9634600 El-Sharkawi The circuit breaker is one of the most critical elements in a power system. The safety of the public and utility personnel, and the reliability of the system operation depends on the breaker's performance. Circuit breakers are therefore subjected to rigorous maintenance. Unfortunately, a large expense is incurred that could otherwise be avoided if a reliable and economic method for on-load evaluation of breaker contacts conditions was available. A project to do so is described in this proposal. Our expectations of success are predicted on the excellent results in another project-collaboration between the University of Washington, SCE, the NSF and EPRI: The Shorted-Turn Detector in Turbo-Generator Rotor Windings. In addition, this project will provide an unique opportunity for an important exchange of technical information and expertise between the electric utility industry and academia. ***
