High voltage high power switchgears: trusted testing for a resilient power infrastructure

Why Switchgear Testing is Essential

Switchgears and circuit breakers are the backbone of every electric power system—controlling, protecting, and isolating critical equipment to keep the lights on and the economy running. To ensure their reliability, these components must be rigorously tested both during development (at R&D labs) and for certification (at independent test houses). Because of their vital role, international test agreements (such as STL) govern how switchgear is tested and how results are analyzed, ensuring harmonized, trustworthy, repeatable outcomes across the industry.

The Challenge

Testing switchgear is not a trivial task. These devices must safely handle and interrupt voltages up to millions of volts and currents of hundreds of thousands of amperes.

• Safety First: Acquiring these signals requires instrumen- tation that is not only highly accurate, but also 100% safe for users—even when sitting on high potential and exposed to massive electrical and magnetic fields.

• Complex Measurements: Switchgear testing often involves “open-close-open” (OCO) sequences, where the precise timing and movement of contacts must be measured and analyzed. For medium and low voltage devices, lots of consecutive tests (thousands and thousands) are needed to analyze the individual results per test in a statistical frame.

• Standardized Analysis: To ensure results are comparable and certifiable, analysis routines are fixed in STL standards—covering both R&D and certification workflows.

HBK’s Solution:

Confidence in Every Test

• 100% Safe, Fiber-Optic Isolation: Digitizers and cables immune to extreme EMC and magnetic fields, ensuring operator safety and data integrity—even in the toughest test environments.

• Scalable Channel Count: Solutions for 9+ channels (voltage, current, travel), with optional analog out of the isolated signals on the receiver side.

• High-Speed Data Acquisition: Capture fast switching events and transients with sample rates up to 100 MS/s.

• Flexible Installation: Cable lengths up to 800 m, battery or isolated mains operation for maximum adaptability in any lab setup.

• Integrated DAQ & Timing Control: GEN DAQ hardware with Isolated Digitizern6600, BE3200 test sequencer, and Perception software work seamlessly together for synchronized, reliable results.

• Certified, Transparent Analysis: STL-compliant analysis workflow, with customizable software and extended STL options for MV/LV labs.

• Optimized Workflow: User keys and macros accelerate analysis; software tailored to lab needs. User configurable workspace with Operator / Definer option.

• Proven Reliability: Trusted by leading grid component suppliers, test labs, and certifying bodies worldwide, with over 1000 channels installed worldwide.

Ideal Applications
• Switchgear, circuit breaker, fuse, and transformer testing
• R&D and homologation for grid components
• Regulatory and governmental test labs
• Fault simulation and transient analysis
• STL-compliant certification and reporting

Why HBK?
• Decades of expertise in high-voltage, high-power testing (35 years of Bakker/Nicolet/LDS legacy), 3rd generation of dedicated solution.
• Complete hardware and software solution, lowering training and setup time
• Worldwide references and application support
• Industry-standard solution used in most HV/HP labs globally

For details visit: www.hbkworld.com
For more information: info@hbkworld.com