Arc Fault Protection System
REA
Minimizes material damage, increases
operating personnel safety and allows smooth
power restoration. Enables redundant,
instantaneous and fail-safe arc fault protection.
Fiber-optic technology and flexible, fast
overcurrent monitoring for secure protection.
Technology promotes quick reaction and cost-
effective installation.
The REA Arc Fault Protection System from ABB provides your ideally suited to multi-chamber low or medium voltage air-insula-
substation with comprehensive protection against arc faults. It ted switchgears. It is here that the system’s fast trip outputs using
minimizes material damage and allows power distribution to be Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) solid-state circuits react
smoothly and safely restored. The system can also bring cost instantly (<2.5 ms) to isolate the arc, long before any extensive
benefits even before an arc fault occurs. As older switchgear is damage can occur, causing long and devastatingly expensive
more prone to arc faults, fitting an ABB Arc Fault Protection Sys- downtime.
tem will effectively extend the life of your switchgear and make
more of your investment. But even more importantly, this techno- Peace of mind guaranteed
logy can also help save lives. The REA Arc Fault Protection System is second to none when it
comes to reliability: continuous self-monitoring of the system and
Redundancy its fiber-optic loops ensure non-stop protection. Flexible configura-
A reliable function of the protection system is of crucial importance tion capabilities allow either light or light and simultaneous
for network nodes. This justifies the implementation of a redun- overcurrent detection to trigger a circuit-breaker for absolute
dant protection system, fully independent of the basic protection security. Selective indication and zone-divided protection are easy
system. An autonomous REA Arc Fault Protection System per- to implement. Extension modules allow single feeders or bus bars
fectly fulfils this requirement, as its function is based on a different to be isolated, maintaining the power supply even in the event of
physical phenomenon than conventional protection solutions and an arc incident to rest of the system. Combined with zone-divided
on a dedicated technology. protection, this allows you to pinpoint exactly where the arc occur-
red. What’s more, if one feeder is isolated during maintenance, the
Technology for increased safety rest of the system remains fully protected against arcs.
The key to efficient protection is the immediate detection of arcs.
The REA system utilizes optical fiber sensor technology, which The intelligent investment that minimizes material damage
enables fail-safe and instantaneous arc flash detection anywhere Whether caused by human error, a faulty device or bad insulators,
within the switchgear enclosure. Tough, unshielded fiber-optic arc faults expose your switchgear and other costly equipment to
sensor cables run throughout the switchgear enclosure and sense severe pressure and fire impacts, not to mention the danger to
the intense light from a developing arc, no matter where it strikes. operating personnel. Simply put, the REA Arc Fault Protection
Alternatively, radial fibers with light collecting lenses can be used. System is the far-sighted way to improve productivity and increase
profits while enhancing personnel safety. It is a secure investment
Faster protection than ever in your future competi¬tiveness in more ways than one and will
Among other advantages, optical arc flash detection technology pay for itself many times over. The system can be installed in eit-
promotes quick reaction and cost-effective installation, which is her retrofit installations or green-field investments.
© Copyright 2013 ABB. All rights reserved.
Functions and features
– Extremely short overall operating time (<2.5 ms)
– Arc flash detection with long-sensor fiber or light collecting
lens-type sensors
1MRS751404 F
– Fast, adjustable three-phase overcurrent or two-phase
overcurrent and neutral current condition to secure fault
detection
– Low burden 1A/5A CT inputs
– Circuit-breaker failure protection
– Continuous self-supervision of sensor fiber loops, operating
voltages and cabling between main modules and extension
modules
– Wide area automatic or manual backlight compensation
The REA 101 main module
– Two high-speed solid-state (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor)
outputs for tripping CBs
– Selective tripping by additional REA 105 extension modules
– Two opto-connectors for fast signal transfer of light/current/trip ABB Oy
signals between the main modules Medium Voltage Products
– Relay output for circuit-breaker failure protection or as an alarm P.O. Box 699
output FI-65101 VAASA, Finland
– Two RJ-45-type ports for chaining max. 5 extension modules Phone: +358 10 22 11
per port Fax: +358 10 22 41094
Extension modules for detecting the arc www.abb.com/substationautomation
REA 103
– Two sensor fibers in loop or radial arrangement
– Two signal relays activated by light
REA 105
– Loop-type or radial sensor fiber
– Two high-speed semi-conductor outputs for tripping CBs
– Signal relay activated by light
– Can serve as over current information link between two
REA 101 main modules
REA 107
– Eight lens sensors in radial arrangement
– Two signal relays activated by light
