Not at all. It puts a dead short on the circuit, tripping the breaker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowbar_(circuit)
Alex,
Can one use a circuit breaker in place of a crowbar? As I understand it, a crowbar is to protect a circuit and isn?t what a CB does?
Alex,
Can one use a circuit breaker in place of a crowbar? As I understand it, a crowbar is to protect a circuit and isn?t what a CB does?
SNIP
However, if the OV device controls a relay on the output side of the alternator, then it seems like opening the output lead would allow the system voltage to return to normal, triggering a relay reset and output connection and subsequent reoccurrence of the OV condition. I can see a scenario where the "trip, reset, trip, reset" cycle would cause plenty of problems. Is a latching relay the solution here?
Fair enough, but is such a scheme "acceptable" aviation practice? This is a question out of ignorance, not argument.
It seems that the desired result is many components removed from the initial fault. The OV event triggers the OV relay to crowbar the output relay power to ground which causes the CB to open, and theoretically, the output relay opens, disconnecting power from the ship. Thats a lot of electromechanical hardware in the loop, all in series. Since every single component must funtion to get the desired result, it seems like such a scheme drives the probability of failure up considerably. Not to mention the time delay required for all these dominos to fall.
If this is common practice in the world of electronics, I'll shut up and color. It just offends my sense of simplicity.
Fair enough, but is such a scheme "acceptable" aviation practice? This is a question out of ignorance, not argument.
It seems that the desired result is many components removed from the initial fault. The OV event triggers the OV relay to crowbar the output relay power to ground which causes the CB to open, and theoretically, the output relay opens, disconnecting power from the ship. Thats a lot of electromechanical hardware in the loop, all in series. Since every single component must funtion to get the desired result, it seems like such a scheme drives the probability of failure up considerably. Not to mention the time delay required for all these dominos to fall.
If this is common practice in the world of electronics, I'll shut up and color. It just offends my sense of simplicity.