship to the primary current.
The most common design of CT consists of a length of wire wrapped many times
around a silicon steel ring passed 'around' the circuit being measured. The CT's primary
circuit therefore consists of a single 'turn' of conductor, with a secondary of many tens or
hundreds of turns. The primary winding may be a permanent part of the current
transformer, with a heavy copper bar to carry current through the magnetic core.
Window-type current transformers (aka zero sequence current transformers, or ZSCT)
are also common, which can have circuit cables run through the middle of an opening in
the core to provide a single-turn primary winding. When conductors passing through a
CT are not centered in the circular (or oval) opening, slight inaccuracies may occur.
Shapes and sizes can vary depending on the end user or switchgear manufacturer.
Typical examples of low voltage single ratio metering current transformers are either
ring type or plastic moulded case. High-voltage current transformers are mounted on
porcelain bushings to insulate them from ground. Some CT configurations slip around
the bushing of a high-voltage transformer or circuit breaker, which automatically centers
the conductor inside the CT window.
The primary circuit is largely unaffected by the insertion of the CT. The rated secondary
current is commonly standardized at 1 or 5 amperes. For example, a 4000:5 CT would
provide an output current of 5 amperes when the primary was passing 4000 amperes.
The secondary winding can be single ratio or multi ratio, with five taps being common
for multi ratio CTs. The load, or burden, of the CT should be of low resistance. If the
voltage time integral area is higher than the core's design rating, the core goes
into saturation towards the end of each cycle, distorting the waveform and affecting
accuracy.

USAGE
Current transformers are used extensively for measuring current and monitoring the
operation of the power grid. Along with voltage leads, revenue-grade CTs drive the
electrical utility's watt-hour meter on virtually every building with three-phase service
and single-phase services greater than 200 amps.
The CT is typically described by its current ratio from primary to secondary. Often,
multiple CTs are installed as a "stack" for various uses. For example, protection devices
and revenue metering may use separate CTs to provide isolation between metering and
protection circuits, and allows current transformers and different characteristics
(accuracy, overload performance) to be used for the devices.

SAFETY PRECAUTION
Care must be taken that the secondary of a current transformer is not disconnected
from its load while current is flowing in the primary, as the transformer secondary will
attempt to continue driving current across the effectively infinite impedance up to its
core saturation voltage. This may produce a high voltage across the open secondary
into the range of several kilovolts, causing arcing, compromising operator with
equipment safety, or permanently affect the accuracy of the transformer.

ACURACY
The accuracy of a CT is directly related to a number of factors including:

Burden

Burden class/saturation class

Rating factor

Load

External electromagnetic fields

Temperature and

Physical configuration.

The selected tap, for multi-ratio CTs

For the IEC standard, accuracy classes for various types of measurement are set out in
IEC 60044-1, Classes 0.1, 0.2s, 0.2, 0.5, 0.5s, 1, and 3. The class designation is an
approximate measure of the CT's accuracy. The ratio (primary to secondary current)
error of a Class 1 CT is 1% at rated current; the ratio error of a Class 0.5 CT is 0.5% or
less. Errors in phase are also important especially in power measuring circuits, and
each class has an allowable maximum phase error for a specified load impedance.
Current transformers used for protective relaying also have accuracy requirements at
overload currents in excess of the normal rating to ensure accurate performance of
relays during system faults. A CT with a rating of 2.5L400 specifies with an output from
its secondary winding of 20 times its rated secondary current (usually 5 A x 20 = 100 A)
and 400 V (IZ drop) its output accuracy will be within 2.5 percent.

