Abstract
In power generation systems the synchronization of an alternator with the electrical network are an important and critical task. This paper presents the design and building of an automatic three-phase alternator synchronizer based on a low-cost open-hardware Arduino platform. The synchronization is performed by means of measuring a phase voltage of both the synchronous generator and the electrical grid; then the measured voltages are conditioned and sent to the Arduino board, which is programmed to determine the correct moment to connect the alternator to the grid. To validate the prototype, a laboratory setup has been built with the alternator driven by a commercial dc drive. The design and practical implementation of the system is proposed as a project-based learning (PBL) activity for undergraduate final year students at the University of Bio-Bio, Chile. A description of the constructed prototype and the results obtained are presented and discussed.
Highlights
Electricity generation is the process of obtaining electric power from sources of primary energy
Electricity generation can be found in different systems such as: a) electrical grid, b) islanded power systems, c) microgrids [1], [2] and d) hybrid/electric vehicles [3]–[5]
While in systems a)-c) the primary energy sources could be fossil fuels and/or renewable energies in hybrid/electric vehicles the primary energy is provided by a battery
Summary
Electricity generation is the process of obtaining electric power from sources of primary energy. This article is focused on generation for the electrical power network, where in the last decade there has been an important increasing of solar photovoltaic generation plants, where no rotating machines are used; and wind generator plants where a power electronic converter interfaces a rotating machine with the electrical grid, still most of the worldwide electrical energy generation is based on synchronous generators (alternators) connected directly to the electrical grid [6]. This work is focused on electricity generation for an electric power network, where the application of an Arduino platform for designing and building an automatic sychronizer for a three-phase alternator is presented. This solution differs and stands out for its simplicity compared to similar approaches where more complex systems are proposed [12]–[15].
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