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ABB
MNS is a registered trademark of ABB Schaltanlagentechnik GmbH.
ABB assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. In no event shall ABB be liable for direct,
indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any nature or kind arising from the use of this document, nor
shall ABB be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from use of any software or hardware described in this
document.
This document and parts thereof must not be reproduced or copied without ABB's written permission, and the contents
thereof must not be imparted to a third party nor be used for any unauthorized purpose. The software described in this
document is furnished under a license and may be used, copied, or disclosed only in accordance with the terms of such
license.
Content
■ Universal rule to achieve a high safety level: The fulfillment of all instructions of IEC 60439-1
High protection of persons without com- assures a basic level for Personnel Protection
promise to the protection of the system and System Protection. ABB goes beyond this
standard in cases where a high degree of
■ Protection classification into 2 priorities: exposure is anticipated, or specific risks (e.g.
earthquake risk) have to be observed.
Priority 1:
Active Protection Thereby it was possible to reach an operational
The occurrence of a failure is avoided. availability of the installed MNS boards world-
wide of nearly 100%.
Priority 2: As illustrated in the schematic, additional meas-
Passive Protection ures are foreseen in these cases so that an
If a failure should occur it is limited to its even higher level of safety is reached to with-
place of occurrence, damage due to an arc stand the particular risks. This is guaranteed
is minimized e.g. by the use of optimized material or specific
constructions.
Switchboard MNS
safety level
IEC 60439-1
Level of Application
Safety "Plus"
Example: Development of the standards and tests concerning resistance to internal arcs
ABB can rely on its experience with approximately 400 internal arcing tests carried out to-date.
As early as 1979, ABB already performed the first internal arcing tests on MNS, which at that
time were still based on the medium-voltage standards VDE 0670 and IEC 60298 as well as
the PEHLA standards. Of central importance was pure personnel protection.
The first international standard regarding the performance of internal arcing tests in low-voltage
switchgear systems was published in 1996 (IEC 61641 - VDE 0660 Part 500, additional
sheet 2). The aim was to detect the effects of a possible internal arc on the safety of the
operating personnel. As early as 1979, ABB adopted internal testing regulations for internal
arcing tests which also referred to plant safety.
Type Tested Switchgear
IEC 60439-1 classifies tests which verify the characteristics of an assembly into:
■ type tests (acc. paragraphs 8.1.1 and 8.2)
Type tests
The MNS low-voltage switchgear system is tests are applicable to the various low-voltage
subjected to extensive type tests in compliance switchgear and control gear assemblies (TTA)
with the standards in order to ensure the high- (in accordance with IEC 60439-1; DIN EN
est possible degree of safety. 60439-1 / VDE 0660 Part 500).
These tests are based on the most critical rep- The safety level of the standard as well as a
resentative applications of the entire product or homogeneous quality are ensured in the way
performance range of the switchgear with re that the corresponding design documents and
spect to the test standard. The results of these manufacturing instructions are strictly followed.
Type tests (related section of IEC 60439-1) Safety profit for operator and plant
Verification of temperature-rise limits (8.2.1) Extended life cycle of the switchboard and equipment.
Prevention of fire risks.
Verification of the effectiveness of the protective circuit Avoidance of fatal voltage at exposed conductive parts.
(8.2.4) Protection of personnel in case non current carrying parts
accidentally become live.
Verification of clearances and creepage distances (8.2.5) Environment influences can reduce the isolation quality (e.g.
polluted area). MNS can be used in severe atmosphere.
Verification of mechanical operation (8.2.6) Extended lifetime for moving components and equipments.
MNS far exceeds the standard requirements
Verification of the degree of protection (8.2.7) Protection against live parts. Protection against penetration
of liquid and solid elements. Ensures safe operation.
Type Tested Switchgear
Routine tests carried out consequently in the
factory ensure the quality of material and manu-
facturing. Guidelines like inspection instruction
and workshop checklist take into consideration
all relevant mechanical and electrical points.
Routine tests (related section of IEC 60439-1) Safety profit for operator and plant
Inspection of wiring and, if necessary, electrical operation Dielectric test or verification of insulation resistance.
test (8.3.1)
Dielectric test (8.3.2) The test is considered to have been passed if there
is no puncture or flashover.
Checking of protective measures and the electrical Assures protection against direct and indirect contact with
continuity of the protective circuits (8.3.3) live parts.
Arc Fault Protection
IEC 61641 Guide for testing under conditions of arcing due to internal fault:
This technical report applies to enclosed low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assem-
blies manufactured according to IEC 60439-1. This test is subject to an agreement
between manufacturer and user. It is not considered to be a type test.
