1

TRANSIENT SIMULATION STUDY FOR THE 1500 KM NORTH-

SOUTH 500 kV INTERCONNECTION IN VIETNAM

by

Q. Bui-Van
(1)
, B. Khodabakhchian, H. Huynh and B. de-Metz-Noblat
(2)


(1)
Transnergie - Hydro-Qubec International (HQI)
(2)
Merlin-Grin - Schneider Electric (MG-SE)
P.O Box 10 000, Complexe Desjardins A2 plant, 38050 Grenoble cedex 9 - France
East Tower 10
th
floor, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H5B 1H7 Phone: 33-4 76 57 95 98 Fax.: 33-4 76 57 98 60
Phone: (514) 289 2211 (ext. 3054) Fax.: (514) 289 3164 E-mail: benoit_de-metz-noblat@mail.schneider.fr
E-mail: Bui_Van.Que@hydro.qc.ca



Abstract : To assess the performance required for the
500 kV equipment, an exhaustive electromagnetic transient
study was performed for the design of the existing North-
South series-compensated 500 kV interconnection in
Vietnam. This study covered several aspects such as : the
transient recovery voltages (TRVs) across the 500 kV circuit
breakers (CBs), the temporary and switching overvoltages
(TOVs and SOVs) in the 500 kV system, the energy stresses
on the metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) protecting series-
capacitor banks as well as the analysis of secondary arc
current extinction. All those aspects were thoroughly
investigated. These study results have allowed the selection of
the 500 kV circuit breakers to withstand severe TRV
conditions on series compensated lines. A special protection
scheme has also been devised to control temporary
overvoltages in the 500 kV system in case of total load
rejection. Moreover, the MOV design criteria have been
established in light of study results. Finally, the efficiency of
the installed reactor neutral circuits for secondary arc current
extinction has also been verified.

1. INTRODUCTION.

In 1994, the North-South 1487-km 500-kV transmission line
in Vietnam was put into service interconnecting the three
regional sub-transmission systems: The Northern, The Central
and The Southern region. This interconnection has been built
for the purpose of : unifying the national electrical network,
exchanging the generated electric power between the three
regions as well as optimizing the electricity production cost
from various resources during the rainy and dry seasons in the
country. The 500 kV line has interconnected, from North to
South, to five substations namely : Hoa Binh, Ha Tinh, Da
Nang, Pleiku and Phu Lam. From Hoa Binh to Phu Lam, each
500 kV line section is series compensated to approximately
60% (30% on each end) and shunt compensated to 70% (35%
on each end). Furthermore, in order to improve the system
transient stability following a spurious single-phase fault on
the 500 kV line, single-phase auto-reclosing (SPAR) systems
were used on the four 500 kV line sections. Fig. 1 presents the
existing North-South 500 kV interconnection.


Fig. 1: The Vietnamese North-South 500 kV Interconnection.

A turn-key contract for the construction of the above
mentioned 500 kV substations was awarded to MG-SE. This
paper presents the results of electromagnetic transient study
that was subcontracted to HQI by MG-SE for the design and
specification of 500 kV equipment supplied for these
substations. This study covered several aspects such as : the
transient recovery voltages on 500 kV breakers, the
temporary and switching overvoltages, the energy stresses on
MOV as well as the analysis of secondary arc current
extinction. The analysis of electromagnetic transient
phenomena in the 500 kV interconnection was performed
with DCG/EPRI EMTP and based on the 1995 system
configurations established in [1]. For the interpretation of
study results, 1 p.u. of TRV or overvoltage presented in the
paper is defined on the base voltage of 449 kV-peak.

