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IEEE Membership & Staff
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| Milestone Buildings Exist
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Yes
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| Milestone Distinguishing Features
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This fuse design was much more reliable th … This fuse design was much more reliable than previous power fuses. At the time, breakdowns in electrical substations were common, negatively impacting service reliability for customers of electric utilities. Often, the problems were found to be attributable to poorly performing fault protection equipment.
The inspiration for the device came to the inventors—two Commonwealth Edison engineers, Nicholas J. Conrad and Edmund O. Schweitzer—after they investigated a fire at the Fisk Street Generating Station. They concluded that the cause of the fire was a power fuse failure.
Schweitzer and Conrad’s fuse design differed from predecessors through its use of a special arc-extinguishing liquid that assured proper interruption of short circuits, and a fusible element that offered unmatched precision in operating only when called upon. The fuse was constructed to withstand the very high temperatures associated with interrupting high-current faults, and was sufficiently rugged so it could be applied outdoors.
The Schweitzer and Conrad Liquid Power Fuse played a major role in the adoption of outdoor distribution substations—a central component of electrical transmission and distribution systems today. ansmission and distribution systems today.
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| Milestone Obstacles Overcome
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Existing circuit interruption technologies … Existing circuit interruption technologies were wholly inadequate. They could produce damaging overvoltages and were a fire hazard. An entirely new technology needed to be developed.
Consider the 1905-vintage book, High-tension power transmission, prepared by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. In discussing circuit interrupting techniques in Volume 2, it points out that, “For high-tension switching, use has been made of a long arc broken between carbon terminals, long-inclosed fuse, a fuse drawn through a tube filled with a fine, non-conducting powder, and of oil switches.”
The text notes that, “The first two types, while interrupting the circuit well, draw an arc of excessive length and produce a surging which may result in an increased potential of at least as much as 50 per cent.” The text further states that, “The type of switch where a wire is drawn through a tube filled with powder is found to operate successfully up to 40,000 volts and without serious surging on the circuit, but the powder being blown out with great force, scatters over the entire station, and is in consequence not allowable.” With regard to flammable-oil-filled switches, the text indicates, “The vertical-break switch has the advantage that the amount of oil contained in the oil-tank is relatively small, and will add to possible conflagration only a slight amount of fuel. This switch is found on severe short-circuits often to blow all the oil out of the tank unless the tank is built very strongly . . .” ess the tank is built very strongly . . .”
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| Milestone Present Site Owner
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S&C Electric Company
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| Milestone Site Access Details
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The entrance to S&C’s facility is acce … The entrance to S&C’s facility is accessible via sidewalks to the surrounding neighborhood, which is a largely residential area. S&C Electric Company’s security staff is on-site 24 hours a day, and keeps watch over the entrance area where the plaque will be installed. e area where the plaque will be installed.
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| Milestone Site Description
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The plaque will be installed on the proper … The plaque will be installed on the property of S&C Electric Company in Chicago, Illinois. This is the headquarters and primary manufacturing facility of S&C (formerly Schweitzer & Conrad—the company that introduced the Liquid Power Fuse). The device was manufactured at this facility through the 1990s. ctured at this facility through the 1990s.
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| Milestone Site Owner Approval
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Yes +
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| Milestone proposal submitted
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false +
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| Proposed Milestone IEEE Section
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Chicago +
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| Proposed Milestone Location
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6601 North Ridge Boulevard, Chicago Illinois, 60626
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| Proposed Milestone Name
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World's First Reliable High Voltage Power Fuse +
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| Proposed Milestone Year
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1909 +
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| Modification dateThis property is a special property in this wiki.
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18 July 2012 13:32:41 +
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