Definition: The Megger is the instrument used for measuring the resistance of the insulation. It works on the principle of comparison, i.eThe resistance of the insulation is compared with the known value of resistance. If the resistance of the insulation is high, the pointer of the moving coil deflects towards the infinity, and if it is low, then the pointer indicates zero resistance. The accuracy of the Megger is high as compared to other instruments.
Construction of Megger
The construction of the Megger is shown in the figure below. The Megger has one current coil and the two voltage coils V1 and V2. The voltage coil V1 is passed over the magnet connected to the generator. When the pointer of the PMMC instrument deflects towards infinity, it means that the voltage coil remains in the weak magnetic field and thus experiences very little torque.
The torque experienced by the coil increases when it moves inside the strong magnetic field. The coil experiences the maximum torque under the pole faces and the pointer set at the zero end of the resistance scale.For improving the torque, the voltage coil V2 is used. The coil V2 is so allocated that when the pointer deflects from infinity to zero the coil moves into a stronger magnetic field.
In Megger, the combined action of both the voltage coils V1 and V2 are considered. The coil comprises a spring of variable stiffness. It is stiff near the zero end of the coil and becomes very weak near the infinity end of the spring.The spring compresses the low resistance portion and opens the high resistance of the spring, which is the great advantage of the Megger because it is used for measuring the insulation of the resistance which is usually very high.The instrument has voltage selector switch which is used for selecting the voltage range of the instrument. The voltage range is controlled by selecting the varying resistance R connected in series with the current coil. The voltage is generated by connecting the hand driven generator.
The testing voltage is usually 500, 1000 or 2500 V which is generated by the hand driven generator. The generator has a centrifugal clutch due to which the generator supplied the constant for the insulation test. The constant voltage is used for testing the insulation having low resistance.The Megger has three coils, two pressure coils and one current coil. The pressure coil rotates the moving coil in the anticlockwise direction, whereas the current coil rotates it in the clockwise direction.When the unknown resistance is connected in the circuit, the pointer of the moving coil becomes stable. The pressure coil and the current coil balance the pointer and set it in the middle of the scale.The deflection of the pointer is directly proportional to the voltage applied to the external circuit. When the testing circuit is applied across the Megger, and if there is no shorting throughout the insulation then the pointer deflects towards the infinity. Which shows that the resistance has high insulation. For low resistance, the pointer moves towards zero.
Definition: The instrument used for measuring the resistance of the earth is known as earth tester. All the equipment of the power system is connected to the earth through the earth electrode. The earth protects the equipment and personnel from the fault current. The resistance of the earth is very low. The earth electrodes control the high potential of the equipment which is caused by the high lightning surges and the voltage spikes. The neutral of the three-phase circuit is also connected to the earth electrodes for their protection.
Before providing the earthing to the equipment, it is essential to determine the resistance of that particular area from where the earthen pit can be dug. The earth should have low resistance so that the fault current easily passes to the earth. The resistance of the earth is determined by the help of earth tester instrument.
Construction of Earth Tester: The earth tester uses the hand driven generator. The rotational current reverser and the rectifier are the two main parts of the earth tester. The current reverser and the rectifier are mounted on the shaft of the DC generator. The earth tester works only on the DC because of the rectifier.
Earth Tester
The tester has two commutators place along with the current reverser and rectifier. The each commutator consist four fixed brushes. The commutator is a device used for converting the direction of flows of current. It is connected in series with the armature of the generator. And the brushes are used for transferring the power from the stationary parts to the moving parts of the devices.
The arrangement of the brushes can be done in such a way that they are alternately connected with one of the segments even after the rotation of the commutator. The brushes and the commutators are always connected to each other.The earth tester consists two pressures and the current coils. The each coil has two terminals. The pair of the pressure coil and the current coil are placed across the permanent magnet. The one pair of current and pressure coil is short-circuited, and it is connected to the auxiliary electrodes.The one end terminal of the pressure coil is connected to the rectifier, and their other end is connected to the earth electrode. Similarly, the current coil is connected to the rectifier and earth electrode.The earth tester consists the potential coil which is directly connected to the DC generator. The potential coil is placed between the permanent magnet. The coil is connected to the pointer, and the pointer is fixed on the calibrated scale. The pointer indicates the magnitude of the earth resistance. The deflection of the pointer depends on the ratio of the voltage of the pressure coil to the current of the current coil.The short circuit current passing through the equipment to the earth is alternating in nature. Thus, we can say that the alternating current flows in the soil. This alternative current reduces the unwanted effect of the soil, which occurs because of chemical action or because of the production of back emf.
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