2. TRVs ACROSS LINE CIRCUIT BREAKERS.

It is well known that the addition of series-capacitor banks on
transmission line will substantially increase the TRVs across
line circuit breakers due to the presence of trapped charges on
2
series-capacitor banks at the time of line trip [2]. Moreover,
high temporary overvoltages on long radial transmission lines
in case of total load rejection will result in severe TRV
stresses on line breakers during out-of-phase and unloaded
line interruptions. Therefore, TRV stresses on the 500 kV
circuit breakers were analyzed for the following interruption
conditions :

2.1 TRVs caused by fault clearings. To determine the worst
TRV stresses on the 500 kV line breakers, the following
parameters have been evaluated :

Both light and full load system configurations.
Four types of faults : phase-to-ground (p-g), phase-to-
phase ungrounded (p-p), phase-to-phase-to-ground
(p-p-g) and three-phase-to-ground (3p-g).
Five fault locations from 1 to 5 along the line section.
Random fault applications and clearings.


Fig. 2: Simulation of TRV on Pleiku-Phu Lam line CBs.

Study results for the Pleiku-Phu Lam line section as presented
in Fig. 2 have shown that TRVs for the light load system are
less severe than for the full load system. This confirms the
effect of trapped charges on series-capacitor banks in the
increasing of TRVs as mentioned earlier. For other line
sections, only the full load system configurations were
analyzed. This will give more conservative results. The most
severe TRVs are caused by 3p-g or p-p faults. The worst
TRVs are listed in the Table-1 for any combination of fault
types and locations :

Line section North line end South line end
Hoa Binh-Ha Tinh 2.7 2.4
Ha Tinh-Da Nang 3.0 2.6
Da Nang-Pleiku 2.9 2.5
Pleiku-Phu Lam 3.1 2.5
Table-1: Maximum TRV levels (in p.u. based on 449 kV-peak)

Fig. 3 illustrates a waveform of TRV caused by a 3p-g fault.
Fig. 3: TRV on the Pleiku-South CB during a 3p-g fault at 5.

2.2 TRVs during unloaded line openings under overvoltage
conditions. For the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection, the
separation of the network at Phu Lam will create important
temporary overvoltages of which the duration must be limited
by remote tripping of the Da Nang and Pleiku line breakers.
These remotely controlled trips require to have the concerned
breakers capable of withstanding the worst TRVs associated
with the unloaded line openings under overvoltage conditions.
The simulation of unloaded line interruptions at Da Nang and
Pleiku subsequent to a network separation at Phu Lam was
performed on both light and full load system configurations.
The results obtained show that the worst TRVs will lie
between 2.9 and 3.5 p.u. for the various conditions evaluated.
There is no significant difference between the Da Nang and
Pleiku TRV levels. Fig. 4 shows the waveform of the Pleiku
TRV during unloaded line opening subsequent to a system
separation at Phu Lam.

Fig. 4: TRV on Pleiku CB during unloaded line opening
subsequent to the system separation at Phu Lam.

2.3 TRVs associated to out-of-phase interruptions. Two
methods are proposed to energize the 500 kV interconnection.
The first one [1] recommends the energizing of Hoa Binh-to-
Phu Lam sections followed by a synchronizing at Phu Lam.
The second method [3] rather suggests a synchronizing at Da
Nang preceded by the energizing of Hoa Binh-to-Da Nang
sections and Phu Lam-to-Da Nang sections. During a false
synchronizing operation, there could be a situation where
both parts of the system have opposite phasing at the time that
the breaker is closed or tripped. Simulations were performed
to determine the TRVs under these conditions according to
both energizing methods previously mentioned. The results
show a maximum TRV of 2.9 p.u. in both cases. Fig. 5
illustrates the TRV on the Da Nang CB during out-of-phase
interruption.

Fig. 5: TRV on the Da Nang CB during out-of-phase interruption.

The high TRVs present on the Vietnamese North-South
500 kV interconnection can be explained by two main factors:
the series-capacitor banks with their trapped charges
considerably increase the TRVs and the particular system
configuration which features a very long single line that will
promote the creation of overvoltages each time a breaker is
tripped. These high TRV conditions are not unusual events
and there is no simple and efficient solution to reduce these
TRVs to acceptable level for any system operating condition.
Therefore, following this study and according to an
agreement between MG-SE and the Vietnamese Authority, it
was decided to install the 500 kV circuit breakers having four
interrupting chambers to withstand the worst TRV conditions
3
on the North-South series compensated 500kV inter-
connection.

