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Whether you are designing, specifying, installing, testing or commissioning electrical equipment from small to large commercial and industrial installations, you need to have a thorough understanding of switchboards, switchgear, circuit breakers and associated protective relays. The overall focus of this course is on electrical inspection, testing and commissioning and will commence with a detailed examination of switchgear and circuit breakers. Circuit breakers are critical components in electrical distribution systems and their operation significantly affects the overall operation of the system. Protection relays are then discussed. These are used in power systems to maximize continuity of supply and are found in both small and large power systems from generation, through transmission, distribution and utilization of power in plant, industrial and commercial equipment. The course will cover commissioning and periodic inspection of cables and their various failure modes and how to detect these faults. The often neglected topic of switchboards will be detailed next, followed by the interesting topic of interfacing to the control system either PLCs or other control devices.

By the end of this course delegates will learn about:

·       Electrical inspection, testing and commissioning

·       Detailed principles and rules for inspection, testing and commissioning of switchboards, switchgear, cabling and protection relays

·       Selection of appropriate type and rating of switchgear and circuit breakers

·       The different standards and specifications used for switchgear and circuit breakers

·       Asset management of switchgear and protective relays

·       Safe maintenance policies including safe working in switch rooms, indoor and outdoor substations

Fundamentals of Switchgear

·       Single line diagrams

·       Typical construction – LV/MV and HV

·       Active and passive network components

·       Circuit breaker utilisation, Fuse switches

·       HV fuses in combination with and as alternatives to circuit breakers

·       Auto-reclosers and auto-reclose operations

Specification of Switchgear

·       Switchgear ratings – highest system and impulse withstand voltages

·       Load and short circuit currents, Simple and complex protection schemes

·       Switchgear ancillaries, measurement CTs, VTs and relays

·       Cable terminations, Indoor and outdoor operation

Short Circuit Testing

·       Symmetrical and asymmetrical breaking

·       Make and break operations, Understanding test oscillograms

Switchgear Diagnostics, Testing & Maintenance

·       Asset records, Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)

·       Reliability Centred Maintenance (RBM)

·       Switchgear inspection methodologies

·       Insulation deterioration, Diagnostic techniques

·       Partial discharge measurement and survey

·       Partial discharge – transient earth voltage (TEV) monitoring

·       Partial discharge by acoustic methods, Timing tests

·       Thermovision, Tan delta testing

·       Principles of circuit breaker maintenance

·       Contact maintenance and contact wipe, Oil testing

·       Maintenance of vacuum circuit breakers and SF6

·       Switchgear defects and defect control, Switchgear installations

Power System Protection Principles & Relays

·       Principles of protection, Types of faults

·       Types of protection systems, Types of protective relays

·       Electromechanical and static relays, Numerical relays

Configuration of Numerical Relays

·       Setting approach in conventional relays, Configuration of relays

·       Troubleshooting typical problems

Cabling Commissioning & Periodic Testing

·       Review of codes for testing, Drum length checks

·       Post installation checking, Pre-commissioning and periodic tests

·       Tests as tools for condition monitoring and early failure alarm

·       HV tests using DC and very low frequency AC

·       Partial discharge tests and mapping of results

·       Dielectric dissipation factor measurements

·       Micro destructive and non-destructive tests for life assessment

·       Operation and maintenance of cables

·       Cable Failure Modes And Fault Detection, Types of failure

·       Reasons for failure, Fault location

·       Electrical tests for detection of cable faults

·       Safety issues in fault detection, Analysis of failures

Switchboard Installation, Inspection & Commissioning

·       Inspection, Routine, type, acceptance and pre-commissioning tests

·       High voltage equipment test techniques, Commissioning procedures

Interface to Control Equipment (PLCS)

·       Overview of PLC, PLC I/O modules, Typical faults

·       Pre-commissioning tests, Commissioning procedures

Case Studies of Typical Problems

·       Improper circuit breaker trip unit and relay settings

·       Motor overload protection

·       Medium voltage distribution system installation problems

·       Switchboard metering problems, Emergency distribution problems

·       Noisy transformers, Incorrect earthing and neutrals