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An electrical insulator is a material in which electric current does not flow freely. The atoms of the insulator have tightly bound electrons which cannot readily move. Other materials—semiconductors and conductors—conduct electric current more easily. The property that distinguishes an insulator is its resistivity; insulators have higher resistivity than semiconductors or conductors. The most common examples are non-metals.
A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by an overcurrent or short circuit. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent the risk of fire. Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then must be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset to resume normal operation.
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages.
In electrical engineering, partial discharge (PD) is a localized dielectric breakdown (DB) of a small portion of a solid or fluid electrical insulation (EI) system under high voltage (HV) stress. While a corona discharge (CD) is usually revealed by a relatively steady glow or brush discharge (BD) in air, partial discharges within solid insulation system are not visible.
In electronics and electrical engineering, a fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it, thereby stopping or interrupting the current. It is a sacrificial device; once a fuse has operated it is an open circuit, and must be replaced or rewired, depending on its type.
An electric switchboard is a device that distributes electricity from one or more sources of supply to several smaller load circuits. It is an assembly of one or more panels, each of which contains switching devices for the protection and control of circuits fed from the switchboard. Several manufacturers make switchboards used in industry, commercial buildings, telecommunication facilities, oil and gas plants, data centers, health care, and other buildings, and onboard large ships. A switchboard is divided into different interconnected sections, generally consisting of a main section and a distribution section. These two sections are sometimes replaced by a combination section, which is a section that can fulfill the roles of both aforementioned sections. Switchboards can also sometimes come with an auxiliary section that is used to house devices that cannot be housed in the same section as other devices.
An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma; the plasma may produce visible light. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge and relies on thermionic emission of electrons from the electrodes supporting the arc. An archaic term is voltaic arc, as used in the phrase "voltaic arc lamp".
An HVDC converter station is a specialised type of substation which forms the terminal equipment for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line. It converts direct current to alternating current or the reverse. In addition to the converter, the station usually contains:
In an electric power system, switchgear is composed of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to be done and to clear faults downstream. This type of equipment is directly linked to the reliability of the electricity supply.
An electronic component is any basic discrete device or physical entity in an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not to be confused with electrical elements, which are conceptual abstractions representing idealized electronic components and elements.
Arcing horns are projecting conductors used to protect insulators or switch hardware on high voltage electric power transmission systems from damage during flashover. Overvoltages on transmission lines, due to atmospheric electricity, lightning strikes, or electrical faults, can cause arcs across insulators (flashovers) that can damage them. Alternately, atmospheric conditions or transients that occur during switching can cause an arc to form in the breaking path of a switch during its operation. Arcing horns provide a path for flashover to occur that bypasses the surface of the protected device. Horns are normally paired on either side of an insulator, one connected to the high voltage part and the other to ground, or at the breaking point of a switch contact. They are frequently to be seen on insulator strings on overhead lines, or protecting transformer bushings.
An electrical room is a room or space in a building dedicated to electrical equipment. Its size is usually proportional to the size of the building; large buildings may have a main electrical room and subsidiary electrical rooms. Electrical equipment may be for power distribution equipment, or for communications equipment.
The Siemens Energy Sector was one of the four sectors of German industrial conglomerate Siemens. Founded on January 1, 2008, it generated and delivered power from numerous sources including the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and natural gas in addition to renewable and alternative energy sources. As of October 1, 2014, the sector level has been eliminated, including the Siemens Energy Sector.
High voltage switchgear is any switchgear used to connect or disconnect a part of a high-voltage power system. This equipment is essential for the protection and safe operation, without interruption, of a high voltage power system, and is important because it is directly linked to the quality of the electricity supply.
CEPCO is a leading construction company with corporate headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with offices throughout Saudi Arabia and in Middle East, CEPCO has been in business since 1977 and provides construction services in the fields of Civil & Infrastructure, Electrical, Horizontal Direction Drilling, Electromechanical, Oil, Gas & Power.
Sulfur hexafluoride circuit breakers protect electrical power stations and distribution systems by interrupting electric currents, when tripped by a protective relay. Instead of oil, air, or a vacuum, a sulfur hexafluoride circuit breaker uses sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas to cool and quench the arc on opening a circuit. Advantages over other media include lower operating noise and no emission of hot gases, and relatively low maintenance. Developed in the 1950s and onward, SF6 circuit breakers are widely used in electrical grids at transmission voltages up to 800 kV, as generator circuit breakers, and in distribution systems at voltages up to 35 kV.
A fiber-optic current sensor (FOCS) is a current sensor for measuring direct current. By using a single-ended optical fiber around the current conductor that utilizes the magneto-optic effect, FOCS measures uni- or bidirectional DC currents of up to 600 kA within ±0.1% of the measured value.
In electrical engineering, a vacuum interrupter is a switch which uses electrical contacts in a vacuum. It is the core component of medium-voltage circuit-breakers, generator circuit-breakers, and high-voltage circuit-breakers. Separation of the electrical contacts results in a metal vapour arc, which is quickly extinguished. Vacuum interrupters are widely used in utility power transmission systems, power generation unit, and power-distribution systems for railways, arc furnace applications, and industrial plants.
In an electrical power distribution system, a ring main unit (RMU) is a factory assembled, metal enclosed set of switchgear used at the load connection points of a ring-type distribution network. It includes in one unit two switches that can connect the load to either or both main conductors, and a fusible switch or circuit breaker and switch that feed a distribution transformer. The metal enclosed unit connects to the transformer either through a bus throat of standardized dimensions, or else through cables and is usually installed outdoors. Ring main cables enter and leave the cabinet. This type of switchgear is used for medium-voltage power distribution, from 7200 volts to about 36000 volts.