A 3-D Steady-State Analysis of Thermal Behavior in EHV GIS Busbar

Abstract

Busbar has been used as electric conductor within extra high voltage (EHV) gas insulated switchgear (GIS), which makes EHV GIS higher security, smaller size and lower cost. However, the main fault of GIS is overheating of busbar connection parts, circuit breaker and isolating switch contact parts, which has been already restricting development of GIS to a large extent. In this study, a coupled magneto-flow-thermal analysis is used to investigate the thermal properties of GIS busbar in steady-state. A three-dimensional (3-D) finite element model (FEM) is built to calculate multiphysics fields including electromagnetic field, flow field and thermal field in steady-state. The influences of current on the magnetic flux density, flow velocity and heat distribution has been investigated. Temperature differences of inner wall and outer wall are investigated for busbar tank and conducting rod. Considering the end effect in the busbar, temperature rise difference is compared between end sections and the middle section. In order to obtain better heat dissipation effect, diameters of conductor and tank are optimized based on temperature rise simulation results. Temperature rise tests have been done to validate the 3-D simulation model, which is observed a good correlation with the simulation results. This study provides technical support for optimized structure of the EHV GIS busbar.