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Figure 2.
C.2.2.
Operating Under Permanent Fault Conditions
The remaining 10-20% of faults in distribution overhead lines are considered permanent. During these faults, the continuous cycling
of the recloser does not clear the fault. .The AutoLink will pickup, measure zero current and count, reaching its trip count setting.
The AutoLink will trip on the last open cycle of the recloser, isolating the permanent fault in its branch and allowing the recloser
to close prior to going to lockout and maintain power to the unaffected branches.
Figure 3.
The times shown in Diagrams B and C as T1 correspond to the time the recloser takes to reconnect the circuit. This “dead time” is
usually adjustable up to 3 minutes. The AutoLink can operate while keeping the count performed with the current at zero for up to
3.5 minutes, above any possible dead line value configured in the recloser.
Due to the latest technological improvements recently introduced to reclosers, the time indicated as T2 is the time the recloser takes
to open after the fault is detected. The AutoLink, by means of the spectral analysis in the second harmonic, only needs one cycle
to identify a current as a fault current, isolating it from symmetric and asymmetric inrush currents. This feature adds an outstanding
technical advantage to the AutoLink.
C.3.
Minimum Time Required for Power up the AutoLink
The AutoLink is a self-powered device. The following graphs displays the minimum time required for the device to be powered at
different currents to enable the operation. The AutoLink can harvest the required energy from the precharge current and also from the fault
current as far as it fulfills the time-current requirement for fully charge its main energy storage device. The minimum nominal current of
the AutoLink to be fully charged is 5A.
