Auxiliary

Type PC8AHXS

relays for railways

2 ABB

ABB – a global technology leader

Advantage ABB

� 120 years of technology and innovation

� Unparalleled domain competence

� Global experience

� Complete solution capabilities

� Large installed base

� Environment-friendly technologies

ABB is a global leader in Power and Automationtechnologies that enable utility and industrycustomers to improve performance while loweringenvironmental impact. The ABB Group of companiesoperates in around 100 countries and employs over1,03,000 people.

In India, ABB serves customers with the completerange of power and automation technologies. Thecompany has a vast installed base, extensivemanufacturing facilities and a countrywide marketingand service presence.

As a part of its Power Technologies offering, ABBserves electric, gas and water utilities as well asindustrial and commercial customers with a wide rangeof products, systems and services for powergeneration, transmission and distribution. ABB’ssystem offering ranges from Electrical Balance of Plant(EBOP) for power plants, bulk power transmission,turnkey substations and complete electrification toutility automation and power distribution.

The product offering covers a wide spectrum of

technologies across the entire voltage range

including indoor and outdoor circuit breakers, air

and gas insulated switchgear, disconnectors,

capacitor banks, reactive power compensators,

power transformers, distribution transformers,

instrument transformers, Compact Secondary

Substations (CSS) and Ring Main Units (RMU).

ABB 3

Features

� Operates on AC voltage

� Heavy-duty double interruption contacts

� One extra heavy-duty contact circuit

� Plug-in base mounting of PC8 relay

� Robust design for rolling stock

Application

The PC8AHXS relay is intended for use in railvehicles, where a high degree of reliability and a highcontact rating are stipulated, with minimal internalconsumption. Acting on instantaneous switchingelement, it provides galvanic separation and contactmultiplication in protection, sequencing and signalingsystems of locomotives. The relay’s proven design,makes it suitable for stringent electrical, mechanicaland environmental requirements of railways. Therelay is used particularly in ‘QCVAR’ application inthe Indian railways for monitoring the functioning ofarno-converter.

Design and principle

The auxiliary relay type PC8AHXS uses the provendesign of the PC8 relay as its basic building blockand output element. The relay is AC voltageoperated with a specified ‘pick-up’ voltage range. Itpicks-up when AC voltage is connected to terminals‘a’ and ‘b’. It drops-out when this voltage isinterrupted. The rectifier element of the relayconverts the AC input to DC and filters it. The rectifierelement is immune to electrical disturbances

Auxiliary relays for railways type PC8AHXS

including high energy surges. An external seriesresistor limits the voltage to PC8 relay which is ratedfor 110 V DC.

PC8 is an instantaneous, auxiliary, plunger-type relaywith heavy duty double interruption contacts. Fouroutput contacts including one series-parallelcombination of four for higher duty (fig.1) are madeavailable in PC8AHXS relay.

The low ‘pick-up’ value of the PC8 relay (approx.50% of rated) along with plunger movement of3 mm, and the strong restoring springs ensure thatthe holding force on the plunger is sufficient for both,in the ‘picked-up’ and ‘dropped-off’ conditions. Thestrong holding force ensures operational reliability inconditions of vibration and shock expected in railwayvehicles. The contacts are made of silver-palladiumalloy and are gold plated. The special contactmetallurgy assures contact life (electrical &mechanical durability) in severe environmentalconditions expected in railway vehicles.The contacts have low resistance and unlike puresilver contacts, they can withstand noxious effects oftropical conditions and are free from sulphur attacks.This feature makes the relays suitable for higherswitching rates.

A transparent protective hood of polycarbonatematerial, that does not burn easily, providesprotection against dust to the PC8 element. Theplug-in mounting method is ideal for installation andservicing. Guide pins prevent the relay from beingplugged in the wrong way round. The marking of theterminals on the base agrees with that of the relaycontacts.

Fig. 1- Schematic drawing for PC8AHXS relay

Technical data

4 ABB

Energizing quantities, rated values and limits

Rated voltage UN 290 V AC max.