BURDEN
The secondary load of a current transformer is usually called the "burden" to distinguish
it from the load of the circuit whose current is being measured.
The burden, in a CT metering circuit is the (largely resistive) impedance presented to its
secondary winding. Typical burden ratings for IEC CTs are 1.5 VA, 3 VA, 5 VA, 10 VA,
15 VA, 20 VA, 30 VA, 45 VA & 60 VA. As for ANSI/IEEE burden ratings are B-0.1, B-0.2,
B-0.5, B-1.0, B-2.0 and B-4.0. This means a CT with a burden rating of B-0.2 can
tolerate up to 0.2 of impedance in the metering circuit before its secondary accuracy
falls outside of an accuracy specification. These specification diagrams show accuracy
parallelograms on a grid incorporating magnitude and phase angle error scales at the
CT's rated burden. Items that contribute to the burden of a current measurement circuit
are switch-blocks, meters and intermediate conductors. The most common source of
excess burden is the conductor between the meter and the CT. When substation meters
are located far from the meter cabinets, the excessive length of wire creates a large
resistance. This problem can be reduced by using CTs with 1 ampere secondaries,
which will produce less voltage drop between a CT and its metering devices.

KNEE POINT ORE SATURATION VOLTAGE

The knee-point voltage of a current transformer is the magnitude of the secondary
voltage after which the output current ceases to linearly follow the input current within
declared accuracy. In testing, if a voltage is applied across the secondary terminals the
magnetizing current will increase in proportion to the applied voltage, up until the knee
point. The knee point is defined as the voltage at which a 10% increase in applied
voltage increases the magnetizing current by 50%. From the knee point upwards, the
magnetizing current increases abruptly even with small increments in voltage across the
secondary terminals. The knee-point voltage is less applicable for metering current
transformers as their accuracy is generally much tighter but constrained within a very
small bandwidth of the current transformer rating, typically 1.2 to 1.5 times rated current.

However, the concept of knee point voltage is very pertinent to protection current
transformers, since they are necessarily exposed to currents of 20 or 30 times rated
current during faults

RATING FATOR
Rating factor is a factor by which the nominal full load current of a CT can be multiplied
to determine its absolute maximum measurable primary current. Conversely, the
minimum primary current a CT can accurately measure is "light load," or 10% of the
nominal current (there are, however, special CTs designed to measure accurately
currents as small as 2% of the nominal current). The rating factor of a CT is largely
dependent upon ambient temperature. Most CTs have rating factors for 35 degrees
Celsius and 55 degrees Celsius. It is important to be mindful of ambient temperatures
and resultant rating factors when CTs are installed inside padmount transformers or
poorly ventilated mechanical rooms. Recently, manufacturers have been moving
towards lower nominal primary currents with greater rating factors. This is made
possible by the development of more efficient ferrites and their corresponding hysteresis
curves.

SPECIAL DESIGN
Specially constructed wideband current transformers are also used (usually with
an oscilloscope) to measure waveforms of high frequency or pulsed currents
within pulsed powersystems. One type of specially constructed wideband transformer
provides a voltage output that is proportional to the measured current. Another type
(called a Rogowski coil) requires an external integrator in order to provide a voltage
output that is proportional to the measured current. Unlike CTs used for power circuitry,
wideband CTs are rated in output volts per ampere of primary current. CT RATIO.

HIGH VOLTAGE TYPE

Current transformers are used for protection, measurement and control in high voltage
electrical substations and the electrical grid. Current transformers may be installed
inside switchgear or in apparatus bushings, but very often free-standing outdoor current
transformers are used. In a switchyard, live tank current transformers have a substantial
part of their enclosure energized at the line voltage and must be mounted on
insulators. Dead tank current transformers isolate the measured circuit from the
enclosure. Live tank CTs are useful because the primary conductor is short, which gives
better stability and a higher short-circuit current withstand rating. The primary of the
winding can be evenly distributed around the magnetic core, which gives better
performance for overloads and transients. Since the major insulation of a live-tank
current transformer is not exposed to the heat of the primary conductors, insulation life
and thermal stability is improved.
A high-voltage current transformer may contain several cores, each with a secondary
winding, for different purposes (such as metering circuits, control, or protection)

