ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS IN 400kV

COMPACT SUBSTATIONS
1

M. Albano1*, A. Haddad1, H. Griffiths1, P. Coventry2

High Voltage Energy Systems Group, School of Engineering, Cardiff University, UK
2
National Grid, UK
*Email: albanom@cardiff.ac.uk

Abstract: Due to increasing electricity demand and relocation of generation and load centres,
there is urgent requirement for uprating existing substations to higher voltage levels. However,
existing substation sites have limited land area available and prospects of finding new sites are
very small due to environmental pressures. For these reasons, compaction of substations has come
to the fore in recent years. Although Gas Insulated Substations (GIS) using SF6 gas as an insulator
can fulfil this compaction requirement very easily, the green house effect of the SF6 gas is,
however, undesirable. It is, therefore, timely to consider alternative approaches for substation
compaction using air insulated substations (AIS). In this paper, novel busbar arrangements using
vertical and delta configurations are proposed. The electrical and magnetic fields are investigated
for these configurations and compared with the conventional horizontal busbar arrangement.
Significant land footprint savings can be achieved with the proposed configurations and the field
magnitudes can be managed by appropriate measures.
1.

arrangement offers a geometric configuration easy to

build and to access for maintenance, and it permits
maximum standardization for the support structures.
However, the footprint of the conventional horizontal
arrangement requires a significant area of land,
whereas the proposed busbar arrangements offer a
significant reduction in the footprint of the substation.
In addition to the evaluation of the overvoltage
performance of compact substations, it is important to
ensure that both electric and magnetic fields
magnitudes are within acceptable limits of human
exposure. Therefore, the electric and magnetic fields
generated by the proposed compact busbar
arrangements are calculated in this paper using both inhouse and commercially-available software.

INTRODUCTION

Future electricity demand and the relocation of

generation sites will require new developments at
transmission level and, in particular, an increased
number of HV substations. This demand coupled with
the difficulties for obtaining land for new
developments introduces the challenge of building
new compact 400 kV substations at existing sites that
operate at lower voltages. Presently, the adoption of
Gas Insulated Substations (GIS) permits a significant
reduction in substation footprint. However, the GIS
cannot be the only solution for future compact
substations because of the known green house effect of
SF6. An environmentally-friendly solution is to reduce
the size of transmission substations using air-insulated
designs.
In a previous paper [1], several options for compaction
were investigated. These include the adoption of
minimum clearances according to IEC 60071, taking
advantage of modern overvoltage protective devices
and the use of innovative high voltage equipment such
as the circuit breaker disconnector and non
conventional instrument transformers. It was shown
that it is possible to adopt the lower IEC standard rated
lightning impulse withstand voltage (LIWV) and
standard rated switching impulse withstand voltage
(SIWV) specifications successfully taking advantage of
modern ZnO surge arresters. Consequently, phase-tophase and phase-to-ground clearances can be reduced
from the clearances widely used by UK utilities. The
performance of compact substations under lightning
and switching surges was shown to be comparable with
conventional substations.
Additionally, we propose in this paper novel nonhorizontal bubsbar arrangements, such as delta or
vertical arrangements. The current busbar arrangement
generally adopted in high voltage substations is the
horizontal busbar configuration. The horizontal

2.

OVERVIEW OF SUBSTATION
COMPACTION

The minimum phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground

clearances, widely used by UK utilities in air insulated
substation (AIS), are reported in Table 1. These values
represent the maximum values specified in IEC 60071
for 400kV system voltage.

Table 1: UK current practice and compact clearance

specifications.
LIWV /
SIWV
Current
practice
Compact
solution
Pg. 1

[kV]

Phase-toearth
clearance
[mm]

Phase-toPhase
clearance
[mm]

1425/1050

2850

3600

1050/850

2100

2600
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ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

2.1.

