Substation Methodology

A methodology to design an air-insulated substation

November 22, 2022

Ignacio Álvarez Iberlucea, Soukayna Jermouni 1

Miguel Ángel Torrero Rionegro 2
Félix Ignacio Pérez Cicala, Juan Romero González 3

1 Designed the substation model, implemented the code and wrote the methodology
2 Supervised the research
3 Provided essential software knowledge
 Abstract

Abstract

This methodology describes the basic design process to design a step-up substation which is
connected to a solar PV plant. The objective of this document is to present the main steps that
are necessary to determine the electrical characteristics of a substation.

There are many di�erent ways in which a substation can be designed. Each way would have
some advantages and disadvantages. The author of this methodology has decided on a structure
which follows the work of the substation’s experts during many decades:

• The circuit arrangement of the substation is selected and the number of transformer and
line bays are established.
• The insulation coordination is computed to operate the substation satisfactorily not only
under normal operating conditions but also in the presence of transient and temporary
overvoltages.
• The safety distances that will be maintained within the substation’s �eld are speci�ed.
• The main components of the substation are determined according to their standards. Power
transformers, surge arresters, instrument transformers, circuit breakers, disconnectors and
grounding devices, among others are studied in the methodology.
• For the double busbar substations, the following aspects are considered to size the busbars:
current-carrying requirements (continuous and short circuit), environmental considera-
tions (ice, wind, weight, etc.), physical constraints, future requirements of the substation
and corona interference.

Note: All the calculations that are presented in this methodology are carried out in accordance
with the latest IEC and IEEE standards.

Substation Methodology 1
 Contents

Contents

Abstract 1

1 Selecting Circuit Arrangements 8

1.1 Type of electrical arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2 Switching and breaking station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3 Line to transformer substation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Single busbar substation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.5 Double busbar substation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.6 Selection of the type of arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 Determination of the number of substation bays 14

2.1 Determination of the number of transformer bays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2 Determination of the type of power transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Determination of the number of output bays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3 Calculation of the short-circuit currents 17

3.1 Design short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2 Operating short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3 Peak short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4 Thermal short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4 Insulation Coordination 21
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.2 General procedure for insulation coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.2.1 Class I insulation coordination procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.2.2 Class II insulation coordination procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.3 Determination of the representative voltages and overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.3.1 Temporary overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.3.2 Slow-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.3.3 Fast-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.4 Determination of the coordination withstand voltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.4.1 Temporary overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.4.2 Slow-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.4.3 Fast-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.5 Determination of the required withstand voltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.6 Conversion to rated withstand voltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.7 Selection of the rated insulation levels according to IEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.8 Selection of the clearance distances according to IEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Substation Methodology 2
 Contents

4.9 Determination of the temporary, BIL and BSL voltages according to the IEEE . . 40
4.9.1 Determination of the temporary voltages: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.9.2 Determination of the basic lightening impulse voltage BIL: . . . . . . . . 41
4.9.3 Determination of the basic switching impulse voltage BSL: . . . . . . . . 42
4.10 Selection of the rated insulation levels according to IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.11 Calculation of the clearance distances according to IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.12 Selection of the clearance distances according to IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5 Safety Distances 50
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.2 General procedure for the calculation of the safety distances . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.2.1 Sta� movement factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.2.2 The basic value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.2.3 Field height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.2.4 Field length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.2.5 Distance between buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

6 Substation Equipment 55
6.1 Power transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.1 Two winding transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.2 Three winding transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6.2 Grounding equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6.3 Surge arresters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.3.1 Selection of the surge arrester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.4 Circuit breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6.5 Disconnectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.6 Current transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.7 Voltage transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.8 Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

7 Design of the bus in air insulated substations 67

7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
7.2 Speci�c properties of the buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
7.3 Minimum size for load current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7.4 Minimum size for short-circuit current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
7.5 Rigid bus loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
7.5.1 Calculation of the forces by unit length applied on the bus . . . . . . . . 71
7.5.2 Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
7.5.3 Stresses on bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
7.6 Allowable Span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.6.1 Allowable span based on de�ection limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.6.2 Allowable span based on �bre stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.7 Corona E�ect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.7.1 Voltage gradient by Peek formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.7.2 Determination of the maximum voltage gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.8 Thermal Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.9 Selection of the busbar insulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Bibliography 83

Substation Methodology 3
 Contents

A Selecting Circuit Arrangements 88

A.1 Determination of the number of transformer bays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
A.2 Determination of the number of output bays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

B Calculation of the short-circuit currents 90

B.1 Design short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
B.2 Operating short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
B.2.1 The short-circuit current at the grid level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
B.2.2 The short-circuit current at the substation input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
B.3 Peak short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
B.4 Thermal short-circuit currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

C Insulation Coordination 93
C.1 General procedure for insulation coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
C.1.1 Class I insulation coordination procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
C.2 Determination of the representative voltages and overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . 94
C.2.1 Temporary overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
C.2.2 Slow-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
C.2.3 fast-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C.3 Determination of the coordination withstand voltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C.3.1 Temporary overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C.3.2 Slow-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C.3.3 Fast-front overvoltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C.4 Determination of the required withstand voltages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
C.5 Selection of the rated insulation levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
C.6 Selection of the clearance distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

D Safety Distances 98
D.1 General procedure for the calculation of the safety distances . . . . . . . . . . . 98
D.1.1 The basic value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
D.1.2 Field height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
D.1.3 Field length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
D.1.4 Distance between buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

E Determination of the substation’s equipment 100

E.1 Determination of the power transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
E.2 Determination of the grounding device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
E.3 Determination of the surge arrester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
E.4 Circuit breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
E.5 Disconnectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
E.6 Current transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
E.7 Voltage transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

F Design of the bus in air insulated substations 104

F.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
F.2 Speci�c properties of the buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
F.3 Minimum size for load current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
F.4 Minimum size for short-circuit current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
F.5 Rigid bus loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
F.5.1 Calculation of the forces by unit length applied on the bus . . . . . . . . 106

Substation Methodology 4
 Contents

F.5.2 Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

F.5.3 Stresses on bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
F.6 Allowable Span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
F.7 Corona E�ect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
F.8 Thermal Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
F.9 Selection of the busbar insulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Substation Methodology 5
 List of Figures

List of Figures

1.1 Switching and breaking station con�guration. Source: Own elaboration . . . . . 8

1.2 Line to transformer substation con�guration. Source: Own elaboration . . . . . 8
1.3 Simple busbar substation con�guration. Source: Own elaboration . . . . . . . . 9
1.4 Double busbar substation con�guration. Source: Own elaboration . . . . . . . . 9

4.1 Range of 2% slow-front overvoltages at the receiving end due to line energization
and re-energization [11] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.2 Ratio between the 2% values of slow-front overvoltages phase-to-phase and phase-
to-earth. The upper part may be applied to three-phase re-energization, the lower
part to energization. [11] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.3 Evaluation of deterministic coordination factor : cd [11] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.4 Dependence of exponent m on the coordination switching impulse withstand
voltage [11] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

5.1 The safety distance is made up of two values: basic value and safety zone for
sta�. Source: Own elaboration from the data provided by [15]. . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.2 The safety distance in the substation �eld. Source: Own elaboration. . . . . . . 52

7.1 The forces that a�ect the structure of a busbar. Source: Own elaboration . . . . 73

Substation Methodology 6
 List of Tables

List of Tables

3.1 Short-circuit power and currents According to IEC. Source: Own elaboration . . 18
3.2 Short-circuit power and currents According to IEEE. Source: Own elaboration . 18

4.1 Highest voltage for the equipment according to IEC [11] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.2 Highest voltage for the equipment according to IEEE [13] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3 Example for protective zone for air-insulated substations. [14] . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.4 Test conversion factors for range I, to convert required switching impulses with-
stand voltages to short-duration power-frequency and lightning impulse with-
stand voltages [11] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.5 Test conversion factors for range II, to convert required short-duration power-
frequency withstand voltages to switching impulse withstand voltages [11] . . . 34
4.6 Standard insulation levels for range I [9] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.7 Standard insulation levels for range II [9] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.8 Correlation between standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltages and
minimum air clearances for class I [9], [10] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.9 Correlation between standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages and
minimum phase-to-earth air clearances [9], [10] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.10 Correlation between standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages and
minimum phase-to-phase air clearances for class II [9], [10] . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.12 Standard insulation levels for class II [13] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.11 Standard insulation levels for class I [13] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.13 Correlation between standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltages and
minimum air clearances for class I and II [13] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.14 Correlation between standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages and
minimum air clearances for class II [13] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

6.1 Recognized minimum values of short-circuit impedance for transformers with

two separate windings according to IEC. [4] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6.2 Recognized minimum values of short-circuit impedance for transformers with
two separate windings based on the BIL according to IEEE. [18] . . . . . . . . . 56
6.3 Continuous current in percent of thermal current rating [%]. [20] . . . . . . . . 57

7.1 Technical characteristics of 6063 T6 aluminium tubes for substations. [44] . . . 68

7.2 Maximum reaction coe�cients for common bus arrangements. [42], [46] . . . . 73
7.3 Maximum stress coe�cients for common bus arrangements. [46] . . . . . . . . 77
7.4 Technical characteristics of post insulators for substations [48] . . . . . . . . . . 82

E.1 Technical data for surge arresters - 145 kV. [22], [25] and [26] . . . . . . . . . . 102

Substation Methodology 7
 Chapter 1. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

Chapter 1

Selecting Circuit Arrangements

This chapter summarizes the possible electrical substations that the user will be able to obtain as
well as the conditions that every solution will satisfy.

1.1 Type of electrical arrangement

The software automatically generates a solution for an electrical substation. The possible layouts
that can be obtained are the following ones:

1. A switching and breaking station is the solution that operates at a single voltage level,
meaning there is no power transformer. A switching station can be de�ned as a group of
cubicles that are protected by a switchgear, whose objective is to break or split a distribu-
tion power line into one or several output lines. An illustration of this type of substations
is represented in Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1: Switching and breaking station con�guration. Source: Own elaboration
2. A line to transformer substation is the type that consists of one transformer bay. In addi-
tion, a medium voltage cubicle will connect the photovoltaic plant with the power trans-
former. Figure 1.2 illustrates the line to transformer substation.

Figure 1.2: Line to transformer substation con�guration. Source: Own elaboration

Substation Methodology 8
 Chapter 1. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

3. A single busbar substation is the substation that consists of one or more transformer bays
and one or more outgoing circuits which are connected to each other by a rigid bus. The
connection between the photovoltaic plant and the power transformers is made through
one or more medium voltage cubicles. This type of substation is represented in Figure 1.3.

Figure 1.3: Simple busbar substation con�guration. Source: Own elaboration

4. A double busbar substation is the option that consists of one or more transformer bays and
one or more outgoing circuits which are connected to each other by two rigid buses. The
connection between the photovoltaic plant and the power transformers is made through
one or more medium voltage cubicles. An illustration of such a substation can be seen in
Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4: Double busbar substation con�guration. Source: Own elaboration

The generated solution will depend on the plant’s installed capacity, the medium voltage system,
and the number of power transformers.

1.2 Switching and breaking station

The switching and breaking station consists of a number of cubicles that allow modularity. In
addition, a modular design provides the capacity to extend and adapt the station to the develop-
ment of the network and to replace the modules without interrupting the supply. Each cubicle
will include di�erent protection or measurement devices depending on the type of the cubicle.

In general, a switching and breaking station has some cubicles that are designed for a feeder
function and others that are designed for either measuring the voltage and the current (metering
function) or for protecting the station against over voltages or faults (circuit breaker or fuse
protection function).

The cubicles that are incorporated in the station are the following:

Feeder function

Substation Methodology 9
 Chapter 1. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

A feeder cubicle enables the communication with the main busbar. In addition to the feeder
cubicle that connects the station to the grid, there will be as many feeder cubicles as medium
voltage power lines leaving the photovoltaic plant. A feeder cubicle is equipped with:

• A switch-disconnector. Its main parameters that are given are the rated current and the
short-circuit current.
• The cables coming from the photovoltaic plant or those that feed the station. Up to six
repetitions per cable can be connected to the feeder cubicles.

Metering function

A metering cubicle provides information about the operating voltage and the current that �ows
through the cubicle. It is equipped with:

• A current transformer.
• A voltage transformer.

Circuit breaker protection function

It provides general protection for feeders or instrument transformers as well as providing con-
nection and disconnection operations. A protection cubicle is equipped with:

• A switch-disconnector.
• A vacuum circuit breaker.

Fuse protection function

It provides general protection for feeders or instrument transformers as well as providing con-
nection and disconnection operations. Furthermore, an auxiliary service line with a step down
transformer is connected to the fuse protection cubicle. The 100 kVA auxiliary transformer will
step down the voltage from the medium voltage level to a low voltage level that equals to 400 V.
A fuse protection cubicle is equipped with:

• A switch-disconnector.
• A fuse.

1.3 Line to transformer substation

The line to transformer substation connects the PV plant to the grid without having a busbar. It
stands out for being the simplest substation layout. The main devices that will be part of a line
to transformer substation are:

• A power transformer.
• A surge arrester that protects the secondary winding of the power transformer.
• A surge arrester that protects the primary winding of the power transformer.
• A grounding device for the secondary winding of the power transformer.
• A circuit breaker.
• An earthing disconnector.

Substation Methodology 10
 Chapter 1. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

• A current transformer.
• A voltage transformer.
• A surge arrester that protects the end of the overhead line.

1.4 Single busbar substation

The single busbar substation can be split into three levels: the transformer bay, the output cir-
cuit level, and the buses level. The principal elements that must be included in every level are
presented below.

Transformer bay

• A power transformer.
• A surge arrester that protects the secondary winding of the power transformer.
• A surge arrester that protects the primary winding of the power transformer.
• A grounding device for the secondary winding of the power transformer.
• A circuit breaker.
• A disconnector.
• A current transformer.

Output circuit level

• A surge arrester that protects the end of the overhead line.

• A circuit breaker.
• A disconnector.
• A current transformer.
• A voltage transformer.
• An earthing disconnector.

Buses level

The buses are used to connect bays into an existing substation. The software will give all the
information about the dimensions of the buses such as material, external diameter, internal di-
ameter, and section while taking into account external conditions, loads, post insulators, etc... In
addition, a voltage transformer has been considered.

1.5 Double busbar substation

The double busbar substation can be split into three levels: the transformer bay, the output cir-
cuit level and the buses level. The principal elements that should be included in every level are
presented below.

Transformer bay

• A power transformer.
• A surge arrester that protects the secondary winding of the power transformer.

Substation Methodology 11
 Chapter 1. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

• A surge arrester that protects the primary winding of the power transformer.
• A grounding device for the secondary winding of the power transformer.
• A circuit breaker.
• Two disconnectors.
• A current transformer.

Output circuit level

• A surge arrester that protects the end of the overhead line.

• A circuit breaker.
• Two disconnectors.
• A current transformer.
• A voltage transformer.
• An earthing disconnector.

Buses level

The buses are used to connect bays into an existing substation. The software will give all the
information about the dimensions of the buses such as material, external diameter, internal di-
ameter, and section,while taking into account external conditions, loads, post insulators, etc...

In the bus level, a bus coupler has been included. The bus coupler allows the two busbars to
either run separately or to run with the bus coupler’s breaker closed or open. In addition, two
voltage transformers (one per each bus) have been considered.

1.6 Selection of the type of arrangement

The criteria which have been set to choose between the possible types of substations are pre-
sented below.

The switching and breaking station must always ful�l that the total current is lower than 500 A.

t  1250 (1.1)

( pv  60 "+ (1.2)

Where:

• t is the total current of the PV plant. [A]

• ( pv is the installed capacity of the PV plant. [MVA]

The line to transformer substation ful�lls that the number of transformer bays is equal to one.

# bays = 1 (1.3)

Where:

Substation Methodology 12
 Chapter 1. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

• # bays is the total of substation bays.

The single busbar substation ful�ls that the number of transformer bays is greater than one. It
also meets that the total operating current of the PV plant is lower than three times the maximum
admissible current per bay.

t  3· op-mv (1.4)

# t/out-bays > 1 (1.5)

Where:

• t is the total current of the PV plant. [A]

• op-mv is the current that �ows through the medium voltage level, calculated by Equa-
tion 2.3. [A]
• # t/out-bays is the number of transformer/output bays.

The double busbar substation ful�ls that the number of transformer bays is greater than one.
Moreover, it meets the criteria that the total operating current of the PV plant is greater than
three times the maximum admissible current per bay.

t >3· op-mv (1.6)

# t/out-bays > 1 (1.7)

Where:

• t is the total current of the PV plant. [A]

• op-mv is the current that �ows through the medium voltage level, calculated by Equa-
tion 2.3. [A]
• # t/out-bays is the number of transformer/output bays.

Substation Methodology 13
 Chapter 2. Determination of the number of substation bays

Chapter 2

Determination of the number of

substation bays

In this chapter, the main criteria to split the substation in di�erent bays will be presented. The
number of transformer bays will be determined automatically based on four criteria. The num-
ber of output bays will also be established automatically and this decision will be calculated in
accordance to one criterion.

2.1 Determination of the number of transformer bays

The number of transformer bays will be determined automatically based on four criteria, which
are presented in this section.

As mentioned in Chapter 3, the operating short-circuit current that could a�ect the medium
voltage system shall be lower than the design short-circuit current that has been selected to size
the substation components.

So, the �rst criterion that a transformer bay must ful�ll is given in Equation 2.1.

op-sc  sc (2.1)

Where:

• op-sc is the operating short-circuit current per bay at medium voltage level. [A]
• sc is the design short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]

In order to establish the number of transformer bays, one of the key parameters is the design
current that can �ow per bay in the medium voltage system. The design short-circuit current
limits this admissible current, which is calculated using Equation 2.2.

des = sc · I sc (2.2)

Where:

Substation Methodology 14
 Chapter 2. Determination of the number of substation bays

• des is the maximum design current that can �ow through a transformer bay at medium
voltage level. [A]
• sc is the design short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]
• I sc is short-circuit impedance of the power transformer in parts per one.

The operating current that actually �ows per transformer bay is calculated using Equation 2.3.

%t
op-mv = p (2.3)
* 3

Where:

• op-mv is the current that �ows through the medium voltage level. [A]
• %t is the capacity of the power transformer. [VA]
• * is the medium voltage level. [V]

So, the second criterion that a transformer bay may ful�l is given in Equation 2.4.

op-mv  des (2.4)

Where:

• des is the maximum design current that can �ow through a transformer bay at medium
voltage level. [A]
• op-mv is the current that �ows through the medium voltage level. [A]

According to [1], to obtain a total load that is equal to the total installed power of the PV plant,
the power transformers must have the same short-circuit impedance. For that reason, the short-
circuit impedances of the power transformers per bay may be equal. The third criterion that a
transformer bay may ful�l is given in Equation 2.5.

