Professional Certificate of Competency in Substation Design (Control, Protection & Facility Planning)

Course Duration
Duration
  • 3 Months
Course Study
Study Mode
  • Online
  • Online Electrical Engineering
Course Location
Location
  • Online
Course Code
Course Code
CEY2
Course Intakes
Intakes
  • 16 July 2024
Course Type
Course Type
  • Professional Certificate
  • Electrical Engineering
Course Fees
Fees

Course Overview

This professional development course is designed for engineers and technicians who need to gain practical skills and knowledge in the control, protection, and facility planning systems within substation design control.

Substation Design Control Course Benefits

  • Receive a Certificate of Completion from EIT.
  • Learn from well-known faculty and industry experts from around the globe.
  • Flexibility of attending anytime from anywhere, even when you are working full-time.
  • Interact with industry experts during the webinars and get the latest updates/announcements on the subject.
  • Experience a global learning with students from various backgrounds and experience which is a great networking opportunity.
  • Learn about essential elements of the substation like substation design and the protection & control of substations.
  • Develop your skills on earthing and lighting protection of switchyards, substations design with focus on its protection, switchyard control and interlock and facility planning for switchyard.
  • Study the method of selecting and applying appropriate power system protection to protect equipment and personnel from abnormal system conditions, including short circuits and earth faults.
  • This course is full of examples and case studies to develop a deep understanding on the subjects.

Course Details

Substations are critical assets in any power system and serve as important nodes in a transmission and distribution network. Substations, therefore, handle multiple voltages in a given location and link two or more systems of different voltages.

This course will focus on subsystems that perform essential functions in substations. These include earthing and grounding, lightning protection of outdoor equipment and substation buildings, power system protection, control, and interlocking equipment, including the auxiliary power sources and various switchyard facilities. These include foundation, structures, cable routing, lighting, fire protection and surveillance equipment.

Earthing of a high voltage switchyard requires careful design as it has a direct bearing on safety. The design approach to switchyards will be discussed, and the basic methods of calculation will be outlined. Lightning is a common threat to substation equipment and supply reliability, as overvoltage surges can result in insulation failure or spark over. While lightning cannot be prevented, its effects can be minimized by proper lightning and surge protection measures.

Any electrical equipment is susceptible to insulation failures. Protection against such failures and the resulting short circuits is a vital need in power systems. The various protection options available to the designer and the protection of busbars, transformers, and substation feeders will be discussed.

Another essential system is the control of switchyard equipment and the required auxiliary power supply. AC auxiliary power is used for the operation of isolators and disconnectors, the operating mechanism of circuit breakers, and substation lighting. The essential functions are powered through DC supply backed with batteries for reliability. This includes control, annunciation and protection functions, breaker close and trip commands, and in some cases, emergency lighting.

A switchyard has to be adequately planned by preparing the site, measuring earth resistivity required for earthing design and optimization, earthwork, foundations, cable trenches inside the switchyard, draining arrangements, etc. These aspects will be covered in detail during the course. We will also discuss gas-insulated switchgear as an alternative to outdoor open type switchyards.

This course will also cover selecting and applying appropriate power system protection to protect equipment and personnel from abnormal system conditions, including short circuits and earth faults.

The course is composed of 12 modules, covering topics such as auxiliary power requirements and performing sizing calculations for the battery backup of essential DC power supply, the requirements for site preparation, foundations, structures, cable trenches and draining arrangements to effectively coordinate with design teams of related disciplines, the designing of substation earthing to ensure the safety of personnel and equipment under all conditions, and designing appropriate protection against the direct and indirect effects of lightning strikes on substations and the incoming and outgoing overhead lines.

Module 1: Earthing System of Switchyards

  • Basics of functional and protective earthing
  • Touch and step voltages in substations
  • Design of earth grid-basic considerations in conductor sizing and mesh spacing
  • Safety mesh at operating points
  • Role of gravel layer in safety
  • Transferred voltage hazards and planning isolation of outgoing services to avoid transfer voltage

Module 2: Example of Switchyard Earthing System Design

Based on the layout and data of a given HV switchyard:

  • Perform earthing calculations including sizing of earthing conductors
  • Calculate the earth mesh size for the switchyard
  • Develop a layout for the mesh and show the other connections required to avoid transferred voltages
  • Show the size of safety mesh to be provided and the operating points on the layout
  • Draw up the installation specification for the earthing system

Module 3: Lightning Protection of Switchyards

  • Basics of lightning and hazards
  • Role of shield wire and lightning masts
  • Typical configurations of lightning protection of switchyards
  • Analysis of hazard using a cone of protection and rolling sphere methods
  • Selection of lightning arrestors-types, class and ratings