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

IEC minimum clearances

bushings. Therefore, space and installation costs can be

significantly reduced. In comparison with conventional
instrument transformers, fibre-optic transducers have,
in addition to small size and weight, high immunity to
electro-magnetic interference, and require no direct
electrical connection between the sensor head at high
voltage and ground. Other important aspects of this
technology relate to the absence of oil and SF6.
Therefore, there is no risk of explosion compared with
equipment filled with oil. Furthermore, they have no
greenhouse effect since fibre-optic transducers are SF6
free.
Examples of a zero foot print fibre-optic current
sensor installations are described by Rahmation et al.
[3]. The current sensor is suspended at one termination
of a 420kV live tank circuit breaker and the fibre-optic
is installed along a diagonal bushing.
Critical issues are the confidence in this new
technology and the increased installation costs for new
interfaces to metering, control and protection systems.
However, future substations will be equipped with
automatic digital controls for monitoring and remotecontrol operation according to IEC 61850 [4] and,
therefore, the application of the fibre-optic will
increase significantly.
In [1], the overall space reduction using compact AIS
solutions for a 400kV substation was assessed using
the area required by a single switch bay as a parameter
for comparison of different layouts. It was
demonstrated that the application of combinations of
IEC minimum clearances, integrated HV equipment
and non conventional instrument transformers to a
standard 400kV switch-bay can offer a footprint
reduction of up to 52%.

In [1], the performance of an existing substation and a

proposed compact substation design under lightning
and switching surges was investigated. The compact
substation model was developed from the existing
substation with the adoption of reduced impulse
withstand voltages and reduced clearances, as shown in
the second row of Table 1, in accordance with
specified IEC minimum values for this voltage level.
The simulation results confirmed the feasibility of a
compact layout with a reduced LIWV/SIWV although
there is a low margin for the compact arrangements.
For this reason, the number and locations of required
surge arresters may differ significantly than those
considered traditionally within the substation. Further
overvoltage reduction methods should be considered,
such as point-of-wave controlled circuit breakers for
shunt capacitor banks and harmonic filters.
2.2.

Innovative high voltage equipment

The combination of compact clearances and innovative

high voltage equipment has permitted a further
significant reduction of substation footprint. A review
of compact HV substation technology, proposed by
manufacturers, has been carried out, and a number of
compact solutions have been identified.
One of the most interesting new items of plant is a
disconnecting circuit breaker (DCB) that combines a
disconnector and a circuit breaker, where the
disconnector is contained within the SF6 chamber and
fulfils all the requirements for a circuit-breaker as well
as for a disconnector. The DCB can also be equipped
with an integrated earthing switch. The failure and
maintenance rate of this SF6 disconnecting circuit
breaker is estimated to be significantly lower compared
with older technologies [2]. However, adoption of
DCBs in a double bubsbar layout requires additional
conventional disconnectors in order to achieve the
required operational flexibility. Without the use of
additional isolators, the individual circuit is
permanently allocated to one busbar. This infringes
current UK practice which allows all loads to be fed
from only one busbar with the second busbar having no
more than one bay under maintenance.
2.3.

3.

PROPOSED NOVEL NON HORIZONTAL

BUSBAR ARRANGEMENTS

In order to achieve further ground area reduction, other

solutions need to be considered. In this paper, new
alternative geometric configurations are proposed;
these are vertical and delta busbar arrangements. The
new layouts combined with IEC60071 minimum
phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground clearances offer a
significant reduction in the substation footprint.
Figure 1 and Table 2 show the busbar centres for a
horizontal busbar layout adopting clearances according
to current practice (Hp), and three proposed compact
layouts using IEC 60071 minimum clearances, a
compact horizontal arrangement (Hc), a compact delta
arrangement (Dc) and a compact vertical arrangement
(Vc).
Taking into account only the busbars, the physical
width of the vertical system is only 1.14m, (1.0m
horizontal distance between the busbar axes plus the
busbar diameter of 0.14m). Therefore, the full bay
width, taking into account the minimum phase-toground clearances on both lateral spaces, is equal to
5.34m, significantly smaller than conventional bay,
usually over 17m in width.

Non conventional instrument transformers

Another significant area of the substation is occupied

by conventional high voltage instrument transformers.
A significant reduction in substation footprint may not
be realisable using conventional wound CTs and VTs.
Non-conventional instrument transformers such as
Rogowski coils and capacitive voltage dividers
combined with optical link systems may offer compact
solutions without compromising accuracy.
In particular, developments in fibre-optic transducers
offer opportunities for application in HV substations
due to their small size and weight compared with other
solutions. For these reasons, the new devices can be
installed and integrated into circuit breakers and
Pg. 2

Paper B-11

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

For a double busbar arrangement, the proposed

symmetrical arrangement, as shown in Figure 3, has a
clear advantage for footprint optimisation.

