Switching Capacitor Bank Back-to-Back to Underground Cables

This paper addresses the capacitor bank switching back to back to underground cables. The high currents recorded during the capacitor bank switching occur due to the traveling waves in the underground cables. The detailed analytical study of the capacitive inrush currents is done. The closed-form expressions of the inrush current waveforms due to the initial current surges as well as due to the superposition of the initial and reflected current waves are derived. The formulas for the peak inrush current and its maximum rate of rise are obtained. The case study of the 24-kV capacitor bank switching back to back to the underground cables is described. The results of the field measurements are compared with the results of Electromagnetic Transients Program simulation. The dependence of the inrush current peak on the number of the cables, and the equivalent inductance between the capacitor bank and the substation busbar as well as on the cable length are analyzed. The inrush currents caused failures of the capacitor bank circuit breakers. Since the described capacitor inrush current significantly exceeds the “inrush current of the isolated capacitor bank,” the selection of the capacitor bank switchgear should be taken into account.