3. TEMPORARY AND SWITCHING
OVERVOLTAGES.

Important transient and temporary overvoltages can occur on
long radial AC transmission lines in case of total load
shedding. The use of single-phase tripping and auto-reclosing
technique to maintain the system stability following spurious
single phase faults can also produce high transient
overvoltages should this scheme not operate properly.
Temporary and switching overvoltages on the Hoa Binh-Phu
Lam 500 kV interconnection were analyzed for the following
events :

System separation.
Faulty operation of SPAR systems.
Energizing of a line section with single phase fault at the
open end.
Line energizing.
Transformer energizing.

3.1 System Separation. The particular configuration of Hoa
Binh - Phu Lam interconnection which features a very long
single line subjects to network separation by the tripping of a
single line breaker, either accidentally or by the system
protection. The study has covered 7 possible separation
locations along the interconnection as illustrated in Fig. 6.


Fig. 6: Separation possibilities along the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam line.

a) System separations at the locations 1 and 7. Under the
condition of power transfer from Hoa Binh to Phu Lam, a
system separation at the location 1 leaving the unloaded auto-
transformers connected on the lightly loaded long 500 kV
Hoa Binh-Phu Lam line will generate high magnitude and
extended low frequency oscillation superimposed to the
fundamental frequency voltages along the line as shown in
Fig. 7. Similar overvoltage condition would be observed for a
system separation at the location 7 in case of power transfer
from Phu Lam to Hoa Binh. In order to avoid dangerous
conditions associated with extended oscillation voltages, it is
strongly suggested to initiate a fast shutdown of the auto-
transformers at Phu Lam or Hoa Binh by tripping the 220 kV
as well as the 500 kV breakers following a system separation
at the location 1 or 7.

Fig. 7: Overvoltages caused by a system separation at the loc. 1

b) System separations at the locations from 2 to 6. The
temporary overvoltages followed the system separations at
the locations from 2 to 6 are caused by the Ferranti effect of
the lightly loaded line sections that are still connected to the
source side of the interconnection. Therefore, in the case of
power transfer from Hoa Binh to Phu Lam, the highest
overvoltage is observed during the system separation at the
location 2. On contrary, under the condition of power transfer
from Phu Lam to Hoa Binh, the system separation at the
location 6 would generate the worst overvoltage condition.
The network separations at the locations from 2 to 6 along the
interconnection were simulated for both light and full load
system configurations. The presence or absence of a fault
prior to the separation has also been analyzed. Furthermore,
the isolation of the Da Nang local grid from the 500 kV
system as well as the outage of one shunt reactor along the
interconnection have also been considered. Simulation results
reveal that the temporary overvoltages for the light load
system are more severe than for the full load system. The
presence of a fault prior to the separation increases the
transient overvoltage level immediately followed the network
separation.
The worst overvoltage condition for a power transfer from
Hoa Binh to Phu Lam results from a separation at the location
2 on the light load system in which one shunt reactor at Pleiku
is out of service and the Da Nang local grid is isolated from
the 500 kV system. As illustrated in Fig. 8, important
temporary overvoltages of 1.95 p.u. appear following the
system separation. These overvoltages will impose very
severe stresses on the 500 kV equipment such as: 468 kV
system surge arresters, shunt reactors, power transformers and
other internally insulated equipment. Therefore, protective
measures to quickly limit the duration of those overvoltages
are required.

