Earthing high-voltage circuits prior to maintenance is critical to keeping workers safe.
On rail vehicles, the first step to proper earthing is to earth both poles of the main circuit breaker once the breaker has been opened. On 15 kVAC and 25 kVAC rail vehicles, Sécheron’s BVAC circuit breaker is coupled with the BTE15/25.04; Sécheron’s MACS circuit breaker features integrated earthing. For DC rail vehicles operating at voltages of up to 3 kVDC, our UR circuit breaker is coupled with the BTE03.04. Once this step has been completed and the main circuit breaker earthing switch interlocking key has been released, the earthing device on the high-voltage circuits downline can be operated.
DC link circuits on AC rail vehicles and traction converter filters on AC and DC vehicles are earthed using one of the many available versions of our BTE03.04. For DC vehicles both earthing steps can be performed by a single BTE03.04. The BTE03.04 can be delivered as a stand-alone product or integrated into Sécheron’s smart, compact MODBOX® high-voltage enclosure with other high- and low-voltage functions to ensure the electrical safety, measurement, and control of the traction chain.
