{open_quotes}Secure Bus{close_quotes} disturbance-free power at the utility substation level

Conference · Sun Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:414613

Boenig, H J ^[1]; Jones, W H ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
2. El Camino Real Engineering, Inc., Corrales, NM (United States)

Over the last 18 months Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), El Camino Real Engineering, Inc. (CRE), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have worked on the development of disturbance-free power at the medium voltage substation level. The work resulted in the Secure Bus concept, a system in which a medium voltage bus in a substation is immune to power outages and voltage sags on the utility source. The Secure Bus voltage is also immune to voltage sags resulting from faults on any distribution feeder connected to the bus. The Secure Bus concept originated from work conducted to improve power quality for large high-tech manufacturing facilities, in particular for large semiconductor manufacturing plants. For the demands on quality power of a modern facility conventional equipment is not adequate for protecting the end user. For example, the operation of conventional vacuum breakers during short circuit conditions on a feeder circuit, requiring 3 to 5 cycles for breaker opening, does not allow for fast enough current interruption to avoid a voltage dip on the main bus. A sever voltage sag could result in a shut down of sensitive equipment being supplied by the other feeder circuits, which are connected to the main bus. The circumvent the problem, a fast breaker was introduced which interrupts the short circuit before the current causes a significant voltage disturbance. To make the bus immune also to power disturbances caused by power outages, energy storage is introduced to provide the necessary energy back-up in case the primary source is not available.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 414613
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--96-3673; CONF-961025--1; ON: DE97001723
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
ENERGY CONVERSION
EQUIVALENT CIRCUITS
POWER SUPPLIES
POWER TRANSMISSION
RELIABILITY
SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETIC ENERGY STORAGE