Testing system that determines contact erosion in circuit breaker

A testing system for a circuit breaker, comprising:

• a truck configured to be inserted and removed from a switchgear housing, the truck carrying a circuit breaker, wherein said circuit breaker comprises a breaker housing having at least one movable contact and an actuator connected thereto;
• a test platform that is positioned separate from the switchgear housing from which the truck has been removed, the test platform configured to support the truck carrying the circuit breaker in a contact testing position on the test platform, wherein the test platform comprises:
• a first laser circuit mounted on the test platform and positioned under the truck and aligned with the actuator of the circuit breaker when the truck is on the test platform in the contact testing position, and configured to emit a first optical beam and acquire displacement data of the actuator;
• a second laser circuit mounted on the test platform and positioned under the truck and aligned with the breaker housing when the truck is on the test platform in the contact testing position, and configured to emit a second optical beam and acquire displacement data of the breaker housing;
• and
• a controller coupled to the first and second laser circuits and configured to receive the displacement data of the actuator and breaker housing and determine electrical contact erosion within the circuit breaker based upon displacement data of both the actuator and breaker housing.

A method of operating a testing system for a circuit breaker, comprising:

• removing a truck carrying a circuit breaker from a switchgear housing into a contact testing position on a test platform that is positioned separate from the switchgear housing from which the truck has been removed, wherein the circuit breaker comprises a breaker housing having at least one movable contact and an actuator connected thereto;
• acquiring displacement data of the actuator using a sensor circuit mounted on the test platform and positioned under the truck and aligned with the circuit breaker when the truck is removed from the switchgear housing and in the contact testing position;
• and
• receiving the displacement data within a controller coupled to the sensor circuit and determining electrical contact erosion within the circuit breaker.

A testing system for a circuit breaker, comprising:

• a test platform configured to support a truck wherein the truck is configured to be inserted and removed from a switchgear housing that is separate from the test platform, the truck carrying a circuit breaker in a contact testing position on the test platform, wherein the circuit breaker includes a breaker housing having at least one movable contact and an actuator connected thereto;
• a sensor circuit mounted on the test platform and positioned under the truck that had been removed from the switchgear housing and aligned with the circuit breaker when the truck is on the test platform in the contact testing position, wherein the sensor circuit is configured to acquire displacement data of the actuator;
• and
• a controller coupled to the sensor circuit and configured to receive the displacement data and determine electrical contact erosion within the circuit breaker.