POWERLOGIC

Solutions

Volume 1 Issue 5

In This Issue
we discuss the
solutions to voltage
disturbances caused
by voltage sags and
interruptions

Solutions to Voltage Sags and Interruptions

The Problem
An extrusion plant in Virginia was being
plagued by unexpected disturbances called sags
and interruptions. Lights would blink,
adjustable-speed drives would trip, and molten
polyester would begin to gum up dies and
rollers. Four hours later, workers would return
the line to normal
operation and quality,
only to have the entire
process happen again
when the next storm
cloud appeared. During
the first six months of
1994, the plant suffered
production losses
35 times due to sags
and interruptions.

in July, to measure the voltage disturbances

causing the shutdowns. This meter is able to
capture high-speed waveforms during power
system anomalies. The monitor captured
numerous voltage sag events, several of which
caused shutdowns. One of the first events
recorded (figure 1) exposed a shortcoming in
the plants power quality design.

The plant complained to

the local utility, which
agreed to help determine Figure 1: High-speed waveform, captured during a voltage sag.
the causes of the
numerous disruptions,
and to recommend solutions. In partnership
Key Concepts and Terms
with the electric utility, Square D placed a
A voltage sag is a brief decrease in effective
circuit monitor at the plants service entrance
voltage lasting less than one minute. Sags are
usually caused by faults on the utility system
which occur due to lightning, tree or animal
contact with energized feeders, or equipment
failure (see figure 2). Sags can also occur when
a large motor starts or faults occur inside a
plant. Sags differ from interruptions in that
some effective voltage remains during a sag,
while interruptions cause a complete loss of
voltage (see figure 3). Since both events last
about the same brief time period (usually less

Figure 2: Tree contact with an energized feedera

common source of a fault which causes a voltage sag.

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Solutions
than one second), the two different types of
disturbances are difficult to distinguish without
high-speed monitoring equipment. This is
especially true for deep voltage sags, which may
cause the same effect on plant equipment as
interruptions. Voltage sags and interruptions
due to utility faults vary in duration and
magnitude according to their location on
the power system and the number of phases
they involve.

POWERLOGIC
Solutions is a bimonthly
publication produced by
Square D Companys
Power Management
Operation. Each issue
presents a problem that
might occur in typical
power systems, and
offers guidance on how
to solve it.

Why is it important to distinguish between

sags and interruptions? Customer-side
solutions to voltage sags are usually cheaper
than solutions to
interruptions. Often,
shutdowns due to
sags can be reduced
in number with
equipment costing
much less than
uninterruptible
power supply (UPS)
systems. Ridethrough options
include constantvoltage transformers,
magnetic
synthesizers, and
control
modifications.
Interruptions,
however, may require
UPS, rotary UPS, or
expensive
modifications to the
utility distribution
system.
Voltage sags can
completely shut
down sensitive
process loads. These
unexpected
disruptions can be

extremely costly. Voltage sags affect equipment

used in extrusion processes; silicon wafer
fabrication; data processing; and chemical and
papermaking. Some sags affect only one or two
phases of a three-phase circuit (figure 4).
Depending on whether plant loads are singleor three-phase, and depending on transformer
connections between the load and the fault
location, only a portion of plant equipment
may shut down during sag events.
Interruptions almost always affect all phases
simultaneously.

Figure 3: Voltage sag due to utility fault (top) and interruption due to utility
circuit breaker trip (bottom). Circuit monitors can simultaneously capture up
to 60 cycles of waveform data on all phases.

