Dr. George Gela, Technical Executive, EPRI
“Building the Pipeline”: WPI’s 2013 Energy Symposium
September 25, 2013
EPRI Lenox High-Voltage Research Laboratory
Overview of Research
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Outline
• EPRI – R&D collaboration
• Why is research important?
• A bit of history:
– EPRI
– Lenox High Voltage Laboratory
– Other EPRI Laboratories: Knoxville, Charlotte
• What we have in Lenox: Facilities, Equipment, Capabilities
• What we do in Lenox: Research, Innovation, Testing, Seminars
• Recent changes, enhancements
• What about the future?
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About EPRI
• Founded in 1973 as an independent, nonprofit center for public interest energy and environmental research.
• Objective, tax-exempt, collaborative electricity research organization
• Technology development, integration, demonstration and applications
• Broad technology portfolio ranging from near-term solutions to long-term strategic research
Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity
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Why is Research Important?
Our Challenge: Provide society with . . .
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A Look In the Rearview Mirror
Base Load
Generation
Load Following
Generation + Bulk Energy
Storage +/–
Customer
Demand = Interruptible
Load DR –
Balance Dispatchable Generation with Forecastable Customer Demand
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Tomorrow’s Power System
Power System that is Highly Flexible, Resilient and
Connected and Optimizes Energy Resources
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EPRI US Locations
Offices:
• Palo Alto, CA
• Charlotte, NC
• Knoxville, TN
• Lenox, MA
• Washington, DC
• Dallas, TX
Laboratories:
• Lenox, MA
• Knoxville, TN
• Charlotte, NC
Washington, DC
Knoxville, TN
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EPRI: One of the World’s Largest &
Most Successful R&D Collaborations
• More than 450 participants in over 40 countries
– Over 90% of North American electricity generated
• 60 technical programs
• Independent electricity research in
– Generation (including renewables)
– Nuclear
– Power Delivery & Utilization
– Environment
– Technology Innovation
• 1600+ R&D projects annually
• 10 to 1 average funding leverage
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PDU – Resources (Staff and Labs)
• Technical Staff:
– ~130 technical staff with strong educational and industry experience
• EPRI PDU Laboratory Resource:
– Lenox, MA
• Transmission, Distribution, Underground, Substations and Aging chambers
– Knoxville, TN
• Living Lab, Power quality, distributed resources, power electronics, advanced monitoring and metering
– Charlotte, NC
• Conductor testing, aging, etc.
• Demo sites
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EPRI Lenox High Voltage Laboratory
• Rural setting
• Unique facilities
• Outdoor test lines
• Four seasons each year
• Half-century of research work in HVDC
• HVAC and impulse capabilities
• Manhole Events
• Arc Flash
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History of the Lenox Lab
In The Beginning
• In 1883 William Stanley, at the time working in New York City, invented “the transformer”.
• For health reasons, he moved to native Great Barrington, near Lenox
• In Great Barrington, Stanley built the Stanley Laboratory, which was financed by his friend George Westinghouse. Stanley demonstrated the first prototype of transformer on March 20 1886.
• About this time, Thomas Edison founded what became General Electric.
• Stanley’s venture prospered; in 1890 he formed the Stanley-Kelley Manufacturing Company to build and install High Voltage transformers.
• The first town in the world to have AC street lighting was Great Barrington.
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Courtesy of Dr. R. Shainker, EPRI
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The Beginnings
• Stanley successfully built the transformers for the first 200 mile long, 60 kV transmission line, a job, incidentally, that GE’s hunchback wizard, Steinmetz, had declared impossible!
• GE bought the company and moved it to a much larger site a few miles north to the city of Pittsfield.
• In 1906 the GE Pittsfield Works started its operation.
• In 1912 a High Voltage Laboratory was built. Its manager was Frank Peek, a legendary figure in High Voltage engineering. He studied not only the insulation systems of transformers but made also the first flashover tests on insulators for high voltage lines and studied corona from high voltage conductors.
• For many years (before it closed down in 1985) it was the largest transformer factory in the world.
For many years (before it closed down in 1985) it was the largest transformer factory in the world.
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r
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The GE Transformer Plant: 1950s and 1960s
• The1950s and 1960s saw rapid growth of the North American network of high voltage power lines.
• The first 345 kV line, built in 1953 by AEP.
• GE decides to build a 4.3-mile experimental 500-700 kV line. The project, called Project EHV, was intended to promote voltages higher than 345 kV, some of which were then in the planning stages.
• Virginia Electric Power Company and Ontario Hydro built the first 500 kV lines in 1962, Hydro Quebec built the first 735-kV line in 1965, and American Electric Power the first 765-kV in 1967.
• Construction of the Laboratory at Lenox started in 1958
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EPRI Lenox High Voltage Laboratory – Origins
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Project EHV (Extra High Voltage)
1960
1971
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Project UHV (Lenox) • The rapid increase in transmission voltages
appeared to herald the introduction of even higher voltages, above 1000 kV.
