ImpulseCheck from Phoenix Contact is the first intelligent assistance system for surge protection in the field of network protection available on the market. As digitalization evolves, status information and information about individual components becomes increasingly important. These values are the keys to designing the independent systems of the future and bringing the Internet of Things to life. ImpulseCheck provides real-time monitoring of surge protection devices and transparency of SoHs. Moreover, it offers deep analytical options regarding electromagnetic compatibility in systems. The ability to take precautions before a component fails significantly improves system continuity and efficiency.

Thanks to the real-time measurement of electromagnetic interference and ripple currents, the state of the system and the surge protection are continuously recorded.This makes the remaining service life of protective devices transparent, so that maintenance services become more predictable.

Cloud-based analysis of the determined measured values enables completely new automated processes.Digital benefits and services, such as connectivity to site information or local weather data, can be easily implemented through cloud integration.It is possible to simply export the measured values for automatic ordering of replacement vouchers or for your own evaluations.Real-time monitoring ensures that the status of surge protection devices is always known.A status report can be generated at any time at the touch of a button.

Suitable for facility management, critical infrastructure or plant-wide diagnostics, ImpulseCheck provides real-time data and reporting to know the actual operating conditions of your facilities.

The safety-related components of surge protection devices are an important part of process plants. Information about the status and performance of these components, as well as the condition of the plant, plays an important role in continuous monitoring and preventive maintenance. ImpulseCheck collects all this information and also makes it available on the Internet of Things

Figure 1: ImpulseCheck collects information about the status and performance of the surge protection equipment and the data of the plant itself and enables this information to be used in the Internet of Things.

The typical green "OK" status notification of the SPD (Overprotection Device), which appears on the device or is read via a remote contact, is not decisive about the current status of the initials. Nor does it provide information on the stress created by overcurrents and transient overvoltages since the installation of the SPD. Therefore, it does not make sense to look at the indicator during maintenance or periodic inspection of the lightning protection system. The surge protection system may fail the next day or within a few years.

This is where ImpulseCheck, the new system from Phoenix Contact, comes into play. Overcurrents and transient overvoltages discharged and constrained by SPD are detected in real time and can then be analysed in ImpulseAnalytics, a Proficloud app. In addition to comprehensive tools for the evaluation of the measurement data available to the user, the health status (SoH) is calculated for each protection mode in the SPDs of Phoenix Contact. The state of health is the current state of the initials. Unlike the reactive protection equipment replacement based on the green/red status indicator in the past, this status information allows preventive maintenance plans to be implemented. This can improve the efficiency of maintenance work, save costs and achieve better system continuity.

Link to Proficloud

The ImpulseCheck system consists of up to four external sensors, an evaluation and communication unit and the ImpulseAnalytics Proficloud application. The sensors are connected to the cables that connect the SPD to the active conductors of the network. Overcurrents and transient overvoltages discharged and limited by SPD are detected by sensors and processed by the evaluation and communication unit. From there, the data measured by Ethernet is sent to Proficloud via an encrypted communication channel. The ImpulseAnalytics application processes the measured data as typical characteristic values such as amplitude, electric charge, and specific energy; this can then be visualized, analysed and exported for specific assessment purposes.

Figure 1: The ImpulseCheck system provides Proficloud with information on overcurrent and transient overvoltages and allows an assessment of the Health State (SoH) of the monitored SPDs.

The system's modular design with external sensors and a separate evaluation-communication unit enables a wide range of applications. In particular, in large plants with multiple subsystems that often differ in their exposure to overvoltages or their strength, critical locations can be monitored with ImpulseCheck to get a more diverse picture of the plant's current situation. Depending on the application, the system may be newly installed, can be added to existing installations with a surge protection system, or can only be used as a measuring device without any SPD that can be monitored.

SoH calculation

One of the main functions of ImpulseCheck is to calculate the SoH for the protection modes of the monitored Phoenix Contact surge protection device. The SoH indicates the remaining capacity of the protection device and recommends that it be replaced if necessary, and in fact, it does so reliably and before the device fails. The relevant calculations are based on data of overvoltage currents and transient overvoltages collected by ImpulseCheck since the installation of the SPD. Each event is analysed in terms of the potential for harm associated with the SPD in question and the accumulated stress resulting from numerous incidents over its service life is also taken into account.

For this purpose, special algorithms are used that take into account the various aging mechanisms of different surge protection components for one case, and for another, using data from product development and standardized tests. Thanks to cloud-based analytics, this intelligent assessment can be continuously improved and fine-tuned. The approach also allows for future applications of Machine Learning technology

Figure 3: The ImpulseCheck module is an essential part of the system, as it receives the sensors' measurement signals and monitors the SPD's warning contact

The ImpulseCheck Proficloud app allows the user to access the data measured by ImpulseCheck. For each conductor of the monitored supply system, the detected overvoltage currents are listed - these are characteristic quantities such as amplitude, electric charge and specific energy. Each of the events can be visualized with the integrated drawing feature or exported as a CSV data set. Data on overvoltage currents are decisive for calculating SoH, they provide information on the occurrence of overvoltages caused by atmospheric-origin or inductive switching processes.

User-defined notifications

For detected transient overvoltages, a comprehensive analytical tool is available that allows users to create personalized tables and bar graphs. This feature of ImpulseCheck can also be used to perform EMC analysis of the facility for high-frequency interference. Time-specific mapping correlates the operating states of individual system parts with the occurrence of electromagnetic interference

Figure 4: The extensive drawing and analytical features in the ImpulseAnalytics Proficloud app provide an in-depth look at the system.

Another important feature of ImpulseAnalytics is the possibility to configure user-defined notifications. Any event can be reported to any customized email list. In addition, a detailed status report on the current status of the monitored SPD can be generated at the push of a button or sent at regular intervals. The continuous calculation of the SoH together with the status report for documentation purposes does not require manual testing of surge protection devices in accordance with IEC 62305-3 as part of periodic checks of lightning protection systems.

To make the ImpulseCheck system's data available to control systems and other applications, ImpulseAnalytics has a REST interface that can be used to read all status notifications and events. Thanks to this open architecture, the system is ready for future developments and new digital business models.