Seismic qualification and time history shake-table testing of high voltage surge arrester under seismic qualification level moderate

Earthquakes are one of the deadliest forces of nature that can shake structures to their limits. No comprehensive study has been done in Pakistan on seismic performance of electric supply substations and requires immediate attention as Pakistan is one of the highly seismic area in the world with potential of large earthquakes. Seismic qualification of electric supply substation equipment (132 kilo Volt surge arrester) by time history shake-table testing is presented in this paper. This equipment was tested under “Seismic Qualification Level Moderate” that is according to earthquake input requirements of this region. An artificial time history was generated that qualifies the Required Response Spectrum of Pakistan Electrical and Telecom Safety Code (PETSAC-2014) and IEEE Recommended Practice for Seismic Design of Substations (IEEE Std. 693-2005). Two types of measurements (displacement and acceleration) were recorded during time history shake-table testing at four different points using six accelerometers and four displacement transducers. Seismic qualification of electric supply substation equipment is totally a new dimension in Pakistan’s electrical power system