Fig. 8 : The worst temporary overvoltages at Phu Lam followed a
system separation at the location 2.

c) Remote transfer tripping and overvoltage protection
schemes. As mentioned earlier overvoltages following a
system separation are caused by the Ferranti effect of the line
sections that are still connected to the source side. Fast
removal of these line sections will reduce the magnitude as
well as the duration of these overvoltages. The two following
protection schemes have been suggested :

Initiate the remote transfer tripping of the Da Nang-
Pleiku and Pleiku-Phu Lam line sections at both ends
when one of the line breakers at Pleiku or Phu Lam
receives a three phase trip order. This remote transfer
tripping scheme could also be applied for the Da Nang-
Ha Tinh and Ha Tinh-Hoa Binh line sections to cover the
case of power transfer from Phu Lam to Hoa Binh as
illustrated in Fig. 9
4
Implement an overvoltage protection in every 500 kV
substation to limit the overvoltage maximum duration.




Fig. 9: Remote transfer tripping scheme for the Hoa Binh-Phu
Lam interconnection.

The worst case of overvoltages following a system separation
at the location 2 has been tested to verify the efficiency of the
remote transfer tripping scheme up to Da Nang substation.

a) Overvoltages at Phu Lam

b) Overvoltages at Pleiku

c) Overvoltages at Da Nang.

Fig. 10: Effect of remote transfer tripping up to Da Nang on
overvoltages following a system separation at the location 2.

It can be seen in Fig. 10 that the overvoltages at Phu Lam,
Pleiku and Da Nang following a system separation at the
location 2 were rapidly reduced once the remote tripping
completed. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 11, maximum energy
stress in the 468 kV system surge arrester is 5.5 MJ.
Furthermore, it has also been suggested to implement
overvoltage protection in every 500 kV substation in order to
limit the overvoltage maximum duration following a system
separation.

Fig. 11: System separation at the location 2 - Energy stresses in
468-kV surge arresters at Phu Lam, Pleiku and Da Nang.

3.2 Faulty operation of SPAR systems. The use of single
phase tripping and reclosing technique to improve the system
stability following a spurious single phase fault might
produce transient and temporary overvoltages should this
scheme not operate properly. Overvoltages can occur under
the following conditions :

a) Single phase faulty reclosing at one line end. When a line
phase is tripped followed a spurious single phase fault, the
load current will cease to flow in that phase. The situation of
faulty reclosing at one line end is similar to the network
separation previously analyzed; here however, this is a line
single phase separation as shown in Fig. 12-a.

a) Single phase separation during tripping/reclosing sequences.

b)Overvoltage at Phu Lam open end when reclosing at Pleiku.
c) Overvoltage at Pleiku open end when reclosing at Phu Lam.

Fig. 12: Overvoltages caused by single phase reclosing at one line
end only.

On the upstream sections (source side), the Ferranti effect on
the open phase will generate overvoltages, and the reclosing
on this side of the network will make the situation worse as
illustrated in Fig. 12-b since the reclosed section susceptance
is added on the open phase. However, on the downstream
sections (load side), the open phase is still connected to the
load grid, and recorded overvoltages when reclosing on this
side are usually smaller as seen in Fig. 12-c.

5
b) Single phase false tripping at one line end. A false
operation of a single phase trip system can produce an
opening of the line phase without having a fault. This
situation produces the overvoltages similar to the line single
phase separation previously described. The maximum
overvoltage reach 1.6 p.u. upon a breaker pole false trip at
Phu Lam as illustrated in Fig. 13.



Fig. 13: Overvoltage caused by a single phase false trip at
Phu Lam.

c) Remedy measures. Generally, overvoltages caused by
faulty operation of SPAR systems are less severe than those
in system separation. However, these overvoltages will last as
long as the line phase stays open at one end due to a stuck
breaker pole or a failure of SPAR system. Therefore, the
following measures have been suggested to limit the
magnitude and duration of overvoltages :

To limit the reclosing overvoltage magnitude, it was
suggested to apply the sequential SPAR systems that
allow to reclose the load side line end before the source
side line end.
To control the maximum overvoltage duration in each
line phase, it was suggested that the overvoltage
measurement for overvoltage protection in each
substation must be performed on single phase basis.
It was also suggested to implement a line backup
protection feature which could detect the condition one
phase open at only one line end and initiate a three phase
tripping of the line at both end.

