Gateway-Based IED Waveform Screening for Power Asset Fault Diagnosis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional power system monitoring and diagnosis methods require costly hardware with embedded logic, leading to increased complexity and variability among different manufacturers' systems, and often rely on protection relays that are not universally prevalent, making effective fault detection and data management inefficient.

Innovation Solution

A system and method utilizing intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) to capture operational data, with a gateway device acting as an intermediary to perform data quality checks and send relevant data to a remote device for analysis, establishing tunable and self-learning fault index baselines to detect various fault modes in power system assets, thereby reducing network loading and storage costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If hardware with embedded logic is connected full-time to perform online and offline monitoring, then fault detection capability is improved, but system cost and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefault detection capabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary between IEDs and the remote server. The gateway performs data quality checks, filtering, and preprocessing, reducing the burden on both IEDs and the server while maintaining effective fault detection. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by enabling reliable monitoring without requiring complex embedded logic in every component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs data quality checks and filtering at the gateway level rather than requiring full monitoring capabilities at every IED. By performing partial processing at the gateway and sending only relevant data to the server, the system achieves effective fault detection without the need for expensive, complex hardware with full embedded logic at each monitoring point.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Reliability

If protection relays with embedded monitoring logic are used, then monitoring functionality is improved, but system prevalence and compatibility decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemonitoring functionalityVSAvoidsystem prevalence
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The gateway device serves multiple functions: it collects data from various IED manufacturers, performs data quality checks, filters information, and communicates with the remote server. This universal gateway approach enables the system to work with diverse IEDs from different manufacturers without requiring manufacturer-specific relays, thereby improving both monitoring functionality and system prevalence.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The gateway acts as a universal intermediary that standardizes communication between diverse IEDs and the remote server. By handling data quality checks and formatting at the gateway level, the system achieves compatibility across different IED manufacturers without requiring each IED to have embedded monitoring logic, thus improving both functionality and prevalence.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If all operational data is transmitted to remote device for analysis, then fault detection accuracy is improved, but network loading and storage costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefault detection accuracyVSAvoidnetwork loading
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The gateway extracts and filters only the most relevant data from the operational data stream before transmitting to the remote server. By taking out only the critical information that contributes to fault detection accuracy, the system maintains measurement precision while significantly reducing network loading and storage requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of transmitting all operational data, the system performs partial processing at the gateway by filtering and selecting only relevant data for transmission. This partial action approach maintains fault detection accuracy by sending sufficient diagnostic information while avoiding the energy cost of transmitting complete datasets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

4Loss of energy

If data quality checks are performed at gateway device, then network loading is reduced, but processing time at gateway increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork loadingVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of energyVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The gateway performs data quality checks as a preliminary filtering step before data is transmitted to the remote server. By conducting this preliminary action at the gateway, the system reduces network loading and server processing requirements, and the automated filtering process is designed to minimize processing time through efficient algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4001929B1Systems and methods for monitoring and diagnosing power system assets
Publication Date: 2024.11.06 GENERAL ELECTRIC TECH GMBH
  • EP4001929B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4001929B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4001929B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for monitoring and diagnosing power system assets. An example method may include triggering, by a gateway device and at a first time, a capture of a first waveform from a first intelligent electronic device (IED) associated with a first asset in a power system. The method may also include transmitting, by the gateway device, the capture of the waveform to a remote device. The method may also include extracting fault features from the first waveform corresponding to different failure modes associated with the asset of the power system. The method may also include determining, based on the features extracted from first waveform, that a fault of a first fault mode has occurred in the asset. The method may also include providing an alert that the fault has been identified, wherein the alert initiates or otherwise facilitates a control action in the power system.