REA 10_ Brochure - ABB Oy Distribution Automation - #1

The REA Arc Protection System The REA Arc Protection System from ABB provides your substation with comprehensive protection against arc faults. It minimizes material damage and allows power distribution to be smoothly and safely restored. This system can also bring cost benefits even before an arc fault occurs. As older switchgear is more prone to arc faults, fitting an ABB arc protection system will effectively extend the life of your switchgear and make more of your investment. But even more impor­tantly, this technology can also help save lives.

Opening a new perspective The REA Arc Protection System is more than a first-class product. It is supplied with a value-adding information package about the product that lets you get the most from it in your application. Information such as technical data, user documentation and connection diagrams is essential to ensure smooth and efficient use of the relay throughout its lifetime.

Long-fiber technology for increased safety

The key to efficient protection is the imme­diate detection of arcs. The REA system utilizes a patented long-fiber sensor tech-

nology, which enables fail-safe and instan­taneous arc detection anywhere within the switchgear enclosure. This tough, unshield­ed fiber-optic cable runs throughout the switchgear enclosure and senses the in­tense light from a developing arc, no matter where it strikes.

Faster protection than ever Among other advantages, long-fiber tech­nology promotes quick reaction and cost-effective installation, which is ideally suited to multi-chamber low or medium voltage air-insulated switchgears. It is here that the system's fast Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) solid-state circuits react instantly (<2.5 ms) to isolate the arc, long before any extensive damage can occur, causing long and devastatingly expensive downtime.