United States Patent (113,624,450 72 Inventor Howard W
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United States Patent (113,624,450 72 Inventor Howard W. Graybill Greensburg, Pa. 56) References Cited 21 ) Appl. No. 31,589 UNITED STATES PATENTS 22) Filed Apr. 24, 1970 2,915,674 12/1959 Kalb............................. 315/36 45) Patented Nov.30, 1971 3,348,00l 10/1967 Upton.... 174/28 73 Assignee I-T-E Imperial Corporation 3,469,146 9/1969 Harder......................... 317/61 Philadelphia, Pa. Primary Examiner-J. D. Miller Assistant Examiner-Harvey Fendelman 54 METALENCLOSED GASNSULATED LIGHTNNG Attorney-Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen ARRESTER 4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs. ABSTRACT: Sealing rings hermetically seal the opposite (52) U.S. Cl........................................................ 317/62, ends of a metal enclosed arrester housing to prevent leakage 35/36 of pressurized, high dielectric gas inside the arrester, and a 51 ) int. Cli........................................................ H02h 1104 frangible diaphragm is included to permit exhaust of hot gases 50 Field of Search............................................ 337/34; into the atmosphere rather than into the pressurized gas sur 317/62, 6; 315/36; 313/DIG. 5; 174/28, 2 rounding the unit. PATENTED NOY 30 1971 3 S24,450 SHEET 2 OF 2 3,624,450 2 METALENCLOSED GAS INSULATEDLIGHTNING ARRESTER units are employed to limit voltage surges entering the substa This invention relates to a high-voltage lightning arrester tion on incoming lines, caused either by lightning impulses or mounted in a grounded metal enclosure, with a pressurized by switching operations from circuit breaker or disconnecting gas filling the space between the arrester and the enclosure so switch use. If these voltage surges are not in some way limited as to permit use of a smaller enclosure than would otherwise by lightning arresters or like units, the high voltages produced be required if such space were filled with air at atmospheric may lead to a puncture in the solid insulation of transformers pressure. cooperating therewith. As will be appreciated, such punctures cause prolonged outage, at least until the apparatus can be Compressed-gas insulated conductors are normally com repaired. prised of metal enclosed high-voltage electrical conductors in O which a metallic conductor, generally tubular and of a first While a simple spark gap device, which is short enough to diameter, is centrally supported within a grounded metal tube flashover from the live electrode to the ground electrode, may of larger diameter by means of a solid disc or cone-shaped in protect such apparatus from high-voltage surge, such a device sulator. The metallic inner conductor is insulated from the en is not entirely satisfactory since it will continue to arc until the closure tube by means of a compressed gas such as sulfurhex 15 power frequency voltage is removed by the opening of a cir afluroide (SF) having a high dielectric characteristic. Such cuit breaker. That is, a brief power termination is necessary in electrical conductors may be used as buses in electrical subs order to interrupt the ground fault current that follows the tations, or generating stations, or for transmission of electrical sparkover of such a unit. Known lightning arresters, on the power over either short, intermediate or long distances. These other hand, sparkover whenever abnormally high voltages are metal-enclosed high-voltage electrical conductors may be bu 20 present, but clear the ground fault current as soon as the volt ried underground or supported at some convenient height age returns to its normal power frequency level. Voltage above ground. surges, can thus be discharged to ground without the spark The principal advantage of compressed-gas insulated buses gap needed for temporary interruption of normal electric ser in a transmission system, as compared with conventional open Vice. buses, is a tremendous reduction in the space requirements 25 In prior metal enclosed gas-insulated substations, the need which such multiphase bus systems occupy. Whereas extra for voltage surge protection either has been completely high-voltage (EHV) buses of open construction in air nor ignored, treated by the use of the simple spark gap arrange mally require ground clearances of 8 to 15 feet and phase ment described above, or treated by the use of lightning ar spacings of 15 to 25 feet, buses of the metal-enclosed com resters mounted outside the metal enclosed gas-insulated por pressed-gas type, can be provided with ground clearances of 30 tion of the substation. In this latter arrangement, high-voltage as little as 4 to 10 inches and phase spacings of as little as 24 to cables have been used in open connection from an entrance 42 inches for the same voltage rating. In addition thereto, the bushing to the arrester unit. compressed-gas insulated bus having a grounded metal enclo sure for each phase offers greater reliability and safety as com In attempting to apply the compressed insulating gas pared with conventional, open EHV conductors. 