3.3 Energizing of a line section with a single phase fault at
the open end. High transient and temporary overvoltages can
appear on the healthy phases when energizing a line section
with a permanent single phase fault applied to the open end.
Overvoltage conditions were analyzed according to both
methods of 500 kV line energizing: first according to [1], the
energizing from Hoa Binh to Phu Lam followed by the
synchronizing at Phu Lam and second, as proposed by [3], the
synchronizing at Da Nang after energizing the Hoa Binh-to-
Da Nang and Phu Lam-to-Da Nang sections. The highest
temporary overvoltage of 1.70 p.u. were recorded in Fig. 14
when energizing the Pleiku-Phu Lam section with a single
phase fault applied at Phu Lam open end. However, the
maximum overvoltage recorded for the energizing of the Ha
Tinh-Da Nang section with a single phase fault applied at the
Da Nang open end only reaches 1.30 p.u.

Fig. 14: Overvoltages at Phu Lam when energizing the Pleiku-Phu
Lam line with a single phase fault applied at Phu Lam

Therefore, in order to minimize the overvoltage stresses to
equipment when energizing the interconnection the following
measures were suggested :

Disable the SPAR systems on the four line section when
energizing the interconnection. This measure allows to
prevent reclosing on a permanent fault when energizing
the interconnection.
Apply the method proposed by [3], i.e. the synchronizing
at Da Nang after energizing the Hoa Binh-to-Da Nang
and Phu Lam-to-Da Nang sections, for energizing the
Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection.

3.4 Line energizing. The 500 kV line CBs installed on the
Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection were equipped with
closing resistors. They have the following characteristics:
1000 for the Pleiku - Phu Lam section, 600 for the other
three sections. The specified insertion time of these closing
resistors was 10 2 ms. To assess the performances of these
closing resistors, switching overvoltages caused by line
energizing were analyzed according to both methods of 500
kV line energizing previously described [1], [3].

a) Line energizing from Hoa Binh to Phu Lam as proposed
by [1]. The maximum switching overvoltage of 1.55 p.u. was
recorded when energizing the Pleiku-Phu Lam section as
illustrated in Fig. 15.

Fig. 15: Switching overvoltage at Phu Lam when energizing the
Pleiku-Phu Lam section with 1000 - 10 2 ms closing resistor

On these wave shapes, the beat around 10 Hz are
superimposed to the fundamental frequency voltage.

Fig. 16: System impedance seen at Pleiku once energized from
Hoa Binh-to-Phu Lam with 4 to 8 generators at Hoa Binh

6
This condition is originated by the excitation of the first
system impedance pole to approximately 60 Hz during the
line closing at Pleiku as seen in Fig. 16. Due to this low
frequency beat, the short insertion time closing resistors have
only little effect on the overvoltage level.

b) Line energizing from Hoa Binh-to-Da Nang sections and
from Phu Lam-to-Da Nang sections according to [3]. The
maximum overvoltage of 1.40 p.u. was recorded when
energizing the Ha Tinh-Da Nang section as shown in Fig. 17.
The beat phenomena were also observed on the fundamental
frequency voltages. However the beat frequencies are higher
because of shorter lines involved. In this case, the first system
impedance pole seen at Ha Tinh was around 78-82 Hz as
indicated in Fig. 18. Again, due to these low frequency beats,
the short insertion time closing resistors have only little effect
on the overvoltage level.

Fig. 17: Switching overvoltages at Da Nang when energizing the
Ha Tinh-Da Nang section with 600 - 10 2 ms closing resistor

Fig. 18: System impedance seen at Ha Tinh once energized from
Hoa Binh-to-Da Nang with 4 to 8 generators at Hoa Binh

Although the specified closing resistors and their insertion
time were not optimum to damp the natural system
oscillations at the time of line energizing according to both
proposed methods, they were considered acceptable since the
overvoltages involved remain relatively low (1.55 p.u. max.)