• Lionel Barthold convinced EEI that it was prudent to research these voltages. In 1967, EEI sponsored the construction of Project UHV and a five-year research effort. GE assigned the direction of Project UHV to John Anderson.
• Project UHV, Ultra High Voltages, voltages of 1000 kV and above, is the name by which the EPRI Laboratory at Lenox was known around the world.
• Project UHV started with a single-phase test line that could be energized up to the phase-to-ground voltage of a 1500 kV three-phase line.
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Lenox Has a Long History
• 1959 - today
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Some photos
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Lenox Laboratory Layout
Fog
chamber
Impulse
generator
HVDC
converter
Main test
line
Corona
cage
866 kV
transformers Office
River
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Lenox Facilities
• Transmission
• Distribution
• Underground
• Substations
• Environmental
• Aging chambers
• NEV, Stray voltage
• Mechanical
• Full-scale tests
• Electrical safety
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Stray Voltage Research
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EPRI-Lenox manhole research facility since 1994
• Unique facility, “one-of-a-kind”, full-scale
• Designed primarily for explosion tests
• But, flexible – can be used to represent various scenarios
• Also used for other projects: fiber-optic fault detection
• Gases:
20'S
70'
50' 40'
M11
TS
V13
M14
20'
10'
TS
bypass sweeps
(bottom two)
direct buriedin commontrench
50'
70'
copper waterpipe
well fromsurface toperforateddrain pipe
plastic joint,pigtails tosurface
encased inconcrete
commontrench
N
Gas Proportion
Carbon monoxide 4 parts
Methane 1 part
Ethylene 3 parts
Acetylene 12 parts
Also
Hydrogen
and
traces of
other
gases
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• Solid, vented
• Iron, steel, composite
• Bare metal, coated
• Round (manhole), rectangular (secondary box)
Cover types tested
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• Flame growth speed and Cover motion, manhole
Manhole Events, “Double-Stage” Event
Stage 1 (cover launched) Stage 2 (roof slab launched)
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Distribution Arc Flash
4160 VAC, 4000 amp phase-to-ground fault
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Live Working
• Safety
• Tools, Equipment
• Methods
• Training
• Regulations
• Standards
• Arc flash
• Gloving
• Insulating tool method (hotsticking)
• Barehanding
• Temporarily de-energized work
• Minimum Approach Distance
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Live Working
WHY
WHAT
HOW
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HVAC Capabilities
• Full three-phase source
up to 1500 kV phase-to-phase.
• Single-phase source up to 1700 kV
phase-to-earth, achieved by
cascading two of the 866 kV transformers.
• Full-scale three-phase
340 m main span line
insulated for 1500 kV.
• Several smaller test
lines.
• Large fog chamber
for insulator research.
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Full-Scale Test Lines
• Several full-scale test lines for both AC and DC
research.
• Provisions for rapid variation
of pole spacing and clearance
to earth while the line remains
fully energized (the maximum
pole-to-pole spacing is 43 m,
and the mid-span clearance
to earth is 24 m).
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HVDC Power Supply
• Two 1500 kV DC power
supplies to provide bipolar
voltages up to 1500 kV:
– AC-DC converter that can
operate in bipolar mode
up to 750 kV, or in
monopolar mode up to
+ or – 1500 kV. The output
of the converter is rated
at 5 A continuous.
– 1500 kV DC symmetrical
cascade rectifier set rated
at 250 mA.
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Lightning and Switching Impulse Capabilities
• Outdoor bipolar multistage
Marx-circuit impulse generator
rated at 5600 kV 280 kJ.
• Various wave shapes:
– Standard lighting impulse
wave of 1.2/50 s,
– Standard switching wave
shape of 250/2500 s
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Inside Impulse Generator
The capacitors are first
charged in parallel
through charging
resistors by a high-
voltage, direct-current
source (bi-polar design)
and then connected in
series and discharged
through a test object by
a simultaneous spark-
over of the spark gaps.
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Low Sag Conductors
• Three options:
– Same sag for higher current
– Lower sag for same current
– Lower sag for higher current
3M Gap
Carbon fiber Nanotubes
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Really Exotic Carbon Based Materials
- Used as conductor core
A few years ago two new molecular forms
of carbon discovered
Bucky Balls
Nanotubes
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Corona Characterization of Conductors
• The salient features of the
cages include:
– Inner isolated framework
that can be grounded
through resistors for
measurement of corona
loss, RI and TVI.
– Microphone systems for
measurement of AN.
– Rain spray systems for
tests in artificial rain.
– Wall location adjustment
for control of conductor
surface gradient.
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Insulator Testing Facilities
• Fog chamber:
– 24.4 m in diameter
– 24.4 m high
– internal volume of 11 400 m3.
– Wall busing rated for
866 kV rms and 1100 kVDC.
– Fog is generated by boiling
water in four large vats.
