The Maintenance Of Circuit Breaker Using Mobile Agent Software Technology

               ABSTRACT

Circuit breakers are crucial components for power system operation. The currently adapted time-directed maintenance strategy and the emerging new condition-based strategy require a flexible information processing technique and software architecture. In this paper, mobile agent software has been applied in implementing circuit breaker maintenance and repair tasks. Several potential application scenarios have been described and the relevant software features have been discussed. The benefits of using the mobile agent techniques are discussed at the end.

1.0       INRODUCTION     

In very electrical installation, what always comes to the mind is the issue of having good productive device which can always be used to safe guard the electrical components or equipment. This calls for the need of circuit with the emergence of new maintenance techniques the circuit breakers by mobile agent software technology.

1.1            CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Thomas Edison developed the idea for circuit breakers in 1898. In 1898, the first circuit breakers was installed, this featured an oil tank and upward-breaking contacts normally activated. After some years, Granville Woods improved upon the design and invented theautomatic circuit breakers.

A Circuit Breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch design to protect electric current and other devices in power system caused by overload or short circuit. Fuse, as was used was replaced because of its inability to control excess power supply, a circuit breaker can be reset (either normally or automatically) to resume proper operations. As modern power system deals with huge currents, a special attestation is given especially during the designing of circuit to safe interruption of arc. The circuit breaker as a switch device does every switching operations during current breakers carrying conditions in the conductor.

1.1.1    Types  of Circuit Breaker

Considering various criteria, there are different types of circuit breakers:

ØARC QUENCHING MEDIA

We have four major circuit breakers

·        Oil circuit breakers

·        Air circuit breakers

·        SF₆ circuit breakers

·        Vaccum circuit breakers

ØVOLTAGE LEVEL OF INSTALLATION CIRCUIT BREAKERS

·        High voltage of circuit breakers

·        Medium voltage circuit breakers

·        Low voltage circuit breakers

1.1.2    CIRCUIT BREAKERS RATING

This rating of circuit breakers includes:

ØRated Short Circuit Breaking Circuit: This is the maximum short circuit current which can be withstood by a circuit breaker. Also, thermal and mechanical stresses in the current carrying parts of the breaker are felt especially when a short circuit flows through the circuit breakers. This is actually the maximum current that can flow through the breaker from time of occurring short circuit to the time of clearing it without damage on C.B.

ØRated Short Circuit Making Current of Circuit Breaker: This is expressed in maximum peak value, it is always more than rated short circuit breaking current of C.B. Normally value of short circuit making current is 2.5 times more than short circuit breaking current.

ØRated Short Time Current: This is the limited current that can be carried by a circuit breaker without damage to it. It does not quickly clears the circuit current immediately fault is noticed, but unintentional and international time delays are recorded, this is as result of the protectoral relays and the operational time the circuit breakers.

1.2            EFFECTS OF SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT INSIDE A CIRCUIT BREAKER.

1.     There may be high thermal stress in the conducting and insulating parts of C.B because of high electric current.

2.     There are also significant mechanical stresses in different parts of C.B because of high short circuit current.

Haven stated all these above relate to circuit breakers, this had some maintenance techniques, which as a result of technology had updates.