The Vanishing Fault – Why Did the Circuit Breaker Trip With No Recorded Fault?

The live presentation of this event has already taken place.

Please view the PDF slides here or watch the video recording below:

Webinar details

Few engineering puzzles are as confounding as a tripped circuit breaker with no trace of fault current or event record. This session explores the enigma of “ghost faults” and unexplained protection operations in contemporary electrical systems. Through forensic analysis of system behaviour, participants will explore transient disturbances, CT saturation, capacitive coupling, and relay maloperations that may cause such phenomena. The webinar also highlights how digital protection systems can both obscure and illuminate the truth behind a vanishing fault.

• The webinar will be recorded and will be sent out to registered attendees afterwards.
• A certificate of attendance will be provided to attendees who request one near the end of the live webinar session.
• Please note: the time stated on this event is in UTC. You will need to convert this to your own time zone.

Key takeaways from this webinar

• Identify potential causes of unrecorded tripping events, including transient phenomena and instrumentation errors.
• Strengthen the ability to interpret relay logs and waveform data to reconstruct fault events accurately.
• Develop diagnostic strategies to verify, validate, and mitigate “phantom” fault scenarios.
• Recognise the importance of coordination between protection settings, network modelling, and operational procedures.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday 23rd July, 2026
• Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM UTC
• Location: Online Session

Meet the Presenter

Emeritus Professor Akhtar Kalam

BSc, BScEng, MS, PhD, FIET, CEng, FAIE, FIEAust, CPEng, NER, APEC Engineer, IntPE(Aus), PEV, MCIGRE, Life Senior Member of IEEE.

Professor Akhtar Kalam is a supervisor of EIT’s Doctoral students. He has worked at Victoria University since 1984 and recently associated with the Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities. He is the Editor in Chief of Australian Journal of Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Further, he has Distinguished Professorship position in many national and international institutions. He has been recognized internationally and nationally for his research. He is regularly invited to deliver lectures, work on industrial projects, and examine external theses overseas. Professor Kalam is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Victoria (PEV), Fellow of EA, IET, AIE, a life Senior Member of IEEE, NER, APEC Engineer, IntPE (Aus) and a member of CIGRE AP B5 Study Committee.

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