12982_ET_ISSUE_02_2003 3/6/03 9:20 AM Page 32

BREAKER MAINTENANCE

CIRCUIT BREAKER MAINTENANCE,

By Fred Tanguay SENTINELS ON GUARD
F
rom a maintenance perspective, a fault for only a limited time. In fact this
power system is a very simple time can be as short as cycles in extreme
thing to break down into its basic cases. The circuit breaker is a workhorse.
component parts. Most power apparatus It is there to stop the fault current flow
have very few moving parts. The essen- before unaffected components are dam-
tial ingredient to reliable operation is aged or destroyed.
insulation health. Unfortunately, when The hard part of its job is breaking
things go wrong it usually happens in the current. Fault currents can be huge,
some type of spectacular fashion. typically, in the order of 20 times the full
The guardians of the power system load rating of the breaker. This extreme
are the circuit breaker and the protective current creates massive amounts of heat
Figure 1: 3000 Amp Breaker Cradle
relay system that supervises it. When a and electromagnetic force that can liter-
fault or overload occurs, the protection ally destroy cables, bus ducts, transform- essential to remember the important
system responds by activating circuit ers and switchgear. This is why it is areas of circuit breaker maintenance so
breakers to isolate the defective compo- absolutely critical that the circuit break- that you can develop an effective mainte-
nents. Equipment can withstand the ers used in your power system are kept in nance program, one that keeps your
tremendous heat, force and energy of a top operating condition at all times. It is equipment in good working order and

Rittal – Setting the Standard for Innovative

Industrial Enclosure Solutions, Worldwide
New Technology Enclosure
Air Conditioners
Operator Interface Bus-Bar Power Distribution
Panels Cabinets

Rittal Systems Ltd.

Toll Free: 1-800-399-0748 Industrial Workstations
Tel: 905-795-0777 Mini Chillers
Email: sales@rittal.ca ®

www.rittal.ca
See page 4444and 45
For Product Release
Switch to perfection
Reference this Ad No. MRKT A001

32 Electricity Today Issue 2, 2003

12982_ET_ISSUE_02_2003 3/6/03 9:23 AM Page 33

reduces those nasty unplanned outages. COMMON FAILURES

The circuit breaker comes in many As with any piece of equipment,
forms and types. To better describe these breakers are not failure proof and no cir-
distinctions we can start by looking at cuit breaker is maintenance free. In fact,
different voltage ratings such as high, breakers require more maintenance than
medium and low voltage. We can sepa- any other piece of equipment solely
rate breaker types again by the method because of their mechanical complexity.
used to interrupt the arc, such as sulfur Before we discuss various mainte-
Figure 2: Typical FPE Mechanism
hexaflouride gas (SF6), vacuum, oil and nance practices, it is important to under-
air. Yet another distinction is made by open. stand what some of the most common
their operating mechanism such as stored • The Arc Extinguishing System: circuit breaker failures are. Once you
energy, pneumatic and solenoid. Finally designed to quench and cool the arc know what the common problems are,
their type and location of installation is as the contacts open and to eventual- then you can devise a scope of work that
defined as simply indoor or outdoor, rack ly extinguish the arc as the contacts will detect them.
in or draw out. By taking a detailed look come fully open. Any failure is a very serious situa-
at all of these permutations and combina- • Power and Control Connections: tion. A breaker not working under a fault
tions we come up with five common power connection points connect the condition could be the reason for massive
areas where you have to focus your main- circuit breaker to the power system. system destruction and huge financial
tenance efforts. The five key maintain- They can be bolted or spring ten- loss to your company.
able areas are: sioned connections. Control connec-
• The Operating Mechanism: designed tions tie the electrical control system TRIPPING SYSTEM TROUBLES
to move the contacts at a high rate of of the breaker to the power system Trip system problems come from the
speed in either the open or close control network. failure of the trip coil or protective relay.
direction and latch the contacts • The Insulation System: is the main These problems are easily found by sim-
closed. electrical insulation that separates ple calibration and function testing meth-
• The Contact Assembly: designed to the live electrical components from ods on the protective equipment.
carry the full load current with mini- ground and from phase to phase. The However, it is sometimes the practice to
mal temperature rise and to assist in insulation system also helps to con- calibrate a relay without actually causing
breaking the arc when the contacts tain the arc when the contacts open. Continued on page 34

