1

Study SF
6
Thermal Plasma generated
during/after power interruption
Final Project for Introduction to Plasma Processing

Instructor: Prof. Kasra Etemadi

STUDENT:
Hosny, Ahmed A.


EE403/503, Fall 2005
2
Outline
Introduction
Plasma characteristics
Advantages and Disadvantages of SF
6
Residual SF
6
plasma species
Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS)
Conclusion
Future work
References

Hosny, Ahmed
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What is Circuit Breaker (CB)?
CB is one of the most essential
safety mechanisms in electric
networks.
Interrupt short circuit currents
(~ 60kA, low pf ~ 0.1).
Fault clearance time is very
important for power system
stability and avoid equipment
damage for itself and the rest of
the network.
CB can be characterized by,
short circuit current, Rated
voltage,

Figure 1: A schematic of Circuit
Breaker Conditions
Electric
Sub-
circuit
A
Circuit
Breaker
(CB)
ON/Off
Electric
Sub-
circuit
B
V,
I
V,
I
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Plasma Elements
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Impulse Voltage,
Transient Recovery
Voltage (TRV)
Coupling
Gas ( SF
6
)
Breakdown
Manmade
Plasmas
Extinguish
Hosny, Ahmed
Figure 2: A plot shows plasma elements.
5
Plasma Parameters
Debye Length
e
e
D
n
T
= 69
[m]
10
0
10
20
10
22
10
24
10
8
10
10
10
12
10
14
10
16
10
18

10
5

10
2
10
4
10
6

10
4

10
3

10
2

10
1

10
0

10
-1

A
v
e
r
a
g
e

E
l
e
c
t
r
o
n

E
n
e
r
g
y
,

[
e
V
]


Electron Number density, [cm
-3
]
Thermonuclear
Plasmas
Electron
Beam
Glow
Discharge
Arc
Discharge
Solid
MHD
Generator
Ionosphere
Solar
Corona
Interstellar
Gas
Gaseous
Nebulae
v
P

=

1
0
0

H
z

v
P

=

1
0

K
H
z

v
P

=

1

M
H
z

v
P

=

1
0
0

M
H
z

v
P

=

1
0

G
H
z

v
P

=

1

T
H
z

Plasma Frequency
e p
n = 97 . 8 v
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Plasma Power Source
Transient Recovery Voltage (TRV)
TRV is the voltage that builds up across
a circuit breaker after the interruption of
a fault current.
It consists of oscillations of lumped
elements and of traveling waves.
It stresses the circuit breaker contacts
and depends on the type and location of
the fault in addition to the CB it self.



Lc
t
L
Rt
t E e
t E idt
c dt
di
L Ri
r
1
cos
2
exp cos
cos
1
0
0
=
(

|
.
|

\
|

=
= + +
}
e
e e
e
Figure 3: (a) Single-phase equivalent circuit,
(b) Transient recovery voltage [10]
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Arc Quenching Mechanism
Figure 4: A Schematic representation of the puffer interrupter
indicating some important physical processes. [2]
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SF
6
has a dielectric strength of about two to three
times that of air.
It is nontoxic.
It is nonflammable.
It is noncorrosive; it doesnt react with other
materials because it is inert gas. However, when it
is heated to 500
0
C it decomposes and its
decomposition products react with other
materials.
It exhibits excellent properties for arc quenching.
So, it used as an interrupting medium in circuit
breakers instead of air or oil.
Pros & Cons of SF
6
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SF
6
Circuit Breaker
Figure 6: SF6 Circuit breaker,
36kV, 4000A, SC 50kA. [12]
Figure 5: A plot of the thermal
conductivity of SF
6
and N
2
[11]
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Residual SF
6
Plasma Species

