Smart-phone-based Circuit Breaker Analyzer uses vibration analysis

Date
02/13/2014

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Circuit Breaker Analyzer

Circuit Breaker Analyzer, developer of CBAnalyzer, presented as the world’s first smart phone-based application for testing circuit breaker performance based on vibration analysis, has won the Occupational Health & Safety New Product of the Year Award in the Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Software category.

"With Circuit Breaker Analyzer only being in business a couple of years, it’s hard to capture what it means to win a prestigious safety award like Occupational Health & Safety magazine's Product of the Year," says Natalie Berg, Operations Manager at Circuit Breaker Analyzer Inc. "But I guess the most important aspect of this happy event is that, thanks to this award, more electricians and safety personnel will learn that they don't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on circuit breaker testing equipment to verify the safe operation of their electrical equipment. By combining the CBAnalyzer app with a smart phone and other portable devices, we can help make circuit breaker testing more common, and that means saving more lives and avoiding more downtime.”

A panel of judges considered criteria such as overall value, innovation, ease of use, and quality when evaluating the contest entries. "I believe these awards, which are now in their fifth year and are judged by an independent panel of veteran safety professionals, recognize outstanding new products from across the spectrum of the U.S. safety and health industry,” says Jerry Laws, Editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine. “The growth and breadth of this annual contest serve as recognition that leading manufacturers continue to introduce more and more exciting and innovative protective products for this country's workers."

Benefits include:

1.     Simple operation requiring minimal training

2.     Very portable - it's an iPhone or iPod Touch!

3.      modification of the circuit breaker is required

4.     No electrical connections are required

5.     Removal of the circuit breaker from its mounting or cubicle is not required

6.     Testing can be performed during routine switching

7.     Data is sent via internet to the users account where it is analyzed and compared with a known good profile (KGP) for that type of circuit breaker to determine:

a.     Overall mechanical condition

b.     Breaker timing: opening and closing speed

c.      First trip testing data for arc flash compliance

d.     Arc flash study validation checks

Using the accelerometer inside every iPhone, new-model iPod Touch, and select industrial handheld tablets, the CBAnalyzer app captures vibration data in all three axes and across time. By comparing the precision 3D vibration information to a database of approximately 200 known good profiles and/or the vibration signature of the breaker’s “first trip” operation, pattern recognition algorithms can determine overall mechanical condition, breaker timing (opening and closing time), first trip testing data for arc-flash compliance, and arc-flash study validation checks.

 

Circuit Breaker Analyzer

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