THE NEXT GENERATION

THE XF SERIES
RADAR FAULT LOCATORS
PORTABLE OR TRUCK MOUNT
WITH/WITHOUT BURN
EASIEST OPERATION
OFFERING 24/7 365
ALL WEATHER OPERABLE
JOIN GENERATION “X”
CALL
205-788-2437
TRUCK MOUNTED ARC REFLECTION
CABLE FAULT LOCATING SYSTEMS
16KV AND 25KV
THE VON CORPORATION
1038 Lomb Avenue, Birmingham, Alabama 35211
www.voncorp.com

Electricity Today Issue 2, 2003 33

12982_ET_ISSUE_02_2003 3/6/03 9:24 AM Page 34

Continued from page 33 more. This can be disastrous ager. After a brief, colourful
the breaker to operate. This may be the because the fault will eventu- description of how the
case because the calibration process is ally erupt into something product can’t flow without
being undertaken while the system is much larger later on. power, the poor electrician
still in operation. If this has been done, Reliable settings are the returns to the substation to
make sure that the breaker is entirely first step for proper circuit fix the breaker once and for
operated through the protective system breaker performance. With an Figure 3: Typical Siemens all. This time his repair
as soon as possible after the relay cali- accurate and up-to-date co- 1600 Amp Contacts involves a 2x4 piece of
bration is completed. In all too many ordination study on file for lumber. The breaker is now
cases, I have found breakers your power system, you have the permanently closed, fixed for good!
where trip coils, mechanisms or ability to make an educated deci- Thirty minutes later, our friend is in
control wiring have become sion about changing settings with- the cafeteria having coffee, on break,
inoperative, and the breaker out putting your entire operation at telling his pals how he saved the shift
would never trip regardless of risk. and was thanked by the night shift man-
the signal it receives. ager. Coffee is suddenly interrupted by a
The other extreme exists as TRUE STORY! loud bang (explosion), the lights go out,
well. We go from the breaker A plant maintenance electrician on the plant goes very quiet and in the dis-
that refuses to trip to the one night shift gets a call that a main tance he can hear fire trucks.
that is constantly tripping — 600-volt, 3000 amp breaker has Three days of down time and
better known as the nuisance tripped. This has happened before $400,000 in repair bills later, the plant
Figure 4: 44kV
trip. Personally, I think this is and he has reset it without was back in service.
GE OCB Arc
more than just a nuisance when trouble. He goes to the substa- The electrician was
Chamber
you consider the down time and tion and does what he usually reminded that 2x4s are
frustration that these cause. A breaker does, closes the breaker. He has a not part of his tool kit.
nuisance trips for one of five reasons: quick look around and sees no The start of the prob-
defective relay; the protection settings problem, so he returns to his tool lem was a burning
are wrong; the settings were changed by crib. ground fault in an out-
someone; the proper settings were never About 20 minutes later another Figure 5: 13.8kV FPE door bus duct. The
applied; or the connected load has call comes in. The same breaker has Bus Fingers poor breaker was
changed. Sometimes these operations tripped. Now he’s mad. He goes to the doing what it was supposed to do. No
are misinterpreted as false trips instead substation and this time turns up the one took the time to look at what was
of real trips. A real trip is overcurrent relay settings fig- causing the symptoms (see Figure 7).
a symptom of a problem, uring there is an overload
not a problem. Often somewhere. Again he closes INSULATION SYSTEM DECAY
though, the action taken the breaker and returns back Insulation system failures are attrib-
to eliminate the breaker to the crib. uted to the operating environment and
trip symptom is to turn About 30 minutes pass and a the frequency and severity of operation.
up the settings so that the Figure 6: Destroyed third call comes to him. Now You must be aware of the environment.
breaker doesn’t trip any Contactor Insulation it’s the production shift man- Substations that are unattended for long

Dispose of your PCB wastes safely & economically at

THE PCB incinerator site in Ontario
Gary Steacy Dismantling Ltd.
processes:
• All transformers of any size from
0 ppm to askarel
• Light ballasts
• Cable
• Capacitors We supply self contained
• All PCB wastes bins for your oil filled or
If a contaminated transformer is going to drained non PCB scrap
Our facility is conveniently located just off fall through the cracks-this is the place transformers. Keep your
the 401 near Colborne Ontario for it to fall. yard clean!
Call our specialists today!
For safe and efficient disposal of your PCB
G.S.
GARY STEACY
and non-PCB wastes. DISMANTLING LTD
No more worries about residual oil! P.O. Box 188, Colborne ON K0K 1S0

Phone: 905-355-3046 • Fax: 905-355-5480 • email: gary@steacydismantling.com • www.steacydismantling.com

