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Electric- and Magnetic-Field Measurements in an Outdoor Electric Power

Substation

Article  in  IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery · February 2009

DOI: 10.1109/TPWRD.2008.917690 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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38 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 24, NO. 1, JANUARY 2009

Electric- and Magnetic-Field Measurements

in an Outdoor Electric Power Substation
Anastasia S. Safigianni, Member, IEEE, and Christina G. Tsompanidou

Abstract—This paper investigates the electric and magnetic to the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation
fields values in the area of an outdoor electric power substation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines [2] are as follows:
2 50 MVA, 150/20 kV, in Xanthi, Greece. Results of previous • for the electric-field strength, kV/m;
relevant measurements and calculations, as well as the reference
• for the magnetic field strength, A/m;
levels in force for safe general public and occupational exposure,
are presented first. Basic data for the examined substation along • for the magnetic flux density, T.
with a brief description of the field measurement instruments used These levels for safe occupational exposure are as follows.
follow. The main results of the field measurements in the area of • for the electric-field strength, kV/m;
the aforementioned substation are presented in relevant tables • for the magnetic field strength, A/m;
and diagrams. Final conclusions, concerning safe public and oc- • for the magnetic flux density, T.
cupational exposure to these fields, according to the international
Various researchers have treated at great length the mea-
guidelines, are set out.
surement and model elaboration for the determination of the
Index Terms—Extremely low-frequency electric- and magnetic- EMFs generated by transmission lines, particularly by lines
field measurements, outdoor electric power substation, safe public
and occupational exposure. that cross residential areas. Recent works in this area are [8]
and [9]. There is yet little data available in the literature dealing
with EMFs measurements and calculations in power stations
I. INTRODUCTION and substations of various voltage levels. Specifically, in [10],
NVIRONMENTAL exposure to man-made electromag- measurements of magnetic field profiles around a specific sub-
E netic fields has been steadily increasing during the past
century, as growing demand for electricity, ever-advancing tech-
station have verified that adding a substation under an existing
transmission line does not increase the magnetic field beyond
nologies, and changes in social behavior have created more and the substation boundary. In [11], magnetic fields in a 187/66-kV
more artificial sources. The benefits of using electricity in ev- substation are calculated for various current conditions and
eryday life and healthcare are unquestioned, but during the past described in terms of contour plots. In [12], the magnetic
25 years the general public has become increasingly concerned fields generated by a distribution substation were measured and
about potential health hazards of exposure to electric and mag- calculated, based on a computer model that takes into account
netic fields at extremely low frequencies (ELF). currents in the grounding systems, distribution feeder neutrals,
These magnetic fields have been suspected of causing various overhead ground wires, and induced currents in equipment
types of negative health effects. Authoritative scientific groups structures and ground grid loops. In [13], measurements of the
in [1]–[6] believe that the data are not sufficient to support the field strength in a combined cycle gas turbine power station are
conclusion that ELF electric or magnetic fields (EMFs) cause described, for both the steady state situation and the process of
cancer or lead to abnormalities or to learning and behavior prob- starting the generator. The measurement results are compared
lems. Although some health effects have been statistically re- to the established safe exposure limits. In [14], an integral
lated to ELF EMFs exposure, these effects are poorly under- approach method is used for magnetic field measurements in
stood and may exist only as statistical or scientific errors. The a 69 kV SF gas insulated substation in Taiwan. Reference
expert working groups prepared a report [7] that evaluates pos- [15] shows the results of an initial series of measurements
sible health effects from exposure to static and ELF EMFs. The carried out to determine the levels of EMFs in various indoor
final conclusion of the work done is that more research is re- and outdoor environments (power transmission lines, power
quired to improve health risk assessments, including statistical, cables, substations, domestic electrical equipment) associated
epidemiological, experimental, laboratory and other studies. with occupational and residential exposure. In [16] and [17],
Generally accepted guidelines have been established for safe shielding is proposed for an in-house secondary substation in
public and occupational exposure to power-frequency EMFs. Sweden in order to mitigate the magnetic field. This shielding
The reference levels for general public exposure are, according really reduces the field values compared to the values measured
before the shielding installation. We must, however, point out
that these values are already far below today’s accepted safe
Manuscript received October 09, 2006; revised June 08, 2007. First pub-
lished April 15, 2008; current version published December 24, 2008. Paper no. exposure limits. Paper [18] is giving a long-term (one year)
TPWRD-00612-2006. measurement and regression analysis of magnetic fields, for
The authors are with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, four primary substations in Taipei, Taiwan.
Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, GR-67100, Greece (e-mail: asafig@
ee.duth.gr; [email protected]). The main goals of the research group, part of which are the
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2008.917690 authors of this paper, are the investigation of the ELF EMFs in
0885-8977/$25.00 © 2008 IEEE

