Alstom Grid | Services

Circuit breaker lifecycle management

GRID

Circuit breaker services

A COMPLETE RANGE OF SOLUTIONS
In today's complex environment, energy players face growing demands to improve energy efficiency while
reducing costs. Energy shortages and increased ecological awareness have resulted in great expectations for
grid stability and reliability. Utilities and industries need to find eco-efficient solutions to maintain secure, safe
and uninterrupted operations. Circuit Breakers automatically protect installations against phase-to-phase short
circuits as well as phase-to-earth short circuits.
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Combining the expertise of a global manufacturer with local proximity centres, Alstom Grid is the best partner
for High Voltage products asset management all along the circuit breaker's lifecycle. With more than 60 years
of worldwide experience dedicated to live tank, dead tank and generator circuit breakers on legacy products,
we provide customers with a full range of services on the three different types of insulating technologies:
minimum oil, air blast and SF6 circuit breakers.
Based on our manufacturing expertise and
time-proven refurbishment experience,
Alstom Grid offers the most cost-effective
and efficient solutions to increase the life
span of your circuit breakers and generator
circuit breakers.
From onsite assessments, periodic inspections, mid-life overhauls through to complete
life-extensions, we can customise the most
appropriate program for your circuit breaker
type, age and ratings.

Investing in quality, innovative equipment

that optimises your electrical structure and
heightens your return-on-investment is
essential.
Once the equipment is purchased, you need
to ensure that it continues to function
optimally throughout its lifetime.

Who better to trust than the

"manufacturer
you purchased
the equipment from
in the first place?

"

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT - p.4

Condition based maintenance
Technical training and competence development
SF6 management

Our technical specialists take care of your

assets and we make sure that all quality and
safety regulations are met and respected.
Our services include:
Network consulting
Erection, commissioning and supervision
Long-term operation and maintenance
contracts
Renovation, modernisation and extension
Maintenance, repair, emergency support
Spare parts and strategic spare parts
management
Technical training and competence
development program
RENOVATION, MODERNISATION & EXTENSION - p.8
Circuit breaker upgrade examples

Make your equipment smarter and

more sustainable based on fieldproven expertise
At Alstom Grid, our mission is to ensure that
your energy network is reliable, efficient and
environmentally-friendly. We leverage the
technical know-how of our equipment design
and manufacturing engineers into customised
service solutions.
An efficient, proactive monitoring system
combined with Alstom Grids expert services
team is the best way to prolong equipment
life. Our condition monitoring services can
drastically reduce the risks of failure. Our
global services teams bring you innovative
technological solutions to keep your circuit
breaker equipment up-to-date, safe, reliable
and efficient. Asset management optimises
your infrastructure performance while keeping
your operating costs under control.
Alstom Grid local services units around the
world are managed by strict quality
management systems and fulfil the
requirements of ISO 9001, environmental
standard ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
LONG TERM MAINTENANCE - p.10
Maintenance recommendations per type of circuit breaker
Outage and maintenance durations

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Circuit breaker models
Alstom Grid is one of the top three circuit breaker suppliers with its live tank, dead tank and compact modules, ranging from
36 kV to 1200 kV. The complete product portfolio can answer any customer need, including power generation with our generator
circuit breakers for installations up to 50 kV - 1500 MW. Alstom Grid offers services for all legacy circuit breakers and third party.

Live tank (LT)

Dead tank (DT)

Live tank circuit breakers benefit from three-pole application and one
interruption chamber arranged in the insulator, which can be either
porcelain or of a composite material. The enclosure that houses the
contacts is energised. Live Tank design includes three main types:
Air: pneumatic mechanism
Oil: Spring or hydraulic mechanism
SF6: Spring or hydraulic mechanisms
Models: FG1, FL, FX, FXT, GL, H, HGF, HPF, HPGE, S1, S2, S4, PK

Dead tank circuit breaker's contact enclosures are not energised and
are connected to the ground grid. The live parts are located in a metal
tank filled with SF6. The gas plays the role of quenching agent as well
as insulation of the live parts.