POWERLOGIC

Solutions
used for setting up
absolute and relative
setpoints are shown
in figures 5 and 6,
respectively (page 4).
Absolute setpoints are
applied when the user
wants to define the
exact value at which
the event is triggered.
Relative setpoints are
Figure 4: Voltage sag affecting primarily one phase of a three-phase circuit.
activated in cases
where the user would
like to allow for large long-term fluctuations in
Measuring Voltage Sags and
voltage without triggering an event, unless the
Interruptions
measured value quickly changes by the percent
specified as the pickup setpoint. This prevents
The high-speed capability of the CM-2350 and
the measured voltage from drifting too near a
higher circuit monitors allows them to capture
trigger threshold and capturing spurious events.
events such as the sag at the extrusion plant.
The circuit monitor can automatically trigger
For example, if a 5% pickup setpoint is used to
an event based on the effective level of any of
trigger a voltage sag event, the effective voltage
the monitored voltage and current inputs.
must change by 5% from a value based on the
When pre-programmed setpoints are exceeded,
measured voltage averaged over about the last
the circuit monitor simultaneously captures a
30 seconds. For further flexibility, the time
snapshot of the instantaneous voltages and
interval for calculating the average voltage
currents on up to seven channels. The capture
can be reduced to about five seconds to make
plots 64 data points per cycle for every channel,
the event triggering even less sensitive to
up to 60 cycles per event.
voltage variations.
The waveform snapshot of the event includes
two to ten cycles of pre-event values, depending
on user preferences. Additionally, the user can
define a log file in which other system
information related to the event can be placed.
For instance, information about system
loading, power factor, voltage imbalance, and
other parameters (at the time of a high-speed
trigger) can be recorded in a log file.
Setpoints for the high-speed event capture are
chosen by the user. The user selects the voltage
or current at which the event capture begins
(pickup value) and ends (dropout value).
These setpoints can be set in two ways: as
absolute values or as relative values. Setup
screens from the System Manager Software

How does the circuit monitor determine that

a sag has occurred? Every half-cycle (0.008
seconds), the circuit monitor compares the
measured value of the previous cycle with the
pickup value specified in the setup screen. If
the measured value drops below the pickup, a
high-speed capture occurs. The circuit monitor
records event type, pickup time, dropout time,
and magnitude of the minimum value during
the event. The event pickup and dropout timestamps have a one-millisecond precision.
Caution: Backup Power Needed
A reliable source of control power is necessary
for the circuit monitor to be able operate
during a power system disturbance. DC control

POWERLOGIC

Solutions
power is preferred. When a reliable source of
control power is not available, a small UPS
costing less than $100 is often used for control
power backup. A circuit monitors load is 14 VA.

Solution
Monitoring at the extrusion plant identified
several improvement areas for the utility. The
event depicted in figure 1 (page 1)
caused the plant engineer to think that
his process may be overly sensitive to
sags. The plant was initially designed
with equipment intended to lessen the
effects of voltage sags. Controls and
sensitive electronics for the dc drives
are supplied from a motor-generator
set. Other microprocessors controlling
the extrusion line are served from a
UPS system.

The plant used the information

provided by the waveform capture
to strengthen the weak link in the
system: the ac drives serving cooling
rollers. Drive engineers used
Figure 5: System Manager Software screen used when setting
the waveforem capture in figure 1 as a
absolute set points. In this example, a waveform capture will
be triggered when line-to-neutral voltage drops below 250V.
basis to change settings on the ac
adjustable-speed drive controls. Each
drive is equipped with a fault board, a
The circuit monitor should be connected in a
sensing and control circuit that detects voltage
way that protects control power from being
anomalies and turns off the drive to protect its
inadvertently lost due to the disturbance you
costly power electronic components. The
wish to capture. If a circuit breaker is being
adjustment reduced the production lines
monitored, for example, connect the control
sensitivity to voltage sags, while maintaining
power to the source side of the circuit
breaker. Then, if the circuit breaker
opens, power to the circuit monitor is
maintained.
Compared to other electronic devices,
the circuit monitor is fairly resistant
to temporary voltage loss. The
monitor can ride through an
interruption lasting up to one-tenth
of a second. A typical electronic
device trips during an interruption of
one-fiftieth of a second. Also, the
nominal input voltage for a circuit
monitor can range from 100 to 264
Vac, allowing a wide variation of
input without control power loss.

Figure 6: System Manager Software screen used when setting

relative set points. Here, a waveform capture will be triggered
when voltage drops below 5% of the nominal value.

POWERLOGIC

Solutions
adequate drive protection. These drives slow
down somewhat during sags, but they do not
trip during mild or short-duration sags. This
improvement has lessened the extrusion line
sensitivity to voltage sags.
Solutions to voltage sags are often less costly
than solutions to interruptions. In either case,
however, both utility system and customer
loads should be considered for improvement.
Often, the best solution to nuisance shutdowns
due to voltage sags is a dual approach:
reduce the number of utility faults
lessen the sensitivity of customer equipment
The two-pronged approach requires a
partnership, between utility and customer,
built on open communication and willingness
to share data and ideas.
On the utility side, solutions to voltage sags
result from reviewing common sources of
faults. One of the most common causes is
incidental tree contact with overhead lines.
Overhead high voltage lines are not insulated
like the wiring in a house. Tree contact,
especially during wet or windy weather, can
permit current flow from the feeder to the
ground, using the tree as a conductor. The
high levels of current result in depressed
voltage (sag) along the entire network until
overcurrent protective devices operate to
interrupt the current flow. Utilities attempt to
keep trees out of lines by cutting limbs that
grow too close, but unusually active tree
growth, or tree-trimming budget cuts which
increase the time between trimmings, can
result in frequent tree limb contact.
Customer solutions to voltage sags can be as
simple as adjusting fault board settings, as the
plant in Virginia discovered. This change did
not eliminate shutdowns, but it reduced their
number by a considerable amount. The next
step is to consider installing constant-voltage
transformers (CVTs) on sensitive control
circuits. CVTs use transformer saturation
characteristics to dampen changes in output

