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CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY
ENHANCEMENT
Article in NeuroQuantology · July 2022
DOI: 10.48047/nq.2022.20.7.NQ33541
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NeuroQuantology| July 2022 | Volume 20 | Issue 7 | Page 4527-4533|doi: 10.48047/nq.2022.20.7.NQ33541
K.KAVITHA et al/ CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT
CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR
ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY
ENHANCEMENT
K.KAVITHA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING,
ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY
E-mail: kavitha_au04@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The escalating frequency of critical electrical accidents during electric line repairs underscores the
imperative need for enhanced safety measures for maintenance staff, specifically electrical linemen.
This research proposes a solution aimed at safeguarding the lives of linemen by implementing a
circuit breaker control system operated via a password mechanism. The system's control for
enabling or disabling the power line is vested solely with the lineman, achieved through a password
input requirement for circuit breaker operation (on/off). This system is predominantly managed by a
microcontroller from the 8051 family, with a matrix keypad interfaced to input the password. The
entered password is cross-checked against the stored password in the microcontroller's ROM.
Successful authentication enables the lineman to activate or deactivate the circuit breaker, visually
indicated by a lamp that illuminates or goes off accordingly.
Keywords: Circuit Breaker Control, Password-Based System, EEPROM, Microcontroller, Electrical
Lineman.
DOINumber: 10.48047/nq.2022.20.7.NQ33541
NeuroQuantology 2022;20(7):4527-4533
1 INTRODUCTION
The unwavering commitment to safety within
the electrical utility industry has long been a
paramount concern, particularly concerning
the well-being of electrical linemen working
tirelessly to maintain and repair power lines.
However, amidst the crucial tasks performed
by these linemen, incidents of critical
electrical accidents during repair work have
surged due to inadequate coordination and
communication between maintenance staff
and substation personnel [1]. To address this
burgeoning safety challenge, this research
delves into the innovative realm of circuit
breaker authentication as a definitive solution
aimed at fortifying the safety protocols
surrounding linemen's operations.
The crux of this paper researchrevolves
around mitigating the heightened risks
encountered by electrical linemen during
maintenance tasks, primarily by implementing
a circuit breaker authentication system [2].
Traditionally, safety measures have relied on
manual lockout/tagout procedures, effective
yet susceptible to human errors or
unauthorized tampering, leaving potential
hazards unresolved [3]. This proposed system
seeks to revolutionize safety standards by
integrating
authentication
mechanisms
directly with circuit breakers, endowing
linemen with a more secure and foolproof
means of isolating electrical circuits during
maintenance endeavors [4].
At the heart of this innovative solution lies the
concept of affording exclusive control of
circuit breakers to linemen, achieved through
a password-based authentication system.
Designed around a microcontroller from the
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K.KAVITHA et al/ CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT
8051 family, the system incorporates a matrix
keypad interface to input passwords [5].
Successful authentication, by comparing the
entered password with the one stored in the
microcontroller's ROM, grants linemen the
authority to initiate or terminate electrical
circuits. The system effectively communicates
the activation or deactivation status through a
visual indicator, such as a lamp, providing
real-time feedback to linemen during their
tasks [6].
Moreover, this research extends beyond its
immediate
implementation,
envisioning
future enhancements to further fortify its
efficacy. The integration of EEPROM
functionality emerges as a prospective
enhancement, enabling users to modify
passwords and bolster the system's security
features [7]. Additionally, contemplating
interfacing the system with a GSM modem
holds promise for remote circuit breaker
control through SMS commands, ushering in
an era of expanded functionality and
convenience.Through its proactive approach
and technological advancements, the circuit
breaker authentication system stands poised
to revolutionize the safety landscape for
electrical linemen, ensuring a safer and more
secure work environment.
2 RELATED WORKS
Security is the prime concern in our day to day
life while performing any activity. In the
current scenario, accidental death of lineman
is often read and evidenced. In this direction,
a safety measure to safe guard the operator is
found very necessary looking into the present
working style. The electric lineman safety
system is designed to control the control
panel doors and circuit breaker by using a
password for the safety [8]. Critical electrical
accidents to lineman are on the rise during
electric line repair may be due to lack of
communication and co-ordination between
the maintenance staff and electric substation
staff.
Electrical accidents to the electrical staff are
increasing during the maintenance and repair
of the line. This is mainly due to the
miscommunication
(or)
lack
of
communication between the person working
on the line and the upkeep staff. To overcome
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this problem, proposed this system, which
ensures the safety of the electrical staff [9].
The person who is working on the line will
place his finger on the fingerprint sensor to
switch off the line. This information will be
passed to the substation through IoT.
Protection of an installed electrical system is
globally controlled and monitored through the
centralized internet base communication
medium to make the system most reliable.