The sole purpose of this test is to assess the ability to the assembly to limit the risk of
personal injury resulting from an internal arcing fault. It is intended to amend IEC 61641 to
cover plant protection, too. Currently only VDE 0660 part 500 (draft 2001 March) supple-
mentary sheet 2, already gives a testing guideline to limit the risk of a damage of the plant.
Despite the ever growing experience of the The resistance to internal arcs refers to two
manufacturers and operators of switchgear different aspects:
and control gear systems, there is some
residual risk of internal arc generation. ■ Personnel safety for the operator and
maintenance personnel
Internal arcs may be the result of: ■ Plant safety in order to limit the damage
■ external influences, e.g., tools forgotten within the system and to quench the internal
inside the system, or any remaining material arc within specific areas and functional
residues after maintenance or conversion compartments.
work.
■ conductive deposits on isolating supporting
10 elements under unfavorable environmental
conditions.
Priority 1 Priority 2
Active protection in MNS Passive protection in MNS
The basic ABB MNS principle is that an arc fault should be Limiting of the arc to the compartment where it occurs. This
prevented from occurring in the first place by designing and minimizes the consequences of an arc if it should occur.
dimensioning the equipment absolute reliable.
Arc Fault Protection
Main busbar
compartment
Distribution bar
compartment with
11
multifunction wall
Short circuit
protected
fault free zone
Busbar The IEC 60439-1 does not give Maintenance free design by thread
■ fastening requirements in terms of maintenance locking screws and conical spring
■ connections and sealing of busbar fastening and washers.
connections Gas sealed connection between:
■ busbars and distribution bars
functional units
Main contact system The IEC 60439-1 does Single phase isolated contacts.
not give requirements in terms of The contact housing gives a single
■ Single phase encapsulation phase casing prior to connection of
■ Main contact design the contacts
Arc Fault Protection
Main busbars
SCPD
12
The term fault free zone is used to describe the section within the cubicle consisting of the distribution
bars, the main contact, and the supply side of the functional unit being the connection to the SCPD.
According to IEC 60439-1 paragraph 7.5.5.3: "under normal operating conditions an internal short-
circuit between phases and/or earth is only a remote possibility".
This allows manufacturers to reduce the short-circuit strength for the components including the dis-
tribution bars to the load connection terminals of each functional device, to the value of the reduced
short circuit stress present on the load side of the SCPD.
Arc Fault Protection
13
Clearance
Creepage distance
Conductor Conductor
Insulation material
Arc Fault Protection
IEC 61641
Test criterion 1-5 for personnel protection:
Criterion
No.
1 whether correctly secured doors, covers, etc., do not open.
2 whether parts (of the assembly), which may cause a hazard, do not fly off.
3 whether arcing does not cause holes to develop in the freely accessible external
parts of the enclosure as a result of paint or stickers burning or other effects.
4 whether the indicators arranged vertically do not ignite (indicators ignited as a
result of paint or stickers burning are excluded from this assessment).
5 whether the equipotential bonding arrangement for accessible parts of the
enclosure is still effective.
Test execution and results for MNS Note from IEC 61641 about the duration of the
The required values are selected for the equip- tests:
ment, which must be able to withstand the When the assembly is intended to be fed from
rated short circuit current for 0.3 s to the point a transformer, the permissible arc duration of
of fault arc ignition. the incoming switching device should in general
be 0.3 s to allow the operation of the high-volt-
Results for MNS: age protective equipment.
■ Test criterion 1-5 for personnel protection
is fulfilled
■ Test criterion 6-7 for system protection is
fulfilled
Arc Fault Protection
c
b
Note:
Arc fault test at ignition point b) and c) is not required
as they are located in the fault free zone. Refer to
IEC 60439-1 Clause 7.5.5.3. However MNS is fully
tested to meet this criteria.
Ignition point a ACB within adjusted tripping time. (less than 300 ms) of the
Outgoing side of the SCPD of the withdrawable module ACB. The fault arc is automatically extinguishing. The
(fuse or MCCB short circuit limiting breaker). The power is damage is kept on a low level.
switched off within the breaking time of the SCPD of 300 ms. Case d2)
In tests the time was between 2 -10 ms. The arc is self The fault arc is not limited by the ACB. The fault arc ignited
extinguishing. The switchboard remains in operation. on the incoming side (not protected side) of the ACB The 15
fault arc is inhibited to move to the outgoing side (protected
Ignition point b side) of the ACB. The components resist the fault arc at
Incoming side of the SCPD of the withdrawable module a duration of 300 ms. The current is switched off by the
(short circuit current not limited by the SCPD). The compo- test setup after 300 ms. The fault arc is automatically extin-
nents are tested to resist an arc fault duration of 300 ms. guishing.
The fault arc extinguishes automatically.
Ignition point e
Ignition point c Main busbars.
Distribution bars embedded in the Multi Function Wall.
