Condition measuring and lifetime modelling of disconnectors, circuit breakers and other electrical power transmission equipment

Sammanfattning: The supply of electricity is important in modern society, so the outages of the electric grid should be few and short, especially for the transmission grid. A summary of the history of the Swedish electrical system is presented. The objective is to be able to plan the maintenance better by following the condition of the equipment.The risk matrix can be used to choose which component to be maintained. The risk matrix is improved by adding a dimension, the uncertainty of the probability. The risk can be reduced along any dimension: better measurements, preventive maintenance or more redundancy. The number of dimensions can be reduced to two by following iso-risk lines calculated for the beta distribution.This thesis lists twenty surveys about circuit breakers and disconnectors, with statistics about the failures and the lifetime. It also presents about forty condition-measuring methods for circuit breakers and disconnectors, mostly applicable to the electric contacts and the mechanical parts.A method for scheduling thermography based on analysis of variance of the current is tried. Its aim is to reduce the uncertainty of thermography and it is able to explain two thirds of the variation using the time of the day, the day of the week and the week number as explanatory variables. However, the main problem remains as the current is in general too low.A system with IR sensors has been installed at the nine contacts of six disconnectors with the purpose of avoiding outages for maintenance if the contacts are in a good condition. The measured temperatures are sent by radio and regressed against the square of the current, the best exponent found. The coefficient of determination $R^2$ is high, greater than 0.9. The higher the regression coefficient is, the more heat is produced at the contact. So this ranks the different contacts.Finally a framework for lifetime modelling and condition measuring is presented. Lifetime modelling consists in associating a distribution of time to failure with each subpopulation. Condition measuring means measuring a parameter and estimating its value in the future. If it exceeds a threshold, maintenance should be carried out. The effect of maintenance of the contacts is shown for four disconnectors.An extension of the risk matrix with uncertainty, a survey of statistics and condition monitoring methods, a system with IR sensors at contacts, a thermography scheduling method and a framework for lifetime modelling and condition measuring are presented. They can improve the planning of outages for maintenance.Finally a framework for lifetime modelling and condition measuring is presented. Lifetime modelling consists in associating a distribution of time to failure with each subpopulation. Condition measuring means measuring a parameter and estimating its value in the future. If it exceeds a threshold, maintenance should be carried out. The effect of maintenance of the contacts is shown for four disconnectors.An extension of the risk matrix with uncertainty, a survey of statistics and condition monitoring methods, a system with IR sensors at contacts, a thermography scheduling method and a framework for lifetime modelling and condition measuring are presented. They can improve the planning of outages for maintenance.