Assessing circuit breaker performance using condition-based data and Bayesian approach

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology to assess the performance of circuit breaker utilizing its control circuit data. Various performance indices are defined to assess the condition of breaker using probability distributions. Bayesian updating approach is implemented to update these indices as the new data becomes available. An approximation in implementing the Bayesian approach to deal with large amounts of data on-line is considered. The methodology is applied to data recorded at different times during both open and close operations on a group of similar circuit breakers. The methodology can be used to quantify the effect of maintenance making use of the defined performance indices, which further helps in developing system level risk-based decision approaches for maintenance optimization.