34 Electricity Today Issue 2, 2003

12982_ET_ISSUE_02_2003 3/6/03 9:25 AM Page 35

periods of problem. The application of an excessive look at the application of the breaker.
time can de- amount of force is only making the prob- This could be a very dangerous situation
velop prob- lem worse. waiting to get a lot worse.
lems without
notice. This POWER AND CONTROL LOSS OF INSULATING MEDIUM
is particular- PROBLEMS Gas, vacuum and oil breakers
Figure 7: What Was Left
ly the case in Power and control connection prob- require an additional extinguishing
outdoor, medium-voltage stations. Here, lems result from a misalignment in the medium to break the arc when the con-
moisture from a leaky roof or excess switchgear cell (again, usually caused by tacts part. Most manufacturers will tell
humidity can cause the formation of using too much force to remove and you that their breakers will survive an
corona (a faint glow adjacent to the sur- insert draw-out type breakers). operation under fault if the medium dis-
face of an electrical conductor at high If a bus finger fails under load, the appears. I would not want to be around
voltage) very quickly. This can eventual- result would be disastrous. The bus fin- to witness this! Oil is simple because
ly lead to serious tracking and insulation gers are not designed to break any type there is always a sight glass. And a large
failure. of current what so ever. If they were to puddle under the breaker is sure sign of
Obviously, any water leaking into fail under full load, the ensuing arc wou- problems. Vacuum breakers are another
switchgear is very serious and may cause ld destroy the breaker and cause serious story. Most are fitted with pressure
an arc well before corona even begins. A damage to the switchgear. The failure of switches to monitor the vacuum level. It
dirty environment contaminated with control fingers is just as important since amazes me to see so many of these
conductive or corrosive material will this may disconnect the trip and close switches not wired up to some type of
also lead to premature insulation decay controls from the protection system. warning or annunciation system. SF6
and eventual failure. breakers have the same type of level
Breakers that frequently operate CONTACT WEAR detection system as vacuum breakers.
under heavy loads and faults, will suffer Rarely do you see contact wear, But, again, the system is rarely wire to a
insulation damage caused by the extreme unless the breaker is really over-worked warning system. This gas can be detect-
heat of the arcs drawn. It is common to because of the operation frequency, ed by using a simple Freon gas detector.
see inter-phase barriers, arc chutes and switching heavy loads, multiple opera- If there are arc by-products in the gas
pole supporting insulation burned. This tions under fault, under-rating or insuffi- you will also notice the smell of rotten
will also lead to tracking and eventual cient interrupting rating. When you find eggs in the substation.
failure. excessive contact wear take a very close
Continued on page 37
MECHANICAL SYSTEM STIFFNESS
General mechanical failure of the The ONLY 3 - Color, 3-D Engraved Signs Made to
trip, close and the racking mechanism is
caused by wear and tear, contamination Last a Lifetime!
from a dirty environment and finally,
excessive force (the human kind!). TM
Lubrication is essential to keep the link-
ages, rollers and bearings in the mecha-
nism working freely. Dirt buildup inside PATENT PENDING
the mechanism can dry out or gum up
the mechanism, causing the bearings and Made of Tri-Extruded UV Stabilized High
rollers to seize. You are eventually left Density Polyethylene, and 3-D engraved,
with a breaker that is, for all intents and these Danger Signs are impervious to
purposes, stuck shut or stuck open. On virtually all acids, alkalis and caustic
the other side, the breaker could be very chemicals. Resistant to extreme changes
sluggish in operation. Both of these in temperature or environment, they will
cases would allow fault currents to flow not chip, fade, crack or peel.
for a much greater time than your equip- In fact, Almetek believes so strongly in
ment can withstand, leading to a destruc- the durability, longevity and dependability
tive failure. of this innovative and revolutionary prod-
Many circuit breakers are physically uct line, that every danger sign is backed
abused. This comes from a complete by an unprecedented 30-Year Warranty.
lack of knowledge on how to safely For further information on our entire line
operate a breaker. Any breaker that of standard or custom TRIDENT ™
requires some type of lever, several peo- Danger and Safety Signs, call, fax or
ple or a pry bar to make it work, has a visit us on the web at www.almetek.com.

INDUSTRIES, INC.
® 800-248-2080
TM
If You Identify With Quality You Identify With Us.
908 850-9700 • Fax: 908-850-9618

Figure 8: Over Heated Bus Fingers

Electricity Today Issue 2, 2003 35