I've been pondering how to utilize the features of the Power Defense Circuit breaker.

Here's a link to the Eaton site for this breaker

https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/skuPage.PDG23F0060P2MJ.html

The first challenge was to figure out all the loose wires coming out of the sides of the breaker.

There was no wiring instructions provided with the unit.

I figured out a few of the lines from online data sheets:

Eaton Power Defense molded case circuit breaker,

Globally Rated, Frame 2, Three Pole,

60A, 25kA/480V, PXR25 LSI w/ Modbus RTU and Relays,

Standard Line and Load (PDG2X3T100)

The model of the trip unit is a PXR 25

(P) power metering / comm std. LSI, LSIG, MLSI, MLSIG

Loose wires from left side of unit:
JR1
4 - nc
3-gn/bk RTU_D(+) twisted pair
2-gn/rd RTU_D(-) twisted pair
1-gn RTU_GND

JR3
2-bk/rd RLY1
1-bk RLYC

or AUX +24V twisted pair
or/bk   AUX gnd twisted pair

Loose wires from right side of unit - tested these with a DMM
rd - Aux relay normal
bk - Aux relay common
bl - Aux relay tripped
wh/gy - Neutral voltage sensor module

From the manual:

1. Introduction to the Power Xpert Release trip unit

The Power Xpert Release (PXR) trip unit has features and flexibility that allow configuration for a wide variety of protection applications.

Communication options support integration into supervisory systems to monitor performance and, if desired, control the circuit breaker.

Advanced metering of current, voltage, energy and power allow monitoring of real-time energy use.

2.1.1 Status indicator

All PXR trip units have an indicator in the top left labeled “STATUS”. During normal operation, this indicator blinks green (on and off approximately once each second), indicating that the trip unit is operating normally.

The status indicator blinks red if the trip unit detects an internal problem. This indicates a problem with the trip actuator coil, a firmware error, or a mechanism error. Take immediate action to replace the trip unit or breaker.

My PLC doesn't have ModBus, only RS232, so I can't wire the breaker trip unit directly to the PLC serial port.  Maybe I'll add a second PLC in the future for this.

I connected the +24VDC and ground  to my PLC power supply.  There's a small lithium backup battery behind the front cover.  The unit logs faults with time information.

There are many protection features in the PXR25 and many of them have programmable limits:

Long Delay Protection

Short Delay Protection

Instantaneous Protection

Neutral Protection

Ground Fault Protection (option G)

Maintenance Mode Protection (option R)

Current and voltage metering of all phases and phase to neutral

Power and Energy metering

There are some status indicator LEDs on the front, and a mini USB port for diagnostics.

I'm not sure what to set the limits at yet, so I filled the tank and ran the motor at "Normal" experiment settings.

The Tank:

The application is a 1500 gal hydrodynamic water tunnel ( flume)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_tunnel_(hydrodynamic)

We fill the tank to a specified height and seed the water with PIV particles.  Then we shine a laser sheet in the area of interest and measure the flow around

the test article using video capture software.  The flow is controlled by a LabView script by changing the motor/pump speed.  The motor is 20HP, and uses a marine propeller

to move the water through the system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_image_velocimetry

The Eaton breaker powers (and now monitors) the pump motor.

I used the diagnostic port to capture the circuit activity using the Eaton Power Xpert Protection Manager software.

This capture was taken at about 25% max motor speed (0-70Hz PWM)

The flow in the tank was about 0.6 m/s with the tank approx. 30% full.

I need to run some more tests with maximum loads to determine where to set the trip unit limits.

I think I may try and connect the Modbus to the LabView computer to capture the data real-time.

That's all for now..............