Generator circuit breaker (GCB)

Compact SF6

Generator circuit breakers for power plants are designed to be

connected directly to the bars linking the generators to the step-up
transformers. They use the proven technique of compressed air or SF6
gas. They are equipped with a fully natural cooling system, ensured by
an external heat exchanger using natural convection phenomena for
SF6 cooling. Generator circuit breaker's design includes two main
types:
Air: pneumatic mechanism
SF6: Spring or hydraulic mechanism
Models: FKG1, FKG2, PKG

Alstom Grid's compact module is named HYpact. This hybrid compact

switchgear assembly is composed of three separate gas tanks with all
switching devices located in the SF6 gas compartment. It offers
optimum interference protection, a highly reliable spring-operated
mechanism and space savings. Different configurations are available
from circuit breaker alone to circuit breaker and disconnectors, voltage
and current transformers.

Models: DT, FK1, FL1, HGF

Models: HYpact

CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

Taking care of your equipment components is essential to keep your assets safe and reliable. Alstom Grid offers
comprehensive services to support you in getting the most of your assets.

Project design

Spare parts management

Whether for new installations or to improve

the efficiency and performance of existing
equipments, Alstom Grid offers an integrated
range of consulting services:
System planning and analysis
Transient stability analysis
Dynamic interaction assessment and
reliability studies
Our network consulting experts allow you to
anticipate future challenges, for a sustainable
network as well as equipment reliability and
performance.

Although some parts have a mainly

supporting role, they are vital for optimal
operation. Any problem associated with any
pieces of equipments can result in damage
or failure of the equipment.

Erection and commissioning

Customer challenge
Circuit breakers have been designed to
optimise the reliability and efficiency of
operating networks. Operators require
efficient solutions to avoid unscheduled
downtime, major failure and the subsequent
penalties.

Alstom Grid solution

Alstom Grid offers complete services to cover
all operation and maintenance needs for their
customers to get the most of their assets and
investment. Based on our manufacturing
experience, Alstom Grid proposes efficient and
customised solutions to increase the life of the
circuit breaker according to the type, age and
ratings.
From network consulting and planning to
operational implementation
From asset diagnostic to condition-based
maintenance
From emergency support to full operation
and maintenance
From training your engineers to customised
competence development programme

Our local teams ensure that the asset is

erected, tested and commissioned according
to our state of the art standards. Our
certification process, based on on job
coaching guarantees the same high level of
quality anywhere the asset is installed.

Maintenance and repair

In order to optimise equipment uptime, Alstom
Grid offers maintenance and repair operations.
Our local teams cover all needs:
From single inspection to long term
operations and maintenance partnership
From emergency support to predictive
maintenances
Maintenance and repair plans must be carried
out by a qualified Field Service Engineer with
the prerequisite technical level. Our local
teams support customers in emergency
repairs, in time-based, predictive and
corrective maintenances. According to the
situations, necessary repairs are conducted.
When a replacement of the current asset is
the best available solution, our specialists can
propose replacement by the very same
equipment. Service teams can also provide
equipment-upgrading solutions to keep assets
up-to-date with the latest technological
benefits.

Alstom Grid proposes strategic spare parts to

avoid risks. It is also necessary because
urgent corrective maintenance is very costly,
due to rush production and transportation
costs. Replacement lead times can
sometimes take months, causing penalties
or loss of revenue. A strategic spare part
stock focuses on main and critical
components, such as hydraulic rams,
interrupting chambers, supporting column,
spring mechanisms...

CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Condition-based maintenance
Transmission equipment constitutes an important capital investment and is critical to network stability. To prolong assets life and
ensure their reliability, Alstom Grid offers condition-based maintenance.

Customer challenge

Stress assessment analysis

Transmission systems and their equipment

have been designed for reliability. Energy
managers require cost-effective applications
and solutions to avoid unscheduled downtime,
major failure and the subsequent penalties.

