Performance assessment of hydropower generator unit with the nonlinear transmissibility function method

Abstract

The hydropower generator unit (HGU) is a complex nonlinear dynamic system, and how to utilize the monitoring data to achieve the performance assessment of the HGU is a challenge at present. In this paper, based on the linear transmissibility function and the nonlinear output frequency response function, the nonlinear transmissibility function (NTF) method is proposed to characterize the variation rule of the HGU performance, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by the monitoring data from a hydropower station located in Guangxi, China. Firstly, the feature parameters related to the operation state of the unit are extracted from the monitoring data of the HGU. Secondly, the HGU system is divided into three subsystems according to the installation position of the sensors collecting these feature parameters, and the NTFs of them are estimated from multiple time scales. Finally, the performance of the HGU is comprehensively assessed utilizing the Fe indicator and the correlation transmissibility damage indicator. The analysis results demonstrate that the NTF method can reveal the performance variation trend and detect the early fault of the HGU, which is of great significance to the stable operation of the HGU.