Capacitor Bank Impedance Monitoring for Fault Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing capacitor banks in electrical power systems face challenges in efficiently identifying and isolating failed or degraded capacitor units, leading to reduced system performance and increased downtime due to manual inspection requirements and potential cascading failures.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring system that uses time domain reflectometry (TDR) and impedance frequency response analysis to identify individual or groups of capacitor units with changed impedance, allowing for rapid localization and replacement of faulty units without manual inspection, and providing advanced warning for maintenance scheduling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual inspection methods are used to identify failed capacitor units, then system complexity is reduced, but identification time increases and system downtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated electronic monitoring system that uses electrical signal injection and analysis to identify failed capacitor units. The system injects test signals into the capacitor bank and analyzes the electrical responses to automatically detect impedance changes indicating failures, eliminating the need for manual inspection while reducing identification time.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system enables the capacitor bank to self-diagnose its own status by automatically injecting test signals and analyzing its own electrical responses. The system continuously monitors impedance changes and identifies failed units without external manual intervention, allowing the equipment to service itself through automated detection and reporting.
2Reliability
If comprehensive monitoring of all capacitor units is implemented, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the capacitor bank into individual monitorable units by injecting test signals that propagate through the bank and analyzing localized impedance responses. The system can identify and isolate specific failed capacitor units or strings rather than treating the entire bank as a single unit, enabling targeted monitoring that improves reliability while managing complexity through modular analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system detects failures by measuring changes in electrical parameters, specifically impedance, of capacitor units. By continuously monitoring impedance variations and comparing them against expected values, the system can identify failed units with high reliability. The use of multiple test frequencies allows the system to detect different types of failures and distinguish between healthy and degraded units.
3Productivity
If rapid identification of failed units is achieved through automated monitoring, then productivity improves, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system uses periodic test signal injection at different frequencies to identify failed capacitor units. By applying test signals at multiple discrete frequencies and analyzing the responses, the system achieves comprehensive monitoring while managing energy consumption through controlled, periodic measurements rather than continuous high-power operation. The selective use of different frequencies allows efficient detection of various failure modes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The monitoring system reduces downtime by quickly identifying and isolating failed units, maintaining higher system efficiency, and enabling proactive maintenance to prevent cascading failures, thus improving the overall performance and reliability of the electrical power system.
Implementation Method 1
identify, based on the comparison and the information that specifies the spatially fixed configuration of the plurality of capacitor units of the capacitor bank, a group of capacitor units within the capacitor bank that have an impedance that is different from the nominal impedance of the group of capacitor units
Data Source
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Figure 1B
Figure 2
AI summary
A first electrical response of a capacitor bank is accessed, the capacitor bank including a plurality of capacitor units arranged in a fixed spatial relationship with each other, each capacitor unit having a nominal impedance; a test electrical signal is provided to the capacitor bank; a second electrical response of the capacitor bank is measured after providing the test electrical signal to the capacitor bank; the first electrical response of the capacitor bank and the second response of the capacitor bank are compared; and whether an impedance of one or more capacitor units in the capacitor bank has changed relative to the nominal impedance is determined based on the comparison.