The consequence of ignoring load modeling on the circuit breaker selection in densely-meshed sub-transmission systems

Abstract

In this paper, the selection of circuit breakers for a densely-meshed sub-transmission system with relatively short transmission lines is investigated. The results highlight the significance of modeling the load at the end of lines for accurately calculating the transient recovery voltage (TRV) following the short-circuit current interruption. According to IEEE standards, assuming load modeling at the end of the transmission lines can result in a maximum discrepancy of 20 % in the calculated TRV. Supposing that the load modeling leads to a moderating effect on the calculated TRV, the difference is considered as a safety margin, and load modeling is ignored. Nevertheless, the results presented here illustrate that this assumption strongly depends on characteristics of the studied network and the load type. In a network possessing the characteristics outlined in this paper, even a passive load as small as 15 % of the nominal capacity can significantly moderate the calculated TRV, with impacts reaching up to 38 %. Conversely, modeling an active load may result in a more severe TRV than if it were disregarded. The simulation results indicate that for networks with transmission lines longer than 70 km, neglecting to model passive loads on the transmission lines still yields sufficiently accurate calculations of TRV.