Solutions for power grid components testing

The power grids that deliver electricity from producers to consumers are vast interconnected networks involving multiple technologies: they vary in size from local supply systems to national grids covering whole countries, and transnational grids that can even cross continents. As well as the generating stations that produce electric power, grids include electrical substations (to step electrical voltage up for transmission or down for distribution), high voltage transmission lines to carry power from distant sources to demand centers, and distribution lines that connect individual customers.

High-voltage circuit breakers are an essential feature of power grids: they interrupt the flow of current as soon as a fault is detected. Piezoelectric pressure sensors from Kistler (usually mounted in adapters) are used during the development, testing and qualification phases for this crucially important equipment. Pressure measurement results are compared with computational models, or verified against a specific setpoint (in the qualification phase).