A Low-Cost Surge Current Detection Sensor with Predictive Lifetime Display Function for Maintenance of Surge Protective Devices.

Youngjun Lee,Young Sam Lee

doi:10.3390/s20082310

Abstract

In this study, a low-cost surge current detection sensor (SCDS) that can measure high current surges using a low-current toroidal coil is proposed for maintenance of a surge protective device (SPD). The proposed SCDS is designed to display the predicted lifetime of the SPD based on the magnitude of surge current and number of surges. In addition, a method for measuring high surge current using a toroidal coil that can usually measure only low current is proposed. A lightning strike counter consists of a microcontroller with a low-power liquid crystal display (LCD) driver, 3 VDC lithium battery, and signal conditioning circuit that converts amplitude information of the surge current into duration information of a negative pulse to facilitate processing in the microcontroller. In this paper, we propose a software algorithm that can calculate the remaining lifetime of SPD based on the amplitude and number of surge currents. There is also an option to select the capacity of the surge protective device and the number of phase lines, allowing it to assess the predicted lifetime for various types of Class II SPDs. The proposed SCDS is measured as 7.2 μA from the battery power consumption test, and the service life is calculated to be 11.1 years. It meets the International Standard IEC62561-6 test conditions of the lightning strike counter and is expected to be useful in the maintenance of SPDs and lightning protection systems.

Highlights

Surge protective devices (SPDs) for low-voltage power distribution systems are essential for the operation of electrical systems
The enclosure is composed of flame-retardant plastic and has a Protective Earth (PE) terminal connected to ground and a PE connection terminal connected to the surge protective device (SPD)
The operating threshold current of the surge counter is defined as 500 A when used with the SPD and 1 kA when used with the LPS

Summary

Introduction

Surge protective devices (SPDs) for low-voltage power distribution systems are essential for the operation of electrical systems. SPDs installed in building power distribution systems and industrial applications are generally used to ensure continuous operation [1]. SPDs eliminate electrical surges or impulses by acting as a low impedance path that turns the transient voltage into a current and shunts it along the return path, usually ground. A metal oxide varistor (MOV) is widely used in low-voltage power systems as a core component in surge protectors because of its technical advantages and low cost. Thermal runaway tends to result in electrical hazards, such as short circuits or explosions. The MOV is designed with a thermal fuse spring or thermal fuse to prevent thermal runaway [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]

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Discussion

Conclusion