DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATIC THREE-PHASE SEQUENCE REVERSAL DETECTION AND CORRECTION FOR INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT STRUCTURE

The occurrence of incorrect phase sequence in a three-phase power system has continued to be a major challenge to many organizations in Nigeria especially in industrial sector where equipment powered by three-phase supply predominates. This phenomenon which is otherwise known as phase reversal often arises when the order in which the three phases are positioned is inadvertently altered, perhaps consequent upon electric power restoration by utility supply or during maintenance on motor-driven machinery. Lack of protection against such phase-reversal on three-phase systems and other-phase rotation sensitive equipment results in severe disruption and huge damage to such equipment and personnel alike. A number of means have been adopted to mitigate this problem. However, the main drawback of some of the existing designs was their inability to automatically correct the phase reversal and ensure that supply to equipment was not disrupted.