CAPACITOR VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER

A capacitor voltage transformer (CVT), or capacitance coupled voltage

transformer (CCVT) is a transformer used inpower systems to step down extra high
voltage signals and provide a low voltage signal, for measurement or to operate
aprotective relay. In its most basic form the device consists of three parts:
two capacitors across which the transmission line signal is split, an inductive element to
tune the device to the line frequency, and a transformer to isolate and further step down
the voltage for the instrumentation or protective relay. The tuning of the divider to the
line frequency makes the overall division ratio less sensitive to changes in the burden of
the connected metering or protection devices. The device has at least four terminals: a
terminal for connection to the high voltage signal, a ground terminal, and two secondary
terminals which connect to the instrumentation or protective relay. CVTs are typically
single-phase devices used for measuring voltages in excess of one hundred kilovolts
where the use of wound primary voltage transformers would be uneconomical. In
practice, capacitor C1 is often constructed as a stack of smaller capacitors connected in
series. This provides a large voltage drop across C 1 and a relatively small voltage drop
across C2.
The CVT is also useful in communication systems. CVTs in combination with wave traps
are used for filtering high frequency communication signals from power frequency. This
forms a carrier communication network throughout the transmission network.

Variable Shunt Reactors

Variable Shunt Reactors are used in high voltage energy transmission systems to
stabilize the voltage during load variations. A traditional shunt reactor has a fixed rating
and is either connected to the power line all the time or switched in and out depending
on the load. Recently Variable Shunt Reactors (VSR) have been developed and
introduced on the market. The rating of a VSR can be changed in steps, The maximum
regulation range typically is a factor of two, e.g. from 100-200 Mvar. The regulation
speed is normally in the order seconds per step and around a minute from max to min
rating. VSRs are today available for voltages up to 550 kV. The largest three-phase
VSRs in operation have a rating of 120-200 Mvar at 420 kV and single-phase variable
shunt reactors banks rated 200-285 Mvar at 420 kV have been installed in Italy.
The variability brings several benefits compared to a traditional fixed shunt reactors.
The VSR can continuously compensate reactive power as the load varies and thereby
securing voltage stability. Other important benefits are:

reduced voltage jumps resulting from switching in and out of traditional

fixed reactors
flexibility for future (today unknown) load and generation patterns

improved interaction with other transmission equipment and/or systems such as

coarse tuning of SVC equipment

limiting the foot print of a substation if parallel fixed shunt reactors can be
replaced with one VSR

a VSR can be used as a flexible spare unit and be moved to other locations in
the power grid if needed

WAVE TRAP
Line trap also is known as Wave trap. What it does is trapping the high
frequency communication signals sent on the line from the remote
substation and diverting them to the telecom/teleprotection panel in the
substation control room (through coupling capacitor and LMU).
This is relevant in Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) systems for
communication among various substations without dependence on the
telecom company network. The signals are primarily teleprotection signals
and in addition, voice and data communication signals.Line trap also is
known as Wave trap. What it does is trapping the high frequency
communication signals sent on the line from the remote substation and
diverting them to the telecom/teleprotection panel in the substation control
room (through coupling capacitor and LMU).
This is relevant in Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) systems for
communication among various substations without dependence on the
telecom company network. The signals are primarily teleprotection signals
and in addition, voice and data communication signals.
The Line trap offers high impedance to the high frequency communication
signals thus obstructs the flow of these signals in to the substation busbars.
If there were not to be there, then signal loss is more and communication will
be ineffective/probably impossible.

LIGHTNING ARRESTER

A lightning arrester is a device used on electrical power systems

and telecommunications systems to protect the insulation and conductors of the system
from the damaging effects of lightning. The typical lightning arrester has a highvoltage terminal and a ground terminal. When a lightning surge (or switching surge,
which is very similar) travels along the power line to the arrester, the current from the
surge is diverted through the arrestor, in most cases to earth.
In telegraphy and telephony, a lightning arrestor is placed where wires enter a structure,
preventing damage to electronic instruments within and ensuring the safety of
individuals near them. Smaller versions of lightning arresters, also called surge
protectors, are devices that are connected between each electrical conductor in power
and communications systems and the Earth. These prevent the flow of the normal
power or signal currents to ground, but provide a path over which high-voltage lightning
current flows, bypassing the connected equipment. Their purpose is to limit the rise in
voltage when a communications or power line is struck by lightning or is near to a
lightning strike.
If protection fails or is absent, lightning that strikes the electrical system introduces
thousands of kilovolts that may damage the transmission lines, and can also cause

severe damage to transformers and other electrical or electronic devices. Lightningproduced extreme voltage spikes in incoming power lines can damage electrical home
appliances