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SAFIGIANNI AND TSOMPANIDOU: ELECTRIC- AND MAGNETIC-FIELD MEASUREMENTS 39

Fig. 1. Ground plan of the substation area with the measurement positions.

the different areas of the standardized power transformers, used final conclusions concerning safe public and occupational ex-
in the Hellenic and Cyprus power system and the relative in- posure to these fields are set out.
formation of the public and the working personnel. The results
of ELF EMFs measurements within several indoor power dis-
II. SUBSTATION DESCRIPTION
tribution substations 20/0.4 kV in Greece and an indoor elec-
tric power substation 132/11.5 kV in Cyprus are evaluated in The ELF field measurements have been taken at an outdoor
[19] and [20], respectively, for these reasons. Both the measure- electric power substation 2 50 MVA, 150/20 kV, 6696 m in
ments and the elaboration of the relevant results show that the area, situated near a motorway in Xanthi, Greece. There is a
magnitudes of the measured field values are within recognized ditch preventing access from the motorway to the substation
guidelines. This paper extending and completing previous re- area. Only small industries and commercial enterprises exist in
search work of the group, examines the ELF fields in the area of the surrounding area, at an appropriate distance from the sub-
an outdoor electric power substation 2 50 MVA, 150/20 kV station. A ground plan of the substation area is given in Fig. 1.
in Xanthi, Greece. First, basic data is given for this substation Two identical power transformers are installed in the sub-
and a brief description of the instruments used to take the mea- station area. Each transformer has a nominal power of 40(50)
surements is provided. The main results of the field measure- MVA/ONAN(ONAF), a nominal voltage rate of 150/20 kV and
ments are presented in relevant tables and diagrams. These re- it is fed by one of the circuits of a 150 kV double circuit trans-
sults are evaluated according generally accepted guidelines and mission line entering the substation.

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40 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 24, NO. 1, JANUARY 2009

Three capacitor banks are also installed in the substation TABLE I

area. Banks C1 and C2 have a nominal power of 13.91 MVA MAXIMUM MEASURED MAGNETIC-FLUX DENSITY VALUES
and bank C3, which is newer than C1 and C2, has a nominal
power of 13.3 MVA. The first two banks are connected to the
medium voltage buses via coils, having a nominal inductance
of 3 0.55 mH and a nominal short-circuit current of 5 kA.
The goal of these coils is the reduction of the voltage rise, when
the capacitor banks are connected to the network in order to
improve the power factor.
Thirteen SF power switches are installed in front of the
transformers, having a rated voltage of 170 kV. An equal
number of medium voltage lines (20 kV) set off these switches.
There is also a supervision room with manually operated con-
trol and measurement instruments within the substation area.

