The CT-8000 S3 is Vanguard's fourth generation EHV circuit breaker analyzer. The CT-8000 S3 is available with 3 (part number 9103-UC) or 6 contact timing channels (part number 9104-UC). The CT-8000 S3 can fully analyze a circuit breaker's performance by measuring the main contact and resistor contact time, stroke, velocity, over-travel, bounce back and contact wipes. Also, an outstanding feature of the CT-8000 S3 is the ability to perform dynamic resistance tests on circuit breaker contacts.

Dynamic Contact Resistance

The CT-8000 S3 can perform dynamic-resistance tests

using a 200-ampere, built-in, DC power supply. One

channel is available for performing a dynamic contact

resistance test. The resistance measuring range is from 1

micro-ohm to 1,999 micro-ohms. The resistance chart can

be used to analyze the circuit-breaker contact condition

during the CB operation. This important feature can help

detect circuit-breaker contact erosion or other contact

problems that cannot be detected in static resistance

tests. The CT-8000 S3 can also be used as a 200-ampere

micro-ohmmeter to test circuit-breaker contact resistance

and bus connections, or can be used for other applications

where a low-resistance measurement is required.

Contact Timing Input Channels

The CT-8000 S3's dry contact timing channels (up to 6

channels) are used to time the circuit breaker main contacts.

Each main contact timing channel is capable of

detecting the main contact and insertion resistor contact

time. Timing results are displayed in milliseconds and

cycles. The CT-8000 S3's timing window is selectable

between 1 second, 10 seconds, and 20 seconds.

Breaker Stroke and Velocity

Three dedicated digital travel transducer channels

are available on the CT-8000 S3 for measuring

circuit-breaker contact stroke, velocity,

over-travel, and bounce back. With the use of

the Vanguard digital travel transducers, neither

calibration nor setting is required. Circuit breaker

contact velocity is calculated based on contact’s

travel distance over a period of time. Special formulas

to calculate velocity is also accommodated

by the CT-8000 S3. Special feature is also available

to “Slow-Close” test the circuit breaker and

obtain a test result report.

Resistor Type

Transducer Inputs

The CT-8000 S3 offers 3 resistor type transducer input

channels. These input channels are used to interface

with any resistor-type transducers to monitor the circuit

breaker motion. Transducer resistance ranges from 200

Ohms to 10K Ohms.

Voltage Monitoring Channels

The CT-8000 S3 features three voltage monitoring

input channels (V1, V2, and V3). The V1

voltage channel is dedicated to monitoring the

substation DC supply or coil voltage (0-255 V, DC

or peak AC). The nominal and minimum DC supply

voltage levels are recorded and printed on the

tabulated report. An analog waveform showing

the DC power supply is plotted on the graphical

report. The two digital voltage input channels,

V2 and V3, are dedicated to monitoring voltage

on/off status presence or absence of the circuit

breaker auxiliary switches. Digital waveforms

showing V2 and V3 activity are plotted on the

graphical report. Three timing events of the V2

and V3 activities are recorded and printed on the

tabulated report.

Breaker Initiate Features

A built-in solid-state initiate device is used to operate

a breaker from the CT-8000 S3. Operational

modes include OPEN, CLOSE, OPEN-CLOSE,

CLOSE-OPEN, and OPEN-CLOSE-OPEN. Multiple

operation like OPEN-CLOSE, CLOSE-OPEN, and

OPEN-CLOSE-OPEN can be initiated by using a

programmable delay time (in milliseconds) or by

sensing a specifi c breaker contact condition.

Computer Interface

The CT-8000 S3 can be computer-controlled

via the USB or optional Bluetooth interface.

Windows-based Circuit Breaker Analysis

Software is provided with each unit. Using this

software, circuit breakers can be timed from the

PC. Test records can be retrieved from the CT-

8000 S3 and then stored on the PC for future

analysis and report generation. Circuit breaker

test plans can also be created on the PC and

transferred to the CT-8000 S3. Additionally, test

records can be automatically exported in Excel,

PDF, and XML formats.

OPEN/CLOSE Coil Current Monitoring

One built-in, hall-effect sensor records the OPEN/

CLOSE coil current amplitude and waveform. The

circuit breaker’s coil current waveform, effectively,

a coil performance “fi ngerprint” or “current

profi le”, can be used as a diagnostic tool for analyzing

the circuit breaker’s performance.