Abstract
Estimating the remaining useful life (RUL) or the state of health (SoH) of electrical components such as power connectors is still a challenging and complex task. Power connectors play a critical role in medium- and high-voltage power networks, their failure leading to important consequences such as power outages, unscheduled downtimes, safety hazards or important economic losses. Online condition monitoring strategies allow developing improved predictive maintenance plans. Due to the development of low-cost sensors and electronic communication systems compatible with Internet of Things (IoT) applications, several methods for online and offline SoH determination of diverse power devices are emerging. This paper presents, analyzes and compares the performance of three simple and effective methods for online determination of the SoH of power connectors with low computational requirements. The proposed approaches are based on monitoring the evolution of the connectors’ electrical resistance, which defines the degradation trajectory because the electrical resistance is a reliable indicator or signature of the SoH of the connectors. The methods analyzed in this paper are validated by means of experimental ageing tests emulating real degradation conditions. Laboratory results prove the suitability and feasibility of the proposed approach, which could be applied to other power products and apparatus.
Highlights
This section describes the results attained by means of the three methods analyzed in this paper, i.e., the LF-state of health (SoH), NLF-SoH and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC)-NLF-SoH algorithms from the experimental data obtained through the heat cycle tests applied to seven medium-voltage connectors
Results show that according to the LF algorithm and the rules described in Figure 3, connector #2 at hour 80, connector #3 at hour 75, connector #4 at hour 65, connector #5 at hour 50 and connector #6 at hour 25 have reached the fault condition by these time points, so they must be replaced to ensure a safe operation
With the development of low-cost sensors and wireless communications systems compatible with the Internet of Things, this topic is receiving much attention and interest because these developments facilitate the application of predictive maintenance approaches
Summary
Power connectors installed in medium- and high-voltage power lines are usually placed in critical points of the power grid, being critical elements to ensure a reliable power dispatch. Because of their abundance, low cost and simplicity, they often are not being paid the attention they deserve, despite their key role in the reliability and availability of the power grid. Operators of power systems work hard to offer a continuous, safe and reliable power delivery to their customers, trying to minimize the number and the effects of service outages [3]. The application of predictive maintenance strategies based on the prediction or diagnosis of the state of health (SoH) allows achieving this goal
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