When medium-voltage switchgear (MVS) in a refinery fails, it can force a process unit or even an entire refinery to shut down. Costs can climb into the millions of dollars as a result of lost production, environmental issues and litigation arising from injuries or fatalities, and the cost of repairing and/ or replacing the damaged equipment. Fortunately, modern sensing technology makes it possible for a refinery to continuously monitor the health of MVS (FIG. 1) and related equipment, and inform the maintenance department when, or even before, problems arise. This article describes the potential causes and problems of MVS failures, as well as the various types of sensing systems that can be used to detect and predict problems. Continuous monitoring of temperature, partial discharge and humidity in switchgear can uncover small problems before they become large issues that can shut down an entire refinery.
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