Low Voltage Switchgear

Update the Ingress Protection for switchgear from 21 to be 42

M. Gamal  BAMAG-MENA  14/2013


Low Voltage
Switchgear
Update the Ingress Protection for
switchgear from 21 to be 42
For Low Voltage Switchgear of:
- Main Distribution Board.
- Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV01.
- Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV02.
- Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV03.
- Low Voltage Distribution Board (BS)
These panels have been delivered to
the site on two packages, the first on
19.08.2009 with inspection report no. 08
and the other on 11.01.2010 with
inspection report no. 12.
According to consultant letter No.
BAMAG/896 dated 24.01.2010 and the
contract document page 33/131; we shall
upgrade the protection degree of these
panels to be IP42 for dry electrical
operating room and IP54 for humid rooms.
Low Voltage Switchgear Description
Main Distribution Board (MDB) is the
main switchgear feeding the power for the
whole system in the plant. The panel
consists of 10 cells each cell with
dimension of (Width x Depth x Height) 800
x 600 x 2000 mm. The rated current is
3200 ampere with rated voltage 400 volt
and 50 hertz. The panel is located in dry
electrical room with IP21.
Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV01 is the switchgear feeding the power
for aeration stage one. The panel consists
of 22 cells each cell with dimension of
(Width x Depth x Height) 800 x 600 x 2000
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 Low Voltage Switchgear
mm. The rated current is 3200/630/16/270
ampere with rated voltage 400 volt and 50
hertz. The panel is located in dry electrical
room with IP21.
Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV02 is the switchgear feeding the power
for sludge dewatering and pre-treatment.
The panel consists of 20 cells each cell with
dimension of (Width x Depth x Height) 800
x 600 x 2000 mm. The panel comprises of
one corner cell with dimension of (Width x
Depth x Height) 600 x 600 x 2000 mm and
two adaptation cells each cell with
dimension of (Width x Depth x Height) 600
x 600 x 2000 mm. The rated current is
800/630/250/270 ampere with rated
voltage 400 volt and 50 hertz. The panel is
located in humid electrical room with IP54.
Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV03 is the switchgear feeding the power
for aeration stage two. The panel consists
of 22 cells each cell with dimension of
(Width x Depth x Height) 800 x 600 x 2000
mm. The rated current is 2500/630/16/289
ampere with rated voltage 400 volt and 50
hertz. The panel is located in dry electrical
room with IP21.
Low Voltage Distribution Board (BS)
is the switchgear feeding the power for
Building Service. The panel consists of 4
cells each cell with dimension of (Width x
Depth x Height) 800 x 600 x 2000 mm. The
rated current is 800 ampere with rated
voltage 400 volt and 50 hertz. The panel is
located in dry electrical room with IP21.
Degrees of protection provided by
enclosures (IP Code)
Definition of the IP code is given by
a coding system to indicate the degrees of
protection provided by an enclosure
against access to hazardous parts, ingress
of solid foreign objects, and ingress of
water and to give additional information in
connection with such protection.*
The degree of protection provided
by an enclosure is indicated by the IP Code
as following: **
- Code letters (IP)
- First characteristic numeral
(numerals 0 to 6, or letter X)
 Low Voltage Switchgear

- Second characteristic numeral For ambient conditions, it’s recommended

(numerals 0 to 8, or letter X) to be as follow:
The difference between the degree of - Temperature : 15 °C to 35
protection for:
°C
Against
Against ingress Against - Relative humidity: 25 % to 75 %
IP access to
of solid foreign ingress - Air pressure: 0.86 bar to 1.06 bar
Code hazardous
objects of water Tools to be prepared for test:
parts with
≥12,5 mm vertically o Electrode with 1mm2 cross
21 finger
diameter dripping section area and with
dripping isolated handle shall be used
≥1,0 mm
42 wire (15° for test the first
diameter
tilted)
characteristic numeral of IP.
splashin
54 dust-protected wire o Diameter measurement tool
g
* Clouse 3.4 such as Vernier Calipers.
** Clouse 4 o Drip box with dimension of
60cm x 60cm with height of
50cm, and holes of diameter
Upgrade the degrees of protection
0.5mm.
Through an extensive water sealing o The drip box material shall
study, many materials were evaluated for
be PVC.
initial sealing effectiveness. A high-demand
scenario was simulated of water pressure o Insulation tester.
on a 6.35 mm wide gasket using materials Equipment needs for test:
of medium firmness compressed to various - Forklift to transport the panels.
compressions. - Base frame or support under the
Sealing should be applied for the tested items.
door and any other opening for ventilation.
- Lifting equipment to adjust the
Good sealing of fan filter, to be prevent
dust and water drop. panel at 15°.

Which panels shall be upgrade Test Procedure

There are four panels as follow shall
be upgrade to be IP42:
1. Main Distribution Board.
2. Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV01.
3. Low Voltage Distribution Board
LV03.
4. Low Voltage Distribution Board (BS)
The sample for each panel shall be
tested with 25% of the total no. of cells and
three cells as minimum quantity. For item
one and four, three cells shall be tested.
For item two and three, six cells shall be
tested.
Requirements for test
For protection against solid foreign
objects indicated by the first characteristic
numeral, the access probe is pushed
against or inserted through any openings
of the enclosure with the force of 1N.
Tests for protection against water
indicated by the second characteristic
numeral, the tests are conducted with
fresh water. During the the water
temperature should not differ by more than
5 K from the temperature of the specimen
under test.
The test is made with a device
which produces a uniform flow of water
drops over the whole area of the enclosure.
An example of such a device is shown in
attached drawing.

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  Low Voltage Switchgear

The enclosure under test is placed

in its normal operating position under the
drip box with distance of 20 cm.
The enclosure is tested for 2.5 min
in each of four fixed positions of tilt. These
positions are 15° on either side of the
vertical in two mutually perpendicular
planes.

Test acceptance
After testing in accordance with the
appropriate requirements of IEC-60529, the
first characteristic numeral protection is
satisfactory if the full diameter of the probe
does not pass through any opening. The
second characteristic numeral protection is
satisfactory if there is no water within the
enclosure.
If traces of water are readily
observable within the enclosure
immediately after the test for water
ingress, then the dielectric properties shall
be verified by test in accordance.

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