Electric field analysis in a switchgear of middle voltage

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki obliczeń pola elektrycznego w wybranym przedziale rozdzielnicy średniego napięcia, w kontekście analizy możliwości zastosowania w niej suchego powietrza w miejsce SF6. Do obliczeń zastosowano oprogramowanie bazujące na metodzie elementów skończonych (MES). Przedstawione obliczenia mogą być przydatne w procesie dostosowania rozważanej rozdzielnicy do bardziej ekologicznej izolacji gazowej, charakteryzującej się jednak mniejszą wytrzymałością elektryczną. Podobna analiza pola powinna być także stosowana w procesie projektowania nowych urządzeń elektroenergetycznych. Numeryczne modelowanie pola elektrycznego w nowoprojektowanych urządzeniach wysokiego i średniego napięcia może przyczynić się do obniżenia kosztów budowy prototypów oraz ograniczenia niezbędnych badań laboratoryjnych. Może także prowadzić do powstawania bardziej materiało-oszczędnych, a co za tym idzie, tańszych i bardziej ekologicznych urządzeń elektroenergetycznych.In the paper, the electric field analysis in a selected compartment of a middle voltage switchgear is presented. The analysis has been performed using a professional software package that employs the finite element method (FEM). In the considered switchgear, an insulation of SF6 will be substituted by a dry air insulation that is more ecological, however, it is of the lower dielectric withstand. The electric field analysis (presented in the paper) can be a useful tool in the designing process of new electric power devices. Such a numerical analysis can help to reduce the costs of designed device prototypes and can limit their indispensable laboratory investigations. Such an approach can also enable to design smaller and more material-saving devices which are cheaper and more environmental friendly

Nowy ultra szybki uziemnik prądu dla rozdzielnic SN

W artykule przedstawiono rozwiązanie ultra-szybkiego uziemnika prądu zwarciowego ograniczającego skutki zwarcia i palącego się łuku w rozdzielnicy poprzez uziemienie trzech faz szyn zbiorczych. Uziemnik zaprojektowano na napięcie 24 kV, jego czas działania wynosi około 2 ms. Zaletą nowo opracowanej konstrukcji jest możliwość wielokrotnego działania bez konieczności wymiany po zadziałaniu jak w przypadku uziemnika pirotechnicznego.The appearance of the short circuit current inside of MV switchgear is the most serious fault associated with generation of high temperature and pressure as well as emission of gazes produced by the electric arc and melted elements inside of the switchgear. The ultra-fast earthing switch (UFES) developed by the authors will be able to reduce the above mentioned effects due to direct grounding of the three phases current caring bars. The operation time of the UFES should be as short as possible to reduce the arc energy dissipated inside of the switchgear. Therefore, a prototype of the UFES was built in the Electrotechnical Institute laboratory and was experimentally validated. The UFES developed in the Electrotechnical Institute for 24 kV with the required operating time of about 2 ms can be used several times with no need to replace any of its parts. It is ecological, environmentally friendly and is safe for the staff working nearby. In the UFES, the most important elements used are the ultra-fast actuator and the vacuum chamber as a switching element, therefore the UFES can operate many times without necessity to replace any of its parts. This is the greatest advantage of this solution. The earthing switches produced presently have the operating time of about 2 ms, but the contacts are actuated by means of exploding materials, therefore after operation the switch has to be replaced with a new one

Regulation of RAF activity by 14-3-3 proteins: RAF kinases associate functionally with both homo- and heterodimeric forms of 14-3-3 proteins

Mammalian 14-3-3 proteins play a crucial role in the activation process of RAF kinases. However, little is known about the selectivity of the mammalian 14-3-3 isoforms with respect to RAF association and activation. Using mass spectrometry, we analyzed the composition of the 14-3-3 isoforms attached to RAF kinases and found that B-RAF associates in vivo with 14-3-3 at much higher diversity than A- and C-RAF. We also examined in vitro binding of purified mammalian 14-3-3 proteins to RAF kinases using surface plasmon resonance techniques. While B- and C-RAF exhibited binding to all seven 14-3-3 isoforms, A-RAF bound with considerably lower affinities to epsilon, tau, and sigma 14-3-3. These findings indicate that 14-3-3 proteins associate with RAF isoforms in a pronounced isoform-specific manner. Because 14-3-3 proteins appear in dimeric forms, we addressed the question of whether both homo- and heterodimeric forms of 14-3-3 proteins participate in RAF signaling. For that purpose, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, possessing only two 14-3-3 isoforms (BMH1 and BMH2), served as testing system. By deletion of the single BMH2 gene, we found that both homo- and heterodimeric forms of 14-3-3 can participate in RAF activation. Furthermore, we show that A-, B-, and C-RAF activity is differentially regulated by its C-terminal and internal 14-3-3 binding domain. Finally, prohibitin, a scaffold protein that affects C-RAF activation in a stimulatory manner, proved to interfere with the internal 14-3-3 binding site in C-RAF. Together, our results shed more light on the complex mechanism of RAF activation, particularly with respect to activation steps that are mediated by 14-3-3 proteins and prohibitin