Straightforward troubleshooting of a network of connected units requires testing all the units, until the faulty one is identified. This procedure is time consuming, and might be inefficient, especially in emergency operation.

Segmentation

This chart illustrates a way to design for troubleshooting a circuit by segmentation in case it stops heating. The problem may be in any section of the circuit.

Design

The design is by adding bypasses, each controlled by an On-Off switch.

Features

This design has two important features:

• Easy fault identification
• Rebounding.

Operation

In normal operation, all the bypass switches are set to the Off position. In case of failure, the operators may set the switches, one at a time, and observe when they circuit start functioning again.

Rebounding by redundancy

This design enables continues operation in certain cases, such as line disconnected and On-Off switch stuck closed, until the problem is fixed.

Updated on 11 Feb 2017.