Written by Dipl.-Phys. Claas Rittinghaus, Product Marketing Surge Protection, Business Unit Trabtech, Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG, Blomberg, Germany
Condition Monitoring with ImpulseCheck
Surge protective devices are safety-related components and, as such, an essential part of process plants. Information about the status and performance of these components as well as on the status of the plant itself play an important role in continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance. ImpulseCheck acquires all this information – and also enables it to be utilized in the Internet of Things.
The green “OK” notification on a typical status indicator of an SPD (Surge Protective Device), displayed on the device itself or read out by means of a remote indication contact, is not indicative of the current status of the arrester. Neither does it provide any information on the specific stress caused by surge currents and transient overvoltages since the installation of the SPD. Taking a look at the indicator during the maintenance or periodic inspection of a lightning protection system thus isn’t very meaningful. The surge protective system might fail just the next day – or in a few years’ time.
This is where ImpulseCheck, Phoenix Contact’s new system, comes into play. Surge currents and transient overvoltages discharged and limited by the SPD are detected in real time, and can then be analyzed in ImpulseAnalytics – a Proficloud application. In addition to comprehensive tools for the evaluation of the measured data, which are available to the user, the state of health (SoH) for each mode of protection is calculated for Phoenix Contact SPDs. The state of health is the current state of the arrester. As opposed to former, purely reactive replacements of surge protective equipment based on the green/red status indicator, this status information allows for the implementation of predictive maintenance plans. The efficiency of maintenance work can thus be improved, money can be saved, and system availability better protected.
With the Termitrab complete product range, Phoenix Contact now offers the the narrowest surge protective devices on the market. They are suitable for MCR applications starting from an overall width of just 3.5 mm. This means that the protective devices can protect up to 572 signals against surge voltages on just one meter of DIN rail.
Our new PSRmini safety relays are rather the narrowest safety relays in the world with the performance of a large safety relay. Phoenix Contact developed the relay technology in the centerpiece of the new PSRmini device. The compact 6 mm wide elementary relay design offers tried-and-tested safety, because of the force-guided contacts. Hence, the numerous technological details make it reliable as safety technology should be. It is its robustness, reliability, and diagnostic capability that sets it apart from a standard elementary relay.
The new DC/DC converters of the QUINT POWER product range are particularly suitable for applications in the energy sector. Independent supply systems can be established and monitored in a preventative manner due to the electrical isolation between the input and output voltage. All DC/DC converters, power supplies, and redundancy modules of the QUINT POWER product range support power boost, which continually supplies 1.25-fold nominal current.