Measurement and Operation Based Condition Monitoring Methodology for High Voltage Circuit Breakers

High voltage circuit breakers (HVCBs) are essential components for reliability and resiliency of the power system, and it is crucial to optimize principles of condition monitoring for maintenance of this equipment. In this paper a novel methodology based on combination of HVCB’s overall health index and expected aging curve is presented to provide an optimal scheduling of HVCB’s maintenance. The overall health index of HVCB is acquired by conventional measurements, e.g. contacts dynamic resistance, drive motor current, etc. The methodology has been verified based on experimental tests that are implemented on a 110 kV HVCB. Based on the obtained results, the proposed method would increase the accuracy of HVCB’s condition based maintenance scheduling, which will improve system reliability, ensure personnel safety, reduce the unplanned down time, and decrease the overall maintenance cost.