I sc-i = I sc-j (2.5)

Where:

• I sc-i is short-circuit impedance of the power transformer for the bay i.

• I sc-j is short-circuit impedance of the power transformer for the bay j.

The cables that connect the primary medium voltages with a power transformer should with-
stand the total current that they are carrying. These cables are calculated based on Section 6.8.
The last criterion that a transformer bay may ful�l is given in Equation 2.6.

op-mv  ccc (2.6)

Where:

Substation Methodology 15
 Chapter 2. Determination of the number of substation bays

• ccc is the current-carrying capacity of the selected cable after applying the standard cor-
rection factors. [A]
• op-mv is the current that �ows through the medium voltage level. [A]

2.2 Determination of the type of power transformer

The type of the power transformer depends on the size of the plant, in other words, on the total
secondary current calculated following Equation 2.3.

If the total current is strictly higher than 10000 A, a three-winding transformer will be designed
to step-up the voltage.

2.3 Determination of the number of output bays

The number of output bays will be determined automatically based on only one criterion. This
criterion is based on the rated characteristics of the switchgear. That is, a rated current of 4000
A has been taken as the maximum rated current for the switchgear that is located in the output
bays.

So, the criterion that an output bay may ful�l is given in Equation 2.7.

4000
op-hv  (2.7)
5s

Where:

• op-hv is the current that �ows through the HV output bay. [A]
• 5s is a safety factor that equals 1.25.

Substation Methodology 16
 Chapter 3. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

Chapter 3

Calculation of the short-circuit

currents

The calculation of the short-circuit currents is key to correctly size the number of substation
bays and the electrical characteristics of the devices. In this section, four short-circuit currents
will be presented.

• The design short-circuit current for both high and medium voltage systems. Design short-
circuit currents are considered to size the substation switchgear.
• The operating short-circuit currents according to [2] and [3] following both the IEC and
the IEEE standards respectively.
• The peak short-circuit current for both the high and medium voltage systems, according
to [2].
• The thermal short-circuit current for both the high and medium voltage systems, according
to [2].

The �rst criterion that has to be ful�lled is that the operating short-circuit current that could
a�ect the the medium voltage system shall be lower than the design short-circuit current that
has been selected to size the substation components.

op-sc  sc (3.1)

Where:

• op-sc is the operating short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]

• sc is the design short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]

3.1 Design short-circuit currents

The design-short circuit currents are obtained directly from the maximum voltage for the system
and they are linked to a short-circuit power from the grid. They have been calculated based on
both the IEC standard [4], [5], [6] and [7] and the IEEE standard [8].

Substation Methodology 17
 Chapter 3. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

Table 3.1: Short-circuit power and currents According to IEC. Source: Own elaboration

Highest voltage Design short-circuit Short-circuit

for equipment * m [kV] current sc [kA] power ( sc [MVA]
7.2 25 250
12 25 450
17.5 25 650
24 25 900
36 25 1350
52 31.5 2500
72.5 31.5 3500
100 31.5 4900
123 31.5 6000
145 40 9000
170 40 10000
245 50 19000
300 50 23000
362 50 28000
420 50 32000
550 63 50000
800 63 70000

Table 3.2: Short-circuit power and currents According to IEEE. Source: Own elaboration

Highest voltage Design short-circuit Short-circuit

for equipment * m [kV] current sc [kA] power ( sc [MVA]
48.3 31.5 2500
72.5 31.5 3500
121 31.5 6000
145 40 9000
169 40 10000
242 50 19000
362 50 28000
550 63 50000
765 63 70000
800 63 70000

3.2 Operating short-circuit currents

The operating short-circuit current at the substation input (medium voltage level) has been cal-
culated based on the impedance method proposed in [2]. The step by step calculation of the
impedance method is not introduced in this methodology because it is out of scope. However,
some important impedance formulas are presented.

Due to the topology of the problem, that is, the photovoltaic plant is connected to the grid thanks
to a substation that is made by one or several power transformers, it can be simpli�ed if the
e�ects of two main elements: an ideal external network and one/several two-winding power
transformers are studied.

Substation Methodology 18
 Chapter 3. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

This calculation method consists of de�ning several nodes in which the short-circuit current will
be studied. Between those nodes, the impedance of the di�erent elements that belong to the grid
will be obtained. The short-circuit current in a node is given by Equation 3.2.

2 ·*
op-sc = p (3.2)
/· 3

Where:

• op-sc is the operating short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]

• 2 is a voltage factor that equals to 1.05 if * m < 1 kV and equals to 1.1 if * m > 1 kV. As for
the IEEE standard, the voltage factor is not considered; hence, it equals to 1 in the equation.
• * is the voltage level. [V]
• / is a impedance. [⌦]

The internal impedance of a high-voltage network or a medium-voltage network can then be

determined according to Equation 3.3.

*2
/ network = (3.3)
( sc

Where:

• / network is the internal impedance of a network. [⌦]

• * is the voltage level. [V]
• ( sc is the short-circuit power [VA] given by Table 3.1 for the IEC standard and by Table 3.2
for the IEEE standard.

The impedance of a two-windings transformer is calculated using Equation 3.4.

* 2 I sc
/t = · (3.4)
( t 100

Where:

• / t is the impedance of a two-windings transformer. [⌦]

• * is the voltage level. [V]
• ( sc is the transformer capacity. [VA]
• I sc is the short-circuit impedance of the transformer given by Table 6.1 [%] according to
the IEC standard and by Table 6.2 [%] following the IEEE standard.

3.3 Peak short-circuit currents

The peak short-circuit current can be calculated using Equation 3.5.

p
p = op-sc ·^ 2 (3.5)

Substation Methodology 19
 Chapter 3. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

Where:

• p is the peak short-circuit current. [A]

• op-sc is the operating short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]
• ^ is a network factor.

The factor ^ shall be obtained from Equation 3.6.

3'/- )
^ = 1.02 + 0.984 ( (3.6)

Where:

• ^ is a network factor.
'
• is the resistance-reactance ratio of the network that equals 0.07.
-

3.4 Thermal short-circuit currents

The thermal equivalent short-circuit current can be calculated using Equation 3.7.

p
th = op-sc < += (3.7)

Where:

• th is the thermal equivalent short-circuit current. [A]

• op-sc is the operating short-circuit current at the substation input. [A]
• = is a factor for heat e�ect for AC components which equals 1.
• < is a factor for heat e�ect for DC components which is derived from Equation 3.8.

The factor < shall be obtained from Equation 3.8.

1
<= · {4 4·5 ·)k ·;= (^ 1)
1} (3.8)
2 · 5 · )k · ;=(^ 1)

Where:

• < is the factor for heat e�ect for DC components.

• ^ is a network factor.
• 5 is the system frequency. [Hz]
• )k is the duration of the short-circuit current that equals 1. [s]

Substation Methodology 20
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Chapter 4

Insulation Coordination

In this chapter, the insulation levels and clearance distances for air insulated substations are
calculated based on [9], [10] and [11] in obedience with the IEC standard and based on [12] and
[13] in compliance with the IEEE standard . The objective is to specify the procedure for the
selection of the rated withstand voltages for the substation equipment’s insulation.

After selecting the rated withstand voltages, the associated clearance distances will be recom-
mended.

4.1 Introduction
This chapter calculates the insulation levels according to [9] for both class I (1 - 245 kV) and class
II (245 - 800 kV) substations following the international standard and to [12] for class I (15 - 242
kV) and class II (242 - 800 kV).

The process followed in accordance with the IEC standard is the following:

First, the representative values for the temporary, slow-front, and fast-front overvoltages are
calculated. Because the grid characteristics are unknown, some estimation will be made in the
study.

Afterwards, the coordination overvoltages are computed. In this case, a coordination factor will
be applied. Later, two correction factors are applied to obtain the required overvoltages. These
correction factors take into account the di�erences in the dielectric strength between service and
test conditions.

Once the required overvoltages are calculated, the assigned standard overvoltages are obtained.
These standard rated voltages are linked to the highest voltage for equipment.

On the other hand, the process followed to calculate the insulation coordination according to the
IEEE standard is the following:

First, the system voltage stresses for the overvoltage’s classes are determined: switching, light-
ening, and temporary and that is for the phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground con�gurations.

Substation Methodology 21
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Finally, depending on the voltage, the assigned standard voltage stresses are obtained, which
depend on the maximum voltage of the equipment.

4.2 General procedure for insulation coordination

The procedure for insulation coordination’s calculation consists of selecting a number of standard
rated withstand voltages based on the highest voltage for the equipment. In addition, depending
on the class of the substation (class I or class II), the procedure varies. Hence, the objective is to
establish the minimal phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase clearance distances corresponding to
the standard voltages.

Following the IEC standard, the classes are as follow:

• Class I: From 1 kV to 245 kV (included). This range applies to both distribution and trans-
mission lines.
• Class II: For main transmission substation with high voltages above 245 kV.

According to the IEEE standard, the classes are as follow:

• Class I: From 1 kV to 242 kV (included). This range applies to both distribution and trans-
mission lines.
• Class II: For main transmission substation with high voltages above 242 kV.

For class I substations, temporary and fast-front overvoltages,which are the temporary and the
basic lightening voltage or BIL in the IEEE standard, are calculated to obtain the standard rated
withstand voltages. The slow-front overvoltages are also computed following the IEC; and later,
converted to temporary and to fast-front overvoltages. In some cases, slow-front converted val-
ues are higher than temporary or fast-front voltages and for that reason, they have to be taken
into account.

For class II substations, the withstand voltages will depend on the slow-front, named the basic
switching voltage or BSL in the IEEE standard, and fast-front overvoltages or BIL. In addition, the
temporary overvoltages are computed, however, they are converted to slow-front overvoltages
when calculating in accordance to IEC. These overvoltages will have a signi�cant role if they are
greater than slow-front and fast-front overvoltages.

Moreover, the �rst step to obtain the standard rated withstand voltages is to select the highest
voltage for the equipment, given in Table 4.1 for the IEC standard and in Table 4.2 for the IEEE.
This value will be considered to choose the withstand voltages from the standard.

Finally, the results will be a set of withstand voltages for internal and external insulation and for
both phase-to-phase and phase-to-earth con�gurations. Once these standard rated withstand
voltages are de�ned, the clearance distances are directly obtained.

The lightning arresters that are installed in the substation are calculated to have a good estima-
tion of the insulation coordination. These devices will protect the substation equipment from
overvoltages; and the complete model to obtain their most important parameters is presented in
Subsection 6.3.1. The lightning and switching impulse protective levels play an important role
to determine the representative fast-front and slow-front overvoltages.

Substation Methodology 22
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.1: Highest voltage for the equipment according to IEC [11]

Highest voltages for equipment

* m [kV]
3.6
7.2
12
17.5
24
36
52
72.5
100
123
145
170
245
300
362
420
550
800

Table 4.2: Highest voltage for the equipment according to IEEE [13]

Highest voltages for equipment

* m [kV]
15
26.2
36.2
48.3
72.5
121
145
169
242
362
420
550
800
1200

4.2.1 Class I insulation coordination procedure

To establish a minimum recommended phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase clearance distances
following the international standard, the following steps are necessary:

1. Determination of the representative temporary, slow-front, and fast-front overvoltages.

2. Application of the coordination factor to set the coordination overvoltages.

Substation Methodology 23
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

3. Calculation of the required overvoltages by applying a security factor and the atmospheric
correction factors.
4. Conversion of the slow-front overvoltages to temporary and fast-front overvoltages by
applying conversion factors.
5. Identi�cation and selection of the standard rated withstand voltages in regards to the re-
quired overvoltages by referring to the highest voltages for the equipment.
6. If some required voltages are higher than the maximum standard rated withstand voltage
for a speci�c highest voltage for equipment, a greater value of the standard voltage is
selected even though the highest voltage is superior.
7. Selection of the minimum rod-structure and conductor-structure clearance distances for
the standard rated withstand voltages that have been selected.
8. Identi�cation of the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances.

As for the IEEE standard, to determine the minimum recommended phase-to-phase and phase-
to-earth clearance distances, the following steps are required:

1. Determination of the Basic Lightening impulse level or lightning-impulse withstand volt-

age (BIL) as well as the temporary overvoltages (short-duration withstand voltage) by ap-
plying protective margin and atmospheric correction factors.
2. Identi�cation and selection of the standard rated BIL and standard temporary voltages
in regard to the calculated BIL and short-duration withstand voltage by referring to the
highest voltages for the equipment.
3. If some required voltages are higher than the maximum standard rated withstand voltage
for a speci�c highest voltage for equipment, a greater value of the standard voltage is
selected even though the highest voltage is superior.
4. Selection of the minimum rod-structure and conductor-structure clearance distances for
the standard rated withstand voltages that have been selected.
5. Identi�cation of the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances.

4.2.2 Class II insulation coordination procedure

To establish a minimum recommended phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase clearance distances in
obedience with the IEC standard, the following steps has been followed:

1. Determination of the representative temporary, slow-front, and fast-front overvoltages.

2. Application of the coordination factor to set the coordination overvoltages.
3. Calculation of the required overvoltages by applying a security factor and the atmospheric
correction factors.
4. Conversion of the temporary overvoltages to slow-front overvoltages by applying conver-
sion factors.
5. Identi�cation and selection of the standard rated withstand voltages in regards to the re-
quired overvoltages by referring to the highest voltages for the equipment.
6. If some required voltages are higher than the maximum standard rated withstand voltage
for a speci�c highest voltage for equipment, a greater value of the standard voltage is
selected even though the highest voltage is superior.

Substation Methodology 24
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

7. Selection of the minimum rod-structure and conductor-structure clearance distances for

the standard rated withstand voltages considering phase-to-earth con�gurations, and se-
lection of the minimum conductor-conductor and rod-conductor clearance distances for
phase-to-phase con�gurations.
8. Identi�cation of the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances.

On the other hand, to establish a minimum recommended phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase

clearance distances in obedience with the IEEE standard, the following steps has been followed:

1. Determination of the Basic Lightening impulse level (BIL) and the Basic Switching Impulse
Insulation level (BSL) by applying protective margin and atmospheric correction factors.
2. Identi�cation and selection of the standard rated withstand voltages in regards to the BIL
and BSL by referring to the highest voltages for the equipment.
3. If some required voltages are higher than the maximum standard rated withstand voltage
for a speci�c highest voltage for equipment, a greater value of the standard voltage is
selected even though the highest voltage is superior.
4. Selection of the minimum rod-rod clearance distances for the standard rated withstand
voltages considering phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase con�gurations.
5. Identi�cation of the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances.

4.3 Determination of the representative voltages and over-

voltages
The overvoltages that a�ect the insulation of the equipment of the substation shall be calculated
by means of a grid analysis. However, by following the IEC procedure, it is possible to estimate
the representative overvoltages. In subsections Subsection 4.3.1, Subsection 4.3.2 and Subsec-
tion 4.3.3, a simpli�ed method is presented in order to de�ne the representative overvoltages for
temporary, slow-front, and fast-front overvoltages.

4.3.1 Temporary overvoltages

The representative temporary overvoltages can occur due to:

• Earth faults.
• Load rejections.
• Resonance.
• Synchronization.
• A combination of the previous e�ects.

For voltage systems higher than 36 kV, earth faults and load rejections are the two main sources
that cause temporary overvoltages. The earth fault and the load rejection factors can be deter-
mined by grid studies. As the grid characteristics are unknown, these factors are estimated.

The maximum representative phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase overvoltages are calculated us-
ing Equation 4.1 and Equation 4.2

Substation Methodology 25
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

: max · * m
* temp-rp-pe = p (4.1)
3
* temp-rp-pp = :d · *m (4.2)

Where:

• * temp-rp-pe is the representative phase-to-earth temporary overvoltage. [V]

• * temp-rp-pp is the representative phase-to-phase temporary overvoltage. [V]
• * m is the highest voltage for equipment. [V]
• : max is a the maximum value between an earth fault factor and a load rejection factor. A
recommended value of : max = 1.4 has been estimated according to [11].
• : d is the load rejection factor. A recommended value of : d = 1.4 has been estimated ac-
cording to [11].

For voltage systems lower than 36 kV, the maximum phase-to-earth representative overvoltages
are caused by earth faults, often reaching the highest voltages for equipment. Regarding phase-
to-phase overvoltages, discharge faults are considered as the main overvoltage source.

The representative phase-to-earth and the phase-to-phase overvoltages are calculated using Equa-
tion 4.3 and Equation 4.4.

* temp-rp-pe = : · * m (4.3)
* temp-rp-pp = : d · * m (4.4)

Where:

• * temp-rp-pe is the representative phase-to-earth temporary overvoltage. [V]

• * temp-rp-pp is the representative phase-to-phase temporary overvoltage. [V]
• * m is the highest voltage for equipment. [V]
• : is the earth fault factor. A recommended value of : = 1 has been estimated according to
[11].
• : d is the load rejection factor. A recommended value of : d = 1.2 has been estimated ac-
cording to [11]

4.3.2 Slow-front overvoltages

In order to calculate the representative slow-front overvoltages, the following procedure has
been followed:

Determination of 2% overvoltages

The value of the phase-to-earth overvoltage that has a 2% of probabilities of being exceeded is
estimated as the average of the values represented in Figure 4.1. The value that has been selected
is D e2 = 2.6 p.u.

The phase-to-phase overvoltage that has 2% of probabilities of being exceeded is given in Fig-
ure 4.2.

Substation Methodology 26
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Figure 4.1: Range of 2% slow-front overvoltages at the receiving end due to line energization and
re-energization [11]

There are two methods to estimate the representative probability distribution from the 2% over-
voltage phase-to-earth value. These are the phase-peak method and the case-peak method. The
phase-peak method has been chosen to calculate the truncation values using Equation 4.5 and
Equation 4.6:

D et = 1.25 · D e2 0.25 (4.5)

D pt = 1.25 · D p2 0.43 (4.6)

Where:

• D et is the truncation value of the cumulative distribution of the phase-to-earth overvoltages

in p.u
• D pt is the truncation value of the cumulative distribution of the phase-to-phase overvolt-
ages in p.u.
• D e2 is the value of the phase-to-earth overvoltage having a 2% of the probability of being
exceeded in p.u.
• D p2 is the value of the phase-to-phase overvoltage having a 2% of the probability of being
exceeded in p.u.

The parts per one are converted to volts following the Equation 4.7

r
2
*V = · * m · D p.u. (4.7)
3

Substation Methodology 27
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Figure 4.2: Ratio between the 2% values of slow-front overvoltages phase-to-phase and phase-
to-earth. The upper part may be applied to three-phase re-energization, the lower part to ener-
gization. [11]

Where:

• * V is an overvoltage. [V]
• * m is the highest voltage for equipment. [V]
• D p.u is an overvoltage in p.u.

Determination of the switching impulse protective level

As the lightning arrester has been chosen following the process in section 6.3.1, the switching
impulse protective level equals * ps .

