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POWER FACTOR CORRECTION SWITCHBOARD FAILURES
Russell Lee FIEAust CPEng
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Introduction
Power Factor
Correction is a tool
which can save your
client money, but to
do so, it must be
prudently applied.
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CAPACITORS WILL FAIL
With the introduction and now wide-
spread use of metallised
polypropylene capacitors in
particular, the incidence of fires
because of capacitor failure and
ignition must be taken into account
during design, operation and
maintenance of switchboards.
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NOT IF. WHEN
The incidence of fires does not
appear to me to be greater than
that for large main or distribution
switchboards, but it is the
physical relationship between
PFC equipment and associated
switchboards which is the issue.
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FAILURE MODE 1
Short circuit in
capacitance
media overheats
the material which
bursts from the
plastic casing and
ignites.
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FAILURE MODE 2
Short Circuit.
Overpressure.
The casing
bursts.
Pressure relief
often does not
respond
quickly enough
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UNDERLYING FACTORS
•High Operating Temperature.
•Sensitivity to Moisture.
•Failure to Self-heal
•Sensitivity to Harmonics.
•Poor Quality Film.
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EXAMPLE 1.1 – Burst Capacitor
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EXAMPLE 1.2 – Impact Dent
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EXAMPLE 2.1 – Main Swbd. Overheating of Capacitor.
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EXAMPLE 3.1 –Fail to Self-Heal
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EXAMPLE 3.2 – Material ejected and ignited
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EXAMPLE 3.3 - Ignition
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EXAMPLE 4.1 - Catastrophe
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EXAMPLE 4.2 – Don’t know why
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PFC 101.1
NEVER PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN
ONE BASKET.
THINK.
ASK THE QUESTION… WHAT
IF????
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PFC 101.2
FORGET ECONOMICS AND
SAVING SPACE.
THINK SAFETY AND
RELIABILITY.
AVOID A RISK IF AT ALL
POSSIBLE.
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PFC 101.3
IT IS UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN
BUT THINK OF THE IMPACT IF
THE PFC EQUIPMENT CATCHES
FIRE.
IT IS LIKELY TO BE THE SAME
AS IF THE SWITCHBOARD
FAILED.
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PFC 101.4
NEVER PUT THE PFC EQUIPMENT
IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE MAIN
SWITCHBOARD OR MOTOR
CONTROL CENTRE, OR OTHER
APPARATUS FOR THAT MATTER.
PUT THE PFC GEAR IN A
SEPARATE AND FIRE ISOLATED
ROOM.