Search Results for electrical fault isolation

This article provides a detailed discussion on the various devices by which cathodic protection (CP) can be applied to pipe-type power transmission cables. These devices include the resistor rectifier, isolator-surge protector, polarization cells, and field rectifiers. The article describes the interference created by stray currents on CP and associated remedial actions.

Stray current can be defined as a current in structures that are underground or immersed in an electrolyte that most often accelerate corrosion on a structure where a positive current leaves the structure to enter the earth or an electrolyte. This article provides a description of the principles of stray current and a discussion on the major types of stray current and their properties and prediction methods. It discusses the consequences of stray current and describes the interference tests used for mapping the path of the stray currents. The article also highlights the methods of mitigating the source of stray current.

This article describes the methodology for performing a failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). It explains the methodology with the help of a hot water heater and provides a discussion on the role of FMEA in the design process. The article presents the analysis procedures and shows how proper planning, along with functional, interface, and detailed fault analyses, makes FMEA a process that facilitates the design throughout the product development cycle. It also discusses the use of fault equivalence to reduce the amount of labor required by the analysis. The article shows how fault trees are used to unify the analysis of failure modes caused by design errors, manufacturing and maintenance processes, materials, and so on, and to assess the probability of failure mode occurrence. It concludes with information on some of the approaches to automating the FMEA.

Melting with induction crucible furnaces (ICFs) is a well-established and reliable technology, and their maintenance must be performed at regularly scheduled intervals to ensure safe operation. This article discusses monitoring of the refractory lining, and presents an overview of the various wear-indication methods, namely, manual checks, ground leakage indication, evaluation of electrical values of the furnace, and temperature measurement. It also presents the working principle, physical restrictions, limitations, and remarks on these methods.

This article introduces the concept of condition monitoring (CM) and summarizes various techniques used for CM across the industrial sectors. The techniques include visual inspection, performance monitoring, vibration condition monitoring, vibration condition monitoring, lubricant oil analysis, acoustic emission testing, temperature monitoring, motor current signature analysis, and ultrasound emission. The article describes the evolution of condition-based maintenance in CM. It also describes the basics of integrated vehicle health management, a capability that enables a number of maintenance philosophies. The article concludes with a discussion on various condition monitoring in industrial sectors, including condition-monitoring techniques in nuclear power plants, road condition monitoring, and condition monitoring in wind turbines.

Risk and hazard analysis can be effectively used during design reviews to provide valuable feedback to the design to avoid failures. This article discusses the types of risks, namely, real risk, statistical risk, predicted risk, and perceived risk. It describes the principle and technical methods of risk/hazard analysis practiced in the industry to identify possible hazards and the resources necessary to avoid or reduce risks. These methods include the failure mode and effect analysis, fault tree analysis, event tree analysis, risk/benefit analysis, safety analysis, and probabilistic estimates.

The basic elements of control design are safety, process control, process verification, machine control, productivity, repeatability, and ease of setup. Effective systems of quality control/quality assurance are essential for heat treating practices. This article provides information on process control modes, as well as on process signatures of some items that require control, monitoring, verifying, and logging methods. It provides information on programmable logic controllers that have become efficient in machine control and monitoring. The article describes possible noise issues, National Electric Code clearance requirements, monitoring requirements, and machine accuracy that need to be considered when designing induction equipment.

Steel storage tanks are the primary means for storing large volumes of liquids and gaseous products. The stored fluid could be water, but it could also be volatile, corrosive, and flammable fluid requiring special precautions for storage as well. Corrosion is generally worst where the tank is in contact with the soil. This article describes the soil characteristics and addresses cathodic protection (CP) criteria for submerged metallic piping systems. It provides information on the data required for designing a CP system, alone or in conjunction with a protective coating system. These data are collected from predesign site assessments, tank electrical characteristics, and soil-resistivity measurements. The article addresses NACE Standard RP0169, which gives requirements and desired characteristics for coating in conjunction with CP. It also explains the methods of protecting aboveground storage tanks and underground storage tanks.

This article reviews the concepts considered important for an understanding of the processes used for preparing cobalt-chromium alloy implants, the microstructures resulting from this processing, and the resulting material properties. The review includes solidification of alloys, diffusionless (martensitic) phase transformation as occurs with face-centered cubic to hexagonal close-packed transformation in cobalt-chromium alloys, and stacking faults and twins and their role in this transformation. It also discusses the strengthening mechanisms that are responsible for the mechanical properties of cast and wrought cobalt alloys. The article contains tables that list the commonly used cobalt alloys and their biomedical applications and chemical compositions. It discusses the mechanical and corrosion properties of cobalt alloys, and provides a description of the microstructure of cobalt alloys.