After computing the probability overvoltages, a comparison between the switching impulse pro-
tective level * ps of the lightning arrester and the truncated values of the probability overvoltages
is done in order to obtain the representative overvoltages for slow-front impulses. Equation 4.8
and Equation 4.9 are used.

* sf-rp-pe = <8= * ps , * et (4.8)

* sf-rp-pe = <8= 2 · * ps , * pt (4.9)

Where:

• * sf rp-pe is the representative phase-to-earth slow-front overvoltage. [V]

• * sf-rp-pe is the representative phase-to-phase slow-front overvoltage. [V]
• * ps is the switching impulse protective level of the surge arrester. [V]

Substation Methodology 28
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

• * et is the phase-to-earth truncation overvoltage. [V]

• * pt is the phase-to-phase truncation overvoltage. [V]

4.3.3 Fast-front overvoltages

For fast-front overvoltages, the coordination withstand overvoltages will be directly computed
in Subsection 4.4.3, using a simpli�ed empirical formula and a statistical approach that considers
the behavior of the lightning overvoltages within the substation.

4.4 Determination of the coordination withstand voltages

According to [11], a deterministic approach will be adopted to determine the coordination over-
voltages. This deterministic method consists of applying di�erent factors to the representative
overvoltages. In addiction, these factors which vary depending on the shape of the overvoltages,
taking into account inaccuracies of the data and performance criteria.

4.4.1 Temporary overvoltages

For the temporary overvoltages, the coordination factor is equal to one. Hence, the representative
overvoltages and the coordination overvoltages are equal. The calculation of the phase-to-earth
and phase-to-phase temporary overvoltages are represented by Equation 4.10 and Equation 4.11
respectively.

* temp-cw-pe = : cd · * temp-rp-pe (4.10)

* temp-cw-pp = : cd · * temp-rp-pp (4.11)

Where:

• * temp-cw-pe is the coordination phase-to-earth temporary overvoltage. [V]

• * temp-cw-pp is the coordination phase-to-phase temporary overvoltage. [V]
• * temp-rp-pe is the representative phase-to-earth temporary overvoltage. [V]
• * temp-rp-pp is the representative phase-to-phase temporary overvoltage. [V]
• : cd is the coordination factor that is equal to 1.

4.4.2 Slow-front overvoltages

For this type of overvoltage, a deterministic approach will be used. Therefore, the factor applied
will consider possible uncertainties of the lightning arrester protective level that could lead to
an increase of the failure rates.

Moreover, the coordination factor for slow-front impulses can be determined considering the
relation between the switching impulse protective level * ps and the phase-to-earth and phase-
to-phase 2% distribution overvoltages: * e2 and * p2 . The coordination factor is obtained from
Figure 4.3.

The coordination slow-front overvoltages are obtained from Equation 4.12 and Equation 4.13.

Substation Methodology 29
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Figure 4.3: Evaluation of deterministic coordination factor : cd [11]

* sf-cw-pe = : cd-pe · * sf-rp-pe (4.12)

* sf-cw-pp = : cd-pp · * sf-rp-pp (4.13)

Where:

• * sf-cw-pe is the coordination phase-to-earth slow-front overvoltage. [V]

• * sf-cw-pp is the coordination phase-to-phase slow-front overvoltage. [V]
• * sf-rp-pe is the representative phase-to-earth slow-front overvoltage. [V]
• * sf-rp-pp is the representative phase-to-phase slow-front overvoltage. [V]
• : cd-pe is the coordination factor for phase-to-earth voltages.
• : cd-pp is the coordination factor for phase-to-phase voltages.

4.4.3 Fast-front overvoltages

For fast-front overvoltages, a deterministic coordination factor that is equal to 1 is applied, : cd =
1. This value was chosen due to some probability e�ects are included int the calculation of
the coordination overvoltages. These probability e�ects can be estimated by using a statistical
method, which considers the e�ects of the overhead lines at the entrance of the substation.

The coordination overvoltages for fast-front impulses proceed as given in Equation 4.14.

· 5s !t
* �-cw = * pl + · (4.14)
# !sp + !f

Substation Methodology 30
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Where:

• * �-cw is the coordination lightning impulse withstand overvoltage. [V]

• * pl is the lightning impulse protective level of the surge arrester. [V]
• is the voltage that describes the performance of the lines connected to the substation.
[V]
• 5s is a steepness reduction factor that is equal to 0.5.
• # is the number of overhead lines, which leave to the substation. # = 1 is taken as a
conservative value. [V]
• !t is the separation distance from the lightning arrester to the protected device. [m]
• !sp is the span length. [m]
• !f is the length of the overhead line. It is an estimation based on the acceptable failure rate
and the line outage rate. [m]

The length of the overhead line is calculated using Equation 4.15

'a
!f = (4.15)
'km

Where:

• !f is the length of the overhead line. [m]

• 'a is the acceptable failure rate. [1/year]
• 'km is the overhead line outage rate. [1/(m.year)]

According to [14], the values for these parameters can be found in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3: Example for protective zone for air-insulated substations. [14]

Higest voltage [kV] A [kV] 5s N !t [m] !sp [m] 'a [1/year] 'km [1/m.year]
36 2700 0.5 1 3 100 0.25 % 0.006 %
100 2700 0.5 1 15 200 0.25 % 0.001 %
245 4500 0.5 1 30 300 0.25 % 0.001 %
420 7000 0.5 1 30 300 0.25 % 0.001 %
800 11000 0.5 1 40 400 0.2 % 0.00015 %

Determination of the lightning impulse protective level

As the lightning arrester has been presented in section 6.3.1, the lightning impulse protective
level is obtained depending on the nominal discharge current of the lightning arrester.

For nominal currents nom = 10 kA and nom = 20 kA, the corresponding lightning impulse
protective levels are * pl = * pl-10kA and * pl = * pl-20kA respectively.

4.5 Determination of the required withstand voltages

The required withstand voltages, which have to be veri�ed during the lifetime of the equipment,
take into account two correction factors. A safety factor that represents the di�erence of the

Substation Methodology 31
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

insulation behavior during operation conditions and test conditions, and a correction factor that
considers atmospheric conditions.

The safety correction factors that are applied to each kind of overvoltage: temporary, slow-front
and fast-front, are given in Equation 4.16 and Equation 4.17 respectively.

si = 1.15 (4.16)
se = 1.05 (4.17)

Where:

• si is the safety correction factor for the internal insulation.

• se is the safety correction factor for the external insulation.

The atmospheric e�ect is based on the air pressure’s dependence on the altitude. This factor’s
measurement is applied to measure the di�erences in the air dielectric strength as the altitude
increases. Moreover, the atmospheric correction factor can be calculated using Equation 4.18.

✓ ◆
a = exp < · (4.18)
8150

Where:

• a is the atmospheric correction factor.

• is the altitude above the sea level. [m]
• < is a coe�cient.

The coe�cient m may vary depending on the overvoltage.

• < = 0.5 for temporary overvoltages.

• < is de�ned according to Figure 4.4 for slow-front overvoltages.
• < = 1 for fast-front overvoltages.

The results are a set of required withstand voltages for external and internal insulation and for
phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase voltages. They are given by Equation 4.19

* rw = a · s · * cw (4.19)

Where:

• * rw is the required overvoltage. [V]

• * cw is the coordination overvoltage. [V]
• a is the atmospheric correction factor. Note that for switching impulses, there are di�erent
atmospheric correction factors depending on phase-to-earth or phase-to-phase conditions.
• s is the safety correction coe�cient for internal si or external se insulation.

Substation Methodology 32
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Figure 4.4: Dependence of exponent m on the coordination switching impulse withstand voltage
[11]

4.6 Conversion to rated withstand voltages

For class I, the standard rated withstand voltages include the short duration power frequency
withstand voltages (temporary overvoltages) and the lightning impulse withstand voltages (fast-
front overvoltages). For class II, the standard rated withstand voltages include both the switching
(slow-front overvoltages) and the lightning impulse withstand voltages (fast-front overvoltages).

According to class I, the switching impulse withstand voltages are converted to short duration
power frequency withstand voltages and to lightning impulse withstand voltages by applying
the factors given in Table 4.4

Table 4.4: Test conversion factors for range I, to convert required switching impulses withstand
voltages to short-duration power-frequency and lightning impulse withstand voltages [11]

Short duration
Lightning impulse
Insulation type power frequency
Withstand voltage
withstand voltages
External Insulation: Clean and Dry Insulation
0.6 + * rw
1.05 + * rw
phase-to-earth 8500000 6000000

External Insulation: Clean and Dry Insulation

0.6 + * rw
1.05 + * rw
phase-to-phase 12700000 9000000

Internal Insulation: Liquid-immersed Insulation 0.5 1.1

The same principle applies to class II where the short-duration power frequency withstand volt-
ages are converted to switching impulse withstand voltages. In this case, the considered factors
are given in Table 4.5

Substation Methodology 33
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.5: Test conversion factors for range II, to convert required short-duration power-
frequency withstand voltages to switching impulse withstand voltages [11]

Switching impulse
Insulation type
Withstand voltage
External Insulation Clean: and Dry Insulation 1.4
Internal Insulation: Liquid-immersed Insulation 2.3

4.7 Selection of the rated insulation levels according to IEC

After the calculation of the three main overvoltages and the conversion of some of them, the
result is a set of overvoltages. However, in order to obtain the withstand voltages that are rec-
ommended for the standard, the maximum values will be considered.

The standard withstand voltages for class I substation can be found in Table 4.6. For class II
substations, the reference values are presented in Table 4.7.

The withstand voltages are necessary to obtain the minimum phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase
clearance distances. The clearance distances are required to establish the minimum safety dis-
tances between the elements of the substation.

Substation Methodology 34
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.6: Standard insulation levels for range I [9]

Highest Voltage Standard rated short duration Standard rated lightning

for equipment power frequency withstand voltages impulse withstand voltage
[kV] [kV] [kV]
20
3.6 10
40
40
7.2 20
60
60
12 28 75
95
75
17.5 38
95
95
24 50 125
145
145
36 70
170
52 95 250
72.5 140 325
150 380
100
450
185 450
123
230 550
185 450
145 230 550
275 650
230 550
170 275 650
325 750
275 650
325 750
245 360 850
395 950
460 1050

Substation Methodology 35
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.7: Standard insulation levels for range II [9]

Standard rated Standard rated

Highest
lightning impulse lightning impulse Standard rated
Voltage
withstand voltage withstand voltage lightning impulse
for equipment
phase-to-earth phase-to-phase withstand voltage[kV]
[kV]
[kV] [kV]
850
750 1125
950
300
950
850 1275
1050
950
850 1360
1050
362
1050
950 1425
1175
1050
850 1575
1175
1175
420 950 1615
1300
1300
1050 1680
1425
1175
950 1615
1300
1300
550 1050 1680
1425
1425
1175 1763
1550
1675
1300 2210
1800
1800
800 1425 2423
1950
1950
1550 2480
2100
2100
1550 2423
2250
2250
1100 1675 2764
2400
2400
1800 2880
2550
2100
1675 2848
2250
2250
1200 1800 2970
2400
2550
1950 3120
2700

Substation Methodology 36
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

4.8 Selection of the clearance distances according to IEC

The objective of the insulation coordination’s calculation is to determine the minimum phase-
to-earth and phase-to-phase clearances. The minimum clearances de�ne the minimum distances
to comply with the insulation coordination requirements. For safety conditions, some additional
distances given in Chapter 5 will be added to the clearance distances.

The tables 4.8, 4.9, and 4.10 present the minimum clearances that ensure the speci�cations of the
insulation coordination.

Table 4.8 associates the standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltages for the substation of
class I with the minimum air clearances for rod-structure and conductor-structure con�gurations.
Moreover, Table 4.9 links the standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages phase-to-earth
with the minimum air clearances for the conductor-structure and the rod-structure con�gura-
tions. Finally, Table 4.10 correlates the air clearances with the standard rated switching impulse
withstand voltages phase-to-phase for the conductor-conductor and rod-conductor con�gura-
tions.

Substation Methodology 37
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.8: Correlation between standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltages and mini-
mum air clearances for class I [9], [10]

Standard rated lightning Minimum clearance

impulse withstand voltage [mm]
[kV] Rod-structure Conductor-structure
20 60
40 60
60 90
75 120
95 160
125 220
145 270
170 320
200 380
250 480
325 630
380 750
450 900
550 1100
650 1300
750 1500
850 1700 1600
950 1900 1700
1050 2100 1900
1175 2350 2200
1300 1600 2400
1425 2850 2600
1550 3100 2900
1675 3350 3100
1800 3600 3300
1950 3900 3600
2100 4200 3900
2250 4500 4150
2400 4800 4450
2550 5100 4700
2700 5400 5000

Substation Methodology 38
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.9: Correlation between standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages and mini-
mum phase-to-earth air clearances [9], [10]

Standard rated Minimum phase-to-earth

switching withstand voltage [mm]
[kV] Rod-structure Conductor-structure
750 1900 1600
850 2400 1800
950 2900 2200
1050 3400 2600
1175 4100 3100
1300 4800 3600
1425 5600 4200
1550 6400 4900
1675 7400 5600
1800 8300 6300
1950 9500 7200

Table 4.10: Correlation between standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages and mini-
mum phase-to-phase air clearances for class II [9], [10]

Standard rated Minimum phase to parth

switching withstand voltage [mm]
[kV] Conductor-conductor parallel Rod-conductor
1125 2300 2600
1275 2600 3100
1360 2900 3400
1425 3100 3600
1575 3600 4200
1615 3700 4300
1680 3900 4600
1763 4200 5000
2210 6100 7400
2423 7200 9000
2480 7600 9400
2635 8400 10000
2764 9100 10900
2848 9600 11400
2880 9800 11600
2970 10300 12300
3120 11200 13300

For class I systems, the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase air distances are calculated using
Equation 4.20 and Equation 4.21.

3 pe = <8= ( 3 rod-str , 3 cond-str ) (4.20)

Where:

Substation Methodology 39
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

• 3 pe is the phase-to-earth air distance. [m]

• 3 rod-str is the rod-structure minimum clearance. [m]
• 3 cond-str is the conductor-structure minimum clearance. [m]

3 pp = 3 rod-str (4.21)

Where:

• 3 pp is the phase-to-phase air distance. [m]

• 3 rod-str is the rod-structure minimum clearance. [m]

For class II substations, the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase air distances are calculated using
Equation 4.22 and Equation 4.23.

3 pe = <0G 3 rod-str-switching , 3 rod-str-lightning (4.22)

Where:

• 3 pe is the phase-to-earth air distance. [m]

• 3 rod-str-switching is the rod-structure minimum clearance for rated switching withstand im-
pulses. [m]
• 3 rod-str-lightning is the rod-structure minimum clearance for rated lightning withstand im-
pulses. [m]

3 pp = <0G 3 conductor-str-switching , 3 rod-str-lightning (4.23)

Where:

• 3 pp is the phase-to-phase air distance. [m]

• 3 conductor-str-switching is the conductor-structure minimum clearance for the maximum rated
switching withstand impulses. [m]
• 3 rod-str-lightning is the rod-structure minimum clearance for the maximum rated lightning
withstand impulses. [m]

4.9 Determination of the temporary, BIL and BSL voltages

according to the IEEE
The IEEE standard follows a di�erent procedure in calculating the overvoltages and determining
the clearance distances for the two substation classes (I and II). The processes used to calculate the
temporary, the basic lightning, and the basic switching voltages are presented in the following
subsections.

Substation Methodology 40
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

4.9.1 Determination of the temporary voltages:

For substation of class I as depicted in Table 4.2, the temporary voltages are calculated based
on the IEC approach considering the load rejection factors and the atmospheric factor for both
phase-earth and phase-phase con�gurations.

The temporary voltages for phase-earth and phase-phase are calculated using Equation 4.24 and
Equation 4.25.

: max · * m
* temp-pe = (4.24)
a

: max · * m
* temp-pp = (4.25)
a

Where:

• * temp-pe is the phase-to-earth temporary overvoltage. [V]

• * temp-pp is the phase-to-phase temporary overvoltage. [V]
• * m is the maximum voltage for equipment. [V]
• : max is a the maximum value between an earth fault factor and a load rejection factor. A
recommended value of : max = 1.4 has been estimated according to [11].
• : a is the atmospheric factor. It is calculated according to Equation 4.26.

✓ ◆
X = exp (4.26)
8.9

Where:

• X is the atmospheric factor.

• is the altitude above the sea level. [m]

4.9.2 Determination of the basic lightening impulse voltage BIL:

The basic lightning impulse level BIL is determined for both substation classes I and II and only
for the phase-to-earth con�guration, with the existence of a surge arrester, the BIL is calculated
following Equation 4.27.

* pl
⌫ != (4.27)
:a

Where:

• ⌫ ! is the Basic lightning impulse level. [kV]

• * pl is the lightning impulse protective level of the surge arrester. [V]
• : a is the atmospheric factor. The factor is calculated using Equation 4.26.

Substation Methodology 41
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

As the lightning arrester has been presented in section 6.3.1, the lightning impulse protective
level is obtained depending on the nominal discharge current of the lightning arrester.

For nominal currents nom = 10 kA and nom = 20 kA, the corresponding lightning impulse
protective levels are * pl = * pl-10kA and * pl = * pl-20kA respectively.

4.9.3 Determination of the basic switching impulse voltage BSL:

The basic switching impulse voltage BSL is calculated for the substation class II and for the phase-
to-earth and phase-to-phase con�gurations. The calculations considers a number of insulations
in parallel between 5 and 10 lines. To calculate the BSL, several parameters must be de�ned
through the following procedures.

Determination of the strength-to-stress ratio:

The �rst parameter that must be de�ned in the calculation of the BSL is the strength-to-stress
ratio which represents a ratio between the statistical switching overvoltage and the statistical
withstand voltage. The statistical switching overvoltage depicts the minimum insulation strength
required and it is de�ned as ⇢ 2 for the phase-to-earth and the stress ⇢ 2z for the phase-to-phase
insulation. As for the statistical withstand voltage, it is the maximum surge voltage applied to the
equipment and it is de�ned as +3 for the phase-to-earth and +30 for the phase-to-phase insulation.

The determination of the ratio depends on the switching surge �ashover rate (SSFOR) that rep-
resents the number of �ashover per number of applied switching. Therefore, for a giving SSFOR,
a strength-to-stress ratio is determined; in the presented calculation considering a self-restoring
insulation, an SSFOR of 1/100 was chosen.

Based on [12] considering a 1/100 �ashover rate and the use of a surge arrester, the ratio that
has been selected for phase-to-earth insulation is +3 /⇢ 2 = 0.96 p.u and for the phase-to-phase is
+30 /⇢ 2z = 0.94 p.u.

Determination of the statistical switching overvoltage:

The switching overvoltages are statistically analyzed to obtain a probability of 2% of being ex-
ceeded and this value is the statistical withstand voltage ⇢ 2 for the phase-to-earth and the stress
⇢ 2z for the phase-to-phase insulation.

