Diagnosis of the Static Excitation Systems of Synchronous Generators with the Use of Hardware-In-the-Loop Technologies

Andriy Kutsyk,Mykola Semeniuk,Mariusz Korkosz,Grzegorz Podskarbi

doi:10.3390/en14216937

Abstract

In this paper, testing and diagnosis methods for the static excitation systems of power plant synchronous generators using Hardware-In-the-Loop technology are described. These methods allow a physical excitation system to be connected to a real-time model of a power plant unit. A feature of a static excitation system is the presence of generator self-excitation—that is, when the input voltages of the excitation system are defined by a synchronous generator. These voltages are determining by the digital model, which creates additional difficulties with combining a digital model with a real excitation system. Various ways to solve this problem are described in this article; in particular, we focus on the option in which the gate-impulses of a thyristor converter are applied to the digital model by a real static excitation system. The real-time models are based on the method of average voltages in the integration step. This method is effective for providing numerical stability for the models of power schemes and their functioning in real time mode over a long period. A synchronization method for the calculation time of the model with real time is described. The adequacy of the described method is proved by the results of the static excitation system of synchronous generators testing in operating and fault modes.

Highlights

The purpose of this article is to present a concept for diagnosing the static excitation systems of synchronous generators using Hardware-In-the-Loop technology, to describe the mathematical and digital real-time models created using the method of the average voltages in the integration step (AVIS), and to provide an example of an application that confirms the adequacy of the models developed and solutions proposed
The adequacy of the approach proposed and hybrid models developed was verified by comparing the results obtained from the hybrid system created—in which the real excitation system operates with a digital model of the generator unit—with experimental results obtained from a real power generation system at Burshtyn Thermal
The proposed approach enables testing and diagnosing the excitation systems of synchronous generators using the real-time model of a power-unit scheme

Summary

Introduction

Based on Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) technology, hybrid models combine physical objects and real-time models [1]. This technology is widely used for testing control devices, in particular when using Model-Based Design (MBD) methods [2,3]. Connecting control devices to the control object in the form of a real-time model provides control system synthesis, testing, and fault diagnosis. Nowadays, these methods are widely used in the automotive [4,5] and aerospace [6,7] industries. In [8] it is proposed to use the HIL simulation technique for testing special protection systems in large-scale power systems

Objectives

Results

Conclusion