Early Detection of Health Condition Degradation of Circuit Breaker Based on Electrical Quantity Monitoring

Abstract

Circuit breakers on the filter bank branches in converter stations are vulnerable to contact wear and mechanical deterioration caused by frequent operations, which can lead to circuit breaker breakdowns and explosions. It is imperative to conduct research on the early detection of abnormal states in circuit breakers. Existing electrical quantity-based detection methods are constrained by a priori assumptions, and their measurement methods are susceptible to interference, leading to misjudgments. To address this issue, this paper examines the influence of changes in critical breakdown field strength and contact spacing on circuit breaker operation states. It also proposes a technical scheme that employs breakdown current values to comprehensively characterize circuit breaker operation states, replacing the use of critical breakdown field strength and contact spacing. An early detection method for abnormal circuit breaker states based on a sequence of breakdown current ratios at different times is proposed, and its effectiveness is verified through simulation and field recording data.