Years ago I recall seeing a film produced by CEGB I think where a
fault was deliberately applied to a set of high voltage busbars in a
grid switching station. The bars started to vibrate and under
resonance the amplitude built up until the bars touched and
spectacularly vapourised. An associated film showed an oil filled
transformer exploding when the oil level fell due to simulated leakage
without protection systems.
Try as I might I can't find any references to track these films down
through google.
Anyone out there with any knowledge of them?

"cynic" wrote

Years ago I recall seeing a film produced by CEGB I think where a
fault was deliberately applied to a set of high voltage busbars in a
grid switching station. The bars started to vibrate and under
resonance the amplitude built up until the bars touched and
spectacularly vapourised. An associated film showed an oil filled
transformer exploding when the oil level fell due to simulated leakage
without protection systems.
Try as I might I can't find any references to track these films down
through google.
Anyone out there with any knowledge of them?

Think I've seen the one you mean, but don't have link.
A friend of the family managed to do something similar with a meter lead.
The arc continued long after the lead had vapourised apparently.
This left him with serious burns to hand and face - lucky to survive some
say.

Phil

cynic wrote:
Years ago I recall seeing a film produced by CEGB I think where a
fault was deliberately applied to a set of high voltage busbars in a
grid switching station. The bars started to vibrate and under
resonance the amplitude built up until the bars touched and
spectacularly vapourised. An associated film showed an oil filled
transformer exploding when the oil level fell due to simulated leakage
without protection systems.
Try as I might I can't find any references to track these films down
through google.
Anyone out there with any knowledge of them?


Have a look at this old post from Mr Gabriel:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk....b9744eae8a1559

The link at the bottom sounds like the exploding transformer one; not
sure about the other links but they're still entertaining!

David

Lobster wrote:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk....b9744eae8a1559

Also
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...11089188056644
and related videos.

--
Andy