Modern approach to diagnostic of high-voltage circuit breakers

One of the important and priority tasks of energy enterprises specialists is to increase the reliability of expensive equipment of power plants and power systems such as high-voltage circuit breakers of various modifications.

At most enterprises, the resource consumption of high-voltage circuit breakers is accounted by the traditional method - with the involvement of specialized staff and the withdrawal of equipment from work, which does not always contribute to the prompt receipt of information on developing defects.

To solve this problem, SKB EP has implemented a special instrument UMVV-1.1, which is designed for online monitoring of the commutation resource and operational assessment of the current technical condition of high-voltage circuit breakers of various voltage classes.

Of course, the functioning of the instrument should be based on the current technical parameters of the high-voltage circuit breaker, since its operation is supposed to be held on existing and new facilities, therefore it is primarily recommended to conduct a inspection of the technical condition of a particular high-voltage circuit breaker with instruments for offline diagnostic (PKV and MIKO). This approach will significantly reduce the costs of the enterprise by obtaining the missing input parameters. This will allow a more cost-effective approach and conduct technical service "as needed".

The format of continuous monitoring solves many problems and brings monitoring and diagnostic to a new level, but only a comprehensive assessment of the circuit breaker technical condition by online and offline diagnostic methods allows to identify the "weak link" in the chain of technological transit of electricity, direct the appropriate material and technical resources for maintenance and repair, while maintaining the level of reliability of power supply at a high level at low cost.

The principle of operation of the instrument is quite simple – UMVV-1.1 records the surges, values and nature of the current at the time of the onset of a short circuit and at the time of disconnection of the high-voltage circuit breaker, calculates the short circuit energy, and based on the data obtained calculates the wear of arc extinguish contact and the nozzle of the arc extinguish chamber.

In addition, thanks to the temperature transducers that can be supplied with UMVV-1.1, it becomes possible to record an increase in temperature in the indoor switch gear, which may be a sign of an incipient malfunction of the equipment, and lead to serious damage in general.

Online monitoring by the UMVV-1.1 instrument provides information about the dynamics of consumption of the residual commutation resource and initial failures in the operation of high-voltage circuit breakers without disabling the circuit breaker, which makes it possible to optimize the procedure for repeated inspections based on the actual condition of the object and minimize replacement and repair costs.

The UMVV-1.1 instrument has been used for several years at existing facilities of the electrical network, where it successfully functions and continuously monitors the condition of circuit breakers.

If you are interested in our instruments, we will be glad to answer your questions by phone +7 (812) 500-25-48 or e-mail to skb@skbep.com.