3.5 Transformer energizing. Once the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam
line is energized with either one of the above mentioned
methods, the 500-225 kV, 450 MVA transformers will be
progressively energized at Ha Tinh, Da Nang and Pleiku
substations by the 500 kV CBs having the same
characteristics as the 500 kV line breakers. To maximize the
inrush currents, the transformer energizing was performed at
the zero voltage crossing. The residual flux of 75% of rated
flux was set for one of the three transformer phases at the
time of transformer energizing. Simulation results reveal that
the transformer energizing along the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam
interconnection will not generate harmful overvoltages.

4. ENERGY STRESSES ON MOVs.

The series-capacitor banks on the existing Hoa Binh-Phu Lam
500 kV interconnection are protected by MOVs connected in
parallel. This provides the advantage of a reinsertion time
practically instantaneous following a fault thus greatly
improving the system transient stability following a major
disturbance. During a fault, the MOVs limit the maximum
overvoltages across the series-capacitor bank to their
protective level (normally 2-2.5 time the series-capacitor bank
rated peak voltage). Therefore, they must be designed to
absorb the energy associated to such a condition. Once the
fault is cleared, the MOVs cease to conduct and the bank is
somewhat instantaneously reinserted in the circuit.
However, it is not economic to size the MOVs to take care of
the worst possible faults. In extreme cases, it is acceptable to
have the MOVs quickly bypassed by the protective controlled
gap when their energy absorption capacities are likely to be
exceeded. In general, for external faults to the line where the
series capacitors are located, no bypass is allowed except for
very severe faults (multiple faults or excessively long
duration faults). For an internal fault where no fast reclosing
is provided, MOV bypass is acceptable since the line will be
tripped anyway and the series capacitor will be lost.
For the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection, the line must be
quickly reclosed to maintain the system stability following a
spurious single phase internal fault, the fast bypass of the
series capacitors on the faulty phase can be acceptable
provided that these bypasses will help to accelerate the
secondary arc current extinction and ensure a trouble free line
reclosing. In order to establish reasonable design criteria, the
energy stresses on MOVs were evaluated for 4-cycle single-
phase and three-phase faults for the 1995 full load system
configuration as illustrated in Fig. 19.


Fig. 19: Fault locations along the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam
interconnection for the evaluation of energy stresses in MOVs.

Simulation results were summarized in the table-2 indicating
for each series-capacitor bank, the external and internal fault
locations that produce the worst energy absorption conditions
in the MOVs and the worst associated energy levels.


Internal fault

External fault Series-
capacitor bank
Pos. E p-g
(MJ)
E 3p-g
(MJ)
Pos. E p-g
(MJ)
E 3p-g
(MJ)
Hoa Binh (S) 2 32 26 5 3.8 7.4
Ha Tinh (N) 4 3 6 5 4.4 7.6
Ha Tinh (S) 5 4.8 8 8 0.9 2.6
Da Nang (N) 7 1.1 2.1 8 1.2 2.7
Da Nang (S) 8 4.3 3.1 11 1.3 2.2
Pleiku (N) 10 0.9 1.4 11 1.4 2.0
Pleiku (S) 11 2 3.3 9 0.2 0.8
Phu Lam (N) 12 10.8 5.6 13 0.9 0.5
Table-2: Worst energy stresses on MOVs for various fault locations
along the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection.

E p-g : energy in MOVs during phase-to-ground fault.
E 3-pg : energy in MOVs during three-phase-to-ground fault


7
From these simulation results, the following MOV design
criteria have been established for the series-capacitor banks
on the existing Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection
considering the use of SPAR systems on the four line
sections:

Fault location MOV design criteria proposed for the Hoa Binh-
Phu Lam interconnection.







External faults
The most constraining of the two following
events :
Three phase to ground fault of 4 cycle
duration.
The first phase-to-ground fault of 4 cycle
duration (see note 1) followed by 0.5 s dead
time followed by the second phase-to-
ground fault cleared in 12 cycles (backup
protection time delay). The bypass is
allowed only 4 cycle after the initiation of
the second phase-to-ground fault.