Operative voltage range 155 - 290 V AC

Pick-up voltage 155 - 170 V AC

Drop-out voltage >10% of rated voltage

Permitted ambient temperature range 0oC to +55oC

Pick-up time at UN (typical) 20-30ms

Power consumption at rated voltage 290 VAC 35 VA

Mechanical durability 1 million switching operations &

Tested according to IEC 77, IEC 255 200 Draw-out/Plug-in operations

Weight 1.9Kg

Contact dataContact configuration 2N/O+2N/C

Maximum voltage within contacts system 250V DC/AC

Rated current 5 A

Max. making current 25 A

Maximum breaking capacities

Voltage 24V 48V 110V 250V

Contacts 1 2 in 1 2 in 1 2 in 1 2 in 2 in

parallel parallel parallel parallel series

DC resistive load 5A 10A 5A 10A 5A 7A 1A - 5A

DC inductive. L/R =15ms 5A 10A 5A 8A 4A - 1A - 4A

DC inductive, L/R =40ms 4A 8A 4A 8A 3A - 0.5A - 2A

AC resistive & inductive 10A - 10A - 10A - 10A - -

Breaking capacity; tested according to IEC 77 3A, 180 operations at 30 Ops./Hr

at 110 V DC and L/R 40 ms.

Making capacity; tested according to IEC 77 25A, 180 operations at 30 Ops./Hr

at 110 V DC and Resistive Load

Electrical endurance 0.2 million operations,

Tested according to IEC 77, IEC 255-23 at 110 V DC, 0.5A L/R 40 ms.

Terminals Suitable for 2x2.5mm2 wires

ABB 5

Electrical tests

Environmental tests*

Measurement of resistance; tested acc. to IEC 77 +/- 10% of specified

Temperature-rise; tested acc. to IEC 77,IEC 255 Coil (class B), Contact

Insulation resistance; tested acc. to IEC 255-5 >100 M Ohm at 500 V DC

Dielectric; tested acc. to IEC 77, 255-5 2.0 kV 50 Hz, 1 min

Impulse; tested acc. to IEC 255-5 5 kV, 1.2/50µs, 0.5J

1 MHz burst disturbance; tested acc. to Class III

IEC 255-22-1

- common mode 2.5 kV, 1 MHz, 400 pls/s

- differential mode 1 kV, 1 MHz, 400 pls/s

Electrostatic discharge; tested acc. to Class III

IEC 255-22-2, IEC 571

- contact discharge 6 kV, 150 pF/330 ohm

- air discharge 8 kV, 150 pF/330 ohm

Fast transient disturbance; tested acc. to Class III

IEC 255-22-4, IEC 571

- common mode 2 kV, 5/50 µs, 5kHz, Rs = 50 ohm

Surge immunity; tested acc. to

IEC 571, 1000-4- 5

- common mode 2 kV, 1.2/50 µs, Rs = 10 ohm, class III

- differential mode 2 kV, 1.2/50 µs, Rs = 2 ohm, class IV

Vibration; tested acc. to IEC 77+/- 3g, 2Hr/ axis

Shock; tested acc. to IEC 77+/- 3g, 50Hz, 2min

Dry heat; tested acc. to IEC 68-2-2at +55oC in energized condition

Dry cold; tested acc. to IEC 68-2-1at 0oC

Damp heat (cyclic - 2days);12 Hr/55oC + 12 Hr/25oC x 2 @ 95% RHtested acc. to IEC 68-2-30

Salt mist (cyclic - 7days); 2 Hr spray periods, 5% NaCl solutiontested acc. to IEC 77, IEC-68-2-52 22 Hr humidity storage periods, 93% RH

*Tested for PC8 relay

Dimensions

ABB LimitedDistribution AutomationManeja,Vadodara 390 013, India.Tel: +91 265 2604384/5/6

+91 265 2604397Fax: +91 265 2638922E-mail: aicds@in.abb.com

Regional Marketing Offices:

NBCC Tower4th FloorNo. 15, Bhikaji Cama PlaceNew Delhi 110 066Tel: +91 11 26186000Fax: +91 11 26197592/84035

4th FloorNo. 9Elgin RoadKolkata 700 020Tel: +91 33 22832906/8Fax: +91 33 22832990

ABB HouseDr. S B PathBallard EstateMumbai 400 038Tel: +91 22 56318231 – 39Fax: +91 22 56318276/77

Embassy Star, 1st FloorNo. 8, Palace RoadVasanth NagarBangalore 560 052Tel: +91 80 22949779Fax: +91 80 22949808

Century PlazaNo. 3C, 3D & 3F, 3rd Floor561 / 562, Anna SalaiTeynampet (Mount Road)Chennai 600 018Tel: +91 44 24340201Fax: +91 44 24340282

Vandana House1st FloorG E Road, RamkundRaipur 492 001Tel: +91 771 5060816-8Fax: +91 771 5053391www.abb.co.in

North

East

West South

Central

PC

8AH

XS/1

2/20

05/0

1-50

0

Fig. 2 PC8AHXS assembly with plug-in base mounted PC8 relay