A close-interval survey (CIS) is a series of structure-to-electrolyte direct current potential measurements performed at regular intervals for assessing the level of cathodic protection (CP) on pipelines and other buried or submerged metallic structures. This article describes the equipment required to perform the CIS. It provides a discussion on the activities that should be performed during the preparation and execution of the CIS. The dynamic stray current identification and compensation by CIS is discussed briefly. The article also explains various factors involved in the validation of CIS data. It concludes with information on CIS data interpretation.

This article provides a discussion on transformers and reactors for induction heating. It presents information on the initial considerations in the selection process and the demands of power supply and load circuits. The article describes the types of transformers and reactors used in induction heating and maintenance operations. It also provides a discussion on load matching covering the following topics: initial considerations in the load-matching process, understanding the load circuit and the power supply circuit, selecting the desired operating point, adjusting the value of components, and testing the setup.

This article presents the fundamentals of stray-current corrosion caused by electric rail transit systems. It describes the various corrosion-control design elements for the electric rail system. These design elements include substation spacing and grounding, track and track slab design, and construction acceptance criteria. The impacts of the electric rail construction in underground utilities are discussed. Direct physical interferences, maintenance access encroachments, stray-current effects, and utility relocation design considerations, are discussed. The article also reviews construction issues such as funding, sequencing, and working clearances. It concludes with information on the post-construction monitoring and maintenance for stray-current corrosion control.

This article is a compilation of best practices, materials, and techniques for the design and manufacture of modern induction forge coils. It presents the basics of induction coil design along with various design considerations, namely, copper tube selection, water flow considerations, and brazing and fabricating the copper coil winding for heating billets, bars, and slabs. The article describes refractory selection criteria and the methods of mounting and securing the induction coil winding, and presents general refractory installation guidelines for induction heating applications. It provides information on curing, form removal, dryout, and coil refractory seasoning. Wear rails that are designed to prevent damage to the coil refractory and subsequent coil winding are also discussed. The article concludes with a discussion on preventive maintenance practices for induction forging coils.

During metal powder production, powder and/or dust handling, compaction, and part finishing operations, many safety and environmental risks exist. This article is a detailed account of the types of safety hazards that can exist and the issues that occur during metal powder handling, as well as recommendations and strategies that can be employed to both prevent and protect against damaging effects from powder exposure, fire and/or explosions, or environmental impact events.

This article describes the various environments affecting corrosion performance, corrosion protection, and corrosion control. These include freshwater environments, marine environments, and underground environments. The article provides information on corrosion in military environments and specialized environments, representing less-well-known environments with more limited applications.

Heat and mass transfer in arc welding is normally studied from the standpoint of the weld pool and heat-affected zone. This article examines the heat and mass transfer from the arc to the base metal during the gas metal arc welding process. It also provides information on the selecting parameters for the development of welding procedures.

Cooling towers are designed to remove heat from water in an induction system and dissipate it into the atmosphere. This article provides information on closed-loop recirculating water systems of an induction system to cool the power supply. It focuses on various types of cooling towers, namely, air-cooled heat exchangers, air-cooled heat exchangers with trim cooler, closed-circuit evaporative cooling towers, and open evaporative cooling towers. The article discusses the importance of their placement or positioning to reduce the chances of air recirculation, and concludes with a discussion on refrigerant chillers.

This article focuses on the frequently encountered causes of induction coil failures and typical failure modes in fabrication of hardening inductors, tooth-by-tooth gear-hardening inductors, clamshell inductors, contactless inductors, split-return inductors, butterfly inductors, and inductors for heating internal surfaces. It discusses the current density distribution and the skin effect, the proximity effect, and crack-propagation specifics. The article also describes selected properties of copper alloys, the electromagnetic edge effect of coil copper turn, and the effect of magnetic flux concentrators on coil life. It also reviews the importance of having appropriate and reliable electrical contacts.

Due to the recent requirement of higher integration density, solder joints are getting smaller in electronic product assemblies, which makes the joints more vulnerable to failure. Thus, the root-cause failure analysis for the solder joints becomes important to prevent failure at the assembly level. This article covers the properties of solder alloys and the corresponding intermetallic compounds. It includes the dominant failure modes introduced during the solder joint manufacturing process and in field-use applications. The corresponding failure mechanism and root-cause analysis are also presented. The article introduces several frequently used methods for solder joint failure detection, prevention, and isolation (identification for the failed location).

This article describes the principles and classifications of induction furnaces. The classifications of induction furnaces are coreless and channel. The electromagnetic stirring action in these furnaces is reviewed. The article provides information on the various power supplies and water cooling systems for induction furnaces. Furnace operators can increase the power supply utilization by the use of mechanical skimmers. The article describes the various lining materials used in induction furnaces, namely, silica, alumina, and magnesia. The crucible wall scrapers, ramming mixes, and lining push-out device used in induction furnaces are also reviewed. The article concludes with a discussion on batch operation and tap-and-charge operation, two distinct ways of operating a coreless induction furnace.