(1) It has to be added the energy stresses on
MOVs due to power oscillation.
Internal faults Bypass on single phase basis through external
control signal is allowed when required.

5. ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY ARC CURRENT
EXTINCTION.

In order to improve the system transient stability following a
spurious single phase fault, the SPAR systems were used on
the four 500 kV line sections of the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam
interconnection. The reclosing dead times recommended by
[1] for the four line sections: Hoa Binh-Ha Tinh, Ha Tinh-Da
Nang, Da Nang-Pleiku and Pleiku-Phu Lam are respectively
0.6 s, 0.9 s, 1.0 s and 1.0 s. Therefore, the prime condition of
a successful single phase reclosing is to have the secondary
arc current extinguished on time and the arc canal sufficiently
de-ionized to withstand the reclosing overvoltages.
On the Vietnamese 500 kV series-compensated lines with
shunt reactors connected to the middle between the line
breakers and the series-capacitor banks, the secondary arc
current during single phase reclosing is composed of the
following four components :

A component due to the inter-phase inductive coupling.
A component due to the inter-phase capacitive coupling.
A component due to the series capacitor discharge in the
fault.
A dc component due to the energy trapped in the shunt
reactors at the time when the fault is initiated.

The component resulting from the inter-phase inductive
coupling do not create problems since its magnitude is
generally less than 10 A.
For the four line sections of the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam
interconnection, the magnitudes of the capacitive coupling
components which are given in Table-3, were calculated
assuming perfectly transposed lines according to [4].

Line
section
Hoa Binh -
Ha Tinh
Ha Tinh -
Da Nang
Da Nang -
Pleiku
Pleiku -
Phu Lam
Is (A rms) 53.8 61.0 40.6 77.8
Table-3: Capacitive coupling components of secondary arc
currents.
The recovery voltage, also calculated according to [4], is
43.1 kV rms.
Considering that above 40 Arms, the secondary arc extinction
within 1.0 second is unlikely to take place and that other
components will prolong the arc extinction time as well, it is
necessary to reduce the capacitive coupling components by
adding the reactor neutral circuits. For the four line sections
of the Hoa Binh-Phu Lam interconnection the installed
reactor neutral circuits have the following characteristics :

Neutral reactor Neutral resistor
Line section
Tap no. X () R
DC
()
Hoa Binh - Ha Tinh 2 650 28
Ha Tinh - Da Nang 0 800 33
Da Nang Pleiku 0 800 33
Pleiku Phu Lam 1 550 25
Table-4 : Characteristics of the installed shunt reactor neutral
circuits.

To verify the efficiency of these reactor neutral circuits, the
secondary arc currents on the four line sections have been
analyzed for the 1995 full load system configurations. The
simulation results reveal that in case of no series-capacitor
bypass, the secondary arc currents are of high magnitudes and
dominantly the 5-7 Hz oscillating discharge currents as seen
in Fig. 20. These currents will extend the arc quenching time
and make it difficult to achieve the reclosing dead times
recommended by [1]. Therefore, it will be necessary to
eliminate the series capacitor discharge currents in order to
accelerate the arc quenching process. The best way to do this
is to short the series capacitors at both ends of the faulty
phase by giving single phase closing orders to both bypass
breakers. These closing orders could be initiated by line
protection for single phase fault and must be operate as
quickly as possible within the first time-out periods
(Tbypass). At the instant of series-capacitor bypass the
oscillating discharge currents disappear and the dc
components show up on the secondary arc currents.


Fig. 21: Shunt reactor dc flow paths after series capacitor bypass.

These dc components will dissipate through the arc resistance,
the neutral circuit resistance and the system resistance as
shown in Fig. 21. Simulation results, as illustrated in Fig. 20,
indicate that under the effect of arc resistance, the shunt
reactor dc currents can ultimately cause a maximum delay
Tdc of 200 ms in the creation of the first current zero crossing
and consequently, in the secondary arc maximum extinction
time.