Ionization


Associative detachment



Dissociative attachment

e e S S e
e e F F e
+ + +
+ + +
+
+
e SF S F
e F F F
+ +
+ +

2
S F e SF
F F e F
+ +
+ +

2
Table 1: Particle densities of
residual SF
6
plasma at 3000 K,
10
5
Pa [1]
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Electron Velocity Distribution Function
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Normalization Factor
Energy loss due to collisions
Collision frequency
12
Advantages of Gas-insulated
switchgear (GIS) are:
Compact size.
Totally isolated from the
atmospheric conditions such as
air pollution, high temperature,
snow, etc.
High degree of reliability and
safety precaution.
Easy to install.
SF
6
has a dielectric strength
much higher than air which is the
insulated gas for conventional
switchgear type.
SF
6
CB applications GIS
Figure 7: Gas-insulated substations
(the picture shows a typical example)
are very compact in size and reliable in
operation
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Conclusion
The primary Cause of high transient over-voltage
is the generation of multiple re-ignitions during
the interrupting period by some types of CB. This
TRV are the most likely cause of CB damage.
The design of CB can be determined using the
thermal flow characteristics near current zero.
The critical field strength for the breakdown of
the residual plasma has been found to be
proportional to the pressure and is equal to
2.0V/(m.Pa), which is only ~ (1/45)th of that of SF
6

at room temperature.
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Future Work
Further study on calculation of TRV and
post-arc current just after current zero.
Advanced arc model and measurement
techniques, which can support the physical
phenomena in CBs.
Study the theory of positive corona in SF
6

due to impulse voltage.
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References
1. J.D. Yan, M.T.C. Fang and Q.S. Liu, Dielectric Breakdown of a Residual
SF6 Plasma at 3000K under Diatomic Equilibrium, IEEE Transaction on
Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, Vol. 4 No.1, February 1997.
2. D.W. Shimmin and et al, Transient Pressure Variations in SF
6
Puffer
Circuit breakers, Applied Physics, 23 (1990) pp. 533-541.
3. P.H. Schavemaker and L. Van der Sluis, The influence of the Topology of
Test Circuits on the Interrupter Performance of Circuit Breakers, IEEE
Transaction on Power Delivery, Vol. 10, No. 4, October 1995.
4. M. T. C. Fang and M. Y. Shent, A comparative study of two computational
methods for the simulation of discharge development in SF
6
, Appl. Phys.
28 (1995) 364-370.
5. Z. Ma and et al, An Investigation of Transient Over voltage Generation
when switching high voltage shunt reactors by SF
6
circuit Breaker, IEEE
Transaction on Power Delivery, Vol. 13, No. 2, April 1998.
6. Jong-Chul Lee and Youn J. Kim, Numerical Modeling of SF
6
thermal
plasma generated during the switching process, Science Direct,
Elsevier, 2005, pp. 72-80.
Hosny, Ahmed
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References (Cont.)
7. Richard Morrow, Theory of Positive Corona in SF6 Due to a Voltage
Impulse, IEEE Transaction on Plasma Science, Vol. 19, No. 2, April
1991.
8. J. D. Yan, M. T. C. Fang and Q. S. Liu, Dielectric Breakdown of a
Residual SF6 Plasma at 3000 K under Diatomic Equilibrium, IEEE
Transaction on Dielectrics and Electric Insulation, Vol. 4, N0. 1,
February 1997.
9. Gerd Duning and Manfred Lindmayer, Plasma Density Decay of
Vacuum Discharge After Current Zero, IEEE Transaction on Plasma
Science, Vol. 27, No. 4, August 1999.
10. Mazen Abdel-Salam and et al, High-Voltage Engineering: Theory and
Practice, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 2000
11. http://www.metatechcorp.com/aps/cold_weather_operating_problem
s_.htm.
12. http://www.abb.com/global/abbzh/abbzh251.nsf!OpenDatabase&db=/
global/seitp/seitp328.nsf&v=9AAC720001&e=us&c=C1256CCB004E3
ABBC125699F0042734E.
Hosny, Ahmed