Back-to-school knowledge as an Essential Part of Your Daily Maintenance Plan
As a vital part of a successful industrial maintenance program, electrical equipment maintenance is of crucial importance for the plant’s safety. Emergency and standby generator failures for example are directly linked to some basic reasons as clogged fuel filter that can be reliably avoided with targeted maintenance procedures.
A Well-Established Industrial Maintenance Program is Impossible Without a Solid Electrical Maintenance
Electrical-related problems can be encountered anywhere and anytime at a plant. Therefore preventive maintenance routines including testing, monitoring, fixing and replacing ups, batteries and generator sets are highly recommended. Electrical maintenance includes as well a proactive management and comprehensive reporting in hydraulics, pneumatics, all possible electrical machines and many others. Keeping all the company’s electrical systems operating at their maximum energy efficiency provides an even electrical power distribution and guarantees the organization’s electrical reliability.
A properly planned and adopted electrical maintenance strategy is a vital component of a highly reliable industrial maintenance program and ensures electrical workplace safety and production continuity.
The Importance of Electrical Maintenance
For all company’s software as ERPs, CMMS, sensors and all Big Data solutions as well for certain machinery, run by computer software, electrical maintenance is of critical importance. Electricity shortage or even a small failure of a single switch in the electrical system can cause massive downtime, data loss and block the proper functioning of a plant for a couple of days.
Access all documents (photos, videos, etc.) and checklists from the equipment sheet in your Mobility Work application
Proper maintenance, guided and controlled via a high-quality CMMS guarantees that expensive and critical assets as electrical control and distribution systems operate at optimum performance. Very often companies are investing a lot of time and efforts in the management and execution of mechanical assets maintenance, without considering electrical equipment with no spare parts in the store, no planned shutdowns and just a few scheduled electrical tasks. In fact, assets condition monitoring should be applied equally to all plant’s systems in order to provide most reliable and available equipment.
Mobility Work, the next-gen CMMS can successfully support any business owner on the establishment and execution of a quality maintenance program for mechanical and electrical assets.
How to Establish a Successful Electrical Maintenance?
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Adopt condition-monitoring techniques
Condition-monitoring tools as thermal imaging for example can detect problems with electrical connection points and equipment operation.
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Establish predictive and preventive maintenance routines
Early identification and prevention of problems is a key aspect of electrical maintenance. Regular preventive check-ups and sensor data for predictive algorithms can easily detect and address possible issues before they turn into failures.
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Rely on a Next-Gen CMMS
A modern CMMS can connect to all company’s systems by storing and processing data and supporting targeted maintenance interventions. Solutions as Mobility Work are flexible and adaptable to any kind of industry and any type of assets. Combining a next-gen CMMS, the 1st maintenance social network and a marketplace for suppliers and service providers, the platform offers unique opportunities to every business owner.
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Use the PIEU Method to prioritize company’s assets
Defining the criticality of your assets will help you prevent bottlenecks.
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Calculate the exact performance parameters of your equipment for most precise measurement
Applying fundamental electrical formulas to daily maintenance routines can be a lifesaver. Finally, there is not a more accurate way to calculate power distribution. Some of the most important ones are listed below:
Calculation formulas for :
Capacitors
Q charge (coulomb ) = Capacity C ( farad ) * potential V ( volt )
Parallel coupling: C = C1 + C2 + C3
Serial coupling: 1C=1C1+1C2+1C3
The device used is a capacitor meter.
Amperage
Ampere is the intensity of a constant current that carries 1 coulomb per second.
1 ampere hour = 3600 coulombs
Intensity I (Ampere) = Charge Q (coulomb) / Time T (seconds)
The measuring device used is an ammeter.
Power absorbed by a receiver
Power P (watt) = Voltage U (volt) * Intensity I (ampere)
The measuring device used is a wattmeter.
Ohm’s Law (formula for passive conductors)
Voltage U (Volt) = Resistance R (Ohm) * Intensity I (ampere)
The measuring device used is a voltmeter.
Resistance
Serial coupling: R = R1 + R2 + R3
Parallel coupling: 1 / R = 1 / R1 + 1 / R2 + 1 / R3 T
The measuring device used is an ohmmeter.
Generator
Voltage U (Volt) = Vacuum Electromotive Force E (Volt) – Resistance R (Ohm) * Intensity I (Ampere)
The measuring device used is a voltmeter.
Receiver
Voltage U (Volt) = Counter-Electromotive Force E ‘(Volt) + Resistance R (Ohm) * Intensity I (Ampere)
The measuring device used is a voltmeter.
Joule effect
W: Heat energy
Power W (Watt) = Resistance R (ohm) * Intensity I² (square ampere) * Time t (second)
P: Heat capacity
Power P (watt) = Resistance R (ohm) * Intensity I² (square ampere)
P = U * I = U² / R
The measuring device used is a power meter.
Current pulsation
Pulsation ω (radian / second) = 2 * π * Frequency F (hertz)
Frequency
Frequency f (hertz) = 1 / Periode T (second)
The measuring device used is a frequency-meter.
Active power
Active Power P (watt) = Voltage U (Volt) * Intensity I (Ampere) * Cos Phi Power Factor
The measuring device used is a wattmeter.
Reactive power
Reactive Power Q (VAR) = Voltage U (Volt) * Intensity I (Ampere) * Sin Phi
The measuring device used is a varmeter.
Apparent Power
Apparent Power S (VA) = Voltage U (Volt) * Intensity I (Ampere)
The measuring device used is a Phimeter.
Impedance
In alternating current, Z is different from R.
Voltage U (volt) = Impedance Z (Ohm) * Intensity I (ampere)
Purely resistive circuit
In alternating current, Z is equal to R.
Voltage U (Volt) = Resistance (Ohm) * Intensity I (Ampere)
Energy work
Movement at an angle to the force:
Work W (Joule) = Force F (Newton) * Move D (meter) * Angles Cos Phi
Work during a rotation
Work W (Joule) = Torque N (newton.metres) * Rotation Phi (radian)
Moment of a force relative to its axis of rotation
Torque M (newton.metres) = Force F (newton) * Radius R (meter)
The meter used is a torque-meter.
Power
Power P (watt) = Work W (Joule) / Time T (second)
Work P (watt) = torque M (newton.metre) * ω (radian / second)
Velocity
Linear velocity = velocity v (meters / second) = Length L (meter) / Time T (second)
The measuring device used is a tachometer.
Angular velocity = Velocity ω (radian / second) = 2πN / 60
Energy
Kinetic energy (joule) = 1/2 * Mass M (kg) * Speed V² (meter / sec²)
Potential energy = Energy Ep (joule) = mass M (kg) * acceleration g (m / sec²) * height h (meter)
Moment of turning
Depends on the transmission mode of the driven masses:
Radius of gyration MD² (square meter weight) = 4 * moment of inertia J (kg.metre square)
Pressure
Pressure P (Pascal) = Force F (Newton) / Section (square meter)
The measuring device used is a manometer.
Debit:
Debit Q (cubic meter / second) = Volume V (cubic meter) / time (second)
Debit Q (cubic meter / second) = Volume V (cubic meter) * Rotation frequency N (rev / sec)
The measuring device used is a flow meter.
Power:
Power P (watt) = Pressure P (Pascal) * Flow rate Q (cubic meter / sec)
Established successful equipment maintenance is a proven way to avoid substantial financial loss caused by unplanned outages. Basic electrical formulas play an essential role when executing daily maintenance tasks on electrical equipment and power distribution systems. A comprehensive asset maintenance strategy should incorporate all mechanical as well as electrical pieces of equipment at a plant to ensure safety and reliability.