The components are tested to resist an arc fault duration of Case e1)
300 ms. The fault arc extinguishes automatically. Fully insulated busbars, no root point: it is not possible to
ignite an arc fault
Ignition point d Case e2)
Incomer cubicle - before the ACB During this test the tripping device in the incomer cubicle is
The time for the duration of the fault arc is limited by the mechanical prevented to trip.
“test set up” (source) to 300 ms. To reduce damage, MNS The fault arc runs to the end of the busbars. The power
is designed as follows: switches off after max 300 ms. The fault arc extinguishes
automatically at the end of the switchgear.
Case d1) Case e3)
Type tests have confirmed following philosophy: During this test the ACB in the incomer cubicle is limiting
There is no fault arc barrier between the incoming and out- the short circuit current. The current is fast switched off by
going contacts of the ACB. the ACB within the adjusted tripping time of the ACB in less
An fault arc ignited on the incoming side (not protected than 300 ms. The fault arc is automatically extinguishing.
side) of the ACB moves to the outgoing side (protected The damage is kept on a low level.
side) of the ACB. The current is fast switched off by the
Degrees of Protection
The degree of protection provided by any assembly against contact with live parts, ingress of
solid foreign bodies and liquid is indicated by the designation IP... according to IEC 60529
(IEC 60439-1 Paragraph 7.2.1.1).
The degree of protection is also a criteria for type tests (IEC 60439-1 paragraph 8.2.7.). It is
subject to agreement between the manufacturer and user (IEC 60439-1 Annex E).
Definitions
Degrees of protection provided by enclosures 2. Protection of the equipment inside the enclo-
of electrical equipment in accordance with sure against ingress of solid foreign objects;
IEC 60529: 3. Protection of the equipment inside the enclo-
1. Protection of persons against access to sure against harmful effects due to the
hazardous parts inside the enclosure; ingress of water.
IP 3 1 D
16
Remark
Where a characteristic numeral is not required to be specified,
it shall be replaced by the letter “X” (“XX” if both numerals are
omitted).
Ventilated Non-ventilated
Ventilation grids in: Doors, covers and roof plate Sealed; no ventilation openings
IP30 IP40
IP31 IP41
IP32 IP42
IP54
Maximum heat dissipation Low heat dissipation
(by air convection) (heat emission via enclosure only)
Degrees of Protection
5 dust-protected Wire
Internal Separation
The internal separation is subject to agreement between the manufacturer and user
(IEC 60439-1 Annex E 7.7 Internal separation of assemblies by barriers or partitions).
Assemblies are divided by means of partitions or barriers (metallic or non-metallic) into separate
compartments or enclosed protected spaces.
Aim: Whenever access to a functional unit is Solution: The internal separation increases the
required (for extensions or maintenance), it safety for the personnel and the plant.
should be possible without de-energizing the Protection against direct contact can be
entire Low Voltage assembly. obtained by appropriate constructional meas-
ures on the assembly itself. The risk to cause
an internal arc failure is minimized.
Forms of separation
On behalf of safety, In addition MNS MNS provides a Each phase isolated At MNS withdrawable
MNS is only available provides a separate separate cubicle for as form 4b modules each phase
with higher protection compartment also for functional units with at the terminals for
MNS Solution
Various electrical components used today may A considerable load on the neutral conductor
cause undesirable neutral conductor currents. has to be expected based on the 3rd harmonic
These undesirable neutral conductor currents (150Hz in the 50Hz system) because the phase
result from harmonics and may even exceed currents of this frequency do not equal each 21
the value of the phase current. other out, but rather add up, flowing back to
the generator in the neutral conductor causing
This refers to, e.g.: overheating.
■ Rectifiers, especially if they are equipped with
power factor correction Recommended protective measures:
■ Power supply units without transformers, e.g. ■ MNS offers a 4-pole busbar system as a
switched-mode power supplies of computers standard option. Preferred neutral conductor
■ Lamps with electronic ballasts options include 50% or 100% of the phase
■ Phase-controlled inverters and controllers, conductor. In limited cases, it is also possible
e.g. frequency inverters to select a conductor rating up to 200%.
■ It should be checked if the neutral current
In reality the equipment mentioned above is can be reduced by using active ABB Third
often connected on the same network and uti- Harmonic Filters (THF). When properly rated,
lised simultaneously. these filters eliminate undesirable neutral
conductor currents from the system.
■ The inclusion of the N conductor in the safety
concept (overload trip) should be a matter-
of-course.
ABB
ABB Low Voltage Systems Publication No.: 1TGC900009B0201
Revision 01, June 2006
Local contacts:
www.abb.com/mns Editor:
ABB Automation Products
Dept. APR/RD-B
Wallstadter Str. 59
D-68526 Ladenburg, Germany