Locating faults in buried or concealed cable is one of the most demanding, inventive, and interesting chores in all of electrical maintenance. The operator’s skills, knowledge, and ingenuity are paramount. When the power goes out, an entire facility, neighborhood, or community can be abruptly shut down without warning. Normally, this goes largely unnoticed as the utility seamlessly switches to another …
Rotating machinery is an essential component of most power systems, from compressors in petrochemical plants to turbines in hydroelectric generation plants. NETA Certified Technicians must be familiar with the maintenance and possible failure means of various rotating machines. Virginia Balitski, CET, Manager – Training and Development, has worked for Magna IV Engineering since 2006. Virginia started her career as …
Performing condition analysis or maintenance on rotating machinery is a hazardous task that requires an experienced individual who is capable of performing the duty and possesses a solid ability to identify any potential hazards and mitigate their risks. Inadvertent injuries, such as crushed hands, arms, severed fingers, blindness, or death can occur from rotating machinery if extreme caution is not …
The most basic maintenance begins with our senses. Electrical and mechanical equipment tend to produce distinct sights, sounds, or smells before it fails. However, our senses have strict limitations. BACK TO SCIENCE CLASS Anything above zero kelvin will produce infrared radiation. There is no molecular movement at 0 K, including electron movement. When electrons move back into inner atomic orbitals (which …
The overall differential protection for a generator step-up transformer (GSU) began to trip when the generator was synced to the plant switchyard. Figure 1 shows the one-line diagram for the overall differential protection. There is one set of current transformers (CTs) on the high side of the GSU, one set of CTs on the low side of the GSU not …
How much heat does it take to burn unprotected skin? Not very much, right? We’ve all had it happen to us: Just stay outside in the sun for a short amount of time with unprotected skin, and there you have it — a burn to your skin. Now, place unprotected skin in front of a potential source of great heat, …
Welcome to Orlando, Florida, and PowerTest 2023! We are excited to return to Florida and enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. I hope everyone can enjoy golf or some of the theme parks in the local area while also participating in the premier electrical testing and safety conference. Electric motors play a crucial role in many modern technologies, including transportation …