Combining optimal SASS (Sparsity Assisted Signal Smoothing) and notch filters for transient measurement signals denoising of large power generating unit

Abstract

Denoising and harmonic interference removal from the measurement signal is crucial for accurate parameters calculation of a generating unit model. Determining the actual parameters values requires various unit transient signals data recorded during a well-defined testing procedure. However, the recorded signals usually contain noise and harmonic interferences which are difficult to remove due to a presence of different kinds of discontinuities.The paper presents a proposal of optimal denoising and harmonic interference removal method from transient measurement signals of 200 MW power generating unit. The method combines notch filters for harmonic rejection followed by SASS (Sparsity Assisted Signal Smoothing) algorithm for wideband noise rejection. Parameters of the notch filters as well as the SASS are determined using popular optimization algorithms (simulated annealing, Nelder-Mead simplex and gradient algorithm).Performance of the proposed method is compared to its direct Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) competitors such as low-pass and notch filters alone, notch and low-pass filters combined and to the optimal SASS method alone. The performance evaluation is based on a set of specially generated test signals which are using the developed mathematical model of the signals (to set the level of noise and interferences) as well as the mathematical model of the power generating unit (to provide the reference clean signals). The obtained results confirm that the optimal notch-SASS method might be a valuable noise removal tool for considered class of signals and leads to superior results than the LTI filters or the SASS method alone.