Now a day’s researchers are also focusing to
protect the Lineman from electrical Hazards
that occur in the system [10]. Therefore, this
work focuses on the protection of lineman
Through the help of an Automatic Password
based circuit breaker using the Arduino
system.
The electric line man safety system make use
of a new concept of one time password (OTP).
It is found that fatal electrical accidents to the
line man are increasing during the electric line
repair due to the lack of communication and
co-ordination between the maintenance staff
and the electric substation staff. Hence to
avoid this we are implementing a password
based circuit breaker. When the user put a
request the system generates passwords and
a relay switches to turn ON or OFF the circuit
breaker [11]. OTP plays a major role in this
system. The one time passwords mean the
generated passwords are different at each
time. These passwords provide total control
to the system to turn on or off the supply to
each line.
Now a days we see fatal electrical accidents to
theelectric line man are increasing during the
electric line repair due to the lack of
communication and co-ordination between
the maintenance staff.In order to avoid such
accidents, the breaker can be so designed
such that only authorized person can operate
it witha password. The system is fully
controlled by the 8 bit microcontroller of
Atmegafamily. The password is stored in an
EEPROM, embedded inthe microcontroller
andcan be entered through a keypad or a
GSM modulewith a registered a mobile only
[12]. A relay is used to open or close circuit
breaker, which is indicated by a lamp. Any
wrong attempt to open the breaker (by
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K.KAVITHA et al/ CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT
entering thewrong password) will not be
entertained.
To avoid accidents, the paper is supposed
within which solely licensed person will
operated it with the help of a identification.
This system is completely controlled by a little
controller from the 8051 family. A matrix
keypad is interfaced to the tiny controller to
enter the identification. The entered
identification is compared with the
identification hold on within the shop of the
tiny controller. If the identification entered is
correct then solely the road are going to be
turned ON/OFF. The activation and
deactivation of the fuse is indicated by a lamp
that activate or off [13].
The circuit breaker is an absolutely essential
device in this modern time. It is one of the
most convenient safety mechanisms used.
Whenever electrical wirings in a building have
an over current flowing through them, the
circuit breaker interrupts the passage by
shutting down the circuit, thereby preventing
damage to electronic equipment and other
casualties that occur as a result of over
current. This paper[14] focuses mainly on the
domestic use of the circuit breaker. In this
research, the circuit breaker is combined with
password for protection, a microcontroller
and an Internet of Things (IoT) GSM module
which enables it to interact (send or receive
information) with another device via the
internet and can also send an SMS to a
receiver with the help of the GSM module.
Safety of human life is predominantly
important. Nowadays electrocution to the
linemen are swell up during the electric line
rectification,
due
to
the
lack of
communication between the linemen’s
workplace
and
the
mainstation
or
substation.ie the personnel in the mainstation
or substation may erroneously switch on the
power line without the knowledge of linemen
while working on the powerlines. The electric
lineman safety system is embedded based
system which initiates the new notion of using
QR code as a password based circuit breaker
to control the powerlines [15]. When the
electric linemen spotting the fault in the
power transmission system then the power
lines can be switched OFF by scanning the QR
code with the help of Android APP.
3 PROPOSED MODEL
The research is designed to control a circuit
breaker by using a password for the safety of
electric man. Critical electrical accidents to
line men are on the rise during electric line
repair due to lack of communication and coordination between the maintenance staff
and electric substation staff. This proposed
system provides a solution that ensures safety
of maintenance staff, i.e., line man. The
control to turn on/off the line will be
maintained by the line man only because this
system has an arrangement such that a
password is required to operate the circuit
breaker (on/off). The block diagram of the
proposed model is shown in fig 1.
Figure 1: Block Diagram of the Proposed Model
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K.KAVITHA et al/ CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT
This system is fully controlled by a
microcontroller from the 8051 family. A
matrix keypad is interfaced to the
microcontroller to enter the password. The
entered password is compared with the
password stored in the ROM of the
microcontroller. If the password entered is
correct, then only the line can be turned
on/off. The activation / deactivation of the
circuit breaker is indicated by a lamp that
turns on or off. Furthermore, this research in
future can be enhanced by using EEPROM, for
the user to change the password for more
secured system interaction. It can also be
interfaced with a GSM modem for remotely
controlling the circuit breaker via SMS. The
hardware and software components are
described below:
AC Supply: Alternating Current (AC) supply is
the form of electrical power commonly
delivered to homes and businesses through
power lines. It periodically reverses direction
and changes in voltage magnitude. AC power
is the most commonly used form of electricity
worldwide due to its ease of generation,
transmission, and distribution.
Transformer: A transformer is an electrical
device that alters the voltage level of AC
electricity. It comprises two or more coils of
wire linked by a magnetic field. It steps up or
steps down the voltage level based on the
ratio of coils in the primary and secondary
windings, facilitating the transmission and
distribution of electricity at appropriate
voltage levels.
