High-voltage circuit breaker testing and performance analysis
In this lecture, an overview will be given of the latest technology of high-voltage circuit breaker testing
and methods of performance analysis for thermal interruption.
Subjects to be discussed and illustrated with videos from test-experience:
Testing:
 Faults in power systems
 Effects of short-circuit currents on substation equipment (electro-dynamical, thermal)
 Circuit breakers (SF6 and vacuum)
 Testing of circuit breakers
 Direct and synthetic test methods
 Testing of ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers
 Full-pole testing of metal-enclosed circuit breakers
Performance analysis
 Short-line fault, thermal interruption interval
 Current zero phenomena
 Arc-circuit interaction in thermal interval
 Current zero measurement and analysis
 Arc conductivity, post-arc current
 Nozzle degradation assessment
 Arc modelling
Speaker
René Peter Paul Smeets received the M.Sc. degree in physics from the
Eindhoven Univ. of Technology, the Netherlands in 1981. He obtained a PhD.
degree for research work on vacuum switchgear. Until 1995, he was an
assistant professor at Eindhoven University, dealing with switching
phenomena in power engineering. During 1991 he worked with Toshiba
Corporation in Japan in the development of vacuum interrupters. In 1995, he
joined KEMA, the Netherlands. At present, he is with DNV GL KEMA
Laboratories, product development and innovation.
From 2001 he was part-time professor at Eindhoven University, the
Netherlands. In 2013 he became adjunct professor at Xi’an Jiaotong
University, China. He is convener of CIGRE WG A3.27 (high-voltage
vacuum circuit breakers), IEC MT32 (Inductive Load Switching) and IEC
17A/MT40 (Electrical Endurance Testing) of IEC 17A, and secretary of
CIGRE A3.34 (DC switching).
In 2008 he was elected Fellow of IEEE. He is chairmain of the “Current Zero
Club” and received six international awards. He authored more than 200
international papers on many aspects of power switching technology, and
presented many training courses all over the world.
In 2014 he published the book “Switching in Electrical Transmission and
Distribution Systems” (ISBN 978-1-118-38135-9) with John Wiley, UK.