The protection of the contact network of a direct currentat forced modes

The article considers the issue of providing protection for the contact network when removing 3.3 kV traction substations from the Nazivoye direction of the Omsk power supply distance of the West Siberian Railway. When the 3.3 kV switchgear is brought out to repair, the protection zone for connection of the contact network of adjacent traction power supply system objects (traction substations, sectionalizing stations, parallel connection points) increases. To ensure the protection of the DC contact network, lowered settings for the operation of high-speed circuit breakers are introduced, which inevitably limit the capacity of the section for the passage of freight trains. Considered the existing order of withdrawal of equipment for repair with the inclusion of a traction substation post section. The limitations of skipping freight trains during the implementation of the existing scheme are estimated. Short circuit currents are also calculated and the settings for the protection of high-speed circuit breakers are selected when the sectioning station is switched off and the sectional disconnectors of the station are switched on. It was found that the condition for selecting the protection settings is not fulfilled when detaching from the minimum value of the short-circuit current. To reduce the limitations, a prototype of a short-circuit contactor of a direct current 3.3 kV grid has been developed. The use of a short-circuit-breaker allowed the protection of the contact network, for the time of the withdrawal of the switchgear equipment for repair, without transferring to lower settings for the operation of circuit breakers. Also in the article are given the technical characteristics and features of the proposed device design. The results of a test of a short-circuit of a 3.3 kV direct current contact network in the Dragunskaya-Novokievskaya-Lubinskaya section are presented. The main directions for further work are determined.