PHOENIX CONTACT | Customer Magazine UPDATE 3/11

Taking the Sting out of Lightning Heavy-Duty PWT Lightning Arresters Wind turbine operators demand the highest standards in terms of safety and uptime to achieve a fast ROI.The new PWT lightning arrester offers a high arrester rated voltage, remote status notification, and a long service life, thus meeting all of the above demands. The new Powertrab PWT 35-800 AC-FM type I arrester was specially designed for application in exposed industrial facilities, in particular for on- and offshore wind turbines. Featuring a nominal conductor voltage (Uc) of 800 V AC, the protection device, which is also free of secondary and leakage currents, is in a league of its own. Its lightning current- carrying capacity of (Iimp) 35 kA (10/350 µs) per phase means that it fully complies with lightning protection class I for IT power supplies. Moreover, the device is built to withstand even greater loads, further increasing its service life.With a high TOV (temporary overvoltage) withstand capability of 1960 V AC, the Powertrab PWT is even resistant to fault feedback from the medium-voltage system. Condition Monitoring Is Possible A new, multi-level monitoring system allows the Powertrab arrester to provide current, reliable information on its status. In addition to a function display which can be read on site, the arrester also permanently transmits its state to the remote facility control center. In the event the device has sustained minor damage, this information is immediately available to the service team. At this point, Powertrab is still operational, fully protecting the facility.The advantage: Premature servicing is avoided – the affected protection device is replaced at the next regular maintenance interval. Rolf-Dieter Wagner The Powertrab PWT lightning arrester is designed for space-saving assembly in the control cabinet. Technology 07UPDATE 3|11