Title:  Magnetic-field-based Intrusion Detection for Circuit Breaker Malicious Control Attacks

Committee: 

Dr. Graber, Advisor       

Dr. Cohen, Chair

Dr. Beyah

Abstract: The objective of the proposed research is to establish a magnetic-field-based intrusion detection approach to detect malicious control attacks on circuit breakers. In the preliminary work, a synthetic test circuit is designed and built to investigate the magnetic field of a circuit breaker during load switching. The test circuit allows for adjusting the current amplitude, the contact separation point of time (arc initiating time), and the locations of the magnetic field sensors. Fundamental characteristics of the magnetic field emission before and after arc quenching and its correlation with current, contact voltage, and circuit breaker operations are investigated. Three magnetic field signatures appear in the magnetic field waveform and their causes are extracted and studied. Experiments confirm that these signatures are strongly related to the abrupt change of the contact voltage, and their occurrences are synchronized with the opening and closing events of the vacuum interrupter and the arc extinction, respectively. Based on this, a magnetic-field-based method to detect circuit breaker operation is proposed. This method lays the foundation for magnetic-field-based intrusion detection for circuit breaker malicious control attacks.