Performance of Relays and Protection Equipment under Vibration Environment

Relays are the protection and switching devices in most of the control processes or equipment. Relays respond to one or more electrical quantities like voltage or current such that they open or close the contacts or circuits. Relays are subjected to vibration and mechanical shock due to operating environment, transportation, mishandling and earthquake. Operating environmental vibration and shock may result in spurious operation of relays. Understanding cause and effect of vibration on relay performance is paramount to ensure reliable functioning of relays. Relays should be designed for the anticipated operating environmental vibration and shock levels. Vibration and shock qualification is performed to determine if a product can withstand the rigors of its intended use environment, to insure the final design will not fall apart during shipping, for environmental stress screening and to weed out production defects. CPRI is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to qualify equipment and components for vibration and shock conditions. Performance of relay under vibration environment is discussed in this paper.