Device to prevent mishaps in power lines

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Snapped power lines and faulty electrical systems claim a sizable number of lives every year. Now, a group of engineering students here has claimed to have developed a gadget that can track down electrical faults in distribution transformers and shoot off a warning signal. The rather unromantically named ‘Multiple fault detection, isolation and intimation unit in transmission lines’ has been developed by Sabah V S, Tasneem Taj, Vishnuprasad R, Rajeev R and Akhil A L, all final year electrical and electronics students of P A Aziz College of Engineering, Karakulam. ‘’As the name suggests, the main components are a fault monitoring unit, an automatic fault isolation unit and an intimation unit. The unit has to be installed in every distribution transformer. In case of a fault, for instance a line break, the unit will isolate the damaged section, and warn authorities through wireless radio frequency signals,’’ Sabah said. It can detect a number of faults such as abnormal drop or rise in voltage and temperature aberrations, in addition to electrical hazards, according to the students. They developed the unit in four months as part of their college project under the guidance of assistant professor Mali Gopinath. ‘’It cost us ` 10,000 to develop. But commercial production can bring down the cost to ` 2,000 per unit,’’ Vishnuprasad said. The students say that their gadget is a cut above existing fault detection units. The sheer number of deaths owing to electrical mishaps underscores the relevance of such detection units. According to figures tabled in the State Assembly, as many as 24 KSEB staffers and contract workers were killed in electrical mishaps over the past nine months alone. In the past few years, 330 members of the public also died in various electrical mishaps.