Matthew BoyleDiscover the latest innovation in electrical safety with ABB’s addition of touch voltage-based earth-fault protection, also known as IFPTOC in IEC 61850 standards. This cutting-edge technology enhances ABB’s renowned earth fault protection portfolio, ensuring optimal safety and minimal disruption to power networks. By accurately locating faults and estimating touch voltages, this method aligns with safety regulations such as EN 50522 and IEEE 80, reducing the risk of hazardous incidents. According to Ari Wahlroos, Senior Principal Engineer at ABB, extensive research and collaboration have perfected this solution, offering dependable protection under diverse conditions. Notably, Finnish distribution system operator Alva has embraced this advancement for its unparalleled balance between safety and supply quality. Through rigorous field testing in collaboration with Alva, ABB ensures the reliability and effectiveness of this groundbreaking protection method, empowering distribution system operators to enhance electrical safety and continuity.
Award-winning earth-fault protection
Touch voltage-based earth-fault present protection, also known as IFPTOC in IEC 61850, the international standard that establishes communication protocols for intelligent electronic devices in substations, has been added to ABB’s award-winning earth fault protection portfolio.
Customers running charged distribution networks can now take advantage of this new protection method, which is a second in the world, to protect installed assets and human lives with the least possible impact on the quality of the electricity supply and unnecessary power outages.
In the exact fault location, the protection method can determine the fault current and estimate the hazardous touch voltage that results. It introduces a powerful operation delay that is based on the fault location’s calculated fault recent and touch voltage level. In this way, the device can meet the requirements for maximum allowed touch voltages set forth by electric safety codes like EN 50522 or IEEE 80 while avoiding needless supply breaks. As a result, network operations managers can be confident that their network is constantly protected in accordance with the current safety code, perhaps when network topology or fault conditions change. In addition to nbsp, the following are:
According to Ari Wahlroos, Senior Principal Engineer at ABB,”the technology is the result of some years of research and development work and close cooperation with our customers. This special technique guarantees both dependable and perfectly timed protection operation, in accordance with the applicable legislation, under all operating conditions.”
Customers, like Finnish distribution system operator (DSO) Alva, see the ability to have earth-fault protection, which provides the best possible balance between safety and supply quality. Alva now uses ABB’s fresh protection technique because it is the first in the world.
“The new earth-fault protection method IFPTOC continually makes sure that the network’s electronic safety limits are not exceeded.” In order to ensure that we do n’t go beyond the limits of human tolerance, even during faults, IFPTOC calculates and monitors the actual earth-fault current and changes its operating time when the fault is located with trial switchings. This guarantees constant secure network operation, according to Sakari Kauppinen, operations manager at Alva Sähköverkko.
ABB Electrical safety : distribution system operator
At the company’s most recent substation in the city of Jyväskylä, considerable field tests have been conducted in a live environment to determine the reliability of the new protection method in collaboration with Alva. This kind of field test allows for the verification of the proper application of protection in various earth fault scenarios.
DSOs can boldly improve electrical safety and guarantee supply continuity by utilizing the new protection method.
“To ensure that the fresh protection method was functioning as intended, we ran a number of fault situations ahead of time during the field tests.” According to Sakari Kauppinen, the new protection method enables us to gauge the fault present at the location of a fault and verify that the protection function is operating optimally. “In order to increase safety throughout the whole network, we are currently upgrading with better protection technology.”
The all-in-one developed protection relay Relion REX640 is one of several products that use ABB’s fresh protection method.