For SF6 circuit breaker equipped with spring

mechanisms, Alstom Grid has developed a
simple tool to evaluate the stress condition of
the circuit breaker. According to the result, a
maintenance plan can be set, enabling the
switch from time-based maintenance to
condition-based maintenance.
The table below presents stress assessment
analysis and resulting maintenance plan
recommendations.

Alstom Grid solution

Continuous condition monitoring
Alstom Grid has designed monitoring products
to keep a constant watch over assets.
Continuous condition monitoring allows shifting
from a time-based maintenance to a conditionbased maintenance strategy, providing a more
cost effective service while improving capability
to predict and prevent failures. On-line
technology enables remote technical assistance
and diagnosis for better customer support in
the decision making process of operations and
maintenance. Condition monitoring devices
embed capabilities of generating alarms, on
settable thresholds, in absolute value and time
trend.
The monitoring tool records SF6 densities and
other circuit breaker's conditions (speed
recording, trends, coil current...) allowing
predictive analysis for preventive maintenance.

Synchronisation
Alstom Grid designed synchronisation relays
for circuit breaker to increase equipment's
reliability. Synchronising circuit breaker for
some operations such as shunt reactor,
capacitor banks are critical. Overvoltage and
over current generated by these operations
can seriously damage the asset and its
neighbouring equipments. To avoid
overvoltage and over current, and to increase
asset life, service teams study the possibility
of installing a RPH relay on your circuit
breaker. The relay will synchronise the circuit
breaker's operations according to network
voltage, avoiding stress to the substation's
equipments.

Data analysis expertise

Armed with the proper information received
from our installed monitoring tools, we can
provide a full assessment to evaluate the
equipments in real time, define the scope of
maintenance operations and plan actions
for future execution (planning, operations,
repair, replacement). This enables a better
match of intervention teams, spare parts
replacement and special tools
management, saving downtime and costs,
avoiding unexpected situations and
maximising your electrical systems
availability and performance. Alstom Grid
can provide a 24/7 asset management.

l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Technical training and competence development
Training is power To face electrical incidents, operations outages, blackouts, and the costs that go with these, there is one logical
solution: Training. Training has the quickest and the strongest return-on-investment rate when it comes to increasing your
companys personnel competencies and enhancing your current electrical installation performance. Alstom Grid offers over 200
training courses in its 15 Technical Institute centres.

Discover our training offer on www.alstom.com/grid/trainingoffer/

Customer challenge
Expertise on circuit breaker operations and
SF6 handling are key to avoid errors, accidents.

Alstom Grid solution

Alstom Grid Technical Institute offers a full
range of training in electrical grid safety,
operations, maintenance, protection, control
and management. This high-value-added
selection of training courses encompasses all
aspects of electricity, with an offer ranging
from fundamentals to competence
development.

Whether maintenance is carried out by your

company's site personnel or subcontracted,
power service continuity is your remit. Your
electrical installation may already be designed
but in-depth product knowledge is vital.
When it comes to equipment operation and
maintenance, theoretical study is necessary
but not sufficient to optimise site personnel
reactivity. What makes a real difference is the
experience site personnel can gain through
practice, over the years, or... through training.
Technical Institute Centres provide training on
all circuit breakers and condition monitoring
tools.
Standard training courses: Oil circuit
breakers, Air blast circuit breakers, SF6 circuit
breakers, SF6 dead tank circuit breakers,
CAIS AIM Hypact 72,5 kV to 170 kV, SF6 GCB
type FKG1/2, Air blast GCB type PKG, Spring
operating mechanism type FK1/2/3,
Monitoring CBWatch operation,
synchronising relay RPH range operation.

Competence development: a turnkey approach to performance

Needed when...

