{"id":6781,"date":"2023-05-08T10:59:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T08:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.delphin.de\/?post_type=glossar&#038;p=6781"},"modified":"2026-06-24T11:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:30:14","slug":"wire-breakage","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/glossar\/drahtbruch\/","title":{"rendered":"Wire breakage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As <strong>Wire breakage<\/strong> In electrical engineering, measurement technology, and automation, this term refers to a fault condition in which an electrical circuit is interrupted, preventing the proper flow of signals or current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term \u201ewire break\u201c is often used as a general term for a break in a circuit. However, the actual cause is not necessarily a physically broken wire or a damaged cable. Loose terminals, defective connectors, corroded contacts, faulty sensors, or interrupted circuits can also lead to a wire break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In measurement and automation systems, a wire break can prevent measured values from being recorded or transmitted correctly. Depending on the type of signal, this can manifest itself, for example, as unrealistic measured values, a signal drop to zero, signal overloads, or defined error conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is especially true for analog current signals, such as those widely used in industry <strong>4\u201320 mA signal<\/strong>, a wire break can often be reliably detected. If the current drops below a specified threshold, the measurement or control system interprets this as a break in the circuit and can issue the appropriate error messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Modern measurement and data acquisition systems often feature built-in wire break detection to identify faults early and improve the operational reliability of equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Possible causes of a wire break:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Damaged or severed cables<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Loose terminals or connectors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Corrosion on Contacts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Defective sensors or transducers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Faulty Wiring<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Component failures in the signal path<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Consequences of a broken wire:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Loss of Measurement Data<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Malfunctions in Control Systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interruption of Monitoring Functions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>False alarms or system shutdowns<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Impairment of process reliability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Significance in measurement and automation technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reliable detection of wire breakage is a key component of modern measurement and monitoring systems. It enables rapid fault diagnosis, reduces downtime, and contributes significantly to safe and reliable plant monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wire breakage alerts are therefore among the basic diagnostic functions of many sensors, measuring devices, data loggers, and automation systems.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-6781","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/6781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossar"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}