voltage due to sudden decreases or increases in

input voltage. CVTs are too expensive and
bulky for use on large-power loads, but control
circuits are typically less than 1 kilovolt-ampere
(kVA) in capacity. CVTs in this range cost less than
$500.

Conclusion
Voltage sags and interruptions can be costly
forms of power quality disturbances. These
events are caused by faults on the utility
system, or sometimes by normal operation
inside a customer facility. While both
disturbances last less than a second, voltage
sags differ from interruptions in that some
voltage remains during the disturbance.
Interruptions cause a complete loss in voltage.
It is important to distinguish between the two
events because their solution alternatives differ
greatly in cost and complexity. Waveform
capture information is crucial in determining
which event is causing the shutdowns, and in
identifying the causes and analyzing solution
alternatives. Square D circuit monitors with
high-speed waveform capture, and Power
Management Services engineering expertise,
can ensure that sags and interruptions do not
ruin your business.

For More Information

Square D technical bulletin POWERLOGIC
Solutions for Monitoring Voltage
Disturbances describes circuit monitor
capabilities and introduces the CBEMA
curve for displaying sags, swells, and
interruptions. This bulletin (order no.
3000HO9306) is available by calling
(615) 459-8332.

POWERLOGIC

Solutions
Test Your PQ (Power Quotient)

The answers are at the bottom of this page.

1. A load with 80% current THD can produce
less than 5% voltage THD.
2. AC PWM drives can represent less than 20%
of a transformers capacity without exceeding
5% voltage THD.
3. Flickering lights are only caused by voltage
fluctuations of more than about 5%.
4. According to IEEE Standard 1159, sags and
swells can last more than 1 minute.
5. The suggested starting point, when
monitoring for power disturbances, is at
the main service entrance equipment.
6. Harmonic resonance is a potential problem
to be considered before installing power
factor correction capacitors in a facility.
7. The cost for solutions to sag problems is
about the same as the cost for solutions to
interruptions.
8. Control power voltage for the circuit monitor
can range from 100 to 264 volts without
adverse effect on its operation.

3. False; voltage fluctuations as low as 0.5% can cause

perceptible light flicker in some sources (Issue 2, page 2).
4. False; less than 1 minute events lasting more than
1 minute are called undervoltages or overvoltages
(Issue 3, table 1).
5. False; at the machine being affected by the power
quality problems (Issue 3, page 4).
6. True; power factor correction capacitors can cause
increased problems due to resonance (Issue 4, page 5).
7. False; sag solutions usually cost much less than
solutions for interruptions (Issue 5).
8. True (Issue 5).
SQUARE D,

, and POWERLOGIC are Registered Trademarks of Square D Company.

1995 Square D All Rights Reserved

Order No. 3000HO9508

November 1995

10M DL 10/95

About the POWERLOGIC

Engineering Services Group
From hardware and software, to
systems and solutions, the
POWERLOGIC Engineering Services
Group provides full service power
monitoring and control.
SystemsExperienced application engineers integrate hardware,
software, communications, and
reports that allow customers to
monitor important power parameters
from a central workstation.
SolutionsEngineering Services
will also monitor and analyze system
data to solve power quality problems, recommend ways to manage
energy costs, or train customers on
power quality and energy management issues.
For additional information about
POWERLOGIC Engineering Services,
contact Donna Oakley in Smyrna at
(615) 459-8332.

Answers
1. True; the amount of voltage THD is dependent on the
impedance of the system (Issue 1, page 2).
2. True; as a rule of thumb only (remember the caution in
Issue 1, page 3).

The following questions will test your

understanding of the information in the first five
issues of this newsletter. The first six questions
cover information from issues 14. If you
havent received a copy of these issues, call
(615) 459-8332.