Competence level is required

"Competence assumption" is not sufficient! e.g.
safety issues and certification

Competence creation is necessary

Growth leads to an important increase in young
or new recruits
Health, Safety and Environment policy
contributes to leading position

Companies have to face competence losses

Massive departure of senior generations
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ANALYSING
Needs analysis
Evaluation quiz

To evaluate trainees'
knowledge level

PREPARING
Course design

e-Learning
Planning

To optimise the course

TEACHING
Teaching
Learning
Application
at site
To learn required skills

QUALIFYING
Evaluation quiz
Knowledge
validation

CERTIFICATION

To check knowledge
acquisition & deliver
competence certificate

To know more....
technical.institute@alstom.com

CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

SF6 management
According to potential environmental, health and safety impacts of SF6 use, Alstom Grid supports its customers in efficiently
managing SF6 and shares its best handling practices for a permanent reduction in SF6 emissions.
For Alstom Grid, the goal is to offer
customers the most economical and simple
solution for the management of SF6 in their
installed park.

SF6 leak detection and repair

Alstom Grid proposes a gas density
monitoring system that detects leaks as soon
as they start and measures the leak rate.
Once a gas leak is detected, gaskets can be
sealed off or exchanged. The Alstom Grid
leak detection and repair service can be
performed on any equipment containing SF6,
including circuit breakers.

Customer challenge
SF6 makes equipments more resistant to the
effects of pollution and climate and more
reliable over the long-term. The resulting size
reduction allows equipment to fit better with
customers' needs in specific environment
constraints. Operators have the responsibility
to efficiently manage SF6 in order to limit
environmental impacts, as well as health and
safety risks.

Decontamination

Alstom Grid offers service solutions for the

customer to better manage SF6. Local experts
can support you in all SF6 operations.

Many overhaul or maintenance operations

involve opening SF6 insulated switchgear.
Clean, dry work conditions are necessary to
accomplish these operations, so the Alstom
Grid services team has designed a mobile
decontamination workshop, which can be
taken to the customers site. Alstom Grid
teams are able to retrofit, maintain, overhaul
or upgrade any gas-insulated equipment in
safe, clean and environmentally friendly
conditions. The mobile workshop is fully
functional on-site within one day. It is
equipped with state-of-the-art devices to
ensure the highest service quality.

SF6 lifecycle management

SF6 recycling

Alstom Grid solution

To ensure circuit breakers function efficiently,

SF6-filled devices need to meet gas pressure
and gas quality standards. Both of these
standards tend to lessen throughout
equipment lifecycles, which ultimately will
compromise reliability.
Alstom Grid proposes services to manage SF6
quality and pressure levels for all Alstom Grid
products and equipments. This offer includes:
A gas pressure check
Topping-up when required
A gas quality check

To perform SF6 recycling, Alstom Grid uses a

mobile recycling cart to proceed with
recuperation and recycling at the customers
site. Gas recovery is performed with state-ofthe-art reclaimers, with a recovery capacity of
1mbar, thus losses are insignificant. Alstom
Grid team manages the whole SF6 recycling
process meaning that gas must be handled
only by trained and certified workers.

l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

RENOVATION, MODERNISATION & EXTENSION

Alstom Grid provides condition assessment of substations including third party Original Equipment
Manufacturers. Based on the situation, services experts offer Renovation, Modernisation and Extension
solutions to improve performance or to resolve some obsolescence issues.
.
Alstom Grid solution

Alstom Grid services experts support the

decision-making process providing the most
cost efficient solution for substation and circuit
breakers renovation, modernisation or
extension based on condition and life
assessment.

Renovation
Alstom Grid offers solutions to expand the life
of ageing equipments by replacing worn circuit
breakers, switches, control and protection.
Services experts conduct for example circuit
breaker mid-life overhauling or GCB forklift
upgrade.

Customer challenge
High Voltage substations are key contributors
of the Grid assets value while they are critical
for Grid reliability and availability. After
decades of operations, Grid operators may
foresee risks of increasing failure rate
according to electrical and environmental
stress. They may also address the needs for
evolving power performance or the needs for
standard or technological enhancement.

Modernisation
Modernisation of equipments is a way of
getting benefits of new design and technology
on equipments already in operation as well as
solutions for obsolescence issues on old
equipments. Alstom Grid provides circuit
breaker modernisation, add-on condition
monitoring system allowing optimised asset
management.

