Electro-technology company operating throughout Australia to deliver installation, maintenance and manufacturing services from inception to replacement.
Engineering Services
Condition Monitoring
Nilsen Engineering Services’ condition monitoring experience is key to avoiding unexpected and costly breakdown of important electrical assets. Nilsen Engineering Services’ expertise in a range of monitoring and analysis techniques integrates well with preventive maintenance regimes. Condition monitoring provides important benefits:
- Eliminating unnecessary maintenance procedures that might well impair the subsequent reliability condition of equipment.
- Providing a reliable indication of remaining service life.
- Removing the risk element associated with leaving an electrical asset in place by timely replacement or refurbishment thus avoiding the high cost of an unexpected plant shutdown, as a result of equipment breakdown.
Nilsen Engineering Services’ capabilities in condition monitoring encompass a large range of techniques including ultrasonic monitoring of partial electrical discharge, insulation monitoring and insulating oil testing.
Inspection of busbars, busbar jointing, cable terminations as to uncovering over-temperatures and hot spots is critically important (copper can regress back to the annealed state and thus imperil rigidity to withstand fault currents). Other techniques include ultrasonic scanning to pick up changes in mechanical integrity of contact sets (degradation through arcing can be picked up) and changes in other critical parameters such as springs, contactors and solenoids. One of the most valuable aspects of TEGG is the collection of historical data, which permits comparison of data and the spotting of incipient faults. Visual inspections and testing in accordance with AS/NZS 3000 are other features of the local TEGG preventative inspection protocols.
Case Study
Adelaide Airport limited site maintenance
Condition monitoring of equipment onsite is essential for items of critical equipment such as Power Factor Correction units ensure compliance with the local Supply Authorities terms of supply agreements.
Nilsen have developed, in conjunction with partnered manufacturers, Capacitor life span charts that allow predictive condition monitoring and trending of Power Factor Correction units.
The predictive nature of the maintenance provides the customer an electrical insight into the Power Factor Correction units; with this insight planned outages can be scheduled at the most convenient time for the business resulting in limited disruptions to services. This planning also reduces costs implications from procuring emergency replacements and possible supply authority penalties.
Conducting regular inspections develops insight to the condition of the capacitor quality; this insight allows trending of life expectancy of the capacitors within the Power Factor Correction units that deteriorate over time and reduces the risk of catastrophic failures.