South Africa has a power system with a capacity of 140 GW, which is one of the four largest power systems in the world after the U.S., China and Russia. The decision to allow foreign products to enter the South African market is made by ESCOM, the government's authorized representative. Tavrida Electric traveled to southern Africa in 2003 for ESCOM approval. The recloser had to stand under load for 12 months and withstand all tests on environmental factors.
The first thing we were pleased to see when the tested switching module returned to the KB was that it successfully passed our standard acceptance testing procedure in the condition in which it had arrived from Africa: dirty and covered in sand and salt. The tightening torques of the critical assemblies were virtually unchanged. Having opened the device, we were convinced that the condition of the parts was as if the module had been produced yesterday. And in fact almost 3 years had passed since the moment of assembly, 15 months of which the module was on the ocean. With full confidence I can confirm - aluminum housing provides 1P-65 degree of protection. The condition of the silicone insulation was remarkable: no erosion deeper than 0.5mm was detected, which exceeded our expectations!
The test bench was located north of Cape Town on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The module is standing 50 meters away from the water in the surf zone. During storms water reaches the framework on which the OSM/TEL is mounted leaving white traces of potholes in the sand below the module itself.
Foam coming off the crests of the waves covers the recloser "head-on" so it passes the splash test. The temperature and humidity fluctuations in this place seem to have been designed to make the machinery fail: it's dry and hot in summer, and the rainy season in winter. And South Africa's coastline is the most prominent region on the planet for thunderstorm activity. That is, if the OSM does not break from the effects of winds, waves, humidity and temperature extremes, it is highly likely to be "finished off" by ozone baths.
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But that's not all. Kubek Insulation Test Power Station Tavrida's specialists put the test bench one kilometer away from the nuclear power plant, which means that the device was affected by industrial emissions: aerosols, fumes. There were sugar cane plantations next to the test samples - they are constantly being watered and polluted with various chemicals, which also get on the equipment under test: this is a real test for the insulation. In addition to the nuisance of chemicals, the agricultural area is a purveyor of pollution due to frequent prairie fires and plowing of fields. Few manufacturers of outdoor switchgear modules dare to test in this "paradise" place. But there are even fewer who endure these tests.
The first thing we were pleased to see when the tested switching module returned to the KB was that it successfully passed our standard acceptance testing procedure in the condition in which it had arrived from Africa: dirty and covered in sand and salt. The tightening torques of the critical assemblies were virtually unchanged. Having opened the device, we were convinced that the condition of the parts was as if the module had been produced yesterday. And in fact almost 3 years had passed since the moment of assembly, 15 months of which the module was on the ocean. With full confidence I can confirm - aluminum housing provides 1P-65 degree of protection. The condition of the silicone insulation was remarkable: no erosion deeper than 0.5mm was detected, which exceeded our expectations!
The test bench was located north of Cape Town on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The module is standing 50 meters away from the water in the surf zone. During storms water reaches the framework on which the OSM/TEL is mounted leaving white traces of potholes in the sand below the module itself.
Foam coming off the crests of the waves covers the recloser "head-on" so it passes the splash test. The temperature and humidity fluctuations in this place seem to have been designed to make the machinery fail: it's dry and hot in summer, and the rainy season in winter. And South Africa's coastline is the most prominent region on the planet for thunderstorm activity. That is, if the OSM does not break from the effects of winds, waves, humidity and temperature extremes, it is highly likely to be "finished off" by ozone baths.
>
But that's not all. Kubek Insulation Test Power Station Tavrida's specialists put the test bench one kilometer away from the nuclear power plant, which means that the device was affected by industrial emissions: aerosols, fumes. There were sugar cane plantations next to the test samples - they are constantly being watered and polluted with various chemicals, which also get on the equipment under test: this is a real test for the insulation. In addition to the nuisance of chemicals, the agricultural area is a purveyor of pollution due to frequent prairie fires and plowing of fields. Few manufacturers of outdoor switchgear modules dare to test in this "paradise" place. But there are even fewer who endure these tests.
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