Case 2 - An unattended transit system converter station (convert
AC voltage to DC) caught fire, and was almost completely destroyed.
Part of the problem was the type of grounding associated with the utility
source. As such, the converter station had inadequate protection
for this service, and failed when the first surge developed. Because
this happened during the startup phase, the failure detecting equipment
had not been made operational. The initial failure and subsequent
manifestation were undetected for a long period. Identifying
the cause required examination of documents between the engineer and the
utility. The extent of the failure would have been mitigated if the remote
alarm system had been operational.
Case 3 - A mylar balloon touched overhead power distribution
conductors, causing arcing and subsequent falling of bare conductors
to ground, resulting in injuries and vehicular damage. The
tavern operator had distributed balloons during a basketball game
being shown on the tavern TV. Afterwards, one or more balloons were
released, and at least one of them bridged the space between the three
phase conductors of the 12,470 volts distribution system. Mr. Love
was brought in at the last minute, after the discovery period, and was
deposed by an attorney for a plaintiff who had suffered physical and monetary
damage. What Mr. Love discovered was that some utility controls had failed,
and that its protection scheme was inadequate. Up to that point,
the utility had not admitted any responsibility, but subsequently agreed
to discuss a settlement.
Case 4 - An industrial facility had expanded its 12, 470 V distribution
system, and purchased a new air circuit breaker for installation in a spare
cubicle. Prior to inserting the breaker, two workers entered the
energized cubicle to verify the wiring and installed devices, and due to
some accident, became exposed to an arc blast which caused considerable
injury to each man. Mr. Love was hired by the facility operator's
attorney to investigate the damage and probable cause. His efforts
were those of a consultant, and subsequently the attorneys were able to
assign the responsibility to a contractor whose personnel were involved..
Case 5 - An industrial facility hired an electrical contractor
to perform extensive testing on the 24,900 V and 480 V systems during a
holiday shutdown. During the afternoon prior to the testing, the
low voltage test crew arrived, and were shown the 24,900 V system by the
plant engineer. The doors to the metal-enclosed switchgear were left
open, and two experienced electricians entered one cubicle without realizing
that the switchgear was still energized. The first electrician came
too close to an energized component, and was electrocuted, with the accompanying
arc knocking down and injuring the second electrician. The attorney
for the switchgear manufacturer hired Mr. Love as a consultant to advise
on the safety conditions, warning signs, interlocks, and industrial practices
relating to top vs bottom entry.
Case 6 - A generator protective relay repeatedly tripped a generator
circuit breaker when the co-generating unit was being paralleled to a utility.
After checking calculations and relay settings, Mr. Love determined that
the problem lay in the current transformers which supplied current to
the protective relays. Disassembly of switchgear revealed that the
current transformers had incorrect ratios and had to be replaced.
Case 7 - Involved a field of over 60 wind turbine generators. An electrical surge developed on the collection grid into which these generators fed power. During this incident, the surge protection furnished by the manufacturer failed on each of the sixty 480 V electrical panels, leading to many electrical panel fires. No personnel were involved, but the manifestation of the arc was evident in each of the destroyed electrical panels. In each case, the air was ionized around the failed surge device, leading to the destruction of many electrical panels. My study was to determine how that surge was generated, whether the surge protection was adequate and located properly on the 60 electrical panels, and if other protection was adequate
Low Voltage 120 to 480 Volts.
Case 8 A large metal processing plant was brought to a halt by an electrical failure, causing buildup in the process pressure vessels, which ruptured and sent parts flying almost a half-mile away. My task was to determine whether recently added digital protective relays malfunctioned, leading to the failure of the 13.8kV ring bus. The plant had five 13.8 kV generators connected to a ring bus system, with an additional supply from the utility. In the event of an electrical fault, the new digital relays were to identify the location of the fault, then to initiate isolation of the faulty bus section by selectively opening the ring bus, yet permitting uninterrupted supply to the other loads.
Case 9 - There was a residential fire involving an attic
furnace. A suit had been filed alleging that the capacitor
in the fan motor circuit had failed, and had ignited combustible
building material. Some experts had supported this theory, although
no comparative cases could be cited. Subsequently analysis of the
circuit proved that this type of failure would have had to occur when the
motor was running, but no smoke had been reported. Thus the cause
had to be from a different failure.