The configuration of the proposed vertical busbar

arrangement is shown in Figure 2. The centres of the
three axes are not vertically aligned to avoid problems
related to conductive paths under heavy rain. The
proposed vertical arrangement takes into account two
insulators for each busbar. An extra insulator is added
for mechanical strength. In order to reduce the number
of vertical supports, it is proposed to adopt the
maximum distance between them.
It is estimated that a single insulator configuration
could not offer sufficient strength to support the
busbars, mainly during short circuit. Further
investigations are required to establish the optimal
position and number of insulators.

5.34m
Main Busbar

5.34m
Reserve Busbar

14

Compact

Delta

10

Y-axis [m]

Figure 3: Proposed symmetrical arrangement for a

double vertical busbar arrangement.

Compact Vert.

12

Conventional

Another possible compaction solution is through a

delta busbar arrangement, as shown in Figure 4. One
option for this arrangement requires placing two
busbars at a higher height and a structure to support
them. This solution offers a reduced bay width in
comparison with a horizontal layout and a reduced
overall height of the busbars in comparison with the
proposed vertical arrangement. This solution can be
very useful to reduce the visual impact of the support
structures
in
the
substation.
Current
UK
recommendation for maximum height at new sites is
set at 12.5m. In contrast to the above configuration, the
alternative arrangement for the proposed delta busbar
is to locate two busbars at the lower level and one
busbar at a higher height.

8
6
4
2
0
-6

Compact Hor.
-4

-2

0
X-axis [m]

Figure 1: Busbar positions for various possible busbar

arrangements.
Table 2: Busbar centres.
Config.
Hp
Hc
Dc
Vc

R(x,z)
[m]
5.0
7.0
2.9
4.9
1.45
7.45
0.0
4.9

Y(x,z)
[m]
0.0
7.0
0.0
4.9
0.0
4.9
0.4
8.9

B(x,z)
[m]
-5.0
7.0
-2.9
4.9
-1.45
7.45
1.0
12.8

Figure 4: 3-D model of delta busbar arrangement (Dc).

4.

ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELD

COMPUTATION

The performance of compact substations using

minimum IEC clearances under surge overvoltages is
comparable with conventional substations, as described
in [1]. Another important step in the feasibility of a
compact layout, using the proposed new busbar
arrangements, is the evaluation of electric and
magnetic fields magnitudes that are relevant to
exposure of personnel near live circuits. For this
purpose, detailed simulations were carried out for each

Figure 2: 3-D model of the proposed new vertical

busbar arrangement (Vc).
Pg. 3

Paper B-11

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

field values in the vicinity of the structure, using

detailed pedestal models.
In Figures 5, 6 and 7, the following labels are adopted:
Hp, current practice horizontal arrangement,
Hc, compact horizontal arrangement,
Dc, compact delta arrangement,
Vc, compact vertical arrangement.

configuration. For the electric field computation,

Coulomb software was used. This software uses threedimensional analysis of electric field using the
Boundary Element Method (BEM), which is more
suitable for open boundary problems. For the
computation of magnetic field, in-house software was
used; this was developed for the evaluation of magnetic
field generated by power lines and substations applying
a discrete approximation of the Ampere-Laplace law in
differential form [5].
Electric-field computation

E-field magnitude [kV/m]

4.1.

