By sion932 
GB 10229—88 is a national standard of the People’s Republic of China specifically formulated for reactors. This standard is equivalent to the international standard IEC 289 “Reactors” (1987 edition), which lays a solid foundation for the standardized design, production, testing and application of reactors in China’s power system and related fields. Approved by the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry on December 12, 1988, GB 10229—88 officially came into effect on January 1, 1990. Although it was superseded by GB/T 1094.6—2011 “Power Transformers – Part 6: Reactors” on December 1, 2011, it still has important reference value for the research of historical technical specifications and the maintenance of legacy equipment.
1 Scope of Application
GB 10229—88 specifies the scope of application for various types of reactors, covering shunt reactors, current-limiting reactors, neutral point earthing reactors, damping reactors, tuning or filtering reactors, earthing transformers (neutral point couplers), arc suppression coils, and smoothing reactors. These reactors play crucial roles in power systems, such as compensating capacitive current, limiting fault current, filtering harmonics, and stabilizing DC power supply.
Meanwhile, the standard clearly defines the scope of non-application: it generally does not apply to small reactors with a capacity of less than 2 kvar for single-phase and 10 kvar for three-phase, as well as special-purpose reactors (e.g., high-frequency wave traps for lines or reactors installed on railway vehicles). It should be noted that if there are no corresponding national standards for the aforementioned small-capacity and special reactors, this standard may be fully or partially applicable.
2 Normative References
The implementation of GB 10229—88 relies on a series of supporting national standards, including:
- GB 1094.1~1094.5 “Power Transformers”: Provides basic technical requirements for the design and testing of transformers and reactors.
- GB 6450 “Dry-Type Power Transformers”: Specifies technical specifications for dry-type reactors.
- GB 7328 “Determination of Sound Levels for Transformers and Reactors”: Governs the measurement method of noise levels of reactors.
- GB 7449 “Guidelines for Lightning Impulse and Switching Impulse Tests on Power Transformers and Reactors”: Provides guidance for impulse voltage tests of reactors.
3 Key Definitions
GB 10229—88 defines the core concepts of various reactors involved, which is essential for unified understanding and application of the standard. The key definitions are as follows:
- Shunt Reactor: A reactor connected in parallel to the system, mainly used to compensate capacitive current. Its reactive power absorbed at rated voltage can be fixed or adjusted through additional devices (e.g., phase-controlled thyristors, on-load tap changers).
- Current-Limiting Reactor: A reactor connected in series to the system, used to limit short-circuit current during system faults. It carries continuous current during normal operation.
- Neutral Point Earthing Reactor: A single-phase reactor connected between the neutral point of the system and the ground, used to limit ground current during system ground faults. It usually has no or only a small continuous current during normal operation.
- Damping Reactor: A reactor connected in series with a capacitor bank to limit inrush current during switching operations.
- Tuning or Filtering Reactor: Connected in series or parallel with a capacitor bank to reduce, block or filter harmonics or communication frequencies.
- Earthing Transformer (Neutral Point Coupler): A three-phase transformer or reactor connected in parallel to the system to provide a neutral point, which can also supply power to nearby auxiliary networks.
- Arc Suppression Coil: A single-phase reactor connected between the neutral point of the system and the ground, used to compensate the ground capacitive current caused by single-phase ground faults in the system.
- Smoothing Reactor: A reactor in DC systems to reduce harmonic current and transient overcurrent.
4 Core Technical Requirements
4.1 Operating Conditions
The normal and special operating conditions of reactors shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 2 of GB 1094.1, which covers requirements for ambient temperature, humidity, altitude, and power supply quality, ensuring the stable operation of reactors under various working environments.