Case 10 - There was a fire in a museum elevator, with extensive damage
in the elevator area, including the loss of some paintings and other art
objects. Investigating the burnt elevator proved that the fire could
have developed from several scenarios. One possible cause had been
lighting fixtures, but an analysis of its failure mode showed that this
scenario was quite remote.
Case 11 - A fire developed in a 480 V bus duct which carried power
from the basement to the top floor of a 24 story building.
At each floor, transformers reduced voltage to 120/240 V for distribution
in office areas. The client had worked on the 120/240 V side of the transformers,
and we proved that his work could not have caused the failure in the 480
V bus duct distribution system.
Case 12 - Heavy rains leaked through the roof of a manufacturing
plant, penetrating into a 480 V bus duct (busway), tripping off the supply
breaker, and shutting down the plant. An electrical contractor sent in
his crew to dry out the system, and restore it to working order.
After the drying operation was deemed to be successful, the main
circuit breaker was closed, and then all branch circuit breakers were closed.
Circuit breakers were plugged into the bus duct one at a time, until one
circuit breaker bus plug could not be fitted securely. The lead contract
electrician allegedly hammered the plug, but instead of fitting the breaker
in place, an arc developed which blew the man off the ladder, causing him
to suffer arc burns. From the technical point of view, it was necessary
to demonstrate that the purpose of a 480 V Ground Fault Protection system
was to protect equipment and not personnel, and that Ground Fault Circuit
Interrupters (GFCI) were not applicable.
Case 13-
Two maintenance workers had the responsibility to keep a mall air conditioning system working. Neither was trained in air conditioning nor in electrical maintenance, but did whatever had to be done in a rarely supervised role.
A 480 V three phase circuit breaker supplied power to a large air conditioning unit. Because that breaker ran in a hot condition, the workers had scheduled its replacement. They arrived at the mall at an early morning hour, and removed the circuit breaker panel cover plate in order to made it easier for the electrician to replace the breaker later.
However, something happened during (or after) the removal step, and an explosion within the panel developed a fireball that passed closely by one man and struck the second in the chest. Both were horribly burned. An ambulance took one man to the hospital, where he survived with burns over most of his body. There was a delay before the second ambulance arrived and the second man expired on the way to the hospital. My participation was to advise a plaintiff's attorney on the scenario which had been developed by some observers and the surviving worker. The fire department did an excellent job in photographing the scene.
Case 14 – A TV Cable contractor employee was assigned to work on a
utility pole that supported power, telephone and TV cables.
The employee sensed a live voltage as he climbed upward.
After falling to the ground, he was transported to a nearby hospital and
treated mainly for injuries suffered as a result of the 20-foot fall.
Technicians from the local power company measured this lethal voltage,
and determined the source to be a ghost ground voltage caused by improper
grounding in an adjacent facility. Mr. Love was hired by the local telephone
company, and recognized that this condition was probable on the power
company’s corner-grounded delta distribution system
Spacing and orientation were in accord with accepted standards for this
type of installation.
Case 15 – A fire caused extensive damage to the interior of a shop
used for tailoring of all types. The
immediate cause was verified by the fire department to be a damaged extension
cord that ran from the panel to the rear of the shop.
The renter claimed that the panel circuit breaker should have protected
the extension cord. Mr. Love was
hired by the property owner to explain in court how a circuit breaker worked
and the unacceptability of using an extension cord in lieu of permanent
wiring.
Case 16 –An arc developed in the incoming 3000A circuit breaker
cubicle of a large 480 Volt switchgear. A
ground fault relay detected this fault and tripped the supply breaker.
Mr. Love was hired to investigate this Washington DC government facility,
and to determine the cause. Numerous
instances were evident where the bus tie bolts were not properly and adequately
torqued. Vibration over a long
period led to loose bolts and subsequent arcs. Another consultant had
recommended raising the setting, but because the accident happened when it did,
the low setting on the ground fault relay saved the facility from very extensive
damage.
ARBITRATION
Case 17 - An independent generator of electricity had unexpected
construction costs, including excessive overtime. The case went to arbitration
as per agreement. After studying the drawings and installation, was
able to support management position that construction had drawings, material,
and equipment on schedule, and the amount of overtime was not warranted.
Testimony was very influential per company attorney in writing.
There were many cases where Mr. Love supported the work of associates
in determining code violations, preparing calculations to determine
the magnitude and probability of certain failures, and furnishing data
from his extensive library of technical material.