Rectifier: A rectifier is an electrical device
used to convert AC into Direct Current (DC). It
allows current to flow only in one direction,
converting the alternating current into a
unidirectional flow. Diodes are commonly
used as rectifiers in circuits.
Regulator: A voltage regulator is a device that
maintains a constant output voltage
irrespective of fluctuations in input voltage or
load conditions. It stabilizes the output
voltage to protect connected devices from
damage due to excessive voltage.
LCD Display: A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is a
flat-panel display technology commonly used
in digital watches, calculators, various
consumer electronic devices, and research
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displays. It operates by modulating light
through liquid crystals to display information
and images.
Microcontroller: A microcontroller is a
compact integrated circuit that consists of a
central processing unit (CPU), memory,
input/output ports, and other peripherals. It is
programmable and used to control various
devices and processes in embedded systems.
Microcontrollers are commonly employed in
automation, robotics, and electronic control
systems.
Relay Driver IC: A relay driver IC is an
integrated circuit specifically designed to
control relays. It provides the necessary
current and voltage levels to energize the
relay coil, allowing it to switch higher voltages
or currents using a smaller control signal.
Matrix Keyboard: A matrix keyboard is a
common input device that utilizes a grid of
buttons or keys arranged in rows and
columns. It allows multiple keys to share the
same input/output lines, reducing the number
of required I/O pins on a microcontroller.
Arduino: The open-source Arduino Software
(IDE) is used to ease the process of writing
code and upload it to any developmental
board compatible with this software. It can
run on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The
Integrated Development Environment is
written in Java and the execution is based on
Processing projects. It contains a text editor
for writing code, a message area, a text
console, a toolbar with buttons for common
functions and a series of menus. It connects to
the developmental board hardware in order
to upload programs and communicate with
them.
Each of these components plays a crucial role
in various electronic systems, including the
proposed password-based circuit breaker
control
system, contributing
to
its
functionality, control, and display capabilities.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The implementation of the password-based
circuit breaker control system yielded
promising results in enhancing the safety
measures for electrical linemen during
maintenance operations. The research
successfully
demonstrated
the
core
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K.KAVITHA et al/ CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT
functionality of granting exclusive control of
the circuit breaker to the linemen via
password
authentication,
effectively
mitigating the risks associated with
inadvertent energization. An experimental
setup and circuit design is shown in fig 2 and
3.
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Figure 2: Experimental Setup
Figure 3: Circuit Design
The microcontroller from the 8051 family
indicated by the corresponding lamp turning
served as the central control unit, facilitating
on or off, respectively.
seamless integration of the password
Moreover, the discussion encompasses the
authentication mechanism. A matrix keypad
potential enhancements and future prospects
interfaced with the microcontroller enabled
for this research. The proposed integration of
linemen to input passwords securely,
EEPROM stands as a viable avenue for
initiating the comparison process with the
heightened security measures, enabling users
stored password in the microcontroller's
to modify passwords, thus bolstering the
ROM. Upon successful authentication, the
system's resilience against unauthorized
system effectively allowed the activation or
access. This enhancement aligns with the
deactivation of the circuit breaker, as
research's core objective of fortifying the
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K.KAVITHA et al/ CIRCUIT BREAKER AUTHENTICATION FOR ELECTRICAL LINEMAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT
safety protocols by providing flexibility and
adaptability to the authentication system.
5 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the implementation of the
Circuit Breaker Authentication System
represents a pivotal advancement in fortifying
the safety measures for electrical linemen
during maintenance and repair tasks within
the power distribution network. The core
objective of enhancing safety by providing
exclusive control to linemen through
password-based authentication has been
successfully demonstrated.By employing a
microcontroller from the 8051 family as the
central control unit and integrating a matrix
keypad for password input, the system
ensures that only authorized personnel can
activate or deactivate the circuit breaker. This
functionality mitigates the risks associated
with unexpected energization, significantly
reducing the occurrence of critical electrical
accidents during line repairs.Moreover, the
research outlines potential enhancements,
including the incorporation of EEPROM for
password modification, thereby enhancing
the system's security features. Additionally,
the prospect of interfacing the system with a
GSM modem for remote control capabilities
via SMS commands presents opportunities for
expanded functionality and convenience.The
successful implementation and functionality
of this research underscore its significance in
addressing the pressing safety concerns faced
by electrical linemen. It not only exemplifies
the efficacy of integrating modern
technologies to bolster safety protocols but
also signifies a proactive approach in
mitigating the risks inherent in electrical
maintenance tasks.Moving forward, the
research's impact extends beyond its
immediate implementation, fostering a path
for continual improvement and innovation
within the electrical utility industry. As
technologies evolve, the Circuit Breaker
Authentication System serves as a foundation
for future advancements, encouraging further
research and development aimed at
enhancing the safety and efficiency of
electrical maintenance operations.
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