be to solicit donations of instruments in response to proposals from universities. Research Corp. has made a beginning by arranging a donation of four computers with peripheral equipment from Apple Computers for projects in chemistry, biology, and astrophysics. Schaefer also has begun discussions along this line with IBM, whose subsidiary, IBM Instruments, produces nuclear magnetic and electron spin resonance spectrometers, infrared spectrophotometers, liquid chromatographs, electroanalytical equipment, and laboratory computers.
Instruments are of special concern to Schaefer. He cites studies estimating that instruments at U.S. universities are, on average, a decade out of date, with $1 billion needed to upgrade them. This sum seems to lie beyond the resources of NSF and NIH. But, as Schaefer acknowledges, "These are not the days of Thomas Edison, when someone can work out of his (or her] garage and generate new industries at the rate of one a month. We know the price tag for upgrading research instruments at our universities," he says. "What is the price tag for not doing it?" Steve Stinson, New York
Technology
Chemical propellents drive new circuit breaker Electrical equipment one day may benefit from chemical propellant technology developed for military and space applications. A project now under way at Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s power circuit breaker division in Trafford, Pa., is aimed at developing design options for a compact, gas-insulated 1200-kV circuit breaker operated by a mechanism powered by chemical propellant charges. Another broader project is aimed at applying the technology to a general-purpose mechanism for switching devices. R&D work on the chemical mechanism still is in the conceptual and prototype development stage. But Oak Ridge National Laboratory notes that it is the first new type of highvoltage circuit breaker mechanism to be developed in 50 years. ORNL engineers are technical advisers on the high-voltage circuit breaker project, which is being funded jointly by Westinghouse and the Department of Energy. The broader project is being supported by Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif., and is directed toward not only circuit breakers but other switching devices such as current limiters and disconnect devices. Most circuit breakers in use today are actuated with electromagnetic, pneumatic, or hydraulic mechanisms. Breakers function to open or close electric power circuits during normal power system operation or during abnormal conditions. During normal operation, the breaker serves to energize or de-energize loads. In abnormal conditions—when excessive current develops, usually as a result of lightning, switching faults, or sustained overloads—the breaker opens
to protect the electrical equipment and the system. ORNL points out that the requirements of propellants for military and space application—long shelf life and reliable operation—match the requirements of the modern highvoltage circuit breaker. The breaker is expected to remain closed for months at a time and then function in less than 36 milliseconds. Exceptional reliability is needed, since the breaker is the first line of defense for protecting transmission systems. The mechanism, explains Harvey Spindle, manager of advanced programs at Westinghouse, employs shaped particles of propellant that are slow burning to develop a slow increase in pressure. Used in a reloadable chamber, the propellant is triggered by a percussion initiator. The resulting burn drives a piston at pressures comparable to those of a hydraulic mechanism. The operating time of the device, Spindle says, is less than 36 milliseconds. This is the time required for a two-cycle rated circuit breaker, which must complete its function in the two cycles. Tests and computer analyses have shown that a chemically actuated mechanism is capable of providing consistently high energy in a small, lightweight package with less operating noise than that of conventional pneumatic mechanisms. A chemically powered unit for a 1200-kV circuit breaker pole unit can be held in one hand. In contrast, a pneumatic mechanism requires an 8-cu-ft unit, and a hydraulic mechanism requires two cylinders that measure 6 inches by 6 feet. D
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July 26, 1982 C&EN
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