An analysis of the performance of 245 KV circuit breakers applying the radiometric monitoring and the wavelet transform

This paper presents an analysis of the performance of circuit breakers (CBs) using direct digital sampling and the wavelet transform applied to antenna signals obtained from the arc created during the switching process. Some researches have shown that arcing produces impulsive radio-frequency radiation. Therefore, from timing analysis of the received and recorded impulses, the switching times of circuit breakers can be measured and utilized in order to ensure the safe operation and reliability of these equipments. Results of this analysis are shown for a field measurement realized on 245 kV CBs attached to the capacitor banks at a substation of CEEE-GT in a metropolitan area in southern Brazil.