With the SSFOR of 1/100 chosen and according to [12] the value that has been selected for the
phase-to-earth is ⇢ 2 = 2.59 p.u .

On the other hand, the value of the stress ⇢ 2z is determined from the ratio of the phase-to-phase
statistical switching overvoltages ⇢ 2z /⇢ 2 . In addition, this ratio is determined according to [12];
because the ⇢ 2z values vary between the range of 2 p.u and 3 p.u and the ⇢ 2z /⇢ 2 ratio varies
between 1.3 p.u and 3 p.u; therefore, the value that has been selected for the ratio is ⇢ 2z /⇢ 2 =
1.55?.D. Moreover, the value of ⇢ 2 is kept as 2.59 p.u; hence, ⇢ 2z can then be calculated from the
Equation 4.28

⇢ 2z = ⇢ 2 · 1.55 (4.28)

Where:

Substation Methodology 42
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

• ⇢ 2z is the stress. [p.u]

• ⇢ 2 is the statistical switching overvoltage considered as 2.59. [p.u]

As all the voltage are per unit, they are converted to volts following the Equation 4.7.

Determination of the coe�cient of variation ff /CFO:

The strength of the insulation is characterized by two main parameters which are the coe�cient
of variation ff /CFO and the critical �ashover voltage CFO. for a switching surge �ashover rate
SSFOR = 1/100, and based on [12] the coe�cient of variation is assumed to be 0.07 for the phase-
to-earth insulation and 0.035 for the phase-to-phase insulation.

Determination of the critical �ashover voltage ⇠ $:

As we mentioned above, the strength of the insulation is characterized by two parameters and one
of them is the critical �ashover voltage CFO that corresponds to the 50% probability of �ashover
for a single impulse application. The CFO for the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase are calcu-
lated using Equation 4.29 and Equation 4.30 respectively.

+3
⇠ $ pe = (4.29)
1 3 · ⇠ff$

Where:

• ⇠ $ pe is the critical �ashover voltage for the phase-to-earth insulation. [kV/m]

• +3 is the statistical withstand voltage. [kV]
• B86<0 f is the variation coe�cient that is equal to 0.07.

+30
⇠ $ pp = (4.30)
1 3 · ⇠ff$

Where:

• ⇠ $ pp is the critical �ashover voltage for the phase-to-earth insulation. [kV/m]

• +30 is the statistical withstand voltage. [kV]
• B86<0 f is the variation coe�cient that is equal to 0.035.

After determining all the parameters discussed above, based on [13] the BSL phase-to-earth and
phase-to-phase are calculated using the Equation 4.31 and Equation 4.32 respectively.

⌫(!pe = "pe · ⇠ $ pe (4.31)

Where:

• ⌫(!pe is the phase-to-earth Basic lightning impulse level. [kV]

• "pe is the phase-to-earth multiplier factor, it equals to 0.9104.
• ⇠ $ pe is the critical �ashover voltage for the phase-to-earth insulation. [kV/m]

Substation Methodology 43
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

⌫(!pp = "pp · ⇠ $ pp (4.32)

Where:

• ⌫(!pp is the phase-to-phase Basic lightning impulse level. [kV]

• "pp is the phase-to-phase multiplier factor, it equals to 0.955.
• ⇠ $ pp is the critical �ashover voltage for the phase-to-phase insulation. [kV/m]

4.10 Selection of the rated insulation levels according to

IEEE
After the calculation of the temporary, BIL, and BSL overvoltages, the standard recommended
withstand voltages must be obtained by considering the maximum values.

The standard withstand voltages for class I substation can be found in Table 4.11. As for class II
substations, the reference values are presented in Table 4.12.

The withstand voltages are necessary to obtain the minimum phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase
clearance distances. Those distances are signi�cant to establish the minimum safety distances
between the elements of the substation.

Table 4.12: Standard insulation levels for class II [13]

Highest Voltage Standard rated lightning Standard rated switching

for equipment impulse withstand voltage BIL impulse withstand voltage BSL
[kV] [kV] [kV]
900 650
975 750
1050 825
362
1175 900
1300 975
1050
1300 1175
1425 1300
1550 1425
550 1675 1550
1800
1800 1300
1925 1425
800 2050 1550
1675
1800

Substation Methodology 44
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.11: Standard insulation levels for class I [13]

Highest Voltage Standard rated low frequency, short duration Standard rated lightning
for equipment power frequency withstand voltages impulse withstand voltage BIL
[kV] [kV] [kV]
30
1.2
45
60
5
75
95
15 34
110
26.2 50 150
36.2 70 200
48.3 95 250
95 250
72.5
140 350
140 350
121 185 450
230 550
185 450
145 230 550
275 650
230 550
169 275 650
325 750
275 650
325 750
360 825
242
395 900
480 975
1050

4.11 Calculation of the clearance distances according to IEEE

As mentioned in 4.8, the objective of the insulation coordination’s calculation is to determine
the minimum phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase clearances and the withstand voltages are very
important to calculate those clearances.

On one hand, for the substation class I, the phase-to-earth clearance distance is calculated based
on the basic impulse lightening voltage following Equation 4.33. Moreover, the standard min-
imum clearances presented in IEEE are based on a CFO value of 605 kV/m, a value which has
been found to represent the typical geometry for an air-insulated substation.

2 ·⌫ !
( pe = (4.33)
⇠ $

Where:

• ( pe is the phase-to-earth clearance distance. [m]

Substation Methodology 45
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

• ⌫ ! is the basic impulse lightening voltage. [kV]

• 2 is the protective margin, which equals to 1.15.
• ⇠ $ is the critical �ashover voltage, that us equal to 605. [kV/m]

Based on [13], the phase-to-phase clearance distance is calculated following Equation 4.34.

( pp = 1.1 · ( pe (4.34)

Where:

• ( pp is the phase-to-phase clearance distance. [m]

• ( pe is the phase-to-earth clearance distance. [m]

On the other hand, for substations of class II, few parameters must be determined for the calcu-
lation of the clearance distances.

The �rst parameter to be de�ned is the gap factor, in [12] typical gap factors for phase-to-earth
and phase-to-phase insulation are presented; hence, the gap factor considered is for the horizon-
tal rod-rod con�guration with a value of g = 1.35 for both insulations.

The other parameter is the re-calculated CFO after the selection of the standard BSL; in this
case, the CFO is calculated following Equation 4.35 and Equation 4.36 for phase-to-earth and
phase-to-phase insulation respectively.

⌫(!upe
⇠ $ re-pe = (4.35)
5pe

Where:

• ⇠ $ re-pe is the recalculated CFO. [kV/m]

• ⌫(!upe is the selected standard BSL for phase-to-earth. [kV]
• 5pe is the multiplier factor for the phase-to-earth, which is equal to 0.9104.

⌫(!upp
⇠ $ re-pp = (4.36)
5pp

Where:

• ⇠ $ re-pp is the recalculated CFO. [kV/m]

• ⌫(!upp is the selected standard BSL for phase-to-phase. [kV]
• 5pp is the multiplier factor for the phase-to-phase, which is equal to 0.955.

Moreover, the atmospheric correction factor is taken into consideration when the substation is
above sea level. The correction factor is calculated using Equation 4.37.

✓ ◆
m <§
X = exp (4.37)
8.9

Substation Methodology 46
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Where:

• X m is the atmospheric correction factor.

• is the altitude above the sea level. [m]
• < is the correction factor, it is assumed to be 0.5.

Having the re-calculated CFO, the gap factor, and the atmospheric correction factor, the clearance
distances are calculated based on the basic impulse switching voltage following Equation 4.38 and
Equation 4.39 for phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase respectively.

8
( pe = (3400 gX m )
(4.38)
⇠ $ re-pe 1

Where:

• ( pe is the phase-to-earth clearance distance. [m]

• X m is the atmospheric correction factor.
• g is the gap factor.
• ⇠ $ re-pe is the recalculated critical �ashover voltage. [kV/m]

8
( pp = (3400 gX m )
(4.39)
⇠ $ re-pp 1

Where:

• ( pp is the phase-to-phase clearance distance. [m]

• X m is the atmospheric correction factor.
• g is the gap factor.
• ⇠ $ re-pp is the recalculated critical �ashover voltage. [kV/m]

4.12 Selection of the clearance distances according to IEEE

After the calculation of the clearance distances for the two classes of the substation based on both
the basic lightening impulse and basic switching impulse voltages, the minimum clearances that
ensure the speci�cations of the insulation coordination are determined based on recommended
values from the IEEE. The standard values that are associated with the standard rated lightning
impulse withstand voltages BIL for the substation of class I and II are presented in Table 4.13. As
for the standard values that are associated with the standard rated switching impulse withstand
voltages BSL for the substation of class II are presented in Table 4.14

Substation Methodology 47
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.13: Correlation between standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltages and mini-
mum air clearances for class I and II [13]

Standard rated lightning Minimum clearance

impulse withstand voltage BIL [mm]
[kV] phase-earth phase-phase
30 57 63
45 86 95
60 115 125
75 145 155
95 180 200
110 210 230
150 285 315
200 380 420
250 475 525
350 665 730
450 855 940
550 1045 1150
650 1235 1360
750 1325 1570
825 1570 1725
900 1710 1880
975 1855 2040
1050 2000 2200
1175 2235 2455
1300 2470 2720
1425 2710 2980
1550 2950 3240
1675 3185 3500
1800 3420 3765
1925 3660 4025
2050 3900 4285
2300 4375 4815

Substation Methodology 48
 Chapter 4. Insulation Coordination

Table 4.14: Correlation between standard rated switching impulse withstand voltages and mini-
mum air clearances for class II [13]

Standard rated lightning Minimum clearance

impulse withstand voltage BSL [mm]
[kV] phase-earth phase-phase
550 1265 1630
650 1540 2000
750 1835 2405
825 2065 2725
900 2305 3065
975 2560 3505
1050 2825 3905
1175 3300 4640
1300 3820 5475
1425 4385 6420
1550 5010 7840
1675 5705 9200
1800 6475 10815

Finally, once the standard phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase clearance distances based on the
BSL and BIL voltages are selected, the adopted phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances will
be the maximum selected ones; determined following Equation 4.40 and Equation 4.41.

( pe = <0G ( pe-lightening , ( pe-switching (4.40)

Where:

• ( pe is the phase-to-earth air distance. [m]

• ( pe-switching is the phase-to-earth minimum clearance for rated switching withstand im-
pulses. [m]
• ( pe-lightening is the phase-to-earth minimum clearance for rated lightning withstand im-
pulses. [m]

( pp = <0G ( pp-lightening , ( pp-switching (4.41)

Where:

• ( pp is the phase-to-phase air distance. [m]

• ( pp-switching is the phase-to-phase minimum clearance for rated switching withstand im-
pulses. [m]
• ( pp-lightening is the phase-to-phase minimum clearance for rated lightning withstand im-
pulses. [m]

Substation Methodology 49
 Chapter 5. Safety Distances

Chapter 5

Safety Distances

In this chapter, the safety distances within the substation will be de�ned and derived from the
phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances calculated in Chapter 4. These safety distances will
be presented as the minimum distance between the elements located at the substation. A method
according to [15] will be followed for the calculation; however, there may be discrepancies be-
tween the concerned utility and the general model presented due to speci�c or local conditions
or procedures established by the local standards.

5.1 Introduction
There are di�erent methods to determine the safety distances between the elements of a substa-
tion. These safety distances may vary depending on the utility due to the particularity of each
national operating voltages. In this chapter, a generic model to compute the safety clearances is
presented according to [15]. The method of application takes into account not only the voltage
levels but also the operating conditions of the equipment as well as a factor that considers the
movement of the sta� in all three dimensions.

The safety distance is the minimum distance that should be maintained between a live part of the
conductor and the earth or another piece of the equipment. The safety distance is the sum of two
values: a basic value and a factor that considers the movement of the sta� during maintenance,
as shown in Figure 5.1.

• The basic value represents the limit of the danger zone for electrical disturbances and it is
related to the impulse withstand voltage. Depending on the value of this voltage, a safety
coe�cient will be applied to the phase-to-earth clearance that is obtained in Section 4.8.
• The other factor de�nes a safety zone and it is a function of the movements made by the
operators during maintenance. The safety zone determines a zero electrical risk zone for
the authorized personnel.

Substation Methodology 50
 Chapter 5. Safety Distances

Figure 5.1: The safety distance is made up of two values: basic value and safety zone for sta�.
Source: Own elaboration from the data provided by [15].

5.2 General procedure for the calculation of the safety dis-

tances
In this section, the general procedure given in [15] will be presented. The results that are obtained
from this method can be considered conservative for some projects, but they can be considered
as a guideline. The following example clari�es the process of determining the safety distances
for an air insulated substation. The information required are:

• The voltage level. [V]

• The phase-to-earth clearance distances obtained in Section 4.8. [m]
• The phase-to-phase clearance distances obtained in Section 4.8. [m]
• The impulse withstand voltage of the system given by Section 4.7. [V]

The substation dimensions that came out of this study are the following ones, presented in Fig-
ure 5.2:

The dimensions of the switchgear

• The height of the switchgear. This is the �rst height level of the substation.
• The distance between devices in the bay direction.
• The distance between the conductors.

The dimensions of the busbars

• The height of the busbar. This is the second height level of the substation.
• The distance between the conductors.
• The busbar span.

Substation Methodology 51
 Chapter 5. Safety Distances

Figure 5.2: The safety distance in the substation �eld. Source: Own elaboration.

The dimensions of the gateway

• The height of the gateway. This is the third height level of the substation.
• The distance between the conductors.
• The gateway span.

5.2.1 Staff movement factor

There are three dimensions regarding the movement of sta� that are contemplated. They corre-
spond to:

• The average height of a worker with his arms raised all the way up and that is equivalent
to r = 2.25 m.
• The average length of a worker with his arms outstretched, that is !o = 1.75 m.
• The average height of a worker with his arms raised to a work of plane, that is rw =1.25
m.

5.2.2 The basic value

The basic value depends on the impulse withstand voltage and it is calculated using Equation 5.1:

3 bv = 5bv · 3 pe (5.1)

Substation Methodology 52
 Chapter 5. Safety Distances

Where:

• 3 bv is the basic value. [m]

• 5bv is a factor that corresponds to 1.1 if the impulse withstand voltage  1425 kV and 1.06
if it is > 1425 kV.
• 3 pe is the phase-to-earth clearance distance. [m]

5.2.3 Field height

There are three height limits for an air insulated substation that are given by Equation 5.2, Equa-
tion 5.3, and Equation 5.4.

⌘ device = 3 bv + r (5.2)

Where:

• ⌘ device is the �rst level limit. [m]

• 3 bv + r is the sum of the basic value and the sta� movement factor, it should always be
higher than 3 m. [m]

⌘ busbar = ⌘ device + 3 bv + rw (5.3)

Where:

• ⌘ busbar is the second level limit. [m]

• ⌘ device is the �rst level limit. [m]
• 3 bv + rw is the sum of the basic value and the sta� movement factor, it should always be
higher than 3 m. [m]

⌘ overhead line = ⌘ busbar + 3 bv + rw (5.4)

Where:

• ⌘ overhead line is the third level limit. [m]

• ⌘ busbar is the second level limit. [m]
• 3 bv + rw is the sum of the basic value and the sta� movement factor, it should always be
higher than 3 m. [m]

5.2.4 Field length

The �eld length is the total length of the substation and it is de�ned as the sum of all the distances
between the installed switchgear.

An estimation of the safety distance from the extreme position that the live equipment or con-
ductor may occupy to the edge of the following equipment is derived from the same principle
represented in Equation 5.5. However, this safety zone value should never be lower than 3.0 m.

Substation Methodology 53
 Chapter 5. Safety Distances

; device = <0G (3 bv + !o , 3 pp ) (5.5)

Where:

• ; device is the distance between devices in the bay direction.. [m]

• 3 bv + !o is the sum of the basic value and the sta� movement factor, it should always be
higher than 3 m. [m]
• 3 pp is the phase-to-phase clearance distance. [m]

5.2.5 Distance between buses

An estimation of the safety distance measured from a bus to another is de�ned using Equation 5.6.
This safety zone should never be lower than 3.0 m.

3 bus = <0G (3 bv + !o , 3 pp ) (5.6)

Where:

• 3 bus is the distance between the conductors. [m]

• 3 bv + !o is the sum of the basic value and the sta� movement factor, it should always be
higher than 3 m. [m]
• 3 pp is the phase-to-phase clearance distance. [m]

Once the distance between conductors has been established, the busbar/gateway span is derived
from Equation 5.7.

!sp = 2 · 3 bus + 2 · 3 bus-support (5.7)

Where:

• !sp is the busbar span. [m]

• 3 bus is the distance between the conductors. [m]
• 3 bus-support is the distance between the conductor and the metallic support of the busbar. It
equals !sp but it never exceeds 7 m. [m]

Substation Methodology 54
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

Chapter 6

Substation Equipment

6.1 Power transformers

6.1.1 Two winding transformers
The power transformer is used to interconnect two networks of di�erent voltage levels. In this
case, the power transformer is designed to step up the voltage level from a generator operator to
a distribution or transmission system operator.

The power transformer is by far the most important equipment installed in the step up substation.
As the possibilities of selecting a power transformer are immense, a �rst scope is to determine
its basic parameters such as power, short-circuit impedance, and voltage levels based on [16],
[4] and [17] in obedience to the IEC standard and based on [18] and [19] according to the IEEE
standard. A detailed study that would take into account the noise produced by the transformer,
its cooling system, its insulation system or the tap changers is out of the scope. As a summary:

• The rated power of the transformer is equal to the power of the transformer bay.
• The short-circuit impedance is de�ned in Table 6.1 and Table 6.2 according to the IEC and
IEEE standards respectively.
• The high voltage and medium voltage are chosen by the user.
• An oil-�lled power transformer is considered.
• According to [15], the vector group for the step up transformer is Yd11.
• The primary winding will be solidly grounded. The secondary winding will be connected
to earth with an earthing resistance and a reactance.

Substation Methodology 55
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

Table 6.1: Recognized minimum values of short-circuit impedance for transformers with two
separate windings according to IEC. [4]

Rated power [MVA] Short-circuit impedance [%]

<0.63 4
0.63 - 1.25 5
1.25 - 2.50 6
2.50 - 6.30 7
6.30 - 25 8
25 - 40 10
40 - 63 11
> 63 12.5

Table 6.2: Recognized minimum values of short-circuit impedance for transformers with two
separate windings based on the BIL according to IEEE. [18]

High voltage BIL [kV] Short-circuit impedance [%]

150 7
200 7.5
250 8
350 8.5
550 9.5
650 10
750 10.5

6.1.2 Three winding transformers

The power transformer with three-windings is mostly used to evacuate large amounts of capac-
ity from medium to big plants. It is mostly used with the objective to reduce the cost of the
transformers in the substation; hence, the �nal cost of the project.

Besides supplying the load, a tertiary winding can also serve:

• To stabilize voltages to the neutral when delta connected.

