08-05-2013, 04:39 PM
Electric Substation Monitoring
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ABSTRACT
Electric power utilities are faced with an aging infrastructure,
increasing risk of blackouts and brownouts, costly unplanned
maintenance, security threats to remote facilities, and rising costs.
As part of a government/industry initiative, utilities are looking
for ways to address these issues that will improve the reliability of
electric power delivery while reducing costs. FLIR is participating
in these efforts by working with various partners and utilities
to improve the monitoring of electric substations. Through the
use of FLIR’s “smart” infrared cameras and automation software,
impending equipment failures and security breaches can be
detected anytime, day or night, at a remote monitoring location.
The net effect is increased reliability and reduced cost.
Failure Cause and Effect
the risk of blackouts and brownouts are
increasing on the US power distribution
grid due to its aging infrastructure, and a
lack of automation systems that monitor
the condition of critical equipment at
substations and elsewhere on the grid.
For example, transformer fluid leaks or
internal insulation breakdown cause
overheating that leads to failures, but
many utilities don’t have automated
thermal detection systems that reveal
these problems. In addition, the remote
locations of many substations make
them vulnerable to security breaches,
which can be detected with automated
infrared imaging systems.
Smart Grid Initiative
To help modernize our electric power
grid, the US Department of Energy
(DOE) is establishing partnerships
with public and private organizations
that understand the need for new
technology and operational methods.
These organizations include the
GridWise Alliance, National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST), US
Department of Commerce, American
National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Principles of IR Sensing
The first principle of IR sensing is “many
components heat up before they
fail”. Second, all objects emit thermal
radiation in the infrared spectrum that
is not seen by the human eye. Third,
IR cameras convert that radiation to
visual images that are calibrated to a
temperature scale. This non-contact
temperature data can be displayed on a
monitor in real time, and can also be sent
to a digital storage device for analysis.
Measurement accuracy is typically ±2°C.