Extension

Increasing electrical ratings such as nominal

current, short-circuit current, breaker
tripping time, protection performances,
nominal power and adding bays in existing
substation are common demands addressed
by the Alstom Grid Engineering team.
Service teams can extend the life of
equipments and their performance.

CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Circuit breaker upgrade examples

CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

LONG TERM MAINTENANCE

Maintenance of assets is critical to achieve reliability of electricity supply and to comply with current regulations.
With the goal of improving efficiencies and downtimes while lowering costs, utilities and industries have to get
the most of their equipments over the long term. We support our customers in their challenges by providing
Long Term Maintenance, a set of tailored expert services executed on a multi-year partnership.
Customer challenge
Lack or absence of maintenance can generate
deterioration or severe failures (Electrical:
hardware failure, coil, relay Mechanical:
peeling, loosening, parts breaking
Dielectrics: leaks, moistures, electric
heating). Energy players need to make
efficient decisions on equipments
management to ensure their reliability and
maximise their long term performance in a
cost-effective way.

Alstom Grid solution

To support customers in the long term,
Alstom Grid offers incremental tailored
maintenance levels to answer customers'
needs.

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CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Air blast circuit breaker

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: PK

(1) Operation counters (mechanical or electrical) record 1 CO cycle (Closing + Opening)

(2) Number of trip operations to be applied to guarantee interrupting capabilities from 30 to 63kA
(3) Recommended yearly inspections for PK circuit breakers, associated with power units or reactors
(4) In case of wearing or air leakage
(5) Replace friction rings and springs of auxiliary switch control device

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CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Minimum oil circuit breaker

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: HPGE, HPF

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CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

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l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Gas live tank circuit breaker with spring mechanism

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: FG1, FXT, GL, S1

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CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Gas live tank circuit breaker with hydraulic mechanism

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: FL, FX

(1)The operation counters (mechanical or electrical) record 1 CO cycle (Closing + Opening)

(2)Number of trip operations to be applied for guaranteed interrupting capabilities from 30 to 63kA
(3)Recommended yearly inspections for PK circuit-breakers, associated with power units or reactors
(4)In case of wearing or air leakage
(5)Replace friction rings and springs of auxiliary switch control device
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l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

N.B.: To safely set up these operations, SF6 gas contained in the poles must be drained and the effective pressure reduced to 0.03 Mpa (20C). The quality of the recovered gas must be
controlled before being reintroduced into the poles. If the quality does not conform, new gas must be used.

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CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Dead tank circuit breaker

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: HGF, DT

(1) One year after commissioning

(2) If none have been performed during the year
(3) Six months after commissioning

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l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Air blast generator circuit breaker with pneumatic mechanism

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: PKG

(1)The operation counters (mechanical or electrical) record 1 CO cycle (Closing + Opening)

(2)Number of trip operations to be applied for guaranteed interrupting capabilities from 30 to 63kA
(3)Recommended yearly inspections for PK circuit-breakers, associated with power units or reactors
(4)In case of wearing or air leakage
(5)Replace friction rings and springs of auxiliary switch control device
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(1) Mechanical and electrical operations are recorded by counters as close or open, not both

CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Gas generator circuit breaker with hydraulic mechanism

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: FKG1

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l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

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l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Gas generator circuit breaker with spring mechanism

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: FKG2

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CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Gas compact circuit breaker

Alstom Grid advises the following maintenance recommendations for circuit breakers' models: HYpact

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l CIRCUIT BREAKER SERVICES

Outage and maintenance durations

Below durations (in man-days) are given for information. The final duration will be determined after site's audit by service experts and according to
the number of field supervisors for maintenance.Maintenance & repair levels: M2 - minor maintenance: basic commissioning tests and replacement
of few parts, every 3-5 years, M3 - partial refurbishment (replacement of some sub-components) and/or advanced testing and analysis, every 8-12
years, M4 - major maintenance/overhaul: refurbishment of complete equipment, every 15 to 25 years.

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ALSTOM Grid Worldwide Contact Centre

www.alstom.com/grid/contactcentre
Tel: +44 (0) 1785 250 070

www.alstom.com