Circuit Breakers and High Voltage Circuits Maintenance
Keeping circuit breakers in optimal condition helps extend their lifespan and enhances the performance of systems/equipment. It also reduces downtime and costs from unexpected failures.
Many facilities have a maintenance schedule that includes tasks like visual inspections, insulation resistance tests, and contact resistance testing. It’s important to perform these tasks regularly.
Visual Inspection
Visual inspections are a form of nondestructive testing that relies on the inspector’s aided and unaided eyes to identify defects in an object or material. It’s one of the oldest and most popular NDT methods, and it can help identify surface-level issues that may be difficult to detect using other testing techniques with Electrician CA
Visual inspection is accessible to a wide range of personnel, including maintenance technicians and machine operators. It’s also a cost-effective approach to quality control, and it can be performed without damaging the object being tested.
However, visual inspections can be time-consuming and require special tools to conduct correctly. They can also be ineffective if they are not regularly reviewed and validated to ensure they meet industry standards and regulations. Creating a clear and effective inspection strategy helps ensure your company’s products and systems are safe to use. Standardizing your inspection model will also reduce the risk of human error and subjectivity, making it easier to recognize novel anomalies.
Tests
During a mechanical test, the technician passes alternating current through the breaker to ensure it has a normal opening and closing speed. This test also helps identify the condition of insulating parts, including bushings, as well as the alignment and condition of movable and stationary contacts.
Insulation resistance tests are also performed with a megger, which uses DC voltage to measure the insulation system’s performance and find problems like moisture, dirt, and weak insulation. An IR test involves putting high DC voltage through an insulator to stress it and bring issues to light.
A primary injection test set is used to check the overload and short-circuit trip pickup levels and time delays of molded case circuit breakers. This type of testing requires disabling the breaker’s ground-fault protection feature, which can damage the test leads if it is left on during the test. These tests help determine the correct settings to maintain the breaker’s rated characteristics.
Replacement Parts
Keeping circuit protection components in good working condition is essential to the safety and reliability of your company’s electrical equipment. This includes surge suppressors and safety relays. These parts are designed to detect and respond to potential threats and can help prevent equipment damage, downtime, and potential fires.
Some of these components are easy to replace with standardized replacements bought at your local electronics supply shop or available by mail order. Other circuits rely on specialized and hard-to-find components that nobody else but the original manufacturer makes.
Most resistors are carbon composition types that are easy to sub but pay attention to the resistance and power dissipation ratings for the replacement you choose. Electrolytic capacitors get very warm from the power they dissipate, so respect their temperature ratings as well. When substituting transistors, be sure to look at the polarity and layout of connections on the board to avoid changing the function of a circuit.
Repairs
Voltage Circuits Maintenance pushes electric volume (current or amps) through a circuit to operate a load such as a motor, relay, or light bulb. The voltage should fall to about zero on the ground side of the circuit after it stops operating the load. This is called ground-side voltage drop.
When trace pathways on a printed circuit board deteriorate or break, it can cause significant issues with the conductivity of the board and devices on it. Luckily, these pathways are made of silver and copper, which is easier to see than other materials, making them fairly easy to spot as damaged by a visual inspection.
Often, a circuit breaker needs restoration, or complete disassembly and cleaning, painting or powder coating, replating, and retesting. This will not only increase the lifespan of a breaker but will also improve system performance and reliability. This GE Air Circuit Breaker Maintenance Guide provides prudent test and inspection methods for a safer maintenance program based on recommended industry standards.