Maintenance management tools applied to electrical resonance problems

Abstract

Currently, resonances are a problem that must be considered in electricity networks due to the insertion of new technologies and operating conditions. Harmonics in electrical power systems could present critical failure events due to resonances. This kind of event, might be result in harmonic overvoltage, transient overvoltage, energy production outage, damage to equipment and risks of different types, where the causes of changing the operational context in the electrical network, could be due to unforeseen events or improper modifications in the facilities. Therefore, resonance analysis requires network simulations to identify the causes and effects, having a reliable record and an adequate selection of solutions, but not only technical solutions but also economical through a Cost-Risk-Benefit approach is required. In this article, a case study is analyzed, where initially the inappropriate conditions are a low power factor, harmonic distortion and an overloaded transformer. To carry out an analysis from the root cause to the appropriate solution, simulations are carried out in the ETAP 12.6® software that are complemented with maintenance management optimization tools such as: Root-Cause-Analysis (RCA), Risk Matrix of Operations (HAZOP) and Analysis-Cost-Risk-Benefit (ACRB), considering the associated impacts and risks. This is a new way of analyzing energy quality problems, considering maintenance management.