Current Interruption Transients Calculation

Provides an original, detailed and practical description of current interruption transients, origins, and the circuits involved, and how they can be calculated

The book is based on the author's course that has been presented worldwide to utilities in Australia, Canada and the UK and also to the staff of a short circuit test laboratory. The course - its approach and material – has been well received. This book provides an original, detailed and practical description of current interruption transients, origins, and circuits involved, and how they can be calculated using only a hand calculator and Excel. It covers all of the current interruption cases that occur on a power system and relates oscillatory circuit (transients) and symmetrical component theory to the practical calculation of current interruption transients as applied to circuit breaker application. All cases are explained first in theory and then illustrated by practical examples. The approach is unique in that it is based on a generic concept. The classical (and repetitive) approach is to take each transient and circuit case and apply Laplace transforms to solve for the voltage or current transient. The generic approach in the book shows that four basic circuits can represent all transients and that by solving them in general (without using Laplace) all actual cases become a variation on a theme. This is done for the transient recovery voltages (TRVs) associated with fault current interruption and interrupting capacitive and inductive currents. Theory is presented first - RLC circuits and pole factor calculation using symmetrical components, followed by application to the cases. A large number of figures are provided and backup material can be found in the appendices. In general, most textbooks tend to treat one or other of the above subjects with no extension to circuit breaker application. No other publication has addressed this subject in detail or any of it in terms of the concept used. Brief TOC: Introduction; Oscillatory Circuits; Symmetrical Components (or Pole Factor Calculation);Terminal Faults; Short Line Faults; Inductive Load Switching; Capacitive Load Switching; Appendices

• Clear explanation of how to calculate transients without the use of specialist software, showing how four basic circuits can represent all transients
• Describes all of the current interruption cases that can occur on a power system, with cases first explained in theory and then illustrated by practical examples
• Unlike other publications, it analyses oscillatory circuit (transients) and symmetrical component theory in detail
• Takes a practical approach so engineers can use the knowledge in circuit breaker applications

David F. Peelo, Consultant, former Specialist Engineer at BC Hydro, Vancouver, Canada
David Peelo joined BC Hydro in Vancouver in 1973, first in the Quality Assurance Department, then from 1981 in the Stations Engineering Division as a switchgear and switching specialist. He left BC Hydro in 2001 to become an independent consultant with clients in Australia, Canada, US, India and Korea, teaching advanced courses on surge arrester application, switchgear application and switching in high voltage networks. He has had active leading roles in standards development in IEEE and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). David has authored over 60 technical papers and lead the development of an IEEE guide and IEC standard for shunt reactor switching. He is recipient of the CIGRE Distinguished Member Award and the IEC 1906 Award, and a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.