– The interior of the fog
chamber can be heated
with propane heaters
as needed.
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Increasing Power Flow
• Dynamic rating - hardware/software
• Increased rating studies
• Voltage upgrading
0
2 0 0
4 0 0
6 0 0
8 0 0
1 0 0 0
1 2 0 0
1 4 0 0
1 6 0 0
1 8 0 0
2 0 0 0
0 :0 0 2 :2 4 4 :4 8 7 :1 2 9 :3 6 1 2 :0 0 1 4 :2 4 1 6 :4 8 1 9 :1 2 2 1 :3 6 0 :0 0
T im e o f D a y (h o u rs :m in u te s )
Cu
rr
en
t (a
mp
er
es
)
4 H o u r
1 5 M in u te
A c tu a l L o a d
S ta tic R a tin g
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Improving Distribution Reliability Select Design Weakness Before Deployment
Identifying Design Weaknesses Before Deployment and Installation
Will Be Key to Ensure Reliability of Distribution Systems
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Improving Distribution Reliability Distribution Capacitor Application Guides
Courtesy of Progress Florida
Capacitor, TRV and Substation BIL Studies Conducted at FirstEnergy Locations to
Assess System Impacts and Developed Guidelines to Improve System Performance
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Project Set 180B Distribution Inspection, Maintenance, and Asset Planning
Intelligent Life-Cycle Management Cradle Grave
Inspection &
Assessment
When to replace
What to install Prioritize
Specifications
& Construction
Understand the
Fundamentals →
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Insulator Thermal Overload Testing
• Objective: To determine the temperature at which one
brand of polymer pin insulators melt
– Utility observed melting of insulators in service
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Additional PS180B Projects
Resiliency Research Summit Layout
Spacer Cable
Testing
Third Party Attachment
Testing
Full Scale Distribution Line
Testing
Dynamic Conductor Slip
Testing Universal Test Pad
Static Conductor Slip Testing
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DayCor
• Developed in Lenox
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Cable Testing
• High Pressure Fluid Filled 345 kV cable test:
– What is the optimal pressurization procedure?
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SF6 Inspection
• Leak inspections and / or technology demonstrations on site
• Service/inspection
• Can detect any leak that is economically feasible to repair
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Arrester Test Facility
230 kV 3-phase arrester test facility
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NCI Aging Chamber
• Large polymer insulator
aging chamber:
– originally constructed for
long-term aging of up to
six suspension 500 kV
insulator assemblies
in V-configuration
– recently re-designed for
aging various 230 kV
polymer assemblies.
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Currently running projects
• Polymer insulator aging
• Temporary grounding
and equipotential zones
• Transmission line
arresters
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3-D E-Field Modeling
Equipotentials around
500 kV Tower
E-Field magnitude
around live end of NCI
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Training Activities
• Technology transfer takes place through seminars,
meetings and workshops, both lecture-style
and hands-on.
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Questions
www.epri.com
George Gela, PhD, P.Eng.
Technical Executive
EPRI-Lenox
115 East New Lenox Road,
Lenox, MA 01240
Phone: +1 (413) 445-3710
Cell: +1 (413) 329-7101
Fax: +1 (413) 445-3718
Email: [email protected]
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Collaborating with other EPRI Sectors,
Programs, Projects
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Advanced Sensor Technologies A Key Component for Power Delivery System of the Future
3-D Acoustic for Locating Source
of Partial Discharge Successful
Overhead Transmission
Conductor/Compression
Connector Sensor
Insulator/Arrestor Leakage
Current Sensor
Interrogator
for
Helicopter
Rounds
Inspection
Information from
Sensor –
Reducing Data
Overload
Current Range
Action
0-30mA None
30 – 100mA
Keep Regular Washing Schedule
100 – 200 Schedule Washing
> 200 Wash Immediately
Advanced Suite of Sensors Ready for Field Deployment
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Transformer Condition Assessment Advanced Sensor Approach
On-Line LTC Gas-in-
Oil and Contact Wear
24/7 Infrared Monitoring
3D Acoustic Emission
Defect Location
On-Line Frequency
Response Analysis
Solid-State Gas-in-Oil Sensors
Fiber-Optic Partial
Discharge Detection
UHF Partial Discharge
(Future Research)
Wireless Mesh Sensors
Benefits Include
Reduced Cost, Online,
Less Data Intensive,
More Accurate,
Improved Prediction
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Automated Monitoring of Transmission Lines
Robot with cameras: Visual IR, UV, sensors and RF interrogators for other sensor plus comms
RF splice sensor
RF grounding and corrosion sensor
RF tower tamper sensor
RF insulator sensor
RF sensor interrogator and communications
57 © 2013 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
Grid-Based Shock Absorber Assessment
New England
New York
Hydro Quebec
Ontario
“Outside World”
DC Links
• Inserted at strategic locations
• Act as shock absorbers
• Mitigate potential
cascading failure
DC link
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Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity
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