III. ELECTRIC- AND MAGNETIC-FIELD MEASUREMENTS

One of the instruments that can be used for the measurement
of low frequency magnetic and electric fields in the frequency
range 5 Hz to 30 kHz is the EFA-3 analyzer. The analyzer,
constructed by the Wandel & Goltermann Company, supports
recording, storage and evaluation functions for sequences of re- Table I shows the maximum measured magnetic flux density
sults, and can measure electric and magnetic fields. Its charac- values (rms values in T) in the substation area, Fig. 1.
teristics are as follows: By measuring currents and magnetic flux density values in
• isotropic magnetic-field probe built-in; one substation position, every 15 min over a 24-h period, it was
• omni-directional (isotropic) measurements; found out that the relation between these two quantities is linear.
• measurement ranges 5 nT to 10 mT, 0.1 mG to 100 G, and Taking into account the fact that the mean load of the substation
0.1 V/m to 100 kV/m; transformers was about 32 MVA during the measurement pe-
• true rms or peak value measurement; riod, its relation to the nominal transformer load (50 MVA) is
• spectral detection of field components; about 0.64. Therefore, given in the last column of Table I, are
• built-in frequency counter; the measured magnetic flux density values extrapolated to the
• preset table audible and visible alarm thresholds; nominal transformer power.
• user-definable filter frequency; Diagrams are given in Figs. 2 and 3 showing contour and
• timer-controlled recording of results; surface maps for the magnetic flux density at waist height in the
• calibrated; substation area and inside the supervision room. The diagrams
• external electric- and magnetic-field probes. for head and floor heights are relative. The diagrams of Fig. 2
The same instrument was used in [19] and [20]. and Fig. 3 will be evaluated taking into account the reference
The measurements were carried out using the three-dimen- levels for safe occupational exposure, because only the electric
sional isotropic probe that ensures omni-directional measure- company technicians can enter the substation area. Access to the
ments. The EFA-3 analyzer has the capability of storing 4000 public is forbidden.
result values. These values can then be output via the built-in From Table I and Fig. 2 it is obvious that the measured and
printer interface directly to a printer or clearly displayed on a to a much lesser degree, the extrapolated magnetic flux density
PC fitted with appropriate software. Long-term measurements values exceed safe public and occupational exposure limits in
lasting up to 24 h can be performed easily using the timer-con- the areas of the capacitor banks C1 and C2 (the values with
trolled recording function. bold letters in Table I). These high values were measured near
During the measurements, the mean load of each one of the the coils connecting the capacitor banks to the medium voltage
two substation transformers was about 32 MVA. buses. The aforementioned excesses are due to the fact that
First, indicative measurements were carried out in the substa- these coils do not have iron core, the lack of which results in
tion area, in order to decide the closeness of the final measure- great leakage. It must be pointed out that these high values are
ments. It was decided to take measurements every 6 m (horizon- recorded at close proximity to the cables feeding the coils and
tally and vertically) in the 150 kV buses area, every 3 m in the they are greatly reduced (at about 50 T) within a distance only
transformers area, every 2 m in the capacitor and the switches 0.5m from the coils.
areas, every 1 m in the supervision room, and every 5 m in the The measured magnetic flux density values throughout the
wider substation area, taking into account the diversification of remaining substation area and in the ring zone are far below the
the indicative measurements. So the 300 measurement positions safe public and occupational exposure limits.
given in Fig. 1 were selected. Three measurements correspond Apart from the magnetic flux density, the electric-field
to each position. The first one refers to a head height (1.80 m), strength was measured in the substation area. The electric-field
the second to a waist height (1 m), and the third to the floor sur- sensor was placed at the measurement positions and con-
face. All the measurements were carried out at 50 Hz frequency. nected to the main instrument with a 10-m fiber optic cable.

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SAFIGIANNI AND TSOMPANIDOU: ELECTRIC- AND MAGNETIC-FIELD MEASUREMENTS 41

Fig. 2. Magnetic flux density distribution, at waist height, in the substation

area.

Fig. 4. Electric-field strength distribution in the substation area.

electric-field strength would not be perturbed by the presence

of persons.
The maximum electric-field strength value was measured
near the high voltage side of the transformer T1. It was equal
to 4.3 kV/m and therefore lower than the safe public and
occupational exposure limit. Diagrams are given in Fig. 4
showing contour and surface maps for the electric-field strength
throughout all the substation area.

IV. EVALUATION OF THE MEASUREMENT

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The measured magnetic flux density values are in their ma-
jority far below the reference level for safe public and occupa-
tional exposure. No serious differentiation was noted in these
values in relation to the body height.
In two positions only, near the capacitor banks, the above
levels were violated. But it must be noted that first, these values
greatly decrease with distance and secondly, the positions where
Fig. 3. Magnetic flux density distribution, at waist height, inside the supervi-
these high values were measured, are not occupied by techni-
sion room of the substation. cians when the capacitors are under voltage.
In addition it must be noted that the measured magnetic flux
density values are very small in the supervision room, where
This connection and the distance between the sensor and the the supervisor of the substation is working and in the ring zone,
main instrument were necessary in order to ensure that the where the public has access.

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42 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 24, NO. 1, JANUARY 2009

The measured electric-field strength values are in their en- [12] W. K. Daily and F. Dawalibi, “Measurements and calculations of elec-
tirety below the reference level for safe public and occupational tromagnetic fields in electric power substations,” IEEE Trans. Power
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[14] L. Shun-Li, L. E. Ghin, C. -Lien, and H. Tsung-Che Lu, “Power substa-
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