#aimdynamics

[aimdynamics]

The Implications of Replacing Fuel with Solar

Although it’s not getting as much sunshine as the U.S., Germany has taken its place as the leader in solar energy. In 2013, it built enough solar farms to overtake coal and nuclear power in terms of gross electricity generation. Other industrialized countries like the U.S. are expected to follow as solar panel production becomes more affordable.

Renewable energy will make a difference in energy conservation practices, but not in the way you might think. Should solar energy become the primary energy source in the future, people will have to conserve energy even more. Solar panels produce less energy than fossil fuel power plants. A solar farm that would meet demand from the U.S. would have to be 1,274 square miles wide.

At this scale, it's not impossible to build one; but given the hefty price tag still attached to solar panels, it's not practical as a primary source at the moment. Even if it is, the reduced output means there will be less energy to go around, assuming renewable energy technology remains constant for the next several years.

In the end, businesses must still mind their consumption, fuel or solar. Installing current sensors from power monitoring equipment distributors can produce data that would eventually give businesses a detailed view of their consumption, helping them make more sound decisions in the long run. It would take a long time before solar energy output can definitely match that of fossil fuel.  

[aimdynamics]

Transformer or Transducer?

The fine line dividing "transformer" and "transducer" grows ever blurrier. Most users think both are capable of sensing currents and stepping down voltages, but that's partly true. It's possible that the fading distinction stems from the forms both transformers and transducers take; they come in solid and split-core types.

The keyword here is "self-powered." While some current transformers from power monitoring device suppliers can reduce voltage, this isn't their primary function. A typical current transformer is designed to measure the current of an electrical load that is hooked to a power meter. Current transformers that have a secondary function most likely have separate secondary loads.

Current transducers, on the other hand, are dedicated dual-role electrical systems that measure current and decrease voltage. Due to this configuration, current transducers are not as good as current transformers in measuring current. Nevertheless, current transducers have such roles built in, allowing for more flexibility between functions.

With today's electronics technology increasingly merging current measurement and voltage reduction, it's no surprise that the terms are often interchanged. Regardless, it's important to know the difference because of another reason: to determine their measuring methods. Current transformers measure the current via shunts or low-ohm resistors, while transducers normally use a built-in magnetic core.

[aimdynamics]

Classifications of Current Transformer

Ever wondered how electricians manage to install or fix electrical systems with high-voltage electricity? Besides following strict safety protocol, they carry specialized instruments that help them perform repairs and measurements safely. Among these instruments is the current transformer, which is designed to produce a current in a secondary winding that is proportional to, but with a much lower magnitude than, the current in the first winding.

Current transformers can be classified as bar-primary, wound, and ring-type. A bar-primary transformer consists of a toroidal core made with laminated strip wound steel, a feeder or bus-bar that forms one turn of the primary circuit, and an insulated wire that provides inter-turn insulation and secondary to core insulation The bus-bar serves as the primary conductor, providing connectors for the two ends of the circuit.

A wound CT, on the other hand, consists of both primary and secondary winding like a typical transformer, with the secondary winding having a smaller-magnitude current that is proportional to that of the primary. This transformer is used to measure currents from 1 amp to 100 amps and is insulated up to 600 volts.

Ring-type CTs, the most widely used and preferred by professionals, consist of a quadrilateral or circular core. The solid core CT is normally clamped around an electrical source, such as a live wire, while the split-core CT can be installed and attached to the source whenever necessary due to its opening. Among the three, split-core CTs are considered the safest and most convenient to use.

[aimdynamics]

Current Transformers: Two Main Types

Current transformers (CTs) are devices used in railways, electricity transmission and distribution, vessel propulsion, power generation, wind/solar power renewables, and industrial equipment. With various applications come many different purposes for CTs, which include protection, power measurement, interposing, and summation, among other things. So when buying CTs from power monitoring equipment companies, you need to ensure that you buy the right type for your intended application.

Protection CTs

Protection CTs measure the actual currents in power systems to produce equivalent proportional currents in their secondary windings, which are far or separate from the main power circuit. These proportional currents act as inputs to protective relays, which are designed to isolate part of a power circuit should an abnormal condition occur. Protection CTs are able to do this without disrupting other parts of the system.

