Author: Sergiy Sechin
(CJSC PLUTON, Zaporizhzia)
Issued:
MM Money & Technologies, Magazine. – 2004. - № 8-9. – P. 42-43
Annotation. PLUTON switchgear won at Innovation-2004 held by MM Money & Technologies at ElcomUkraine 2004 Exhibition.
Electrical engineering, power engineering and electronics are three branches that are dynamically developed in Ukraine. This is due in no small part to the strong scientific and technical potential of our country that remained from the Soviet times. Nowadays domestic enterprises are able to produce modern equipment that is highly competitive with the best global solutions.
Closed Joint Stock Company PLUTON was founded in 1996 as engineering and manufacturing enterprise. Start of activity was related to development and further manufacturing of individual kinds of electrical equipment for metro and city electric transport. Furthermore, a bid was made for production of modern knowledge-intensive products that are highly competitive with foreign similar equipment.
Range of produce equipment was expanded with further PLUTON growth. Nowadays CJSC PLUTON provides more than 50 electrical equipment types for metro and above-ground city electric transport needs. Over the last years, these products were supplied on the territory of Ukraine, as well as were exported to the Republic of Belarus, the Baltic countries and the Republic of Uzbekistan. Other PLUTON activity areas are developed together with enlargement of product range for metro and electric transport.
Nowadays PLUTON implemented range of projects, and fulfills specific orders in the following directions:
- AC electric drive for various purposes based on asynchronous motors and frequency converters, including traction electric drive;
- automated electric drive;
- ACS and APCS for various purposes and applications;
- high-voltage (up to 7000 V) variable frequency electric drive;
- frequency converters, controlled rectifiers, special power supply units, starting units;
- electrical equipment for various mechanisms;
- automatic control systems for blowers, pumping stations, transport rolling tables and other mechanisms.
DC switchgears for metro and city electric transport for 825 V and 600 V is one of the latest solutions developed by PLUTON.
Until recent times, most of the city electric transport substations used switchgears developed in the 70s. Their maintainability and diagnostics, in case of failures, was far from perfect. At the same time, modern level of electronics development allowed implementing on its basis a large range of functions that simplified and reduced time for equipment maintenance and repair, increased power supply system reliability. In its new solutions PLUTON implemented the most of the above mentioned. As a result, all technical and operational characteristics of new switchgears leave actual switchgears far behind.
Modern new generation switchgears are provided for operation at traction substations in power supply system of city electric transport (metro) traction network. Rated voltage is up to 1000 V. Rated current of power circuit is up to 4000 А.
Switchgears consist of standardized equipment set with control, protection and measuring components. Components are assembled in special-purpose compartments. Switchgears include 4 main parts:
- compartment with high speed circuit breaker;
- withdrawable trolley with high speed circuit breaker;
- power busbars and cables compartment;
- automatics and control department.
Switchgears are equipped with control and protection microprocessor system. At the same time, microprocessor system is used as a substation monitoring system. The system carries out logging of events that occur at substation, emergency processes logging, monitoring of feeder lines load. Non-volatile protocol, saved in controller memory, is needed for detection of personnel mistakes in case of emergency processes, for analysis of sequence of processes, occurred before emergency. Condition of switchgear switching units is displayed at any specific time on switchgear control panel, located on one of line cubicles. Monitoring system merges with other substations and with upper level system — central operator control panel into network, herewith forming unified ACS of traction substations.
Modern engineering solutions with application of components produced by leading European electrotechnical companies are used in equipment. Commissioning of new-generation equipment allows significantly reducing dimensional specifications, as well as overall expenses for capital construction. Application of modern automation systems allows totally avoiding downtime caused by false staff operation, as well as significantly reduces time expenditure for malfunction detection.
As a result, operational reliability of traction substation increases, time between periodic inspections increases, (and in certain cases, there are no routine maintenance at all), scope of routine equipment maintenance and repair decreases that allows reducing maintenance costs, losses caused by equipment downtime, and, finally, allows bringing city electrical facilities to the modern level.
Issued:
MM Money & Technologies, Magazine. – 2004. - № 8-9. – P. 42-43