Protection of Substation Critical Equipment Against Intentional Electromagnetic Threats

Vladimir Gurevich

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781119271437
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119271475
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Scienze fisiche
• Subtopic: Energia

The modern microprocessor based electronic equipment most vulnerable to Intentional Destructive Electromagnetic Interferences (IDEI) includes High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) in all substation equipment. However, power equipment and especially transformers are also subject to the influence of HEMP.

The book discusses problems and solutions for both kinds of substation equipment. Separated into eight chapters, the book covers: Technological progress and its consequences; Intentional Destructive Electromagnetic Interferences (IDEI); Methods and means of Digital Protective Relay (DPR) protection from electromagnetic pulse; Passive methods and means of DPR protection from electromagnetic pulse; Active methods and means of DPR protection from electromagnetic pulse; Tests of DPR resistance to IDEI impacts; Organizational and technical measures to protect DPR from HEMP; and Protection of power equipment and transformers from HEMP.

Key features:

• Practical approach focusing on technical solutions for difficult problems.
• Full data on electromagnetic threats and methods of their prevention are concentrated.
• Addresses a gap in knowledge in the power system industry.

This book emphasizes practical recommendations on protection of power substations' electric equipment from IDEI that intended for not only staff operating electric equipment, but also for manufacturers of this equipment, specialists of designing companies, managers of electric energy industry as well as for teachers and postgraduate students.

1
Technical Progress and Its Consequences: The Philosophy Behind Technical Progress

Rational planning in the development of technology more often than not leads to irrational consequences, and technology enters the human consciousness not as a neutral means of meeting our own needs, but as a goal in itself, an alienated force.

Professor N.V. Popkova, DSc

What is technical progress? The dictionary of philosophy provides this definition:

Technical progress – is the interdependent, and mutually stimulating development of science and technology. This concept was introduced in the 20^th Century in the context of a basis that made use of a consumerist attitude to nature and a traditional scientific and engineering view of the world. The aim of technical progress is defined as meeting man’s ever growing needs; the means by which these demands are met lies in the realisation of achievements in the natural sciences and in technology.

As N.V. Popkova, Doctor of science in Philosophy wrote in his article ‘The Philosophy of Technology’ [1.1], technological innovation was indeed introduced by man as a way of improving our daily lives and of meeting our needs: the anthropogenic environment performs this task and enables Earth’s ever growing population to obtain the material pre‐requisites for life. In recent years, however, ever more profound consequences of technological growth have come to light: the suppression of the inherent biological and humanitarian aspects of human life, and their displacement with anthropogenic values and arrogance. This gives rise to an ambiguous evaluation of the role of the anthropogenic environment: the predominantly positive evaluation that existed in the past and the negative one, which is gaining weight. The main problem lies in the intricacies of managing the anthropogenic environment and in the fact that it is impossible to control its development or even predict how it will react to the introduction of subsequent innovations. The discovery at every stage of technical work of unpredictable and undesirable results shows that: the anthropogenic environment has always in part been outside the control of the human race that is creating it, which means that it has always possessed autonomy.

Thus it is far from the case that the development of technology has always been aimed at ‘meeting the ever growing needs of man’, since according to our observations technical progress only began to adopt this characteristic in the second half of the twentieth century.

An old science fiction novel featured an engaging plot, which arose out of something relatively innocent: an unusual night time phone call made to each of the inhabitants of planet Earth. It was in this phone call that the ‘Global Mind’ announced its’ coming to everyone on planet Earth. It turned out that at some stage in its development the proliferation of computers had transformed into something new: millions of computers, which had been combined into an overall network and which controlled everyone and everything on planet Earth had suddenly come to the realization that they represented a single entity capable of reproducing themselves using automated factories and robots that had been integrated into this same network, and of defence with the help of computerized weapons systems designed to destroy mankind. As far as the ‘Global Mind’ was concerned humanity was nothing more than a rudiment, or ballast that was devouring the planet’s resources. You can work out how the plot unfolded from there for yourselves.

Today, almost all modern industrial production methods as well as systems controlling the supply of water, electricity and telecommunications and communications systems, are controlled by computers with a network connection. The terms Smart Grid and Artificial Intelligence based relay protection have appeared in technical rather than science fiction literature. Issues surrounding the creation of a Smart House, in which even the fridge would be able to assess the levels of the provisions stored inside it and on the basis of this analysis of demand draw up an order and send it via the network to the local supermarket, are being discussed today in technical literature and not in science fiction. Today microprocessors can be found anywhere, even in the toilet seat lid.

Humanity is making huge strides towards the creation of an unpredictable Global Mind, which the old science fiction novel had foreseen. Thus this old plot has long since made the leap from the pages of science fiction novels into the pages of respected philosophical journals and books that illuminate issues in the philosophy of technology. This is a relatively new field of philosophical research, which is aimed at understanding the nature of technology and evaluating its impact on society, culture and man. One school of thought suggests that the philosophy of technology is not, if anything a philosophy in itself but a multidisciplinary intellectual field, in which technology as well as the problems it creates are typically examined as broadly as possible.