• To reduce the magnitude of third harmonics when delta connected.
• To control the value of the zero-sequence impedance.

For the impedance calculation of the three-winding power transformer, the total capacity con-
nected to the secondary winding is considered. The impedances of the secondary windings are
calculated based on that of the primary winding. The impedance percentage is the same for all
the parallel transformers.

The capacity is assigned in an equal way between the two secondary windings. Hence, the
number of the MV lines connected to both windings is similar in most cases.

The secondary short circuit current is calculated the same way as in the two-winding transformer,
and it is considered for both secondary and tertiary windings.

Substation Methodology 56
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

6.2 Grounding equipment

The three-phase transformers, whose secondary winding are connected in star, have a neutral
point that can be connected to the ground. However, the secondary winding of the power trans-
former chosen (Yd11) is connected in delta and there is no neutral point. In order to ground a
delta winding, it is necessary to install an earthing transformer.

The main objective of an earthing device is to limit the earth fault currents. Furthermore, zig-zag
transformers are one of the most commonly models used to ground a delta secondary winding of
a transformer. Again, the neutral point of the zig-zag transformer can be connected to the ground
by using a resistance. Hence, to calculate the reactance per phase of the zig-zag transformer as
well as its resistance that will later connect its neutral point to the ground, the following steps
have been followed.

According to [20], the parameter for rating the zig-zag transformer must be the thermal current.
This is the current that �ows through the neutral grounding reactor during a worst-case ground-
fault scenario and it has been de�ned as the short-circuit current of the system.

To obtain the rated continuous current that can �ow through the zig-zag transformer, [20] rec-
ommends to multiply the short-circuit current per the values that are presented in Table 6.3.

Table 6.3: Continuous current in percent of thermal current rating [%]. [20]

Rated time Continuous current in percent of thermal current rating [%]

10s 3
1 min 7
> 10 min 30

In addition, there are standard values for continuous currents of grounding devices such as 100,
300, 500, 800, 1000 or 2000 A. Moreover, the duration of the fault considered is 10 seconds; hence,
a 3% is applied to get the continuous current using Equation 6.1. After calculating zig-zag , the
closest major standard value is chosen.

zig-zag = 0.03 · sc (6.1)

Where:

• zig-zag is the rated continuous current that can �ow through the zig-zag transformer. [A]
• sc is the short-circuit current. [A]

The phase reactance of the transformer is obtained using Equation 6.2.

- 0 /- 1 · * mv
-g = p (6.2)
3 · sc

Where:

• - g is the earthing reactance. [⌦]

Substation Methodology 57
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

• - 0 /- 1 is set to 10 in order to limit the overvoltages. [21]

• * mv is the medium voltage level. [V]
• sc is the short-circuit current of the system. [A]

The earthing resistance is obtained using Equation 6.3.

* mv
'g = p (6.3)
3 · zig-zag

Where:

• 'g is the earthing resistance. [⌦]

p
• * mv / 3 is the phase-to-earth medium voltage. [V]
• zig-zag is the rated continuous current that �ows through the zig-zag transformer. [A]

6.3 Surge arresters

A surge arrester is a protective device that limits overvoltages in order to protect electrical equip-
ment. In general, surge arresters are located as close as possible to the equipment they may
protect, which means at the termination of the overhead line and at the terminals of the trans-
formers.

The protective level of a surge arrester has to be determined to withstand lightning overvoltages
or high voltages due to switching events. However, during normal operation, they do not have
e�ect on the electrical system. The surge arrester chosen is a metal oxide surge arrester.

The appropriate arrester has to be designed based on a detailed analysis of the protective charac-
teristics required. In order to size the arrester in accordance to the IEC and the IEEE standards,
[14], [22], [23] and [24] have been studied. Some of the most important parameters that must be
calculated are the following ones:

• The rated voltage is the maximum permissible value at which the terminals of a surge
arrester are designed to operate correctly under temporary overvoltages conditions.
• The continuous operation voltage is, usually, the maximum system line-to-ground voltage
for metal oxide surge arresters.
• The capability of the surge arrester to withstand temporary overvoltages. These are power
frequency overvoltages of long duration.
• The nominal discharge current that is the current that �ows through the arrester due to a
surge.
• The lightning and switching impulse protection levels for di�erent nominal discharge cur-
rents.

6.3.1 Selection of the surge arrester

The procedure to calculate the lightning arrester according to [14] and [24] is next presented. To
determine the continuous operating voltage of the lightning arrester, Equation 6.4 is used.

Substation Methodology 58
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

5cov · * m
* cov p (6.4)
3

Where:

• * cov is the continuous operating voltage. [V]

• * m is the highest voltage for equipment. [V]
• 5cov is a factor that depends on the highest voltage for equipment where 5cov = 1.05 for
* m  100 kV and 5cov = 1.1 for * m > 100 kV.

The next step is to get the temporary overvoltage for the lightning arrester using Equation 6.5.
The temporary overvoltages are produced by earth faults and load rejection. For this purpose, a
TOV factor that takes into account the di�erent overvoltages’ origin will be estimated; and to do
so, the system will be considered as solidly grounded. [22]

* tov 5tov · * cov (6.5)

Where:

• * tov is the temporary overvoltage for the lightning arrester. [V]

• * cov is the continuous operating voltage. [V]
• 5tov is a factor that depends on the origin of the temporary overvoltages. As the system is
solidly grounded, 5tov = 1.4.

The capability to withstand temporary overvoltages is given based on the equivalent 10 seconds
duration overvoltage, which is calculated using the equation Equation 6.6.

⇣ g ⌘[
* 10s = * tov · (6.6)
10

Where:

• * 10s is the equivalent 10 seconds duration overvoltage. [V]

• * tov is the temporary overvoltage for the lightning arrester. [V]
• g is the duration of the temporary overvoltage. A g = 1 has been considered.
• [ is a coe�cient. A [ = 0.02 has been considered.

The rated voltage of the lightning arrester will be taken as the maximum between the equivalent
10 seconds duration overvoltage and the continuous operating voltage multiplied by a factor of
1.25, as shown in Equation 6.7.

* r = <0G (1.25 · * cov , * 10s ) (6.7)

Where:

• * 10s is the equivalent 10 seconds duration overvoltage. [V]

Substation Methodology 59
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

• * cov is the continuous operating voltage. [V]

The nominal discharge current will be nom = 10 kA for * m  360 kV and nom = 20 kA for
* m > 360 kV, according to [14].

To complete the process of calculating the lightning arrester, a database of commercial lightning
arresters has been added to the software: [22], [25] and [26].

6.4 Circuit breakers

The circuit breaker is the element that closes and interrupts an electric circuit under load and
fault conditions. The characteristics of a circuit breaker will identify its application in an electric
system and its performance capabilities. To design a power circuit breaker, the main character-
istics are de�ned according to [27], [28] and [29] for the IEC standard and to [30] for the IEEE
standard.

The type of the circuit breaker a�ects the layout and con�guration of the substation. Circuit
breakers are usually classi�ed as dead tank when their terminals are grounded or live tank when
the interrupting mechanisms are mounted on an insulating porcelain column at line potential.

The rated voltage of the circuit breaker is the maximum voltage for which the breaker is designed.
It is given by Equation 6.8.

* cb = * m (6.8)

Where:

• * cb is the rated voltage of the circuit breaker. [V]

• * m is the highest voltage for the equipment. [V]

The rated normal current is the current that the circuit breaker can carry permanently under
normal conditions of service. It is calculated by Equation 6.9. After obtaining the current, a R10
series standard current will be selected. [31]

5s · %
cb = p (6.9)
*· 3

Where:

• cb is the rated normal current of the circuit breaker. [A]

• 5s is a safety factor that equals 1.25.
• % is the power. [W]
• * is the line voltage. [V]

The rated short-circuit breaking current is the highest current that the circuit-breaker is able to
break under certain conditions of behaviour prescribed in international standards. It is calculated
by Equation 6.10.

Substation Methodology 60
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

sc-cb = sc (6.10)

Where:

• sc-cb is the rated short-circuit breaking current of the circuit breaker. [A]
• sc is the design short-circuit current. [A]

The rated frequency of the system that will be considered for calculating the rated short-circuit
making current. The rated short-circuit making current is equal to the rated short-circuit break-
ing current multiplied by a factor, given in Equation 6.11.

msc-cb = 5msc · sc-cb (6.11)

Where:

• msc-cb is the rated short-circuit making current of the circuit breaker. [A]
• 5msc is a factor equals to 2.5 if the frequency is 50 Hz and 2.6 if frequency is 60 Hz.
• sc-cb is the rated short-circuit breaking current of the circuit breaker. [A]

6.5 Disconnectors
A disconnector is an o�-load device without the capacity to break the electric circuit. There is a
signi�cant variety of disconnectors for use in outdoor substations. The selection of a disconnec-
tor will depend on the physical layout and on the space restrictions.

Disconnectors can be classi�ed as single or double break with horizontal or vertical isolation.
The most common type of double break disconnectors and the one chosen for pvDesign is the
rotating center post.

To design a disconnector, the main characteristics are de�ned according to [27] and [32] for the
IEC standard and to [30] for the IEEE standard.

The rated voltage is the maximum voltage for which the disconnector is designed. It is given by
Equation 6.12.

*d = *m (6.12)

Where:

• * d is the rated voltage of the disconnector. [V]

• * m is the highest voltage for the equipment. [V]

The rated normal current is the current that the disconnector can carry permanently under nor-
mal conditions of service. It is calculated by Equation 6.13. After obtaining the current, a R10
series standard current will be selected [31].

Substation Methodology 61
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

5s · %
d = p (6.13)
*· 3

Where:

• d is the rated normal current of the disconnector. [A]

• 5s is a safety factor that equals 1.25.
• % is the power. [W]
• * is the line voltage. [V]

The rated short-time withstand current is the current that the disconnector will be required to
carry for one cycle. It is calculated by Equation 6.14.

sc-d = sc (6.14)

Where:

• sc-d is the rated short-time withstand current of the disconnector. [A]

• sc is the design short-circuit current. [A]

The rated peak withstand current that is equal to the rated short-time withstand current multi-
plied by a factor, given in Equation 6.15.

psc-d = 5psc · sc-cb (6.15)

Where:

• msc-cb is the rated short-circuit making current of the disconnector. [A]

• 5psc is a factor equals to 2.5 if the frequency is 50 Hz and 2.6 if frequency is 60 Hz.
• sc-cb is the rated short-circuit breaking current of the disconnector. [A]

6.6 Current transformers

A current transformer is an instrument transformer intended to measure the current. The pri-
mary winding of the current transformer is connected in series with the conductor that is carry-
ing the current that has to be controlled.

The main functions of these devices are to transform the current of high voltage systems to a
value that a relay can measure and to insulate the metering circuit from high voltage systems.

The ideal location of a current transformer within the substation is generally as close as possible
to the equipment to be protected and measured. For dead tank circuit breakers, the secondary
winding of the instrument transformer is mounted over the same structure. For live tank circuit
breakers, the current transformer is usually installed in a separate mounting structure.

The current transformers can be grouped into two categories: metering service and relay ser-
vice. On one hand the current transformers designed for metering services are not prepared for

Substation Methodology 62
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

protecting services. On the other hand, current transformers used for relay services should not
be used for high-accuracy metering applications.

To design a current transformer, the main characteristics are de�ned according to [33] and [34]
conforming to the IEC standard and according to [35] and [36] for the IEEE standard. In the
latter, the calculations and standard values are applicable only at 60 Hz.

The rated voltage is the maximum voltage for which the current transformer is designed. It is
given by Equation 6.16.

* ct = * m (6.16)

Where:

• * ct is the rated voltage of the current transformer. [V]

• * m is the highest voltage for the equipment. [V]

The rated primary current that the current transformer has to withstand in continuous operation
is calculated by Equation 6.17. After obtaining the current, the closest standard current will
be selected depending on the chosen standard. [34] [35]. In this case, The R10 values are not
followed.

5s · %
ct = p (6.17)
*· 3

Where:

• ct is the rated normal current of the current transformer. [A]

• 5s is a safety factor that equals 1.25.
• % is the power. [W]
• * is the line voltage. [V]

According to the IEC standard, the rated secondary current can be 1 A or 5 A. When instruments
or relays are close to the protected or measured device, the secondary selected current is 5A.
However, 1 A is preferably selected when the distance between the device and the instrument
transformer is above 10 m. As control units are not calculated at the moment, 5 A is chosen. As
for the IEEE standard, the rated secondary current is always 5 A.

The rated continuous thermal current is the current that �ows in the primary winding with
temperature rise exceeding standard requirements. In general it is equal to the primary current.
It is given by Equation 6.18.

t = ct (6.18)

Where:

• t is the rated continuous thermal current of the current transformer. [A]

Substation Methodology 63
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

• ct is the rated normal current of the current transformer. [A]

The rated short-time thermal current is the maximum current that it can withstand for a period
of one second without breaking the insulator. If it is not speci�ed, it can be equal to the system’s
short-circuit current. It is given by Equation 6.19.

sc-ct = sc (6.19)

Where:

• sc-ct is the rated short-time thermal current. [A]

• sc is the design short-circuit current. [A]

The �rst peak of current during a short-circuit event is the dynamic current. It can reach 2.5
times the rated short-time thermal current in obedience to the international standard and 2.7
times the same rated current according to the IEEE standard . It is given in Equation 6.20.

dyn = 5dyn · sc-ct (6.20)

Where:

• dyn is the dynamic current. [A]

• 5dyn is a factor equals to 2.5 or 2.7 depending on the standard followed.
• sc-ct is the rated short-time thermal current. [A]

On one hand, the IEC standard [34] is used for de�ning the burdens and accuracies. The possible
burdens are 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 30 VA. The metering accuracies are 0.2, 0.2s, 0.5 and 0.5s and the
protection accuracies are 5P and 10P. Burdens for protection services will be higher than those
used for metering services.

On the other hand, the IEEE standard [35] is used for de�ning the burdens, designations, and
accuracies. The possible burdens are 2.5, 5, 12.5, 22.5, 45 VA. The corresponding assignations are
B-0.1, B-0.2, B-0.5, B-0.9, B-1.8. The metering accuracies are 0.15s, 0.15, 0.15N, 0.3s, 0.3, 0.6, and
1.2 and the protection accuracies are C100, C200, C300, C400, C500, C600, C700, C800. Burdens
for protection services will be higher than those used for metering services.

6.7 Voltage transformers

A voltage transformer is an instrument transformer intended to measure the primary voltage.
The primary winding of the voltage transformer is connected in shunt with a power supply
circuit. The voltage transformers can be connected to the buses and usually as close as possible
to the termination of the overhead lines.

Voltage transformers can be of capacitive or inductive types. An inductive voltage transformer

is selected for distribution grids. The main characteristics of a voltage transformer are de�ned
according to both the IEC standard in [33], [37] and [38] and to the IEEE standard in [35] and
[39].

Substation Methodology 64
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

The primary voltage is the voltage of the system, given in Equation 6.21

*
* vt = p (6.21)
3

Where:

• * vt is the primary voltage of the voltage transformer. [V]

• * is the line voltage. [V]

According to the IEC standard [37], the secondary rated current of the equipment can be 100 or
110 V. Di�erently, the IEEE standard states that the secondary rated current can be 115 when
the voltage is above 25 kV and 120 V when it is up to 25 kV [35]. Regarding both high and low p
voltage, the single-phase line to ground voltage will be taken, that is, the voltage divided by 3
in case of a star connection and by 3 for delta windings.

The standards [37] and [38] have been followed to de�ne the burdens and accuracies for the in-
ternational standard and [35] has been followed to de�ne the burdens, assignations, and accuracy
classes according to the IEEE standard.

As reported by the IEC, the burdens are 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25 50, 100 VA. The accuracy classes are 0.1,
0.2, 0.5, 1, 3 for metering purposes;3P and 6P for protection services; and 0.5-3P for metering/pro-
tection services.

With regard to the IEEE standard, the burdens are 12.5, 25, 35, 75, 200, 400 VA and their corre-
sponding designations are W, WX, WXM, WXMY, WXMYZ, WXMYZZ. In addition, the accuracy
classes are 0.15, 0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 for metering purposes and 1.2 for protection purposes.

For both standards, these cores follow the same principles applied for current transformers: bur-
dens for protection services will be higher than those used for metering services.

6.8 Cables
The cables that connect the primary medium voltage cubicles with the power transformers are
calculated based on the IEC [40] or NEC [41] standards. The cables will be sized following three
criteria:

• The maximum current-carrying capacity. The maximum operating current is corrected

based on the di�erent characteristics of the installation and the site. This corrected value
must then be lower than the maximum current-carrying capacity that the cable can with-
stand.
• The voltage drop.
• The short-circuit temperature rise. When a short-circuit occurs, the amount of current
�owing through the conductor might surpass nominal current during short periods of
time, heating up the insulator. It is necessary to verify that the proposed cross-section
can withstand the maximum short-circuit current.

The most signi�cant criterion that a�ects the high power cables is the maximum current-carrying
capacity. For more details about how to size the cables, it is recommended to read the electri-

Substation Methodology 65
 Chapter 6. Substation Equipment

cal methodology which is available in pvDesign. In this document, only the most important
parameters to size the cables are mentioned:

• Type of installation: The cables are directly buried.

• System: AC three-phase medium voltage system.
• Number of cores: Single.
• Conductor material: Aluminium.
• Insulation: XLPE.
• Soil temperature: 25ºC. To de�ne the soil temperature correction factor.
• Soil resistivity: 1 K·m/W. To compute the soil resistivity correction factor.
• Cables’ laying depth: 0.9 m. This is an input to obtain the depth of burial correction factor.
• Maximum number of circuits per trench: 1. This will be taken into account to calculate the
cable grouping correction factor.
• Maximum number of three-phase conductor per system: Up to 6. This will be taken into
account to calculate the cable grouping correction factor.

The length of the cable is calculated based on the following assumptions:

• For the switching and breaking station, the length considered is 50 m.

• For the substation the length of the cables is computed according to the safety distances
the bay width and the road width.

Substation Methodology 66
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Chapter 7

Design of the bus in air insulated

substations

This chapter describes the process for designing the busbar of an air-insulated substation based
on main standards such as IEC and IEEE as well as practical guides such as Cigré technical
brochures. Therefore, the objective is to obtain the dimensions of a rigid bus, the forces acting on
the bus structure, and the information related to the busbar’s technical properties: corona e�ect,
thermal short-circuit e�ects, among others. This chapter will provide the necessary information
to calculate the dimensions of a rigid bus.

7.1 Introduction
The following example clari�es the process of designing a rigid busbar for an air-insulated sub-
station using the information presented in [42] and [43]. The parameters required for the bus
design are:

• The installed capacity of the photovoltaic plant, % ac in [W].