35 technology of the metalclad substation to lightning arrester Along with the increasing interest in gas insulated transmis devices, it has been found that the pressurized gas has a ten sion system, there has been an increasing recognition that dency to leak into the arrester unit. Such leakage of a high many types of electrical apparatus can be employed in such dielectric strength gas has been noted to double to triple the metal enclosed, gas-insulated substations. Thus, circuit spark over voltage of the arrester (where SFs was employed), breakers, bus and disconnect switches, potential transformers, 40 to render the arrester inoperable. cable terminations and coupling capacitor potential devices A second problem is that with very heavy or repeated surges have also been envisioned as being enclosed in the grounded in any lightning arrester, there very definitely exists a buildup metal enclosures. By filling the space between energized parts of pressure inside the arrester which could lead to an explo and their grounded metal enclosures with a compressed insu sion of its housing if no venting means were provided. lating gas such as SFs, the ground clearance for such enclo 45 It is a primary object of the present invention, therefore, to sures can also be reduced to one-tenth or less than the provide a lightning arrester construction which is completely distance required in open air, because of the increased dielec enclosed in a grounded metal housing, with the spacing tric strength. As a result, substations can be made more com between the body of the arrester and the housing filled with a pact, control trenches and wiring can be made shorter and less compressed insulating gas. costly, and the savings in land required can be substantial. 50 It is another object of the invention to provide such a lightn Metalclad equipment of this type may additionally permit a ing arrester with adequate sealing between the interior of the substation to be brought closer to the load center, to result in arrester body and the surrounding insulating gas to reduce appreciable cost savings in subtransmission, particularly leakage of such gas into the arrester so as to avoid variation in where cable circuits are required. Where appearance is impor 55 its rated sparkover voltage. tant, the metalclad unit can be built with a much lower profile It is a further object of the invention to provide a frangible (to be more easily screened), and such metalclad construction diaphragm within such a lightning arrester so as to permit the becomes very highly desirable where zoning requirements exhaust of hot gases from the unit into the atmosphere rather establish the need for a physical building for the substation. than into the compressed insulating gas surrounding the ar In addition to the savings in land area, metal enclosed subs 60 rester unit. tations can have other important advantages over conven These and other objects of the invention will become more tional open air constructions. By having all high-voltage parts clearly understandable from a consideration of the following enclosed in the grounded metal enclosures, for example, the description taken in connection with the accompanying draw possibility of electrical shock to operating personnel in the ing in which: area is eliminated. Similarly, since the high-voltage electrical 65 FIGS. 1 and 2 show the lightning arrester of the present in insulation spacers are enclosed, and surrounded by dry, sub vention in a preferred embodiment as it might be used in a 345 stantially dust-free noncorrosive gas, the possibility of insula kv. metalclad substation environment. tion flashover due to accumulation of dirt and moisture on the Using metalclad substation design as compared to open bus surface of the insulators is removed. Outages due to insulation design for systems which operate at extra high-voltage ratings flashovers because of fog or other high precipitation at 70 is expected to yield an eight to one reduction in overall site mospheres are thus eliminated. requirement for the full station (50,000 square feet as com In order to increase the benefits which follow from the use pared to 410,000 square feet), with further reductions in site of metal enclosed substations, it would be desirable to also in requirements believed to be obtainable as operating ex clude the lightning arrester in a metal housing similarly filled perience is gained and additional refinements in design ef with the compressed insulating gas. As is well known, these 75 fected. 3,624,450 3 4 DESCRIPTION OF THE LIGHTNING ARRESTER OF with the SFa gas and surrounds the arrester 10 to insulate its FIGS. AND 2 housing from the enclosure walls 20. The lightning arrester of the present invention is indicated Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novel invention, many variations and modifications will by the reference notation 10, with its construction being now be apparent to those skilled in the art.