How Transformers Can Explode

Due to power surges and corroded wiring, the transformer may explode and cause serious damage. (Photo by Iceman 9294 / Flicker)

A transformer of Consolidated Edison (Con Ed), the sole power company in New York City, exploded under the basement of the underground basement yesterday and broke the window on the multiple floor. There were no injuries, but offices and shops at the corner of 20th chapter were smoldering.

The investigator is still trying to answer this question: What caused the transformer to explode? Â

Power transformer transfers energy between circuits and switches energy from one voltage to another. However, if there is too much power, there is a possibility that the transformer may explode due to a sudden surge. When the transformer detects energy spikes, they are programmed to turn off, but it can take up to 60 ms to turn off. No matter how fast these milliseconds look, it is still too late to prevent electrical overload.

The chamber filled with a few gallons of mineral oil keeps the circuit cold, but due to the large amount of electricity, the circuit can fry and melt, ignite the sparks and can not burn the mineral oil. As a result, the mineral oil burns explosively and the sickle of the transformer fires into the air.

All that is required is that the circuit surge will overtake the circuit breaker with triggered, corroded or defective wires - and in New York City the snowstorm of the previous day may have been successful. Bob McGee, a spokeswoman for Con Ed, said the underground electric power system often encounters problems after heavy snow. Salt streets can make cars and pedestrians more safe, and salt can create dangerous conditions for underground electrical systems. one

According to McGee, Manhattan provided 35,000 underground transformers and 47,000 fictitious transformers to 10 million inhabitants, of which 82,000 had about 35 malfunctions annually. Failure is not necessarily the same as a fire or an explosion; indeed, such an explosion is rare if the number of failures per year gradually decreases. Â

Snowstorms may be related to events, but it takes time to analyze what is wrong. If it turns out that the salt of the snowstorm is not the cause, it could be an old transformer. When those insulating materials begin to fail, they explode. This occurs when cellulose and oil absorb moisture over time, causing cellulose insulation to degrade and cause an explosion.

The United States expanded its electrical structure in the 1950s and 1960s and now the oldest transformers are approaching or reaching 30 to 40 years of their operational lifetime.

In one such case in San Francisco, the power transformer in the basement of the building exploded and toxic liquid refrigerant was released. Computers in the building continue to operate, but the fire department does not allow anyone to enter the building and make the computer easier to use, so the information will be unusable. ¿ The main purpose of Internet security is to protect the confidentiality of proprietary information, maintain its integrity, and maintain its availability for those who access it. When an unauthorized person accesses and checks information, it is no longer confidential. By connecting to the Internet, organizations make their information assets more vulnerable to unauthorized access and breach of confidentiality rules. When data is altered, altered, or destroyed by an intruder, the integrity of the information is lost.

Most personal computers and mainframes are very reliable. It is a difficult part to make them work. "Old transformers have a habit of fire, and degraded capacitors will explode," Carlson said. They are replaced by more modern power components, load operating systems, and software, and at the time of completion, each computer's life expectancy is expected to be 100 years, except for the oldest supercomputer that needs regular maintenance I will. Earlier this year, Carlson oversaw the museum's most ambitious temporary exhibition "Reversal of the '80s." Computers reproducing classrooms of the 1980s, video game halls and underground recreation rooms were available. The museum opened on December 31, after which the museum plans to add 2,000 square feet of air-conditioned floor space to a larger computer.