Reduced-order modeling of digital twins for a high-voltage circuit breaker

The dynamic characteristics of operating mechanisms are of great significance to the reliability of high-voltage circuit breakers (HVCBs). To achieve dynamic analysis and optimization design of HVCBs, this paper presents a reduced-order digital twin model for a 252 kV HVCB under the OpenModelica simulation platform. To validate the effectiveness of the model, simulated closing and opening stroke curves are compared with experimental results, demonstrating the high efficiency and accuracy of the reduced-order digital twin model. Furthermore, a simulation analysis is performed to examine the mechanical dynamics of the HVCB under potential fault conditions, such as abnormal spring driving force. The analysis reveals that a reduction in the preload of the closing spring slows the operating mechanism’s movement, increases closing time, and may even cause closing failure. Similarly, a decrease in the preload of the opening spring reduces the moving contact’s speed, prolongs the opening time, and may result in opening failure. The proposed digital twin modeling method offers designers a systematic method for quantifying the dynamic responses of HVCBs.