4.2 Design Classification
From the perspective of design and installation conditions, reactors are classified into multiple types according to GB 10229—88, including single-phase or three-phase, dry-type or oil-immersed, air-core or gapped core-type, with or without magnetic shielding, indoor or outdoor installation, fixed or variable reactance, and with or without additional load windings. For current-limiting reactors, magnetic shielding is usually designed to be saturated when subjected to short-time large current. For air-core dry-type current-limiting reactors without magnetic shielding, attention must be paid to the position of windings to minimize the impact of strong stray magnetic fields (e.g., overheating of adjacent metal parts and dangerous stresses under short-time current).
4.3 Magnetization Characteristics
Reactors are classified into linear, non-linear, and saturated types based on magnetization characteristics. For non-linear reactors, the magnetization characteristic during normal operation shall be in the linear part. The standard requires understanding the complete magnetization characteristics to determine the normal operating range, study overvoltage conditions, and simulate system research. The allowable deviation of rated reactance is ±5%. For three-phase shunt reactors or three-phase groups composed of single-phase shunt reactors connected to a system with symmetric voltage, if the reactance deviation of each phase is within the allowable range of ±5%, the deviation between the reactance of each phase and the average value of the three-phase reactance shall not exceed ±2%.
4.4 Loss Requirements
The corrected total loss measured in accordance with Article 10.7 of this standard shall not exceed +15% of the guaranteed loss value, which effectively controls the energy loss of reactors during operation and improves energy efficiency.
5 Test Specifications
GB 10229—88 specifies a series of test items and methods to verify the performance and reliability of reactors, including withstand voltage test, induction withstand voltage test, temperature rise test at rated continuous current, lightning impulse test, and short-time current test.
5.1 Temperature Rise Test
As an important test to verify the thermal stability and insulation performance of reactors under rated load, the temperature rise test shall be carried out in accordance with GB 1094.2. For dry-type reactors, the test current shall be as close as possible to the rated continuous current (not less than 90% of it) and maintained until the temperature rise of any part of the reactor is less than 2K per hour. The temperature rise of the winding at rated current relative to the cooling air temperature is calculated by the formula: \( \delta\theta_{n}=\delta\theta_{t}\left(\\frac{I_{n}}{I_{t}}\\right)^{-q} \), where \( I_{n} \) is the rated continuous current (A), \( I_{t} \) is the test current (A), \( \delta\theta_{t} \) is the temperature rise at test current (K), q=1.6 for AN cooling reactors, and q=1.8 for AF cooling reactors. The winding temperature shall be calculated from the measured resistance value in accordance with Article 3.3 of GB 1094.2. For oil-immersed reactors, the oil surface temperature rise and winding temperature rise are determined in accordance with Article 3.7 of GB 1094.2.
5.2 Impulse Test
The lightning impulse test generally refers to the provisions of GB 1094.3 Chapter 12, GB 6450 Article 5.8 and GB 7449. For current-limiting reactors, the test voltage is applied to each terminal of the winding to be tested in turn, with other terminals and windings grounded. For neutral point earthing reactors, the test voltage is applied to the end connected to the transformer neutral point, and the other terminal is grounded, and the wave front time can be increased to 13μs.
5.3 Short-Time Current Test
The short-time current test and impedance measurement under short-time current generally refer to the provisions of GB 1094.5, which verifies the ability of reactors to withstand short-time large current and the stability of impedance parameters.
6 Significance and Application Value
GB 10229—88 has played an important guiding role in standardizing the production and application of reactors in China during its implementation period. It ensures the consistency and reliability of reactor products, improves the safety and stability of power systems, and promotes the technological progress of the reactor industry. Although it has been superseded, it provides important technical reference for the maintenance and operation of a large number of legacy reactors. In addition, the test methods and technical requirements specified in the standard have laid a foundation for the development of subsequent related standards, and have far-reaching influence on the research and application of reactor technology in China.
References
- GB 10229—88, Reactors[S]. People’s Republic of China National Standard.
- IEC 289, Reactors(1987 edition)[S]. International Electrotechnical Commission.
- GB/T 1094.6—2011, Power Transformers – Part 6: Reactors[S]. People’s Republic of China National Standard.