8

a) Capacitor discharge and dc components of secondary arc
current on the Hoa Binh-Ha Tinh line section

b) Capacitor discharge and dc components of secondary arc
current on the Ha Tinh-Da Nang line section

c) Capacitor discharge and dc components of secondary arc
current on the Da Nang-Pleiku line section

d) Capacitor discharge and dc components of secondary arc
current on the Pleiku-Phu Lam line section

Fig. 20: Capacitor discharge and dc components of secondary arc
currents on the four 500 kV line sections

Once the major components of secondary arc current are
eliminated and damped out, the remaining arc current
components are associated with inductive and residual
capacitive couplings. These residual arc currents have to be
quenched before the line reclosing takes place. The test data
gathered in [5] were used to predict the residual arc quenching
time Tarc in function of the product of the residual arc current
by prospective recovery voltage (Is x Vs) for the four line
sections. Furthermore, assuming a time delay Tdielectric of
100 ms for the arc path dielectric regeneration, the total dead
time for secondary arc current extinction should be :

Tdead-time = Tbypass + Tdc + Tarc + Tdielectric (1)

Various dead time components for the four line sections were
given in the Table-5.

Table-5: Residual arc current and various dead time components
estimated for the four line sections
Line
section
Is
Arms
Vs
kV rms
Tarc
ms*
Tdc
ms
Tdielectric
ms
Tbypass**
ms
HB-HT 17.8 35.4 200 200 100 100
HT-DN 28.3 35.4 470 200 100 130
DN-PK 18.4 43.1 320 200 100 380
PK-PL 25.0 30.0 270 200 100 430
(*) estimated residual arc quenching time in function of
Is x Vs [5]
(**) maximum allowable for series capacitor bypass time to
meet the total dead time recommended by [1].

From these results, the reclosing dead time of 0.6 s, 0.9 s, 1. s
and 1. s. respectively recommended by [1] for the four line
sections: Hoa Binh-Ha Tinh, Ha Tinh-Da Nang, Da Nang-
Pleiku and Pleiku-Phu Lam are achievable with the installed
reactor neutral circuits and the application of fast bypass
actions to the series capacitors at both end of the faulty phase.
However for the Hoa Binh-Ha Tinh line section, the series
capacitors bypass should be completed within the first 100 ms
of the time-out.

6. CONCLUSIONS.

Extensive electromagnetic transient study has been performed
for the design of the existing North-South series-compensated
500 kV interconnection in Vietnam. From these study results
the following main conclusions could be drawn :

The 500 kV circuit breakers are subjected to severe TRV
conditions of very long series-compensated single line
that promote the creation of high transient overvoltages
each time a breaker is tripped.
Transient and temporary overvoltages in the North-South
500 kV system in case of total load rejection can be
efficiently controlled by using the remote transfer
tripping and overvoltage protection schemes.
The reclosing dead times recommended by [1] to
maintain the system stability following a spurious single
phase fault are achievable with the installed shunt
reactor neutral circuits and the application of fast bypass
actions to the series capacitors at both ends of the faulty
phase.

REFERENCES.

[1] Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. Tokyo Japan, North-South 500 kV
Transmission System Project - Technical Report, September
1992.
[2] B. Khodabakhchian and al., TRV and the Non-zero
Crossing Phenomenon in Hydro-Quebecs Projected 735 kV
Series-Compensated System, CIGR Paris 1992.
[3] Pacific Power International - SECV International, North-
South 500 kV Transmission Line Project - System Studies
parts A and B, December 1992.
[4] N. Knudsen, Single Phase Switching of Transmission
Lines Using Reactors for Extinction of the Secondary Arc,
CIGR report no. 310, Session 1962.
[5] D. E. Perry et al., tude et valuation du R-
enclenchement Monophas dans les Rseau Ultra Haute
Tension des tats-Unis, rapport 39-08 de la CIGR Session
1984.