Busbar Systems are project-specific and require engineering inputs for selection of components, sizing for ambient and service conditions, and detailing the layouts. Not all solutions and practices can be catalogued and consolidated in the form of a design guide. As such, a design engineer needs to have several years of experience to be able to come up with an optimum solution, in a very short time. Often, the decisions are based on similar project layouts with familiar interfacing equipment and feedback received during manufacturing and installation. Hence for a design engineer, every project is a challenging task. Unfortunately, the product looks so simple and benign after its execution that it does not command the attention it deserves.
Installation is another critical area as a Busbar System is only as good as it is installed. Skilled and trained personnel, with specific knowledge of the product, are important to ensure that the installation delivers the intended performance. Many well-manufactured products have failed due to poor installation.
I have observed that specifications for the procurement of a Busbar System for a project, are often prepared by people with little expertise in the field. Standardized specifications are floated without studying the project-specific requirements. To make matters worse, stringent requirements are added to the specification arbitrarily in the mistaken belief that these would provide a better safety margin. These only add significantly to the cost, with no enhancement to its performance, reliability, or life.
Busbars Systems are designated by different voltages, currents, and insulating materials and are therefore governed by different specification standards. Most countries have National Standards that have aligned their requirements to the American National Standards Institute – Institute of Electrical& Electronics Engineers (ANSI/IEEE) Standards or the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) recommendations. Definitions, testing procedures, preferred values of parameters, and acceptance norms vary between ANSI/IEEE standards and IEC recommendations. Such seeming ambiguities have made the preparation of specifications and testing of Busbar Systems even more challenging.
This book is recommended for use by
• Project authorities, to conceptualize and identify the best-suited Bus Product
• Consultants, for drafting specifications
• Procurement staff, for techno-commercial evaluation
• Design engineers, to arrive at optimum solutions
• Manufacturers, to understand the materials, components, and processes
• Vendors, to understand the bus component applications
• Testing engineers, to identify important parameters
• Installers, to understand the sequence and criticality
• Maintenance staff, to understand the product
• Inspectors, to conduct Failure and Root Cause Analysis
An effort has been made to bring allBusbar Systems, in one capsule. The book contains only an introduction to the various types and is intended for users with diverse professional backgrounds. As such the theoretical treatment has been consciously kept to a minimum and references in the bibliography have been limited to few classical papers.
The book comprises 18 chapters broadly classified as under:
• Three chapters, one each on, conductor, enclosure, and insulating materials
• One chapter on important processes in the industry
• Three chapters, one each on impedance, ampacity, and short circuit forces
• Nine chapters on each type of Busbar System
• Two chapters, one each on, important Busductand generator connection accessories
Isolated phase bus and non-segregated & segregated phase bus have been discussed in detail as they form the bulk of the bus connections and are project-specific.
All current-carrying conductors, generate losses. It is necessary to capitalize the losses, especially in modern times when the world is becoming increasingly sensitive to climate change. This requires amortizing the running costs based on expected life, energy tariff, and interest rates. While it may be easy to assign a value for the said parameters to evaluate the bid based on relative rather than the exact life cycle cost, the project risk cannot be factored in. Life cycle costing has not been dealt with in this book.
The book has been structured to be read in sequence, from the first to the last chapter.
I suggest that practicing engineers understand and familiarise themselves with the definition of each term and the intent behind each statement of ANSI/IEEE standards and IEC recommendations and their companion specifications, relevant to the Busbar Systems.
I confess that there is no original contribution from me in this book apart from consolidating the information in a sequentially readable form. I have extensively used the information and data that are available in manufacturers’ catalogues, descriptive literature, journals, and technical papers that are in the public domain.
Any suggestion to improve the range and quality of the content is most welcome.