• The high voltage level * hg in [V].
• The number of transformer bays, calculated in Section 2.1, = Tr .
• The span of the rigid bus, calculated in Subsection 5.2.5, !sp in [m].
• The distance between conductors, calculated in Subsection 5.2.5, 3 bus in [m].
• The height of the bus, calculated in Subsection 5.2.3, ⌘ busbar in [m].
• The rated lightning impulse withstand voltage, calculated in Section 4.7, * liwv in [V].
• The design short-circuit current given in Section 3.1, sc in [A].
• The frequency of the system, 5 in [Hz].
• The ambient temperature, )amb in [ºC].
• The elevation above the sea, in [m].

With the parameters listed above, the rigid bus’ dimensions are obtained. In addition, the fol-
lowing design parameters are determined:

• The bus conductor size that withstands both the load current and the short circuit current.

Substation Methodology 67
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

• The maximum allowable bus length based on vertical de�ection.

• The forces that are applied on the substation buses based on weight, ice, short circuit, and
wind loads.
• The maximum corona on the bus.
• The thermal expansion’s requirements.
• The required insulator that withstands bus loads.

7.2 Speci c properties of the buses

The available buses for the study are summarized in Table 7.1. The buses are obtained from
[44] and the values are recommended from transmission system operators such as Red Eléctrica
Española. Other than the external and internal diameter, the thickness, and the ampacity that the
pipes withstand, there are other important properties that play a signi�cant role in the process.

Table 7.1: Technical characteristics of 6063 T6 aluminium tubes for substations. [44]

External diameter Internal diameter Thickness Ampacity

3 ext [m] 3 int [m] C [m] bus [A]
0.063 0.047 0.008 1546
0.100 0.084 0.008 2270
0.120 0.104 0.008 2657
0.150 0.134 0.008 4838
0.150 0.125 0.008 2976
0.200 0.190 0.005 4589
0.200 0.188 0.006 3575
0.200 0.184 0.008 4154
0.200 0.180 0.010 4589
0.200 0.176 0.012 5024
0.250 0.240 0.005 5507
0.250 0.238 0.006 6086
0.250 0.234 0.008 6956
0.250 0.230 0.010 7729
0.250 0.226 0.012 8502

The section of the bus is obtained from Equation 7.1.

2
3 ext 2
3 int
c =c· (7.1)
4

Where:

• c is the section of the bus. [m2 ]

• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]
• 3 int is the internal diameter of the bus. [m]

The moment of resistance of the pipe is calculated using Equation 7.2

Substation Methodology 68
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

4
3 ext 4
3 int
(c = c · (7.2)
32 · 3 ext

Where:

• ( c is the moment of resistance of the bus. [m3 ]

• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]
• 3 int is the internal diameter of the bus. [m]

The moment of inertia is obtained using Equation 7.3

4
3 ext 4
3 int
=c· (7.3)
64

Where:

• is the bending moment of inertia. [m4 ]

• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]
• 3 int is the internal diameter of the bus. [m]

The unitary weight of the pipe is represented by Equation 7.4

D bus = F Al · c (7.4)

Where:

• D bus is the bus unitary weight. [kg/m]

• F Al is the speci�c weight for aluminium that is equal to 2700. [kg/m3 ]
• c is the section of the bus. [m2 ]

Other signi�cant technical properties are:

• ⇢ is the modulus of elasticity for aluminium, which is equal to 7 ·1010 [N/m2 ].

• u is the ultimate tensile strength for aluminium that is equal to 220 ·106 [N/m2 ].
• y is the tensile yield strength for aluminium that is equal to 185 ·106 [N/m2 ].
• U c is the coe�cient temperature expansion, which is equal to 0.023 [mm/mºC].

7.3 Minimum size for load current

The load current carried by the bus is calculated using Equation 7.5.

5growth · % ac
load = p (7.5)
* hg · 3

Where:

Substation Methodology 69
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

• load is the load current that the bus will carry. [A]
• 5growth is a factor that equals 1.25.
• %ac is the installed capacity of the photovoltaic plant. [W]
• * hg is the high voltage level. [V]

For an acceptable design, the condition given in Equation 7.6 has to be ful�lled.

load  bus (7.6)

Where:

• load is the load current that the bus will carry. [A]
• bus is the ampacity given in Table 7.1. [A]

7.4 Minimum size for short-circuit current

The bus conductor should be able to withstand a short-circuit current [42], given by Equation 7.7
for a short period of time.

s ✓ ◆
1 )f 20 + 15150/⌧
bus sc = ⇠ · 1012 · c · log10 (7.7)
C )i 20 + 15150/⌧

Where:

• sc bus is the short-circuit current that the bus is able to withstand. [A]
• ⇠ is a constant that is equal to 2.232 ·106 .
• C is the assigned short-circuit time given in Section 3.4, which is equal to 1. [s]
• c is the conductor area. [m2 ]
• ⌧ is the conductivity for aluminium that is equal to 53%.
• )f is the maximum conductor temperature and it is equal to 250. [ºC]
• )i is the initial conductor temperature and it is equal to 90. [ºC]

For an acceptable operation, the condition given in Equation 7.8 has to be ful�lled.

sc  bus sc (7.8)

Where:

• sc is the design short-circuit current given in Section 3.1. [A]

• bus sc is the short-circuit current that the bus is able to withstand. [A]

7.5 Rigid bus loads

Substation Methodology 70
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

7.5.1 Calculation of the forces by unit length applied on the bus

The maximum force by unit length on the conductor should �rst be determined. Hence, the
forces that should be considered are the total gravitational weight, the wind force, and the short
circuit force. Some of the forces occur in the vertical direction whereas the other occurs in the
horizontal direction. The forces may not happen at the same time; however, considering a worst
case scenario, all the forces are combined and taken into account. Therefore, the worst case
scenario leads to a smaller allowable spans for buses and higher loads for insulators.

The maximum force acting on the conductor is therefore, the modulus of the sum of the forces
considered at the same time in both the vertical and horizontal direction.

Weight force by unit length

The weight force by unit length on the bus is given by Equation 7.9.

? weight = D bus + D damper · 6 = D bus · ⇠ damper · 6 (7.9)

Where:

• ? weight is the weight force by unit length. [N/m]

• D bus is the bus unitary weight. [kg/m]
• D damper is the damper unitary weight. [kg/m]
• ⇠ damper is a factor equals to 125%. The weight of the damper is taken as the 25% of the
weight of the bus.
• 6 is the gravity of Earth. [m/s2 ]

Ice force by unit length

The ice force by unit length on the bus is calculated based on [45].

• ? ice = 0 for < 500 m.

p
• ? ice = 1.8 3 ext for 500 < < 1000 m.
p
• ? ice = 3.6 3 ext for 1000 < < 2000 m.

Where:

• ? ice is the ice force by unit length. [N/m]

• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]
• is the elevation above the sea level. [m]

Short-circuit force by unit length

In order to compute the short-circuit force by unit length, the calculation model in [43] has been
followed. First, the peak short-circuit current has been estimated by Section 3.3.

The maximum short circuit force by unit length on the buses is obtained according to Equa-
tion 7.10.

Substation Methodology 71
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

p
`0 3 1 2
? m3 = peak (7.10)
2c 2 3 bus

Where:

• ? m3 is the maximum short-circuit force by unit length. [N/m]

• `0 is the the vacuum permeability.
• 3 bus is the distance between conductors, calculated in Subsection 5.2.5. [m]
• peak is the peak short circuit current. [A]

Wind force by unit length

The wind force by unit length on cylindrical surfaces is calculated using Equation 7.11.

✓ ◆2
+wind
? wind = 3 ext · %air · (7.11)
+ref

Where:

• ? wind is the wind force by unit length. [N/m]

• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]
• % air is the air pressure, taken as 700 [N/m2 ]
• +wind is the wind speed. Here, the worst case scenario has been estimated in which the
wind speed is 120 [km/h]
• +ref is a reference wind speed that is equal to 120 [km/h]

7.5.2 Reactions
The loads on the buses are transmitted to the insulators. Therefore, the strength of the insulator
has to be calculated. As the insulator is determined, the wind force on this element should be
considered when combining all the forces.

This section presents a simpli�ed method for analyzing the reactions of di�erent loads from a
static point of view. The forces to consider in the evaluation of the net reaction on an insulator
consist of what it follows.

The force that the insulator withstands will result from the combination of the gravitational,
wind, and short circuit loads on the bus. This force is obtained as a function of the e�ective
conductor’s span length supported by the insulator. In addition, the e�ective conductor’s span
length !E depends on the span length and the bus-support conditions.

Moreover, the bus-support conditions depend on the number of transformer bays. Hence, the
e�ective conductor span length !E is obtained using Equation 7.12. For a single span (that is
single bus bar con�guration with one transformer), the coe�cient is the maximum of the support
conditions’ values.

!E = ⇠ reaction · !sp (7.12)

Substation Methodology 72
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Figure 7.1: The forces that a�ect the structure of a busbar. Source: Own elaboration

Where:

• !E is the e�ective conductor span length. [m]

• !sp is the span of the rigid bus. [m]
• ⇠ reaction is the reaction coe�cient given in Table 7.2.

Table 7.2: Maximum reaction coe�cients for common bus arrangements. [42], [46]

Support conditions
Bus con�guration Reaction coe�cient
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
P P 0.5
Single-span P F 0.625
F F 0.5
Two continuous-span P C P 1.25
Three continuous-span P C C P 1.1
Four continuous-span P C C C P 1.145
More than 4 1.145
For insulator P F 0.625

Substation Methodology 73
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

The reactions on the supports due to the weight, ice, and wind loads by unit length are obtained
using Equation 7.13

= ? · !e (7.13)

Where:

• is a force (gravitational: weight, ice, and wind on bus). [N]

• ? is a force by unit length. [N/m]
• !E is the e�ective conductor span length. [m]

The reactions on the supports caused by the short circuit current forces by unit length are ob-
tained using Equation 7.14

sc = ? r · !e (7.14)

Where:

• sc is the force on the supports. [N]

• ? r is the equivalent static short circuit force by unit length obtained from Equation 7.15.
[N/m]
• !E is the e�ective conductor span length. [m]

? r = +r · +F · ? m3 (7.15)

Where:

• ? r is the equivalent static short circuit force by unit length. [N/m]

• ? m3 is the maximum short circuit force by unit length. [N/m]
• +r measures the relation of the di�erent dynamic mechanical stresses on the bus due to
three-phase tripping.
• +F measures the ratio between dynamic and static forces on the supports.

The reactions on the bus supports caused by wind force on the insulators are obtained using
Equation 7.16.

wind insulator = ? wind insulator · !e insulator = ? wind insulator · ⇠ reaction insulator · !insulator (7.16)

Where:

• wind insulator is the force due to the wind on the insulators. [N]
• ? wind insulator is the force by unit length due to the wind on the insulators. [N/m]
• ⇠ reaction insulator is the reaction coe�cient for insulator obtained from Table 7.2.
• !insulator is the insulator length. [m]

Substation Methodology 74
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

The total force on the bus supports is the results of the vector sum of all forces as shown in
Equation 7.17

q
2 2
T = weigth + ice +( sc + wind + wind insulator ) (7.17)

7.5.3 Stresses on bus

A bus will be able to withstand the combination of all the forces if the condition given in Equa-
tion 7.18 is ful�lled. [43]

fT  @ · y (7.18)

Where:

• fT is the total stress on the bus calculated from Equation 7.24. [N/m2 ]
• @ is a factor given by Equation 7.19.
• y is the tensile yield strength for aluminium that is equal to 185 ·106 [N/m2 ]

1 (1 2C/3 ext ) 3
@ = 1.7 (7.19)
1 (1 2C/3 ext ) 4

Where:

• @ is a factor for cylindrical tubes.

• C is the thickness of the bus. [m]
• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]

The stresses on the bus caused by gravitational and wind forces are obtained using Equation 7.20.

2
? · ⇠ stress · !sp
f= (7.20)
(c

Where:

• f is the mechanical stress caused by gravitational or wind forces by unit length on the bus.
[N/m2 ]
• ? is the gravitational or wind force by unit length. [N/m]
• ⇠ stress is the moment coe�cient given in Table 7.3.
• !sp is the span of the rigid bus. [m]
• ( c is the moment of resistance of the bus. [m3 ]

To obtain the mechanical stress on the bus caused by the short circuit load, the IEC standard [43]
has been followed and Equation 7.21 has been used.

Substation Methodology 75
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

2
+f · +r · V · ? r · !sp
fsc = (7.21)
8( c

Where:

• fsc is the mechanical stress caused by the short circuit force by unit length on the insulator.
[N/m2 ]
• +f measures the ratio between dynamic and static stresses on the supports.
• +r measures the relation of the di�erent dynamic mechanical loads on the bus due to three-
phase tripping.
• V is a factor.
• ? r is is the equivalent static short-circuit force by unit length. [N/m]
• !sp is the length of the bus. [m]
• ( insulator is the moment of resistance of the bus. [m3 ]

The stress on the bus caused by the wind force on the insulator is obtained using Equation 7.22.

2
? wind · ⇠ stress insulator · !insulator
fwind insulator = (7.22)
( insulator

Where:

• fwind insulator is the mechanical stress caused by the wind force on the insulator. [N/m2 ]
• ? wind is the wind force on the insulator by unit length. [N/m]
• ⇠ stress insulator is the moment coe�cient given in Table 7.3.
• !insulator is the length of the insulator. [m]
• ( insulator is the moment of resistance of the insulator. The moment of resistance of the
insulator is obtained from Equation 7.23. [m3 ]

3 ext insulator
( insulator = c (7.23)
32

Where:

• 3 ext insulator is the external diameter of the insulator. [m]

The total force on the bus supports is the result of the vector sum of all the forces as shown in
Equation 7.24

q
2
fT = fweigth + fice + (fsc + fwind + fwind insulator ) 2 (7.24)

Substation Methodology 76
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Table 7.3: Maximum stress coe�cients for common bus arrangements. [46]

Support conditions
Bus con�guration Moment coe�cient
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
P P 1/6
Single-span P F 1/8
F F 1/12
Two continuous-span P C P 0.07
Three continuous-span P C C P 0.08
More than 3 0.08
For insulator P F 1/8

7.6 Allowable Span

The maximum length of the rigid bus may comply with two criteria. The �rst criterion provides
a method to compute the allowable length based on the de�ection limit. The other criterion will
take into consideration the �bre stress [42]. The minimum value will be chosen to consider the
worst-case scenario’s result.

7.6.1 Allowable span based on de ection limit

The maximum length based on the de�ection limit of the aluminium is calculated using the
Equation 7.25.

✓ ◆ 13
185 · ⇢ · · 5def
!v = (7.25)
?g

Where:

• !v is maximum length based on the de�ection limit. [m]

• ⇢ is the modulus of elasticity for aluminium. [N/m2 ]
• is the bending moment of inertia. [m4 ]
• 5def is the de�ection limit.
• ? g is the gravitational force by unit length, the sum of the weight and ice loads ? g = ? w +? i
in [N/m]

The de�ection limit is obtained from [44]. If there is no information regarding the de�ection
limit in the data sheet previously commented, a default value of 0.67% will be taken.

7.6.2 Allowable span based on bre stress

The allowable span based on the �bre stress considers the total forces that are applied on the bus
and the ultimate tensile strength of the aluminium. It is obtained using the Equation 7.26.

s
16 · · 5weld · u
!s = (7.26)
? T · 3 ext

Substation Methodology 77
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Where:

• !s is the maximum length based on the �bre stress. [m]

• is the bending moment of inertia. [m4 ]
• 5weld is a factor that considers a reduction of the ultimate tensile strength due to welding
processes on aluminium pipes, based on [47]. This factor is equal to 75%.
• u is the ultimate tensile strength for aluminium. [N/m2 ]
• ? T is the total force by unit length that is applied on the rigid bus. [N/m]
• 3 ext is the external diameter. [m]

The allowable span for the rigid bus of the substation is the resulting minimum value, given in
Equation 7.27.

! = <8= (!v , !s ) (7.27)

Where:

• ! is the allowable span. [m]

• !v is maximum length based on the de�ection limit. [m]
• !s is the maximum length based on the �ber stress. [m]

For an acceptable operation, the condition given in Equation 7.28 has to be ful�lled.

!sp  ! (7.28)

Where:

• !sp is the span of the rigid bus, calculated in Subsection 5.2.5. [m]
• ! is the allowable span. [m]

7.7 Corona Effect

The corona discharges have to be considered in the design of air insulated buses. The discharges
are produced when the bus electric �eld intensity causes ionization in the air.

As the ozone production and light emissions are unacceptable in some communities, and as
corona discharges causes audible noise and can not be eliminated, the right solution is to mitigate
and control these discharges to acceptable levels [42].

7.7.1 Voltage gradient by Peek formula

The voltage gradient can be computed by using Equation 7.29. It is a widely used equation that
represents the corona onset gradient as a result to empirical studies.

✓ ◆
⇠
⇢c = < · ⇢0 · ⇡a 1+ p · 100000 (7.29)
⇡ a · A ext

Substation Methodology 78
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Where:

• ⇢ c is the voltage onset gradient [V/m]

• < is the irregularity factor that takes the surface condition of the conductor into account.
Experimental results have shown that the irregularity factor may vary from 0.3 to 0.85
depending on the conductor. A irregularity factor of 0.5 has been considered.
• ⇢ 0 is an empirical constant that is equal to 30. [kV/m]
• ⇡ a is the relative density air.
• ⇠ is an empirical constant that is equal to 0.301. [1/cm]
• A ext is the external radius of the bus pipe. [m]

The relative density air is calculated using Equation 7.30

✓ ◆ ✓ ◆
273 + )0
⇡a = · 1 (7.30)
273 + )amb 10000

Where:

• ⇡ a is the relative density air.

• )0 is the temperature to determine the empirical Peek constants and the irregularity factor.
This temperature is 25ºC.
• )amb is the ambient temperature. [ºC]
• is the elevation above the sea level. [m]

7.7.2 Determination of the maximum voltage gradient

The maximum voltage gradient at the surface of a three-phase conductor can be estimated using
Equation 7.31.

⌘e
⇢m = · ⇢a (7.31)
⌘e 3 ext /2

Where:

• ⇢ m is the average voltage gradient at the surface of the conductor. [V/m]

• ⌘ e is the equivalent distance from the center of the conductor to the ground plane for three
phases, given in Equation 7.32. [m]
• 3 ext is the external diameter of the bus. [m]
• ⇢ a is the average voltage gradient at the surface of the conductor, given in Equation 7.33.
[V/m]

⌘ busbar · 3 busbar
⌘e = q (7.32)
4⌘ 2busbar + 3 busbar
2

Where:

Substation Methodology 79
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

• ⌘ busbar is the height of the bus, calculated in Subsection 5.2.3. [m]

• 3 busbar is the distance between conductors, calculated in Subsection 5.2.5. [m]

1.1 · * hg 1
⇢a = p · ✓ ◆ (7.33)
3 3 ext 4 ⌘e
· ;=
2 3 ext

Where:

• * hg is the high voltage system. [V]

For an acceptable operation, the condition given in Equation 7.34 has to be ful�lled.

