Investigation on X-Radiation for 126 kV Vacuum Interrupters

When subjected to high voltages between opened contacts, vacuum interrupters may emit X-rays. In order to ensure that these are of an acceptable level, vacuum interrupters should comply with the limits for X-ray emission and the test procedures to be carried out to verify this based on relevant standards and specifications. In this paper, a comprehensive experimental study has been performed for 126 kV vacuum interrupters used in a transmission system to understand the X-radiation level and its influence by three main parameters, namely applied power-frequency voltage, contact gap and power-frequency voltage conditioning. The radiation instrument is an FJ347 radiometer and the X-radiation dose was measured at the power-frequency test voltage. These tests demonstrated that the X-radiation emission level for a 126 kV vacuum interrupter did not exceed the following: 5 μSv per hour at a rated voltage of 126 kV and 150 μSv per hour at a power-frequency voltage of 230 kV at 1 m distance. The X-radiation dose increased with the applied power-frequency voltage increasing and decreased with the contact gap increasing. The X-radiation dose for 126 kV vacuum interrupters decreased by 57% after the conditioning procedure with a certain power-frequency voltage. During the conditioning procedure, the average value of the X-radiation dose was 4.49 mSv, which means if a professional conditions 180 interrupters per year, it will be safe at the 6.4 m distance.