Difference between Live Tank type and Dead Tank Circuit Breaker

1. Live Tank Type

: The interrupter chamber is arranged in the insulator, which can be either porcelain or of a
composite material and is at high potential with the voltage level determining the length of the
insulators for the interrupter chamber and the insulator column. It sometimes needs a re-insertion
resistor.

2. Dead Tank Type

: The interrupter chamber is accommodated in an earthed metal housing.

3. Live Tank Type vs. Dead Tank Type

1) Location of switching unit
1.1) Dead-tank type: inside metallic container(earthed voltage) > cons
1.2) Live-tank type: inside insulator bushing(live voltage) >pros

2) Amount of SF6
2.1) Dead-tank type: 100% > cons
2.2) Live-tank type: 10~15% > pros
3) Seismic Capability
3.1) Dead-tank type: lower center of gravity > pros
3.2) Live-tank type: higher center of gravity > cons

4) Location of CT
4.1) Dead-tank type: Current Transformer can be located in bushings(BCT) > pros
4.2) Live-tank type: CT should be located separately > cons

Consider the dead-tank circuit breaker shown in Figure 1.14(b).

The bushing CTs are on either side of the breaker and the secondaries are connected to the bus and
line protection so that they overlap at the breaker. For a fault at F1 both protective systems will
operate. The bus differential relays will trip B1 and all other breakers on the bus. This will clear the
fault. The line protection will similarly trip breaker B1; and the corresponding relays at the remote
station will also trip their associated breakers. This is unnecessary, but unavoidable. If there are
tapped loads on the line, they will be de-energized until the breakers reclose. For a fault at F2, again
both protective systems will operate. For this fault, tripping the other bus breakers is not necessary
to clear the fault, but tripping the two ends of the line is necessary.

Now consider the live-tank design shown in Figure 1.14(c).

For a fault at F1, only the bus protection sees the fault and correctly trips B1 and all the other bus
breakers to clear the fault. For a fault at F2, however, tripping the bus breakers does not clear the
fault, since it is still energized from the remote end, and the line relays do not operate. This is a
blind spot in this configuaration. Column protection will cover this area. For a fault at F3 and F4, the
line relays will operate and the fault will be cleared from both ends. The fault at F3 again results in
unnecessary tripping of the bus breakers.