Advanced Operation and Maintenance of Circuit Breakers and Switchgear

Circuit breakers play an important role in the safe distribution of electrical power. The equipment needs to be operated, maintained, and installed in a safe manner securing continuity of supply to consumers. This following are important aspects of the circuit breakers: Electric power systems are designed to be as fault-free as possible through appropriate network design, equipment design, proper installation, and on-going maintenance. The Circuit breaker and its associated fault detection equipment, protective relaying, is an extremely important device, through its role of clearing short-circuit currents, disconnecting faulty elements from the power network, and thus maintaining the overall integrity of the power network. If faults are not controlled they can cause unnecessary loss of electricity service with all of its many ramifications The circuit breaker selection and arc extinction methods are of great importance Minimizing downtime by a proper and systematic maintenance program The course focuses mainly on the operation and maintenance of circuit breakers, with reference to auxiliary equipment incorporated for its reliable and safe operation. The importance of preventive maintenance check and servicing of the various types of circuit breakers Implementation of safe systems of work and operations Co-ordination of maintenance activities and maintaining system safety To be able to understand the component functionalities of the gas and vacuum circuit breakers Methods of arc extinction for MV HV circuit breakers Routine inspections and the functions of the microprocessor component in the circuit breakers