The paper discusses electrical fault conditions such as over-currents, residual or leakage currents, arcing faults, shock hazard and surges. It also describes how they can threaten a power system and its users. It goes on to review the possible consequences if no or non-sufficient circuit protection measures are in place to prevent such problems or limit their effects, in addition to highlighting applicable standards and products available.
The whitepaper guides the machine builder through an area that’s wide-ranging and complex. It shows that as well as enhancing safety for operators, the right circuit protection can eliminate or significantly reduce loss of production. This can be through nuisance tripping, power blackouts, equipment failure or damage due to let-through of excess electrical energy caused by overload currents, overvoltage or other reasons.
By having an appropriate circuit protection strategy, productivity and uptime is maximised by ensuring that if a fault develops, only the power circuit local to the fault is shut down; the rest of the system continues production without interruption. Correct protection also improves uptime for the affected circuit by interrupting power before it can cause serious and permanent damage.
The whitepaper is available to download from www.eaton.eu/en/cp/gen
