The power circuit breakers at your premises may work well and trick you into thinking everything is working just fine. You may not recognize that despite the efficiency of your circuit breakers, behind the scenes, the devices could be facing imminent failure.
DC testing checks for potential contaminants, dirt, and moisture, piled up on circuit breakers. Their insulation systems weaken owing to the heat caused by arch disruption, particularly if are regularly maintained. Circuit breakers installed in volatile environments are exposed to different acidic contaminants, such as hydrogen sulfide or chlorine. These hard-line chemicals oxidize and damage the breaker insulation, as well as its metal components.
Typical DC Tests to Ensure Safety and Better Performance
The best method to ensure DC breakers safety is by conducting the necessary maintenance, such as DC testing of the circuit breakers.
The most important DC tests approved by NETA include:
- DC test of the circuit breakers insulation systems.
- Circuit breaker’s insulation resistance testing of the control wiring
- Contact resistance test to evaluate the current path resistance of the circuit breaker.
Insulation Systems
This is one of the crucial areas that require evaluation and testing of the DC. Weak insulation can result in a disastrous failure, chiefly at some stage in arc interruption. Wiring of the circuit breaker’s control is also crucial. A single short wire inside the circuit breaker can cause massive failures including malfunction or the overcurrent of the spring charging motor.
Old Circuit breakers require maintenance to replace the factory lubrication, which dries out with time. This avoids binding or seizing over time. All of these issues are common in neglected devices that are still functional.
Higher-voltage circuit breakers rely on insulation power tests to verify the quality of the DC overpotential test. Overall, you should check circuit breakers to look out for defects, because ignoring them is too risky. The last thing you need in your premises is a failed insulation system, which may explode into a fire or cause a serious injury.
If you'd like to learn more about DC testing, transformer services or need power quality monitoring, contact the team at Power Plus Engineering today.