At the VISION‐21 symposium that was conducted in 1993 by NASA’s Lewis Research Centre and the Ohio Aerospace Institute the famous professor of mathematics Vernor Vinge delivered a much talked about speech [1.2]:

The acceleration of technical progress – is the key feature of the XX Century. We are on the verge of changes comparable to the emergence of man on Earth. The specific reason for these changes lies in the fact that the development of technology inevitably leads to the creation of beings with an intellect that surpasses that of humans…Large computer networks (and their consolidated users) are able to ‘come to the realisation’ that they are supernaturally intelligent beings… an event like this would nullify the entire statute book of human laws, possibly in the blink of an eye. An uncontrolled chain reaction would begin to develop exponentially with no hope of regaining control of the situation.

Vinge proposed a new term for this phenomenon: Technological singularity. Normally singularity is understood to mean an isolated point of some kind or a function field, the meaning of which denotes infinity or which demonstrates other behavioural irregularities, it denotes a critical point beyond which the value of a function becomes indefinite and unpredictable. Typical examples of singularity are an avalanche breakdown in semiconductor structures, a tunnelling effect in electrical contacts and in semiconductors, an area of volt‐ampere response in a negative resistance diode and so on. Technological singularity implies a certain point in the development of technology as a whole, but specifically the development of computer technology and artificial intelligence beyond which their further development becomes firstly irreversible and independent of humans, and secondly unpredictable.

Naturally, the so‐called Moore’s law [1.3] would have influenced Vinge’s views; this was formulated in 1965 by one of the founders of Intel Gordon Moore. This law states that the number of transistors in microprocessors doubles approximately every 2 years and their productivity grows exponentially as in Fig. 1.1. This law has been valid for 40 years now. Not only do microprocessor and computer technology, which are becoming ever more complex, conform to exponential law but also other types of technology, and with it society. The sociologist M. Sukharev in his work ‘An Explosion of Complexity’ [1.4] writes:

There is another pattern that is visible in the development of society ‐ the acceleration in the growth of complexity over time. Tribal people have lived on the Earth for thousands of years, armed with spears and arrows. In the space of a few hundred years we have outstripped an industrial and technological civilisation. How long the computer stage will last is not clear, but the speed at which today’s society is evolving is unprecedented…

Fig. 1.1 The relationship between time and the number of transistors in microprocessor chips. The vertical axis has a logarithmic scale and the relationship conforms to exponential law.

Many eminent specialists confirm this thinking:

Doctor of Sciences I.A. Negodayev [1.5]:

The pattern in the development of technology lies in its subsequent sophistication. This sophistication happens either by increasing the number of elements integrated into a technical system, or by changing its structure.

The Director and Chief Designer of the Central Scientific and Experimental Design Institute of Robot Technology and Technical Cybernetics, and Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.A. Lopot and Doctor of Technical Sciences Professor E.I. Yurevich [1.6]:

The overall pattern in the scientific and technical development of all areas of human activity – is the progressive sophistication, integration, and intensification of technology.

Bezmenov A.E. PhD [1.7]:

The trend in the development of technology is characterised by the ever growing sophistication of machines, equipment, and installations. With an increase in the sophistication of these items, their reliability (all other things being equal) diminishes.

If the ‘Explosion of Complexity’ in everyday technology is happening to everyone in plain sight and requires no evidence, then the sophistication of technology in industry is not so obvious to the layman. Therefore, we will examine a few concrete examples that confirm this trend.

The Swedish company Programma Electric AB, known all over the world, was founded in 1976 (this company was acquired by General Electric in 2001, and in 2007 it became part of the Megger Group Ltd) and produces a huge nomenclature of equipment and installations to test electrical power engineering equipment: from highly accurate timers and systems testers of protective relays to sources of powerful currents. One of the items this company produces is the B10E equipment pictured in Fig. 1.2, used to measure the minimal pick up voltage in high voltage circuit breaker drives.

Fig. 1.2 The outside of a B10E type device used to test the minimal pick up voltage in high voltage circuit breaker drives.

In accordance with IEC standard 62271‐100 these circuit breakers need to be tested for their compliance with the manufacturer’s parameters for the minimal pick up voltage. In general, this refers to a swash that performs a very simple function: a preliminary check on a certain level of voltage controlled by...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Author
• Preface
• 1 Technical Progress and Its Consequences
• 2 Intentional Destructive Electromagnetic Threats
• 3 Methods and Techniques of Protecting DPR from EMP
• 4 Passive Methods and Techniques of Protecting DPR from EMP
• 5 Active Methods and Techniques of Protecting DPR from EMP
• 6 Testing the DPR Immunity to HPEM
• 7 Administrative and Technical Measures to Protect DPR from EMP
• 8 Protecting High‐Power Electrical Equipment from EMP
• Appendix
• Index
• End User License Agreement