COMPONENT
A potential target for a lightning strike, such as a television antenna, is attached to the
terminal labeled A in the photograph. Terminal E is attached to a long rod buried in the
ground. Ordinarily no current will flow between the antenna and the ground because
there is extremely high resistance between B and C, and also between C and D. The
voltage of a lightning strike, however, is many times higher than that needed to
move electrons through the two air gaps. The result is that electrons go through the
lightning arrester rather than traveling on to the television set and destroying it.

A lightning arrester may be a spark gap or may have a block of

a semiconducting material such as silicon carbide or zinc oxide. Some spark gaps are
open to the air, but most modern varieties are filled with a precision gas mixture, and
have a small amount of radioactive material to encourage the gas to ionize when the
voltage across the gap reaches a specified level. Other designs of lightning arresters
use a glow-discharge tube (essentially like a neon glow lamp) connected between the
protected conductor and ground, or voltage-activated solid-state switches
called varistors or MOVs.
Lightning arresters built for power substation use are impressive devices, consisting of a
porcelain tube several feet long and several inches in diameter, typically filled with disks
of zinc oxide. A safety port on the side of the device vents the occasional internal
explosion without shattering the porcelain cylinder.
Lightning arresters are rated by the peak current they can withstand, the amount of
energy they can absorb, and the breakover voltage that they require to begin
conduction. They are applied as part of a lightning protection system, in combination
with air terminals and bonding.

BUSBAR

In electrical power distribution, a busbar (also spelled bus bar, buss bar or bussbar,
with the term bus being a contraction of the Latin omnibus - meaning for all) is a strip
or bar of copper, brass or aluminium that conducts electricity within
a switchboard,distribution board, substation, battery bank or other electrical apparatus.
Its main purpose is to conduct electricity, not to function as a structural member.

The cross-sectional size of the busbar determines the maximum amount of current that
can be safely carried. Busbars can have a cross-sectional area of as little as
10 mm2 but electrical substations may use metal tubes of 50 mm in diameter (20 cm2) or
more as busbars. An aluminium smelter will have very large busbars used to carry tens
of thousands of amperes to the electrochemical cells that produce aluminium from
molten salts.

DESIGN AND PLACEMENT

Busbars are typically either flat strips or hollow tubes as these shapes allow heat to
dissipate more efficiently due to their highsurface area to cross-sectional area ratio.
The skin effect makes 5060 Hz AC busbars more than about 8 mm (1/3 in) thickness
inefficient, so hollow or flat shapes are prevalent in higher current applications. A hollow
section has higher stiffness than a solid rod of equivalent current-carrying capacity,
which allows a greater span between busbar supports in outdoor switchyards.
A busbar may either be supported on insulators, or else insulation may completely
surround it. Busbars are protected from accidental contact either by a metal earthed
enclosure or by elevation out of normal reach. Power Neutral busbars may also be
insulated. Earth (safety grounding) busbars are typically bare and bolted directly onto
any metal chassis of their enclosure. Busbars may be enclosed in a metal housing, in
the form of bus duct or busway, segregated-phase bus, or isolated-phase bus.
Busbars may be connected to each other and to electrical apparatus by bolted, clamp,
or welded connections. Often joints between high-current bus sections have matching
surfaces that are silver-plated to reduce the contact resistance. At extra-high voltages
(more than 300 kV) in outdoor buses, corona around the connections becomes a source
of radio-frequency interference and power loss, so connection fittings designed for
these voltages are used.
Busbars are typically contained inside switchgear, panel boards, or busway. Distribution
boards split the electrical supply into separate circuits at one location. Busways, or bus
ducts, are long busbars with a protective cover. Rather than branching the main supply
at one location, they allow new circuits to branch off anywhere along the route of the
busway.