15

A 3-D electric field evaluation was selected since it is

necessary to take into account the presence of the
pedestal insulators and the presence of other objects
near the busbars that may modify the electric field. The
three busbars are set to a potential of 230.94 kV rms.
The 400kV insulator model adopted in this study is
based on an existing insulator design. Its overall height
is 2400mm and the maximum diameter is 267mm for
the shed. The metallic support structure of the pedestal
insulator is modelled as a truncated cone volume. Its
overall height is set to 2400 mm, which is the
minimum insulation height for pedestrian access
according the NG document Relevant Electrical
Standards [6].
Figure 5 shows the computed electric field profiles at
1m above ground level for all the developed
arrangements without the presence of supporting
structure. It is normal practice to estimate the magnetic
and electric fields at this height to obtain an indication
of work exposure [7]. Because of the reduced distance
from the ground, the electric field at a height of 1m is
increased in comparison with the field generated by the
conventional horizontal arrangement. The field
generated by the conventional layout is below the
NRPB occupational electric field threshold, of 10
kV/m [8]. It should be emphasised that other structures
within a substation may reduce the electric field
significantly at these heights.
As can be seen on Figure 5, the area where the electric
field is above the NRPB threshold is limited only to
few meters away from the central axis for the delta and
vertical arrangements.
Setting the maximum field value for the conventional
arrangement as reference, the ratio with the maximum
field for compact horizontal, delta and vertical
arrangements are respectively 1.5, 1.3 and 1.6, as
shown in Table 3. Without the presence of the
supporting structure, the compact arrangement with the
lowest field magnitude at 1m above ground is the delta
configuration.
The second series of simulations was carried out for
each configuration taking into account the presence of
the metallic supporting structures. In this second group
of simulations, the electric field is calculated at the
pedestal, as shown in Figure 6, and at 1m away from
the pedestal, as shown in Figure 7. The latter
calculations allow a better indication of the field values
in the areas where personnel can be present. Further
studies are required to determine the maximum electric

Vc

Hp
Hc
Dc
Vc

Hc

10

Hp

Dc
0
-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0
2
X-axis [m]

10

Figure 5: E-field profiles at 1m above ground, without

supporting structures.
25

Hp
Hc
Dc
Vc

Dc

E-field magnitude [kV/m]

20

Vc
15

Hc
10

0
-10

Hp
-8

-6

-4

-2

0
2
X-axis [m]

10

Figure 6: E-field profiles at 1m above ground, with

supporting structures.
15

Hp
Hc
Dc
Vc

E-field magnitude [kV/m]

Dc

Hc

10

Hp
0
-10

Vc
-8

-6

-4

-2

0
2
X-axis [m]

10

Figure 7: E-field profiles at 1m above ground and 1m

away from the pedestal and with supporting structures.

Pg. 4

Paper B-11

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

Table 3: E-field results for the four busbar arrangements at ground level, at 1m above ground and at the busbar
surfaces.
Maximum E-field [kV/m] @
Ground level
1m above the ground
Busbars
Ratio
0m
1m
0m
1m
Arr. Struct.
Draw
R
B
Y
from ped.
from ped.
from ped.
from ped.
Ei /E1
N
1
519
687
519
8.73
n.a.
9.05
n.a.
Hp
R B
Y
Y
n.a
473
553
473
6.30
6.44
10.09
6.65
N
1.5
808
901
808
12.38
n.a.
13.44
n.a.
Hc
R
B
Y
Y
n.a.
607
674
607
9.75
10.09
22.42
11.25
N
1.3
900
905
900
11.02
n.a.
12.08
n.a.
Y
R
Dc
B
Y
n.a.
682
689
680
6.77
9.26
17.90
9.55
Y
N
1.6
814
841
738
13.60
n.a.
14.43
n.a.
Vc
B
Y
n.a.
604
788
708
13.21
13.28
14.02
14.03
R

In Figure 8, the following labels and symbols are

adopted, the curves give the magnetic field magnitude
directly under the busbars:

The comparison of electric field profiles, shown in

Figures 5, 6 and 7 reveals that the electric field peak is
increased at the metallic structure, whereas nearby the
pedestals a reduction effect is exhibited.
Table 3 summarizes the electric-field results for the
four busbar arrangements; at ground level, at 1m above
ground, at 1m away from the pedestal and at the busbar
surfaces for both simulations. As can be seen in Table
3, the electric field at the busbar surfaces are below
corona inception level for all configurations and for
both sets of simulations.
4.2.

|, Hp
z, Hc
, Dc
, Vc

conventional horizontal arrangement,

compact horizontal arrangement,
compact delta arrangement,
compact vertical arrangement.

200

Hp
Hc
Dc
Vc

180

Magnetic-field computation
Magnetic Field magnitude [T]

The magnetic field computation is carried out using inhouse software developed for the evaluation of
magnetic field generated by power lines and
substations. In the software, the conductors, where the
current flow is confined, are modelled as straight or
curved segments. The magnetic induction generated by
the current flowing in the conductor at any point in
space is numerically computed by applying a discrete
approximation of the Ampere-Laplace law in
differential form. By applying the principle of
superposition, the three Cartesian components of the
magnetic induction at any point are thus determined by
the phasor summation of the contribution of all the
elementary source currents in x, y, z directions.
Figure 8 shows the computed magnetic field profiles at
1m above ground level for all the developed
arrangements. As can be observed in the figure, the
maximum values of the magnetic field for all busbar
configurations are below the Reference Level
according NRPB Advice of 500T [8]. The computed
magnitudes are summarized in Table 4.
The magnetic field at the vertical plane crossing the
busbars for the proposed delta and vertical busbar
arrangements are shown in Figures 9 and 10. The plane
considered is 10 m away in both directions from the
central axis and up to 18m above ground. The area
where 500 T is obtained is within the area drawn by
the safety distance.