⇢m  ⇢c (7.34)

Where:

• ⇢ m is the maximum voltage gradient at the surface of the conductor. [V/m]

• ⇢ c is the voltage onset gradient. [V/m]

7.8 Thermal Expansion

On one hand, the withstand short duration current density caused by the thermal equivalent
short circuit current is obtained from Equation 7.35.

( th = th / c (7.35)

Where:

• ( th is the withstand short duration current density. [A/m2 ]

• th is the thermal equivalent short-circuit current, calculated in Section 3.4. [A]
• c is the section of the bus. [m2 ]

On the other hand and based on [42], the assigned withstand short duration current density is
obtained from Equation 7.36.

s 
1 ^ 202d 1 + U 20 (o e 20)
( thr = · · ln (7.36)
)kr U 20 1 + U 20 (o b 20)

Where:

• ( thr is the assigned withstand short duration current density. [A/m2 ]

• )kr is the short-circuit time given in Section 3.4, which is equal to 1. [s]
• ^ 20 is the aluminium speci�c conductivity at 20ºC, it is equal to 34800000. [1/⌦m]

Substation Methodology 80
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

• 2 is the speci�c thermal capacity and is equal to 910. [J/kg K]

• d is the aluminium speci�c mass and is equal to 2700. [kg/m3 ]
• U 20 is the aluminium temperature coe�cient and is equal to 0.004. [1/K]
• o e is the �nal temperature of the conductor after the short circuit, and it is equal to 250ºC.
• o b is the initial temperature of the conductor, it is equal to 90ºC.

For a safe design, the condition given in Equation 7.37 has to be ful�lled.

r
)kr
( th  ( thr (7.37)
)k

Where:

• ( th is the withstand short-duration current density. [A/m2 ]

• ( thr is the assigned withstand short-duration current density. [A/m2 ]
• )k is the short-circuit duration time. [s]
• )kr is the assigned short-circuit time. [s]

7.9 Selection of the busbar insulator

The outdoor insulators are used primarily to support electrical equipment operating above ground
potential. For this purpose, solid core post insulators have been selected as they are the most
used type for new substations. In general, the solid core post insulators are made of porcelain
and polymer.

Post insulators are characterized by the following:

• Maximum withstand voltage [V].

• Lightning impulse withstand voltage [V].
• Minimum failing load - Bending [N].
• Height.
• Maximum nominal diameter of insulating part.
• Insulator designation: c6-1425 which means that it will not bend up to 6000 N when the
lightning impulse is less than 1425 kV.

For a safe design, the condition given in Equation 7.38 has to be ful�lled. In addition, the maxi-
mum withstand voltage and the lightning impulse withstand voltage have to be higher than the
system voltage and the lightning impulse of the system.

T  ( Bending (7.38)

Where:

• T is the total force on the buses. [N]

Substation Methodology 81
 Chapter 7. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Table 7.4: Technical characteristics of post insulators for substations [48]

Maximum withstand Lightning impulse Minimum failing load

Insulator designation
voltage [kV] withstand voltage [kV] Bending [kN]
c4 - 650 145 650 4
c6 - 650 145 650 6
c8 - 650 145 650 8
c10 - 650 145 650 10
c12.5 - 650 145 650 12.5
c16 - 650 145 650 16
c20 - 650 145 650 20
c>20 - 650 145 650 -

• ( Bending is the minimum bending load of the insulator. [N]

As an example, a group of post insulators that belong to the same lightning impulse family are
presented in Table 7.4

Substation Methodology 82
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Substation Methodology 87
 Appendix A. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

Appendix A

Selecting Circuit Arrangements

The installed capacity of a PV plant is 200 MW. The high voltage level is 132 kV and the medium
voltage level is 30 kV. In addition, there are 10 lines of 20 MW that connect the plant with the
substation.

A.1 Determination of the number of transformer bays

Following Chapter 1, a single busbar substation with two transformer bays is obtained. The
following steps have been followed:

First, both high and medium voltage short-circuit currents have been selected. As the high volt-
age level is 132 kV, the short-circuit current given by Table 3.1 is 40 kA. For the given medium
voltage level, the short-circuit current is 25 kA.

If all the medium voltage lines that leave the PV plant were grouped in one transformer, the
following results would have been obtained.

• As the power of the bay is 150 MW, per Table 6.1, the short-circuit impedance is 12.5 %.
Then, the admissible current of the bay is given by Equation 2.2.

des = sc · I cc = 25000 · 0.125 = 3150 (A.1)

• However, the total current of the bay is given by the following equation:

( 200 · 106
=p =p ⇡ 3850 (A.2)
3 · * mv 3 · 30000
• In this case, only one of the assumptions given in Chapter 2 has been ful�lled. There is one
transformer with a short-circuit impedance of 12.5 % but the total current is higher than
the admissible current. The reasoning behind this model is the idea that the short-circuit
current at the medium voltage level would be higher than the design short-circuit current.

( 200 · 106
p =p ⇡ 30.7: 25: (A.3)
3 · * mv · I cc 3 · 30000 · 0.125

Substation Methodology 88
 Appendix A. Selecting Circuit Arrangements

Then, two 100 MVA transformer bays have been de�ned.

• As the power of the bays are higher than 63 MW, according to Table 6.1, the short-circuit
impedance of every transformer is 12.5 %.

I sc-1 = I sc-2 = 12.5% (A.4)

• Then, the admissible current of each transformer bay is calculated by Table 3.1, giving us
the following results:

adm = sc · I cc = 25000 · 0.125 = 3150 (A.5)

• The total current of each bay is given by the following equations:

(1 100 · 106
1 = 2 =p =p ⇡ 1924 < 3150 (A.6)
3 · * mv 3 · 30000
• The short-circuit current is calculated according to the following formula.

( 100 · 106
p =p ⇡ 15.4:  25: (A.7)
3 · * mv · I cc 3 · 30000 · 0.125
• After applying the corresponding correction factors to the cables: 3G (4G630<<2) ; - !%⇢,
the following results were obtained:

op-mv  ccc ) 1924 < 1925 (A.8)

In this case, each assumptions given in Chapter 2 have been ful�lled.

Once the number of power transformers has been obtained, the last step is to determine the type
of substation (line to transformer, single busbar or double busbar). For that, the total operating
current of the PV plant is compared with the maximum admissible current.
() 200 · 106
) =p =p ⇡ 3850  3· des = 3 · 3150 = 9450 (A.9)
3 · * mv 3 · 30000

Finally, a single busbar substation with two transformer bays is obtained.

A.2 Determination of the number of output bays

The number of output bays will be determined automatically based on only one criterion. This
criterion is based on the rated characteristics of the switchgear. So, the criterion that an output
bay may ful�l is given in Equation 2.7.

200 · 106 4000

op-hv =p ⇡ 874  = 3200 (A.10)
3 · 132000 1.25

So, there will be one output bay.

Substation Methodology 89
 Appendix B. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

Appendix B

Calculation of the short-circuit

currents

In this annex, the main short-circuit current will be determined following the calculation model
presented in Chapter 3. The previous example will be taken to study the short-circuit currents:

• The installed capacity of a PV plant is 200 MW.

• The high voltage level is 132 kV and the medium voltage level is 30 kV.
• The frequency of the system is 50 Hz.

B.1 Design short-circuit currents

The design-short circuit currents are obtained directly from the maximum voltage for the system
and they are linked to a short-circuit power from the grid.

As the high voltage level is 132 kV, the short-circuit current given by Table 3.1 is 40 kA. For the
given medium voltage level, the short-circuit current is 25 kA.

B.2 Operating short-circuit currents

B.2.1 The short-circuit current at the grid level
First, the short-circuit power is taken from Table 3.1. As the voltage is 132 kV, the corresponding
short-circuit power is 8000 MVA. At the grid level, only an ideal network contributes to the short
circuit.

The internal impedance of a high-voltage network or a medium-voltage network can then be

determined according to Equation 3.3.

*2 1450002
/ network = = = 2.12 ⌦ (B.1)
( sc 8200 · 106

The short-circuit current is calculated according to Equation 3.2

Substation Methodology 90
 Appendix B. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

2 ·* 1.1 · 132000
op-sc = p = p ⇡ 40 : (B.2)
/· 3 2.12 · 3

B.2.2 The short-circuit current at the substation input

First, the short-circuit power is taken from Table 3.1. The internal impedance of a high-voltage
network at the medium-voltage level can then be determined according to Equation 3.3.

*2 300002
/ network = = = 0.06 ⌦ (B.3)
( sc 8000 · 106

The impedance of a two-windings transformer is calculated using Equation 3.4.

* 2 I sc 300002
/t = · = · 0.125 = 1.125 (B.4)
( t 100 100 · 106

The short-circuit current is calculated according to Equation 3.2

2 ·* 1.1 · 30000
op-sc = p = p = 16 : (B.5)
/ · 3 (0.06 + 1.125) · 3

B.3 Peak short-circuit currents

The factor ^ shall be obtained from Equation 3.6.

3'/- )
^ = 1.02 + 0.984 ( = 1.81 (B.6)

The peak short-circuit current can be calculated using Equation 3.5.

p p
p = op-sc · ^ 2 = 40 · 1.81 2 = 102.36 : (B.7)

The peak short-circuit current can be calculated using Equation 3.5.

p p
p = op-sc · ^ 2 = 16 · 1.81 2 = 41 : (B.8)

B.4 Thermal short-circuit currents

The factor < shall be obtained from Equation 3.8.

1
<= · {4 4·5 ·)k ·;= (^ 1)
1} = 0.048 (B.9)
2 · 5 · )k · ;=(^ 1)

The thermal equivalent short-circuit current can be calculated using Equation 3.7.

Substation Methodology 91
 Appendix B. Calculation of the short-circuit currents

p p
th = op-sc < + = = 40 1.048 = 41 : (B.10)

The thermal equivalent short-circuit current can be calculated using Equation 3.7.

p p
th = op-sc < + = = 16 1.048 = 16 : (B.11)

Substation Methodology 92
 Appendix C. Insulation Coordination

Appendix C

Insulation Coordination

For the substation that has been proposed in these annexes, the insulation coordination results
are presented in this chapter. The example has the following inputs:

• The high voltage system that equals 132 kV.

• The elevation above the sea level that equals 550 m.

The results that will be validated are the following ones:

• The rated lightning impulse withstand voltage that is equal to 550 kV.
• The phase-to-earth short-duration power-frequency withstand voltage equals 185 kV.
• The phase-to-phase short-duration power-frequency withstand voltage equals 275 kV.
• The phase-to-earth clearance distance that equals 1.1 m.
• The phase-to-phase clearance distance that equals 1.1 m.

C.1 General procedure for insulation coordination

As the high voltage of the system (132 kV) is lower than 245 kV, the class I substation procedure
is followed. The highest voltage for the equipment is 145 kV as given in Table 4.1.

C.1.1 Class I insulation coordination procedure

To establish a minimum recommended phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase clearance distances,
the following steps are necessary:

1. Determination of the representative temporary, slow-front, and fast-front overvoltages.

2. Application of the coordination factor to set the coordination overvoltages.
3. Calculation of the required overvoltages by applying a security factor and the atmospheric
correction factors.
4. Conversion of the slow-front overvoltages to temporary and fast-front overvoltages by
applying conversion factors.
5. Identi�cation and selection of the standard rated withstand voltages in regards to the re-
quired overvoltages by referring to the highest voltages for the equipment.

Substation Methodology 93
 Appendix C. Insulation Coordination

6. If some required voltages are higher than the maximum standard rated withstand voltage
for a speci�c highest voltage for equipment, a greater value of the standard voltage is
selected even though the highest voltage is superior.
7. Selection of the minimum rod-structure and conductor-structure clearance distances for
the standard rated withstand voltages that have been selected.
8. Identi�cation of the phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase distances.

C.2 Determination of the representative voltages and over-

voltages
C.2.1 Temporary overvoltages
For voltage systems higher than 36 kV, the maximum representative phase-to-earth and phase-
to-phase overvoltages are calculated using Equation 4.1 and Equation 4.2

: max · * m 1.4 · 145

* temp-rp-pe = p = p = 117.2 :+ (C.1)
3 3

* temp-rp-pp = : d · * m = 1.4 · 145 = 203 :+ (C.2)

C.2.2 Slow-front overvoltages

The value of the phase-to-earth overvoltage that has a 2% of probabilities of being exceeded is
D e2 = 2.6 p.u. The phase-to-phase overvoltage that has 2% of probabilities of being exceeded is
given in Figure 4.2 and in our case, it equals D p2 = 3.78 p.u.

The phase-peak method has been chosen to calculate the truncation values using Equation 4.5
and Equation 4.6.

D et = 1.25 · D e2 0.25 = 1.25 · 2.6 0.25 = 3 ?.D. (C.3)

D pt = 1.25 · D p2 0.43 = 1.25 · 3.8 0.43 = 4.3 ?.D. (C.4)

The parts per one are converted to volts following the Equation 4.7

r
2
D et = · 145 · 3 = 355 :+ (C.5)
3
r
2
D pt = · 145 · 4.3 = 509 :+ (C.6)
3

Determination of the switching impulse protective level

As the lightning arrester has been chosen following the process in section 6.3.1, the switching
impulse protective level equals * ps = 272 kV.

Substation Methodology 94
 Appendix C. Insulation Coordination

To obtain the representative overvoltages for slow-front impulses, Equation 4.8 and Equation 4.9
are used.

* sf-rp-pe = <8= * ps , * et = <8= (272 , 355) = 272 :+ (C.7)

* sf-rp-pe = <8= 2 · * ps , * pt = <8= (544 , 509) = 509 :+ (C.8)

C.2.3 fast-front overvoltages

For fast-front overvoltages, the coordination withstand overvoltages will be directly computed
in Subsection C.3.3.

C.3 Determination of the coordination withstand voltages

According to [11], a deterministic approach will be adopted to determine the coordination over-
voltages.

C.3.1 Temporary overvoltages

For the temporary overvoltages, the coordination factor is equal to one. Hence, the representative
overvoltages and the coordination overvoltages are equal. The calculation of the phase-to-earth
and phase-to-phase temporary overvoltages are represented by Equation 4.10 and Equation 4.11
respectively.

* temp-cw-pe = : cd · * temp-rp-pe = 1 · 117.2 = 117.2 :+ (C.9)

* temp-cw-pp = : cd · * temp-rp-pp = 1 · 203 = 203 :+ (C.10)

C.3.2 Slow-front overvoltages

The coordination factor is obtained from Figure 4.3. The coordination slow-front overvoltages
are obtained from Equation 4.12 and Equation 4.13.

* sf-cw-pe = : cd-pe · * sf-rp-pe = 1.06 · 272 = 289 :+ (C.11)

* sf-cw-pp = : cd-pp · * sf-rp-pp = 1 · 509 = 509 :+ (C.12)

C.3.3 Fast-front overvoltages

According to [14], the probability values that are needed to calculate the coordination overvolt-
ages can be found in Table 4.3. For the 132 kV substation, these values are:

• = 4500 kV.
• 5s = 0.5.
• # = 1.
• !t = 30 m.

Substation Methodology 95
 Appendix C. Insulation Coordination

• !sp = 300 m.
• !f = 0.25/0.001 = 250 m. [m]

The lightning impulse protective level of the lightning arrester that was computed in Section E.3
is * pl = 311 kV. The coordination overvoltages for fast-front impulses proceed as given in Equa-
tion 4.14.

· 5s !t 4500 · 0.5 30
* �-cw = * pl + · = 311 + · = 311 + 122 = 433 :+ (C.13)
# !sp + !f 1 300 + 250

C.4 Determination of the required withstand voltages

The safety correction factors that apply to each kind of overvoltage are given in Equation 4.16
and Equation 4.17 respectively.

si = 1.15 (C.14)
se = 1.05 (C.15)

Moreover, the atmospheric correction factor for temporary and fast-front overvoltages can be
calculated using Equation 4.18.

✓ ◆ ✓ ◆
550
a = exp < · = exp 0.5 · = 1.03 (C.16)
8150 8150

For slow-front overvoltages, the coe�cient m is de�ned according to Figure 4.4.

✓ ◆✓ ◆
550
a-pe = exp < · = exp 1 · = 1.07 (C.17)
8150 8150
✓ ◆ ✓ ◆
550
a-pp = exp < · = exp 1 · = 1.07 (C.18)
8150 8150

Required temporary overvoltages

* temp-pe-i-rw = 117.2 · 1.15 = 134 :+ (C.19)

* temp-pe-e-rw = 117.2 · 1.05 · 1.03 = 126 :+ (C.20)
* temp-pp-i-rw = 203 · 1.15 = 233 :+ (C.21)

* temp-pp-e-rw = 203 · 1.05 · 1.03 = 219 :+ (C.22)

Required slow-front overvoltages

Substation Methodology 96
 Appendix C. Insulation Coordination

* sf-pe-i-rw = 289 · 1.15 = 332 :+ (C.23)

* sf-pe-e-rw = 289 · 1.05 · 1.07 = 324 :+ (C.24)
* sf-pp-i-rw = 509 · 1.15 = 585 :+ (C.25)
* sf-pp-e-rw = 509 · 1.05 · 1.07 = 572 :+ (C.26)

Required fast-front overvoltages

* �-pe-i-rw = 433 · 1.15 = 498 :+ (C.27)

* �-pe-e-rw = 433 · 1.05 · 1.03 = 487 :+ (C.28)
* �-pp-i-rw = 433 · 1.15 = 498 :+ (C.29)
* �-pp-e-rw = 433 · 1.05 · 1.03 = 487 :+ (C.30)

C.5 Selection of the rated insulation levels

In order to obtain the withstand voltages that are recommended for the standard, the maximum
required withstand voltages will be considered.

• The phase-to-earth temporal overvoltage that is considered is 134 kV.

• The phase-to-phase temporal overvoltage that is taken into account is 233 kV.
• The fast-front overvoltage that is considered is 498 kV.

The standard withstand voltages for class I (145 kV) substation can be found in Table 4.6.

• The phase-to-earth short-duration power-frequency withstand voltage is 185 kV.

• The phase-to-phase short-duration power-frequency withstand voltage is 275 kV.
• The standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltage is 550 kV.

C.6 Selection of the clearance distances

The tables 4.8, 4.9, and 4.10 present the minimum clearances that ensure the speci�cations of the
insulation coordination.

• As the standard rated lightning impulse withstand voltage is 550 kV, the rod-structure is
1.1 m.
• For 550 kV lightning impulse withstand voltage, a value of 1.1 m of conductor-structure
clearance is taken.

The phase-to-earth and phase-to-phase air distances are calculated using Equation 4.20 and Equa-
tion 4.21.

3 pe = <8= ( 3 rod-str , 3 cond-str ) = <8= ( 1.1 , 1.1) = 1.1 <. (C.31)

3 pp = 3 rod-str = 1.1 <. (C.32)

Substation Methodology 97
 Appendix D. Safety Distances

Appendix D

Safety Distances

For the substation that has been proposed in these annexes, the safety distances are presented in
this chapter. The example has the following inputs:

• The rated lightning impulse withstand voltage that is equal to 550 kV.
• The phase-to-earth clearance distance that equals 1.1 m.
• The phase-to-phase clearance distance that equals 1.1 m.