INTER CONNETTING TRANSFORMER

The function of the inter-connecting transformer is - as the name suggests - to interconnect two systems at different voltages. Normally, they will be either 400kV/132kV
or 220kV/110kV, of say about 100 MVA rating. They are bi-directional. During the

plant start-up, they "import" power from the grid either at 400kV or 220kV and step
down to 132kV or 110kV to supply the station auxiliaries. Once the plant is started
and synchronized to the grid, the same transformer can now be used to "export"
power to the grid.
They are normally auto-transformers and they will have a delta connected tertiary
winding of about 33kV voltage rating, for providing a circulating path for the zerosequence currents. The spec would read: 400/132/33kV, 100MVA

Future Capacity Additions

NTPC has formulated a long term Corporate Plan to become a 1,28,000 MW company
upto 2032. In line with the Corporate Plan, the capacity addition under implementation
presently:
PROJECT
Coal
1.
Bongaigaon
2.
Barh-I
3.
Barh-II
4.
Lara-I
5.
Kudgi-I
6.
Vindhyachal-V
7.
Gadarwara-I
8.
Mouda-II
9.
Solapur
10. Rihand-III
11. Nabinagar, BRBCL
12. Muzaffarpur Exp., KBUNL
13. Nabinagar, NPGCPL
14. Vallur-II, NTECL
15. Meja, MUNPL
Total
Hydro
1.
Koldam HEPP ( 4 x 200)
2.
Tapovan Vishnugad HEPP (4 x 130)
3.
Singrauli CW Discharge(Small Hydro)
4.
Lata Tapovan
Total
Solar
1.
Ramagundam Phase-I
2.
Talcher Kaniha
3.
Unchahar
Total
Grand Total (Coal + Hydro + Solar)

STATE
Assam
Bihar
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Karnataka
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
Bihar
Bihar
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand

MW

7
19
13
16
24
5
16
13
13
5
10
3
19
5
13
18,48

8
5

1
1,49

Andhra Pradesh
Odisha
Uttar Pradesh

NTPC has a glorious record of excellence in every field of its activities ever
since its inception in 1975. Leading the countrys power sector, we take pride

3
20,00

in our people and their performance which has been acknowledged time and
again at various national and international fora.

AWARDS GAIN BY NTPC

Environment Award

1. Earthcare Award - 2012 to NTPC for Climate Change Initiatives

2. Golden Peacock Environmental Management Award
3. CII Sustainability Award
4. 3rd Green Globe Foundation Awards
5. The Sunday Indian Special Mega Excellence Indias Best Environment Driven
Company Award 2009.

Performance Awards

1. Life Time Achievement Award to GM NTPC -CenPEEP

2. SCOPE Excellence Award to NTPC
3. NTPC Finance Director bags GSBA- Top Rankers Excellence Award
4. Top Liner Maharatna Award to NTPC
5. SCOPE Excellence Award to Shri Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, NTPC
6. PSU Excellence Award for NTPC
7. Enertia Awards for NTPC Projects & Shri D K Jain, Director (Technical), NTPC Ltd receives
award for Excellence in Nuclear, Thermal (Conventional Energy)

8. Vishwakarma Award for 12 NTPC Employees

9. Prime Ministers Shram Award to NTPCs Misri Lal Choudhary
10. The Best Performing CFO Award
11. India Pride Awards Energy and Power Category
12. Enertia Award 2010
13. SAFA Best Presented Accounts Awards 2008
14. CII-EXIM Excellence Award, 2010

15. National Awards for Meritorious Performance

Quality Awards

1. International Gold Star Award for Quality 2009

2.

Company Rankings

1. Ranked 348th in Global ranking among Global 2000 list of companies compiled by
Forbes in 2011.
2. Forbes' Global 2000 list of top listed firms
3. Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings 2010
4. NTPC the Most Respected Company in Power Sector

5. Indias Biggest News Makers Survey

6. Business Standard's "BS1000" companies

REFERENCES

BOOKS
LIBRARY
INTERNET