Module 4: Example of Switchyard Lightning and Surge Protection Design

  • Design the lightning protection of a typical HV switchyard based on a given layout and analyze the adequacy of protection
  • Locate and select surge protection (lightning arrestors) of the above HV switchyard

Module 5: Protection Design for Substation-1

  • Brief overview of protection
  • Over-current protection
  • Current transformers requirements for protection
  • Protection relays
  • IEDs and communication options
  • Protection coordination

Module 6: Examples/Case Studies of MV Substation Protection

Based on the data/SLD for a typical MV substation work out:

  • Suggested protective devices for over current and earth fault
  • Suggested settings
  • Select the specifications of CT and VT
  • Checking of CT burden
  • Protection coordination checking
  • Explore the substation automation system using IEDs provided for protection
  • Prepare an ordering specification

Module 7: Protection Design for Substation-2

  • Protection of transformers
  • Busbar protection
  • Feeder protection
  • Equipment requirements for substation automation
  • PLCC applications in protection and communication
  • PLCC hardware and integrating them with the switchyard equipment

Module 8: Examples/Case Studies of HV Substation Protection

  • Using the data/SLD of a typical HV outdoor switchyard, work out the following:
  • Suggested protection schemes for all the feeders of the switchyard, its busbars, and transformers
  • Explore the use of PLCC for line protection and communication
  • Prepare an ordering specification for protection equipment

Module 9: Switchyard Control and Interlocking

  • DC power requirements for switchyard equipment
  • DC equipment configuration and specifications
  • DC distribution for switchyard equipment
  • Battery calculations basis
  • Space planning and related facilities for a battery installation
  • AC auxiliary power for switchyard systems-loads which require AC power
  • Possible source options
  • AC auxiliary distribution for switchyard equipment and support systems
  • Control scheme of disconnectors and circuit breakers
  • Control interconnection approach
  • Use of optical fiber-based control scheme
  • Role and location of marshaling kiosks in different bays

Module 10: Example Case Study of Design of HV Substation Control and Auxiliary Systems

Based on the data of typical substation with both HV and MV switchgear, work out the following:

  • DC auxiliary requirements
  • Battery sizing calculation
  • DC auxiliary equipment and their ratings
  • DC distribution SLD
  • Layout of DC equipment
  • AC auxiliary power requirement
  • Sources and rating
  • AC auxiliary system SLD
  • Layout of auxiliary switchgear
  • Interconnections of AC and DC auxiliary power and switchyard controls

Module 11: Switchyard-Facility Planning

  • Site preparation, leveling
  • Earth resistivity measurement and its role in design verification
  • Civil works such as equipment foundations, cable trenches, control building, storm drains, transformer oil collection pit
  • Structures and their design requirements
  • Substation fence and physical security
  • Surveillance
  • Planning water requirements and supply arrangement
  • Fire protection, lighting, and ventilation of control room and other equipment

Module 12: Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) as an Alternative to Outdoor Switchyard

  • HV gas-insulated substation-an alternative to outdoor HV switchyards
  • SF6 properties, advantages, and environmental impact
  • Typical substation configurations in SF6
  • Indoor/outdoor options
  • Gas safety considerations
  • Equipment for handling SF6
  • SF6 substation layout planning and earthing considerations
  • Cable terminations to SF6 equipment

To obtain a certificate of completion for EIT’s Professional Certificate of Competency course, students must achieve a 65% attendance rate at the live, online fortnightly webinars.  Detailed summaries or notes can be submitted in lieu of attendance.  In addition, students must obtain a mark of 60% in the set assignments which could take the form of written assignments and practical assignments. Students must also obtain a mark of 100% in quizzes.  If a student does not achieve the required score, they will be given an opportunity to resubmit the assignment to obtain the required score.

For full current fees in your country go to the drop down filter at the top of this page or visit the Fees page.

Payment Methods

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Hashemi Ford has over 20 years international experience in electrical power industry with a focus on modelling, analysis, planning and operation of power systems including distribution, sub-transmission and transmission networks. He has been involved in modelling and analysis of major projects including HVDC interconnectors and wind farms.

Learn about our instructors.

You are expected to spend approximately 5-8 hours per week learning the course content. This includes attending fortnightly webinars that run for about 90 minutes to facilitate class discussion and allow you to ask questions. This professional development program is delivered online and has been designed to fit around full-time work. It will take three months to complete.

Registrations are open for our upcoming intakes. Please ensure you book your place at least one week before the start date of the program.

Hear from our students

  The course content is practical, as it is done in the field and as a result I was able to understand how to solve practical design problems.  
  I was satisfied with the overall structure of the topics presented.  
  I have learned a lot about step and touch and how to calculate it.  

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