The results that will be validated are the following ones:

• A distance between conductors of 3 m.

• A lengthwise distance between elements of the switchgear of 3 m.
• A busbar/gateway span of 12 m.
• A device height of 3.5 m.
• A busbar height of 6.5 m.
• A gateway height of 9.5 m.

D.1 General procedure for the calculation of the safety dis-

tances
D.1.1 The basic value
The basic value is calculated using Equation 5.1. The factor corresponds to 1.1 if the impulse
withstand voltage  1425 kV and 1.06 if it is > 1425 kV.

3 bv = 5bv · 3 pe = 1.1 · 1.1 = 1.21 <. (D.1)

D.1.2 Field height

The three height limits given by Equation 5.2, Equation 5.3, and Equation 5.4.

⌘ device = 3 bv + r = 1.21 + 2.25 = 3.5 < (D.2)

Substation Methodology 98
 Appendix D. Safety Distances

For the busbar height, the additional distance 3 bv + rw should be studied. So, 3 bv + rw =
1.21 + 1.25 = 2.46 < 3 <.

⌘ busbar = ⌘ device + 3 bv + rw = 3.5 + 3 = 6.5 <. (D.3)

For the gateway height, the additional distance 3 bv + rw should be studied. So, 3 bv + rw =
1.21 + 1.25 = 2.46 < 3 <.

⌘ overhead line = ⌘ busbar + 3 bv + rw = 6.5 + 3 = 9.5 <. (D.4)

D.1.3 Field length

An estimation of the safety distance from the extreme position that the live equipment or con-
ductor may occupy is derived from Equation 5.5.

; device = <0G (3 bv + !o , 3 pp ) = <0G (1.21 + 1.75 , 1.1) = 2.96 < 3 ) 3 <. (D.5)

D.1.4 Distance between buses

The distance between conductors is de�ned using Equation 5.6.

3 bus = <0G (3 bv + !o , 3 pp ) = <0G (1.21 + 1.75 , 1.1) = 2.96 < 3 ) 3 <. (D.6)

Once the distance between conductors has been established, the busbar/gateway span is derived
from Equation 5.7.

3 span = 2 · 3 bus + 2 · 3 bus-support = 2 · 3 + 2 · 3 = 12<. (D.7)

Substation Methodology 99
 Appendix E. Determination of the substation’s equipment

Appendix E

Determination of the substation’s

equipment

For the substation that has been proposed in these annexes, in this chapter the main charac-
teristics of each equipment of a transformer bay are presented. The example has the following
inputs:

• The high voltage that equals 132 kV and the short-circuit current for this level is 40 kA.
• The medium voltage that equals 30 kV and the short-circuit current for this level is 25 kA.
• The total power of the transformer bay is 100 MW.
• The frequency of the system is equal to 50 Hz.

E.1 Determination of the power transformer

Following Section 6.1, the power transformer of the bay will have the following characteristics.

• The transformer capacity is 100 MVA which equals the power of the bay.
• The voltage ratio is 132/30 kV.
• The vector group is Ynd11.
• The short-circuit impedance is 12.5 % according to Table 6.1.

E.2 Determination of the grounding device

The short-circuit current at the secondary winding of the transformer is 25 kA. The current that
�ows through the neutral point of the zig-zag transformer is given by Equation 6.1.

zig-zag = 0.03 · sc = 0.03 · 25000 = 750 (E.1)

As 750 A is not contemplated as standard value by the software, the current taken is 800 A.

The phase reactance of the transformer is presented in Equation 6.2.

Substation Methodology 100

 Appendix E. Determination of the substation’s equipment

- 0 /- 1 · * mv 10 · 30000
-g = p =p = 6.93⌦ (E.2)
3 · sc 3 · 25000

The earthing resistance is obtained using Equation 6.3.

* mv 30000
'g = p =p = 21.65⌦ (E.3)
3 · zig-zag 3 · 800

E.3 Determination of the surge arrester

The calculation model to size a surge arrester is presented in Section 6.3. In order to compute the
surge arrester which is located at the high voltage level, it is necessary to get the highest voltage
for the system. By 4.1, this voltage equals 145 kV.

First, the continuous operating voltage is obtained, using Equation 6.4.

5cov · * m 1.1 · 145000

* cov p = p = 92 :+ (E.4)
3 3

The next step is to get the temporary overvoltage for the lightning arrester using Equation 6.5

* tov 5tov · * cov = 1.4 · 92 = 128.9 :+ (E.5)

The temporary overvoltages based on the equivalent 10 seconds duration overvoltage is calcu-
lated using Equation 6.6.

⇣ g ⌘[ ✓ ◆ 0.02
1
* 10s = * tov · = 128.9 · = 123 :+ (E.6)
10 10

The rated voltage is given in Equation 6.7.

* r = <0G (1.25 · * cov , * 10s ) = <0G (1.25 · 92 , 123) = <0G (115 , 123) = 123 :+ (E.7)

The nominal discharge current is nom = 10 kA due to * m = 145 < 360 kV.

The characteristics already mentioned are not applicable for commercial purposes. For that rea-
son, a database of commercial surge arresters has been added to the software. The selected surge
arrester is presented in Table E.1 and it has the following characteristics:

• The rated voltage is 132 kV.

• The continuous operation voltage is 92 kV.
• The temporary overvoltage is 145 kV.
• As the nominal discharge current is 10 kA, the lightning impulse protection level is 311 kV.
• The lightning impulse protection level is 272 kV.

Substation Methodology 101

 Appendix E. Determination of the substation’s equipment

Table E.1: Technical data for surge arresters - 145 kV. [22], [25] and [26]

Highest voltage for *r * cov * tov * ps * pl-10kA * pl-20kA

equipment * m [kV] [kV] [kV] [kV] [kV] [kV] [kV]
145 114 91 125 235 268 295
145 120 92 132 248 282 311
145 132 92 145 272 311 342
145 138 92 151 285 325 357
145 144 92 158 297 339 373
145 150 92 165 309 353 388
145 162 92 178 334 381 419
145 168 92 184 346 395 435
145 180 92 198 371 423 466

E.4 Circuit breakers

The main characteristics are de�ned according to [27], [28] and [29]. The most important rating
is the rated normal current that is calculated based on [31].

The rated voltage of the circuit breaker is given by Equation 6.8.

* cb = * m = 145 :+ (E.8)

The rated normal current is calculated by Equation 6.9. It is recommended to select 1600 A for
short-circuit currents of 40 kA.

5s · % 1.25 · 100 · 106

cb = p = p = 546 ) 1600 (E.9)
*· 3 132 · 103 · 3

The rated short-circuit breaking current is calculated by Equation 6.10.

sc-cb = sc = 40 : (E.10)

The rated short-circuit making current is given by Equation 6.11.

msc-cb = 5msc · sc-cb = 2.5 · 40 = 100 : (E.11)

E.5 Disconnectors
The rated voltage is given by Equation 6.12.

* d = * m = 145 :+ (E.12)

The rated normal current is calculated by Equation 6.13. It is recommended to select 1600 A for
short-circuit currents of 40 kA.

Substation Methodology 102

 Appendix E. Determination of the substation’s equipment

5s · % 1.25 · 100 · 106

d = p = p = 546 ) 1600 (E.13)
*· 3 132 · 103 · 3

The rated short-time withstand current is calculated by Equation 6.14.

sc-d = sc = 40 : (E.14)

The rated peak withstand current is given in Equation 6.15.

psc-d = 5psc · sc-cb = 2.5 · 40 = 100 : (E.15)

E.6 Current transformers

The rated voltage is given by Equation 6.16.

* ct = * m = 145 :+ (E.16)

The rated secondary current is equal to 5 A. The rated primary current is calculated by Equa-
tion 6.17. After obtaining the current, the closest standard current will be selected. [34]. In this
case, The R10 values are not followed.

5s · % 1.25 · 100 · 106

ct = p = p = 546 ) 600 (E.17)
*· 3 132 · 103 · 3

The rated continuous thermal current is given by Equation 6.18.

t = ct = 600 (E.18)

The rated short-time thermal current is given by Equation 6.19.

sc-ct = sc = 40 : (E.19)

The dynamic current is calculated using Equation 6.20.

dyn = 5dyn · sc-ct = 2.5 · 40 = 100 : (E.20)

E.7 Voltage transformers

The primary voltage is the voltage of the system, given in Equation 6.21

* 132
* vt = p = p :+ (E.21)
3 3

Substation Methodology 103

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

Appendix F

Design of the bus in air insulated

substations

F.1 Introduction
The following example clari�es the process of designing a rigid busbar for an air-insulated sub-
station using the information presented in [42] and [43]. The parameters required for the bus
design are:

• The installed capacity of the photovoltaic plant, % ac = 200 ",

• The high voltage level * hg = 132 :+
• The number of transformer bays = Tr = 2
• The span of the rigid bus !sp = 12 <
• The distance between conductors, 3 bus = 3 <
• The height of the bus ⌘ busbar = 6.5 <
• The rated lightning impulse withstand voltage, * liwv = 550 :+
• The design short-circuit current, sc = 40 :
• The frequency of the system, 5 = 50 I
• The ambient temperature, )amb = 25 ºC
• The elevation above the sea, = 550 <

The results that will be validated are the following ones:

• The external diameter equals 150 mm.

• The external diameter equals 134 mm.
• The post insulator is c10-650.

F.2 Speci c properties of the buses

More information about the bus can be found in Table 7.1. The section of the bus is obtained
from Equation 7.1.

Substation Methodology 104

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

2 2
3 ext 3 int 0.152 0.1342
c =c· =c· = 3562 << 2 (F.1)
4 4

The moment of resistance of the pipe is calculated using Equation 7.2

4 4
3 ext 3 int 0.154 0.1344 4
(c = c · =c· = 1.2 · 10 <3 (F.2)
32 · 3 ext 32 · 0.15

The moment of inertia is obtained using Equation 7.3

4 4
3 ext 3 int 0.154 0.1344 6
=c· =c· = 9.02 · 10 <4 (F.3)
64 64

The unitary weight of the pipe is represented by Equation 7.4

6
D bus = F Al · c = 2700 · 3562/10 = 9.63 :6/< (F.4)

Other signi�cant technical properties are:

• ⇢ is the modulus of elasticity for aluminium, which is equal to 7 ·1010 [N/m2 ].

• u is the ultimate tensile strength for aluminium that is equal to 220 ·106 [N/m2 ].
• y is the tensile yield strength for aluminium that is equal to 185 ·106 [N/m2 ].
• U c is the coe�cient temperature expansion, which is equal to 0.023 [mm/mºC].

F.3 Minimum size for load current

The load current carried by the bus is calculated using Equation 7.5.

5growth · % ac 1.25 · 200 · 106

load = p = p = 1093 (F.5)
* hg · 3 132000 · 3

The condition given in Equation 7.6 is ful�lled.

load = 1093  bus = 4838 (F.6)

F.4 Minimum size for short-circuit current

The bus conductor should be able to withstand a short-circuit current [42], given by Equation 7.7
for a short period of time.

s ✓ ◆
12 1 )f 20 + 15150/⌧
bus sc = ⇠ · 10 · c · log10 = 319 : (F.7)
C )i 20 + 15150/⌧

Substation Methodology 105

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

The condition given in Equation 7.8 is ful�lled.

sc = 40 :  bus sc = 319 : (F.8)

F.5 Rigid bus loads

F.5.1 Calculation of the forces by unit length applied on the bus
The maximum force by unit length on the conductor should �rst be determined.

The weight force by unit length on the bus is given by Equation 7.9.

? weight = D bus + D damper · 6 = D bus · ⇠ damper · 6 = 9.63 · 1.25 · 9.8 = 118 # /< (F.9)

The ice force by unit length on the bus is calculated based on [45].

p p
? ice = 1.8 3 ext = 1.8 0.15 = 0.69 # /< (F.10)

The maximum short circuit force by unit length on the buses is obtained according to Equa-
tion 7.10.

p p
`0 3 1 2 `0 3 1
? m3 = peak = 1023602 = 608 # /< (F.11)
2c 2 3 pp 2c 2 3

The wind force by unit length on the busbar surfaces is calculated using Equation 7.11.

✓ ◆2 ✓ ◆2
+wind 120
? wind-busbar = 3 ext · % air · = 0.15 · 700 · = 105 # /< (F.12)
+ref 120

The wind force by unit length on the c10-650 post insulator, whose external diameter is 0.4 m, is
calculated using Equation 7.11.

✓ ◆2 ✓ ◆2
+wind 120
? wind-postInsulator = 3 ext · % air · = 0.4 · 700 · = 280 # /< (F.13)
+ref 120

F.5.2 Reactions
The bus-support conditions depend on the number of transformer bays. Hence, the e�ective
conductor span length !E is obtained using Equation 7.12.

!E = ⇠ reaction · !sp = 1.25 · 12 = 15 < (F.14)

The reactions on the supports due to the weight is obtained using Equation 7.13

Substation Methodology 106

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

w = ? w · !e = 118 · 15 = 1770 # (F.15)

The reactions on the supports due to the ice is obtained using Equation 7.13

ice = ? ice · !e = 0.69 · 15 = 10.35 # (F.16)

The reactions on the supports due to the wind on the busbars is obtained using Equation 7.13

wind-busbar = ? wind-busbar · !e = 105 · 15 = 1575 # (F.17)

The reactions on the supports caused by the short-circuit current forces by unit length are ob-
tained using Equation 7.14

sc = ? r · !e = 1.69 · 0.51 · 608 · 15 = 7890 # (F.18)

The reactions on the bus supports caused by wind force on the insulators, whose length is 1.5 m,
are obtained using Equation 7.16.

wind insulator = ? wind insulator · ⇠ reaction insulator · !insulator = 280 · 0.625 · 1.5 = 262 # /< (F.19)

The total force on the bus supports is the results of the vector sum of all forces as shown in
Equation 7.17

q
2 2
T = ( w + ice ) +( sc + wind-busbar + wind insulator ) = 9974 # (F.20)

F.5.3 Stresses on bus

The stresses on the bus caused by weight forces are obtained using Equation 7.20.

2
? weight · ⇠ stress · !sp 118 · 0.07 · 122
fweight = = ⇡ 10 # /<< 2 (F.21)
(c (c

The stresses on the bus caused by ice forces are obtained using Equation 7.20.

2
? ice · ⇠ stress · !sp 0.69 · 0.07 · 122
fice = = ⇡ 0 # /<< 2 (F.22)
(c (c

The stresses on the bus caused by wind forces are obtained using Equation 7.20.

2
? wind-busbar · ⇠ stress · !sp 105 · 0.07 · 122
fwind-busbar = = ⇡ 9 # /<< 2 (F.23)
(c (c

Substation Methodology 107

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

To obtain the mechanical stress on the bus caused by the short circuit load, the IEC standard [43]
has been followed and Equation 7.21 has been used.

2
+f · +r · V · ? r · !sp 0.46 · 1.8 · 0.73 · 531 · 122
fsc = = ⇡ 45 # /<< 2 (F.24)
8( c 8( c

The stress on the bus caused by the wind force on the insulator is obtained using Equation 7.22.

2
? wind · ⇠ stress insulator · !insulator
fwind insulator = ⇡ 0 # /<< 2 (F.25)
( insulator

The total force on the bus supports is the result of the vector sum of all the forces as shown in
Equation 7.24

q
2
fT = fweigth + fice + (fsc + fwind-busbare + fwind insulator ) 2 ⇡ 55 # /<< 2 (F.26)

The condition given in Equation 7.18 is ful�lled.

fT ⇡ 55 # /<< 2  @ · y = 1.34 · 185 = 248 # /<< 2 (F.27)

Where:
1 (1 2C/3 ext ) 3
@ = 1.7 = 1.34 (F.28)
1 (1 2C/3 ext ) 4

F.6 Allowable Span

The maximum length based on the de�ection limit of the aluminium is calculated using the
Equation 7.25.

✓ ◆ 13 ✓ ◆ 13
185 · ⇢ · · 5def 185 · ⇢ · · 0.0033
!v = = = 14.83 < (F.29)
?g 118

The allowable span based on the �bre stress is obtained using the Equation 7.26.

s r
16 · · 5weld · u 16 · · 0.75 · u
!s = = = 12.6 < (F.30)
? T · 3 ext 1000 · 0.15

The allowable span for the rigid bus of the substation is the resulting minimum value, given in
Equation 7.27.

! = <8= (14.83 , 12.6) = 12.6 (F.31)

The condition given in Equation 7.28 is ful�lled.

Substation Methodology 108

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

!sp = 12 <  ! = 12.6 < (F.32)

F.7 Corona Effect

The voltage gradient can be computed by using Equation 7.29.

✓ ◆
⇠
⇢c = < · ⇢0 · ⇡a 1 + p · 100000 = 1600 :+ /< (F.33)
⇡ a · A ext

The maximum voltage gradient at the surface of a three-phase conductor can be estimated using
Equation 7.31.

⌘e 1.46
⇢m = · ⇢a = · 310 ⇡ 310 :+ /< (F.34)
⌘e 3 ext /2 1.46 0.15/2

⌘ busbar · 3 busbar 6.5 · 3

⌘e = q =p = 1.46 < (F.35)
4⌘ 2busbar + 3 busbar
2 46.52 + 32

1.1 · * hg 1 1.1 · 132000 1

⇢a = p · ✓ ◆ = p · ✓ ◆ = 310 :+ (F.36)
3 3 ext 4 ⌘e 3 0.15 4 1.46
· ;= · ;=
2 3 ext 2 0.15

The condition given in Equation 7.34 is ful�lled.

⇢ m = 310 :+ /<  ⇢ c = 1600 :+ /< (F.37)

F.8 Thermal Expansion

On one hand, the withstand short duration current density caused by the thermal equivalent
short circuit current is obtained from Equation 7.35.

( th = th / c = 40000/(3562 · 10 6 ) = 11.23 · 106 /< 2 = 11.23 /<< 2 (F.38)

On the other hand, the assigned withstand short duration current density is obtained from Equa-
tion 7.36.

s 
1 ^ 202d 1 + U 20 (o e 20)
( thr = · · ln = 9.3 · 107 /< 2 (F.39)
)kr U 20 1 + U 20 (o b 20)

The condition given in Equation 7.37 is ful�lled.

r
2 )kr
( th = 11.23 /<<  ( thr = 93 /<< 2 (F.40)
)k

Substation Methodology 109

 Appendix F. Design of the bus in air insulated substations

F.9 Selection of the busbar insulator

The post insulator that has been selected is c10-650. The condition given in Equation 7.38 is ful-
�lled. In addition, the maximum withstand voltage and the lightning impulse withstand voltage
have to be higher than the system voltage and the lightning impulse of the system.

T = 9974 #  ( Bending = 10000 # (F.41)

Substation Methodology 110