From the monthly archives: July 2012

We are pleased to present below all posts archived in 'July 2012'. If you still can't find what you are looking for, try using the search box.

Fault Calculations - Typical Equipment Parameters

By Steven McFadyen on 6/24/2012 7:38 AM

A frequent problem in fault calculations is the obtaining of equipment parameters.  While it is always preferable to use the actual parameters of the equipment, sometimes these are not available... read more..


Low Voltage Fault Tables

By Steven McFadyen on 6/24/2012 7:11 AM

The following tables provide quick order of magnitude fault levels for a a range of typical low voltage situations.

read more..


Questions - Reputation and Privilege

By Steven McFadyen on 6/15/2012 9:08 AM

Our question and answer system while letting you do exactly what it says, is much more.  It is a dynamic user driven system, where our users not only ask and answer questions, but can manage the... read more..


Inductance

By Steven McFadyen on 6/3/2012 11:08 AM

When current flows within a wire, a magnetic field is created. The potion of this magnetic field perpendicular to the wire is called the magnetic flux (measured in weber, Wb). Inductance is the ratio... read more..




Arc Flash Calculations

Working in the vicinity of electrical equipment poses an hazard. In addition to electric shock hazard, fault currents passing through air causes Arc Flash...

Dielectric loss in cables

Dielectrics (insulating materials for example) when subjected to a varying electric field, will have some energy loss.   The varying electric field causes...

Introduction to Lighting

When looking at the design of a lighting scheme it is useful to have an understanding on the nature of light itself and some of the basic theory associated...

Network Theory – Introduction and Review

In electrical engineering, Network Theory is the study of how to solve circuit problems. By analyzing circuits, the engineer looks to determine the various...

Back to basics - the Watt (or kW)

When thinking about watts (W) or kilowatt (kW = 1000 W) it can be useful too keep in mind the fundamental ideas behind the unit. Watt is not a pure electrical...

Differential protection, the good old days

This morning I was explaining how differential protection works to a junior engineer. To give him something to read I opened up the NPAG (Network Protection...

Voltage Levels to IEC 60038

The standard aims to consolidate AC and traction voltages within the industry and defines the following bands: band 1 - A.C. systems 100 V to 1...

Paths of Flight

GE have put together a time-lapse video shown flight take-off and landings at some airports. An interesting view:

Why is electricity so hard to understand?

It's been a busy few months on different projects or busy couple of decades depending on how I look at it. I can say that on the odd (frequent) occasion...

Periodic Electrical Installation Inspection – What to Inspect?

This is the second post in a series of two on periodic electrical inspections. In the first post, I discussed how often inspections should be carried out...

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