160

Hc

140

Vc

120

Hp

100
80
60

40
20
-10

-8

-6

-4

-2
0
2
4
Distance from the axes [m]

10

Figure 8: Magnetic field at 1 m above ground level.

Table 4: Peak values of magnetic field for different

busbar arrangements (current: 4000 A).
Arrangement
Hor. Current Practice
Comp. Horizontal
Comp. Delta
Comp. Vertical

Pg. 5

Maximum B field
RMS value [T]
130
185
100
126

Paper B-11

Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering

c 2009 SAIEE, Innes House, Johannesburg
Copyright

ISBN 978-0-620-44584-9

Further electric field investigations were performed

taking into account the support structures with
simplified models.
The magnetic field calculations for the proposed
compact arrangements show that the maximum values
at 1m above ground are all below the Reference Level
of 500T according NRPB Advice.

It is worth noting that the vertical and delta busbar

arrangements offer lower magnetic field values at 1m
above ground level and at grounds level compared with
both horizontal configurations.

18
16
14

6.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Height [m]

12

The authors would like to thank National Grid for their

financial support.

10
8
500

100

7.

2
0
-10

-8

-6

-4
-2
0
2
4
Distance from central axis [m]

[1] M. Albano, A. Haddad, H. Griffiths, P. Coventry,

"Air Insulated Compact Substations", Proc. of 43rd
International Universities Power Engineering
Conference (UPEC), Padova, Italy, pages 4, 1-4
Sept. 2008.
[2] J Kenneth, H. Nordli, "Innovative Substation
Solutions To Reduce Investment Costs - Improved
Availability And Reliability", CIGRE Meeting,
Acapulco, Mexico, 9-13 July 2001.
[3] F. Rahmatian and J. N. Blake, "Applications of
high-voltage fiber optic current sensors", Proc. of
Transmission & Distribution Conference and
Exposition: Latin America, TDC '06. IEEE/PES,
pages 6, 2006.
[4] R. E. Mackiewicz, "Overview of IEC 61850 and
Benefits", Proc. of Power Systems Conference and
Exposition PSCE '06, IEEE PES, 2006.
[5] M. Albano, R. Benato, and R. Turri, "Predictive
analysis of environmental magnetic fields
generated by multiple power lines", Proc. of Power
Tech Conference, IEEE, Bologna, 23-26 June
2003.
[6] National Grid, "Relevant Electrical Standards",
Issue 1, 9th January 2006.
[7] J. Latva-Teikari, T. Karjanlahti, J. Kurikka-Oja, J.
Elovaara, T. Langsjo, and L. Korpinen,
"Measuring occupational exposure to electric and
magnetic fields at 400 kV substations",
Transmission and Distribution Conference and
Exposition, T&D IEEE/PES, 21-24 April 2008.
[8] National Radiological Protection Board, "Advice
on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (0300 GHz) ", NRPB Document, Vol. 15, No. 2,
2004.

Figure 9: Magnetic field contours generated by a delta

busbar arrangement
(magnetic field values expressed in T).

18
16
14

Height [m]

12

500

10
8
100

6
4
2
0
-10

-8

-6

-4
-2
0
2
4
Distance from central axis [m]

Figure 10: Magnetic field contours generated by a

vertical busbar arrangement
(magnetic field values expressed in T).

5.

REFERENCES

CONCLUSION

Two new busbar configurations are proposed for the

compaction of air insulated substations. The proposed
configurations were investigated for their electric and
magnetic field magnitudes.
The electric field analysis shows that the delta
arrangement is better for the footprint and height
reductions and for the reduction of the worker exposure
to the electric and magnetic fields. However, the
vertical layout offers the best bay-width reduction, and
it may be possible to take actions to reduce the electric
field magnitude.
Pg. 6

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