Design and Building a High Voltage Switchgear Safety System

摘要

High Voltage (HV) switching is dangerous and there have been many fatalities among switching personnel. It is therefore imperative that HV switching be performed from a safe distance away from the switchgear. Motors with lead screws seems to be the standard solution for actuation today but after much deliberation of the practicality, the solution formulated is an electropneumatic one. The high voltage Switchgear Safety System developed in this research is focused on the Lucy brand of 11kV switchgears which is the most common in Sarawak, Malaysia but can easily be modified to operate other brand of switchgears. This is because the basic idea is to have a high force actuation happening at a safe distance away. User-friendliness of operation, maintenance as well as weight considerations were the prime criteria used in the design. The system was successfully tested on a high voltage switchgear.