Preliminary investigation for application of MEMS acceleration sensor to SF6 gas circuit breaker

With an aim of applying a MEMS (Micro Electrical Mechanical System) acceleration sensor as a diagnosis tool for a mechanical degradation of a SF6 gas circuit breaker, we investigated the fundamental characteristics. It is confirmed that the MEMS acceleration sensor with a maximum acceleration number of 250G and a frequency band width up to 400Hz can be applied to measure an acceleration number of the model GCB, while all tests were carried out under no electromagnetic stresses on the GCB. In addition an optical acceleration sensor by using a photo-reflector was developed to be applied in a severe electromagnetic field. The first model of the optical sensor showed insufficient frequency band width for the purpose.