Measurement CTs

Measurement CTs are used for measuring instruments like voltmeters and ammeters. These instruments, which are either mechanical or electronic, usually meet design problems when they encounter high voltages or high currents in power systems. That’s the reason why they need to work with a current transformer that serves to: a) isolate the instruments from the power circuit, and b) standardize the current rating of the instruments, usually at 5 amps or 1 amp. The instrument’s scale then becomes its only non-standard feature, based on the CT ratio.

[aimdynamics]

Load Sharing in a Power Plant Engine

In the power industry, load sharing is defined as the use of multiple power plant engines to operate a common load. In this type of arrangement, a pneumatic speed setting assigned by the plant operator is directed to control the power output of the master engine and adjust the power output of the slave engines. The practice provides a multitude of advantages in a variety of applications.

A load sharing arrangement for a multiple-engine power plant generally follows the following configuration:

First and second engines containing a power output that is a function of the amount of fuel supplied, wherein first and second governors linked to their respective engines are of the type in which the fluid pressure control signal manages the pressure in a power cylinder. The power cylinder, in turn, manages the supply of fuel to the engine that its governor is linked to.

Meanwhile, the first and second voltage transducers inside the power cylinders of each governor are responsible for generating first and second voltages proportional to the power output of the particular engines they belong to. These transducers serve three primary functions: generate a first fluid pressure control signal that suggests the desired engine power output, connect the resulting first fluid pressure control signal to the first governor, and respond to first and second voltage to generate a first or second correction signal.

[aimdynamics]

The Riddle with Rogowski

The Rogowski coil is a step up from current transformer technology. Its lightness, flexibility, and reduced number of parts make it one of the best in use today. Although it was named after German physicist Walter Rogowski, he didn't actually invent the coil. In fact, nobody really knows who pioneered it.

Why name something after someone who didn't come up with the idea? Rogowski is known throughout the scientific community for merging theoretical physics with electrical engineering, having worked all his life with fellow scientists to create inventions that typified this union. In a way, the Rogowski coil is putting Ampere's law into practice.

Under Ampere's law, the electromagnetic energy generated by a primary conductor around it can be considered the same as the current flowing along the conductor itself. This allows the apparatus to take precise current measurements without actually touching the wire. You could say Ampere himself lent a hand in making this system possible.

[aimdynamics]

Why are Some Current Transformers Huge?

The more common current transformers are smaller than a typical apple. However, certain transformers are the size of wet-cell batteries or small towers. These can be commonly found in utility poles and electric substations, where they serve the same purpose of measuring currents in real time.

However, power companies know how to compensate for the reduced accuracy. These current transformers got big for a reason: every day, miles of power lines deliver immense amounts of energy at high voltages from power plants to neighborhoods. Current transformers in this scenario, then, are likely to be used to prevent entire grids from shutting down due to a burnout.

If you're looking for a current transformer for measurement purposes, the small ones will do. A lot of them fall under the top four accuracy classes as per IEC 60044-1, allowing for accuracy rates of up to 99.9 percent. Then again, based on the standard, the lower accuracy classes are no slouches, either, with an accuracy rate of as low as 90 percent.

[aimdynamics]

Five Commonly Used Electrical Transducers

Electrical devices are at the heart of virtually all industrial applications. Numerous devices in various industries are capable of measuring and managing different variables such as intensity, flow, temperature, strain, and movement, among others. One such device is the sensor.

Potentiometers – These are sensors that convert the change in displacement produced by the physical quantity into change in the resistance.

Bridge circuits – These sensors convert physical quantity into voltage.

Wheatstone bridge – This type of sensor converts a quantity’s displacement to the current in the circuit.

Strain gauges – When these sensors are stretched or strained, they experience a change in their resistance. Strain gauges mainly consist of a long wire that’s able to detect minute displacement generated by the applied pressure or force.

Piezoelectric transducers – This sensor type is used to measure force, pressure, and acceleration. Once a change in the physical quantity being measured is detected, piezoelectric transducers produce a voltage that can easily be measured.